ã€ŠThe Spider Queenã€‹


 Chapter Basic Background Information

    Basic Background Information

    Cultivation levels (each qi level had ten stages)

    Qi Body ¨C The initial refinement of the bones, skins, muscles and blood

    Qi Spirit ¨C The expansion of the Dantian to increase the amount of qi flowing through the meridians

    Qi Tide ¨C The creation of an ocean of qi in the Dantian which nourishes the body unconsciously through cycles in the meridians.

    Void Stage ¨C The sea of qi in the Dantian is condensed to a single droplet of concentrated power

    God Stage- Break beyond the limits of a mortal body

    Ascension Stage ¨C Beyond understanding, limitless power, the universal infinity uses the body as a vessel

    List of known universal powers

    1) Earth Federation ¨C races : Humans, Servies, Mandolesa, Quafes

    2) Federines: unknown races, unknown threat level

    3) Unova Syndicate: threat level : neutral

    4) Insectoids ¨C threat level: lethal

    Main Character:

    Sophie Peterlor ¨C A half human hybrid whose mother remains unknown, her cultivation potential was considered one of the worse among her peers before she got her hands on the cultivation manual left behind by herte mother. Her father Rokan Peterlor is one of the strongest men in the imperial army

    Cultivation Manual ¨C Spider Whisper Art

    Gic Makeup ¨C Unknown

    Racial traits ¨C Golden eyes

    Pointed ears

    Sixth sense of danger

 Chapter 1: Where am I?

    Chapter 1: Where am I?

    Sui Meng woke up with a confused look on her face.

    Where on earth was she?

    All she could remember was going to bed in her apartment after a night of drinking with her colleagues.

    She found herself in arge hall filled with young teenagers. The people around her were wearing strange uniforms, she noticed instantly that all the uniforms were not the same.

    The uniforms at the front of the hall were white with golden stars running along the sides of the sleeves.

    In the middle had red uniforms with silver streaks across the chest area while her uniform and those of others in the back was just a in ck with no additional ornaments.

    She turned to her neighbour and tried to ask him what this ce was, but he simply shot her a disgusted look and turned around. Sui Meng always had a fiery temper and that boy pissed her off quite a bit.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you! Turn your damn head around and look at me!¡± she spoke loudly. Her seat was located at the far end of the lecture hall so the man standing at the front and apparently saying something could not hear her.

    The boy ignored her and continued to pretend that she did not exist, Sui Meng frowned and was about to tap him on the shoulder when she heard the whispers echoing around her.

    ¡°Look at that waste!¡±

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe our academy took in a hybrid trash¡­¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? She is the only heir to her house¡±

    Hesitantly, she pulled back her arm and looked at her desk for any clue to her identity. Aside from a single bottle of unknown liquid and a small silvery tablet there was nothing else.

    Sui Meng nced at her arms and saw a gentle delicate hand with no calluses.

    She did not have a mirror to look at her appearance but could tell that this was not her body, before she could explore further, she was surprised by a buzzing sounding from the tablet and a small notification popped up.

    [Sophie my dear daughter I hope you are paying attention in ss. Do not worry about the nobles around you.]

    [Your old man is still the head of a prestigious Duke house and I can bankrupt their families at anytime!]

    Even across text, Sui Meng could feel the love and warmthing from the message. Whoever sent it clearly meant to express care for her.

    ¡°Sophie? Sophie? Is my name Sophie?¡± Sui Meng muttered to herself.

    Bam!

    Sui Meng clutched her head in agony as a wave of memories swept across her mind, her hands began to tremble, and she hurriedly put her head down to pretend to sleep.

    Sophie was a hybrid daughter of the Duke Peterlor and an unknown humanoid species, her mother died in childbirth and the duke refused to take another lover.

    Despite having non-human races in the Earth Federation, there was a strong sense of discrimination by the upper nobility who saw hybrids as diluting the purity of the human race.

    The Duke against the judgement of his advisors and peers had imed that his half human daughter would be the heir to his household.

    This raised rm bells and even the royal family sent him a letter urging him not to be rash.

    Perhaps if Sophie was a cultivation prodigy, there would be a reluctant sense of eptance from her peers, but she was far from it.

    Despite having the best cultivation resources and techniques avable, she was still on stage two of qi body.

    The other nobles her age was on average, stages six and seven of qi body with some prodigies even reaching the rank of qi spirit stage one.

    Now her reputation was in shambles and she was seen as both a hybrid and cultivation trash, this caused her personality to be timid and withdrawn.

    No one except her father was on her side.

    The only memento she had from her mother was small star shaped ne that hung from her neck. Her father made her promise to never take it off, but Sophie was a bit frightened by the ne.

    The ne as far as she could remember always fit her perfectly, from early childhood straight to her current age. It was like the material could grow alongside her own increase in height.

    Sophie was quite a beautiful girl with slender pale skin and budding curves that hinted at the heart breaker she would be.

    Her appearance was as close to an ordinary human as possible with the exception of her pointy elf-like ears and pupils which were golden in colour.

    Sophie suffered from low self esteem from all the bullying, so she hid her face behind a curtain of hair.

    ¡°My dream is to be a powerfuldy my dad can be proud of¡±, a long forgotten memory echoed in Sui Meng¡¯s head and she jerked upright from the desk with a gasp.

    Her head was throbbing slightly with pain, but it was quickly ignored as Sui Meng struggled to understand what had happened to her.

    In the memories she saw everything from Sophie¡¯s point of view and her emotions were indistinguishable from her own.

    It was like the two girls had be one with both memories and personalities.

    Sophie¡¯s desire to be strong was now felt by Sui Meng who had unfamiliar emotions dancing across her heart.

    She gave a reluctant sigh and whispered back to the voice in her head,

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how I came to upy your body but I promise to try to fulfil your dream at least until I can find my way back home.¡±

    Sui Meng did not hear a reply from the voice but got the feeling that the faint presence in her mind had disappeared at least for now.

    Sui Meng was gone but her new life as Sophie Peterlor had begun.

    Ring! Ring! Ring!

    A clear bell sound rung from the speakers overhead and the students around her began to pack up and exit the hall.

    Sophie found a small carry bag as her feet and ced the small bottle and tablet inside. She followed the footsteps in her memories and arrived at the great library of the Royal Academy.

    Even though she had the memories of the previous Sophie, there was a need to double check the information and learn more about the world around her.

    This was obviously not earth as she could see a gentle blue sun with three moons hanging in the sky.

    The buildings around her were silvery grey in colour and had looked like they were built straight out of the ground seamlessly.

    Sophie approached the library with a spring in her steps, she had a small smile on her face hidden by the long hair draped across it.

    Sui Meng may have hated reading but after she had gotten Sophie¡¯s memories, she also inherited her love for books. Books served as a quiet escape and were a wee distraction in her life.

    The door to the library was nked by two imposing statues, one was of the Greek titan As holding the globe on his shoulders while the other showed a man she did not recognise.

    The man was fiercely punching the air and one could get a sense of power and majesty radiating off the statue.

    Sophie looked at the two statues curiously and scanned her wristband on the door with a practised motion. There was a small buzz and the door slid open to reveal the library inside.

    It was unlike anything she had ever seen before as there were no books to be found anywhere.

    Instead small pods could be seen scattered around the open room with students inside, Sophie wandered around in confusion but saw nothing else other than the pods. She searched around till she found an empty one and pressed the small button on the side.

    With a slow hiss, the pod door swung open to reveal afortable chair and a long desk inside. Sophie stepped in cautiously and the door locked behind her.

    The desk was brown and resembled a log on a tree. There was a small indent the size of her wrist band in the middle of the desk clearly meant to hold the band.

    Sophie ced the wrist band on the hole in the desk and heard a mechanical voice echoing around the chamber.

    ¡°essing virtual library.¡±

    ¡°Student No.13923 requested ess.¡±

    ¡°ess Granted!¡±

 Chapter 2: The History Of The Earth Federation

    Chapter 2: The History Of The Earth Federation

    The futuristic pod shuddered slightly, and a humming noise could be heard from the walls around Sophie.

    She nced around in panic but only a small screen popped out from the table and an empty bar with the words ¡®Enter Student Number¡¯ appeared.

    Sophie looked at the number on her wristband before quickly typing in thebination. The numbers hovered on the screen briefly before disappearing and her wristband vibrated slowly in response.

    ¡°Wee to the central hub of the library!¡± a voice rang out.

    ¡°What data would you like to search for?¡±

    Sophie leaned back on the chair and contemted what information should she look up first. She scanned through her new memories and sorted out what knowledge she knew and what she needed to confirm, then hesitantly called out,

    ¡°Search the history of the earth federation¡±

    A small ding was heard in response and the mechanical voice replied to her.

    ¡°essing data banks on Earth Federation¡±

    ¡°Security level five detected¡­¡­ Information partially approved!¡±

    The inner surface of the pod lit up with colourful lights and a wall of text hovering in the air appeared in front of her.

    Sophie poked her hand in the direction of the words and saw that her arm passed right through as if it were merely an illusion.

    She smiled in amazement at how crazy and different the technology in this world was.

    There was then a scene of a young girl inside the pod of waving her hands around a couple more times like a child discovering a new toy until she gradually settled down and listened to voice beginning to read the text.

    ¡°Around the year 2050 the earth was in a state of copse, the poption had exploded to over fifteen billion and the agriculture industry was unable to keep up.

    Small andrge scale wars over the limited resources increased until nuclear weapons began to get involved.

    Entire major countries such as America, China, Russia and India had been destroyed by social unrest and strife.

    Mankind was entering a new dark age and many historians believe the end of humanity was upon the people living in that era.

    Until they came.

    An alien race called the Draxesnded on Earth in the year 2089 and were amazed by the life forms inhabiting it.

    They kidnapped and studied human physiology and discovered that humans had atent talent for cultivation the likes of which had never been seen before.

    Although humans were weak at birthpared to the other races of the gxies, their ruthlessness and will to survive were unmatched.

    The Draxes were a non-humanoid race of serpent creatures who enved other races to fight wars to expand their territory.

    The mighty Draxi empire stretched from the Milky Way to the Andromeda system. They brought a mighty fleet of over seventy spaceships and captured the remaining poption of humans on earth then left for their home.

    The human army experiment was a resounding sess for the military might of the empire.

    Although not every human was able to cultivate, there were those with talent that could rise from qi body to qi spirit and all the way to the void stage.

    Of course, any human capable of reaching beyond was culled swiftly to avoid an uprising.

    Or so it was believed¡­.

    The humans fought war after war for their new overlords and became known for their fierce nature across the system. Several hundreds of years had passed and the Draxes grew arrogant and corrupt.

    There was no longer a drive for conquest by the leaders of the empire and humans were now seen as an unnecessary tool. The order then came from the upper ranks to kill all the humans in the armies.

    This was a fatal mistake.

    What the Draxes did not know was that mankind had never seen them as benevolent masters that they would die for.

    No matter how many years went by, a ve was still a ve. Several sub factions had formed over the years with the goal of independence and liberation from the Draxi empire.

    Some considered methods of peaceful protests while others wanted violent liberation.

    When the revolution begun and the Draxes soldiers brought their sma rifles to execute the rebel humans, they were quickly overrun and killed by a surprise attack.

    The humans had teamed up with the other enved races such as the Servies, Mandolesa and Quafes who wouldter in history be known as the co-founding members of the Earth Federation.

    The Draxes were unprepared and the buildings on the home of Litheia were razed to the ground.

    Quickly the call for reinforcements from the space fleet were sent but what use is it when the captain of the ship is a Draxe but the entire crew are humans.

    Most of the ships rose up in mutiny and overthrew themanding crew present, then mankind decided to¡­.¡±

    ¡°Information restricted!¡±

    ¡°So, what happened to the Draxi Empire?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Information restricted!¡±

    Sophie frowned at the red words shing across the screen, there was so much to absorb from the story, but the most important part was apparently locked behind level one security clearance which she did not have.

    ¡°Continue the history and show all avable information,¡± Sophiemanded in a rough tone.

    The voice hummed as theputer scanned through all security cleared data to present the rest of the history lesson.

    ¡°By the year 3000, every of the former empire was [redacted] by themand of the Earth Federation and therefore deemed inhospitable to life forms.

    The four different races each have their own home and are required to send certain numbers of their poption to join the imperial fleet.

    Humanity had conquered hundreds of smalls,exs and moons as well as eighty five majors and two supernovas.

    There is now direct conflict between four major empires, the Federines, Insectoids, Unova and the Earth Federation over territory disputes in certain star systems.

    (Full list of territory disputes can be essed separately).¡±

    ¡°The noble houses of humankind produce the strongest cultivation talents and are gically and naturally superior to the rest of humanity.

    Nobles remain the shinning light of the universe and will lead humanity to hegemony over all who oppose us!¡±

    There was a short spiel of propaganda at the end of the text, but Sophie paid it no mind as questions danced across her mind over what she had learnt.

    Why was the information about the end of the rebellion restricted?

    What happened to the survivors of the Draxi Empire?

    Sophie groaned in frustration over the apparentck of answers present to her. She resolved herself to ask her father these questions when she returned home during the winter break.

    The Royal Academy was equivalent to high school back on Sui Meng¡¯s earth.

    It was a prestigious school on the of Gaia where the royal family of humans resided. There were nomoners present in the school and only the upper rank nobility was allowed inside. Sophie as far a she could tell was the only hybrid present in senior year.

    There were no pens in her bag but Sophie withdrew her tablet and begun to jot down a few notes of information so she could read it over when she went back to her dorm. When she finished, the wall of text shed a few times before disappearing and a search inquiry bar reced it.

    Sophie was going to research information on cultivation but was struck by a wave of sleepiness, so she decided toe again tomorrow instead. She packed up her little bag and exited the pod while yawning heavily.

    There was a gasping noise outside the pod and Sophie looked up to see a group of pretty noble girls. One of them smiled merrily and called out to her,

    ¡°Well¡­ well¡­if it isn¡¯t the inhuman garbage!¡±

 Chapter 3: A sharp tongue with no strength

    Chapter 3: A sharp tongue with no strength

    Sophie frowned slightly as she scanned slowly across the group of noble girls standing before her with unfriendly gazes.

    They were clearly asking for trouble and the residual memories from past experiences with these types of nobles caused her hands to tremble slightly in fear.

    Sophie took a deep breath to calm down, then swiftly hid her hands behind her back to prevent the girls from seeing any signs of weakness.

    ¡°Excuse me trash! Get out of here as fast as you can!¡± one of the girls yelled at her with amanding tone.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see miss Leona wants to use that pod?¡± another girl chimed in.

    Mockingughter rang out from the group and Sophie curled her hands into fists, her old personality may have simply lowered her head and left immediately but Sui Meng was a firm believer in repaying good with kindness and evil with a firm fist.

    ¡°Firstly, I need to find out which one is the group leader,¡± Sophie muttered slowly to herself.

    There were six young noblewomen before her with each having otherworldly beauty and figures. In an era of interster travel, it wasmon for babies to undergo gic modification and rewrite of their DNA to improve physical prowess and appearances.

    Hence the attractivity levels of everyone Sophie had seen was much higher than what Sui Meng was ustomed to back on her earth.

    She could not tell who the leader was based on looks alone so she quickly checked each girl¡¯s uniform in turn.

    There was the answer!

    Five of the girls wore the red uniforms with the silver streaks that she had seen on the students in the middle of the hall while the girl in the center of the group was proudly wearing a white uniform with eight stars stitched carefully across her forearm indicating qi body stage eight.

    The girl had curly purple ringlets and a haughty expression on her face, she had not said a word yet but was gazing at Sophie with emotions of disgust and hatred shing across her eyes.

    She had a slender figure with dark chocte skin that made her look exotic.

    Sophie racked her brain to try and figure out the identity of this girl as despite having fused personalities, many memories were locked away and required active searching to be essed. She was unsure of this was a side effect or would the memories be gradually unsealed without effort.

    Suddenly a person¡¯s name shed across her mind and an expression of rage surfaced on Sophie¡¯s face which was luckily hidden by the long hair covering her looks.

    The noble girl¡¯s name was Leona Braveheart who was also the heir to a duke house.

    She used to be Sophie¡¯s ymate when they were little girls but when they entered middle school together that all changed.

    Sophie was mocked relentlessly by the students around her for her strange ears and pupils and her friend Leona was also teased as well.

    Leona at first, was reluctant to give up on the years of friendship but gradually the outside pressure began to wear her down and she met with Sophie to break off all ties.

    Leona was haunted by the understanding smile that Sophie had given her when she had decided to abandon her best friend.

    This filled her heart with a sense of guilt and remorse whenever she saw Sophie sitting alone in ss isted from the rest of her peers. Over time these feelings warped into a sense of hatred and me.

    It was all Sophie¡¯s fault! How dare she look at her with ming eyes!

    The apparentck of cultivation talent that Sophie possessed led Leona to reassure herself that she had made the right decision.

    In reality this was all in Leona¡¯s head as Sophie did not feel anger or hate towards her former friend, the only emotions she felt were hollowness and loneliness.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there like a mute, hurry up and apologies to Leona for wasting her time by using the library!¡± a sharp voiced echoed out from the crowd, snapping Sophie from her dazed expression.

    Snap!

    The Sui Meng side of her personality rose to the forefront as her body straightened up immediately and walked towards the group of girls with a confident expression on her face and a cocky grin.

    ¡°Pardon me, but could you perhaps be talking to me?¡± Sophie asked politely.

    ¡°Well¡­ as far as I can tell there are no other hybrid disgraces in the academy so who knows?¡± this time Leona replied for the group with a sarcastic tone.

    A crowd of curious onlookers had long since gathered and were watching the show eagerly to see the hybrid trash get put in her ce.

    With Sophie¡¯s identity as the daughter of a duke, they could not personally bully her without fearing the retribution of her father.

    It was a different story for nobles from houses ranked duke and above as the old ancestors of their houses would not get involved in struggles between the younger generations.

    Sophie lifted her long hair out of her face and the girls were shocked by her delicate and seductive features. She smiled gently with an expression of innocence and purity that would make both men and women¡¯s hearts skip a beat.

    Sophie looked at the follower who called her an inhuman trash and spoke loudly in a calm voice.

    However, the words she then uttered shattered the peaceful image instantly and made all the onlookers gasp in shock.

    ¡°How does it feel to be seen as a proud young noblewoman when all you are is a pathetic dog?¡±

    She then turned to Leona who was overlooking the scene as if it had nothing to do with her and continued in the same careless tone,

    ¡°It is almost impressive how you manage to surround and train these bitches to obey your everymand.¡±

    ¡°Well like servant, like master I guess¡±

    Deathly silence.

    The calm sense of quiet reigned across the library with an almost surreal atmosphere, none of the nobles present would ever use such crass insults in public. Leona and her clique did not even know how to react.

    Why was the script all wrong?

    Truthfully, they had note looking for Sophie at the library but hade to research new cultivation techniques for the uing ss evaluation.

    It was one of Leona¡¯s followers, a girl by the name of Mary who saw the hybrid outcast exiting a pod to the right of them, so they made the decision to mock her a bit.

    Leona gave a mocking sneer and spoke, ¡°Well guess you are good with words, aren¡¯t you? If only your cultivation was as good as your insults.¡±

    Only a single palm was raised, but Sophie felt a strong sense of danger from the hand before her. Leona focused slowly then extended her fingertips into the air then shed towards Sophie with a smooth practised motion.

    A beam of white light rushed out from her palm and before Sophie could react in time, it collided directly into her chest.

    Sophie was knocked down roughly to the ground and tumbled about seven meters before her backnded against the walls of a pod with a dull thud.

    The metallic taste of blood entered her mouth and she slowly wiped her hands across her lips to get rid of the traces.

    What she did not realise was that when her bloodstained hand touched the ne on her chest which absorbed the droplets of blood with a soft bluish glow.

    Harshughter rung out from the surrounding crowd which stung Sophie¡¯s ears, everywhere she looked there was a person standing there with a mocking look.

    It was no wonder that under this environment the original host turned out weak and cowardly.

    Life for hybrids was not even bad in the rest of the federation, they were generally considered part of the human race and had the same rights as themon folk. However, they could never be part of the nobility and the ruling ss.

    Sophie stood up, withstanding the pain and agonying from her chest and spat out a few words at the mocking girls,

    ¡°In the ss evaluation pray to whatever gods you worship that you don¡¯t have the misfortune to face me.¡±

    She turned to Leona and shed a small smile and spoke softly,

    ¡°I did see you as a friend all those years ago and I never med you for the decision you made but now I will personally ensure you give up that uniform.¡±

    Sophie turned around after the deration, not caring whether Leona acknowledged it or not and limped out of the library.

    She cut a lonely but proud figure who swayed from side to side but with sheer willpower refused to fall before she made it back to the dorms.

 Chapter 4: Dad we need to talk....

    Chapter 4: Dad we need to talk¡­.

    Pain shot through her stomach continuously as Sophie trudged on towards her dorm room. The passing students saw her in an injured state, but no one offered to help.

    The kinder ones would simply avert their eyes when they saw Sophie pass them by.

    The usual reaction she received were a couple of snickers and maliciousughter from students eager to see her humiliation.

    Those looks burned a deep impression in Sophie¡¯s mind and fueled the growing sense of rage in her heart.

    What a bunch of self- righteous assholes.

    Bragging and boasting of the superiority of the noble blood when none of them had any idea what a life in society was like.

    ¡°I need power¡±, Sophie muttered to herself in a low voice. The world she was in obeyed the simple rule of survival of the fittest. The noble childrenughing at her today would lose power almost instantly were it not for powerful cultivators associated with their households.

    Sophie did not seem to realise it, but her eyes started gleaming in a hypnotic light when her desire to get stronger began to overwhelm her.

    The campus dorms were optional for students to live in as with the creation of short-range transportation technology, there was no need for students to worry about travelling to and from their homes.

    Most of the students in the dorms were those from others or those that sought independence from their households.

    Sophie¡¯s father was fiercely overprotective of his only daughter and did not approve of her living at the dorms by herself. The original host argued and threatened to stay at school as she did not want to return home with injuries and cause her dad to worry.

    ¡°What a foolish girl,¡± Sophie spoke softly with an almost sorrowful look on her face.

    Perhaps it would have caused her father distress to find out that his daughter was being bullied but it would be more painful to find out that his daughter faced these problems alone without seeking him out for help.

    Throb!

    Sophie clutched her heart with a painful expression as a fresh droplet of blood poured out of her mouth.

    A person with a qi body of stage two was no match for Leona¡¯s attack which was at least stage eight.

    She could tell that there were certainly internal injuries causing her to cough out blood periodically and it hurt like hell.

    There was an urgent need for medical attention but fortunately the dorms were only a ten-minute walk from the library. Sophie approached the dorm building and let out a gasp of astonishment.

    This was a campus dorm house?

    It was bigger than any skyscraper Sui Meng had ever seen!

    The words ¡®Royal Academy Living Quarters¡¯ hung from a banner off the front door of the building, whose height could not be seen from the ground level as it peaked above the clouds. The dorm was like the other buildings she had seen with a dark silvery colour that seemed to be fused to the ground itself.

    There was a single main entrance roughly the size of two carriages ced side by side and a small secondary entrance to the right.

    Sophie approached the door and lifted up her wrist to show her band to the scanner ced on the doorknob. A whirring sound filled her ears and a clear mechanical voice spoke,

    ¡°Student 13923 detected!¡±

    ¡°Second floor. Room 45 resident¡±

    ¡°ess approved¡±

    The door swung open with a flourish and Sophie limped inside. A cool flow of air brushed against her face and she closed her eyes in contentment. The lobby area of the dorm was spacious with exotic nts arranged around the floor, giving one the impression that they were in the middle of a forest. Sophie even heard what appeared to be bird- like calls from small animals darting around the treetops.

    She followed the rocky pathway through the trees and arrived at the front desk at the back of the room. There was an eastern beauty working as the receptionist who nced up at her thenzily asked,

    ¡°Room and floor number please¡±

    She seemed to pay no mind to the injured student in front of her and simply resumed staring at the tablet on her desk.

    ¡°Um¡­. Second floor and room number 45,¡± Sophie hesitantly replied.

    The receptionist gave no sign of acknowledgement but plugged in a fewmands on her tablet and gestured to the raised tform to the left of the desk. Sophie was a bit confused and did not understand what thedy wanted

    A few moments passed by and the receptionist nced back up with a puzzled look on her face,

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you standing on the teleporter?¡± she asked.

    Sophie jolted up and looked at the teleporter with a cautious gaze, she scanned through her memories and recalled that to enter her room she could be teleported directly from the lobby.

    Her face burned bright red with embarrassment and she hurriedly stepped onto the raised disc with a shy smile.

    The teleporter tform looked very in to the outside eye, it was simply a raised white semicircr disc that had strange marks carved into the perimeter. What bothered Sophie were the shes of red light that would enter the marks apanied by an ominous humming noise.

    The receptionists saw that the student was on the teleporter and pressed the button under her desk. Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then dissolved into white particles and disappeared from the room.

    Momentster the white particles converged to form the figure of a girl who appeared in a bedroom.

    Sophie immediately copsed in fright and began throwing up the food in her stomach with a pale face.

    What a horrible experience!

    The teleporter could disassemble matter particles and carry them to other locations where they could be reassembled to form the original form. This method of transportation only worked for non-cultivators and those in the qi body and spirit stage as higher levels of cultivation would cause the matter particles in the body system to be densely packed and unable to be separated.

    This reason and the fact that teleporters were highly expensive to maintain ensured that this transport method could only be enjoyed by wealthy institutions.

    The original host and Sui Meng were both individuals who got motion sick easily and the transportation was the equivalent of shaking every cell in your body vigorously. It took a few moments, but Sophie was able to calm down her upset stomach.

    There was the unpleasant smell of vomit filling the room, so Sophie began to look around for some cleaning supplies. The bedroom she entered was the size of Sui Meng¡¯s entire apartment in Shanghai.

    There were pink curtains hanging from the windows and a few posters of popr virtual idols scattered along the bedroom walls. There was a small indoor pool as well as a kitchen and two bathrooms.

    The bed was massive, and Sophie estimated that it could fit well over six peoplefortably.

    Sophie was eager to explore the room but the jolt of pain echoing through her body reminded her of the injuries.

    ¡°Okay first things first, I need to treat these injuries,¡± Sophie muttered to herself.

    She approached a desk at the side of the master bed and fumbled around the drawers until she opened the correct one. There was a small pack of vials with a sickly green colour glowing slightly in the sunlight.

    Sophie grimaced internally but popped the stopper on one of the vials and drowned the contents in one gulp. Her father had sent her the most expensive gene serums on the market that could elerate healing.

    Sophie sighed in contentment as a warm feeling of fire spread through her body, rejuvenating her cells and causing her injuries to heal. Shey down on the bed basking in the pleasant feeling before a loud ringing sound came from her schoolbag.

    Sophie sprung up and hurriedly opened the bag and saw her tablet was vibrating. She saw a notification which read, ¡®Iing Call: Duke Peterlor¡¯. It was her dad and Sophie hesitantly pressed the ept call button.

    ¡°Oh, honey you picked up!¡± a man¡¯s cheerful voice rang out from the tablet.

    ¡°How have you been my lovely daughter? Is anyone mistreating you? Tell your dad and I will immediately have sent them to bankruptcy!¡± he continued in a loud tone.

    Tears welled up in Sophie¡¯s eyes and an unrepressed sob was came out of her chest. Why was she acting so foolishly before?

    ¡°Dad,¡± she spoke in a quiet voice.

    ¡°We need to talk¡­.

 Chapter 5: House Peterlor

    Chapter 5: House Peterlor

    The Peterlor house can trace its lineage all the way to the early years of the Earth Federation.

    The family had their own private territory which was an entire moon called Luna-137 which orbited around the Jupiter.

    Theter generations of the family settled down in Gaia as members of the senate. Political power, wealth and influence danced around the fingertips of this noble house.

    This would notst forever¡­.

    Theck of high tier cultivators spelled the direct decline of the house and many enemies began to eye their territories with hunger.

    Of course, with the vast amount of wealth umted over the years it was no problem to hire mercenaries to protect their assets but this was only a temporary solution and when the highest tier cultivator in the family is only at the void stage it still leaves you vulnerable.

    Every other major dukedom had at least three god stage cultivators and the gap between the god stage and void was like the difference between heaven and earth.

    It was not just a difference between tiers but a qualitative change in the phase of life.

    Sophie¡¯s grandfather was the man who almost led his house intoplete ruin, known as a no-good second generation and womaniser he would spend his days drinking wine and seducing women despite being married tody Beterica of the Serpentinesa house.

    This displeased and offended house Serpentinesa and caused the rtionship between the two houses to disintegrate almost overnight.

    Being a wastrel would not be a devasting blow in and of itself as many houses had gone through periods were the head was a person with less than ideal qualifications.

    But it was upon his death that Sophie¡¯s grandfather shattered the entire family.

    He died prematurely at the age of thirty-five under suspicious circumstances in a pleasure bar on the outskirts of the capitol city of Titania.

    He had two children by his wife, a twin pair of two dragons fromdy Beterica and numerous bastards roaming around the city.

    It was beneathdy Beterica to hunt down these children as illegitimate children would hold no im to the family.

    She woulde to regret this act of mercy¡­

    It was soon discovered that her husband had written up a will that legitimised every one of his outside children.

    The contents of the will had sent up a stir throughout the capitol as no head of house had ever done something like this before.

    He also failed to name an heir to the household so suddenly there were over fifty candidates to lead house Peterlor.

    The other noble houses could hardly sit idly by as a potential slice of meat had fallen into their hands, and each house picked a bastard to support and gave them aid and men secretly.

    It unleashed a proxy war in the federation that lead to the deaths of most of the main branch of the Peterlor household.

    The issue became so out of control, that the royal family had no choice but to step in and quell the fighting. They announced that a tournament would be held among all surviving members of the potential sessors and the person who won would be qualified to lead the house.

    Rare herbs, gene serums and cultivation techniques were given by the houses to those that they supported secretly with almost no limit in a bid to raise their cultivation level as quickly as possible.

    This led to issues with the foundation of qi building and many children suffered from deviation and bacsh.

    The tournament begun and was broadcast to the upper nobility of Gaia, bets were ced on one child over another, but no one dared to say who woulde out on top in the end.

    It was a brutal tournament with fights oftensting to the death or severe injuries, the royal family could not set guidelines of mercy as the wars over session have traditionally followed the mantra of ¡®the strong rules.¡¯

    When the dust settled after a week of fighting, the noble houses were shocked to discover the winner was an unknown bastard son called Rokan.

    This child was not supported by any major houses as he was only ten years old and seen as a useless prospect.

    But his talent in cultivation was the likes of which the federation had almost never seen as without the use of herbs or gene serum, he could still quickly raise himself to qi spirit stage five before the tournament. He defeated many opponents often older and with higher cultivation levels than himself.

    Evendy Beterica¡¯s children were felled by his hand which caused her house to raise an uproar.

    Unfortunately for them, the royal family had already imed that the winner of the tournament would be the head of the Peterlor house so there was nothing they could do to stop the young boy¡¯s rise to power.

    Lady Beterica left Gaia to return to her family¡¯s territory in the Andromeda system and cut all ties with the Peterlor house. Numerous other merchants and houses followed suit and Rokan inherited a dukedom on the verge of copse.

    All the family assets were taken away by bankers reiming the debts from the wayward father of his who took out loan after loan to pay for his lifestyle.

    Everyone expected the house of the fall into ruin and disappear from history but despite all their expectations, the boy survived. He joined one of the four great universities and then became amander in the imperial army.

    His talent was praised by all his teachers and by the age of twenty-four, he was one of the youngest void stage cultivators within thest centuries.

    Joining the Imperial fleet was a smart decision as it prevented many would be assassins sent by noble houses who felt threatened by his rise.

    It was one thing to kill a noble with no other power and backing but it was quite another matter to kill an officer of the royal family. The penalty could mean the execution of their entire family line.

    There were still those willing to take the risk by using lesser nobles as scapegoats, but all assassination attempts were thwarted by Rokan¡¯s extremely higherbat sense.

    Unlike his father he was a man known for his duty and dedication to the army and had not sired a single offspring.

    At the age of forty, he stepped into the domain of god stage cultivators and the other houses could no longer ignore his power.

    All the bankers and merchants who had abandoned his house all those years ago were now flocking to his side.

    Wealth, Power, Strength

    He single-handely rebuilt the entire Peterlor house from the ground up.

    Many noblewomen eagerly sought him out forpanionship, but he refused all offers. No matter how beautiful or seductive they were, there was seemingly no woman who could catch his eye.

    Until he met her¡­

 Chapter 6: The Crazy Duke

    Chapter 6: The Crazy Duke

    (shback continued)

    It had been ten years since Commander Peterlor had cultivated to the god stage and his prestige in the army was unmatched amongst his peers. He led the ¡®First Order¡¯ fleet of the imperial army and was on the frontlines of the war against the Insectoid races.

    The insectoids were considered as the gue of the universe and consisted of several thousand different races of monsters. Some were humanoid and had intelligence rivalling that of humans while others were mere beasts of ughter.

    Humanity had been engaged in bitter battles with the Insectoids for hundreds of years over the ownership of certains and star systems. Too many atrocities had beenmitted by both sides so the push for diplomacy was never considered as a viable option.

    While the other gctic empires of the Unova and Federines could be negotiated with¡­.to a certain extent.

    The blood feud between humanity and Insectoids meant that neither would be satisfied until the other was wiped out. Humans held advantages in terms of raw power and strength with additional power of cultivation along with technology, but the sheer reproductive power of the Insectoid races made victories almost meaningless.

    The state of the war was at a standstill and neither side could get an advantage over the other.

    During that time, the duke was posted on the border of Neptune to reinforce and protect the trading wormhole located near the.

    It was an uneventful couple of years until one night a sneak attack wasunched during the Lumonisa Festival. Commander Peterlor led his army to defend the wormhole with his life and managed to seed against all odds.

    There was a hefty price to be paid and the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers were lost. The duke in his fight with the enemymander dragged the both of them into the wormhole to turn the tides of battle.

    There was an urgent message sent from the base and hundreds of local guards arrived at the end of the wormhole to give support to the duke.

    But no one exited the other side.

    The wormhole had sent both the young duke and the enemymander to an unknown location in the universe and the tracker imnted in his uniform could not locate him.

    Naturally the duke was assumed to be dead and there were several sighs of relief from the other noble houses in the capitol.

    His cultivation talent was too dangerous.

    The attack itself was highly suspicious as there was no indication or warning of a breach by the border troops and how would the insectoids know that a festival was taking ce without being told remained a mystery.

    There were a few mummers ofint from the first order officers that the attack should be investigated for potential spies within their ranks, but no official investigation wasunched.

    It was almost as though the royal family turned a blind eye, perhaps they too were d that a dangerous element was culled in its infancy. No other person had ever reached the god stage in less than five hundred years and many even with that time did not have the talent to ascend their limits of mortality.

    Should the duke reach the Ascension stage, he could challenge the authority of the royal family singlehandedly.

    Ten yearster the duke returned to the Gaia with a child.

    He looked visibly different to the point that the border guard at the transport gate thought that he was an imposter. The duke regained his youth due to his high cultivation techniques but upon his return seemed to have aged decades.

    He now resembled a handsome middle-aged man with greying hair that added to his charm. This led to rumors that he had regressed in his cultivation level, but higher tier cultivators sensed that his aura was now unfathomable.

    While the duke from before emitted the sharpness of an unsheathed sword, the man before them now was as calm as ake and no one could see the depths of his strength.

    His arrival stirred up waves in the capitol and he was immediately summoned before the royal family to exin his disappearance. The story he gave was that the wormhole had taken him and the enemymander to an unknown ice in the Tera System which was one of the systems controlled by the Insectoids.

    He killed themander and spent the past ten years travelling deep in enemy territory trying to find his way back to a federation outpost.

    There were numerous questions asked such as,

    How was it possible for him to survive? Why did it take him so long to get back? Who was the child that he brought with him?

    The duke stayed silent and just gave vague exnations of his journey without revealing too much information, the king was naturally unsatisfied by the answers given but his advisors warned him not to make an enemy of the duke so he could only swallow his anger back into his chest.

    The child brought back was named Sophie Peterlor and her facial features rivalled the duke in terms of attractiveness so there was no doubt who the father was.

    Her dad was fiercely overprotective of his daughter and she was usually kept in the family estate. There was a great deal of curiosity about the girl and it was not until a maid was bribed by a newswork that the fact, she was a hybrid was revealed to the world.

    This would not have been shocking news by itself, but the duke dered no intention to remarry and that Sophie would be the heir to the Peterlor house.

    He was then considered as a madman.

    There were a couple heads of houses among the lower nobility that were not fully human, but they were few and far between.

    No upper rank nobility had ever named a hybrid as the heir to their household.

    Despite all the advice and opposition from those around him, the duke remained steadfast in his deration and retired from the first order to personally raise his daughter.

    When asked questions about the race of the child¡¯s mother, the duke would im that even he had no idea. The only clue to the mother¡¯s racial heritage were the golden eyes and pointy ears inherited by her daughter.

 Chapter 7: Four Great Universities

    Chapter 7: Four Great Universities

    (Main Story)

    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve been thinking quite a lottely.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay on the campus dorms anymore¡­. Can I move back home?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly.

    There was a small interval of silence between the father ¨C daughter pair which made her heart start beating anxiously in her chest. The original host had decided to live in the dorms to prove a point, but Sophie thought it would be better to return to the family home and get help in training for the ss evaluation.

    ¡°Sure sweety, my doors are always open!¡± her father resolutely replied.

    A few tears welled up in Sophie¡¯s eyes, this man had always been on her side and she had been foolish to reject his help. The ss evaluation was an important event that determined the future path of the students.

    There were many different universities and institutes of higher learning scattered throughout the earth federation, but only four elite schools stood out from the rest.

    The four universities were each located on the mains of the four different races of the federation respectively. A student of any race could enter one of these four universities but there was a strict selection process that eliminated over ny percent of potential applicants.

    To be admitted into one of these four universities was to have a guaranteed pathway to the elite officers of the imperial army. Cultivation resources, training and techniques of unimaginable strength were made avable freely to students.

    Each university contained secret training grounds where students could learn real lifebat skills to hone their instincts in life and death battles.

    Unlike the other higher education institutions who took students at the age of eighteen, the four universities epted students from as early as the age of sixteen.

    In fact, it was highly unlikely that any future student over the age of neen would be epted as they would be deemed ascking potential.

    The first test begins with an initial selection of seeds and each school on a is assigned a quota of students to nominate for the second round of testing. The students are then randomly selected to go to different sites where a battle simtion would take ce.

    Students are judged by their cultivation level,bat strength and survivability. Only the strong would dare to go through the selection process as idental death and injuries were fairlymon during the simtion testing.

    There was also a third round of testing, but the details typically remain a mystery and vary greatly from year to year.

    The selection of seeds in the Royal Academy was determined by a tournament between all students of the sophomore grade. The top twenty participants would then be given a chance to move on to the second test.

    At the current time, Sophie had no confidence in passing the first couple of rounds, much less qualifying as a seedling.

    While her father had stated that he would be proud of any university that she attended in the future, the original host had strong feelings of following her father¡¯s footsteps. Sui Meng was also a highlypetitive person and did not want to ept anything other than first ce in the tournament.

    Sophie did not want to remain in the shadows of her father¡¯s achievements, she wanted to forge her own legacy to repay all the love and kindness that she had received from her only family.

    ¡°Did something bad happen in the academy?¡± concern shone through the voice of the duke and Sophie was snapped out of her daze.

    ¡°No¡­It¡¯s just that I decided that I want to take part in the ss evaluation and win a seedling spot for the four great universities,¡± Sophie murmured gently.

    ¡°Are you insane?!¡± her father¡¯s loud voice echoes through the room.

    Sophie was shocked, this was the first time that her father had raised his voice with genuine anger towards her.

    His voice continued on with a stormy tone,

    ¡°Do you know the kind of people you will have to fight in the simtion?¡±

    ¡°Nobles raised from birth as cultivation prodigies trained to eliminate threats as soon as they appear¡±

    ¡°Freaks of nature frommon families who possess extremely high cultivation talent.¡±

    ¡°The average qi level of those who actually get into the university is qi spirit stage two. If you received a single attack from one of those students, you could die before the safety barrier kicks in.¡±

    Sophie was also furious and bit back a sharp retort in her mind before she realised her father was not lecturing her out of anger but rather a sense of deep concern. At her current level it would be highly unlikely she could qualify in the first ce, but she even if she did, there would be the risking of her life against stronger participants.

    (Meanwhile in the Peterlor mansion)

    ¡°Sire please calm yourself down,¡± a cold voice echoed behind the duke.

    Rokan stopped his rage and looked around his study, there were now books scattered all over the room and a conspicuous giant crack ran along the floor where some of his power leaked out.

    The old butler at his side had ced the maidservants cleaning the room behind him so they would not be affected by his loss of control.

    The duke was not in the right frame of mind to worry about the details as his mind was in a state ofplete shock.

    His precious baby girl wanted to join the imperial army as well!

    She even wanted to aim for the top universities that even cultivation geniuses had slim chances of entering. The duke sighed slowly and sat back down in his chair with a weary look on his face and ordered the servants out of the room.

    Part of him wanted to dissuade his daughter from participating in the tournament but another side of him remembered the figure of a graceful woman ughtering her enemies.

    The duke chuckled in mirth, he was known as one of the most powerful god stage cultivators in the federation but somehow against that woman he was powerless. It was part of the reason why he never quite believed his daughter had no talent in cultivation despite what others said.

    While his family could have produced an offspring with no talent, there was no way an outstanding demon like her could not produce a fierce child.

    Thinking of this fact, he calmed down and spoke in a much softer tone through themunication device,

    ¡°The tournament is roughly in two months time so I will apply for your temporary leave from the campus. You wille back home for training and if you pass my test at the end, I will have no objections to your participation.¡±

 Chapter 8: The Mysterious Necklace

    Chapter 8: The Mysterious Ne

    Sophie raised her head and felt deep surprise when she heard the offer made by her father. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that her fiercely overprotective dad would let her join the tournament.

    ¡°Thanks dad! I¡¯ll leave the campus by tomorrow,¡± she replied eagerly.

    The call between the twosted for a couple more minutes before the duke excused himself to handle some territory disputes that arose among the residents.

    He told her to go to the campus gates at around midday where there would be an escort to pick her up.

    Sophie leaned her head against the pillow and felt a wave of exhaustion sweep through her. This was one of the longest days of her life.

    Suddenly transferring across the boundary of space and time into the body of this girl was still almost like a dream to Sui Meng.

    The two reasons she suspected that she was not crazy was the fact that her five senses seemed to be working normally and the strange memories in her head left behind by the original host.

    Letting out a small sigh, Sophie rolled around the bed while enjoying the soft fluffy feelings of the mattress beneath her.

    The internal injuries were long gone and the cells in her body seemed energized thanks to the gene serum.

    The healing effect was so great that Sophie was tempted to experiment with its power. She rummaged around the drawers along her bedside and found a small energy knife.

    The knife was only seven inches tall with the hilt being adorned with patterns of wolves and a small white button in the middle.

    This was a knife given to Sophie by her father as a hidden weapon in case of an emergency. Sophie pressed the button and with a small hum, a yellow de popped out from the hilt.

    The de seemed almost like a projection rather than a weapon and its form shifted subtly from side to side. Sophie was very cautious when handling the de as her instincts gave a cry of warning when she picked up the weapon.

    She held the weapon face up in her hand and gently pricked her thumb with the end of the de.

    A cut instantly formed and small drop of blood dripped down her palm like a scarlet teardrop.

    Sophie deactivated the de and nced at her finger¡­

    Sure enough, the residual effect of the serum was still in her system as the bleeding stopped within two minutes.

    There was an itchy sensation in her thumb and Sophie wiped away the blood to find the skin had patched over the wound leaving nothing but a faint white line.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± a small peal ofughter burst out of Sophie¡¯s lips as she became fascinated by this strange biotech.

    She unconsciously touched her bloody hand on her ne which started to faintly glow, Sophie did not notice this at first until she felt a warm sensation on her chest.

    The feeling went from mild to ufortable and Sophie could not help but look down.

    Her ne was now emitting a reddish orange glow and the temperature around it was increasing rapidly.

    Sophie frowned slightly and tried to remove the ne from her body, this proved to be a futile attempt as the ne appeared to be stuck no matter how much strength she used.

    Sophie scanned her memories to try and find an exnation for this phenomenon but there were no simr events in the past.

    The original host had the star shaped ne as long as she could remember and would never take it off even to bathe or sleep.

    Her father had forbidden her from removing the ne and said that it was a memento from herte mother.

    Naturally Sophie listened to his words carefully as her mother had always been a mysterious figure in her mind that her father would never talk about despite Sophie¡¯s many questions.

    Through the information she overheard from the castle maids, she determined no one except her father knew what happened to her.

    Snap!

    Sophie jerked backwards in rm as a sudden pain spread through her whole body. She copsed onto the bed and found that she had lost the ability to move.

    Fear and panic began to set in, and Sophie struggled desperately to reach her tablet to contact her father but it was already toote¡­

    ¡°Ahh!! It hurts! It hurts!¡± Sophie screamed loudly.

    The ne had now reached a boiling hot temperature and her chest began to bubble when exposed to the heat. The blood in her veins started to circte faster and faster along side her bones feeling as though they were getting crushed.

    Her vision became to blur, and Sophie could sense her consciousness was beginning to fade into nothingness.

    She tried once more to reach out to the tablet but her trembling fingertips could only lightly touch the screen before it all turned to ck.

    If someone had entered the room, they would have been shocked in horror at the sight before their eyes.

    A normal looking girl wasying down on a bed, but her figure began to warp and shift dramatically.

    The girl¡¯s hair began to lengthen and wrap around her legs while swaying gently from side to side.

    Her fingers started to elongate and resembled ws rather than human fingertips. Even though the girl¡¯s eyes were partially closed, there was a golden glint of light that shone through with an eerie glow.

    Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the transformation were the four appendages that suddenly appeared.

    Two were located on the shoulder des while the remaining appendages were found by the girl¡¯s hips.

    These new limbs resembled spider legs with sharp pincers protruding at the end of the appendages.

    Sophie was blissfully unaware of these changes as she opened her eyes to find herself in a nk empty space.

    There was nothing in the area except for a single stone monument in the middle of the room, strange markings were present on the structure that Sophie could not make heads or tails of.

    It was not anguage that Sui Meng or the original host had ever seen before.

    She spotted three words at the end of the long scripture written in universal tongue and read the words carefully.

    ¡®Spider Whisper Art¡¯

 Chapter 9: Spider Whisper Art

    Chapter 9: Spider Whisper Art

    Sophie was under the impression that she was standing in the middle of a void, there was just ck space as far as her eyes could see.

    It was like she was the only living creature in the world amidst a vast expanse of emptiness. She looked down and stretched out her limbs in a curious manner.

    What was this ce? Was she dreaming?

    This must be a dream, but the faint burning sensation remaining on her chest reminded her of the ne and her facial expression began to contort.

    The residual memory of pain still lingered in her mind and she immediately put her hands on her neck to take off the ne.

    There was nothing there.

    Sophie was confused and searched the rest of her body but could find no trace of the ne even though she still felt the presence of something on her neck.

    The only clue to her teleportation to this strange location was the stone monument so she cautiously began to walk towards it.

    The monument appeared to be made of red stone that shone with an eerie light in ce of darkness.

    The shape of the b was t in a rectangr shape and hovered gently in the air. She could make out words on the stone from the distance but could not decipher what they meant.

    Distance in this strange space seemed to be warping and she could not tell the flow of time in this space.

    Despite estimating that the monument was only roughly five meters away from her current position¡­

    No matter how much she moved towards the direction of the stone, the distance between her and the b never shrank.

    Sophie was getting more and more frustrated with this situation. She stopped moving and red around in rage.

    Who had sent her to this cursed ce!

    No matter how much she travelled the distance never shrank so maybe she should try walking in the other direction was the thought that popped into her head.

    She turned around and started walking away from the stone but her every footstep was like walking in a thick fog. Sophie struggled but it felt as if she was wearing weights on her feet.

    As she about to give up and just sit down¡­.

    The b emitted a blinding light and two enormous chains burst out from the sides of the stone, the chains were a golden colour and started to slither towards her.

    Sophie panicked and began to run desperately in the opposite direction but could not outrun the chains.

    One wrapped tightly around her waist while the other captured her legs and dragged her kicking and crying towards the stone.

    ¡°Please someone help me! Help me!¡± Sophie screamed.

    There wasplete silence and Sophie was dragged to the front of the stone tablet. The chains roughly dropped her on the ground and retracted back into the monument.

    Sophie took a step backwards in fear but there was no more movement from the stone in front of her.

    She continued to watch the b with a wary expression for a couple more minutes, but nothing happened.

    A sigh of relief slipped past her lips and she curiously looked closer at this mysterious object.

    The stone itself was unremarkable in its outer appearance but as Sophie observed the surface, letters began to appear on the exterior.

    Whatnguage was this? Sui Meng scanned through the memories of the original host but could find no indication that Sophie had ever seen thisnguage before.

    It should be noted that to make up for her cultivation shorings Sophie had studied immensely in her childhood including ancient and modernnguages of the gctic civilisations so it was a shock to find anguage she could not recognise.

    Suddenly a mysterious force gripped Sophie¡¯s body and the words on the stone burned into her mind and she involuntarily started to read them out loud,

    ¡°Kizhrxlw theuk iw drxwg.¡±

    ¡°Eh eiw iph llfimuw fx iph yeakmuwv.¡±

    ¡°Lwm qmxzi akeu zmkzxv eiyacl wlv epzn sw lwm drtatvww¡±

    ¡°Rda kuirljzhw jzpto fv wcbkvrdamg me gjz geic lme¡±

    ¡°Rfft akecd hcuzznt bki jhxlhv¡¯j ogiwl¡±

    ¡°Z hamgkv en aryc ld bki xjtiw kfvsmvw kg vzdrk et bki gglmu xf kaib ecd xv pc gsip.¡±

    (Author¡¯s note: the ancient text was created using a Vigen¨¨re cipher, Key = Spider)

    The blood in her body began to boil furiously and Sophie could sense that the qi in her dantian was circting in a strange pattern she had never seen before.

    The cultivation method she was currently training with was the ¡®War God Technique¡¯ given to her by her father but even the cirction from a tier one cultivation method was being rewritten by this new method.

    Sophie was unsure of what the side effects of this would be, but she somehow got a sense of wholeness and warmth that she had never felt before.

    It was like this cultivation technique was tailor-made for her on a gic level.

    The qi finished a full round of cirction and Sophie could feel her muscles and bones bing stronger with everyp.

    This was an addicting feeling and she could not help but moan slightly in satisfaction over howfortable it was.

    She blinked once and found herselfying down on her bed in the dorm surrounded by an unpleasant odour.

    Sophie was no longer in the space and touched her neck carefully to find out the ne was no longer heating up.

    She breathed out a small sigh of relief, she thought it was all a dream at first until she realised her qi was still circting in that mysterious pathway.

    She sat up in shock and discovered that her body was also covered in a stickyyer of ck grime from the impurities pushed out during her cultivation.

    Sophie frowned slightly at the smell and moved towards the bathroom to take a shower.

    She passed a mirror and paused when she saw her new body with four spider legs jutting out from her back.

    ¡°Yo¡­ What the fu¡­.¡±

    A loud scream was then hearding from her room.

 Chapter 10: Sophie is not having a good time

    Chapter 10: Sophie is not having a good time

    ¡°This not happening¡­ this is not happening¡­ it¡¯s just a dream,¡± Sophie closed her eyes and muttered softly to herself.

    Wait a moment¡­.it must be that the attack she received early might have possessed a mentalponent that had side effects!

    A small smile formed on her face and she took several deep breaths to calm herself down. Clearly when she was hit by the spiritual attack by Leona it must also be a skill that causes illusions to form in the victim¡¯s mind.

    This would exin the mysterious space she visited, and the new appendages attached to her body.

    Sophie was inplete denial at this point and once again opened her eyes expecting to once again see her regr body.

    Nope the image remained exactly the same as when she closed her eyes moments earlier.

    ¡°Alright Sophie¡­ this is fine, you knew that you aren¡¯t fully human so maybe this is something from mom¡¯s side of the family,¡± she tried to convince herself.

    There was a full-frontal mirror in the bathroom and Sophie approached it slowly to observe the changes in her physique.

    The most obvious difference were the four spider legs protruding from her back.

    Two were located on the lower side while the remaining legs jutted from her shoulder des like a pair of wings.

    Her hair was now much longer and gently flowed from side to side down to her knees. It was purplish ck in colour and moved as if it were alive which freaked Sophie out quite a bit.

    She was still covered in grime from the impurities expelled from her body, so she quickly washed her face in the basin to see if her features had changed.

    Sophie grabbed the soap and scrubbed furiously to get the ck grime off. She gazed into the mirror with a sense of fascination at the face before her.

    Only one word could describe her looks now¡­.

    Seductive.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes were almond shaped with golden pupils that shone with a hypnotic light, the ears on the sides of her head were now more sharply pointed than before and extremely flexible as she could now rotate them at will.

    Sophie¡¯s original face was fairly pretty but her attractive features were now greatly enhanced. She gazed at the plump red lips attached to a slender body with two twin peaks barely contained within her uniform and could not help but blush.

    My god she was so hot!

    Sui Meng had always been attracted to girls so now fully admired the new state of her body with a sense of relish.

    She gave a big grin to the figure in the mirror and was shocked to find her mouth now contained a pair of fangs that sparkled in the light with a deadly air.

    But what could have caused this kind of transformation?

    Was it natural or was it because of the strange cultivation art that she found in the space?

    There was knowledge of situations that urred like this in hybrids found in Sophie¡¯s original memories.

    Hybrids typically resembled one parent¡¯s race over the other with a few exceptions. Human DNA in particr was quite dominant so it was basically a given that any hybrids born from one human parent would be humanoid.

    The features of hybrids that set them apart from normal humans were typically present at birth and the remaining traits would develop during puberty.

    Sophie was sixteen and only her eyes and ears gave away her alien heritage.

    There was only one reason to exin why hybrids could mutate further into their inhuman traits after puberty which was cultivation progression.

    Cultivation is fundamentally a tool to enhance and draw out the cells of the body to their maximum potential. It allows an individual to tap into strength embedded inside the gic code of the organism and disy power far beyond normal growth.

    Hybrids were created from a mashup of two gic codes so strength could be drawn out of either side. Depending on the cultivation method there could be a change in the body of the hybrid.

    Certain methods could draw from the human gic code and hence the unique features of the hybrid would decrease, and they would be more human-like.

    Unfortunately, the opposite could also ur, and the power could be drawn from the alien side which would make the hybrid disy more traits from their nonhuman parent.

    This is why wealthy parents of hybrids would carefully test and buy various cultivation methods to ensure that their offspring would disy a more human appearance.

    Sophie¡¯s father was only interested in his daughter¡¯s opinion, so he asked her if she wanted him to find a method to get rid of her hybrid looks.

    At the time Sophie was only ten years old and had experienced being bullied in school for her appearance and was sorely tempted by the offer¡­

    But her features were the only trace she had of her mother.

    So, she politely refused and just trained in her dad¡¯s cultivation method ¡®War God Technique¡¯. Despite training for six years, there was no change in her looks so she just assumed that would always be the case.

    Obviously, she was greatly mistaken¡­.

    Sophie released a small sigh and walked away from the mirror to clean up the rest of her body in the shower.

    She tried to enter the shower door but her new limbs would not fit through the entrance. No matter what angle she took, her appendages would crash into the walls of the opening.

    ¡°Yes, that would be the end to this day,¡± Sophie mockinglyughed.

    She tried a few more times but there was no difference. Sophie was feeling heavily frustrated and punched the sides of the door in anger.

    With a loud crash the door flew off its hinges!

    Sophie froze in shock with an expression of guilt on her face, there door had been flung off to the far ends of the room and the resulting hole had several cracks running down its side.

    ¡°I won¡¯t have to pay for this right?¡± Sophie asked herself in a worried tone.

    Shepletely forgot that her father was wealthy enough to buy the whole academy much less a fragile shower door.

    The hole was now big enough for her tofortably pass through, so she entered the shower and begun to scrub the grime off.

    The water had turnedpletely ck from the impurities and flowed out of the hole in the shower to the rest of the bathroom floor.

    Sophie was concerned by the mess but right now¡­. she had much bigger worries to consider.

    Do these things¡­err¡­retract?

 Chapter 11: Sophie is not having a good time.... Part 2

    Chapter 11: Sophie is not having a good time¡­. Part 2

    Cool water flowed down her body and Sophie sighed happily in contentment, this was the first time since she had transmigrated that she could just simply rx.

    The grime and filth washed away by the shower made her feel refreshed. She stood in the running water for a couple more minutes before pressing the small button on the side of the wall.

    A small buzzing noise rang out twice before a little robot dropped down from a gap in the ceiling. The robot circled Sophie three times before sting hot air on her body to dry her off.

    This was a strange sensation, but she had to admit it was more efficient than simply using a towel.

    Especially with her new spider legs that were sharpened like des at the ends which would tear a hole through any cloth.

    Sophie struggled for a few minutes before somehow managing to wrap a bathrobe around her gorgeous figure and walk towards her closet.

    There was an optional fighting ss taking ce during the evening on the campus but with her current looks, Sophie did not dare to go outside.

    Besides when looking over her memories of the session, the teacher would not show any proper techniques but simply shove two students in a ring and make them fight.

    This would not be a problem if it was training forbat, but the teacher always paired high ranked students with low rank students to boost their confidence.

    Sophie was often the punching bag when she attended but she was determined to increase her strength, so she had yet to miss a ss.

    Although she was no match for the strength of the opponents with high cultivation levels, the evasive skills she learnt were quite handy and she sometimes evennded surprise blows.

    She was usually then promptly beaten up by the high ranker who thought they had lost face.

    Sophie¡¯s closet was filled with multiple copies of her school uniform and a small box filled with unopened casual clothes.

    The original host did not have a social life and would simply go from the campus dorms to the lectures and then back again to her room.

    Sophie opened the box and beautiful expensive dresses were packed neatly inside. It was almost nighttime, so she just wanted to put on some sleepwear.

    She began rummaging around the back of the closet to look for a nice andfortable gown.

    ¡°Ahh found some!¡± Sophie eximed.

    The bottom of the closet had a small drawer with undergarments and sleepwear, so Sophie took the clothes and ced them on the bed.

    There was a reallyfy loose-fitting robe and she tried to put it on.

    Hold up.

    Why on earth is this not fitting?

    Her new spider legs hadpletely slipped from her mind and Sophie was dismayed to find out she could not fit the robe over her head without it being blocked by the appendages on her shoulder des.

    She tried one dress after another in rapid session, but they could not fit on her new body.

    It was only after several minutes of struggling that she managed to squeeze on a pair of underpants but none of her bras would fit.

    Sophie looked at herself in the mirror for a moment and admired the image of her sexiness beforeying down on the bed with a sigh.

    She had no idea what to do!

    Those damn spider legs had ripped holes in all her good dresses that she had attempted to put on and the price of some of her clothes that were now ruined made her want to tear up in grief.

    Her father had sent someone to pick her up at the school gates tomorrow, but she could hardly go outside in her undergarments. Unless of course, she decided to throw away the face of her family.

    Sophie reached out to her tablet and began to search the inte for clothes that fit nonhuman females.

    The virtual was an information hub for any needs of an individual in the federation and housed an enormous archive of data, games and shopping to enjoy.

    Of course, certain items were not for sale using the regr search engine but rumors of a dark web where one could buy rare cultivation manuals, ves and even bio weapons surfaced from time to time.

    The beauty of teleporters was that small items could be transported instantly across the range of a which made online shopping were convenient.

    Sophie simply had to put the serial number of the teleporter in the lobby room and any items bought would be transported instantaneously.

    The school teleporter had a scanner that would automatically check the material of the molecules being sent over and would halt the reassembly if the products was deemed dangerous.

    Once the item arrived, the receptionist would send a notification to her wristband and after she pressed the confirm button, it would be sent to her room.

    Sophie browsed a popr clothing store from her memory called Zafriase who designed and created luxury clothes.

    She clicked on the nonhuman section and was blown away from the sheer volume of clothing to choose from. There were dresses with space for tails, wings, horns and came in all shapes and sizes.

    Sophie struggled to choose a right outfit for her when a small icon popped up on the side of her tablet.

    ¡®Virtual Shopping Assistant.¡¯

    Sophie was quite curious about this option and pressed the icon. Immediately a bright light beamed out from her tablet to form the holographic figure of a fairy.

    The fairy was only six inches tall and had a cute appearance. The hologram had short hair with a childish air surrounding her and a bright and bubbly voice came from her figure,

    ¡°Hello lovely customer! I¡¯m the virtual assistant of Zafriase essible to members with a tinum standing and above!¡±

    ¡°Please scan your thumb on the corner of the screen to confirm your identity¡±

    Sophie followed instructions and lightly ced her thumb on the scanning area indicated by the fairy. A green light ran over her finger and the data was sent to the virtual assistant.

    ¡°Identity confirmed¡­. Sophie Petelor ck diamond member!¡± the fairy¡¯s tone became visibly more excited and spoke in a respectful tone.

    ¡®Hmm when did I get this high level of membership?¡¯ Sophie wondered to herself.

    Then the memory of her father handing her a ck card for herst birthday shed through her mind. Sophie had yet to use the card as she felt ufortable spending her father¡¯s wealth on things that she deemed nonessential.

    It appeared he had also bought her membership for this luxury brand without her knowledge.

    She looked at the little fairy and asked, ¡°Do you have any clothes that would fit me?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to activate the tablet scanner to closely match your body type? All data taken is strictly encrypted,¡± the fairy paused for a moment then replied.

    Sophie was a bit unsure but did need clothes quite badly, so she clicked to confirm yes.

    The fairy opened up her palms and a white light enveloped her body and quickly measured all her physical data.

    There was a short moment of processing before the fairy spoke again, this time in a more hesitant voice.

    ¡°Your body does not match the data of any species in our database¡­.¡±

 Chapter 12: The wealthy second generation!

    Chapter 12: The wealthy second generation!

    Sophie frowned slightly and looked at the little fairy with some confusion on her face. How could her race possibly be unknown?

    It must be noted that high end luxury brands like Zafriase had ess to the entire data bank of known species due to their ties to the upper-ss clientele.

    One could not shop from the Zafriase store using wealth alone as a certain level of connections or influence was required to even apply for membership.

    The fairy could sense that Sophie was in a bad mood and hurriedly spoke again,

    ¡°We may not know your exact gic make up, but your DNA has simrities to three potential species¡­¡±

    Sophie was now slightly intrigued by this information, her father had never spoken directly about her mother¡¯s race or how he met her.

    Whenever she brought up the subject, the duke would quickly change topics and pretend that she never asked.

    However, she had discovered that once a year her father would spend the day in his study looking at a strand of hair hidden away in a box under his desk.

    Sophie would never forget the look of sorrow and pain that crossed his face when she had spied on him.

    She never brought up the subject again.

    ¡°Okay why don¡¯t you tell me which species I resemble the most,¡± Sophie replied.

    The fairy acknowledged her with a small hum and the scanner reactivated and once again shed a light through her body. Closing her eyes, the fairy then checked through the database a second time to filter for all potential matches.

    A few minutes passed before she opened her eyes with a soft glow and spoke,

    ¡°Scanning through potential matches of DNA.¡±

    ¡°Three species of gic simrity found!¡±

    ¡°Human ¨C> 50 % gic match, the client is a confirmed human hybrid¡±

    ¡°Mutated spider beast ->9% gic simrity, low probability of second gic parent¡±

    ¡°Shin¡¯eall -> 20% gic simrity, low to medium probability of second gic parent¡±

    ¡°Warning: this species is a humanoid ss race of the Insectoid empire¡±

    ¡°Threat level: Lethal¡±

    ¡°Click any option to find out more information about the race¡±

    Sophie was not surprised by the first option as she had always known that her dad was fully human, and his family had been that way for generations. The other potential matches were a shock as they made no sense.

    The mutated spider beasts were a low-ss species of the insectoids empire that resembled horrific ten feet tall spiders with razor sharp fangs and deadly poison.

    They had low intelligence and were simply wild animals. Unless her father had a death wish, he would not have sired a child with one.

    But thest option with the twenty percent gic simrity was even more improbable than the spider beast.

    Despite the thousands of insectoid races, there were only a few humanoid species capable of intelligence.

    These races were considered the leaders of the empire and had the strength to match. They were few in numbers andcked the reproductive capabilities of their simple-minded brethren but made up for it in rawbat skills and strength.

    The Shin¡¯eall were one of these races who outwardly looked almost identical to humans were it not for their silvery eyes and transparent wings jutting out from their backs.

    Members of this race were responsible for a genocide of a mining colony in the Andromeda system and the federation under public outrage had dered them as a lethal threat to be exterminated on sight.

    Is my mom an Insectoid as well then? But how can that be possible!

    There were some recorded cases in history of sessful offsprings between humans and high-ss insectoid species but by andrge the two civilisations avoided each other save for in battle.

    Her father was amander in the imperial army for god sake!

    How could he fall in love with the enemy?

    Any child produced from the union would be seen as too human for the Insectoids and regarded with suspicion and fear from humanity.

    A myriad of emotions shed across Sophie¡¯s face, but she soon calmed herself down and issued instructions to the fairy,

    ¡°Using my identity as a ck diamond member¡­. purge the entire record of this conversation and remove the search of my potential race from the database.¡±

    It was unlikely that she would be able to conceal her heritage especially with the spider legs sticking out from her back but there was no need to have this information on file.

    A clear mechanical voice rang out from the fairy as she replied,

    ¡°Permission to delete client¡¯s information¡­.¡±

    ¡°Client information ssified as level two priority¡±

    ¡°Request granted¡­ all data has been purged!¡±

    Sophie let out a small sigh of relief and leaned back on the bed with heavy thoughts racing across her mind.

    She needed to have a long conversation with her father once she returned home, there was no longer the option of allowing him to change the subject.

    ¡°My dear client we can also use memory foam to make custom clothes for you using your body measurements¡± the fairy spoke up suddenly.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes brightened immediately, and she was tempted to give the tiny fairy a pat on the head.

    Why didn¡¯t she think of that option before!

    There was no need to buy a premade set of clothing when the store offered custom clothes as an option.

    She quickly sent in arge order for undergarments, a modified version of her school uniform, everyday clothes and arge cloak to conceal her body when she went out in public.

    The fairy took all the orders faithfully and Sophie looked at the price of all the items and gasped in fright.

    The earth federation used a currency called Enas and the cost of her clothes was equivalent to the rent of arge apartment in a first-rate city.

    God it feels good to be a rich second generation!

    She held up her ck card and the tablet scanned it automatically and deducted the cost from her bank ount. Sophie was unsure of the full amount of money on the card but only knew her father said she could probably buy a city.

    ¡°Will that be all for today?¡± the fairy asked.

    ¡°Yes this is all I need¡­ thank you,¡± Sophie replied with a smile. This virtual assistant was very cute and helpful, no wonder the model was so popr right now.

    ¡°It has been a pleasure helping you shop, and I hope to see you soon!¡± with a sparking grin the fairy pped her hands twice and disappeared leaving a small light stream behind.

    Having finished handling her main concern, Sophie rxed and started to remove the dirty sheets from the bed.

    There were a couple spare sheets under the bed, so she happily started humming while recing the sheets.

    Knock knock!

    A loud tapping noise came from her door.

 Chapter 13: The princess wearing a veil

    Chapter 13: The princess wearing a veil

    Knock knock!

    The pounding on the door became increasingly more and more frantic and Sophie could no longer ignore the noise.

    Who on earth could this be? She could not recall ever having any visitorse to her dorm room.

    There was a camera attached to the top of the door for additional security, so Sophie rerouted the video feed to her tablet.

    A young girl who she had never seen before was knocking furiously on her door.

    She was covered from head to toe in a veil so none of her features could be seen and Sophie had no clue who this person was.

    Cautiously she wrapped around her exposed body with some towels to cover up and opened up the door partially.

    ¡°Hello there, can I help you?¡± she asked the veiled girl.

    The girl paused in shock, stunned by how beautiful the angel who appeared before her was, but she recovered quickly and replied,

    ¡°Let me in¡­I¡¯m hiding from some bad men!¡±

    Sophie was unsure what to make of the situation, but suddenly loud voices echoed from the ends of the corridor.

    ¡°Find the royal princess immediately¡±

    ¡°She wasst seen going to the upper floors so carefully check room by room¡±

    ¡°Why does she always cause so much mischief!¡±

    The men spotted the girl in the corridor and dashed towards her with great haste. Sophie heard the girl curse softly under her breath and run away to the other end of the hall.

    She cheerfullyughed while running and loudly shouted,

    ¡°You can¡¯t catch me. You¡¯re all stupid pigs!

    The men sped up, but the graceful figure of the veiled woman danced before their eyes and she confidently leapt out of a window and floated down to the ground.

    Her lithe figure soon vanished off into the distance leaving her pursuers with frustrated expressions on their faces.

    Sophie closed the door quietly and returned to her bed in a daze. She was unsure about the identity of the girl but the men chasing her wore the uniform of the imperial bodyguards.

    The ck cloaks with golden stars were instantly recognisable to Sophie whose father had shown her the different uniforms of the imperial army on many asions.

    ¡°What a weird girl!¡± Sophie muttered to herself.

    Involuntarily the strange girl¡¯s physique shed through her mind and although her facial features were hidden, Sophie could sense that a great beautyy under the veil.

    This came from Sui Meng¡¯s personality who referred to her strong cutie seeking instinct as the ¡®big beauty tracker.¡¯

    Sophie then shrugged and continued to tidy up her bed as no matter how exciting that situation was, the royal family and her were different worlds apart from one another.

    The royal family was split into a main branch which was the current emperor and his immediate family and numerous side branches.

    There were countless number of princes and princesses who could potentially sit on the throne after this emperor passed away.

    The present-day emperor in particr was known as a lustful man and his harem of ten thousand beauties had produced many sons and daughters.

    This could potentially destabilise the royal family were it not for a tradition called the ritual of Yergete.

    After the tumultuous years of infighting between the royal family in the early days of the federation, it was dered that all persons with a certain percentage of royal blood could vie for the throne.

    This meant that main branch members and side branch members all stood an equal chance to be the ruler of the federation.

    The next emperor was chosen in a death contest between the younger generations called the sacred ritual of Yergete and was broadcasted to the entire federation.

    All who qualified could enter but the fighting was so intense that several rituals in years prior, ended with a death toll of over ny percent of the participants.

    Nothing mattered except personal strength.

    Even if the person who won did not have much influence or connections, they were guaranteed a smooth pathway to the throne as their cultivation base would have to be at the very least at god stage.

    Using the imperial family resources had even produced a handful of ascension stage monsters but this happened very rarely throughout history.

    The princess she saw earlier must be a member of the main branch in order to have imperial bodyguards and the sheer number that Sophie saw indicated that the girl¡¯s mother clearly held a high level of the emperor¡¯s favor.

    This however had nothing to do with her as she would most likely never even see that girl again, so there was no need to worry about her.

    Sophie put all thoughts of the strange encounter out of her head and decided to focus on her troubles at hand.

    (Meanwhile in the Peterlor family home)

    Duke Rokan looked at the four figures in front of him with a satisfied grin on his face, each personmanded an unfathomable aura of strength and strong killing intent. These were his ck guards who served him loyally through missions that could not be revealed to the world.

    Assassinations, bribery and spying were all their specialities and they had trained for many years under his careful instruction.

    This was not an exceptional group to have as every noble house was engaged in shadow proxy wars with other nobles over issues of wealth and resources, so it became a necessity to train death guards.

    ¡°Are you clear on your mission?¡± hemanded in a rough tone.

    The replies came immediately from the dark figures,

    ¡°Yes, my lord!¡±

    ¡°As youmand my master!¡±

    ¡°If you ask me to go east, I will not dare to go west!¡±

    The duke nodded slowly, the mission these guards were about to undertake was a perilous one with no eptance for failure. Their very lives would be at risk and Rokan would personally snap their necks if it was notpleted sessful.

    The dangerous mission¡­..

    ¡°Make sure you pick up my daughter from school tomorrow!¡±

 Chapter 14: Magic is a girls dream!

    Chapter 14: Magic is a girl''s dream!

    Having just finished organising the bed, Sophie opened up her tablet to find out more information onbat skills of different races.

    Knowledge is power and she desperately need to know more about this strange world.

    In the vast expanse of the universe, there were many different methods civilisations used to improve their chance of survival and they could be divided into internal and external skills.

    External skills were typically used by advanced civilisations of rank three and above as they were technological advancements for warfare.

    This included technology such as nuclear core sters, nano machines and pulse fire rifles present in the Earth federation to the biotechnology suits used by high ss insectoid races to enhance their natural capabilities.

    There were numerous other weapons developed across the gxy such as the famous ck hole generator used by the Unova military and the space maniption des the Federines empire became renowned for.

    Technology served as an enhancement to the natural abilities of an individual and were quite powerful at lower tiers of cultivation but did not hold up against high levelbatants.

    Members who possessed high cultivation bases could easily shrug off attacks capable of devastatings, so no weapon had yet to be created that was an effective tool to take them down.

    This was not from ack of trying as the headache of the one-man army style of god stage cultivators was a concern for all four of the great empires.

    Internal skills were methods such as cultivation and mana maniption, it was not an exaggeration to say that a race could only reach the starting line of a universal civilisation if they possessed training methods for internal skills.

    Cultivation was the mostmonce type of internal skill within the Human, Insectoid and Federines empires.

    This allowed qi to circte and bathe the cells of the body to enhance an individual and draw out gic potential.

    Mana maniption was only more popr in the Unova empire who trained the mana in their bodies to flow into unique marks they branded on the surface of the skin.

    Each person capable of manipting mana was given the title of mage.

    Mages were even rarer than cultivators and the potential was usually inherited from one parent having the trait for mana umtion.

    When the mana flowed through these marks, a unique phenomenon would be born.

    These phenomena were called spells and had strange effects only known beforehand to the caster.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she mused over the information she had just learned. It was clear that her body before this change held no talent for cultivation but now, she felt significantly stronger.

    She had not tested out her new cultivation level but suspected that she had increased a level to qi body stage three.

    ¡°Magic is real!¡± Sophie muttered in wonder.

    Sui Meng was obsessed over magical novels and the supernatural in her old life, so her traits passed on to Sophie.

    Unfortunately, she recalled a memory of mana testing her father performed on her as a child and her mana levels were too low to qualify to be a mage.

    In fact, her mana count was much lower than the average non-mage person.

    Disappointment lingered in her heart for a brief moment as her dreams of smiting down her enemies with fierce lighting seemed unlikely to happen.

    ¡°Well I better just take a rest,¡± she contemted.

    It had been quite a long day and even though it was only the evening, Sophie was ready to call it quits and take a long nap.

    There was an AI in her dorm room that would act as an assistant, but its capabilities were much more limited and there was no personality module installed.

    Sophie pressed the button on the side of her bed to activate it and gave a briefmand.

    ¡°Turn off the lights and lower the temperature,¡± she spoke loudly.

    A small humming noise was heard and soon she heard a mechanical reply,

    ¡°Shutting down lights in room 202 and starting up custom night mode¡±

    Waves of cool air brushed gently across her face as the temperature was decreased slightly to make the room morefortable. Sophie sighed in contentment, but she then realised the lights had not gone off.

    ¡°Err¡­ turn off the lights¡±

    ¡°The lights have already been temporarily shut down,¡±

    Sophie was greatly confused at this point. Was there a glitch in the AI? She could still clearly see the room.

    Wait¡­why are the colours different?

    Her golden pupils shone in the darkness of the room and illuminated the surrounding area. The vision provided from her eyes was quite strange.

    She could still tell the overall shape and location of objects in the room, but the colours were a blend of greyish white.

    When she nced down at her own body, it was reddish orange in colour and stood out in this dull world.

    Sophie stretched out her hand in curiosity and counted her nails in the darkness to test out her new power. She still retained her vision and could count the number of fingers held up with uracy.

    This was all very fascinating, but a huge problem soon emerged when she tried to go to sleep.

    Even when she closed her eyes, the visual power of the golden eyes remained the same. It was like trying to sleep with eyes wide open in a bright room.

    This was all in addition to having toy down face first on her mattress as the spider legs made sleeping on her back an impossible task.

    Sophie tossed and turned but was unable to get any rest.

    Minutes turned to hours and eventually she got so tired that sleep quietly crept up on her and she fell into a deep slumber.

    The ne on her neck started to glow slightly and the qi in Sophie¡¯s body began to automatically circte the strange cultivation pathway.

    She did not seem to realise that the fangs in her jaw grew slowly outwards and a greenish liquid started to flow out of her mouth which sizzled and melted the bed sheets.

 Chapter 15: Kissing? Ill melt off someones face!

    Chapter 15: Kissing? I''ll melt off someone''s face!

    ¡°Ahh what a great sleep!¡± Sophie muttered to herself.

    She had woken up with a quiet yawn and was stretching outzily on the bed like a cat. There was a stinging sense of pain in her back, but she just assumed it was due to her poor sleeping posture.

    Naturally it was a first-time experience sleeping with four extra limbs, so she made a mental note tell her father to buy a custom bed.

    ¡°Lights on!¡± shemanded.

    A small hum of acknowledgement came in reply and the room brightened up instantly. Truthfully with her new sense of vision there was no difference between the dark and light modes of the room.

    She sat up and headed to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

    Sophie was a bit apprehensive about making breakfast because she did not recognise any of the instruments or appliances in the futuristic kitchen.

    She opened one of the storage trays to find ingredients stored in packets but could not tell what was inside.

    Despite their ttering reputation¡­noble girls were not great chefs. The reason they were so well known for their skill was a simple fact.

    Which food critic would dare to say that their cooking was horrible?

    The original host was the daughter of a high noble so there was never any need for her to cook food for herself.

    There were servants present for all of her daily necessities from bathing to cooking to even dressing.

    Her father had only trained her in opening and preparing field rations forbat and most of those could just be eaten raw.

    Unfortunately, her transmigrated counterpart was not any better¡­.

    Sui Meng was not a capable cook by any stretch of the imagination and would usually just buy ramen noodles and steamed buns during the week.

    Thest time she had attempted to cook some food caused the apartment to nearly burn down.

    Since then she had never stepped foot in the kitchen.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± she shouted in annoyance.

    There was a persistent feeling of hunger that lingered in her stomach since she had woken up. She did not know how to describe the feeling as it was not just telling her to eat but giving her a small urge to hunt for live food.

    How did the original host survive in the dorm?

    A sudden memory shed across her mind and she hurriedly looked towards a drawer tucked away at the side of the kitchen.

    She reached in and pulled out the drawer to find vials and vials of high-grade nutrient solution.

    The original host spent all of her days studying and cultivating relentlessly so there was no additional time to cook meals.

    Her father had sent her nutrient vials that could recover her energy after training.

    Sophie unscrewed the cap of one vial and downed its contents in one gulp. The liquid inside was clear in colour with sparking minerals glistening under the light.

    Despite how pretty it looked, the taste was quite unpleasant. It felt like drinking cough syrup and the sickeningly sweet taste lingered in her mouth.

    Sophie twisted her face in an unpleasant expression but forced the rest of the solution down her throat.

    ¡°Still not full,¡± she frowned with a grimace.

    Another vial was opened, and the contents were downed rapidly.

    ¡°Maybe one more¡­¡±

    ¡°One more can¡¯t hurt¡­¡±

    It should be noted that a grade S nutrient solution was sufficient for a full day¡¯s worth of food for a qi body cultivator.

    But what idiot would waste such a high-quality mixture on a qi body person?

    (Somewhere in the Peterlor castle)

    Rokan was in his study looking at documents for territory matters when he felt the urge to sneeze.

    He shook his head and looked around¡­.

    Was someone talking about him??

    Hopefully it was his beautiful daughter!

    A silly smile of joy spread across his face and he went back to work with an uplifted mood.

    (Main Story)

    Nutrient overload was a medical condition caused by pumping the body with high energy stimnts that would not allow the body to break them all down.

    If a qi body cultivator drank two grade S solutions in a row, they would immediately have to be sent to the hospital.

    Sophie drank seven vials of grade S nutrient solution¡­.

    Yet she still felt that her hunger was barely satisfied, and it was only when she had drank three more that she ced the vials back in the drawer.

    After a hearty breakfast, Sophie leaned back and sighed in contentment. The strange hunger had vanished, and she felt extremely happy.

    In her joy, she failed to notice that her fangs had shrunk and had retracted slightly back into her mouth.

    There was a small notification on her tablet that the custom clothes had arrive at the reception desk and needed confirmation before it was teleported to her room. Sophie figured she should tidy up the bed first then handle the clothes, so she dashed out of the kitchen to air out the sheets.

    She nced at the bed and started to roll up the sheets to put them in the washing machine while whistling a cheerful tune.

    Wait a minute.

    Hold up¡­.

    Since when were there holes in the mattress?

    And why did it look like the holes were burned through the material!

    Sophie had not noticed this when she got up, but the mattress looked like it had been through hell. There were enormous holes drilled into the bedding, but it did not look like it was done by a tool.

    All the holes were located at the upper part of the mattress where her face was, and the corner of the holes were bubbling slightly as if doused in acid.

    She cautiously approached one of the holes and poked it with her hand wrapped around some of her old clothes.

    The clothes immediately started to sizzle, and Sophie flinched and quickly withdrew her hand in fright.

    Clearly someone was ying a prank on her and this was not funny in the slightest bit!

    Sophie hurriedly reached for her wristband and opened the virtual ess screen to review the camera footage for the night.

    The room cameras were installed privately by students who could afford it and the feed was only sent directly to one device.

    She started the feed from when the moment she fell asleep and carefully observed any movement in the room to find intruders.

    A few momentster and intruders were the furthest worry on her mind¡­

    My god! She drooled acid!

    Was this a new ability she had gained after the transformation?

    The life of singleness shed before her eyes¡­ who would make out with someone with aciding out of her mouth ducts.

    She wouldpletely melt off their face!

 Chapter 16: Beautiful clothes

    Chapter 16: Beautiful clothes

    The tablet buzzed slightly on the desk, and a message popped up which shocked Sophie out of her daze.

    It was from her dad and it said that the personal bodyguards he had sent were at the gates ready to meet her.

    Onlyter would she find out that her overprotective father had the poor guards waiting at the gate for two whole hours before the message was received.

    The guards were unfortunately used to the duke¡¯s unreasonable demands¡­

    One of them suggested sending a message earlier but was overruled instantly by the leader who knew their master would not be pleased if they woke up his daughter this early.

    Sophie ced her face in her hands and let out a small groan of frustration. All the changes happening to her body both frightened and unsettled her.

    It was just too quick of a transformation. Just earlier yesterday she was a rtively normal looking girl but now she had four spider legs as well as the ability to spit out acid!

    Anyone would feel lost and afraid.

    She pped her cheeks lightly and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down. The most important thing to do was to put on some clothes then hopefully dash to the academy gates unseen.

    A small button was pressed on the bottom of the ck wristband and she opened up the virtual screen.

    In another time she would have been amazed at the holographic technology before her eyes, but the pressing urgency of the matter quicken hermand prompts to authorise the transport.

    ¡°Detecting fourteen items for teleportation to room 45¡± a mechanical voice boomed.

    ¡°Authorisation¡­. cleared!¡±

    ¡°Selecting area for teleportation¡­ please clear the space¡±

    Red lines beamed down from a strange device on the ceiling and formed arge square on the floor. Sophie cautiously moved backwards and pushed the bed sheets to the side of the room.

    White beams of light were emitted from the device whichnded on the red square with a buzzing noise.

    Sophie could see the outlines of small boxes being formed from the white light before the device emitted a sh that temporarily blinded her.

    ¡°All items have been assembled correctly with a 0.004% chance of error,¡± the voice then went silent.

    Sophie opened up her eyes was a wince and saw several small packages the size of her palmying down on the floor.

    This was her clothes?

    There werebels on each box and the on close inspection the boxes seemed to absorb the light from the surroundings.

    Each box was obsidian ck in colour with silvery sparks that danced in the eyes of any onlooker.

    The logo of an angel¡¯s wings was present in the center of each box signifying it was a Zafriase product.

    ¡°What a fancy package,¡± Sophie whistled in appreciation.

    Roughly ten minutes had passed already, and she felt ufortable making the guards at the gates wait any longer.

    She began to sort through the boxes looking for a dress or any type of outwear. There was a slightly bigger box to her right and a small smile shed across her face when the she saw the words ¡®Sapphire Oceanic Model.¡¯

    This was one of the dresses that the little fairy had rmended for her.

    She quickly opened up the box to find a small note and an unknown gtinous mass inside. Was this the dress?

    Sophie read the note which detailed how to activate the memory foam to wear the dress.

    With a fair amount of hesitation, she ced the lumpy mass on her right foot and ced her thumb on a sensor present on the underside of the box.

    A green light scanned up and down her finger and a small beep was then heard.

    Instantly the mass moved as if it were electrified and rapidly spread up her body, Sophie was a bit surprised but the instructions had mentioned this step so she did not panic.

    Less than one minuteter and her entire body beneath her neck was covered by the strange goop.

    Sophie could feel the material shift and a feeling that resembled ant crawling on her skin, made her shiver involuntarily.

    Luckily after a couple of minutes the goop stopped moving so Sophie looked down at the dress.

    It seemed to cover everything properly and the gtinous mass had somehow transformed into a silk-like material.

    Sophie nced at the mirror and eximed in shock as she did not recognise the girl standing before her eyes. The figure stared back it her with enchanting red lips and a shapely body with clear skin.

    Her hair was a bit too long and covered her facial features partially but did little to detract from the seductive charm and beauty.

    What tied the look together was the expensive dress she wore on her body, the deep blue material shifted slowly from side to side mimicking the waves of an ocean.

    Precious gems and diamonds were embedded along the sides of the neck to resemble an expensive ne.

    Never in both her lifetimes had she ever seen a work of art like this before.

    Augh burst out from her chest and Sophie twirled around the mirror like a little girl. She could not help being excited over the pretty dress she wore.

    Even the spider legs that were poking out of custom holes ced in the back of the garment oddly added a bit of charm to her appearance.

    It was a real shame that she needed to cover up.

    There was arge cloak hidden in one of the packages, so Sophie dug around until she found it. Fortunately, it was just made out of regr thread so she could wear it directly.

    She swung the cloak around her shoulders and covered her lower body.

    It was far from an ideal disguise as there was clearly something protruding from her back, but no one could tell her features from under it.

    Sophie made a final check in the mirror to make sure her spider legs were not sticking out and left the room with her tablet and bag which she stuffed with the remainder of the packages

    It was time to go home!

 Chapter 17: The young miss is wearing a strange outfit

    Chapter 17: The young miss is wearing a strange outfit

    Sophie exited her room and tossed the hood up to cover her face as she did not want to run into any of her ssmates.

    The receptionist at the desk gave an intrigued look at the hooded figure who walked out of the front door but the ck wristband visible on her hand dissuaded any thought of alerting security.

    Many noble sons and daughters would sneak out of the academy to go y in the capitol city outside, this ranged form innocent fun such as restaurants, virtual arcades and shopping to darker pleasures.

    Some students would visit brothels where the enchantingdies inside came from all sectors of the gxy.

    Others would try illegal stimnts to boost their cultivation potential before an exam.

    The school was forced to turn a blind eye as the political pressure from the influential parents prevented them from reprimanding bad students.

    The only course of action was to simply invest only in good seeds and give basic education to the rest.

    This is why students were divided into three groups every year to determine their academic potential.

    The white uniform with gold stars was for the cultivation genius who would receive one on one instructions and resources.

    The red uniform with silver streaks indicated students who were average and received fewer resources and group instruction sessions.

    The smallest group were the worse kids of the year and were distinguished by a in ck uniform with no other markings.

    This included students with a history of violence,ziness or the in case of Sophie, low cultivation talent.

    They could listen to lectures at the back of the hall and join group sessions as training partners for better students.

    Naturally this created a strict hierarchy in the school with only a few exceptional students rising up to join the gifted group.

    Luck was on Sophie¡¯s side as she was ignored by all the students who walked by, there were a couple of strange looks, but everyone figured it was one of the trash kids sneaking outside to y.

    It took roughly ten minutes before Sophie could see the outline of the gate ahead.

    The royal academy was the training ground of all the high nobles of Gaia and even some notable royals were alumnus of the school. Naturally security had to be top notch to prevent any threats to the students.

    The gates up ahead were the first barrier of entry and would only permit those with a ck wristband to enter or leave.

    The gate was not technically physical as it was built with holographic technology to give the impression of a thick ten-foot wall.

    Inside the projections were numerous sensors that formed a 360 dome of protection around the school and constantly scanned individual to determine the presence of the wristband.

    Anyone found without one was deemed as a threat and politely escorted off the premises, this only happened on a few asions as the hidden guards were a deadly force to be reckoned with.

    Even Sophie¡¯s father warned her about taking care of herself and not angering the security protecting the school.

    The powerful guards were just the tip of the iceberg¡­. rumors had it that an Ascension stage monster had stationed some of his forces to aid in the school¡¯s protection.

    Sophie walked through the seemingly solid wall and felt the impression of static shocks buzzing around her body.

    Her wristband vibrated twice in response and the feeling soon went away but Sophie could still feel a tingling sensation.

    Checking her tablet for messages, she looked around trying to find the bodyguards that her father had sent for her.

    ¡°Young Miss is that you?!¡± a loud voice shouted from the right and Sophie turned to see four people waving at her.

    She felt a feeling of familiarity when looking at their distinct figures, so she turned and walked towards them without hesitation.

    ¡°Ha! What did I say Jack? I told you I could spot the young miss from a mile away!¡± a strange woman said to herpanions.

    ¡°Alright a deal is a deal,¡± her malepanion sighed with indifference and handed her a couple of Enas.

    The two other men stood silently in the back with an oppressive air of strength lingering around them. Sophie searched her memories to recall the names of these people and soon found the memory.

    ¡°Hi Katarina!¡± she broke out in a big smile and gave the woman a hug.

    Katarina was the leader of her father¡¯s shadow guards and was the one she had known the longest. She was a slender woman with violently red hair and scars running down the sides of her face.

    She was also Sophie¡¯s personal guard when she stayed on the family estate as her father did not want any male presences around her.

    The other three men smiled slightly as they saw the warm sight, Katarina was a cold-blooded killer with high efficiency in missionpletions.

    It was only in front of her young miss that she showed a friendly side and sunny personality.

    Sophie broke out from the hug before Katarina could wrap her arms around her as well as she remembered the appendages on her back.

    She gave a polite nod to the other three men who bowed deeply in return.

    Jack was the second inmand of the shadow guard and was in charge of data hacking, mission control and espionage.

    He was indifferent andzy in his usual interactions with other people and preferred to spend most of his time sleeping.

    He waspletely ordinary looking with average height, looks and brown hair which made him blend into crowds with ease.

    The two silent men at the back were twin brothers Cain and Luke who were muscr mountains of purebat strength.

    They did most of the fighting and possessed the highest cultivation level of the group just touching the void stage.

    They were identical in looks and one could not tell the difference between them if they stood side by side.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a new outfit mydy,¡± Katarina teased her gently.

    Sophie blushed as she wrapped herself tighter in the cloak and replied,

    ¡°I need to talk to dad urgently¡­. something happened to my body¡±

    A worried look surfaced on her loyal bodyguards¡¯ faces and Jack spoke up with a rare tinge of concern,

    ¡°I did notice your eyes are shining a bit more than usual. Should we take you to a hospital first?¡±

    Sophie shook her head furiously, she needed answers from her dad and given that she was apparently half of an unknown species the doctors in the hospital would not be able to help her.

 Chapter 18: First time on a starship

    Chapter 18: First time on a starship

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind showing you guys¡­ because I doubt that this matter is going to remain a secret for long,¡± Sophie thoughtfully spoke.

    It would be foolish to think that she could hide forever and there was no way to go to noble events dressed like a thug covered in a hood.

    Besides there was bound to be one maidservant in the castle who would leak the matter to the outside world.

    ¡°But please wait till we get back to the mansion¡±

    Jack looked like he wanted to say something more, but Katarina looped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a pointed look.

    The words died in his throat as he could detect a trace of killing intent in her gaze.

    ¡°As you wish mydy. Let us depart to meet your father immediately,¡± Katarina turned around to face her young miss with her face showing no sign of the previous threat.

    Sophie heard a small whistling sound and an enormous spaceshipnded in front of them. It was thetest model in the Braveheart series designed by Leona¡¯s family and was custom designed as a private military vehicle.

    The cool exterior was unlike anything she had seen before with golden painted stars lining the back that shone in the light.

    The ship was designed like a semi-circr de with powerful thrusters attached to its sides. It was light blue in colour and the crest of the Peterlor house was ced front and center on the hull.

    The crest of her house was a raven holding a sword within its beak with the family motto of¡­

    ¡®Strength, Will, Ruthlessness.¡¯

    In addition to the giant spaceship were two smaller vehicles that followed behind with smoothndings on the ground.

    They resembled pod racers and could fit one to two people at once, these vehicles were built purely for speed and did not have any heavy weaponry attached.

    ¡°After you mydy,¡± Katarina said with a smile.

    The walkway on the big spaceship swung down and Sophie hesitantly took small steps then walked inside.

    She was closely followed behind by Jack and Katarina while the twins entered the smaller vehicles at the side of them.

    This was the standard safety formation the ck guard had devised to protect the young duchess.

    The twins would guard against external threats while Jack and Katarina would stay close to make sure no danger befell their miss.

    As the sole heir of a powerful noble household, there was an enormous temptation to kidnap or eliminate Sophie from the countless enemies the duke had made during his rise to power. It was no secret that the duke doted on this hybrid daughter of his, so she made quite the tempting target.

    Inside the spaceship was like another world and Sophie could not help but to gawk in amazement, the interior of the spaceship wasrge and spacious like an open hall.

    Strange buttons and machines lined the walls and a soft white light illuminated the surroundings.

    There were several rooms attached to the main room that lead to a small kitchen, dining room, restrooms and bedrooms. It was almost like a four-star hotel packaged in one area but yet the space did not seem cramped.

    Jack confidently took a seat and pulled out his wristband which he then inputted a steady stream ofmands faster than Sophie could see.

    His fingers danced and blurred across the virtual stream almost like an art performance.

    ¡°Location has been set,¡± a mechanical voice sounded out.

    ¡°Estimated arrival time is twenty-five minutes¡±

    The spaceship began to shake from side to side and Sophie had to hold on to a guardrail to prevent herself from falling.

    There was a loud boom from the thrusters outside and the ship started to move upwards to exit the atmosphere.

    Gaia was six timesrger than Earth which was part of the reason why it was chosen as the central hub of humanity.

    Withs of this size, there were of course areas that could not be sustainable to house lifeforms but with the technological advancements of terraforming it was possible to live on any location on Gaia.

    Katarina found one of the side rooms with a chair and gestured for Sophie to sit on it which she gratefully epted. She then left to monitor the data sensors to make sure no one was following them.

    Sophie leaned back on the chair with a grin.

    It was so damnfortable!

    She was unsure of what material the chair was made from, but it reminded her of the memory foam mattress in her room.

    The chair shifted slightly to mold itself to her body figure and it felt like sitting down on puffy clouds.

    She fought to control her eyes from closing, but the temptation became overwhelming and she surrendered to the sweet release.

    (Meanwhile at the front of the spaceship)

    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t think that ourdy has woken up her alien heritage, right?¡± Jack whispered in a soft tone

    He nced carefully at the Sophie but she was fast asleep so she could not hear the conversation taking ce.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ it does not seem so, but she has been wearing that big cloak this whole time,¡± Katarina replied.

    ¡°Do you know what race her mother was?¡± Jack asked.

    ¡°No, I have no idea¡­ but for your sake do not mention that question in front of the duke,¡± she spoke in a firm tone.

    The hidden race of the duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter was a popr gossip among the highdies of the capitol.

    The duke was handsome and charming with gentle looks, so he was very popr with the unmarried noblewomen¡­. even some of the married ones as well.

    The duke in his youth did have a reputation of being an icy block of wood and during his time as the Imperial Commander there was a steady stream of potential suitors hoping to capture his heart but none could seed.

    When he returned as a middle-aged man after he had gone missing all those years ago, he was still handsome enough to make others think that the position of duchess would be avable for the apparently single father.

    This never happened.

    Ever since the duke returned with his daughter, there was not even a rumor of him interacting with those of the opposite sex. He retired from the army and lived quietly in his mansion while enjoying a generous pension.

    Many thought he had degraded into trash were it not for a minor noble house that decided to try to kidnap his little girl.

    The entirety of the house, the servants and the family of the man were razed to the ground almost overnight.

    After this incident no one dared to cross the man most likely to be the next Ascension stage cultivator.

 Chapter 19: Are you afraid of spiders?

    Chapter 19: Are you afraid of spiders?

    ¡°Wake up mydy,¡± a gentle voice called out.

    Sophie opened her eyes with a yawn and saw the figure of Katarina smiling down at her. She had slept through the whole trip!

    Her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment, so she nced through the window to hide her shame.

    This would be the first time since her transmigration that she visited the Peterlor ancestral home.

    Err¡­ where was the house?

    The spaceship hadnded in front of an empty plot ofnd with no vegetation or any signs of life present. Sophie was quite puzzled at the sight before her and asked,

    ¡°Are we at the right ce?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we are mydy! It is just a few new security upgrades to the mansion that the duke ordered before your arrival,¡± Jack replied at the front.

    The walkway swung down from the side of the spaceship andnded on the ground with a dull thud. Katarina and Jack both walked without hesitation, so Sophie followed closely behind them.

    As they neared closer to the empty space, Sophie¡¯s eyes began to glow slightly, and a blurred image of a dome appeared in her mind.

    It was an enormous structure that reached towards the heavens and covered all angles of the empty space.

    Sophie could make out slight fluctuations in the air when the wind brushed against the dome forming tiny ripples.

    ¡°I can never remember where exactly the damn entrance is,¡± Katarina muttered to herself.

    Jack and Katarina began to hold their hands outstretched and feel around the dome to locate something.

    Sophie was unsure about what they were looking for, so she quietly stayed at the back of the group and stretched out her limbs.

    Truthfully her spider legs were beginning to get cramped, but she wanted to meet her father before taking off the cloak.

    ¡°Found it!¡± Jack eximed.

    He ced a rectangr square of unknown metal into a small slit in the dome and a rumbling noise came from around them.

    A beam of light cut a door into the dome and an entrance appeared.

    ¡°After you mydy,¡± Katarina bowed and spoke.

    Sophie walked through the door and was amazed at the breathtaking view before her eyes. It was like a whole different world.

    The other side of the dome was not empty as it appeared from outside but had a beautiful garden covering the soil.

    Lush green grass tickled her feet as Sophie walked in a daze while strange nts and flowers bloomed along the side of the path.

    A sense of peace and tranquility washed over her, and Sophie could tell these were the emotions of the original host.

    Sui Meng also had a love for flowers and barely held herself back from venturing deeper into the garden to pick some.

    She looked up at the end of the path of find a small wooden shack the size of a one-bedroom apartment.

    This whole ce seemed like it was frozen in time and untouched by the grip of humanity.

    In a world with futuristic technology, the wooden shack formed a sharp contrast with the buildings in the capitol.

    Her loyal bodyguards seemed to have no sense of urgency as they let their young miss roam around the garden with wide eyes.

    In fact, there was a small look of resignation as if this was a scene, they had viewed too many times.

    Sophie was shocked out of her trance by the bleeping noise of her tablet, she quickly held it up to see it was a call from her dad. She pressed ept and a calm voice spoke from the screen,

    ¡°Honey I know the garden is your favourite ce, but don¡¯t you want to see your old man?¡±

    ¡°I also heard you wanted to have a talk to me urgently so you can find me in my study where we can have a long chat¡±

    Sophie suddenly remembered the purpose of the trip and hurriedly replied,

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry dad¡­I¡¯ll be there shortly¡±

    A small hum of acknowledge was heard from the other end and the call was ended.

    (Inside the mansion)

    The duke had gotten a report on his daughter while she was asleep during the ride and Katarina had told him the suspicions.

    He may have sounded calm on the phone, but his palms were sweating slightly, and he could hear his heartbeat racing in his chest.

    Did his daughter resemble her?

    No that should not be possible¡­ there were no signs that his little girl was a monstrous talent or had any features of her mother other than her eyes and ears.

    He had been able to hide her identity for sixteen years without revealing her racial heritage but if his fears were true¡­ he dared not imagine the consequences.

    Not from the humans who would simply treat her as yet another hybrid because there were many species with insect- like appendages.

    Not even from the general races of the Insectoid empire who would see her as just another human.

    The main fear was that her mother¡¯s race would find out and send high level hunters after them.

    They would kill her in a heartbeat just for the sin of being born.

    (shback)

    It had been over three years since Rokan had arrived in the heart of the Insectoid empire thanks to the warp gate and he had been through many trials and tribtions.

    His cultivation base had shot up due to the numerous life and death battles.

    He was now the youngest god stage cultivator humanity had ever seen. There were no known ascension god cultivators among the Insectoid empire so as long as he chose to flee, none could catch up to his spatial maniption techniques.

    He was unmatched among all the opponents he encountered, and arrogance swelled up in his chest.

    He was an invincible fighter and considered himself untouchable to all cultivators below the Ascension Stage¡­.

    Until he wasn¡¯t.

    She was the strongest person he had ever seen, the qi in the air seemed to flow into her body as naturally as breathing air.

    The swordsmanship he was so proud of was shattered by one casual thrust of her palm.

    He still recalled the seductive figure in his dreams and the words she said while hey on the floor in total defeat still haunted his mind.

    ¡°Say human¡­ tell me this,¡± she spoke with a devilish grin on her face.

    ¡°Are you afraid of spiders?¡±

 Chapter 20: Underground city

    Chapter 20: Underground city

    ¡°Mydy shall we enter the mansion,¡± Katarina inquired.

    Sophie was unsure of what direction to travel so she confidently gestured for her bodyguards to lead the way. Jack nodded and walked towards the shack in the distance with Sophie following swiftly behind him.

    The shack¡¯s outer appearance was very unassuming and seemed to be made of in wooden nks arranged in the style of a simple hut. The trio then entered the main entrance and a blinding green light swept over them.

    ¡°Scanning three biological lifeforms,¡± a robotic voice sounded out.

    ¡°Recognised¡­. Jack Napier level two personnel¡±

    ¡°Recognised¡­. Katarina Suersa level two personnel¡±

    ¡°Recognised¡­. Sophie Peterlor alpha level personnel¡±

    ¡°Transport to inner level granted!¡±

    The room inside the hut began to shake violently and Sophie held on to the side of the walls, trying desperately not to throw up. Katarina and Jack just sat down cross legged and cycled their qi to use a movement technique to lock their feet in ce.

    With a loud hissing noise, three holes opened up in the floor and Jack stepped into one and promptly disappeared. Sophie stared wide eyed in shock as Katarina smiled at her and did the same with a small wink before she vanished.

    ¡°Do I enter as well?¡± Sophie muttered.

    She had always been slightly ustrophobic, and the thought was squeezing into this small underground hole seemed like a daunting task.

    Taking a couple of deep breaths, she closed her eyes and stepped into thest hole.

    Whoosh!

    Sophie had her eyes closed and had the sensation of falling down a slide, there were twists and turns constantly present which made her stomach feel quite upset but she managed to avoid hurling in the tunnel.

    With a dull thud, her feetnded on solid ground and Sophie reluctantly opened her eyes and was amazed at the sight before her.

    It was aplete underground city!

    Tall buildings reached for the heavens with small hover cars zipping between them just like the structures in the capitol. Despite being underground, there were artificial lights everywhere which covered her body warmly with a gently glow.

    She quickly found her bodyguards next to the hole she had exited from and held Katarina¡¯s hand tightly as they wandered around this strange ce. Sophie could not tear herself away from looking at the city around them but soon noticed something strange.

    ¡°Where are all the people?¡± she asked.

    There were plenty of signs of life, but Sophie had yet to meet a single person on the street, the busy hover cars were carrying packages in their backseat but no drivers could be seen.

    ¡°Ah mydy, we have actually expanded the number of biological workers to about two hundred recently, but they mainly stay in the manor. All the grunt work is done by robots and artificial intelligence drones,¡± Jack exined.

    Sophie nodded in understanding but sighed slightly in her heart.

    No wonder life was so tough for ordinary people in these times. If you did not have the cultivation talent to fight in the army, you were essentially useless. Most of the jobs were fully automated and the artificial intelligence could have a much high production rate than what humans were capable of producing.

    It was an eerie experience to walk through a busy city, but it seemed hollow and empty at the same time. Fortunately, they arrived at the entrance of a sixty-floor tall skyscraper which was the tallest building in the city after only ten minutes of walking.

    Sophie walked through the entrance and was greeted by arge group of men and women in uniform bowing down to her.

    ¡°Wee back mydy!¡±

    An elderly man with a friendly look approached them and spoke,

    ¡°The duke has requested your presence in the study immediately upon your arrival. Allow me to escort you there young miss.¡±

    The two bodyguards motioned to follow Sophie, but a stern glint appeared in the old man¡¯s eye which halted their tracks.

    ¡°The lord has requested the meeting to be private.¡±

    ¡°Yes, head butler,¡± Katarina dutifully replied.

    Sophie saw them off with a small wave and followed the head butler to the study room. The study room was the private ce of the duke to rx and was located on the thirtieth floor.

    There was fortunately a ss elevator at the end of the reception room, so Sophie quietly stood in the elevator while travelling upward.

    The head butler had not said a word since they had left the first floor and quietly gestured to Sophie to follow him into the corridor once the elevator arrived. The thirtieth floor was just one long corridor leading to a single room at the end.

    Portraits of the ancestors of the Peterlor family lined the walls giving the floor an air of solemnity. The head butler knocked on the door three times before a gruff voice sounded from within,

    ¡°Enter¡±

    The head butler bowed and gestured for Sophie to enter and then quickly disappeared to an unknown ce. Sophie strolled into the room and wasforted by the smell of old books. The study was not extravagant or big but was rather quite humble.

    The walls were surrounded by bookshelf containing numerous rows of titles that Sophie had never seen before. In fact, many of the books appeared not to be innguages she had learnt.

    ¡°My dear daughter¡­ am I not as interesting as some dusty old books?¡± a grumpy voice sounded out from the man before her.

    Sophie looked up to see a very handsome middle- aged man trying hard to suppress hisughter and froze up. This was the first time she had seen the original host¡¯s dad, so she scanned her mind for the proper etiquette and gave a half bow.

    ¡°I greet the Duke of Peterlor,¡± she spoke softly.

    ¡°Very good! You have indeed remembered the appropriate greeting for introducing yourself to a high noble¡­ but you seem to have forgotten one important detail,¡± the duke said with a smile.

    Sophie looked through her memories but could not recall remembering any part of the protocol she missed.

    ¡°Forgive me Lord Peterlor¡­ my training is stillcking I do not know how to improve.¡±

    The duke wore a somber look of disappointment which caused anxiety to swell up in Sophie but just as she was about to apologise again, he spoke.

    ¡°That was the perfect curtsy and tone to take when talking to a Duke¡­. but your old man doesn¡¯t care about all that!¡±

    Before she could react, her father scooped her up and began to twirl around the room with happyughter bursting out of his chest.

    ¡°I missed you my precious princess.¡±

 Chapter 21: How I met your mother

    Chapter 21: How I met your mother

    Unfamiliar feelings of deep affection swelled up in Sophie¡¯s heart as she saw the duke swinging her around the room as if she were a little kid. During the hug, one of his hands brushed against the spider legs beneath her cloak.

    A strange look crossed the duke¡¯s face and he put down his daughter with a quiet storm raging in his heart. He looked carefully at her body figure hidden by the cloak. Sophie trusted her father, so she unsped the buttons on her cloak and revealed her new appendages.

    ¡°As you can see father¡­.my body grew these freaking spider legs in one day!¡± Sophie hurriedly spoke.

    The duke was silent for a moment before hesitantly approaching his daughter and ran his fingers along the length of the spider legs.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± he hissed.

    His finger had a small line of blood when he touched the ded end of the appendage which dripped slowly down to the floor.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Sophie panicked with a fluster.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your father is a tough old cultivator,¡± her dad hurriedly reassured her.

    The calm exterior projected outside did little to hide the emotions swelling up in his heart. He was a god stage cultivator and yet was injured slightly by a body stage.

    This was impossible!

    Ordinary des should simply shatter against his hardened skin, but her spider leg had still sliced a slim cut across his thumb.

    It crashed through his defenses just like the deadly style of fighting her mother possessed. Even after many months of sparring¡­ no matter what defensive cultivation technique he circted, she would always cut through his body like it was soft tofu.

    It appeared her daughter inherited her natural weapons.

    Lost in thought, he failed to notice Sophie trying to get his attention until she grabbed his hand and then spoke loudly.

    ¡°Dad¡­ I think it is time I learnt the truth. What happened to you in the Insectoid Empire? Who is my mom?¡±

    ¡°And why is there no record of her race on the database?¡±

    The duke looked at his pleading daughter and a pained look shed across his face. He always wanted to protect her from the truth. It was not a problem that she did not have cultivation talent.

    He feared that she would.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± the duke stuttered for several minutes trying to work up the courage to exin to Sophie her true origin.

    Sophie just patiently waited as her instincts told her that this would be a difficult story for her father to tell.

    ¡°I can tell you up to a certain amount of information but for your own safety I cannot tell you everything,¡± he warned.

    ¡°I understand father,¡± Sophie nodded in acknowledgement.

    Eventually with a deep sigh, her father began to tell the story of how he met the devilish woman who wouldter be his wife.

    (Many years earlier)

    It was little over three years since Rokan had been hurled into the heart of the Insectoid Empire and like many hot-blooded youths, the constant victories in battle had left him arrogant and conceited.

    He had just escaped an ambush set by the Preyaeth tribe of low-level insectoids and visited a small ex to rest. The was about half the size of an average moon and was covered in lush forests.

    Having received some injuries, he spent the day resting and healing using qi cirction techniques. It would be foolish to underestimate the regenerative ability of god stage cultivators as most could have aplete recovery from any injury as long as it wasn¡¯t fatal.

    Rokan could still the recall the moment he had restored his physical body to its peak, that a soft voice whispered out from the bushes behind him.

    ¡°Are you well rested now human?¡±

    ¡°It would be too boring to y with prey that is half dead.¡±

    He quickly lunged backwards and unsheathed his de in an unhurried motion while he anxiously scanned the surrounding trees. Why did he not detect a presence?

    Mockingughter echoed around him and a woman walked slowly out of the shadows with an air of confidence.

    Rokan had seen many different species and beauties in his time as a solider¡­ but never to this extent.

    The woman was roughly six feet tall with long slender legs and beautiful golden eyes that shone brightly in the darkness. Her plump kissable lips and a seductive figure with two twin peaks could distract any person who witnessed them.

    She would be an instant model in the Earth Federation were it not for the six spider legs jutting out from her back and razer sharp fangs sparkling in the light.

    ¡°Do you like what you see human? Why don¡¯t youe and y with me for a bit?¡±

    ¡°I have not seen your species in person¡­ is it true that you bleed red?¡±

    The strange woman spoke in a gentle tone but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes as she slowly approached the wary young man.

    Rokan gripped his sword firmly and chanted a heart clearing meditation to prevent himself from sumbing to her wiles.

    ¡°Blizzard yin sh!¡± he roared.

    The temperature immediately dropped drastically, and tiny snowkes surrounded his de which started to emit a chilly air. The woman simply cocked an eyebrow in amusement and waited for him to attack.

    Anger welled in his chest at the thought of being looked down on and Rokan dashed forward and pierced directly at her heart.

    There was no way she could survive the direct attack of a god stage cultivator!

    He felt his sword pierce through something and nced up with a confident grin on his face.

    ¡°Are you finished? ¡°came a suppressedughter from the insectoid.

    His sword was embedded deep within her chest and yet she spoke as though it were just a minor inconvenience. She had not circted any type of defensive art and simply absorbed the blow with her body.

    Rokan pulled out the de and leapt backwards with a cautious expression surfacing for the first time in years.

    No blood had gushed out of the wound and before his very eyes, the flesh wriggled and knitted back together as if the injury had never happened in the first ce.

    ¡°It is impossible that she did not get hurt,¡± he muttered to himself. There must be a cost to that level of regeneration¡­ how could a creature shrug off an attack by a god stage cultivator?

    Rokan sliced open his palm with the sword and used his trump card to boost his strength and speed drastically.

    Blood Sacrifice Art!

    He ruptured several of his minor meridians to direct the flow of qi to only certain acupuncture points in his dantian. It was an incredibly dangerous method as the bacsh would leave him crippled for a couple of weeks.

    Overwhelming power flowed into his body and he let out a sharp cry of pain as the unfamiliar strength filled his mind with a sense of calm.

    He gazed at the spider woman but the expression on her face was that of a hunter watching the struggling death throes of her prey.

    Rokan swore in his heart,

    ¡°I will personally send you to hell!¡±

 Chapter 22: How I lost to your mother

    Chapter 22: How I lost to your mother

    The young duke roared in rage as his muscles began to swell up with frightening power. His eyes were now scarlet red and small droplets of blood dripped down from his mouth.

    No trace of the elegant young man remained as this was a troublesome opponent who he could not afford to underestimate.

    Phantom de dance!

    His figure vanished from the spot and reappeared above the spider woman without making a sound. The de in his hand started to glow with power as the duke sliced down with enough force to split a starship.

    A resounding boom was heard, and a cloud of dirt swirled up in the air which blinded him temporarily. Rokan leapt backwards with a small frown on his face and quickly scanned thendscape around him.

    Why was there no contact?

    The phantom de dance could only be performed after forcibly raising his cultivation and would allow him to strike at superhuman speeds. Even if the woman¡¯s reflexes were quick enough to pick up on his attack, there was no way her body should have been able to react in time.

    ¡°Is that all you got human?¡± came a mockingughter behind him.

    Rokan froze in shock and quickly swung his de at the direction of the voice.

    Phantom de dance!

    Another cloud of smoke rose up in the air as the¡¯s surface itself began to tremble under the weight of his attack.

    ¡°I can¡¯tst for much longer,¡± he muttered to himself.

    Using the blood sacrifice art forcibly granted him enormous strength but he could not maintain this state otherwise his cultivation foundations could be damaged. This fight was on a timer that was ticking dangerous in his opponent¡¯s favour.

    Stake it all on one strike!

    Under the curious gaze of the insectoid woman, the little human closed his eyes and started to breathe deeply in a strange pattern. The qi in the air began to flow into his body at a rapid pace and trace amounts of lightning flickered around his sword.

    Rokan opened his eyes and unleashed the strongest sword skill he had¡­

    (Main Story)

    ¡°Then what happened?¡± Sophie asked hurriedly

    She had been deeply engrossed from start to finish and could not believe how powerful her mother was! The Duke of Peterlor was known as one of the strongest fighters of the younger generation and had defeated constantly powerful foes in battle.

    Just knowing that her mother could give him such a hard fight even when he was at the god stage made her heart pound in excitement.

    ¡°Well¡­. I basically unleashed the first skill of the Lighting de Arts and swiftly defeated your mother. Then she fell in love with my strength and told me I was the most handsome human she had ever seen,¡± came a confident reply from her father.

    The duke puffed out his chest while trying to project an impressive image to hold his daughter in awe.

    Technically speaking, the events may not have been exactly as he told her at the end¡­ but he conveniently decided to omit the actual ending to the fight.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying dad!¡± Sophie puffed out her cheeks and scowled fiercely at him.

    Perhaps the original host may have been tricked by the confident tone and posture from the duke, but Sui Meng had worked in the business world for many years. The subtle twitching of his fingers and the sweat on his brow all could not escape her sight.

    ¡°Um¡­honey¡­.,¡± the duke stammered slightly and could not think of the proper words to say.

    Since when was his princess so perceptive!

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me that lying is bad father?¡± Sophie asked in a sad tone with tears welling up in her eyes.

    The poor old duke¡¯s heart shattered at the sight of his little girl crying and quickly wrapped her in a hug.

    ¡°My precious daughter¡­ please forgive this silly old man! I will tell you the whole story,¡± he whispered softly.

    The duke let out a small sigh and continued his tale of embarrassment, but he failed to notice that his daughter¡¯s tears had miraculously disappeared and she bore a small smile.

    (shback continued)

    Lighting Sword Arts

    These ancient sword techniques consisted of thirteen forms of astonishing speed and power. Only the most talented of cultivators had even a chance of even grasping the basic stance of the first form and even Rokan¡¯s master had only managed to learn seven forms after a lifetime of practice.

    The first form was Thunderp sh and was a piercing thrust that could destroy all obstacles that stood before it.

    ¡°Interesting technique human¡­. I guess you deserve to see one of mine!¡± expressed a charming voice from the woman.

    Her hands started to shine with a reddish glow and a purplish me hovered silently above her palm. The me did not seem particrly hot but Rokan¡¯s instincts warned him not to let the strange ability touch his body.

    But her petty tricks were all useless before his de!

    He could not resist taunting the beautifuldy and confidently spoke,

    ¡°This is the end for you, insectoid scum! Consider yourself lucky to die under the hands of the greatest swordsman of the federation!¡±

    The sharpened de hummed in acknowledgement and he vanished from the woman¡¯s sights before lunging towards her with a fierce thrust.

    Thunderp sh!

    Streaks of lighting surrounded his body as the de slid pass the astonished eyes of the woman and pierced straight through her body. With a quick flip of his hand, the sword sliced upwards and split his opponent in two.

    Blood spurted from the terrible wound and the light dimmed from thedy¡¯s eyes as she dropped to the ground lifeless.

    Rokan fell to his knees with a victorious grin on his face and wildughter burst out of his chest in happiness.

    He was undefeatable!

    Unfortunately, the side effects of the blood arts had kicked in, which left his body starting to feel sluggish and his qi slowly began to halt cirction.

    Just as he was about to ingest a healing pill, a slow pping noise came from the treetops in front of him. The duke¡¯s eyes slowly travelled upwards and he gasped in horror at the figure before him.

    It was the spitting image of the dead woman!

    Wait¡­ could it be that the person he was fighting all along was an illusion.

    A sinking feeling welled up inside his heart as he turned reluctantly towards the corpseying still on the ground.

    The image abruptly shattered and disappeared into sparkling light particles that danced mockingly in the air. Under Rokan¡¯s astonished eyes the perfectly fine woman dropped down from a nearby tree. She then revealed her enchanting figure and gently ced a fingernail against his neck.

    ¡°You lost human,¡± a cheerful voice spoke up.

    She then followed up with words that threatened to make him cough out blood in anger,

    ¡°I guess the greatest swordsman lost to some insectoid scum!¡±

 Chapter 23: I will escape by tonight! (Authors note: he didnt....)

    Chapter 23: I will escape by tonight! (Author''s note: he didn''t¡­.)

    There was a strange sh of nostalgia that crossed the duke¡¯s eyes when he finished telling the story of his first encounter with the woman who would eventually change his life.

    A silent atmosphere formed between father and daughter as each were lost in their own thoughts in quiet contemtion.

    ¡°What¡­ what happened after?¡± Sophie tentatively asked.

    ¡°That crazy woman took me back to a cave and spent weeks nursing me back to health while also repairing my damaged meridians,¡± the duke replied.

    Sophie was a bit confused by this change of events. She was under the impression that her mother wanted to kill her dad on the first meeting.The duke saw the question marks forming on his daughter¡¯s face and reluctantly rified what happened next.

    It was unfortunately one of the most humiliating times of his life¡­.

    (shback)

    (Two weeks after the fight)

    Rokan had fallen unconscious in the aftermath of his fight with the insectoid woman and suffered with a high fever. In his delirious dreams, there was the figure of a beautiful fairy who would press her dainty hands on his forehead and feed him delicious food.

    She would also softly sing unfamiliar songs to soothe his pain in anguage he could not understand.

    ¡°Human! You¡¯re finally awake!¡± a surprised voice echoed beside him.

    A pounding headache assaulted his head and Rokan slowly raised his eyelids to observe his surroundings. He found himself on top of a grass bed with fruits and flowers covering the sides of his chest in what looked to be some sort of underground cavern.

    ¡°I was relieved that you woke up¡­ I thought humans were pretty fragile, but you didn¡¯t stop breathing so I figured you would probably regenerate¡­¡±

    Nonstop chatter filled the duke¡¯s mind and he nced at the end of the cave to see a woman happily talking to him. Gentle glows of light from the rocks illuminated her face and made her seem like a celestial maiden sent down from the heavens.

    Except the image was ruined by spider legs attached to her back along with pointed fangs poking out of her mouth.

    Wait a minute¡­ wasn¡¯t this the woman who nearly killed him!

    ¡°What¡¯s your name human? My name is Thai¡¯lle,¡± spoke the insectoid.

    Rokan struggled to reach the de at the corner of the room but found that his arms had no strength. Thai¡¯lle watched his struggle was bemusement shing through her eyes so he stopped trying to pick up his weapon.

    Maybe he should go along with his captor¡¯s whims and attempt to make an escape once he regained his strength.

    ¡°I am Rokan the proud and noble duke of the Peterlor house,¡± he curtly replied.

    He could not resist the curiosity in his heart and asked, ¡°Why did you heal me?¡±

    A demonic grin shed across Thai¡¯lle ¡®s face and she simply fed him some fruits then left the cave to hunt for prey.

    ¡°I will regain my strength and escape by tonight,¡± muttered the duke. Unfortunately this n was doomed to failure as he found himself tightly bound to the bed by what seemed to be spiderwebs.

    (One monthter)

    ¡°You foolish insectoid! Now that my strength has recovered to the peak¡­. I will y you with the second form of the Lighting Sword Arts,¡± the duke roared.

    Thai¡¯lle smiled softly and raised a palm with purplish mes dancing merrily under the sunlight.

    (Two monthster)

    ¡°Cough¡­. cough¡­I was going easy on youst time insectoid fiend! Now I will no longer fall for your petty tricks and illusions,¡± a confident deration spilled out of Rokan¡¯s mouth.

    He spent the past two months carefully observing this devilish woman whenever she cultivated and memorised the qi cirction of her illusion techniques. Now he would be able to identify the clones from the real image.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me insectoid fiend¡­ you ignorant human! My name is Thai¡¯lle!¡± the spider woman charmingly pouted and stomped her feet on the ground in rage.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to beat you up till you remember it!¡±

    (Five monthster)

    ¡°Insectoid wom¡­¡± began the duke

    A fierce re that sent shivers down the duke¡¯s spine was then directed at him from the woman sitting across in the cave

    ¡°I mean Thai¡¯lle¡­ A gentleman knows that ten years is never toote to take revenge! I recently cultivated to the peak of the god stage. You should take care lest I injure you too badly in this fight!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± came an intrigued look from thedy.

    ¡°Maybe I should go all out then?¡±

    (Six monthster)

    ¡°Look Thai¡¯lle¡­ maybe I was too rash when I talked about defeating you in revenge. How about we just settle this grudge with peace and forgiveness?¡±

    Rokan had now entered the bargaining phase of his unfortunate stay with this demon.

    Thai¡¯lle smiled at him with a loving gaze and spoke gently, ¡°Actually the grudge was just an excuse¡­ truthfully¡­I¡­ really¡­¡±

    She was interrupted by a fierce beam of sword light that was thrust towards her chest. Rokan had decided to try a sneak attack while she let her guard down.

    His de was stopped by a clenched fist from Thai¡¯lle who now had an extremely stormy expression of rage on her face.

    ¡°Um¡­ what were you going to say before I attacked you?¡± the duke hopefully asked.

    He was then met with a fierce kick to the face.

    (One yearter)

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to fight anymore¡­. Please just let me go!¡± the once proud duke was now in tears. He no longer had any thought of fighting this crazy battle maniac, it turns out that she would beat him within an inch of his life then allow him to heal and then repeat the process.

    ¡°Too bad human!¡± came a swift reply.

    (Main Story)

    ¡°Dad¡­ How on earth did you and mom end up together?¡± Sophie was in utter bafflement.

    Were her parents lovers or life and death enemies?

 Chapter 24: The Seventh Princess

    Chapter 24: The Seventh Princess

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say¡­. having spent two years in that devil¡¯spany¡­I can¡¯t say that it was all bad,¡± the duke stammered out with a blush.

    ¡°Your old man even managed to defeat her inbat during thest months of my stay,¡± came a proud boast as the duke valiantly tried to restore his image.

    ¡°So why did you leave?¡± Sophie asked in puzzlement.

    A look of sorrow crossed her father¡¯s face and he just silently shook his head in reluctance to say more about the matter.

    Sophie could tell that she had pushed him enough today and would not receive any more information on what happened to her parents¡¯ rtionship. She just nodded her head in silence while thinking of when to breach the subject again.

    The duke snapped out of his daze and asked the burning question on his mind, ¡°So what exactly happened to your body?¡±

    Where do I even start!

    Sophie frantically began to tell her father about everything that had happened to her, from the strange space in the ne to her new spider appendages with added fangs. Not to mention the acid spit that melted the mattress on her bed!

    There was actually a brief moment of hesitation when deciding if to reveal the knowledge of the cultivation technique or not, but her father just nodded in silent contemtion and did not seem too surprised.

    ¡°Could it be that human qi gathering methods have no effect on your body,¡± her father muttered softly.

    It would finally answer the vague feelings he had over the years as it made no sense that with parents as talented as Sophie had¡­. his daughter had remained at the qi body stage for years!

    ¡°May I check your dantian?¡± the duke asked.

    Sophie nodded in consent and he gently ced his hands on the lower back of his daughter. A warm flow of qi exited his palms and entered Sophie¡¯s dantian where it checked all the acupuncture points and meridians. A strange look crossed the duke¡¯s face as he withdrew his hands and stood up.

    ¡°It must be the same method that your mother used,¡± he confidently dered.

    ¡°I only saw that particr qi cirction path once in my life¡­ when your mother decided to¡­ cough cough¡­perform some dual cultivation.¡±

    His cheeks suddenly flushed bright red and Sophie groaned in embarrassment. From her memories she could tell that dual cultivation was not sexual in the slightest way but simply meant the act of joining hands and allowing the qi to circte both bodies.

    But¡­ her father from his bashful expression definitely did a lot more that just hand holding!

    The tablet on the duke¡¯s desk suddenly vibrated and her father gasped in shock.

    ¡°Sophie you haven¡¯t eaten dinner yet! I set a timer to make sure we had some father-daughter bonding time. The chefs have prepared every single one of your favourite dishes and if a single one is under-cooked¡­your old man will have him executed on the spot!¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­. wait¡­ I still have questions to ask!¡± came a resigned pout from Sophie who was ushered abruptly out of the study room and escorted down by her cheerful father down to the dining hall.

    Before they entered the dinning room, her father quietly whispered in her ears,

    ¡°I know you want to learn more about your mother, but I really can¡¯t bring myself to say anymore at this time¡­ some memories are best left undisturbed¡±

    ¡°Just know that your mother loved you very much.¡±

    Sophie smiled at the warm figure conjured up in her mind but failed to notice theplex expression in her father¡¯s gaze.

    (Sixteen years ago)

    ¡°Take our child and run as far as you can!¡± an angry shout came from Thai¡¯lle as she thrusted a small bundle into his hands.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to do with you or this girl!¡±

    The duke stood in shock as the woman he loved showed a face full of rage as she threatened to kill him and her own newborn daughter.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mean that¡­. I thought you loved Sophie,¡± a trembling voice replied.

    Rokan no longer saw the image of the beautiful insectoid woman who would dance andugh with carefree abandon. Instead she gazed upon him and the child as if they were nothing more than strangers.

    Thai¡¯lle snarled with her fangs menacingly shing in the sunlight as she moved towards Rokan with purplish me flickering above her palm.

    ¡°This was all just a game to me¡­ you foolish human!¡±

    There was no time to react as she lunged furiously towards him with ws outstretched with a fierce air of danger. The duke darted backwards holding on to the small bun and used a spatial technique to flee to upper atmosphere.

    Rokan wrapped his qi around his daughter to form a protective barrier and vanished into an unknown direction with deep pain and sorrow entering his heart.

    He would never trust an insectoid ever again.

    Meanwhile on the, Thai¡¯lle stared intensely at the vanishing figures of her husband and child until she could no longer sense their presence.

    It was only when they disappeared out of the range of her divine senses that she allowed the unshed tears to flow freely from her eyes.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± a scream of rage and frustrating echoed through the empty. She loved that stupid human more than he would ever know but would never be able to tell him the real reason for sending them away¡­as he would never leave without her.

    (One dayter)

    A magnificent spaceship almost the size of a moon hovered slowly above the forest that Thai¡¯lle lived on. Hooded figures wearing white cloaks dropped down from the sky and respectfully approached thedy calmly waiting for them.

    There was no trace of the emotions in her eyes as she surveyed the humanoids surrounding her in a tight encirclement. A mockingughter erupted from her mouth as she spoke with a biting tongue,

    ¡°I must say¡­ it has been quite a while since my father¡¯s dogs have paid me a visit. He must be proud that he hid a magic rune under my dantian to track me down.¡±

    The figures removed their cloaks to reveal extremely attractive humanoids with spider legs jutting out of their backs. A petitedy stepped forward with a half bow and quietly replied to Thai¡¯lle,

    ¡°Mydy¡­ the rune only activates once you have passed down the imperial genes to a worthy heir. But there were none of our Arcahnais brethren in this star system within thest decade so the child must be a hybrid and rumors say the father is a human.¡±

    ¡°The king is extremely upset and wishes to remove this stain from the royal family. You have brought great shame to the insectoid empire by consorting with a low life human.¡±

    Whispers of disgust and hard stares surrounded Thai¡¯lle from the spiderkin surrounding her, but she silently stood there with a trace of a smile touching her lips.

    She raised her hands with a sigh and said with a hollow tone, ¡°Fortunately there is no need to worry¡­ the child was born a stillborn as our Arcahnais genes were too powerful for a mere human to handle.¡±

    ¡°I came to my senses and devoured both the corpse and the waste of a father!¡±

    A frightful boom of power flowed from her body which caused all of her father¡¯s guards to kneel in awe.

    This was the strength of the seventh princess of the Arcahnais tribe!

    ¡°Will you be returning princess?¡± one guard tentatively asked.

    Thai¡¯lle silently nodded and flew up into the entrance of the spaceship followed closely behind by the group of royal guards.

    She could not help but use her high cultivation level to listen in on the conversations among them and overheard a guard at the back of the procession talking into amunicator to order a search for a human male within the nearest five star systems.

    ¡°It seems they did not trust my story,¡± she muttered with a frown.

    Thai¡¯lle could only pray silently to all the deities she could remember with a worried look reflected in her eyes.

    Please keep my daughter safe!

 Chapter 25: She would be fighting alone...

    Chapter 25: She would be fighting alone¡­

    Sophie¡¯s first observation of the dinning room was that it was the size of a hall withrge statues from notable artists lining the walls. The crystal floor sparkled in the light giving off a sense of elegance and ss.

    There was a single long table with over eighty chairs in the center of the room, but the duke and his daughter simply sat next to one another at the head.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen any servants?¡± Sophie asked in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you would befortable having people see your new physique, so I ordered all the servants to stay away for the rest of the evening. It will be impossible to hide this forever but there is no proof or link to your insectoid lineage. I have yet to see another member of your mother¡¯s race even after years battling on the frontier,¡± replied the duke.

    ¡°We just need to im that your mother was part of an uncontacted race in the outer rims.¡±

    What he did not mention to his daughter was that he wanted her new form to be an advantage during the ss evaluation. Her cultivation base had already risen to stage four of the qi body and with two months of intense training, he was confident that she should be able to barely qualify for a spot.

    Rome was not built in a day and cultivation foundations should never be rushed.

    It was very tempting for early stage cultivators to boost their level with enhancing drugs or serums before the university exam. This would leave them with a shaky Dao heart that would ruin any chance of breaking into the higher realms.

    Sophie rxed and cheerfully talked about small topics with her dad before a low grumble from her stomach interrupted the conversation. She blushed furiously when her father gave a smallugh at her expense.

    ¡°Alright X-34 bring the food in,¡± Rokan shouted loudly.

    A tiny robot entered the room with three tes of white boxes held up by its frail-looking metallic arms.

    With a small buzzing noise, it dropped two tes in front of Sophie while the remaining te was given to the Duke. Sophie curiously looked at the white boxes and opened one to find a single vial of nutrient solution inside. She gave a strange look towards her father¡­.

    Was money tight?

    Nutrient solution was created to fill biological needs with differing levels of quality depending on the manufacturer. Still it was typically used to feed the poor while the rich of society ate rare meat from mutated beasts that aided in their cultivation.

    Her father just gestured slowly towards the vial, so Sophie unscrewed the cap and downed the contents.

    ¡°Hmm¡­Not bad at all¡±, Sophie muttered.

    The taste was rather vourless but for some reason she felt a warm energy entering her body which filled her with energy. But she still felt a gnawing sense of hunger, so she reached out for another one.

    And another one¡­.

    Maybe one more¡­.

    Well there are three tes of the stuff!

    Rokan looked at his daughter happily drinking vial after vial of nutrient solution and felt his heart sinking in his chest.

    He just wanted to see if his daughter neededpact nutrients after her transformation¡­

    But by god¡­. his little girl¡¯s appetite was as ferocious as her mother!

    This high-grade solution was densely packed with nutrients and each vial had a cost of twenty thousand Enas which was more than the monthly sry of a middle-ss family.

    It should be noted that one vial was enough for a body stage cultivator, yet his daughter just kept on going without any signs of stopping anytime soon.

    Even for a rich man such as himself this was not an expense he could just shrug off. What if she required this amount of nutrients for every meal! A small stinging sensation of pain and sorrow was felt from his wallet.

    Sophie onlyter on would learn that her father invested in several business ventures that very day to fund his daughter¡¯s enormous appetite.

    ¡°Ahh that¡¯s the good stuff,¡± Sophie leaned back with a small smile of contentment as her stomach was finally full.

    She saw her father peeking at her from the corner of her eye with a strange expression of astonishment crossing his face. Sophie looked down and realised she had drunk every vial from all three tes¡­leaving none for her father.

    A guilty look crossed her face, but her dad just sighed in exasperation and ordered the poor robot to return with more food.

    Fortunately, her father did not allow the awkward mood to continue and shifted the conversation to the four great universities.

    ¡°So, I think I can assume by you taking these two months off from school that you want to try to enter one of the four universities? ¡°he asked.

    Sophie spoke with determination, ¡°Yes I want to be strong enough to protect myself and prove that I deserve to inherit your house.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to prove anything¡­ no matter what outsiders say about you. My daughter will always be my one and only heir,¡± came a sharp retort.

    ¡°Thanks dad,¡± Sophie said bashfully. Sui Meng had never met a man more loving and caring than the original host¡¯s father. Even though he had a few quirks, she could tell the reason why her mother fell for him.

    ¡°But let¡¯s talk about the four universities. I will have to look at your progress at the end of these two months. If I think it is too dangerous for you to take part in the trial then you need to listen to me and not participate,¡± the duke warned sternly.

    Sophie nodded slowly in acknowledgement.

    Rokan had to make sure that his daughter understood the dangers of taking part in the trial process that could sometimes be fatal.

    The four great universities were founded by each of the races that made up the core of the Earth Federation. Any individual under the age of twenty was allowed to participate regardless of age or status.

    Each would send a certain number of representatives from the top high schools to add to the pool of candidates. The candidates would then be divided into new groups of roughly ten thousand members and taken to different testing sites which tended to be uninhabiteds or lunar colonies.

    The test would take ce over a month and participants would be forced to enter a survival game where the top five hundred would have a guaranteed entry spot to one of the universities of their choice.

    It was also possible that candidates outside the top five hundred could be scouted as well but this was only for notable exceptions.

    Every single one of these candidates were geniuses in cultivation and stood at the peak of their respective age group. For even a minimum chance of making it to the cut off point, they would have to be at least qi body stage nine.

    With such a gathering of talent, it would be foolish to make the young seedlings fight to the death so each candidate was equipped with an amulet that would activate a protective barrier upon fatal damage towards their host being detected.

    The supervisors also monitored the site closely to ensure that idents did not ur.

    However, the duke having been through the survival game before, was painfully aware that if the barrier was a split secondte to deploy, it would lead to instant death.

    The thought of his little girl being in that situation made his blood run cold.

    Maybe the discrimination would not be terrible amongst themoner students, but no noble would dare to team up with her.

    She would have to survive on her own.

 Chapter 26: The Empresss Shame

    Chapter 26: The Empress''s Shame

    Sophie looked around in shock as she found herself back in the strange realm hidden inside her ne. Thest memory she could recall was feeling sleepy after downing all those nutrient vials, so she just rested her head lightly on the dining table.

    Could it be I fell asleep?

    During the day, Sophie had discovered that she was unable to properly circte the qi gathering method without a feeling of nausea welling up in her chest.

    She had also taken a short nap on the spaceship travelling to the mansion but did not enter this mysterious realm during that time.

    Maybe it was only essible at nighttime¡­.

    The space had remained the same with vast emptiness below her feet and the only item that she could see was the stone monument with the ancient texts. Sophie began to slowly walk towards it as she wanted to read the words more carefully.

    A loud tapping noise came from her right side as Sophie turned around to see a blurry figure also walking towards the b.

    ¡°Um¡­Hello?¡± she called out cautiously.

    The figure had been single-mindedly approaching the monument but turned around in apparent shock. Sophie could now vaguely make out the image of a young girl with six spider legs attached to her back but her facial features and body were shrouded in a dark fog.

    The girl ran towards her and Sophie froze in panic, but the blurry figure just held her hands tightly and one of her spider legs gently touched the sides of her face.

    ¡°Oww dvv qdc? L xygjokx Z opa wlv gctb sew dn wlv jdgdp wsbqoc nzd wzrvv p awei sbcoik,¡± a strangenguage came out of the spider girl¡¯s mouth.

    What was thatnguage? The sounds of the words reminded her of the ancient text on the monument, but she was unable to decipher it.

    ¡°Do you speak the universal tongue?¡± the girl tried a second time once she realised that Sophie could not understand her.

    Sophie quickly scanned her memories and found thenguage that this mystery girl was referring to. It was the universalnguage used for trade between merchants of different empires ands.

    She nodded in excitement and tried to give a reply, but a powerful suction force from behind the monument dragged her away from the girl¡¯s hands and she crashed straight into the b with a yelp.

    ¡°Ouch!¡±

    Sophie woke up to a pounding headache and a strange sense of bewilderment. Why did she feel a strong connection to that person¡­ it almost felt as though she was meeting family.

    (Hidden X-746 -> Insectoid Empire)

    ¡°Mom!¡± a loud call was heard, and a young girl scrambled towards the empress who was quietly sitting down while watching the sun rise.

    She was delicate as a flower and had a mischievous air surrounding her.

    ¡°How many times must I tell you to conduct yourself with the grace befitting royalty! ¡°a stern warning came from the middle-aged woman.

    Princess Rai¡¯lle quickly smile charmingly at her mother and waved around her spider legs in surrender. She was only twenty-five and the youngest member of the younger generation of the royal family.

    But rumors had been spreading that some of the older princesses were pregnant which made her position a bit unstable.

    She twisted and turned trying to suppress her excitement and the empress gave a small sigh before allowing her to speak.

    The empress could not help but indulge her youngest offspring after her favourite daughter had been banished to an unknown ex for the crimes of diluting the royal blood.

    Fortunately, the hybrid child had not survived, or she would have been executed as soon as she returned to their home. A sorrowful look of pain crossed her face as she recalled weeping for days after the decision had been made by her husband.

    The princess noticed her mother¡¯s bad mood and tried to calm herself down.

    ¡°Esteemed empress mother, I was practicing the Spider Whisper Art in the holy space when I think I saw someone there with me¡­ I tried to talk to her using the ancient tongue, but she replied in universal trade speech,¡± the princess said softly.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± the empress roared.

    A storm raged in her heart at the very notion of such an improbable urrence. The Spider Whisper Art was one of the many powerful qi gathering methods of the Arcahnais tribe, but it had strict requirements which made it very unpopr to cultivate.

    The strength of this art was not apparent till the higher stages and the only significant boost to the cultivator would be enhanced speed and mana reserves.

    Firstly, the art could only be practised if the user wore a Star of Ethnaise attached to their neck at all times. Secondly the art would activate automatically, and the qi would circte continuously but only in the presence of darkness.

    Thest and most import criteria was that the individual had to be female and of the royal blood.

    ¡°I know what I saw in the space¡­ and also the girl only had four spider legs!¡± the princess said with a small pout.

    ¡°Nonsense¡­. all Arcahnais are born with six legs. The only exception would be a birth defect or some sort of hybrid,¡± the empress calmly replied.

    (Wait a minute¡­ a hybrid)

    (No. Surely not. The baby and the man were never found)

    An unpleasant feeling of apprehension crept up on the empress as she remembered that the child was dered dead as no trace of the human male could be located after months of searching the surround gxies.

    The empress widened her eyes in shock, it had been a whirlwind of events when her daughter had been exiled and she did not notice it at the time but the Star of Ethnaise around her neck was missing!

    Why would it be missing?

    ¡°Rai¡¯lle¡­ promise me that you will never talk of this matter to a single person after this meeting,¡± she urgently spoke in a grave tone.

    The princess was confused but her mother had rarely talked to her in that manner before, so she quickly gave her word and left the room with a respectful bow.

    The empress sank back in her chair and kept getting shbacks of her beloved daughter boarding the transport ship with a look of defiance etched across her face. No matter the abuse and mockery thrown her way by the spectating crowd¡­.

    She remained upright as though the words had no effect on her.

    Shame and guilt were buried deep within the empress as she watched silently as her daughter left¡­never to return. It was at that moment that a deep sense of hatred was felt towards her husband for the terrible decision he made.

    She could not care less if her granddaughter was not a full Arcahnais.

    The rtionship between the empress and emperor had never been the same since and her husband now soughtpanionship from his many concubines to fill his desires. Whispers grew that the empress had fallen out of favour but none would be bold enough to speak of them in her presence.

    There were several nes of Ethnaise present in the royal treasury but only her youngest daughter was currently cultivating this art. It would be a simple matter to withdraw the remaining nes secretly and hide them as they could easily be concealed.

    ¡°I failed you once my child,¡± the empress muttered

    ¡°But I promise that I will keep your daughter safe as long as I can.¡±

 Chapter 27: Justice and Honour? We dont do that here

    Chapter 27: Justice and Honour? We don''t do that here

    Having gotten up in an unfamiliar bed it was only natural that Sophie was slightly disoriented, so she nced around to observe all the details about her new bedroom.

    The room wasrge and spacious with a single king-sized bed in the center. Elegant white curtains covered the windows and gentle light streamed down onto her face from the artificial sun outside.

    There were no decorations or furniture present aside from a single desk and wardrobe with a full body mirror opposite it. Sophie wanted to get up to put on some new clothes when she heard a noiseing from outside the room.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve woken up mdy,¡± a polite knocking was heard from the door before Katarina strolled in with a small smile.

    ¡°We need you dressed immediately as the duke has requested your presence at the training grounds.¡±

    (Training grounds)

    The training grounds were located on a field at the back on the mansion and was currently empty with only the sole figure of her father waving cheerfully towards her. Katarina had left to get some healing solutions but promised that she would be back soon.

    Strangely enough¡­ Sophie did not encounter a single servant despite walking through the entire building to get to the training field. She asked Katarina who just shrugged and nced away with an evasive look.

    Sophie broke out into a half jog and soon approached her father who was standing in the center of the field while holding two wooden swords. He sighed with resignation while passing her ten vials of nutrient solution.

    ¡°I sincerely hope you reach the Void stage before you run your old man out of money,¡± he said in a half joking manner.

    All he got was an eye roll from his daughter who downed five vials before passing the rest to him.

    ¡°I was just kidding¡­ you can have as much as you want,¡± he hurriedly spoke.

    What if his baby girl decided to starve herself because of his thoughtless remark!

    ¡°Strangely enough¡­I started to feel full after the third vial so I don¡¯t think I can drink anymore,¡± Sophie eximed in apparent disbelief.

    Rokan gave her a curious look and made a mental note to run a full body scan on his daughter to try to figure out the properties of her new body. He also had tomission a reassessment of her talent as the speed of her cultivation did not match the results of thest scan.

    Thest body scan was only a few years ago and had shown that her cultivation talent was rank F while no mana could be detected which disqualified her from learning magic.

    ¡°Now I want to know what the academy has taught you about fighting,¡± the duke shook himself out of his thoughts and began the first lesson.

    Sophie racked her brain while trying to remember the teachings of the lecturers from the memory of the original host. Truthfully, most of the actual teaching was given to elite and regr students so her memory was a bit fuzzy on the details of the sses.

    ¡°From what I remember¡­. the most important quality of a noble is to seek justice and always show honour in a duel,¡± she finally recalled some of the information the fighting trainer would constantly preach about.

    ¡°If you fight with that mindset¡­you can forget about participating in the university trial,¡± the duke said in a serious tone with a dark frown.

    ¡°The most important way to fight is to use whatever method you can to win. Your enemies will use all the advantages they can to kill you. The universe is too dangerous to survive preaching hypocritical lies.¡±

    ¡°It is fine to pursue justice but only if one has the strength to back it up. Otherwise it is simply foolishness. Always remember that your life will always be worth more than that of a stranger¡¯s¡±

    ¡°Tell me¡­ why is slicing a man in half with a sword considered praiseworthy but poisoning him to death makes you a monster?¡± he asked.

    Sophie stared contemtively at the ground as she reflected upon the message her father was trying to teach.

    Rokan looked at his daughter trying to figure out the meaning of his words and sighed quietly in his heart. He too had once been a hot-blooded youth who believed in facing enemies openly with no pretenses or hidden cards.

    But years and years of battle experience showed him how foolish he had been.

    Soldiers who survived decades of service in the imperial army were not always the strongest but often were the cleverest.

    There was a saying that beasts who could hide their ws were the most dangerous.

    ¡°Alright!¡± he shouted loudly to get his daughter¡¯s attention.

    He threw a wooden sword at which Sophie quickly caught with her right hand almost instantly thanks to the increased reflexes of her new form.

    ¡°I have designed a tight schedule for the next two months and you will have to follow it rigorously. Fail any of the training and I will not let you enter the ss evaluation,¡± he continued in a harsh tone.

    It pained the duke greatly to be so tough on his little girl but if she entered the trial unprepared¡­ he dared not imagine the consequences if the safety amulet malfunctioned.

    ¡°We will start every day with weapons training. This will include swords, knives, whips, sma sters and hidden needles.¡±

    ¡°Then in the afternoon will be cultivation techniques that Jack will personally guide you which the achievement of at least initial mastery is the minimum expected.¡±

    ¡°And finally, in the evening I will have Katarina teach you the Art of Poison and some basic stealth techniques.¡±

    ¡°Now let us begin the training!¡±

    The duke stood still in one spot and Sophie noticed that he restricted his cultivation base until it was the level of a qi spirit cultivator. He held a simrly shaped wooden sword and closed his eyes.

    Sophie nodded in acknowledgement and held her sword in the stance ording to the memories of the original host.

    The original host may have been deemed a cultivation waste, but Sophie knew she trained relentlessly in weapon techniques to try to close the gap between her and the rest of the ss.

    (Take a deep breath and rx)

    (Remember your training)

    Strangely the anticipation of the fight made her blood begin to boil in excitement, so she confidently took a few steps towards her father while holding the sword tightly in her grasp.

    Sophie did not realise it at the time but her golden eyes began to sh slightly with a reddish hue and her fangs glistened menacingly in the sunlight.

    sh!

    Running forward with a sudden burst of speed, Sophie quickly darted to the right and sliced her sword towards her father¡¯s chest with blinding speed.

    ¡°Too slow,¡± came a mocking taunt.

    Her father did not even nce in her direction before blocking her strike with a casual wave of his hand.

    ¡°Try this then!¡± Sophie roared.

    (I will show the old man I can fight without honour¡­)

    Sheunched a kick towards his crotch and simultaneously swung her sword towards his face with an even faster speed than before.

    It was useless¡­.

    The duke simply took one step backwards and dodged the outstretched kick, before promptly parrying the strike towards his face.

    ¡°My turn to attack sweetie¡­. please forgive me,¡± her father called out.

    Sophie immediately jumped away from him, but his figure mysteriously vanished into thin air. A ringing noise appeared close to her ear and she ducked down reflexively which caused a sword strike to narrowly miss her temple.

    ¡°Don¡¯t use your eyes¡­ use your instincts,¡± Rokan called out.

    All she could see was a blurry figure appearing and disappearing at will in the space around her, which was followed by consecutively sword strikes which left her shaky and disoriented.

    (Strike from the left side)

    Sophie turned her sword and blocked a strike which caused a small gasp of admiration to be heard from the duke.

    (He is above me)

    (Sword strike from behind)

    She could not exin but it was like there was a sixth sense of danger warning her of potential threats. Unfortunately, while it was urate, her body was unable to keep up with the movements and blow after blow rained upon an exhausted Sophie.

    ¡°Okay that¡¯s enough for now.¡±

    The duke ced his wooden sword on the rack and approached his daughter who was now lying on the floor with an expression of pain on her face.

    ¡°Katarina bring in the healing salve!¡± he ordered into his wristband.

    Sophie¡¯s loyal bodyguard rushed in from the corner of the training field with some medicine and the duke took it from her hands started to carefully apply it to the wounds on his injured daughter¡¯s body.

    Every injury was a stab to his heart, but he gritted his teeth in determination.

    ¡°Do you know where you can improve? ¡°he asked after the treatment was done.

    ¡°Um¡­I would say my cultivation base is too low to face someone at the qi spirit realm,¡± Sophie hesitantly replied.

    A small burst ofughter erupted from the duke before he stopped when his daughter started to pout at him. He decided to hurry up and exin,

    ¡°Well yes that¡¯s one of the reasons but that gap can be closed judging by the speed of your cultivation using that qi gathering technique. But the greatest w in your fighting style is theck of experience.¡±

    ¡°Straightforward attacks may work against lesser opponents but the geniuses you will bepeting against will not fall for those small tricks.¡±

    The duke patted his daughter reassuringly on the shoulder and Sophie felt a tinge of warmness flow across her chest. She knew that her dad was only doing this brutal training to fully prepare her for the university trial.

    ¡°Alright now there is no time to waste!¡±

    ¡°We need to have at least ten sparring sessions so Katarina you might need to bring some more healing salve.¡±

    The duke gave a confident grin but to poor Sophie, it seemed more akin to the smile of a demon.

    Author¡¯s note:

    After a full morning of at least eleven sparring sessions¡­ what little warmth Sophie felt towards her father had long since disappeared.

 Chapter 28: Jack does his best to act cool

    Chapter 28: Jack does his best to act cool

    After the morning of intense sparring sessions there was no longer any feeling of warmth and appreciation towards her father¡­

    Sophie could feel her entire body aching with pain even with the help of healing salve. The duke had not gone easy on his daughter and towards the end of the session, he had even raised his cultivation base to the middle of the qi spirit stage.

    ¡°Would you like a ss of water mdy?¡± Katarina calmly asked.

    Sophie nodded slowly as shey on the ground trying to recover some energy before going to the rest of the lessons. Katarina handed her a small ss which Sophie immediately downed the contents with a refreshing sigh of happiness.

    ¡°I will now take you to the holodeck where Jack will begin the second lesson,¡± her bodyguard waited until she had finished drinking before continuing to speak.

    Sophie tried to get up but only managed to briefly stand before crashing back into the dirt. A healthy flush of embarrassment crept up on her face when she heard Katarina¡¯s stiflingughter.

    It was only a small relief to know that her father was not present as he returned to the study after the training session ended.

    ¡°Um¡­ Katarina¡­ I order you to help me to the holodeck room,¡± Sophie turned her head away and softly whispered.

    Katarina could barely contain the grin that threatened to break out on her face.

    Why was herdy just so cute!

    Years of training helped her to maintain a poker face and she carefully lifted Sophie up and ced her on her back.

    ¡°Let us go mdy.¡±

    Holographic technology had been around since the early days of the Earth Federation and was especially popr among younger generations. It began with headsets that could connect the user to a virtual reality.

    The contained a gxy wide virtual hub where people from all across differents could connect with one another. These games could allow one to live apletely different life and fulfil their unspoken dreams.

    Of course, the government strictly regted the types of games allowed on the market as the technology could stimte any type of experience.

    Holodeck rooms were basicallyrge rooms with photon emitters embedded into the walls that could project light constructs of any type of environment. It was essentially taking the virtual reality technology and transferring it over to the real world.

    It was extremely popr as a training method among some upper-ss families and could allow their prodigies to experience life and death battles without the dangerous risk.

    The constructs could not physically interact with the real world, but the illusions were able to trick the user into experiencing the five sense of the scenarios generated. The supeputer which oversaw the photon emission would analyse the damage a user would sustain in a fight with their virtual opponent.

    There were only two holodecks in the Peterlor mansion as Sophie¡¯s father did not believe that holodeck training was efficient.

    The biggest w of this method would be an increased level of recklessness in the fighting style of the trainees as there were no actual consequences to poorbat choices.

    Katarina gently put down her young miss in front of the door to the holodeck and ruffled her hair in a yful manner.

    ¡°I can¡¯t enter this lesson with you because Jack gets really annoyed by me for some reason,¡± she exined.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry because I will be here at six o clock to start our session¡±

    ¡°There are some nice surprises in store!¡±

    With a sunny wave, her bodyguard left to prepare for thest lesson of the day. Sophie shivered slightly and had a feeling of unease at the mention of surprises.

    Later that day she would realise that her instincts¡­. had unfortunately been correct.

    ¡°Well¡­ it can¡¯t be worse than the morning session,¡± Sophie reassured herself then knocked confidently on the holodeck door and entered inside.

    [Holodeck Room 2 ¨C Scenario 1043 initiated!]

    It was like an entirely different world and Sophie was almost taken aback by the beautiful sights before her. Somehow the inside of the room contained an entire jungle which stretched as far as the eye could see.

    Soft green grass tickled her feet and Sophie could hear the calls of birds and animals rustling in the bushes. A waterfall flowed thunderously down the sides of a cliff and a gentle mist of water sprayed across her face.

    ¡°The first test is to find me within this jungle,¡± a male voice called out from above her.

    ¡°You only have ten minutes.¡±

    Sophie looked up quickly but could only see a sunny sky reflected back at her. She needed to find Jack quickly otherwise she would fail the second lesson.

    It was a hunt.

    The moment that thought crossed her mind, a strange emotion of excitement welled up in her chest. Sophie¡¯s eyes began to glow menacingly and suddenly the forest around her vanished abruptly.

    She found herself looking at a white room the size of a football field with strange light particles forming the shapes of the sights she had seen before.

    Was this the holodeck without the illusions?

    Sophie would have pondered on this matter more if she did not spot a red thermal image in the shape of a man several feet to the right of her location.

    ¡°Found you!¡± she shouted.

    (Jack¡¯s POV)

    Jack was rxing in the center of the room when he heard a small notification on his tablet which told him that Sophie had entered the holodeck. He saw her looking around in wonder at the simted forest and a gleeful smile appeared on his face.

    He had been carefully reading articles on the on how to be a good teacher and one of the most important advice ording to one website was to establish yourself in the hearts of the students.

    Jack had set the illusion in the holodeck to the highest levels of realism that could even temporarily confuse a void stage cultivator.

    The n was to set Sophie an impossible task to find him within the jungle and after the time had passed, he would reveal himself and show that she needed much more training.

    Jack put on his manliest tone of voice and spoke into the inte,

    ¡°The first test is to find me within this jungle.¡±

    ¡°You only have ten minutes.¡±

    Upon careful observation, Sophie appeared to be frozen in ce and was peering in all sorts of directions with no idea of where to go. This was in line with his expectation, so Jack was already thinking of how to present himself at the end of the test to act cool.

    But his thoughts were some interrupted by a loud shout of,

    ¡°Found you!¡±

    Jack nced up from his tablet to see the horrifying sight of Sophie leaping towards him with all four legs spider legs outstretched like des. Her eyes were shining with a golden light and a ferocious aura of blood-thirst made him subconsciously activate his cultivation.

    ¡°How¡­how is this possible?!¡± Jack shrank backwards in shock.

    Unfortunately, he did not retreat in time and collected a solid blow to the face which caused him to crash backwards into the bushes.

 Chapter 29: Everyone knows the protagonist is a child of heavens!

    Chapter 29: Everyone knows the protagonist is a child of heavens!

    ¡°Oh my god! Are you okay?¡± Sophie saw her poor mentor soaring through the air and crashing into the floor of the holodeck. Her eyes stopped glowing eerily and the strange emotions present in her chest vanished almost as quickly as they appeared.

    She hurriedly ran towards the sorry looking figureying down on the ground. Jack had a much higher cultivation level than the young miss and hence did not sustain any injuries. Him flying backwards was due to having been caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected attack.

    Well¡­. his sense of pride had been greatly diminished¡­

    ¡°Yes. Have no fear mdy, I was only¡­ um testing your ability to track down a target and I felt the need to act a bit,¡± Jack shamelessly replied.

    Who know what would happen to his reputation if this matter spread to Katarina and the rest of the death guards?

    He received a doubtful look from Sophie but continued to talk as if the incident never urred.

    ¡°But how did you find me in the middle of the holographic illusion,¡± he curiously asked.

    No matter how much he racked his brains, there was just no possible way that a qi body cultivator would be able to know any techniques that could dispel that level of illusion. Sophie had not even learnt any qi techniques ¡­.so was it simply blind luck?

    Sophie cocked her head in bafflement and her answer made her teacher want to spit blood,

    ¡°I just used my eyes and the holograms just went away on their own.¡±

    She decided not to mention that an overwhelming feeling of adrenaline was coursing through her veins at the mere thought of hunting him down. Honestly, Sophie¡¯s memories were a bit vague after the challenge was issued as her body simply moved automatically.

    ¡°That¡¯s simply fascinating! Could it be that your mother¡¯s race is able to dispel illusions and mental maniption techniques?¡± Jack wondered.

    Sophie just shrugged as she had no answer to that question. Her father did not tell her the full abilities of her mysterious mother.

    Jack noticed her silence and believed that the duke was keeping it a secret and hence dropped the matter.

    ¡°Here choose one of these four to learn over the next two months.¡±

    He casually reached into his bag and pulled out four tattered old books. Jack cheerfully handed them to Sophie and patiently waited for her to reach a decision.

    There were four options thaty before her and Sophie had to consider the pros and cons of each method carefully as they were all vastly different.

    The movement technique of the bunch was the ¡®Cloud Treading Dragon¡¯ which allowed the user to rapidly increase their speed and temporarily glide in the air.

    The palm skill was the ¡®Noxious Yin Palm¡¯ and would cause internal injuries that would weaken and poison the recipient of the attack.

    She held no interest in the sword technique and foot technique at least for the time being after reading on the introduction page that each would take over five months to learn.

    Sophie could not perform these skills in the past as each would consume a certain amount of qi from her dantian.

    Cultivation was built upon two fundamental practices that would form a cycle of strength in the user.

    Qi gathering techniques would increase the cultivation level of the practitioner such as ¡®The Spider Whisper Art¡¯ that Sophie had found written down on the monument.

    Each level of cultivation would mark an increase in the amount of qi present in the body which could be used to unleash powerful attacks and abilities. These attacks were based on cultivation techniques such as movement, sword etc.

    But which was the right option¡­

    Sophie stood still in agony for a few moments before reaching out to the furthest book on the left.

    She chose the Cloud Treading Dragon movement technique.

    ¡°Justify your choice,¡± her mentor demanded.

    ¡°I learnt an important lesson from fighting my father which is that a fight is won by the person who strikes first.¡± Sophie exined with confidence.

    A small smile appeared on Jack¡¯s face, but he just gestured for her to go off to the side of the room to practice.

    It was the perfect answer.

    What was the use of great strength if one cannot even hit their opponent? Many young cultivators wanted to seek glory and trained fist, leg and sword techniques but speed would separate the genius from themon man.

    Cultivation manuals were rtively easy to understand, and Sophie gathered her qi at the acupoints in her feet. The forms necessary for practice were outlined in the book so she spent a couple of peaceful hours trying and failing to interpret the technique.

    This was a much more rxing session than the previous one with her dad!

    Unfortunately, Sophie¡¯s happy life was interrupted by a sharp voice from Jack who had been overseeing her progress the whole time.

    ¡°There is something I¡¯ve been curious about¡­ have you ever tried using those spider appendages in abat setting?¡± Jack suddenly asked.

    ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t think that they can be used¡­. I can¡¯t seem to be able to control them very well,¡± Sophie replied.

    Actually, the thought of using her new body parts had been contemted but when she attempted to move them in the mirror, she found that they were only capable of small side to side movement.

    Jack said nothing but walked up to her slowly and withdrew a small cylinder from the inside of his waist. He pressed a button and several tiny nanomachines flew up to form the shape of a de with the cylinder as the hilt.

    ¡°Increase the sharpness to level 4,¡± he muttered quietly.

    Swish!

    He swung the sword towards one of Sophie¡¯s spider legs and there was a resounding crash as the de was reflected.

    Sophie immediately checked the status of the leg but could not see a single trace of the sword strike. Jack stepped back and a contemtive look appeared on his face as he spoke with no small amount of astonishment.

    ¡°It seems like your appendages can withstand the strike of a grade 4 weapon that has not been embedded with qi energy. I¡¯m curious to find out whether or not the density will increase as you ascend cultivation levels.¡±

    There were so many tests that he wanted to run on Sophie but the mental image of her father¡¯s reaction if he found out scared those thoughts away from his head.

    There was quite a bit of battle potential of these appendages that could be explored safely.

    Jack stood still for a few moments as he made adjustments to his training n, there was no need to teach her how to dispel illusions as the early level cultivation techniques were less effective than her golden eyes.

    Instead that time would be better spent figuring out how to use those four bioweapons on her back.

    ¡°I want you to try moving only the upper right spider leg in a stabbing motion,¡± he calmly lectured.

    Sophie nodded and began to take a series of deep breaths. It was a strange feeling having these extra body parts.

    They somehow felt foreign and yet familiar at the same time.

    There was no evidence that their use wasbat viable but yet Sophie could not shake off the instinct that her legs were dangerous weapons that could improve her strength.

    Focus. Focus¡­.

    ¡°I am the protagonist. My cultivation talent will allow me to soar into the heavens! Who has ever heard of heroes being stuck on the training phase¡± Sophie quietly whispered to herself.

    Sui Meng¡¯s old supervisor would constantly preach about self hypnotising techniques that could trick the mind into performing at its best.

    Suddenly a breakthrough urred!

    It was like a gate had been released within her mind and Sophie could feel an unfamiliar power rushing through her veins. These spider legs were as simple and easy to use as the fingers on her hand.

    ¡°Teacher I got it!¡± Sophie yelled in excitement.

    This was the time for her to showcase the amazing progress of a favoured child of heavens who would overturn the gxy.

    She concentrated hard with beads of sweat pouring steadily down her face and eventually her upper right leg moved two centimetres forward.

    Jack: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Sophie: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    An awkward silence reigned between the two and Sophie simply wished that the ground could swallow her up.

    Why was the script wrong!

 Chapter 30: The Art Of Poison

    Chapter 30: The Art Of Poison

    Perhaps this failure by itself would not have affected Sophie so greatly under ordinary circumstances, but one had to remember that she spent the entire morning getting mercilessly beaten down by her father.

    She could not help the tears of frustration from dripping slowly down her face as she wanted to throw punches into the air and scream.

    Comin! Comin! Where is that damned god of transmigration¡­ she was ready to fight him to death.

    The gold finger? The unmatched cultivation talent? The beauty that would swoon in her arms?

    None seemed to be in sight!

    Gaia ¨C Imperial Complex ¨C Side pce #503)

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    ¡°Should we send for a doctor my princess?¡± a maid hesitantly asked the veiled girl lounging casually in hammock.

    ¡°No need¡­ maybe someone is thinking of me?¡± a melodious voice wrapped itself around the maid¡¯s ears and caused her to blush furiously.

    The mysterious youngdy smiled softly, and her enchanting eyes formed two crescents which would leave anyone starstruck.

    (Main Story)

    Jack could tell that his young prot¨¦g¨¦ was feeling rather downtrodden, so he instantly searched up on his tablet ¡®How to encourage students after failure¡¯.

    His high cultivation level came in good use as his enhanced memory could swiftly scan through data and perfectly remember the information even if he had only read it once.

    There was a lovely article on a preschool website which Jack thought fit the situation very well, so he began speech quickly,

    ¡°My pupil¡­ failures do not define a true hero! Make your mommy and daddy proud and grow up to be powerful and strong cultivating who are the proud defenders of humanity¡­.¡±

    He finished the entire wall of text after five minutes and gazed at Sophie with an expectant expression with a puffed-out chest of pride in his skills as a mentor.

    But Sophie was simply confused over why on earth her teacher talking to her as if she were a young child. Just as she was racking her brain to think of a reply, a loud knocking noise was heard from the door and Katarina entered with a cheerful expression.

    ¡°Alright¡­ you had your fun Jack! It is my turn to teach the young miss¡±

    She quickly grabbed Sophie¡¯s hand with a firm grip and marched out of the holodeck while moving at a brisk pace. Sophie did manage to turn around and give a small wave towards Jack who grinned and awkwardly tried to mimic the gesture.

    Jack¡¯s role on the death guard team was mainly cypher infiltration and data analysis which were extremely impressive, but he unfortunately also suffered from a severeck of social skills.

    Sophie followed Katarina through a winding path of staircases and corridors until they arrived at the next training room. When Sophie entered, she immediately was struck with how normal everything was.

    The room was small not unlike those at an inn and just contained a single bed along with a small chair at the back. The bed had a mechanical base, but the mattress reminded Sophie of her high-quality bed at the royal academy.

    ¡°Are you tired mdy? Don¡¯t worry our first couple of sessions just require you to rx andy down on this bed,¡± Katarina smiled gently at her.

    Sophie could not escape the nagging feeling that something was not quite right but followed the instructions and peacefully sat down.

    The mattress was soft andfortable with a strange material filling the inside that molded perfectly into her body shape. She could not help a soft moan in satisfaction escaping her mouth after experiencing this level of rest.

    When she first heard from her father that she would be learning the Art of Poison from Katarina, there were certain thoughts running through her mind. Poison arts were not respected in the martial world and manypetitions banned their usage in official fights.

    Oddly enough, the evaluation for the four great universities ced no such restrictions and cultivators could fight with whatever technique that they trained in.

    These were killing arts and her father emphasised strongly that they should only be used in life or death situations.

    Sophie was notpletely sure of how she would react in a fight to the death. It waspletely normal to the people of this era, but Sui Meng hade from a more peaceful time and had not even gotten into a fist fight much less kill another human being.

    But this would be a bridge that she would be forced to cross eventually¡­.

    A small flicker of sadness crossed her face as she realised that it was unlikely that she would ever see her friends and family on Earth ever again. She shook her head slightly to get rid of these unnecessary thoughts and just focussed on rxing like her teacher said.

    This was the best training session of the day!

    Sophie could feel her aching muscles beginning to cool down and even started to feel slightly sleepy but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the gaze that Katarina had towards her¡­.

    Why was she staring at her with an excited expression?

    [Subject has been ced on the restraining bed¡ª¡ª- Activating binds] a mechanical voiced sounded out from underneath the mattress.

    Suddenly four mechanical ropes emerged from slits on the side of the bed and wrapped tightly around Sophie. She thrashed frantically but found that her strength was too little to break out of these binds.

    ¡°Katarina what the hell is happening?!¡± Sophie yelled in shock. She just saw her loyal bodyguard give a sorrowful smile and ce a silvery briefcase on the ground.

    ¡°Do you know what the first step of learning the Art of Poison is?¡± the wicked woman demanded.

    Sophie shook her head in utter confusion and Katarina stared at her with a dark glint of pleasure surfacing across her face.

    ¡°The first step¡­.is building up your poison immunity!¡± Katarina continued.

    She nonchntly opened up the case to reveal ten vials containing unknown liquids of various colours. Sophie was unsure of the contents of the liquid, but her instincts kept telling her to get away as soon as possible.

    There was also a single syringe gun which Katarina loaded with a purplish liquid and approached her young miss in a threatening manner.

    Sophie was now thoroughly freaked out and began to struggle against the binds that held her body. The needle of the syringe was glistening sharply in the light of the room and the Sophie¡¯s arm shivered slightly at the mere thought of the injection.

    ¡°Katarina¡­. what are you doing with that needle,¡± Sophie nervously asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bring that thing any closer!¡±

    ¡°Please!¡±

    (A few momentster)

    ¡°Forgive me mdy, this is for your own good.¡±

    Stab!

    A loud scream of pain echoed though the corridors of the mansion which was then followed by an overwhelming number of curses and inappropriatenguage.

 Chapter 31: A Shocking Gift

    Chapter 31: A Shocking Gift

    (Later at night)

    Sophie after two hours of intense torture was then taken to arge hall where her father and Jack were waiting to greet her. Katarina had tried to talk to her on the way, but Sophie resolutely turned her head and refused tomunicate.

    Two freaking hours of her body feeling like it was burning up from the inside!

    You don¡¯t get to pretend that nothing happened!

    What made it worse was apparently there was only one poison scheduled for the session, but the effects seemed to wear off too early so Katarina decided to give her another dose.

    The hall wasrge and spacious and her father cheerful waved towards her so Sophie walked up to him with a grin. There was a human shaped capsuleying down on the floor that was partially open, and Jack was adjusting the settings on the side of the device.

    There were various types of scanning technology which could analyse the gic code, cultivation potential, mana or even offspring viability of individuals. Of course, these technologies were only used publicly on themoners in annual aptitude tests.

    The nobility treated their personal data as a highly guarded secret.

    T-341 capsule was a new productunched by the Nexus megacorporation that could break down every hidden gic secret of an organism ced inside. The information was very thorough with only a 0.2% chance of error.

    What made this device so appealing was that the data gathered was stored on the device itself rather than uploaded to the virtual hub which prevented hackers from essing it remotely.

    The experience of being strapped to a bed and injected with unknown poison was still fresh in Sophie¡¯s mind so she hesitated slightly before making her way inside the capsule.

    ¡°Have no fear sweetie, the scanner is painless and will only take a couple of minutes,¡± her father reassured her with a gentle smile.

    Katarina gave her a small wave as the capsule door shut and locked her away from the world outside. Sophie was surprisinglyfortable as padded cushions lined the capsule¡¯s walls which meant that it felt like a sofa.

    [Beginning full body scan]

    Several holes opened up on the ceiling of the capsule and bright beams streamed out and entered her body. Sophie gritted her teeth but could sense no pain¡­ if anything the light was warm and rxing.

    Outside the capsule, Jack was furiously tapping out a string ofmands on the input section and recording the fluctuating data numbers.

    ¡°This is simply amazing!¡± he eximed in awe.

    ¡°Sir, your daughter¡¯s body is unlike anything I have ever seen before¡±

    Rokan said nothing, but a twisted grimace of pain shed across his face. Why had her mother just abandoned them all those years ago?

    [Scanningplete¡­. recording andpiling all data into summary form]

    The capsule door swung open and Sophie stood up while unsteadily swaying from side to side, fortunately the duke was there to hold her upright.

    ¡°Well what did the scan reveal about my body?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    She was aware of certain aspects of her transformation, but it would be foolish to im that she knew all her new abilities. The duke was quite interested as well and turned towards Jack who was still mulling over the report.

    ¡°Firstly, the device provided physical data on your body. There was no species matching your mother¡¯s gic material on the record, so the device just recorded the differences between a typical human body and the data obtained,¡± Jack exined with an excited tone.

    ¡°The most obvious differences are the four spider appendages on your back, fanged teeth, golden eyes and pointed ears. These are all exterior differences that anyone can observe at an initial nce.¡±

    ¡°What is truly fascinating is that you have several internal differences that separate you from a normal human!¡±

    ¡°There seems to be multiple unknown organs in your body that the scanner was unable to determine the function of, and your mouth contains two nds which can secrete a hazardous fluid of acidic origin.¡±

    Sophie could not help but pause in shock and run her fingers along the sides of her fangs. She had not thought about it before, but her teeth really were sharp. As Jack continued to list all the gic differences between her and a normal human, a small trace of worry bloomed in her heart.

    What if her dad thought she was a freak?

    ¡°Princess are you okay?¡± her father asked in a worried tone.

    She did not dare to look up to see the expression on his face but nced up briefly and froze in shock.

    There was no trace of revulsion or disgust.

    The duke was looking at her with the same eyes of love and care that he had before the results of the body scan.

    ¡°Yeah¡­I¡­I¡¯m fine daddy,¡± Sophie said in a tearful voice.

    She walked forward and gave her dad a big hug which the duke quickly returned, and the father daughter pair quietly stood with their arms wrapped around each other.

    ¡°Now on to the cultivation and mana aptitude!¡± Jack continued.

    Hisck of social awareness broke up a bonding moment between father and daughter which made the duke very unhappy, but he forced himself to listen and not scold his death guard.

    ¡°The cultivation aptitude has risen from the previous grade E to grade A which ces the young miss in the top one percentage of humanity.¡±

    Sophie beamed and had to stop herself from shouting out loud in joy.

    This was it! The cultivation talent that would allow her to soar to the heavens¡­.

    Cultivation and mana potential were both measured in six grades of A to F with each grade having a narrow range of values. An ordinary person with a decent amount of cultivation potential would be grade C or D. Excellent individuals would be grade B while the true geniuses would be grade A and the rumored grade S.

    The rest were considered trash and a waste of time to gift them cultivation resources. This may sound cruel but in the dangerous universe, it was unwise to share limited resources with those that would not be able to utilise them.

    Cultivation and mana potential measured the absorption of the body to qi and mana respectively which meant that low potential individuals would take more resources to reach the same level of a higher-grade person.

    ¡°Her mana potential has somehow dropped from grade E to grade F which means there is a 0% chance of spell casting capabilities.¡±

    The following statement from Jack ced a sudden douse of cold water on Sophie¡¯s celebratory mood.

    Damn it.

    She had been thinking that if her mana potential had increased¡­ then why not just be a spellcaster and safely rx in the backline of fights. No need to get mercilessly destroyed in a duel when you have the cannon fodder¡­ cough cough¡­ the cultivators to ensure your safety.

    Rokan gave a shortugh when he saw his daughter scowling while muttering fiercely to herself under her breathe. She seemed to be unaware that her high level of cultivation father could hear every word and was now nning on drastically intensifying the training.

    ¡°Good work, now delete the data from the device because I have no doubt that my daughter¡¯s outstanding talent may make her a target,¡± he ordered.

    Jack quickly entered a series of fast pacedmands into the capsule and deleted every trace of the data from the body scan.

    Sophie let out a small sigh of relief and began to seriously contemte how to incorporate her newfound abilities and powers into an effectivebat style.

    While theck of mana present in her body did leave her slightly disappointed¡­

    ¡­.. there was nothing she could do about it for now.

    Katarina and her father started discussing ways to modify her training regime in the uing months.

    ¡°Please excuse me lord duke,¡± Jack bowed solemnly and left the room.

    Rokan waved his hands in casual acknowledgement then resumed his training conversation with Katarina as he had the intent of increasing the amount of practice fights.

    Sophie almost wanted to faint when she overheard his cheerful tone.

    More fights?! She could barely strand after one morning of practice sessions!

    Jack strolled out of the room with a confident stride and soon arrived at the holodeck where he carefully pulled out a small device after disabling the monitoring cameras in the room. He spoke softly into amunicator and then sent out a small package of data to an unknown location.

    At that time, no one had noticed that Jack had exited the room with a small information drive hidden deep in his pockets.

    And that night¡­. a certain noble house received a shocking gift.

 Chapter 32: Two months of training

    Chapter 32: Two months of training

    (One weekter) ¨C The morning training sessions

    ¡°Move! Move!¡± a loud shout came from an unknown direction.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes glowed slightly, and she ducked swiftly as a strong sense of danger came from her right side. She felt a small breeze from the de that narrowly passed above her head with a whoosh.

    Sophie immediately turned aroundunched a fierce series of kicks and then flung a knife towards the enemy.

    A sudden jolt of pain was felt in her back and she crashed to the ground with a painful groan.

    ¡°Is that all you got?¡± the figure of the duke loomed above her.

    Sophie gritted her teeth in determination and stood up with two daggers firmly held in her hands.

    ¡°I can still go on!¡±

    (Two weekster)

    ¡°Is that all you got?¡± came a familiar mocking tone.

    ¡°Hell no!¡±

    (Five weekster)

    ¡°Is that all you got?¡±

    Sophie did not reply but just lowered her head in a contemtive mood beforeunching a series of shots from the ster pistol in her grasp.

    Pew! Pew!

    Every single shot was dodged by her father who then closed the gap and resolutely mmed a fist into her stomach.

    The training was harsh and relentless, but Sophie kept pushing the limits of her body and herbat sense greatly improved. The mysterious qi gathering method would automatically activate at night and her cultivation level soon skyrocketed from qi body stage three to the stage seven after only one month with a breakneck pace.

    Sophie fell into a regr routine over the next couple of weeks which drained her both physically and mentally. The mornings would involve her father mercilessly beating her in duels with varying weapons.

    Knives, whips, swords, ster pistols and hand to handbat.

    He did not teach her the cultivation arts that utilised these weapons but demanded perfection in the basics.

    What was the point of learning a cultivation art when you could not even hold a de properly?

    Mastery of these weapons could not be achieved in the small timeframe of two months, so the Duke wanted to ensure that his daughter had a solid foundation in each type.

    Although¡­. his daughter had clearly not inherited his talent for swordsmanship¡­

    There was one weapon that Sophie¡¯s unexpected talent caused a small stir at the manor. The duke on a whim had lent her a whip for a sparring session just to showcase the strengths and weakness of the weapon.

    What he did not expect was the immediate barrage of deadly attacks which caused him to be unable to get in the range to use palm attacks with his restricted cultivation base.

    Whips were notoriously dangerous to master but had the advantage of a long range and greater flexibility that normal weapons could not match. It was only a ss 4 training whip and yet it seemed almost alive in Sophie¡¯s hands.

    There was also a strange look of battle lust inside her eyes whenever she swung the weapon towards her old man.

    The duke would not admit it, but a sh of fear entered his heart briefly when his daughter¡¯s eyes sparkled gleefully.

    He disappeared in midair and defeated her swiftly but did not inform his daughter that he had to increase his cultivation base to the middle of the qi spirit stage to make an opening.

    Were it not for the enormous amount of talent that his daughter possessed, the duke would have promptly stopped the use of the whip in training sessions.

    Somehow, he felt that his innocent daughter may have awakened some¡­. dangerous feelings.

    The training for the other weapons also went quite well and Sophie learnt a reasonable degree of mastery for the knives and her aim with a ster pistol was quite sharp.

    ¡®If only the other training sessions went so well¡¯ was a thought that frequently entered her mind.

    Jack had taught her the Cloud Treading Dragon technique and she was now able to float in the air for two minutes. Sophie¡¯s speed had also increased drastically and sensed that theplete mastery of the technique was only one opportunity away.

    The university entrance exam was one week after the ss evaluation so there was no time to learn any other technique, but Jack gave her a data drive with a whip technique called the ck Viper Art.

    There was only a slight regret that although she could now move the spider legs with a greater degree of movement, it was not up to the level ofbat viability.

    She promised to practice this technique when she returned to the royal academy and gave her awkward mentor a warm hug.

    Jack was nothing but kind and patient throughout the whole two months and Sophie was filled with a deep sense of respect.

    As for Katarina¡¯s training sessions,

    Well let us just say that some things were better left unsaid¡­.

    It was fortunate that the duke house was rich enough to afford all the high-grade healing serums, but Sophie¡¯s body seemed to recover unusually quickly from physical injuries.

    Sophie¡¯s cultivation level had also reached the cusp of the qi spirit stage and she sensed that a breakthrough was imminent.

    Strangely enough¡­ she never saw the girl with six spider legs in the space after that one night despite trying desperately to search the darkness for her. Sophie did not know the reason but felt a sense of kinship towards the blurry figure and was upset when no trace of her could be found in the void.

    On the final day of training her father threw a big surprise party at dinnertime and Sophie spent the nightughing joyfully with the teachers who helped her grow over these couple of months.

    ¡°My daughter, no matter what happens in the ss evaluation¡­I will always be proud of you,¡± the duke muttered softly and wrapped his arms around Sophie in a big hug.

    ¡°You have statistically a 65 to 70 % chance of sessfully reaching the minimum cut off point to represent the school,¡± Jack said in a monotone.

    He was then swiftly punched on the head and started rolling around on the floor in pain while Katarina scolded him relentlessly for being too negative. Jack was quite fortunate, as the duke was going to knock some sense into this tactless man before Katarina struck first.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him kiddo. Just remember that if you can¡¯t win¡­poison them to death!¡± Katarina turned to her young pupil and gave a bloodthirsty grin.

    Sophie looked at the two bickering bodyguards and felt the warm embrace of her father. She could not help the stifling feeling bubbling up in her chest and spoke up in an embarrassed tone,

    ¡°Thank you everyone.¡±

    ¡°You are all my family.¡±

 Chapter 33: Atlas Universitys Offer

    Chapter 33: As University''s Offer

    Sophie stepped towards the gates of the Academy and looked up with a confident grin on her face.

    She was no longer wearing a cloak to hide her appearance and felt the gazes of curious passersby upon her figure but paid them no mind.

    Why must she hide herself from the prejudice of others?

    The two months of training had tempered her shy personality and it must have been Katarina¡¯s influence, but the opinions of others no longer mattered to her.

    ¡°Make sure to beat them up mdy!¡± a loud cry sounded out from behind.

    Sophie turned around to see Katarina leaning casually against the spaceship while waving her hands frantically in support. The duke was going to apany them on the trip to the Academy as well, but an urgent matter came up, so he had to go to one of his territories to settle it.

    Her new uniform was made of memory cloth which was a fascinating material that could morph itself around her body and looked quite fitting.

    In addition, poor Sophie was carrying two trunks worth of food, clothes, gifts and other items that her overprotective dad demanded she bring.

    The duke gave her a ss four whip made of ck carbon fibres and with the push of a button could cause spikes to form along its edge. The weapon was safely tucked away in her backpack but for some reason Sophie¡¯s blood boiled at the opportunity to let loose.

    Jack had already given her a new cultivation art to practice so her simply passed her a pair of nanotech gloves that could protect her hands when using palm techniques.

    Katarina gave her a set of vials with each containing a poison more dangerous than thest, but it was a small bottle of aphrodisiac that caused Sophie to blush furiously and caused her to scold her mentor.

    ¡°Hey¡­ you never know,¡± was the words her irresponsible teacher replied.

    ¡°How shameless do you think I am? What would people think if they discovered that a duke¡¯s daughter was carrying this stuff!¡± Sophie furiously bellowed.

    Despite the big show of protests¡­.

    She still kept the bottle¡­ for emergency use.

    It was incredibly fortunate that the duke did not find out that his daughter was given a bottle full of this substance as there was a high chance that he would have beaten Katarina to death.

    (Meanwhile in the principle¡¯s office)

    Gentle sunlight streamed through the windows of an office where a middle-aged man was pouring tea for an esteemed guest.

    The middle-aged man was slightly overweight and had an unpleasant pair of eyes that darted around shiftily. He wore the teaching uniform of the Royal Academy but adorned the front of his chest with golden medals that sparkled in the light.

    ¡°What brings a recruiter from the As University to our humble school?¡± the principle of the Royal Academy spoke with a fawning expression towards the hooded figure.

    Only the top twenty high schools on the Gaia were allocated ten slots to potential candidates for the university test.

    Although these students were all geniuses¡­.it meant nothing to the four great universities.

    The As University was the university based on the human controlled of Lunare and was generally where most of the noble children would select to go. It was named after the Greek myth of As and symbolised the weight humanity held to carry the burdens of the federation.

    Any student epted to the university would have a shortcut to power in the Imperial Army and a life of wealth.

    This was not to say that the other universities did not have their merits as each were equally powerful¡­

    But who would go to a school on a where mankind was the minority?

    The university entrance exam was open to the top applicants of every in the federation along with special exemptions for allied civilisations and immigrant species. The recruiter gracefully sitting on the chair thought that these students were no more than big fishes in small ponds.

    Were it not for a special mission from the higher ups at the college, he would never waste his time at this ce.

    ¡°Allow me to frankly speak principle Yang. The university of As has special authority to grant special seed status to five students in this school.¡±

    ¡°This would be in addition to the ten seeds chosen from your internalpetition. However, it must be noted that if the special status kids qualify in the entrance exam¡­. then they must select the University of As.¡±

    The principle was overjoyed and could barely contain the grin that threatened to burst out at any moment. He hastily nodded in acknowledgement and the recruiter left the room after receiving a list of names.

    This was tremendously good news!

    He had been quite distressed over the high number of talented children in this current year with only ten slots avable to them. There was a total of twenty golden star uniforms issued in the entire senior year poption which was a record amount.

    One had to be high level in the qi body stage to even qualify for this prestigious title.

    As for the rest of kids¡­.why bother to wasting everyone¡¯s time?

    The ss evaluation was opened to all students in the grade, but it was obvious that only the top students would qualify. There would be a few dreamers every year but some careful maniption of the fighting order would eliminate them directly.

    Loud knocking came from the door and a pretty young secretary strolled in with a happy smile on her face.

    ¡°Sir! We have finalised the list of all the students registered for thepetition and several have reported breakthroughs in their cultivation.¡±

    She handed a silvery grey tablet to the principle who nced at the data and promptly removed the five names he had selected to go directly to the university entrance exam. His hand soon paused on the profile of one student as he casually verified the information of the registered kids.

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor? Is that Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes¡­. but her talent is not very good, and she has remained at the early stages of the qi body for a few years now,¡± the secretary noticed his curiosity and swiftly replied.

    ¡°She has been registered as untalented and given a ck uniform as well.¡±

    Principle Yang frowned and his interest in the girl soon disappeared. He had just recalled the memory of how the Duke threatened to blow up the school if his daughter was not registered after receiving bacsh from the other noble parents.

    The principle had a contemtive look on his face before issuing an order,

    ¡°Change the evaluation exam so she faces Leona of the Braveheart family. I want this hybrid stain on this academy gone as soon as possible!¡±

 Chapter 34: The Challenge

    Chapter 34: The Challenge

    ¡°Alright is everyone ready to go to the arena?¡± the homeroom teacher asked.

    ¡°Wait! Wait! Sorry teacher I¡¯m a bitte!¡± Sophie shouted as she dashed into the ssroom.

    There was a bit of dy at the housingplex as the receptionist did not recognise her after the change and thought that she had stolen an ID wristband. It was only after undergoing a biology scan that she managed to drop off her stuff and sprint to ss.

    ¡°How dare youe sote on such an important da¡­.¡± the teacher trailed off as he saw Sophie¡¯s appearance.

    Sophie walked to her seat with her head held high as whispers erupted from all around the ssroom.

    The original host hid her facial appearance behind long hair and tried to keep a low profile, but Sui Meng was far more outgoing.

    She even relished the attention.

    Katarina had personally given her a makeover the week before her return to school which had caused her father to give her a long lecture on the dangers of men when he saw her new look.

    Later that night, Sophie gazed at her reflection in the mirror and just had one thought.

    I am hot as hell!

    Sophie had an imposing height of six feet, so she now towered over the shorter students. Her body was voluptuous with curves in all the right ces which swayed gently from side to side as she walked to her seat.

    Strangely enough the spider legs looked natural on her body and even gave a peculiar sense of charm.

    But it was her face that provided the most appeal.

    The golden eyes shone eerily, and her beautiful face gave off the image of a poisonous rose that could lead anyone into a fatal attraction.

    ¡°Don¡­don¡¯t let that happen again,¡± the teacher managed to stutter out.

    Sophie sat down in her chair quietly and just observed the students sneaking nces at her. Some looked on in disgust at her spider legs, some were staring with lust at her bountiful chest and some were simply curious.

    After a few minutes, the teacher resumed his speech as if nothing had happened although the tips of his ears were slightly red,

    ¡°I will now confirm the students who have registered for the ss evaluation. Just say present if you consent to participate. This will be your final time to drop out.¡±

    ¡°Thaely Bakins¡±

    ¡°Present!¡±

    ¡°Jose Prisnaer¡±

    ¡°Present!¡±

    ¡°Brandy Hally¡±

    ¡°Present!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor¡±

    ¡°Present!¡± came azy reply.

    There was a short pause as the teacher seemed shocked for a moment but he simple shook his head and dismissed the ss to head to the arena.

    He had seen too many students over the years who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth and it appeared that this hybrid girl was the same.

    As Sophie streamed out of the room with the rest of her ssmates, she spotted the original host¡¯s best friend Leona whose sneak attack in the library was still fresh on her mind.

    She pushed her way through the crowd and grabbed her shoulder roughly. Leona gave a startled look and confusion appeared on her face as she stared at her former best friend.

    How did she get so pretty?

    Jealousy bubbled up in her chest and she quickly spat out a rude greeting,

    ¡°What do you want hybrid?¡±

    Hatred and sorrow filled Sophie¡¯s mind and her hand shook involuntarily. These were the remnant emotions of the original host who saw her only friend betray and then bully her relentlessly just to get popr.

    She lowered her head to hide the expression in her eyes and muttered some words that made Leona boil over with rage.

    ¡°I will personally eliminate you from the ss evaluation if you ever face me. Consider this a challenge for all the years of being your punching bag.¡±

    ¡°Fine I ept! How could I ever lose to a cultivation waste like you?¡± Leona fired back.

    Sophie could still feel the lingering emotions of the original host and her eyes turned cold. If you did not want to be her friend, then so be it¡­ but why bully an innocent girl.

    ¡°And Leona¡­.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± came the impatient reply.

    ¡°I hope it was worth it,¡± with that parting remark Sophie melted back into the crowd.

    Leaving her former friend staring at her back with a trace amount of guilt.

    Sophie followed her ssmates until they arrived at the grand arena of the Royal Academy. She could not help but whistle in admiration. The arena was like an enormous stadium withfortable memory foam seats for spectators and several fighting rings with domes of different environments.

    It was quite loud as the ss evaluation for the seniors was attended by students of all grades as a form of motivation and school spirit.

    The ss evaluation was held in a tournament format where the participants would be separated into groups for the initial stages then progress to a battle royale finale. With twenty-five participants, there would be five groups where the students would undergo a series of one on one duels

    This would all lead to the finals where the top two in each group would then advance and also be guaranteed a spot in the university entrance exam.

    Weapons were provided by the school with blunted edges to prevent serious injuries as well as healers present in the case of idents.

    With the top five students automatically qualified, there was a restless atmosphere among the remaining students and some even cursed themselves for not being brave enough to sign up.

    Principal Yang had not confirmed this news officially, but the gossip has already spread around the school.

    Three of the five geniuses were in the qi spirit realm while the highest level of cultivation now present in the ss evaluation was only qi body.

    Rumors and secret betting began to circte about who else would manage to steal a spot.

    All of the remaining members of the prestigious group had signed up which was fifteen in total, followed by nine members of the regr ss and then Sophie being the lone wolf of the ck uniforms.

    Principal Yang noticed the senior ss had arrived so he cleared his throat and spoke a few words of encouragement,

    ¡°My dear students! You are the proud noble sons and daughters who rose above themon masses by virtue of your talent and bloodline. As the principal of the Royal Academy it is my pride and joy tomence this ss evaluation tournament!¡±

    ¡°The winner of the tournament will receive 4000 Enas and two rare cultivation manuals!¡±

    ¡°Also, as you all have probably heard, the top five students of the prestigious ss have been directly selected to go to the university entrance exam¡±

    Gasps echoed around the assembly as even Sophie raised an eyebrow at the generous reward, but the news of five extra spots was also interesting.

    The money was not much in the eyes of the wealthy students, but rare cultivation manuals were still quite precious especially for lower nobility families.

    ¡°All the participating students please check your wristband for the group assignment!¡± he continued.

    Sophie felt a small buzz on her wrist and she quickly opened tapped on her band to ess her tournament grouping.

    Group five with the members; Leona Braveheart, Sophie Peterlor, Brian Cyan, Stacy Greene, Seth nigan

    Four members of the prestigious ss!

    This was nothing more than a death group. There was an imperceptible frown on Sophie¡¯s face as she sensed that there was a hidden scheme behind this.

    Or just some really bad luck¡­

    Fortunately, the person had no idea that her cultivation level had risen and was now approaching the qi spirit stage. The only fighter who could give her a challenge among herpetitors would be Leona.

    Sophie leaned back on her chair and rxed slightly while ignoring the mocking res being sent her way.

    She did have to wait long for a confrontation as Leona swaggered over with a cocky grin and said,

    ¡°Looks like I don¡¯t have to wait so long for a fight hybrid scum,¡±

    The group of noble girls behind her started tough but Sophie just shot them a casual nce and resumed checking her tablet for information on thepetitors in her bracket.

    Leona scowled and walked away feeling as if she had lost face in front of her noble friends.

    How dare that trash ignore her!

 Chapter 35: The Past (Leonas POV)

    Chapter 35: The Past (Leona''s POV)

    I am a terrible person.

    The day I met Sophie was eleven years ago when we were both just little girls. My father had served in the imperial army as Duke Rokan¡¯s right hand man for a number of years so the two became sworn brothers.

    He would often bring me over to y at the Peterlor estate.

    I had been to several tea parties hosted by young nobles to promote socialising andworking but Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter had never shown up. As a child you do not notice these little details and I certainly never thought to ask.

    Would everything have been different if I had?

    They say that first impressions alwaysst the longest and the little girl I saw for the first time resembled a frightened cat.

    She was hiding behind her father¡¯s legs and curiously peeking at me with a cautious expression.

    ¡°Hi,¡± I called out.

    ¡°Do you want to be my friend?¡±

    I still remember the bright smile that stretched across her face as she excitedly replied,

    ¡°Yes please!¡±

    Our fathers both smiled at the two of us and from that moment on¡­ we were inseparable.

    It was no exaggeration to say that we grew up together as close as sisters. Our families were both from the upper nobility, so the friendship was highly encouraged.

    Every week I would visit my best friend at least four times and we would explore the outer areas of the mansion together.

    Sophie loved flowers and would spend hours dragging me around the garden to see the new nts. I was truthfully not the biggest fan of this, but herpany held a special ce in my heart, so I cheerfully agreed.

    There were no closer pair of friends and I always thought that we would always be together. But everything changed with a simple sentence¡­

    ¡°My mom calls you a freak!¡±

    We were attending a prestigious elementary school when one of the girls came up to Sophie and started to call her names. I was naturally furious and loudly scolded her until she broke out in tears.

    Sophie just looked shellshocked and Iforted her because I did not understand why a random ssmate would just harass her like that.

    One whisper turned to two¡­.

    Two whispers turned to four¡­.

    Sophie and I found ourselves isted from the ss, none of the girls who talked to me at tea parties would even dare to approach me at school.

    In my confusion I asked my dad why was this happening¡­ why were they targeting Sophie?

    My innocent childhood mind never saw Sophie as different from me. I thought that her golden eyes made her look like a fairy.

    That was when I found out the reason for the other girls to reject her.

    She was considered a hybrid. My dad told me to ignore the whispers and he spoke to Sophie¡¯s father who went to the school toin.

    The schoolteachers did not dare to offend a god stage cultivator, so the children were reprimanded severely. This just meant that the tactics changed¡­

    Sophie no longer received the scorn and insults of her peers, but she was simply treated as nothing more than a stranger.

    I was her only friend.

    Still that girl continued to smile brightly as if nothing in the surroundings could affect her. She told me that as long as I was with her, that she would never be sad.

    I¡­. I did not feel the same way.

    The whispers in my ears gradually became louder and louder until I could not take it anymore.

    I could not remember what argument finally pushed me over the edge, but I said something that had been buried deep in my heart.

    ¡°Why must I be punished for being friends with you?¡±

    ¡°You are the freak! Not me!¡±

    For the first time that I had met her¡­. the ever-present smile on her face had dimmed.

    I wish she had hated me.

    I would have been able to live with the shame if she had hated me.

    She just gave me a quiet nod of understanding and no longer tried to approach me in ss. My friendship with the other noble girls got better over time and suddenly I was one of the most popr people in ss.

    I quietly told my father that Sophie was no longer my friend so there were no more visits to her mansion.

    She was not bullied per say¡­. but I would always feel a heavy rush of emotions every lunchtime when I saw her eating alone.

    We entered the same high school, but we were now nothing more than strangers at this point.

    I saw her at the testing hall with a determined expression on her face but when her talent was assessed¡­the teacher just gave a disappointed sigh.

    When my turn for the testing for cultivation talent happened, it was determined that I was a rare grade A talent!

    I joined the prestigious ss and saw my former friend wearing a ck uniform in the back of the hall.

    Even if I wanted to reconcile¡­what was the point?

    We belonged to different worlds now. I would soar like a phoenix while she would remain behind due to theck of talent.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    I see her now on the stage facing me. Her image burns in mind and I cannot help butpare the little girl of the past and the young teenager before me.

    Gorgeous.

    Unaffected by the jeers of others.

    Everything that I always strived to be.

    How did this girl who experienced so much loneliness and rejection still wear the gentle smile on her face?

    Why was she still looking at me with no hatred in her eyes? I could only see a fierypetitive spirit.

    The familiar unpleasant rush of emotions starts to choke me and the words I always wanted to say seemed trapped in my throat.

    I know that I am nothing more than a coward.

    No matter how much I try¡­. the guilt overwhelms me, and I cannot even muster up the courage to say the simple phrase,

    ¡°Sophie¡­I am sorry¡±

 Chapter 36: The Duels Begins!

    Chapter 36: The Duels Begins!

    (Fifteen Minutes Earlier)

    The homeroom teacher had led the participating students to individual waiting rooms where they were to rest and wait for their matches.

    The room was pretty bare and contained only a bench with a virtual screen attached to the wall that would allow the ability to spectate the duels of the other groups.

    Each group would randomly choose two participants to duel and repeat the process until everyone had faced every member of their group at least once. There were no breaks between the matches, and it was done on a group by group basis.

    Sophie was in thest group, so she curiously observed the fights in the other brackets and grimaced slightly at the strength of some particrly tough opponents.

    A pair of twins in group one had qualified with impressive illusion magic and knife techniques.

    There was a boy in group two capable of covering his body with mes and rushing towards his enemy like a human torch.

    Luckily, the remaining couple of matches did not seem to have anyone particrly impressive but Sophie did not let her guard down.

    Who knows if someone was ying pig to eat a tiger?

    It was entirely possible that some contestants had hidden their strengths until the final round to ensure a high cement.

    A vibrating hum from her wristband shook Sophie out of her thoughts and she checked the notification with a small frown.

    [Group Five ¨C First Duel: Sophie Peterlor vs Leona Braveheart]

    [Randomly Selecting Stage¡­¡­]

    [Stage 013 Chosen]

    Sophie took a deep breath to rx her nerves and chanted a few meditation lines that her father had taught her to calm down. Despite the two months of training, it was still nerve wracking to go on stage in front of a crowd of people.

    ¡°And these damn emotions,¡± she muttered to herself.

    The original host hadplex feelings towards this Leona girl and Sophie kept feeling the urge to run away from this fight.

    What broke Sui Meng¡¯s heart was the fact that these emotions were not out of fear but rather protective.

    No matter how she was treated in the past¡­. the original Sophie never wanted to hurt her former friend.

    The virtual screen on the side of the waiting room also contained a catalogue of weapons avable for the ss evaluation.

    Each student was screened carefully for hidden weapons before taken to the waiting room and were only allowed to use school equipment which was intentionally dulled to reduce injuries.

    Sophie raised a delicate finger and swiped through the options¡­.

    Knives, Swords, ster Rifles, Whips¡­. the ufortable feelings of restraint from the original host soon faded away as her eyes glowed with faint traces of bloodlust.

    There was only one weapon that caught her eye.

    ¡°Just you and me darling,¡± Sophie spoke with a gleeful chuckle.

    [ Weapon Chosen ¨C Whip Selected]

    The walls opened up and a small briefcase slid out of the hole where the virtual panel used to be. Sophie ran her fingers along the silvery edges before opening up the case with a soft click and taking out the weapon within.

    Unlike her personal whip, there were no spikes or ded ends, but Sophie could still feel a shiver of happiness that gave her the strength to confidently walk out of the waiting room with her head held high.

    Stage 013 contained a dome with a desert environment simtor that was frighteningly realistic. The heat waves crashed against her skin and cause small beads of sweat to form.

    The re of the artificial sun was blinding, and Sophie could hardly see the figure of Leona in the distance at the opposite end of the dome.

    She tried to use her golden eyes to pierce through the blurry heat wave shimmers, but the constant barrage of dust caused her to squint in pain.

    Leona was not doing any better but bravely put on a front and yelled out,

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry when you lose!¡±

    Sophie was about to fire back a sharp retort when a mechanical voice boomed out from the top of the dome.

    [Group 5 ¨C Match One]

    [Battle start!]

    There were no words needed as Sophie closed her eyes and activated her movement technique to rapidly change locations.

    She had trained over thest two months to fight in a variety of environments and the memory of her father blinding her eyes and then beating the hell out of her was still fresh in her mind.

    Listen to the wind. Feel the changes in the air. Sense your opponent.

    Kill your enemy.

    The spectating students saw a flickering figure vanishing and reappearing at random locations in the dome beforeshing out an attack towards Leona¡¯s back!

    (The Prestigious ss)

    ¡°Who do you think is going to qualify?¡± a green-haired girl whispered quietly to a boy sitting down in the stands.

    The five top students were not participating in the ss evaluation, so they were carefully observing thepetition in the arena.

    ¡°The hybrid girl,¡± came a short reply from the boy.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Aiden you can¡¯t be serious!¡±

    Mockingughs came from his surroundings but the boy simply leaned back and the memory of Sophie walking confidently from the waiting area shed across his mind.

    No hesitation could be seen in her steps and Aiden just had a strange feeling that her cultivation level may not be as low as the rumors imed.

    Aiden was a handsome young man with looks that gave him quite a number of female fans, but it was his reputation of the number one cultivation genius of the Royal Academy that truly gave him pride.

    There were only two qi spirit cultivators in the entire year, and he was the one with the highest cultivation level at qi spirit stage two. He was worthy of standing on stage with the geniuses of the universe.

    ¡°Qiana you don¡¯t think that as, well do you?¡± the question was thrown to a girl reading a novel quietly at the side of the group.

    She had the air of an intellectual beauty with dark hair cascading down her shoulders with grace and refinement flowing out of her every casual movement. Even the girl asking the question could not resist blushing briefly when gazing at her appearance.

    The image unfortunately was ruined when on closer inspection, it could be seen that the title of the book she was reading¡­

    ¡®Daddy Emperor Punishes The Prince.¡¯

    Yes¡­the second highest cultivator of the senior ss was an avid boy love reader.

    The other qi spirit cultivator looked up from her book briefly before spitting out an annoyed reply,

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother me.¡±

 Chapter 37: The Conclusion

    Chapter 37: The Conclusion

    The rule of the ss evaluation said that duels were won under three conditions, but the match could also be stopped prematurely in the event of fatal injuries.

    The first condition was to knock an opponent unconscious while the second was to cause your opponent to yield voluntarily.

    Thest condition was to knock an opponent out of bounds as each dome had white lines that formed the shape of a rectangle where thepetitors would fight inside.

    Leona stared intensely at the disappearing figure of her opponent and an expression of shock surfaced on her face.

    Wasn¡¯t Sophie¡¯s cultivation level merely the initial stages of qi body??

    A sense of danger appeared behind her and she quickly jumped backwards to avoid the snake-like strike of the whip. She quickly ced one palm towards Sophie and fired off a wave of qi energy towards herst visible location.

    Moonlight Palm Strike!

    This was an upper level wave technique that couldunch a long-range attack of moonlight from her palms and deal severe internal damage to her enemies.

    It consumed very little qi, so Leona began to fire beams constantly towards the figure darting around the battlefield.

    ¡°Tsk¡± Sophie muttered with a frown.

    The constant ducking and weaving out of the beams of light was beginning get on her nerves. Leona could not fight blindly like Sophie, so she simply resorted to firing out attacks in random directions which made approaching her quite difficult.

    This should have been an easy fight for Sophie but yet whenever she tried to attack Leona¡­it was like a hidden weight was pressing down on her body which prevented her from using the full strength of her whip.

    She knew thatpared to the members of the prestigious ss who had years of training, it was obvious that she had ack of cultivation techniques inparison.

    There was only the Cloud Treading Dragon movement technique.

    A small smile appeared on Sophie¡¯s face as she remembered some words of advice from Katarina¡­

    If you cannot fight fair¡­. fight dirty!

    ¡°Hey Leona,¡± she loudly called out.

    ¡°Did you know that after my transformation¡­my cultivation talent is also grade A!¡±

    Shocked gasps of surprise came from the students spectating the match as this shocking reveal caused even some of the teachers to murmur among themselves. It was not umon for hybrids to disy enhanced abilities after a transformation, but their cultivation talent would only increase slightly if at all.

    No one had heard of such a rapid increase in talent from grade F to grade A. This was clearly ascending the heavens in one step!

    Leona faltered and she stumbled back in shock with Sophie¡¯s words echoing in her ears.

    She was the same cultivation grade as her? How could that be?

    This was the opening Sophie was waiting for!

    Sophie wasted no time and soon closed the distance with a massive leap and cracked the whip fiercely against Leona¡¯s back.

    Bam!

    Leona let out a painful shriek and flew forward until she crashed against the sandy ground of the dome near the disqualification line. Sophie had unleashed her full strength in that strike and Leona realised that her cultivation base was equal to hers.

    Fury and confusion crept up in her heart.

    With shing lights still dancing across her eyes, she staggered to her feet to yell at her shameless opponent,

    ¡°What a cheap shot! Do you have no sense of honour?¡±

    Sophie just replied with a grin and dashed towards her for another attack. The whip in her hand seemed like a living snake which twisted and curled with a deadly air.

    But what unsettled Leona the most was her eyes.

    Those golden eyes looked at her as nothing more than prey.

    Ice Forge Armour!

    The whip came crashing down a second time, but Leona remained standing as ice covered up her body to form the shape of a crystalline armour. This was a body fortification technique, but it was very taxing to maintain before she reached the qi spirit level.

    Ice crept up the ends of the whip and Sophie quickly jerked backwards but not fast enough to avoid the punch whichnded straight on her stomach.

    Blood spewed from her mouth as she fought to urge to kneel down and vomit.

    A sense of chill enveloped her organs and Sophie felt her body begin to slow down. She tried to get out of range and strike back viciously but a voice shrieked out in her mind,

    ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt her!¡±

    Sophie froze in ce for half a moment, but it was enough to allow Leona to press forward andnd punch after punch on her body.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    There was no hesitation to be seen in her eyes and Sophie was battered relentlessly until a crater formed in the ground.

    Two minutes passed¡­.

    Five minutes passed¡­.

    Ten minutes passed¡­.

    No matter how injured Sophie got¡­. she refused to yield or fall unconscious.

    The spectators were deadly silent as the only sounds echoing throughout the arena were the furious attacks of Leona and the muted grunts of pain from Sophie.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you yield!¡± Leona spoke finally with an exhausted tone.

    Her ice armour was long gone as it had broken apart after her qi reserves had been fully consumed.

    Sophie reached out with a gentle hand and stroked the sides of Leona¡¯s cheeks with aplicated expression on her face.

    ¡°I wanted to show off my new skills¡­but it appears that I still can¡¯t bear to hurt you.¡±

    Leona hung her head in shame and the past events of her misdeeds shed across her mind when she gazed upon the battered face of her former friend.

    ¡°Sophie¡­I¡­¡±

    The words died in her throat as Sophie suddenly twisted out from beneath her and shoved her harshly towards a certain direction.

    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Leona roared.

    A terrible thought struck her mind and she gazed down at her feet to discover that she was now out of bounds and had lost the match.

    ¡°I win¡­.¡± Sophie muttered before sumbing to her injuries and falling unconscious.

    Thest thing she saw was the dumbfounded look of Leona still in shock over the apparent loss.

 Chapter 38: The Price Of Transmigration

    Chapter 38: The Price Of Transmigration

    (Sophie¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Sweetheart wake up!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already noon you silly girl!¡±

    Sophie opened her eyes and yawned softly as she found herself lying down on a fluffy bed with gentle light streaming through the windows.

    She lived in the biggest and best home in the world with the strongest man of all time! Daddy was big and powerful and always made bad guys go away.

    ¡°Daddy!¡± she called out to the man smiling at her.

    The duke was sitting down next to the bed and gave an indulgent look at his daughter who constantly overslept. He summoned a few maids to the room and Sophie was quickly dressed in a beautiful princess outfit.

    Sophie gave a gasp of excitement when she came down to the dining room and saw the delicious breakfast feast containing piles of eggs, sausages, and toast.

    Her dad fed her by the spoonful with great patience as most of the food would end up on the floor.

    It was slightly embarrassing to fed at her age, but the private teacher had told her that it was normal for kids to have poor hand skills.

    ¡°I have a surprise for you,¡± he suddenly said.

    ¡°Miss Leona will being to visit you this afternoon!¡±

    His daughter nced up with a look of glee and hurriedly rushed back to her room to pick out some toys.

    Other than her daddy, Leona was her best friend in the whole wide world!

    She was her only friend and second most important person in her life.

    There was arge mirror hung up on the side of the bedroom wall, so Sophie took a small peek to make sure that there were no food stains on her dress before the ydate. She then saw the image of an adorable little girl no more than four years old stared back at her.

    Surely the only girl more pretty than her was the legendary mommy that dad would tell her stories about.

    She could not shake off a strange feeling when she saw the mirror showing her child-like features.

    Wait this was all wrong¡­.

    The reflection soon warped and shifted into the image of an older big sister who had eastern features and a in appearance.

    ¡°What?¡± Sophie was startled and fell backwards due to the shock.

    Hundreds of new memories crashed into her head and the resulting fierce headache made her squint her eyes in pain.

    She heard an unfamiliar voice talking from the other side of the mirror in an almost hypnotic tone,

    ¡°My name is Sui Meng¡­¡±

    ¡°My name is Sophie!¡±

    ¡°My name is Sui Meng¡­¡±

    ¡°My name is¡­¡±

    Sophie screamed in agony as the world around her copsed into a void of darkness and she came face to face with the stranger.

    (Sui Meng¡¯s Perspective)

    I found myself in the bedroom of the mansion, but the details just seemed slightly off. The furniture seemed to be the same but there was pinkish glow on some of the chairs that was not there before.

    I could not remember the bed being sorge nor the room being so spacious.

    A million questions ran through my mind.

    How did I get here?

    Did I fail the ss evaluation?

    The gentle voice of my father echoed in my ears as he softly woke me up and I tried to ask him a series of questions, but my mouth just would not move.

    The hands and feet of my body seemed to be controlled by someone else and I was no more than a passenger along for the ride.

    My senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and even sight was still present, but this was more akin to a curse rather than a blessing. I could feel the sensations of my surroundings but was unable to respond.

    A few hours passed and fear crept up into my heart. I could not help but recall the mysterious voice that shrieked in my ears during the fight with Leona.

    Had the original Sophie reimed her body?

    Conflicting emotions welled up in my chest, I was under the impression that we had both fused into one personality but the fight with Leona caused small seeds of doubt to be nted.

    I only experienced a few hours of being trapped as a spectator in my own body and the experience was driving me mad.

    What if I had subjected that innocent girl to this torment for the past couple of months?

    Bright light blinded me momentarily and I saw the image of a young girl twirling around happily in a princess outfit. She seemed startled to see me and I also panicked due to the unfamiliar situation.

    For some reason I was now trapped behind a silvery screen that prevented me for reaching out into the other world.

    The child suddenly called out in pain and I furiously pounded on the ss to try to break out, but it all seemed in vain as the barrier refused to shatter.

    ¡°Sophie get help!¡± I called out in frustration.

    But wait¡­

    My name was now Sophie¡­no¡­no¡­ my name was Sui Meng¡­ no¡­ no¡­ no¡­

    I started to chant out my name almost like a prayer as I could tell that a stream of memories were being transferred from my mind and entering the brain of the little girl kneeling down in agony.

    There was the sound of ss shattering and I found myself in a nk void with the little girl shaking in fear in front of me.

    (Third Person POV)

    Sui Meng looked around the void and discovered that it looked quite different to the space in the ne.

    She did not know how to describe it, but it was like this space was intimately connected to her spirit.

    The child version of Sophie was shivering in fear so Sui Meng approached her hesitantly and tried to calm her down.

    ¡°Shh¡­don¡¯t worry,¡± she muttered quietly while using her hands to gently stroke Sophie¡¯s back in a rxing manner.

    Eventually the child started to calm down and looked at her with innocent eyes full of curiosity.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°My name is Sui Meng,¡± she replied with a small smile.

    Sophie hummed in acknowledgement and gave Sui Meng a contemtive nce before stepping out of her grasp. She ced her tiny hands on the sides of Sui Meng¡¯s cheeks and kept searching her facial expression as if looking for something.

    Her next words made Sui Meng freeze in shock and horror.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that stole my body.¡±

 Chapter 39: Call me....Sophie

    Chapter 39: Call me¡­.Sophie

    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t understand!¡± Sui Meng stammered as she hurriedly tried to exin.

    ¡°When I arrived in this body¡­did¡­did we not fuse into one persona?¡±

    She had always thought that Sophie¡¯s memories and personality hadbined with her own during the first day of her sudden transmigration. The only reason that she felt sofortable living this new life was because she felt that there was no difference between the original host and herself.

    If that was a lie¡­she dared not even entertain the thought for a moment.

    Had she been living the lie of an innocent child?

    Stolen her identity, parents and even the very essence of her existence.

    A short peal ofughter burst out from the little girl standing in front of her which was tinged with a faint trace of bitterness.

    ¡°No, you were right¡­. Sophie no longer exists in this world,¡± the child spoke with a contorted grin.

    ¡°I am nothing more than an echo. The faintest trace of a life that has been slowly disappearing with the passage of time.¡±

    Sui Meng gasped in disbelief, she had been so distracted by the shocking turn of events that she failed to notice the changes in the little girl.

    Sophie¡¯s form began to flicker and sway like a mirage about to vanish.

    She dashed forward and tried to hold young Sophie, but her hands passed through the figure that gazed at her with a sorrowful and heart wrenching look.

    ¡°Please tell me how can I help you?¡± Sui Meng desperately cried.

    The child peered deeply into her face as if searching for something and softly spoke,

    ¡°You have absorbed most of my memories and soul¡­. you are basically the entire person that I was.¡±

    ¡°I am simply the parts you chose not to take.¡±

    Sui Meng felt a pang of guilt in her chest and her hands fell lifelessly to the ground.

    It was true.

    Back when she had chosen to assimte Sophie¡¯s personality, she had intentionally not absorbed the parts that she had deemed harmful to her mental state.

    The original host was na?ve, helpless, and fiercely loyal even to people that did not deserve it. Sui Meng saw no need to take in these traits, so she simply ignored them.

    But this might be the reason that caused her personality to split into two parts¡­

    She had only absorbed part of the memories of the original host so that Sui Meng would remain the dominate personality after the fusion. This caused the child before her to be created and live in a dream like state in the recesses of her mind.

    She knew in her heart what was the right thing to do but a little voice in her head kept telling her to let the child disappear. Sui Meng squatted down to the level of Sophie and made a serious promise,

    ¡°I promise that I will fully ept everything that you are and will ever be.¡±

    ¡°The day I woke up in your body was aplete surprise to me as well but I¡­. I was wrong to not ept all aspects of your personality.¡±

    ¡°Unlike me¡­ you have kindness. Unlike me¡­ you can forgive. I don¡¯t know who we will be after the fusion, but I promise you to keep your family safe with all my power.¡±

    Sophie looked at the big sister who had mysteriously entered her life and fell into a contemtive silence. She had hated this meandy who had stolen everything from her on that fateful day but through the influx of memories¡­she hade to realise that it was a mystery to Sui Meng as well.

    Sophie could feel that in a few more minutes¡­thest vestiges of her forgotten personality would vanish permanently.

    She was scared and frightened of the darkness but still mustered up her courage to earnestly warn Sui Meng.

    ¡°If you full absorb me then both of us will no longer exist separately but as one entity,¡± the child said with a solemn tone.

    ¡°What if Sui Meng no longer exists?¡±

    Truthfully, there was a shameful part of Sui Meng¡¯s heart that wanted to just abandon the girl to oblivion and just continue living as she had before.

    Sophie¡¯s loved ones would not be able to tell the difference as she had the majority of the original host¡¯s memories and could maintain the disguise.

    The act of transmigration was an ident but to reject the original host was a conscious choice that Sui Meng refused to make. The experience of being a passenger in her own body scarred her deeply and she if the decision was made to abandon Sophie¡­what right did she have to live her life?

    ¡°I understand,¡± she replied.

    Sophie nodded and soon vanished into sparkles of blue light that floated merrily around the empty space before entering into Sui Meng¡¯s head.

    Sui Meng did not know what would happen once she opened her eyes but strangely felt a warm sense of relief and gratitude from the remnant soul of Sophie.

    Who would be the person that woke up?

    (Arena Hospital Ward)

    The nurse was doing the daily rounds of patrolling the hospital wards when she noticed that the patient at the far end of the room had awoken.

    The ss evaluation typically led to some students being heavily injured, so the workload of the doctors was greatly increased.

    Fortunately, none of the injuries so far were fatal and most simply suffered from qi exhaustion.

    She walked up to the patient and saw a beautiful hybrid girlzily sitting up on the bed with a hazy look of confusion in her eyes. The student was peering out of the windows of the ward to observe the flower garden nted outside.

    ¡°d to see that you are up and awake miss!¡± the nurse called out.

    She fumbled around and brought up her tablet to check the identity of the patient.

    Darn it!

    One of the interns in charge of the data entry had messed up the registration of the patients in this particr ward so all the students¡¯ names were just question marks.

    ¡°My apologies miss but the data record has a bit of a malfunction. Would you mind telling me your name?¡± the nurse asked cheerfully.

    The girl turned around and the nurse could not help but be captivated by her stunning appearance and seductive gaze that seemed to see into the depths of her very soul.

    ¡°My name?¡± she called out hesitantly.

    A radiant smile blossomed from the sides of her mouth and she replied after a short minute of thinking,

    ¡°You can call me Sophie!¡±

    Underneath the bright appearance of the teenager¡­. the nurse failed to recognise the small teardrops falling gently down the sides of her cheek.

 Chapter 40: Come at me!

    Chapter 40: Come at me!

    Sophie stretched out her limbszily to try to feel for any injuries that would decrease herbat capabilities but was pleasantly surprised to find out that her wounds seemed to have vanished after only a short nap.

    ¡°Have the qualifying matches finished yet?¡± Sophie asked the nurse with an expectant gaze.

    The nurse tapped her wristband and typed in a series ofmands before looking at the patient calmly sitting on the bed.

    ¡°ording to the schedule¡­ there is a thirty-five-minute time slot left before the top two of each group are selected for the finals.¡±

    Sophie frowned internally as there was clearly not enough time toplete three matches unless she ended them quickly.

    Or¡­faced them all at once¡­ but how to get them to agree?

    Another wise saying from Katarina floated across her mind at that moment,

    ¡®If you want people to get into a fight¡­ piss them the hell off!¡¯

    This would be difficult not matter what option she chose as her qi reserves still had not fully recovered but luckily all her physical and internal injuries seemed to have healed.

    ¡°Thank you for the help!¡± Sophie beamed at the nurse who clutched her heart while blushing furiously.

    But before she could recover¡­. her patient jumped out of the bed and made a dash for the hallway outside of the ward.

    ¡°Wait¡­you still have not fully recovered yet!¡± the nurse yelled out.

    Sophie just gave her a cheeky wink and disappeared into the distance.

    The ck wristband contained a map of the school facilities andyout, so Sophie navigated the twisting corridors with a careful eye on the countdown.

    She saw the hospital exit in the distance but also observed the figure of Leona leaning casually against the wall while staring at her with a fierce look.

    ¡°You only won because of a cheap and underhanded method of winning. If it was a real fight, then I would be the clear victor!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this,¡± Sophie replied.

    Maybe the old her would have stopped and waited but she was in a bit of a rush, so Sophie just brushed past her and continued to walk steadily towards the direction of the exit.

    ¡°I¡­ I was going to say back there that I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Leona suddenly said,

    Sophie froze in ce for a moment and the air between them seemed to freeze, before softly asking a question,

    ¡°Leona if you could go back in time¡­would you have made the same choice?¡±

    The girl behind her stiffened and the momentary pause of hesitation was enough for Sophie to realise that she already knew the answer in her heart.

    Her so called best friend would have made the same decision then as she would now.

    Sophie just gave a small smile and continued to speak,

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry because I no longer care enough about you to hold a grudge.¡±

    Why waste her time on epting empty words just meant to make someone feel less guilty?

    Maybe it was the fusion, but Sophie felt as though her mind had been clear and no longer muddleheaded as before. There was a small spring in her steps as she felt a chain wrapped tightly around her heart begin to loosen up.

    If she faced Leona in a fight now¡­the results would have been far different¡­

    Despite what Leona might think of her actions, she truly had no wish to harm her now.

    They were simply strangers who would be going different paths of life.

    Leona gazed at her former friend walking hurriedly into the distance while paying her no further attention. A small bud of rage started growing in her heart.

    She had tossed aside her pride to apologise to Sophie, but she did not even ept her kind and merciful gesture.

    The trace feelings of guilt were iparable to her pride as one of the cultivation prodigies of the Royal Academy.

    The fact that Sophie secured a victory with a cheap method only caused thest traces of goodwill that Leona had towards her to disappear.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Leona growled.

    (Field)

    ¡°Principal we should just announce the qualifying seeds and start the finals,¡± one teacher spoke up from the crowd.

    ¡°No! Are you crazy? That hybrid girl was clearly at the cusp of the qi sprit stage and the current second ce in that group is merely qi body stage 7,¡± another retorted.

    This argument had been raging back and forth as the teachers could not make up their minds on what to do in the situation.

    On one hand Sophie and Leona were clearly the strongest participants of group five even if the former had won her match by pushing her opponent out of bounds.

    But there was an issue of points as Sophie only had one point while the other members of the group had yed their matches already and passed her amount.

    Principal Yang secretly wished to just continue and exclude the hybrid thorn but the fear of Duke Peterlor was still fresh on his mind and who knows what that madman would do if he thought that his daughter was slighted.

    Entire noble families have died for less!

    The only solution he could think of was to let the time allocated for the qualifying matches to run out and then he would have a justifiable reason to exclude the girl.

    He checked his tablet and a pleased smile graced across his face when he realised that there was only fifteen minutes left.

    ¡°I¡¯m here! I¡¯m here!¡± a loud cry sounded out before Sophie dashed onto the field with a haggard expression on her face.

    Why on earth was the damn hospital located so far from the entrance to the arena?!

    There was a flurry of whispers from the spectators upon Sophie¡¯s arrival as many were stilling to terms with the fact that the well-known trash had apparently yed pig to eat the tiger and hidden her cultivation level until the tournament.

    The referee was a bit dumbfounded¡­what was the point of showing up now?

    Maybe one or two matches could be yed but there was no way she could umte enough points to pass Brian Cyan who was in second ce with two points.

    Group five standings were currently:

    Leona Braveheart ¨C 3 points (W- 3 L ¨C 1) -Qualified

    Brian Cyan ¨C 2 points (W-2, L- 1) ¨C Qualified ¨C Temporary

    Stacy Greene ¨C 1 points (W-1, L-2)

    Sophie Peterlor ¨C 1 point (W- 1, L-0) -????

    Seth nigan¨C 0 points (W-0, L-2) ¨C Eliminated

    Still the poor man had to do his job, so with a respectful tone he asked Sophie,

    ¡°Which opponent would you like to face first?¡±

    Sophie nced at all her opponents who gazed at her with warily looks and spoke up with an arrogant tone,

    ¡°I¡¯ll face all of these trash at once!¡±

 Chapter 41: The Final Duel Of Group Five

    Chapter 41: The Final Duel Of Group Five

    ¡°What possible reason would convince us to do that?¡± one of her opponents replied.

    Sophie stiffened as a bad feeling surfaced and another student followed up with,

    ¡°Yeah¡­you just want to face all of us before the time runs out!¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­I thought that it would be easy to provoke them,¡± Sophie muttered softly under her breath.

    This made no sense! Why were these young masters so calm and nonchnt?

    Shouldn¡¯t at least one of them have an attitude of seeking death?

    She may be standing confidently in the arena, but the time restraints and low qi reserves would put her at a great disadvantage if she were required to face them one at a time. A series of ns raced across her mind as she tried to figure out how to force them to ept her challenge.

    Appeal to the teacher? Using my movement art tounch lighting fast attacks?

    Peer pressure with public shaming??

    ¡­. That is the one!

    ¡°I had no idea that the so called ¡®prodigal ss¡¯ was filled with cowards!¡± she yelled out.

    Sophie¡¯s loud voiced echoed around the arena and caused her three opponents¡¯ faces to flush red with anger. The mocking jeers of the students spectating the match as well as the looks of shame from their elite ssmates made these poor youths fall right into Sophie¡¯s trap.

    Nobles have to pay particrly strong attention to their image as it concerned the pride of their n and standings among their peers.

    The violent nature of the gxy meant that those with a reputation of being cowards were scorned by the general poption.

    Even if they still chose to decline the match now, then their reputation would be in shambles as thebel of being afraid of battle would stick with them.

    The ridiculous noble sense of pride would not allow these proud sons and daughters of heaven to face such mockery without protest.

    This fact did not escape their notice and the trio cursed internally about the shamelessness of this hybrid trash.

    ¡°Fine we agree!¡± snarled Seth with an aggressive tone.

    Brian kept feeling that something was wrong with this situation but logically a cultivator in the qi body stage would not be able to face three opponents even with a slight difference in level.

    He nodded in consent and Stacy also followed suit with a reluctant look on her face.

    The referee looked at the willing students and secretly stole a nce towards the principal but saw no noticeable reaction so he took that as silent consent .

    Principal Yang leaned back in his chair and stared silently in contemtion at the events unfolding before him.

    That wretched girl was shameless just like her father and he could tell that her attitude and personality seemed to be problematic.

    The only issue was that strong students in the past had chosen to face their entire group at once so there was no way to justify a series of one on one duels once consent from both parties was given.

    Sophie¡¯s ck wristband gave out a faint hum and a series of information lines appeared.

    [Group 5 ¨C Final Duel: Sophie Peterlor vs Stacy Greene/ Brian Cyan/ Seth nigan]

    [Randomly Selecting Stage¡­]

    [Stage 018 Chosen]

    There was only eleven minutes left now, so Sophie rushed towards the stage and started to perform a few deep breath exercises to calm down while waiting for her opponents.

    Stage 018 was a simtion of a grassy in so Sophie felt a gentle breeze sweep across her face while the small nts tickled her feet.

    The referee saw that all the participants had arrived in the stage, so he spoke with amanding tone,

    ¡°This group match will begin with a time limit of ten minutes¡±

    ¡°Start!¡±

    Sophie shot forward like an arrow the very moment that the words escaped the referee¡¯s lips. Thest ce boy was her first target and Seth let out a small gasp of surprise as Sophie appeared right before his eyes.

    Before his teammates could react¡­. the whip had already struck!

    Seth¡¯s body flew backwards and crashed out of the stage boundary where hey on the ground while clutching his chest in pain.

    Ten seconds had passed!

    Sophie unhesitatinglyunched a series of fierce kicks towards Brian whose body turned into a crystalline structure and absorbed the blows. Sophie knitted her brows in frustration, but a small ball of me zipped towards her, so she had to leap backwards to avoid it.

    She opened up some distance between her and the duo while running potential strategies across her mind.

    In group battles seek out the weakest target first for elimination¡­. done.

    One appears to have a long-ranged me art while the other packs an impressive body fortification that can deal with normal attacks.

    Those two opponents were not going to give her the luxury to think for long and Stacy soon interrupted her train of thought by beginning to fire one attack after another at her location.

    Sophie ducked and weaved through the mes while trying to find an opening. Brian had given up targeting her and was silently standing in front of Stacy with a protective aura.

    Sophie could already figure out their n¡­.

    Stall for time!

    She checked her wristband and realised that eight minutes had passed without her notice!

    With only two minutes to go, both of her opponents were beginning to rx slightly while ensuring that Sophie could not get close.

    An insane idea soon surfaced in her mind and Sophie gave a short bark ofughter before checking inwards on her qi reserves.

    Just enough for two activations of the Cloud Treading Dragon¡­should be good enough.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes sharpened and a terrifying golden glow stared menacingly at the duo across the stage. They could not help but feel a slight chill run down their spine¡­

    Under the watchful eyes of the enraptured spectators, the figure of Sophie vanished and reappeared several feet in the air above the two students.

    First move!

    Sophie rushed forward at Stacy with startling momentum and Brian stepped forward while activating his defensive art.

    Two smalls mes flickered on Stacy¡¯s feet as she sprinted to the other side of the stage while Brian would hold down that demon.

    Unfortunately for her¡­. she was not the target.

    Sophie ducked a wild haymaker from Brian and wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug. The bountiful mountains pressed against his chest and caused poor Brian to get momentarily distracted.

    But that was all that Sophie needed as she smirked with a devilish grin.

    Second move!

    The figures of Brian and Sophie darted forward with inhuman speed and headed straight towards the boundary.

 Chapter 42: Reputation? Im just too sleepy!

    Chapter 42: Reputation? I''m just too sleepy!

    How could her n work so easily?

    Brian realised something was wrong immediately when the scenery started to wrap and shift around him. He started punching Sophie¡¯s stomach with vigorous force that caused her to start coughing out blood.

    Sophie tried her best to ignore the blows, but the constant barrage of attacks caused her vision to begin to blur.

    Twenty meters¡­. ten meters¡­five meters¡­

    Damn it!

    Unfortunately, her other opponent was not willing to sit ideally by and allow Sophie to gain victory easily. A fireball swelled in size in Stacy¡¯s hands and sheunched it towards the back of the retreating figure.

    Sophie could feel the scorching heat approaching her rapidly and quickened the pace while frantically rushing towards the boundary.

    One more meter¡­.

    With a fierce throw, she hurled Brian just over the boundary line and turned to face the fireball threatening to explode. Sophie just managed to raise her arms in self defense before the ming mass hit her squarely in the chest.

    Sophie stumbled back slightly, and her bodynded right over the edge with a resounding thud before a mechanical voice boomed throughout the arena.

    [Match Complete]

    [Calcting Results¡­.]

    [Elimination Winners: Sophie Peterlor- 2 points, Stacy Greene ¨C 1 point]

    There was an inaudible sigh of relief from under Sophie¡¯s breath when she realised that with three points, she had imed the qualification spot for the university entrance exams.

    Leona and she had tied for first ce!

    Cheers loudly rang out from the spectators around the stadium and Sophie beamed while soaking in the glorious apuse with a look of satisfaction.

    Until she saw her image on the projection screen¡­.

    The fireball had charred her exposed skin into a sooty colour and certain section of her gorgeous hair was now on fire!

    Instead of the image of a champion¡­she more resembled a dishevelled beggar.

    Sophie could only thank the heavens that the battle uniform was me resistant otherwise she would have been in quite the awkward situation.

    ¡°You don¡¯t deserve the win! It was my spot stupid bitch!¡± a frustrated yell came from Brianying down on the ground with a sulk.

    ¡°Better luck next time darling,¡± Sophie replied with a wink.

    She did initially have some sympathy for this boy who had been previously qualified before the match, but no one insulted her without receiving a sharp-tongued reply.

    It was a waste of time exchanging words with her former opponent, so Sophie just gave a wave and trudged off slowly towards the infirmary.

    Truthfully¡­she should have packed healing serums¡­

    Her qi reserves were nowpletely empty, and Sophie would need to either take a qi replenishing pill or spend a couple of hours cultivating to rapidly recover her strength.

    It was not nighttime yet, so the second option was not viable.

    Crack!

    The winess inside Principal Yang¡¯s hand shattered with a loud bam. That wretched man¡¯s daughter had actually managed to snag a spot under his very nose.

    His small tricks to ce her in a guaranteed death group resulted in his prided ss turning into stepping stones.

    He looked on with a frown at the cheering students who celebrated the hybrid girl who impressively beat two of the three opponents in a timed elimination match.

    This was not right!

    As pure-blooded humans¡­it was a great shame to lose to filthy half breeds.

    Principal Yang was an old-fashioned man who had risen up the ranks by making connections with several high nobility households who wished to send their children to the exclusive elementary and high school branches of the Royal Academy.

    Several of these noble houses looked down on hybrids and Principal Yang shared their opinion on more radical ideologies such as banishment from ss ones of the federation and revoking the right to participate in governmental work.

    Of course, these ideas were merely empty talk with no actual ns for implementation in the foreseeable future. Humanity was only one of the four races of the Earth Federation and even though they were the most abundant¡­

    ¡­.that did not mean that they were the strongest.

    The other races held a neutral stance towards hybrids and mostly considered them part of humanity.

    ¡°But what if she gets heavily injured during the finals?¡± Principal Yang muttered to himself while mulling over the situation.

    The university entrance exam was only two weeks after the ss evaluation with the qualifying students receiving the location of their testing site as early as three days from now. This was to allow students to research in advance the location of the to n ahead.

    Preparation and readiness were also important factors that would give students an early advantage in the beginning stages of the exam.

    The hybrid girl had just fought a hard battle and was still suffering from internal injuries from her first match. She was guaranteed to lose badly if she participated in the finals.

    With these thoughts in mind, the principal stood up and addressed the crowd,

    ¡°Students of the Royal Academy¡­due to the dy in the first stage of the ss evaluation, we will begin the final immediately!¡±

    Sophie looked up at the principal who now had the appearance of a kind elderly man and knew for sure that she had been targeted.

    There were just too many coincidences from the high cultivation level group members to rushing the start of the finals before she had recovered.

    The referee was about to input a fewmands to summon the other finalists, but Sophie tapped him gently on his shoulder.

    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll just withdraw from the finals and get some sleep,¡± Sophie said in a calm tone.

    Principal Yang heard her request due to his cultivation level and tightened his hands into fists, before then just leaning back in his chair with an exasperated sigh.

    Why did this youngdy not follow the rules ofmon sense?

    He had survived in the position of principal for many years and knew when to retreat if no benefits could be found.

    It would do him no good to keep pressing the matter. Thest thing he wanted was for his anti- hybrid views toe to light.

    Mockingughter rang out from her previous three opponents and Sophie cocked her eyebrow in amusement at the sight.

    ¡°Oh, how the mighty have fallen¡­. did you not mock us for being cowards earlier?¡± Brian said smugly

    ¡°Well¡­there is one difference between then and now¡­¡± Sophie replied cheekily.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Seth asked curiously.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t qualify for an exam slot¡­. I did¡± Sophie continue with an arrogant tone.

    This pushed a sensitive nerve in Brian¡¯s heart and hispanions hung their heads with slight tears running down their cheeks.

    It was a great shame that members of the prestigious ss had not reached the finals.

    The apuse for Sophie had stopped and was now reced with boos as the audience realised that she intended not to participate.

    Certain members started to scold Sophie for her ruthless attitude andments. Loud yells of disapproval rained down from the spectators who expressed their displeasure,

    ¡°Are you even a warrior?¡±

    ¡°Only capable of winning with cheap tactics!¡±

    ¡°You prey on the weak and fear the strong!¡±

    ¡°Step on me queen!¡±

    Sophie was listening with a gradually rising temper before thestment gave her a heartfelt chuckle.

    Thest line seemed toe from a female student who waved frantically at Sophie from one of the seats in the back.

    Sophie blew a kiss towards her which caused screams of excitement from infatuated female student and those around her as well.

    Her poprity seemed to have increased until she said a few lines that caused everyone to just be utterly dumbfounded,

    ¡°Why would I care about reputation?¡±

    ¡°My dad would just beat up anyone who dared to insult me!¡±

 Chapter 43: Just Another Harem Member....

    Chapter 43: Just Another Harem Member¡­.

    Despite the wave of protests from the angry spectators, Sophie seemed unbothered by all the noise and hurriedly walked back to the hospital with an uncontroble grin threatening to spread across her face.

    She checked in again much to the shock of the receptionist at the desk and went back to the same ward she had left earlier. Before she fell asleep, she quickly sent a message to her father about the good news.

    Sophie¡¯s head had just hit the pillow when sleep overcame her, and she fell into a blissful slumber¡­.and did not reply to a single one of the poor duke¡¯s messages that were blowing up her tablet.

    (Royal Academy ¨C Arena)

    ¡°Alright students we will now begin the final round of the ss evaluation!¡± the principal stood up and loudly dered.

    ¡°Can all thebatants please make your way to the stage indicated on your wristbands?¡±

    The qualifying participants immediately headed to the central stage which had the most space and was hence suited for a battle royale.

    Nine figures stood apart on different points of the stage which made theck of the tenth person particrly noticeable.

    Some of the teachers were clearly unhappy about the apparent disrespect shown by Sophie but their looks of dissatisfaction seemed to fall onto empty eyes as the principal just gave the signal to begin the match.

    ¡°Aiden darling¡­who do you think will win?¡± a ssmate smiled flirtatiously while hoping desperately to catch the attention of the school prince.

    Aiden ignored the girl while casually running his hands through the hair of the two girls sitting firmly on hisp. It was not peculiar for young geniuses such as himself to be highly sought after by members of the opposite sex so Aiden indulged himself in some lust on an asion or two.

    But for some reason the image of the hybrid girl kept on running through his mind¡­ her proud and unbending image made him feel a desire to conquer.

    It would be a simple matter to make any girl fall for his charms, so he was looking forward to getting closer to the hybrid within theing weeks.

    He was fortunate that Sophie could not read these thoughts because genius or not¡­. she would haveunched a fierce kick towards his manhood to cripple his tool.

    She felt no need to be a backyard beauty in a vast harem. Not to mention she didn¡¯t like guys!

    The other genius of the ss finally put down her unspeakable novel and answered the question in a soft tone,

    ¡°I would have bet on the hybrid girl if she had entered but those twins, Su Rou and Su Mei both have an advantage if they team up.¡±

    ¡°Although¡­. there is that reckless idiot in the arena as well¡­.¡±

    Aiden was not too pleased that his opportunity to give his analysis was gone so he shot a fierce look towards Qiana in hopes of intimidating her.

    She responded by sending him a strange look towards himself and the boy in front of him which caused Aiden to suddenly feel some shivers running down his spine.

    Qiana had a rather infamous reputation as notorious boy-love fanfic author and he felt no need to be the main character of her next novel.

    Where would his precious reputation go?!

    Fortunately, their small quarrel did not escte any further as a familiar mechanical voice boomed out,

    [ Stage 016 ¨C Final Match]

    [Start!]

    There was a small lull in violence as eachbatant looked warily at one another as no one was willing to make the first move. The stage mimicked the environment of a forest sorge trees broke up the sight lines while thick undergrowth slowed down movement.

    A few of the students dashed into the underbrush of the forest as they tried to shift positions to make themselves less vulnerable. Leona quietly stood in one spot while making no gestures to prepare as if daring someone to attack her.

    me Snake Art!

    ¡°Fuck that madman!¡± one of the twins roared while frantically dashing away from the wall of me.

    The student who used such a powerful attack was a thin andnky boy whose figure seemed more akin to a schr than a martial artist. Often called the unofficial third genius of the senior year, initially he was also offered one of the guaranteed spots but refused due to his love of violence and battle.

    Rambes Lekatre was the heir to a noble n with extraordinary me physiques and a long history of producing powerful martial artists.

    He was only in the seventh stage of the qi body but could unleash powerful me attacks well beyond his level thanks to his special bloodline.

    Why bother with petty games of hide and seek when one could simply burn down the entire forest!

    The mes spread out in the shape of a serpent and soon devoured all the nt and vegetation hidden in the forest. Thick smoky fog billowed outwards and caused a smokescreen which blinded the view of all the participants inside.

    A few unlucky participants had been caught up in the fire and were swiftly rescued by the referee who was keeping a careful eye on the situation.

    In the span of two minutes¡­. five participants had already been eliminated! Leona was able to avoid the attack by forming a qi barrier and tanking the attack head on.

    She was still slightly worried as the image of the twins had blurred and vanished as soon as the battle begun but their locations could not be found no matter how hard she looked.

    Only four participants were left but now the true battle was only just beginning¡­

    (Meanwhile at Hospital Wards ¨C No. 4)

    Sophie was calmly sleeping on a bed while hugging a pillow with small amounts of drool dripping down the side of her mouth which made a sizzling noise as small holes appeared on the mattress.

    She was having the most pleasant dream of spending a romantic date with a mysteriousdy¡­.

    ¡°Pretty eyes,¡± Sophie muttered cheerfully in her sleep.

 Chapter 44: Medal Ceremony

    Chapter 44: Medal Ceremony

    ¡°The ze of fire will consume all!¡± a maniacalughter echoed around the arena as the mes turned the small stage into a living hell.

    Leona could feel small beads of sweat running down her face as she desperately tried to avoid the deadly mes. If she did not have such a high cultivation in her body fortification technique, then her flesh would have already been burnt off.

    An anguish shriek of pain came from the far corner of the arena as another participant was disqualified. The remaining four included herself, the twins and that damn pyromaniac lighting up the whole arena.

    ¡°We need to work together to stop him,¡± came a soft whisper from behind her back. Leona turned around with a startled yelp as a quiet girl stood silently behind her.

    If one had to discuss the twins from the prestigious ss¡­ then it would be almost impossible to describe them as neither seemed to have much of a presence.

    It was even something of an inside joke that both seen as mysterious members of the prestigious ss and perhaps the only thing of note was their identical appearance.

    Leona was startled to find one of the twins looking at her with a gentle smile as if the fierce heat were nothing more than a trick of the imagination. No drops of sweat could be found on her face and she looked perfectly fine despite the temperature.

    ¡°Which one are you?¡± Leona growled.

    ¡°I¡¯m Su Mei¡­ my sister will aid you in distracting Rambes while I sneak around the side and deal him a fatal blow,¡± the girl replied.

    Leona paused for a moment but her headstrong nature made her unable to make a decision in the short amount of time. She wanted to win the final round using only her strength so it would be against her goal if she teamed up with the twins.

    But eventuallymon sense and reasoning won out over pride, Leona felt it was easier to deal with the twins that to deal with the third genius of their year.

    ¡°How¡­how do I know if I can even trust you?¡± Leona struggled for a bit before voicing out a concern.

    Su Mei just gestured ahead, and Leona turned to see the other twin already engaging in a brutalbat with Rambes. She ducked and weaved through the me attacks beforending strike after strike with a knife that seemed to be almost alive in her hands.

    The knife fluttered around like a butterfly and soon blood began to drip onto the arena floor.

    Leona¡¯s doubts vanished and she dashed forward as she intended to aid Su Rou in the fight¡­if only she had seen the glint of mockery in the twins¡¯ eyes.

    She dashed towards her new partner and unleashed beam after beam of deadly moonlight towards Rambes to disrupt his counterattack. With a two versus one situation, the tide began to turn, and injuries began to pile up which slowed down the third genius.

    ¡°I¡¯ll burn you all!¡± a frustrated yell came from Rambes as he unleashed a fearsome attack.

    me Nova Explosion!

    Boom!

    A wave of fire surged out of Rambes¡¯ hands as all Leona and Su Rou could do was to hold their arms in front of their faces as the powerful blow sent them flying away.

    Leonanded with a dull thud and nced at herpanion who seemed no better off than her. She even still had that small grin on her face and nced at a figure moving quietly towards Rambes¡¯ blind spot.

    Leona also casted her eyes towards the location to see the other twin slicing a painful scar into Rambes¡¯ back with a knife before following up with quick shes.

    Hopefully, this would put down that monster for good¡­

    As for what happened after¡­. Leona started to discreetly charge a moonbeam in her palm to deal with the girl next to her.

    Unfortunately, her thoughts were seen through almost instantly and Su Rou just whispered softly in her ear,

    ¡°I was actually saving this secret for the university exam, but the first-ce prize was just too good to pass up¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you a little secret¡­. I was never a twin.¡±

    Mirror Illusion Art!

    Leona widened her eyes in shock as the seemingly injured girl next to her, lifted her up and flung her towards the boy standing in a crater.

    Su Rou vanished into a thin wisp of smoke as Leona crashed headfirst into her opponent. She gave a yelp of pain as her flesh started to sear from this high body temperature.

    Rambles was doing no better as long painful gashes ran down the sides of his back as the real version had sliced him up with a dagger in the confusion. They both fell down to the ground and a shadow loomed over them.

    ¡°My mirror images consume a fair amount of qi to maintain so I had to dispel them for this technique,¡± the girl¡¯s soft voice washed gently over the two but to Leona it seemed more akin to an asura from hell.

    ¡°Sleep well my darlings,¡±

    Morpheus Hypnotic Art!

    Thest thing they both saw was a fair palm covering their eyes before everything became ck¡­.

    Loud cheers and apuse rained from the spectators as no one had expected that the finals of this ss evaluation would end so thrillingly.

    The principal stood up with an imposing air and spoke, ¡°I dere that the participants Su Rou and Su Mei or as their real name of Su Ling¡­. are this year¡¯s tournament champions!¡±

    ¡°That girl¡­.,¡± Aiden frowned for the first time in thepetition.

    ¡°Howrge is her qi reserves to maintain a fully functional mirror clone for the whole duration of an entire day¡­.¡±

    He gazed at the teachers to gauge their reactions but could find no looks of surprise on their faces. Clearly, they knew that Su Mei and Su Rou were the same person but did not inform the students.

    The scary fact was that students in the qi body realm should be incapable of summoning illusions that dealt physical damage and yet both copies seemed to be able to damage opponents as if they were real.

    (Medal Ceremony)

    ¡°Huh¡­wasn¡¯t there two of them?¡± Sophie asked in confusion.

    Despite starting off with ten contestants in the finals¡­. there was suddenly only nine at the award ceremony.

    Sophie was currently standing in the middle of the arena with the other finalists as the principal droned on and on about the true spirit of the nobility or some nonsense like that. She had honestly tuned out most of the speech and was just about ready to return to the dorms.

    She had woken up after a quick nap and made it to the award ceremony but did not have time to review the final match, so she had no way of knowing that one contestant had obtained two spots.

    It was strange that all the finalists were gazing at the first-ce winner with looks of fear and respect¡­

    Sophie tossed the matter to the back of her mind as she intended to review the footageter that night. The speech seemed to have no end in sight, so she checked the messaged on her wristband to pass the time.

    The duke had sent a string of messages praising her to the high heavens for obtained a top ten finish and Sophie felt a warmth spread across her chest that her father did not care that she had not received the best results.

    There was no more schooling after the ss evaluation and the space shuttles taking participants to the university entrance exams were leaving after only a week from today. Of course, her overprotective dad wanted to spend the entirest week with her before she left and promised to take her out to y. Sophie could not wait to see the virtual arcade and the interster petting zoo.

    Katarina also sent her a congrattions, but she somehow obtained a copy of the fights and said that Sophie clearly needed some extra training after barely scraping by to obtain an entry slot.

    Somehow Sophie had a bad feeling about this¡­

 Chapter 45: Invitation

    Chapter 45: Invitation

    ¡°Using my authority as the principal of the Royal Academy¡­. I would like to bestow the honour of first ce to student Su Ling!¡±

    ¡°Everyone please give her a round of apuse.¡±

    Sophie nced at the quiet eastern beauty who gracefully walked up to the podium and collected a golden medallion. She was honestly quite surprised that Leona only managed to achieve third ce because thepetition did not seem to be that fierce when she left to go rest.

    The prize for first ce was admittedly pretty tempting, but Sophie did not regret the decision that she made.

    It would have been a great tragedy to be injured right before the university entrance exam. Still these duels had shown her that there was a long way to go before she could confidently stand among her talented peers.

    ¡°I should try to enter the qi spirit realm before the exam next week,¡± Sophie quietly muttered to herself.

    The principal handed out silver medals to those in the top five while the remaining students each received bronze medals. When it came to Sophie¡¯s turn to get a medal, she could feel the eyes of principal Yang lingering on her figure with a trace of hostility.

    Did I see that correctly?

    Sophie looked again but the principal had resumed his jovial appearance and continued his speech as if nothing had happened.

    The award ceremony ended, and Sophie headed towards her dorm room with a spring in her steps. Leona did not speak to her as she walked away and truthfully Sophie no longer paid any attention to the matter.

    She could still hear the whispers of the students surrounding her and some could not believe that the trash hybrid had qualified. Unfortunately, there were those who decried her as a coward for not participating in the finals.

    Sophie gave a cheerful wave to the receptionist as she entered the transporter and reappeared shortly in her dorm room. Someone had evidently cleaned up all the destruction as there was a brand-new mattress and door.

    No trace of the mess that her transformation had caused could be seen.

    ¡°This bed is so fluffy!¡± Sophie squealed in delight as she crashed down on the mattress and felt all her worries float away.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The ck wristband vibrated softly, and Sophie looked at the notifications to see an iing call from her father. She quickly epted and a holographic figure of her dad appeared above the device.

    ¡°Congrattions sweetheart, I always had faith in you!¡±

    ¡°What gift would you like? A private spaceship? Lunar colony?¡± The duke started to list out option after option that caused Sophie to just be dazzled.

    She truly was a rich second generation!

    ¡°Um¡­I think I want to spend this week just training and trying to enter the qi spirit realm.¡± Sophie thoughtfully replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything that I particrly want at the moment.¡±

    The qi body stage was the first step on the path to cultivation and involved strengthening the bones, muscles, blood, and meridian veins in the body. This stagey the foundations for the path of cultivation and the next step was the qi spirit stage.

    One could only break into the qi spirit realm after expanding the dantian to a certain size and circting qi into at least seven acupuncture points. This was a painful process as each acupuncture point would cause sharp pain to be felt when it was opened for the first time.

    The following stage was the qi tide stage, but Sophie did not bother to think that far ahead.

    Tonight, Sophie nned to tackle the first acupuncture point and open one every day until the university entrance exam.

    Although the Spider Whisper Art seemed to be powerful, the fact that it could only be cultivated during the nighttime was quite the disadvantage.

    Sophie could typically spend the day practicingbat techniques to gain some practical experience. Her father emphasised that high cultivation levels meant nothing if one could not properly utilise the power gained.

    ¡°Actually, I also received an invitation from the royal family?¡± the duke interrupted her train of thought.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Sophie cocked an eyebrow and listened

    ¡°It seems like quite a few of the many royal children will also bepeting in the university selection exam this year.¡±

    ¡°There is one whose mother is very favoured by the King himself so it seems like the royal family will be holding a banquet in her honour tomorrow night.¡±

    ¡°The banquet is in honour of the younger generation so old farts like me won¡¯t be attending. Would you like to go?¡±

    Sophie thought for a moment before replying, it would be impossible to remain hidden forever and being part of the upper nobility meant that in the future she would have to deal with situations like this eventually.

    As the heir to a duchy, she needed to have confidence in her appearance or her father¡¯s political opponents would find a weakness.

    ¡°I want to attend father!¡±

    Little did she know¡­this decision would change her life forever.

    (Royal Side Pce No. 0127 ¨C Abode of Concubine Lelfael Sisrelis)

    ¡°Mydy you must dress appropriately for the banquet tomorrow!¡± a maidservant implored the girlzily rxing on a sofa.

    ¡°Concubine Paelsis has demanded that all the eligible children and their mothers should be attendance.¡±

    The lounging princess casually held up a mirror and spoke lovingly towards her own reflection,

    ¡°Ahh¡­such beauty can only be containing by wearing a veil. Why would I bother to go to that den of wolves?¡±

    Piercing green eyes stared back at her which contained traces of mischief and seduction with the rest of her features being covered by a ck cloth. Her other hand was holding a tablet filled with images of the ss evaluation from the various high schools on Gaia.

    One image in particr seemed to stand out as an image of a hybrid girl holding a whip seemed to be in the center of the sea of pictures. The princess had done some research on the mysterious girl whose beauty had blown her away.

    ¡°Do you know if Duke Peterlor and his daughter will be attending?¡±

    ¡°The invitation to all the upper nobility has been sent out but the Duke¡¯s daughter has yet to appear in one of these public gatherings,¡± the maid replied.

    ¡°What a shame¡­.¡± the princess trailed off before closing the windows on her tablet.

    ¡°I would have liked to meet her again.¡±

 Chapter 46: Have we met before?

    Chapter 46: Have we met before?

    ¡°Are you nervous honey?¡± a calm voice spoke with concern.

    Sophie nced sideways at her father and gave a small hum of acknowledgement in reply. They were currently seated in a private luxury car and travelling towards the Royal Pce Complex where the banquet was to be held.

    The duke had picked up his daughter in the evening and brought at least half a dozen dresses for his precious girl to try on.

    Sophie had taken one look at the price tags on some of the outfits and nearly had a heart attack!

    Onemon theme was that not one single outfit showed any part of her cleavage or excessive skin as in the words of her father,

    ¡°If any of those horny dogs dare to look at you in a funny way¡­. you must let your old man know at once!¡±

    Sophie gave a self-deprecatingugh as she knew that none of the upper level nobles would ever want to flirt with a hybrid even one with such a strong backing as her.

    But she had to admit the transformation of her body often left her staring at mirrors with an almost transfixed expression. There was a lovely ming red dress that made her look like an enchantress of sin that she decided to wear.

    Cough cough¡­.one could still hope! Although it was not exactly boys that her father needed to worry about¡­

    The trip should have only taken about two hours to arrive at the location of the main pce, but the security was extremely robust and even a duke had to clear several checkpoints to gain entry to theplex.

    Gaia was several timesrger than Earth and as the home of humanity, it was the obvious choice of residency for the royal family. The members who lived in theplex were those with the qualifications or the favour of the emperor.

    The Royal Complex consisted of arge walled off zone which had a spectacr main pce where the emperor lived and numerous smaller side pces where the harem and the children would reside.

    Screech!

    They had finally arrived at the entrance to the main pce and her father kindly held her hand to help her step out of the vehicle without stumbling. Sophie was not the biggest fan of the high heels that she wore but it seemed to match the rest of her outfit.

    She walked towards the pce at a casual pace and admired the design of the buildings. Evenpared to the luxurious mansions of the noble residences in the capitol, the imperial pce stood out.

    It was immensely huge and tall where one would have to crane their neck to see the top of the spires that jutted out towards the heavens.

    The road leading to the pce was entirely paved with gold and beautiful sculptures of animals, monsters and beasts were sprinkled throughout the garden.

    The banquet today was to be held in the king¡¯s audience chamber which was spacious enough to fill all the invited guests of both the lower and the upper nobility. This was for the older generation while the younger guests would be directed to one of the side pces for another gathering.

    Being slightlyte did not seem to bother the Duke as he confidently walked pass the bowing guards while Sophie hurried behind him like a little shadow and entered a series of doors until they arrived at an enormous chamber.

    There were two exquisitely crafted golden thrones with sculptures of dragons and phoenixes at their feet, but they remained conspicuously empty as the king and queen would not be making an appearance beforeter that night.

    Several guests had already arrived and Sophie could feel curious stares burn into her when she apanied her father into the room.

    She felt that whispers would have broken out were it not for a casual release of qi from the duke that caused all the gossip to die down instantly.

    No one wanted to get on the bad side of that madman.

    A visibly nervous servant approached the father- daughter pair and offered his service to escort Sophie to the youth banquet. The chilling re from the duke caused cold sweat to roll down the poor man¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°Sophie¡­. make sure to let all those boys know that your father is one of the most powerful men in the Federation,¡± the duke warned his daughter once more.

    ¡°Bye dad! Have fun!¡± Sophie gave a small wave before she got the pleasure of receiving yet another lecture from her overprotective father, then followed the servant through a series of winding corridors.

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Sophie Peterlor!¡±

    Sophie heard a loud call before she entered arge room quite simr to the space that the older generation were using to host their banquet.

    There was a flight of stairs leading down to the floor of the hall, so Sophie had to grit her teeth and carefully walk down while trying not to fall and make a fool of herself.

    ¡°That is the secret daughter of the duke?¡±

    ¡°It appears that the rumors are true¡­. she is a hybrid¡­¡±

    ¡°Why would shee to this gathering?¡±

    The whispers were getting louder and louder which made Sophie feel like an animal on disy at the zoo. She ignored the background noise and picked out a ss of wine before taking a few sips.

    ¡°Alright Sophie¡­. you can do this! Just go out there and socialise,¡± Sophie muttered some words of encouragement before approaching several groups of nobles.

    ¡°Greetings my name is Sophie Peterlor,¡±

    ¡°Um¡­sorry we have some urgent matters to discuss.¡±

    ¡°Good evening, how are you all enjoying this fine banquet?¡±

    ¡°Sorry¡­. we don¡¯t want any trouble¡±

    The responses ranged from slightly fearful to outright hostile which lead Sophie to feel utterly defeated. She tried to find some familiar faces from school, but the crowded banquet made it impossible to identify her ssmates.

    Wait there was Leona with some of the prestigious kids!

    ¡­. on second thought maybe she should just pretend not to see her.

    Sophie sighed and then headed to the corner of the room and just took a few more sips of wine. It was a good spot to hang out as it was behind a pir and everyone¡¯s attention soon shifted due to the announcements made by the attendant standing on the stairway.

    ¡°Introducing the princesses and princes of the glorious Gaia Dynasty!¡± a eunuch loudly called.

    Sophie nced up the stairs to see some ridiculously attractive young men and women walking down the stairs with grace and nobility. Each wore a golden amulet that shone with a glistening luster under the lights.

    These were clearly young dragons and phoenixes who stood above the masses.

    She had seen good looking people very often as gic maniption at birth ensured that all nobles andmoners with money were able to change the physique and facial features of their children.

    But those princesses were seriously hot!

    It would be at least two hundred years before the next sessor to the dynasty would be selected so most nobles adopted a wait and see attitude to the potential candidates.

    This meant that the numerous royal children did not wield much political power.

    The direct children from the lustful current emperor numbered at least in the two hundred plus range while those of the side branches of the royal family greatly inted the pool of talent that the future emperor coulde from.

    ¡°Enter Princess Anthasias Sisrelis!¡±

    ¡°Enter Prince Nathan Sisrelis!¡±

    ¡°Enter Princess Cleopatra Sisrelis!¡±

    There was a total of twenty children who would be entering the university entrance exam this year and Sophie briefly took note of their appearance before heading deeper off into the secluded corner to just rx.

    She clutched the ss of wine in her hand and ruefully thought about how awful the night was going. It was not from ack of trying towork and talk to these young nobles, but it clearly seemed that no one was interested in forming any sort of connection.

    The royal children seemed to be extremely popr as small groups flocked to their sides hoping to befriend and bask in their glory.

    One of the princes was wrapping his arms around several young girls who giggled gleefully as he wore an arrogant grin on his face.

    ¡°My fellow nobles must be truly foolish to pass up a chance to interact with the precious child of the Peterlor family. If they were truly wise¡­it would be a perfectly good chance to form a rtionship with a future duchess,¡± a cheerful voice came from behind Sophie¡¯s back.

    Sophie turned around to see an unfamiliar girl approach her side with casual familiarity as if they were already acquaintances. The golden amulet of the royal family swayed from her neck which indicated her status as one of the princesses in attendance.

    ¡°So, do you want to gain the support of my house then?¡± Sophie teased with a gentle smile on her face.

    ¡°No¡­I just saw a beautiful girl standing alone in the corner and figured I would swoop in and make a move,¡± came a reply with a seductive wink.

    This was the first time that someone had flirted with Sophie in both her lifetimes, so she was a bit stunned at the sudden attention.

    She took a second nce at the girl and realised that she was quite the heartthrob!

    The girl seemed to be roughly sixteen or seventeen with a youthful face that brimmed with mischievousness and charm.

    Her figure was slender with a pair of modest breasts that were prominently disyed with long hair that flowed down her lower back in gentle waves.

    She had no idea where this lively girl hade from but somehow her piercing green eyes seemed to be oddly familiar. Sophie quickly tried to recall ever interacting with this princess, but no memory seemed to surface.

    ¡°Have we ever met before?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly.

    ¡°Oh! Where are my manners!¡± the girl was startled and quickly backed away.

    ¡°Princess Cleopatra Sisrelis greets the heir to House Peterlor,¡± she gave a short half bow of acknowledgment then resumed innocently smiling at Sophie.

    ¡°My friends just call me Princess Cleo.¡±

    Author¡¯s note:

    Princess Cleo: My future wifey talked to me!!!

    Sophie: ¡­¡­Who the heck is this?!

 Chapter 47: The innocent bunny.......is a big wolf!

    Chapter 47: The innocent bunny¡­¡­.is a big wolf!

    ¡°Um¡­Miss Cleo¡­¡± Sophie hesitantly called out.

    ¡°Just call me Cleo,¡± came the quick reply from the princess. The princess had followed the advice of various love books extensively and the number one method to close the distance between two people was to get on a first name basis.

    The girl before Sophie had the appearance of a meek little bunny with a lovable appearance that screamed out innocence and purity.

    Why then was she so dominating?! Sophie had never been so aggressively pursued by someone of either sex before, so this was a new experience for her.

    Sophie was not dense and could tell that the opposite party was clearly interested in her romantically but¡­why could she not recall ever seeing this person?

    She was about to bring this matter up when a quiet hush came amongst the guests and Sophie turned around to see one of the servants making an announcement in a pompous voice.

    ¡°Precious guests from afar, we will now begin the dancing portion of our evening banquet,¡± a loud call came from the eunuch standing at the side of the entrance door.

    ¡°May we start with the opening dance from the sons and daughters of heaven.¡±

    The princesses and princes each moved out confidently from the crowd and approached the center of the hall which had now been cleared. They each held the hand of a partner whose faces disyed various degrees of happiness.

    Some were ted to be chosen by the offspring of the emperor while others were more realistic and just went along with the matter as to not throw the face of the royal children.

    Most of these spoiled brats were no more than paper tigers but who could tell which hidden factions stood behind certain ones.

    It was better to ensure one¡¯s safety and agree to the request than to refuse and eat a loss.

    ¡°Oh¡­ my precious sister. Could it be that you failed to secure a partner for your loathsome self?¡± came a mocking jeer from one the princesses who passed by.

    Sophie saw that Cleo¡¯s expression was not well and she seemed to be silently shaking in sorrow while forcing the tears back.

    Memories of loneliness and rejection from her own childhood seemed to sh across her mind and she thread her fingers into Cleo¡¯s hand while sending a provocative re towards the noisy girl.

    Many yearster¡­Sophie woulde to realise that her innocent partner was not shaking in that moment due to distress but in anticipation of getting vicious revenge on her so-called sister.

    What innocent bunny? She was nothing more than a big wolf!

    ¡°Follow my lead,¡± Cleo tiptoed slightly and whispered softly in Sophie¡¯s ear. She was ttered by the silent support of this beautiful girl and the good feelings she had towards her seemed to rapidly multiply.

    She quickly held onto Sophie¡¯s hands and rushed towards the dance floor before the poor girl knew what was happening. The lights in the hall had dimmed into a soft glow and the other children of the royal family had each upied a certain spot.

    Sophie heard the soft keys of a piano and several musicians appeared in the front of the hall as if by magic and began to y a soothing melody. She felt her newfound partner sliding her arms confidently around her shoulder and begin to sway gently from side to side.

    ¡°Have you ever danced before?¡± Cleo asked with a flirtatious grin.

    ¡°No¡­this is my first banquet,¡± Sophie¡¯s cheeks burned red under the gaze of the forward girl.

    Each royal couple seemed to be dancing differently as some were simply swaying like Sophie and Cleo while others were doing borate moves to rapturous apuse from the bystanders.

    Sophie did not have the chance to observe the other couples but some realised that she was not the only one who was dancing with a partner of the same gender.

    In fact, one of the princes seemed to be heavily making out with a muscr man while a girl passed out in the background from a nosebleed.

    Wait¡­isn¡¯t that girl from the prestigious ss? What is her name again? Qi¡­something

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Sophie? Does seeing two girls together bother you?¡±

    Cleo saw the curious look in Sophie¡¯s eyes towards the different couples and wondered if her crush was not interested in her and merely saw her obvious flirts as friendship signals.

    She frowned thoughtfully and decided to just give her a kiss to make her feelings clear, but Sophie asked a strange question,

    ¡°What! No way! It¡¯s just¡­. don¡¯t nobles want heirs to pass on their family lines?¡±

    ¡°Huh? People of the same sex can have children you know,¡± said Cleo with a puzzled tone.

    Sophie could not be med for not knowing this as her father had kept all knowledge of sex and reproduction strictly forbidden from being taught. She was only given strict warnings that all men were dogs and to not date anyone until she was at least thirty.

    The duke had no idea that his daughter was attracted to the fairer sex, so he never exined the gic rbination technology avable to the poption. Two individuals no matter the gender, could create a child in aboratory setting bybining the genes of both parents.

    This method was quite expensive, so it was not popr in the federation among the lower ss.

    Naturally, the resulting embryo produced would be ced inside one of the two mothers and the birth would ur naturally. In the case of two men, the unborn child would be inserted into a surrogate.

    Sophie absorbed all this new information and the look she gave Cleo slowly changed.

    Did this girl want to knock her up?!

    She did feel slightly relieved that this technology existed as a small part of her did imagine a future with little people running around.

    Cleo nced up at the suspicious gaze in Sophie¡¯s eyes and gave out a short burst ofughter.

    ¡°I met you at the Royal Academy when I was chased by some guards,¡± Cleo confessed in a guilty tone.

    ¡°Ahh! That is why your eyes looked so familiar,¡± Sophie eximed in excitement.

    Cleo said nothing but held onto Sophie¡¯s waist with a firm grip and spun around the dance floor. Truthfully, it had been mere curiosity when she approached the hybrid girl who stood alone in the corner.

    But now¡­.

    Suddenly she had the desire to capture this innocent girl¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take mymunicator number?¡±

 Chapter 48: I will never associate with this girl again!

    Chapter 48: I will never associate with this girl again!

    This was her first friend since arriving to this world!

    Sophie¡¯s only contacts on her wristband were her father and the death guards which was not exactly bad per say¡­but none of these people could be called friends in her age group.

    She quickly tapped her wristband against the band on Cleo¡¯s wrist and an affirming ding indicated that they had exchanged numbers.

    ¡°Truthfully from the moment I saw you¡­. I felt a feeling of love and passion swelling up in my chest,¡± Cleo continued to flirt.

    ¡°You are the stars to my universe¡­. the gentle moonlight that chases away the shadows.¡±

    Sophie was very ttered, but the other party was moving way too fast for her liking.

    ¡°Um¡­I do think you are pretty cute as well, but I want to get to know you a bit more before making a decision on dating,¡± Sophie decided to be as honest as possible with this forward girl.

    Cleo held her tightly as they waltzed around the dance floor while seemingly trapped in their own little bubble.

    ¡°Well my full name is Cleopatra Vostrir Resall Niltos-Sisrelis and I¡¯m currently sixteen years old.¡±

    ¡°My cultivation level is pretty lowpared to the rest of my siblings. I am merely on the second stage of qi spirit,¡± Cleo said with a nonchnt expression.

    She paused for a moment before leaning in and whispering softly into Sophie¡¯s ear, ¡°The reason I¡¯m valued so highly is my innate talent for mech piloting.¡±

    Mech warriors were a highly specialised branch of the imperial army that focused on controlling humanoid or beast like robotic structures for use in battles. The main criteria to operate one of these systems was an extraordinary amount of mental force and a high cultivation level was not necessarily a factor.

    No artificial intelligence was immune to hacking so out of necessity, most mechs were operated manually. Mental force was even more rare than cultivation potential so those that showed even the slightest positive deviation from the norm were encouraged to enlist in the program.

    Strength was the most important factor on a battlefield so even those who ridiculed mech warriors as turtles were forced to admit that their damage output far outdid those of higher cultivation levels.

    ¡°Your turn!¡± Sophie¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by a cheerful whisper.

    ¡°My name is only Sophie Peterlor and I¡¯m also sixteen¡­.

    (Few Hours Later)

    Sophie had spent thest couple of hours with Cleo seemingly attached to her hip and standing in the corner while talking. She had tried to limit her alcohol intake, but the wine seemed to have a high concentration as Sophie was beginning to feel lightheaded.

    Having gotten to know the princess a little better, she was surprised to find how much they had inmon with one another. Cleo was considered a problematic personality by the royal tutors and her mother¡¯s concubine status did not leave them in a stable position in the imperial family.

    She had started exining to Sophie that her dream was to fill a harem of beauties just like her father¡­. but a sudden chill from her future wife¡¯s frosty expression caused the words to die in her throat.

    Buzz Buzz!

    Sophie nced down at her wristband to see a notification from her father saying to meet him in the other banquet hall.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± came a concerned voice from the princess.

    ¡°Yeah¡­my dad just ns on leaving soon so he said to meet him in the other banquet hall,¡± Sophie replied.

    She hesitated for a moment as a strange feeling of reluctance came over her when she saw that her banquet experience wasing to a close. Cleo was like a whirlwind that just uprooted her entire calm evening but¡­.it was not so bad¡­

    Cleo leaned in and gave Sophie a big hug and softly spoke, ¡°that¡¯s a shame¡­. I wanted the effects of the poison to kick in during the banquet,¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Sophie froze in shock.

    Sophie hurriedly put down her ss of wine and tried to peer into the contents to see if any foreign substances were present.

    ¡°Do you really believe I would poison a duke¡¯s daughter without making sure that it was untraceable?¡± a mockingugh came from Cleo who wore a sneer on her face.

    ¡°Now¡­. walk to the exit of the hall and do exactly as I say, and I will provide the antidote before you meet your father,¡± shemanded.

    Cleo¡¯s face hadpletely transformed from a soft gaze into the vicious re of a predator and Sophie could feel the killing intent directed at her.

    Sophie¡¯s body tensed and the familiar urge of bloodlust rose up inside which she fought to control. Cleo gestured towards a direction and walked swiftly away without looking to see if her hostage was following or not.

    There were conflicting feelings of skepticism but ultimately Sophie was not willing to take the chance. She secretly tapped the emergency icon on the wristband and set the alert to broadcast in fifteen minutes.

    Cleo wrapped an arm around her own which would have made Sophie very thrilled only a few moments ago but now it simply filled her with dread.

    How could she have been so careless?

    The hall was quite spacious, so it took the pair around ten minutes before they managed to reach the exit.

    ¡°Give me the antidote¡­. I did what you asked,¡± Sophie muttered as she saw Cleo reach into her pockets and grab something.

    Her eyes activated automatically and begun glowing slightly, and she could see the object inside Cleo hands

    Huh?? Why were they empty?

    ¡°Here is the antidote as I promised,¡± Cleo said in a serious tone.

    She lunged forward unexpectedly, and Sophie could not react as she stumbled backwards while trying not to trip on her high heels. Before even her fighting instincts kicked in, one soft pair of lips brushed gently against her cheek.

    ¡°Got you,¡± came a teasing voice and Sophie opened her eyes to see the princess furiously blushing.

    ¡°Wait¡­.it was all a joke?¡± Sophie roared.

    She wanted to beat this yful girl to death! Royalty or not!

    Unfortunately, Cleo seemed to be as slippery as a fish as she waved goodbye and then her figure vanished into the crowd. Sophie was going to go after her when she felt another faint vibration on her wrist and gave up the idea.

    She quickly disarmed the future alert as who knows if her overprotective dad would shoot first and ask questionster.

    There were a couple of attendants standing at the exit of the banquet hall, so Sophie just asked for a guide to the other hall and one of the maidservants happily helped her to navigate the twists and turns.

    Sophie seemed to be in a bit of a daze as she followed the uniformed maid and her hands would subconsciously stroke her cheeks before forcibly stopping herself.

    No¡­that girl was nothing but trouble¡­

    She would make sure to stay away in the future!

 Chapter 49: Trouble brews in the Federation

    Chapter 49: Trouble brews in the Federation

    (Rokan¡¯s Perspective)

    Duke Peterlor was currently lounging on afortable chair while chugging wine shots after wine shots into his mouth.

    He had finished his twelfth bottle of the evening, but no expression of happiness or drunkenness could be seen on his face.

    His high cultivation level meant that his cells kept breaking down the alcohol in the drinks before any effect could ur!

    Being one of the strongest members of humanity was all well and good¡­ but the cost was too damn high in the mind of the duke.

    Never needing to eat nor sleep took some of the simple pleasures out of life.

    Another pretty woman approached him to strike up a conversation, but the duke justzily waved her away.

    He may look like a man in his early forties, but he was still considered a child to some of the older cultivators.

    High tier cultivators would be able to restore their youthful appearances but Rokan had chosen not to do so.

    There was no shortage of beautiful women who wanted to marry into the Peterlor household, but he had turned down all the offers.

    His precious daughter was the only person he had in his heart now¡­.it was thest gift he had gotten from the woman he used to love.

    Plus, he knew that any child he sired would pose a threat to Sophie¡¯s right to inherit his duke status.

    The ministers of the court only kept silent due to his strength and the fact that no other rtives with a im to his inheritance remained.

    ¡°Can you please conduct yourself with dignity befitting the upper nobility,¡± a stern voice sounded out from the side.

    Rokan looked up to see an elderly man gazing at his figure with a stern expression. The man had a wrinkled hand which tightly gripped the cane that he used to bnce upright.

    There were permanent frown marks on his face that made him seem particrly unpleasant.

    ¡°Ahh if it isn¡¯t the Grand Tutor himself. Care for a drink old man?¡± Rokan ignored the harsh words and passed the man another ss of wine.

    If it were not for the fact that this was a royal banquet¡­he would have knocked the other person directly to the ground.

    Deahvi Isa may have the appearance of a grandfather but he was quite the influential figure in the royal court as he led a popr faction that was in the emperor¡¯s favor.

    Rokan intensely disliked the man as he was one of the chorus of voices that had petitioned the king to get his daughter¡¯s status removed from heir apparent when he had returned sixteen years ago.

    The grand tutor had recently been quietly gathering support for a controversial bill that advocated to kick the other races out of the Federation and leave it entirely in human control.

    It was a shadowy movement as significant bacsh would ur among the general poption if became known to the public.

    ¡°I hope you have considered marrying an appropriatedy from one of the households I suggested and finding yourself a proper heir,¡± the tutor spoke with narrowed eyes.

    ¡°You may be powerful but will that strength of yoursst forever?¡±

    Rokan had one message for him,

    ¡°Fuck off.¡±

    He was about to give this man a fierce beating when he noticed a maidservant walking up from the corner of the room with his lovely daughter in tow.

    (Sophie¡¯s POV)

    Sophie noticed her father rxing on a chair while speaking with an elderly man, but she could tell that there was tension between the two of them. The maid led her to the duke and bowed once before departing.

    The conversation between the two men was immediately halted at her appearance and the man opposite her father shot her a strange look before departing with an angry huff.

    ¡°Come Sophie¡­let¡¯s go from this wretched ce,¡± the duke said with a scowl.

    Sophie observed that her dad was in a bad mood, so she just nodded in acknowledgement before following him out of the banquet hall.

    Sound Void!

    A ck pulse was emitted from her father¡¯s hand the covered the pair in a thinyer that seemed to distort the air around them.

    The duke turned his daughter and spoke solemnly,

    ¡°That man leads a dangerous faction of radicals that seem to be getting more and more popr among the upper nobility circles so please be careful in the future.¡±

    ¡°They hate hybrids and the other races of the Federation and have recently been pushing for their elimination from society.¡±

    ¡°Would that even be possible?¡± Sophie gasped in shock.

    ¡°Actually, I do believe that if humanity decided to wipe out the other three races from the Federation¡­it would be possible,¡± her father replied after a brief moment of contemtion.

    ¡°The biggest problem is that it would be a pyrrhic victory at best. It would leave us vulnerable to other universal civilisations that see humanity as a threat.¡±

    The Earth Federation was founded on the backs of the four ve races of the previous Draxi empire. They rose up against the oppression to fight for equal rights.

    Each race was selectively bred to fill a specific niche of the old empire.

    Humans and Mendolesa were the soldiers of the Draxi army who fought and died for the glory of their masters.

    The Servies and Quafes tended to deal with administrative matters as well as household duties and odd jobs.

    In the modern era of the Federation, each race was given their own home which consisted of mainly those of the same species while the other colonies contained a healthy mix.

    The Mendolesa and humanity had the most warriors capable of cultivation and fighting but powerful figureheads were present in all four races.

    Sophie had lived on Gaia for her entire life, so she had only seen pictures of the other races in textbooks and on the virtual. Maybe it was the fact that she was a hybrid that there was no feeling of hatred towards the other species of the Federation.

    She even thought that some of them looked pretty cute!

    The duke had instilled in his daughter from a young age that all races had people who were awful and those that were good¡­.

    He then told the young Sophie Peterlor to assume that all strangers were not good.

    ¡°Alright well your old man will deal with those stubborn turtles, so you just rx and don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Rokan smiled at Sophie who was frowning after the unpleasant encounter.

    Sophie gently smiled back at her father and the pair strolled out of the royal pce into the waiting hover car.

    She did not miss the look in the grand tutor¡¯s eyes when he seemed to peer at her with a disgusted expression before he left, but at her level there was nothing she could do.

    Qi body stage cultivators were nothing but ants in the vast cosmos.

    ¡°I will be stronger,¡± Sophie muttered to herself while watching the tall buildings flow by.

 Chapter 50: Breaking into the Qi spirit realm

    Chapter 50: Breaking into the Qi spirit realm

    There was an enormous gap in power between the races of the universe who could cultivate and those who could not. Technology could bridge the divide, but no weapon existed that could kill a cultivator in the void stage or above.

    Cultivation was not just a method of gathering qi to gain strength but more akin to an evolution to a higher life form.

    High level cultivators had fearsome abilities like the ancient immortals of legends. They could regenerate from almost any sort of physical damage, gained the ability to fly and could even survive in the vacuum of space.

    Humans in their base forms were weak and fragile creatures with none of the physical enhancements of other species but their cultivation potential allowed them to reign as kings in the milky way gxy.

    The other races could not speak of the humanity without feelings of fear and envy towards their remarkable aptitude.

    (Underground Mansion- Duke Peterlor¡¯s estate)

    The trip back had only taken two hours and Sophie and her father returned with tired expressions. It had been a long event for the both of them and they both headed back to their respective chambers to rest and rx.

    Sophie¡¯s bedroom was located on the floor below the duke¡¯s study room and was outfitted with soundproof walls so there was no chance of disturbance while cultivating.

    Just to be on the safe side, the duke ordered all the servants to stay away from the west wing for the next couple of days.

    There were always stories of those who broke through in battles or spent time mediating in harsh environments but¡­who wouldn¡¯t want to just rx in their own home?

    Certain powerful figures even built specially designed cultivation pces to aid in their training. These pces were constructed in ces of high spiritual energies and theyout of the furniture was arranged to maintain feng shui.

    Sophie sat cross legged on the floor of her bedroom while circting the qi around her body in a familiar fashion. She had long discovered that there was no need to enter the space to cultivate and had begun to mediate at night.

    The feeling of powerlessness as she barely scrapped her way into a qualifying spot was still fresh in her mind. There was zero chance of her making it into one of the four great universities unless she reached the qi spirit stage.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    Sophie grimaced in pain as she crashed wave after wave of qi into the first of the seven acupuncture openings. She needed to fully unlock at least seven of them to transform her qi from a gaseous state into a liquid state.

    ¡°Damn it¡­I ran out of qi again!¡± Sophie muttered with a sense of frustration. She reached out her hand casually and popped a qi replenishing pill into her mouth. It should be easy to cross from the qi body stage to the next realm but for some reason her acupuncture points refused to open.

    The duke had spected that the cause may either be due to the nature of the cultivation art she was practising or her hybrid physiology. That is why on the ground next to Sophiey boxes of qi replenishing pills.

    Sophie felt the cold tingle of the pill dissolving in her mouth and a wave of heat rushed towards her dantian which made her feelfortable and warm. Her qi reserves filled back up rapidly, and Sophie prepared herself for yet another attempt.

    ¡°Cycle your qi and take deep breathes,¡± Sophie whispered the mantra.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    Sophie closed her eyes and could see her qi mming constantly against a translucent barrier that resisted all of the attacks. She tightened her fists and continued even as severe pains began to strike her body.

    ¡°One more¡­ one more,¡± Sophie could sense that the barrier was now beginning to weaken under the pressure.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    With a resounding bang, the first acupuncture point opened!

    ¡°Holy hell¡­I freaking did it!¡± Sophie yelled with a proud smile as she stood up and danced around the room in glee. A warm liquid sshed the back of her hands and she looked down to see the unexpectedly bright red colour of blood.

    She hurriedly turned to the mirror and saw that both her nose and mouth were dripping out blood at a steady rate. There was a first aid kit in her schoolbag, so Sophie took out a few tissues to stem the bleeding.

    It was genuinely concerning that her body seemed to be showing signs of rejection to the Spider Whisper Art that she was cultivating. When she had first ran into this issue, she had attempted to switch her technique with a more stable one but¡­

    Despite trying so many different kinds of human qi gathering techniques¡­none seemed to work.

    Sophie¡¯s only option was to hope that her hidden gic problems could be healed during the process of ascension when she reached the qi Tide stage. Until she reached that level, she would have to endure the pain of breaking through different stages.

    Her qi reserves were already depleted after those vigorous attempts, so Sophie waited until the bleeding stoppedpletely before cing another pill in her mouth.

    ¡°One down and six more to go,¡± Sophieughed with a vicious smile.

    She had a small hunch that this was going to be a very long night¡­.

 Chapter 51: Letting a wolf near his daughter

    Chapter 51: Letting a wolf near his daughter

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Sweetie are you okay?¡± came a concerned voice from behind the bedroom door as the loud knocking failed to get a response from the girl inside the room.

    The duke was pacing around the hall anxiously with a worried expression on his face. Sophie had not left her room for at least four days now and he was afraid that something had gone wrong during her cultivation.

    What could he do if she fell into qi deviation??

    Most people took only one night to break through all seven acupuncture openings and even in rare cases it usually onlysted for the maximum duration of three days. The head butler nced at his nervous lord and tried to reassure him,

    ¡°My liege, the young miss has enough food and qi replenishing pills tost for a month. Her wristband has not sent out any distress signals so her health should be perfectly fine.¡±

    ¡°You also have the envoy from the Royal Pce currently waiting in the main hall for the yearly inspection of good and properties. I even heard rumors that one of the minor princesses is mixed in the procession this time.¡±

    Every noble was required to pay a certain amount of taxes which corresponded with the rank and wealth of the house in question.

    There was no doubt that many of the properties and weapons possessed by some households were not listed on the official disclosure form, but it was nothing a well-ced bribe could not solve.

    Duke Peterlor had steadily built up a reputation as an honest man so he made sure not to have any problems with the taxes collected from his territories.

    This was not due to a love for the monarchy, but rather he did not want a hidden tool for his enemies to bring up against him in court. It could prove to be a troublesome matter to defend against.

    This annual envoy was just a mere formality to remind the upper rank nobles of their duty towards the empire. It would in theory promote patriotism in the subjects of the Federation, but most nobles just sent their sons and daughters to listen to the propaganda.

    The duke paid the matter no extra thought and was prepared to have them wait in the main hall of the mansion.

    He was even less concerned about the minor princess who snuck in among the envoy. Now if it were a prince then the poor boy would not have even stepped one foot near his precious daughter.

    The unfortunate duke came to realise several yearster that he had allowed a wolf into his home.

    Rokan frowned at his servant but remained silent and just patiently waited. Truthfully, his daughter¡¯s situation with cultivation had caused him to secretly collect multiple qi gathering methods which were not limited to the ones practised only by the human race.

    But his daughter seemed to be content with the method she was currently training with despite the side effects. The duke was unsure if the reason was because of the suitability of the method in question or the fact that it was given as a gift from her mother.

    That point alone just brought ripples of confusion in the duke¡¯s heart. He could not understand the logic of Thai¡¯lle who wanted to harm him and her child, but she gave up such a precious amulet with a hidden space.

    ¡°Dad?¡± came a call from inside the room.

    The duke shook those stray thoughts away and hurriedly unlocked the door with his fingerprint and entered inside but the sight before his eyes made his blood run cold in horror.

    ¡°Sophie¡­what happened here? Butler call a doctor immediately!¡± Rokan roared in shock as he saw his daughterying down on the floor was a weak expression.

    She was covered in blood and the red liquid continued to ooze out of her mouth and nostrils at an rming rate.

    There was a terrible stench in the room as ck impurities and grime were expelled out of her body during the breakthrough process. Sophie no longer had the energy to move her body and could only close her eyes when seeing the frantic face of her father.

    Warm hands wrapped around her and the duke ignored the horrible smell while picking up his daughter and carefully bringing her to the mansion¡¯s infirmary. Sophie just felt warm andfortable which lulled her gently to sleep.

    (Several hourster in the infirmary)

    Sophie yawned and blearily opened her eyes to find that she had been taken to a clean white bed in the infirmary. She looked down to discover that her clothes had been changed and all the blood and filth had been cleaned as well.

    ¡°The beautifuldy is finally awake! I will need to inform the duke immediately,¡± a startled voice came from the figure standing on the side of the bed.

    Sophie turned slowly to see the familiar smile of Princess Cleo staring back at her with what seemed to be traces of concern in her eyes.

    ¡°How long was I out?¡± Sophie spoke hoarsely.

    ¡°It must have been at least five years since the night you fell unconscious,¡± Cleo spoke as her smile slowly faded into contemtive frown.

    How could this be? Had she missed the university entrance exam??

    More importantly¡­. would she fall into aa every time she broke into another realm using this method?

    Sophie felt the world copsing all around her as various thoughts ran across her mind. She did not realise that her myriad of interesting expressions was seen in the eyes of the no-good princess.

    She even forgot to ask why the girl she met in the banquet was suddenly at her side in the Peterlor Estate. Logically speaking there was no reason for a minor princess to appear in the territory of an upper noble without an ulterior motive.

    Cleo figured that her teasing had gone a bit too far, so she popped her head back into the room before leaving to give a teasing grin and muttering,

    ¡°Just kidding mdy.¡±

    The princess walked out into the corridor and took a couple of deep breaths before her figure blurred and then vanished.

 Chapter 52: Crafty old fox vs the young wolf

    Chapter 52: Crafty old fox vs the young wolf

    Only a few minutes after Cleo departed, the worried figure of the duke rushed into the room and immediately gave his daughter a big hug. Sophie wrapped her arms around him and could feel the silent shaking of her father as he tried to suppress his visible relief that his daughter was okay.

    Warmth filled her chest and she gave a short pray to the gods to thank them for giving her such a wonderful parent.

    ¡°Dad I did it! I finally broke into the qi spirit realm!¡± Sophie shouted with joy and released a small wisp of qi energy for her father to inspect.

    ¡°Congrattions my dear daughter,¡± the duke spoke in a gentle tone. When he saw the figure of Sophieying down on the floor covered in blood¡­. his heart ran cold.

    In fact, he was tempting to persuade Sophie to just stop cultivating.

    But he knew better than anyone thatws did not hold any sway over the powerful beings of the universe and his daughter needed to have the ability to protect herself in the event that something happened to him.

    He was scared of dying¡­ not because of death itself but at the mere thought of his daughter being left alone in this world that may not ept her.

    ¡°Did Cleo find you immediately?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°Who is Cleo?¡± her father replied with a puzzled tone.

    The duke thought for a moment before a sudden thought hit him¡­Was his daughter referring to the princess brat who snuck around the mansion using an astral projection?

    Cultivators who specialised in mental force had a variety of strange abilities that made them quite tricky to face against in fights.

    Astral projection was one of these skills which gave the ability to a user to project a mental image of themselves that could explore a limited range around the host body. This range gradually increased as the level of the cultivator improved.

    The princess had arrogantly thought that since Duke Peterlor was a sword cultivator that he would be unable to detect her intrusion, but she vastly underestimated the strength of a god stage cultivator.

    God stage cultivators possessed a natural domain that could be projected outwards into the surrounding area. Any type of ability or force used within this range could be instantly detected and extinguished with a mere thought.

    Rokan had noticed Cleo¡¯s phantom instantly as she used the skill but allowed her to freely roam as he watched carefully to see what the hidden purpose of her visit to the estate was. The envoy was provided a basic map to the mansion and the princess ignored all the sensitive rooms and seemed to be looking for a specific person.

    The duke was quite curious as to who that person was and it was to his great shock to find out that the princess had visited his daughter in the infirmary and stood guard for almost the entire duration of the envoy¡¯s visit.

    Sophie watched her father pause for a brief second before turning to her with a serious expression,

    ¡°Are you friends with that girl?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes¡­I met her at the banquet,¡± Sophie saw the concerned look on the duke¡¯s face and knew that he was only worried about her.

    He never brought up the incident of Leona¡¯s falling out with her, but it seems that he knew more than he let on.

    ¡°For your sake then I will just scare the girl to let her know not to think that she is invincible with just some petty mental tricks.¡±

    The duke may seem cruel but if that princess was going to be friends with his daughter then she needed to learn some humility before her actions outraged someone more powerful than her and she dragged Sophie into the matter.

    (Conference Room)

    The conversation between the head butler and the envoy representatives was winding down to a close and a variety of topics had been discussed.

    The tax report was only part of the reason for the visit as the royal family would keep tabs on powerful nobles to sound out their positions on certain matters.

    Duke Peterlor was a crafty old fox and by having the head butler be his representative, there could be no discussion on matters outside of tax collection as the servant would have no authority to disclose information on his master¡¯s behalf.

    ¡°You can expect to receive the full tax report in two months time and duke Peterlor would like to reiterate his stance of remaining neutral for the battle of session,¡± the head butler spoke in a monotone voice.

    The Duke¡¯s actual words were more along the lines of he did not care which bastard sat on the throne, but the head butler decided to go for a more diplomatic trantion.

    ¡°Glory to the Federation,¡± the envoy leader spoke in reply before giving a short bow and then signalling the team to depart.

    Cleo stood up with the rest of the delegation as they prepared to leave the Peterlor estate. She smiled cheerfully as the memory of her sneaking into the infirmary just to see Sophie made her feel immensely proud of her mental abilities.

    Suddenly a wave of pressure struck her with incredible force and Cleo froze on the spot as she lost control of her limbs. Panic began to set in as she could not even call for help from the maidservants beside her.

    She attempted to tap her amulet to activate the teleportation function but then a booming voice echoed in her mind,

    (¡°Consider this a warning¡­. don¡¯t behave so arrogantly in the presence of a god stage cultivator¡±)

    (¡°My daughter seems to like you, so I am willing to overlook this transgression but rest assured¡­. there will be no more second chances¡±)

    Just as quickly as the mental suppression appeared, it vanished abruptly, and Cleo gasped in shock as she clutched her chest in pain.

    ¡°Princess is everything okay?¡± one of her personal servants noticed Cleo ¡®s apparent difort and asked in a concerned tone.

    Cleo took a few deep breathes to settle herself and then straightened out her back to pretend that nothing had happened. She ignored the question from the maid and walked out of the mansion with a brisk pace.

    Why was her father inw so scary?!

    She did not know this fact, but had it been a boy who visited Duke Peterlor¡¯s precious Sophie¡­.

    ¡­¡­well let us just say that he would not have bothered asking for his daughter¡¯s opinion.

    (Meanwhile at the infirmary)

    Sophie saw her father close his eyes briefly and give a casual wave of his hand which caused a pulse of energy to be sent out. She did not train in mental energy but her golden eyes could see small ripples exit her father¡¯s hand which was something that had never happened before.

    Could it be that her abilities were enhanced after breaking into the qi spirit realm?

    She stretched out her arms and legs to try to feel for any changes but fortunately there seemed to be no more extra appendages this time around. Getting used to the spider legs was already quite difficult and it took some time to get ustom to sleeping with those bulky things.

    The duke opened his eyes and gave a shortugh before boasting in a proud tone,

    ¡°I gave that arrogant brat a little lesson,¡±

    ¡°She will think twice before messing with the Peterlor family!¡±

    Sophie felt a small tinge of unhappiness and red it at her father who seemed to have scared the princess that was willing to be her friend. Rokan could sense that his daughter seemed to be unhappy, so he coughed lightly before switching topics.

    ¡°Did your body undergo any changes?¡± he asked curiously.

    Sophie frowned in contemtion but there really seemed to be no significant alterations to her physique other than a slight increase in her visual perception.

    She was feeling a bit thirsty after resting for so long and reached out for the ss of water on the side of the bed. The ss seemed to sparkle in the light with an almost hypnotic pattern, but Sophie did not pay any attention to the details.

    The tray was ced just out of the reach of her hands, so Sophie stretched forward to try to grab it, but the frustrating thing just kept eluding her.

    Fuck just let me get this stupid thing!

    As the thought shed across her mind, one of her spider legs shot forward with terrifying speed and pierced the ss which caused the fragile object to instantly shatter into fragments.

    Sophie saw her dumbfounded look reflected in her father¡¯s eyes as the pair looked down at the ss shards scattered across the floor and both spoke at the same time,

    ¡°Um¡­. I haven¡¯t been able to use them that flexibly before.¡±

    ¡°My expensive ss!¡±

 Chapter 53: Interlude- Princess Thaille s Letter

    Chapter 53: Interlude- Princess Thai''lle ''s Letter

    To my precious Sophie,

    It has been sixteen years since we have been separated and not a single day goes by without me worrying about your safety.

    Have you been eating well? Are the humans bullying you?

    Your father taught me how to write in the humannguage, but my grammar may not be perfect so please excuse me.

    On the day you were born was one of the happiest moments of my life without a shadow of doubt.

    I am a princess of the Arachne empire and have seen countless rare and exotic materials but when I held your small body in my arm¡­

    ¡­. I had never seen such a priceless treasure.

    Please forgive your mother for not being strong enough to protect both you and my darling husband from the wrath of my race. The secret of your birth could not have been concealed forever and I had to trick your father to escape and abandon me.

    I¡­I said some terrible things to him. I hope one day he can understand the selfish choice I made was for the two of you to survive.

    You were born with my golden eyes and your ears were also adorably pointed but the rest of your body appeared to be fully human.

    My brethren would not ept a hybrid much less one with so little inmon with the rest of the hive.

    I figured that you would be able to grow up safely among the humankind. Your father always boasted about his high position and unmatched strength in the Federation. If only fifty percent of his tales are true, then he should be able to protect you well in my absence.

    It is no secret that there is conflict between the Insectoid Empire and the Earth Federation which will put you in danger from both sides.

    Not all tribes have participated in this conflict, but it is only a matter of time before the Arachne race steps forth onto the battlefield and bes exposed to the rest of the universe.

    I am deeply afraid that you will be too human for the Insectoids and too Insectoid for the humans¡­

    Thankfully, you appeared to have inherited none of my distinguishing features but who knows what changes will happen in the future. You are the first offspring of a human and an Arachne so I will not be able to predict what direction your body will develop.

    Just in case, I have given you a ne which contains a rare cultivation method that only the princesses of the Arachne empire are allowed to practice. It will only activate if your body changes to suit the art.

    Life in banishment has been pretty boring so far, I was exiled to a deste star system and there are guards at the entrance of the nearest stargate to prevent me from leaving.

    I am not alone and plenty of prisoners have been keeping mepany.

    Cough¡­cough¡­. I may have overthrown the top gang leaders and be the queen of the prison, but that story is for another time.

    The matter of your birth has been kept as an open secret among the general nobility, but none should have any idea that you survived.

    It was the only way to keep you safe.

    Beware of no good human males and females who just want yourpanionship for ulterior motives. I have no doubt that you will grow up into a peerless beauty just like me and attract all kinds of annoying pests.

    Many suitors have visited the prison to attempt to gain me as a wife but well¡­let us just say that they left with no such ideas in mind.

    The only man for me is your father but do not tell him that or his ego will swell even more.

    I know we have been apart but if your father dares to take another wife¡­. hmph see if I don¡¯t beat him up until he bes a cripple. I do understand that certain human nobles have multiple partners but¡­

    I. do. not. share.

    Owmq qveqmuw fx iph Eisrpqi wsat lr cgkm¡­zi wsat lr cgkm isi s aqiikabm.

    My apologies¡­. I got a bit heated and wrote down some words in my nativenguage of Veralis which tends to happen when I get upset. The meaning of that statement is,

    ¡°When members of the Arachne fall in love¡­we fall in love for a lifetime.¡±

    Your father is not a disloyal man but do make sure that no flies swarm around him just in case!

    I have been training relentlessly against the primordial creatures that roam this god forsaken ce and my cultivation has improved!

    Within the next five years I n on escaping this prison and disguising myself to visit and live with you in the Federation.

    I miss my family.

    Tell your father that when I return¡­. we will need to have a rematch to see who has gotten stronger!

    In all honesty¡­I do not know if you will ever see these messages but just writing down these words gives me the feeling that I am talking to you.

    I sincerely hope that one day, I can hold you in my arms again.

    I love you my darling,

    Princess Thai¡¯lle

    .

    .

    .

    A woman ced down her pen and looked at the parchment filled with carefully written words with a sad expression on her face. She reached across her desk to find a small envelope and folded the parchment slowly before cing it inside.

    There was a small chest hidden under the boards of the floor and Thai¡¯lle ran her finger across a certain spot which caused a small blue light to scan her fingertips. The chest opened up with a creaking noise and the numerous stacks of letters inside were almost overflowing.

    Thai¡¯lle added yet another envelope to the pile inside the chest and closed it shut with a resounding thud.

 Chapter 54: University Specialisations

    Chapter 54: University Specialisations

    ¡°Hiss¡­.¡±

    Sophie groaned as the all too familiar pain of a needle sliced through her flesh and delivered another dose of poison into her body.

    She red angrily at Katarina who withdrew the needle and prepared another batch of toxins with no hesitation. This was a regr urrence and Sophie was reluctantly used to it by now.

    Many seemed to be under the impression that using the Poison Arts consisted of merely throwing vials at enemies during battle, but those moves were only done by amateurs.

    One had to train for at least two years to build up required immunity before even thinking of manufacturing their first poison.

    Releasing poison without having an immunity to it was no more than tossing out a suicide attack.

    Katarina was a specialized poison cultivator, so her training methods were even more robust, and she refused to teach anything until Sophie¡¯s body had adapted to ten thousand different types of poisons.

    Well if there was any bright spot¡­. she no longer had to be strapped to the bed as the frequency of the injection had raised Sophie¡¯s tolerance for needles.

    Now she merely gave a small grimace of pain when she saw one.

    Cleo: [Two more days till the university entrance exams!!!!]

    Cleo: [I hope we get ced on the same testing ex ? <3]

    Cleo: [ By the way, have you ranked the universities in order of preference yet?]

    Sophie: [ I¡­I haven¡¯t decided yet¡­]

    Cleo: [ I¡¯ll just pick whatever university you decide :)]

    Sophie looked at hermunicator and typed out a reply while a small smile of happiness shed across her face.

    She had messaged Cleo after her father had scared her to try to apologise but her new friend didn¡¯t seem to pay the matter any attention.

    They actually ended up talking quite regrly and Sophie quietly enjoyed the flirty messages being sent her way.

    Of course, right now training was the number one priority so she would usually only have chance to talk to her around bedtime for about an hour.

    ¡°So, who is the mysterious person mdy has constantly been talking to on themunicator,¡± Katarina teasingly spoke at the distracted young miss.

    Sophie was startled and hurriedly tucked her small device in her pocket while blushing slightly. Katarina gave a knowing grin and just continued to sort through the various poison vials without bringing up the issue.

    She found a purplish red vial that glow eerily in the light with a dangerous glint.

    Katarina turned to Sophie who now had a bad feeling about the situation and spoke,

    ¡°Well if you have time to be distracted then I clearly need to increase the dosage!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    A few hourster¡­.

    (Study Room)

    There was only two days left until the transport for the university entrance exam arrived, so Sophie¡¯s father had brought her to his study to exin some more details about the Four Great Universities.

    ¡°Dad¡­Don¡¯t I have to just pick the human university?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°Who said so? Each University has a mixed poption of all four races of the Federation and even a few exceptions from outside the gxy,¡± the duke responded in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°In fact, in order to promote cooperation between the four different races, each university is required to have a poption of 65% native and 35% from the other three races,¡± the duke continued.

    ¡°Each one of the four universities are at the top of the Federation, but they all have one particr area of specialisation.¡±

    Sophie listened with great attention as her father exined each merit of the different universities while giving his opinion on the suitability of each one.

    Truthfully, she did not put much thought into which university to select as merely qualifying seemed like a far away dream just a few months ago.

    She had just assumed that her father would want her to attend the human controlled As University.

    As University had its main and side branches located in the Virgo Star Cluster and was known for itsmand and leadership training and boasted one of the most impressive collection of starships for training recruits in the art of spacebat.

    All slots for humans were exclusively upied by nobles who had qualified via the selection process and only when those spots were filled would themoners be allowed entry.

    Most of the Imperial officers in the army had been trained in this university including the duke himself.

    ¡°Sophie¡­if you want to go this university then I can pull some strings once you pass the entrance exams,¡± her father spoke hesitantly while watching her expression.

    Sophie paused in contemtion for a moment before shaking her head and replying, ¡°I think I want to hear about the other options.¡±

    She missed the relieved smile that surfaced briefly on the duke¡¯s face before he continued his exnation.

    Zrudread University was located in the Hydra Star Cluster and was near the home of the Mendolesa race. The Mendolesa were fierce warriors so their university ced a strong emphasis on personal strength.

    Mendolesa resembled more beast than man and were wolf like creatures who walked on two legs with razor sharp ws that could cut straight through steel.

    New recruits were often sent onto battlefields and the corresponding fatality rate was the highest among all four universities.

    Their university policy was baptism by fire and the warriors produced were some of the strongest among the Federation.

    This option sounded dangerous, but Sophie did agree that it was probably the best option to rapidly increase her strength. She wanted to solve the mystery about what happened to her mother and figure out more details about the amulet she was given.

    Mer University did not have any side branches and the main school was located on the aquamarine of Neptune in the Rx-J123 Star Cluster. It was controlled by the Servies race who were rtively peace loving and very friendly.

    They were only two feet in height on average and looked like small fairies with beautiful faces and tiny wings giving them the ability to fly. This university was not very popr among the general poption, but it had one advantage which was a magic department.

    Servies had one of the most fearsome affinities to mana which was almost on par with humanity¡¯s talent for cultivation. Many of the most prominent warlocks and mages in the Federation had gone to this university.

    Sophie wouldn¡¯t have mind going to this university as she thought that the Servies looked quite adorable but unfortunately her extremely low aptitude for mana would make her an undesirable prospect for recruiters.

    Thest university would be the Tantibus University whose main and side branches were located in the Centaurus Star Cluster. This university was run by the Quafes who were quite an interesting race.

    Quafes were a shapeshifting race of sentient liquids who could mimic the appearance of any species. Gender and sex had no meaning as members of the race could mate with others or self replicate.

    The species they enjoyed mimicking the most was humans as they found their aesthetic to be highly attractive.

    Tantibus University had no main specialisation per say but had solid departments in every aspect of cultivation and performed decently during University conferences.

    This was a solid option, but theck of a known specialisation was clearly a demerit.

    ¡°Well you don¡¯t have to decide now,¡± the duke saw that his daughter was in a contemtive state and decided to give her some reassurance.

    ¡°You have the information about each one and no matter which you choose¡­. I will support you unconditionally,¡±

    Sophie smiled and thanked her father before returning to her room to practice some more cultivation.

    These university choices meant nothing unless she could qualify for a candidate spot and defeat the other geniuses of the Federation!

 Chapter 55: Combat Beasts

    Chapter 55: Combat Beasts

    ¡°Sophie you need to focus and dodge the projectiles!¡± the duke yelled out.

    It was thest day of training before the transport ship would arrive to take the qualified candidates to the university entrance exam.

    Sophie was standing in the middle of a training field while being surrounded by hundreds of training droids whose red eyes stared down at her figure with menacing hums.

    Advanced civilisations did typically have technological advancements in the areas of AI and robotics.

    Training droids were small silvery robots created to increasebat experience with tiny wings and energy cannons that fired nonlethal attacks.

    Although it still hurt like hell to be hit by one!

    Sophie held a ck whip in her hand and shed out furiously at the targets that shifted around the battlefield in erratic patterns. But each attack seemed to find the exact location of the droid as if it were tracked.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Mechanical parts scattered on the ground as five droids suddenly exploded under the immense pressure of the attacks.

    Sophie did not even spare them a nce before leaping backwards to avoid the energy projectiles from the droids in front of her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to practice using your spider appendages¡­. remember your body is a weapon!¡± came the harsh reminder from her father.

    Sophie was still getting used to the new range of movements from her spider legs but for some reason she found that she was able to produce fluid movement inbat settings.

    It was almost like an instinct, the way she could urately find targets despite not having vision of them.

    She activated her movement skill and hopped gracefully around the arena while her deadly appendages pierced straight through the seemingly fragile mechanical shells of the droids that wandered too close.

    It had already been five hours so far and Sophie¡¯s stamina was beginning to wear out.

    There were no more training sessions for the day as her other two teachers were on a special mission to infiltrate the headquarters of a terrorist cell that had popped up on the outskirts of one of her family¡¯s lunar colonies.

    ¡°Alright old man! I¡¯m going to show you a new move,¡± Sophie cockily grinned at her father before tightened her grip on her trusty whip.

    ck Viper Art!

    Qi flowed from her dantian into her fingertips and passed straight into her weapon. Sophie could feel a subtle connection being established and the whip became an extension of her own body.

    She looked up at the remaining droids that hovered menacingly beforeunching a quick strike against the densest cluster.

    A thin ck line travelled outwards from her hand and a fearsome projection of a ck serpent followed the trajectory.

    Hiss!

    Destruction followed the wake of the ck line¡¯s path and all the poor droids could not even track the movement of the attack before they exploded.

    The serpent gleefully roamed around uncontested in the air before disappearing once the length of the whip finished extending.

    Sophie felt thest of her qi reserves bottom out and she sat heavily on the floor while gesturing to her father to turn off the surviving droids.

    With a small push of a button, the light in the droids slowly faded away and theynded on the ground before folding themselves intopact orbs.

    Training droids were inexpensive to repair so one of the servants would pick up the scattered parts of the destroyed robots to send to a mechanic shop.

    ¡°Barely passable,¡± came the gruff voice from the duke but Sophie could detect a small tinge of pride in his tone.

    Sophie justy on the ground while trying to recover her energy. She felt herself growing stronger day by day but tried her best to reign in any thoughts of overconfidence.

    Being a big fish in a small pond did not mean that one would be able to survive in the ocean.

    Rokan nced down at his daughter who just gazed back at him with a pitiful expression and felt his heart begin to soften.

    He discarded his initial n to extend the training session for a few more hours and decided to give his daughter a surprise.

    ¡°Okay¡­. well it is yourst day so I think we can shorten the training just for today,¡± her father spoke.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I take you shopping in the Grand Qza Mall?¡±

    Nobles generally speaking would send their servants to buy any items they required that could not be ordered online but Rokan felt that it would be nice to have some father daughter bonding time.

    He was originally just one of the many of thete Duke Peterlor¡¯s bastards, so he grew up without any servants to tend to his needs.

    He used to cook, shop, and asionally steal to survive as an orphan.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes immediately lit up and she jumped to her feet with all traces of exhaustion seemingly disappeared. She hurriedly replied with joy,

    ¡°You¡¯re the best dad!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    (Grand Qza Mall)

    ¡°Wow!¡± Sophie eximed as she wandered around the vast mall with a sense of wonder. This was the biggest shopping ce that she had ever seen before. It was almost like a different world with climate regtors providing a warm tropical breeze.

    Each shop was roughly the size of tworge apartment rooms and carried a wide variety of goods and services. Her dad held her hand firmly and the two roamed around aimlessly to window shop without any clear target in mind.

    Sophie could tell that they were getting stares, but it was more directed at her appearance than the presence of a Duke.

    Rokan had retired from the military upon his return to the Federation and rarely participated in politics so he was not well known among the general poption.

    As for the high nobles¡­. why would they ever shop for themselves?

    ¡°Dad! Look at that pet store!¡± Sophie tugged on her father¡¯s arm as they passed one of the shops.

    The sign in front of the shop read, ¡®Emperios Interster Beasts¡¯

    Sophie had a deep love for animals and fluffy things in general. The pet industry was still highly profitable in this era as many still enjoyed theirpanionship.

    There was even a profession of beast cultivators who shared blood bonds with their partners to unleash frightening qi attacks.

    With the vast exploration of the universe, new beasts were discovered all the time and were graded based on which consumer aspect they satisfied.

    Combat pets were graded on a scale ofmon, rare, ultra, legendary, and godly with each tier being progressively more expensive and difficult to control.

    It was not always a good thing to aim for a strong beast as an improperly trained animal could turn on its master.

    Sophie entered the shop and felt blown away by the strange and mythical creatures in the cages around them. A red bird sung sweetly before spitting out a blue me which caused a heat wave to wash across Sophie¡¯s face.

    What appeared to be a metallic armadillo was calmly nibbling on small pieces of iron while spikes jutted out of its hardened shell.

    A pale white jellyfish floated in the air with its tendrils wrapped around a mouse that shook twice before melting into a paste- like substance.

    And many more fantastic beasts!

    Sophie¡¯s expression of joy was seen by one of the salesgirls who came up to the pair with an enthusiastic smile on her face,

    ¡°Can I help you today young miss?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show my daughter thebat pet section¡­. price is not an issue,¡± came the dominating reply from her father.

    The salesgirl¡¯s smile stretched even wider as she brought the pair to the back of the store to take a look at the avablebat beasts.

 Chapter 56: Sophies Choice

    Chapter 56: Sophie''s Choice

    ¡°Sir, by the most expensive option¡­does that mean thebat pets from the legendary ss?¡± the salesgirl carefully inquired.

    She had seen many customers ask about the pricier beasts in the store but when they saw the price¡­well let¡¯s just say she did not receive any salemissions.

    The duke gave a small nod which caused the salesgirl heart to flutter with hope towards the father and daughter duo.

    Good lord hermission was going to be great!

    ¡°Please follow me to the back of the store my esteemed customers,¡± she softly spoke before leading the pair through the store.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes sparkled as she took in the strange and wonderful beasts all around her. There was no unpleasant smell from the animals as the indoor filtration system and the cleaning robots maintained proper hygiene.

    She looked at one of the cages and there was a purple coloured monkey who waved cheerfully before turning invisible!

    What seemed to be a metallic sludge was shifting merrily around a small enclosure before violently banging against the door as they passed by.

    The salesgirl led them past the recreational pet section and into thebat pet zone of the store.

    Sophie noticed that the animals here seemed to be more aggressive and stared harshly at her figure as she walked by.

    There was now an additionalbel under each one of the enclosures that showed what rank thebat pet was. Sophie saw that even themon rankedbat pets would sell for upwards of one million Enas.

    What was the price of a legendary pet?

    She dared not think too much!

    She sneaked a small peak at her father who seemed pretty nonchnt at the prospect of his daughter¡¯s reckless spending and quietly made a vow in her heart to pay him back once she entered military service.

    Sophie saw a rock-like golem with beady yellow eyes that made her slightly sleepy when she gazed into them. The duke gave her a gentle tap on the head and Sophie woke up with a startled expression.

    Thebel under the creature showed that he was merely an ultra beast.

    Sophie dared not casually look at the beasts inside the enclosures anymore and just quietly followed the guide until they reached a ck door with two security drones hovering menacingly in the air.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my dear customers but to gain ess to this room will require a deposit of ten million Enas before I can allow you inside,¡± the salesgirl carefully exined.

    The duke said nothing but simply handed the girl a ck credit card which she quickly tapped against a payment machine to process the amount.

    Once the payment wasplete, the salesgirl took out a metal te from her pocket and pressed it against the sealed door.

    A buzzing noise was heard from the security lock and the door swung open to reveal the hidden room within.

    Legendarybat beasts were notoriously difficult to acquire and only high-end pet stores would be able to apply for a licence to breed and sell. Under thews of the Federation, these beasts were treated as biological weapons, so every sale was heavily taxed.

    Even the ck market would only be able to sell very small quantities under the condition that the authorities would turn a blind eye once they received a cut.

    The room was surprisingly bare and only contained a virtual hub that showed the projection of a book and what seemed to be a small transporter in the center of the room.

    Sophie walked inside and was taken aback by theck of animals.

    ¡°Where are the legendary beasts?¡± Sophie inquired in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°Our store only has a B-ranked pet licence to sell legendarybat beasts so we cannot offer any that have already been hatched. We are only allowed to sell eggs,¡± the salesgirl exined.

    Generally speaking, A- ranked and S- Ranked pet licences were only reserved for military contractors and special individuals with extremely high security clearances.

    Having a B- ranked licence was the highest licence that amercial business could obtain.

    ¡°But for those in the lower cultivation levels, it would be practically impossible for customers to tame an adult or even an infant legendary beast.¡±

    ¡°However, we also sell training manuals and methods to form a blood bond with the egg that the customer selects so you will be treated as a parent once it hatches which tends to make the creature easier to control.¡±

    Sophie turned to her father who gave her an encouraging nod, so she eagerly ran towards the virtual terminal to browse the avable selections.

    Sophie did not intend to go down the path of beast cultivation, but she figured that the extra strength would protect her in the future.

    Plus, she really loved animals!

    Sophie tapped the floating book and a search engine was generated which could filter all the avable beasts. There was also a guide section for new users, so Sophie decided to give it a click before deciding to search.

    Reading the introduction page, Sophie realised that the eggs were all cryogenically frozen and once a selection was made then they would be teleported from a hidden location to the transporter in the centre of the room.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find an adorable baby!¡± Sophie joyfully spoke.

    The results could be filtered using a variety of options which Sophie carefully browsed before making a choice.

    [Size: Small Medium Gigantic]

    [Ability: None Singr Multiple]

    [Trainability level: Beginner Intermediate Master]

    [General Specialization: Power Strength Agility Stamina Lethality]

    [Combat Role: Surveince Fighter Tank Healer Control]

    [Weight: Light (<25 kg) Medium (25- 100kg) Heavy ( >100kg) ]

    She inputted a series ofmands into the search engine to narrow down the results.

    The first consideration was that the pet had to be small and in the lightweight ss. Sophie did not want a bulky pet because travelling would be quite inconvenient.

    And she wanted to hold and hug the pet in her arms!

    For the special ability section, she clicked the singr and multiple options while briefly ncing at the master option on the trainability level before giving a sigh of resignation and clicking beginner.

    There was no need to lie to herself¡­¡­

    The remaining options of general specialization were quite tricky as they would basically eliminate an enormous percentage of the avable stock.

    Sophie stood in silence for several minutes but could not seem to make up her mind.

    ¡°Dad could you help me decide what option to select for thebat role and specialization?¡± Sophie turned to her father for help.

    ¡°Young miss, the most popr types ofbat beasts are those that have the fighter and tank ss roles! They will make you near invincible among your peers,¡± the salesgirl quickly spoke up.

    The salesgirl was eager to rmend those two options as it would increase hermission quite significantly.

    It was true, although each pet for sale was of the legendary status¡­. there was great demand for the tank and fighter sses whenpared to the rest, so they were naturally more expensive.

    Sophie gave a small hum of acknowledgement before waiting for her father to reply. The duke stroked his chin for a moment before giving the opposite advice,

    ¡°I think you should select abat beast that is useful for control, surveince or healing,¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Sophie asked in confusion.

    ¡°Because the other roles may give you an edge among your peers at the lower levels but once you reach the qi tide stage then your opponents will easily deal with them or go for you directly,¡± he exined.

    ¡°And it is very easy to be over reliant on external sources of strength. I¡¯m not going to mock beast cultivators but unless they have some type of defensive cultivation art¡­. they are easy pickings on the battlefield.¡±

    Sophie took her father¡¯s advice to heart and selected the healer, surveince and control sses but left the general specialization filter slot empty.

    She pressed the enter button and a few small dots appeared on the screen as the AI searched the database to find all matches that included her criteria.

    [Adjusting list ofbat beasts based on filters selected¡­.]

    [ Searching for matches: Matches found!]

    To her delight she found that exactly five pets had met her stringent requirements. The list of filters may have given the illusion that there was plenty of choices for customers, but each legendary beast was iparably precious.

    They had notoriously low breeding rates in captivity and their dangerous nature made fatalitiesmonce in the industry.

    The Options were:

    1)Frostwing Bat

    ¨C Surveince/ Control

    ¨C Lightweight

    ¨C Special Abilities: Frozen domain, Supersonic st

    2) Eye demon

    ¨C Surveince

    ¨C Lightweight

    ¨C Special Abilities: Temporal Foresight

    3) Sephyre

    ¨C Surveince/ Fighter

    ¨C Lightweight

    ¨C Special Abilities: Hellfire

    4) Void Jellyfish

    ¨C Control

    ¨C Lightweight

    ¨C Special Abilities: Spatial Disruption

    5) Elder forest pixie

    ¨C Healer/ Control

    ¨C Lightweight

    ¨C Special Abilities: Flora Maniption, Life Aura

    [Click on each choice individually for more details]

 Chapter 57: Will you be paying cash or credit?

    Chapter 57: Will you be paying cash or credit?

    Sophie only saw a long line of text which only provided a basic synopsis for the five beast pets that met her requirements.

    There was no apanying picture or exnation of their abilities, but it seemed that she could tap each option individually for more information.

    She decided to follow the order generated and started off by clicking the Frostwing Bat.

    Frostwing bats are a rare mutated form of the Earth species ¡®Desmodus rotundus¡¯ or better known as the vampire bat.

    This species came into existence from exposure to a rare Icetite Ore which granted them fearsome abilities and permanent mutation.

    But only one in every million bats would mutate which made their breeding rate extremely low.

    Frostwing bats fell under the control and surveince categories as their agility in the air made them virtually indetectable especially at night.

    They were capable of producing sound waves from an organ in their throat to detect foreign objects up to ten kilometers away.

    Their chest also contained an extra organ which was capable of temporarily boosting the vibrations produced by the throat to create a sound shockwave in a forward direction.

    This ability could stun and rupture the eardrums of any creature directly hit.

    Surprisingly, their poprity was not particrly high due to their other special ability which was frozen domain.

    This ability would not distinguish between ally or foe when utilised and often led to dangerous situations for both the bat and its master.

    This ability allowed the bats to rapidly lower the temperature to below the freezing point in the surrounding environment.

    [Special note: baby Frostwing Bats are very vulnerable and should not be brought into dangerous environments until maturity]

    Sophie looked at the image disyed on the screen and her heart skipped a beat when she saw how fluffy and cute the little bats were.

    Frostwing bats were adorable lumps of fur with a gorgeous pattern of icy blue running down the sides of their backs.

    The next creature was the Eye Demon, but Sophie took one nce at the image on the screen¡­.

    ¡­.and immediately moved on to the next option.

    That was the most disgusting creature she had ever seen!

    Eye Demons were exactly as the name suggested and resembled a gigantic eye roughly the size of a basketball. Four dark wings sprouted out from behind the creature and its open mouth was constantly drooling a greenish liquid.

    Its special ability Temporal Foresight may seem impressive, but it only allowed the beast to see five seconds into the future and it activated randomly.

    There was absolutely no guarantee that it would work in abat situation.

    The third option was a Sephyre which truthfully Sophie had no idea what type of creature it was. She had never heard of such a species, so it was most likely of alien origin.

    Sephyre were traded to the Federation by merchants from a neighbouring gctic civilisation called the Ehrur but their exact origin remained a mystery.

    These beasts were ssified under the surveince and fighter ss which made them the most popr one on the list.

    Sephyre resembled angels of old Earth mythologies but there were a few distinct differences.

    Sephyre had a pair of graceful white wings which gave them the ability to fly limited distances, but the rest of the creature was in no way pleasant to view.

    This abomination had a humanoid like figure, but their faces were void of any orifices or features.

    The body of this species was a terrifying nightmare as it was sickly thin with limbs that were gnarled and twisted.

    Sephyre did not require food or nutrition and would gain energy by feeding on the soul of the cultivator that bonded to them.

    Their poprity was still extremely high as their special ability Hellfire was perhaps one of the most powerful among the legendary beasts.

    The Sephyre could gesture towards a location and a pir of fire would erupt from the ground which incinerated all unfortunate enough to be inside the radius.

    [Special note: Not rmended for those with weak willpower. Sephyre are known to turn on their masters if sufficient soul essence is not offered]

    Sophie carefully considered before striking this option off the list also. While hellfire was a powerful ability, the price of her own soul essence was too heavy to pay.

    Soul essence could not be measured by scientific instruments, but it was generally assumed that the strength of a person¡¯s soul would increase drastically the further one went up the path of cultivation.

    The fourth creature on this list was the elusive Void Jellyfish which was gically altered by introducing the Void genes into a species of ¡®Chironex fleckeri¡¯ or their moremon name of box jellyfish.

    This species was of the control ss and could hover off the ground at a maximum height of about six feet.

    Void jellyfish were purplish red in colour with short tendrils that swayed in the airzily.

    Creatures with the void gene could ess abilities that dealt with spatial maniption and the Void Jellyfish was no exception.

    Its ability may not deal direct damage to opponents but that did not negate its deadly effect.

    Spatial disruption would lock down the space around a specified zone and prevent any teleportation out of the area.

    This beast was a special favourite among bounty hunters who often used its special ability when dealing with tricky foes with escape or movement skills.

    The main problem was that it was by far the most expensive pet to maintain as it required regr injections of void genes to keep its mutated state.

    One injection would cost upwards of roughly thirty million Enas.

    [Special note: Failure to inject void genes into this beast at least once every week will cause total organ shutdown and immediate death]

    This actually wasn¡¯t that bad of an option, but Sophie was not thrilled over how expensive the upkeep of this beast was.

    If she every found herself in a situation where void gene injections were not avable, then her pet would be in trouble.

    Thest option on the list was also the only healer that was present. Healingbat pets were generally rare in the first ce, so it was no surprise that only one appeared on the list.

    Elder forest pixies belonged to the healer and control sses, but the name was just a human trantion as the actual species name was ¡®Ulqid Dhailteahcrozeats¡¯.

    This species was not produced in the Earth Federation but illegally smuggled from the ck market of the Unova Syndicate.

    Elder forest pixies resembled small tree-like humanoids that generally had a peaceful temper and were the easiest to control.

    Their height was merely palm sized and they weighed less than two kilograms.

    One downside to their pacifist demeanor was that they got frightened very easily so they were not suited for the battlefield.

    Their diet consisted of sunlight and a special nutrient stock with trace amounts of Phosphorus and Sulphur elements.

    Flora maniption meant that the pixies could temporarily increase the speed of growth of the surrounding nt life and also produce limited movement in certain directions.

    Their life aura ability was the main reason that they were ssified under the legendary status.

    Elder forest pixies could sacrifice their own life span to transfer the life energy to the person of their choice. It was said that this life energy could bring back someone on the brink of death.

    [Special note: Thisbat beast is extremely well suited for medical work but virtually useless in battle scenarios]

    This was yet another beast that could potentially be a good choice, but Sophie did not want her future pet to give up its own lifespan for her benefit.

    She decided to review the list one more time to see if any one aspect stood out to her.

    But yet as she went over the list¡­there was one beast that just seemed to appeal the most to her.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pick you¡± Sophie whispered to herself.

    Sophie knew this was thebat beast that she wanted to be her future partner. She decided to pick the Frostwing bat.

    ¡°Dad¡­I want to get the Frostwing bat as my first ally!¡± Sophie turned to her father and said with determination.

    Rokan gave an indulgent smile at the cheerful expression on his daughter¡¯s face and felt a surge of happiness.

    An excited salesgirl who overheard the conversation, felt extremely eager to close out this potential sale and hurriedly spoke up,

    ¡°Sir the Frostwing Bat will cost three billion Enas!¡±

    ¡°Will you be paying cash or credit?¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    The duke no longer felt a surge of happiness.

 Chapter 58: The Journey Begins!

    Chapter 58: The Journey Begins!

    (Royal Academy ¨C Guest Hall)

    Sophie and the other qualifying students stood on a raised stage while the other students from their year and the parents sat in the audience below.

    This was the send off ceremony where the top students would receive their tickets with the location of their entrance examination.

    The entrance exam this year in particr was special as it was the first year where the site location was to be kept a secret prior to arrival.

    As previous year¡¯s particpants who came from wealthy families were too well prepared for the testing environment which led to unfair advantages. It was decided that Sophie¡¯s year would trial this new method to increase thepetitiveness.

    Following the ceremony, there was only a short two hours of rest to say goodbye to their families before they would be shuttled into their respective transport ships and begin the long journey to the testing sites.

    The university entrance exam was only avable to the top students of every high school but the sheer number of exs,s and lunar colonies in the Earth Federation meant that millions of potential candidates gained qualification.

    To amodate theserge numbers, the examinees were assigned to different examination sites and only the top one thousand students would move on to the next round of testing.

    There were fifteen sites in total and the location varied each year.

    Each site had their own transport starship which would pick up students from the differents and then take them back once the examination ended.

    ¡°It is my absolute honour as the principal of the Royal Academy to give these tickets to the top fourteen students of the senior ss!¡± Principal Yang shouted with pride.

    Thunderous apuse erupted from the audience as cheers of encouragement from the students and parents made the qualifying students feel like popr stars.

    There were originally fifteen spots avable, but Su Ling had imed two spots for herself and surprisingly enough¡­the principal did not seem to raise any issue with the matter.

    It had caused many to specte on the background of Su Ling who had kept a rtively low profile in the school until the evaluation tournament.

    Sophie saw her father beaming at her with Katarina and Jack also joining in with the cheers. She felt a burst of happiness and couldn¡¯t resist giving a small wave towards their direction.

    ¡°Congrattions Aiden for being the first-ce candidate for the school!¡±

    The principal gave a resounding pat on the back to the confident boy and handed him a white envelope with a golden seal.

    Screams of admiration came from several girls in the audience as Aiden smiled with a cocky grin.

    ¡°Congrattions Qiana for obtaining the spot of the second-ce candidate!¡±

    Sophie looked at the quiet girl wearing thick sses who just stared nkly while the Principal handed her the envelope before tucking it away in her pocket.

    She nodded towards two serious looking figures in the audience and then resumed her empty stare.

    ¡°Congrattions¡­.

    Principal Yang went down the line of students before handing Sophie an envelope andmending her in a rather stiff tone.

    She noticed that he gazed at her father with a fearful look before hurriedly wrapping up the ceremony.

    .

    .

    .

    (Gaia International Spaceport Terminal ¨C Gate 104B)

    The spaceport where the transport ship was located was on the other side of the, so Sophie and her family had to immediately leave after the ceremony.

    She didn¡¯t even have time to open the envelope on the way as her father had just rushed to their private spaceship and spent the short trip lecturing her on the potential dangers during the entrance exam.

    The other students from the Royal Academy were going into the same gate so Sophie decided to check the site number on her ticket.

    ¡°So, tell us mdy! What site are you going to?¡± Katarina asked in excitement.

    Sophie looked at her father and the two death guards that were gazing at her with expectant expressions and tore open the envelope.

    She nced at her ticket and saw that she would be going to Site 13 which was an ex in the Alpha Star System.

    There were no additional details about the name or characteristics of the ex.

    The voyage would take about one month to arrive, and the test would be held on the over the duration of three weeks.

    ¡°It seems like my testing site is going to be Site 13,¡± Sophie said with a smile.

    Sophie was carrying two suitcases with spatial expansion augmentations which allowed her father to stuff what seemed to be a lifetime worth of goods inside the first suitcase.

    The second suitcase waspletely empty except for a high security container with biometric verification that housed the Frostwing bat egg that she had gotten from the pet store.

    The egg was a beautiful shade of cerulean blue with white lines gracefully running down the length of its sides. It was about the size of a basketball and would feel slightly chilly when touched.

    There was an intricate pattern carved onto the egg with Sophie¡¯s blood which was the first part of the bonding ceremony.

    The egg would take about five months to hatch and Sophie would need to inject her qi into the young hatchling on a monthly basis.

    Rokan checked his watch and saw that it was nearly time for the space shuttle to depart so he made sure his daughter knew what was inside the luggage.

    ¡°Sweetie¡­. the emergency first aid kits are in the left pocket,¡±

    ¡°I know dad.¡±

    ¡°I also made sure to pack a year¡¯s worth of nutrient solution in the suitcase but make sure to call me if you need more.¡±

    ¡°I know dad.¡±

    ¡°There are also two ster guns which I ced in the hidden space at the bottom of the suitcase.¡±

    ¡°Dad!!¡± Sophie spoke in an exasperated tone.

    Rokan just gave a wry smile at his daughter¡¯s pouting expression and gently rubbed her hair a few times. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of loss over how quickly she seemed to be growing up.

    She looked more and more like her mother especially when she got slightly angry or annoyed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry princess, your old man is just worried about you,¡± the duke said in a soft voice.

    Sophie felt a wave of warmth from her overprotective father and gave him a big hug. She felt small tears fall down her cheeks as despite her tough front¡­it was a scary feeling to be going away from home.

    A mechanical voice boomed from the speakers ahead and suddenly the departure was upon them.

    [Flight 024 Now Boarding]

    [All passengers on Flight 024¡­Please make your way inside the space vessel]

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s my flight,¡± Sophie spoke up with teary eyes.

    Sophie picked up both of the suitcases and walked into the terminal while constantly looking back at her family.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to beat up everyone!¡± Katarina yelled as Sophie was leaving their sight.

    ¡°Also, I packed several injectors with vials of poison which I expect you to keep up your schedule. When you return, I will be thoroughly testing your immunity to each type.¡±

    Sophie stumbled slightly as the second part of Katarina¡¯s encouragement seemed to break the solemn mood.

    She turned around for onest gaze and saw her father give her a thumbs up sign of encouragement.

    With a deep breath, she walked inside the gate and took the first step of her interster cultivation journey!

 Chapter 59: This might be the wrong room....

    Chapter 59: This might be the wrong room¡­.

    [Now Entering Hangar 067]

    Sophie entered what seemed to be a vast open hall with hundreds of space shuttles neatly packed into rows with passengers streaming into them.

    Each passenger was directed into one of these vessels and the constant noise of engines humming with power could be heard.

    Sophie patiently waited in line until it was her turn to enter one of the shuttles.

    The shuttles had a in white exterior with the logo of the aviationpany ¡®Maximise¡¯ prominently disyed on the sides.

    There was only twenty seats and remaining students had already entered and were sitting down.

    Sophie could not see any familiar faces from the Royal Academy, so she just sat down on thest seat and waited for lift off.

    She began to feel a bit bored, so she checked hermunicator to find that there were several messages from both her father and Cleo.

    Cleo: [ What testing site are you going to?]

    Sophie: [ My ticket said Site 13 which is in the Alpha System. How about you?]

    Cleo: [ Damn it! Looks like we¡¯re going to different sites ? ]

    Cleo: [ I¡¯m heading to Site 03, but we can always meet on the virtual]

    Sophie: [ Sure! Why don¡¯t we talk tomorrow night?]

    The pair exchanged a few more messages before the shuttle¡¯s AI made an announcement that the departure was in five minutes.

    Sophie hurriedly said goodbye before leaning back in the seat to get morefortable.

    ¡­..well asfortable as you could be with four spider appendages jutting out of your back.

    Sophie was going to shift and turn to get a good spot, but she noticed that the other passengers were staring at her with unfriendly gazes, so she just quietly sat in ce.

    There was an intense atmosphere ofpetitiveness among the students in the shuttle as each was a genius who knew that their fellow passengers were rivals.

    Only those who knew each other beforehand were talking quietly amongst themselves in whispers.

    The ship¡¯s AI loudly informed the passengers about the final check point before departure.

    [ Security Protocol Initialised ¨C> Final scan for ss three and above weaponry]

    Blue light beams scanned the entire interior of the space shuttle to detect any security threats before departure.

    It was highly unlikely that there would be any problems as all bags were scanned prior to entry into the spaceport but the additional security sweep was still necessary as a precaution.

    Sophie basked in the blue glow as the light passed through her luggage without any rms being triggered.

    The other passengers were also generally nonchnt about the extra scan, but some wore noticeably tense expressions which cause Sophie to keep a small note on their faces.

    [ Security Status ¨C> Cleared for departure]

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie couldn¡¯t suppress her feelings of excitement as the space shuttle vibrated with power before the thrusters activated and they shot out of the hangar.

    She looked out of a window to see hundreds of other shuttles exiting the spaceport like tiny drones all heading in the same direction.

    The buildings became smaller and smaller as the shuttle slowly rose up and broke into the upper atmosphere.

    Each vessel was equipped with stabilizers, so the passengers felt none of the turbulence from travelling rapidly in an upward direction.

    Humanity¡¯s deepest desire was to explore the stars and the cosmos. To see the great mysteries of the universe and to boldly go where no man has gone before.

    Technology made space travelmonce but maybe it was past memories from Sui Meng that made Sophie very appreciative of the opportunity to travel among the stars.

    The outside of the shuttle turned red hot as the spaceship finally burst out of the atmosphere and escaped the gravity of the.

    Sophie held up her wristband and took a picture of the scenic view of Gaia.

    Gaia was many timesrger than Earth and the¡¯s surface area was onlyprised of roughly ten percent water while the rest was a vastnd mass that made up the central continent.

    The was initially quite inhospitable but terra forming had transformed thendscape from harsh deserts into lush forestry.

    With the rate that technology advanced over thest thousand years, it was a simple matter to form colonies on news.

    Sophie saw her home and felt humbled to see just how tiny of speck she was among the countless other members of humanity.

    [Engaging warp drive ¨C Estimated time of arrival¡­7.891 minutes]

    Electric arcs ran wildly inside the engine as the spaceship prepared to enter hyper speed and reach its destination.

    The surroundings began to blur as the shuttle shot forward and Sophie could see Gaia shrinking rapidly into the distance.

    The transport ships were toorge to float over the without causing atmospheric changes, so they were all located a significant distance away in a deste belt nearby.

    Sophie made sure to check her wristband for the room allocation that she received.

    The four universities would naturally provide free amodation, but it could be upgraded to a premium room for a price.

    Premium rooms contained a practice duelling room, gym, and holodeck as well as various other entertainment services.

    Unfortunately, space was still limited on the transport ship so even the wealthy would have roommates.

    Sophie had chosen the minimum option on the number of roommates, but there was still going to be four of them staying in one suite.

    The crowd of space shuttles had begun to thin out as they all split up and went into different directions.

    There were fifteen transport ships with corresponding to the individual testing sites.

    [ Arrival ¨C Transport Ship 13 is 2500 meters away]

    Spatial ripples formed as the shuttle exited hyper space and Sophie got her first look at her new home for the next couple of months.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Sophie could not help but let out a small gasp of shock.

    She knew that it was going to be arge ship, but it was even more impressive than she had imagined.

    The transport ship wasparable in size to a small moon with a slick streamlined design.

    It was a powerful beast that was painted in a shade of ck that seemed to blend into the darkness of space.

    Sophie saw several sma cannons lining the hull and one massive shield generator that caused the ship to be surrounded in a protective bubble.

    There was a small gap in the shield that led to the entrance of a port, so the shuttle smoothly entered, and Sophie disembarked with the rest of the passengers.

    She heard a small ding as her wristband was sent a message that contained her room number and a map of the ship.

    Sophie was going to be in room 105 which was only a few minutes away from the port, so she walked briskly while running over potential greetings to her new roommates in her mind.

    It didn¡¯t take long to find the right suite, so Sophie ced one finger on the bio metric scanner and entered.

    The room was very spacious with four king sized beds ced at each corner of the room. There was a kitchen and two bathrooms with the holodeck and gym connected via a small door at the back of the room.

    Her roommates did not appear to have entered yet as there was no other luggage present and the beds seemed to be empty.

    Sophie ced her stuff next to the bed closest to the door and started to unpack. She carefully ced her precious egg in one of the drawers and lifted up the bedsheet to put in the pillows.

    ¡°Eww!!¡± Sophie shrieked.

    ¡°What the fuck is that!¡±

    A metallic bowl was hidden under the bed covers and Sophie looked inside only to immediately regret her actions as the sight before her eyes was not a pleasant one.

    Someone had ced a greenish sloppy liquid inside the container that strongly gave her the urge to throw up. It had a musky odor and seemed to be moving slightly from side to side almost as if it were alive.

    Sophie hurriedly turned around to rush for hermunicator to contact one of the cleaning staff to sort out this mysterious object but soon heard a resentful voice behind her.

    ¡°Hey you! I was trying to get some sleep.¡±

    Sophie turned around only the see an exact replicate of herself standingpletely naked in the middle of the room.

    The greenish liquid in the container was gone and Sophie just stood dumbfounded.

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Um¡­ I think this is the right ce,¡± a soft whisper came in from the outside as Qiana walked into the room with her luggage.

    She looked up from her wristband to see what appeared to be the naked figure of the famous hybrid girl from her year and another version of the hybrid girl fully clothed but standing still with an expression of horror.

    ¡°This¡­this might be the wrong room.¡±

    Qiana promptly exited the suite without looking back.

 Chapter 60: Getting to know one another

    Chapter 60: Getting to know one another

    ¡°What are you staring at!¡± the mirror image of Sophie yelled in annoyance.

    It took a few moments for Sophie to snap out of her daze when faced with this unexpected situation.

    Quafes were the only race with the ability to exist in a liquid state within the Earth Federation and often mimicked the shape of others in order tomunicate as their natural form had no orifices.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­. I did not see you there when I was unpacking,¡± Sophie gave a short apologetic smile.

    Sophie figured she would also be pretty upset if someone randomly woke her up from a nap.

    Her new roommate just gave a sigh of exasperation and walked towards the container on the bed.

    She then casually put one of her feet inside the bowl and began to melt away. It was a strange process to see from a spectator¡¯s viewpoint.

    The body of the Quafes would turn a greenish colour from head to toe and the outer features of the shapeshifter would start to distort followed by the rest of the body until the image was fully melted.

    Before the body finished melting into a liquid state, Sophie heard a faint whisper echo through the room,

    ¡°My name is Rachel.¡±

    Sophie quickly returned the greeting with an introduction of her own, but Rachel gave no response and just quietly resumed shifting from side to side in the container.

    Qiana had left the room earlier and did not seem to being back anytime soon so Sophie just picked another random bed and ced down her luggage.

    The other roommate was also nowhere to be found.

    The egg was lovingly ced on the side of her bed and Sophie ced her finger inside the scanner to open up the vessel.

    For safety purposes, she avoided taking the egg out of the holder but would gently ce her hand on the blood mark to inject qi.

    Sophie could feel the warm stream of qi exiting her palm and greedily being absorbed by the little Frostwing hatchling.

    She still hadn¡¯t decided on what name to give herbat pet and was going to hold off on the decision until the gender of the bat was revealed.

    It was only necessary to perform this ritual once every month or so, but Sophie thought that it would make her closer to the bat if she injected qi on a regr basis.

    She reached inside her first luggage bag and brought out a helmet which she then ced on her head to connect to the virtual hub.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    There was an iing call from Cleo, so Sophie clicked ept and the surroundings instantly changed.

    Sophie looked at her surroundings and was still blown away over how technologically advanced the virtual technology was.

    She was standing in a rose garden with the backdrop of a magnificent golden pce that stretched as far as the eye could see.

    ¡°Sophie over here!¡± came a cheerful voice.

    Cleo was waving furiously at her from a small table in the center of the garden.

    Sophie could not smell or feel any sensation of touch as she was wearing a helmet and not a full body capsule, but the visual experience of peace and tranquility made her smile with joy.

    ¡°So how are your roommates?¡± Cleo asked curiously

    ¡°Well¡­. I met two of them but let¡¯s just say that it has not been off to a good start,¡± Sophie replied.

    She began to tell Cleo the tale of how she almost threw her Quafes roommate off the bed and the princess could not help butugh.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to keep with your daily training. I¡¯m trying to at least reach the third stage of the qi spirit realm,¡± Cleo warned.

    ¡°How are you going to cope without a mech?¡± Sophie said in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°Mech controllers have strong mental energy so we are pretty well versed in psychic attacks,¡± Cleo exined.

    Talking to Cleo seemed to make time fly and Sophie was struck by how unguarded the girl made her feel.

    Cleo¡¯s three roommates were all girls from noble families that had close ties to her mother so there was much less drama on her side.

    Sophie and Cleo spent an hour talking to each other, but the call was cut short when Sophie could feel her stomach rumbling with hunger.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Cleo it looks like I need to grab some food,¡± Sophie said in a sad tone.

    ¡°Okay see you tomorrow,¡± Cleo gave her a short hug and they both ended the call.

    Sophie removed her helmet and ced a casual hand on her stomach before hopping up and getting ready to head to the mess hall.

    She had nutrient solution vials, but she should at least check out the food that was provided for those with premium amodation.

    Sophie¡¯s second favourite thing in the world was food.

    The number one was obviously sleep.

    ¡°Are you heading out?¡± came a surprised voice from the other bed.

    Sophie turned to see Rachel lounging on the bed as a naked version of herself and stretching aroundzily.

    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m heading to the cafeteria. Do you want toe along?¡± Sophie thought that it couldn¡¯t hurt to be friendly.

    ¡°But¡­can you stop mimicking me or at the very least put on some clothes?¡±

    Rachel gave a mischievous smile before cupping both of her breasts andmenting,

    ¡°I have to say¡­. you are certainly blessed!¡±

    She gave a shortugh at Sophie¡¯s unamused expression and shifted into another form before putting on some clothes.

    Rachel¡¯s new form was a dark-skinned beauty of African descent with lovely curly hair that swayed gently from side to side.

    Her eyes were an enchanting shade of chocte brown with pearly white teeth that formed a beautiful smile.

    ¡°Who is that?¡± Sophie asked curiously

    ¡°Do you like? I designed this image myself using a human creator app and modifying some details,¡± Rachel said with pride.

    ¡°It¡¯s a 100 percent original.¡±

    Quafes could mimic the appearance of any species but many enjoyed creating their own custom avatars to be set as their default human form.

    This led to a boom of apps on the virtual hub where one could create an image of popr races.

    Rachel showed no trace of hostility from the events that happened earlier and cheerfully looped her arm around Sophie¡¯s as they headed to the dining room.

    (Meanwhile)

    ¡°Why is my sense of direction so awful?! Where on this god forsaken ship is room 105!¡± a frustrated howl echoed through an empty hall.

 Chapter 61: A friendly challenge/ Qianas sense of trouble

    Chapter 61: A friendly challenge/ Qiana''s sense of trouble

    (Level two cafeteria ¨C VIP section)

    The cafeteria was buzzing with noise as many curious students like Sophie and Rachel headed down to explore and taste the food avable.

    Sophie saw students of all kinds of different races and even a few hybrids just like her!

    There was a dark-haired boy with two extra arms protruding from the sides of his neck while another girl had scaly skin and dark yellow eyes that blinkedzily in the light.

    Tiny Servies zipped around joyfully while chattering quietly among themselves and asionally chanting spells to form colourful lights that lit up the room in a soft glow.

    The huge Mendolesa warriors were tearing the wrappers off the meat packets and shovelling the food into their mouth.

    Sophie could not spot any Quafes but considering that Rachel had adopted a human form, it was very likely that they were simply in disguise.

    Food dispensary machines lined the sides of the wall with plenty of different options that Sophie had never seen before.

    Luckily, there was a human food section, so Sophie decided to grab herself some delicious curry and rice.

    The duo made their way to a small table at the far corner of the cafeteria and Sophie dug into her meal with relish while Rachel just leaned back and watched.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat anything?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly.

    Rachel shook her head sideways and gave a shortugh before replying, ¡°Keep in mind that I might look human, but my species can¡¯t digest food like you all can.¡±

    It was a very touchy subject among the Quafes that although they could mimic the appearance of humans¡­some called them just a pale imitation.

    They were unable to absorb solid foods and the act of eating was simply injecting themselves with energy solution to maintain their form.

    ¡°So, what type of cultivator are you?¡± Sophie decided to get closer to her new roommate as they would be spending three months with one another.

    ¡°I¡¯m a sword cultivator!¡± Rachel proudly smiled.

    ¡°Ah! My dad is also a sword cultivator,¡± Sophie responded with a prideful tone as well.

    Sophie may sometimes get slightly annoyed with her father¡¯s overprotectiveness, but he was also someone that she admired quite deeply.

    Sword cultivators were a branch of cultivation that focused entirely on the de.

    Some focused on external cultivation to enhance and coat the body of their sword with qi energy to slice through foes.

    Others prioritised internal cultivation to turn their own body into a living weapon of sharpness that could imbue their limbs with aspects of the de.

    The qi energy used in both cases was called ¡®sword qi¡¯ and required specialised qi gathering manuals.

    It was due to Sophie¡¯s inability to use any other qi gathering techniques that Duke Peterlor had to reluctantly give up his dream of having his daughter follow in his footsteps.

    The two girls began to chat about their families and childhood which gave Rachel quite the shock to find out her new hybrid friend was a noble.

    Quafes had no nobility but they were aware of the attitude that noble humans had towards mixed species members of theirmunity.

    ¡°Do you want to have a spar before we sleep tonight?¡± Rachel suddenly inquired.

    ¡°I need a good training partner for these next couple of months.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s original n was to go into the holodeck and fight a few simted battles, but it was iparable to an actual fight as holograms were unable to cause real physical harm.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be happy to go a few rounds,¡± Sophie said with apetitive smirk.

    ¡°May the best girl win!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    (Housing Management Office)

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but changing rooms can only be done under special exceptions,¡± thedy at the front desk spoke in a calm voice.

    ¡°I have reviewed your request and it does not qualify as a special exception.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Qiana argued.

    ¡°Next please!¡±

    Apparently, she was not the only one with the idea of changing her amodations as the service room was filled to the brim with discontent candidates who formed a long line into the hall outside.

    She had waited over two hours in that damn line.

    Just for this useless receptionist to deny her request in under one minute!

    Qiana gave a tired sigh and walked out of the room with a frustrated expression.

    Her feelings of discontent were not due to bing roommates with a hybrid.

    Many of her fellow nobles saw hybrids as eyesores and they were isted and mocked but Qiana was different from the rest¡­

    Qiana simply disliked everyone.

    One would expect that the second most powerful cultivator at the Royal Academy to have a spotlight on their genius and skills but Qiana was content to just linger in the background.

    No one knew what the full extent of her abilities and cultivation was as every test she would consistently be in second ce and during spars she would only use basic skills to fight.

    Qiana was the only daughter of Count Abazin and had higher expectations ced upon her whenpared to her six older brothers who were all quite mediocre.

    House Abazin was a neutral faction among the high nobles of the court and Qiana faced a strict upbringing and education on how to avoid conflict and form allies.

    Whispers and gossipmongers called them the ¡®turtles nobles¡¯ but House Abazin had survived centuries among the upper ss while countless other houses had fallen.

    Their house motto of ¡®While men battle¡­. the dragons sleep¡¯ was followed carefully by the descendants of the family.

    Qiana¡¯s instincts warned her that interacting with the members of room 105 would lead to unnecessarily troublesome situations in the future.

    She was so preupied with her thoughts that it took a surprise crash into a warm body to snap her out of the daze.

    ¡°Sorry about that¡­.¡± Qiana apologised before ncing upwards and trailing off in shock.

    A Mendolesa girl stood in front of her with a menacing expression and scarlet red eyes that peered right into her soul.

    The girl was at least seven feet tall with a vaguely humanoid figure that resembled more beast than man but yet stood upright on two powerful hind legs.

    Her fur was a gentle shade of white with a few dark patches of brown scattered around her body with two long ears that twitched at the slightest sound.

    What was most frightening about the girl were the sharp teeth that formed a twisted grin and the razor-sharp ws.

    Qiana kept her head down and quickly hurried away back to the suite before the Mendolesa found any trouble with her.

    ¡°Hey¡­hey!¡± a loud call was heard from behind.

    ¡°Do you know how to get to room 105?¡±

    Qiana halted in her tracks before looking at the terrifying figure then pulling out her wristband to doublecheck her room address.

    Yep¡­. of course, this would be the final roommate.

 Chapter 62: Boy Love can tear friendships apart!

    Chapter 62: Boy Love can tear friendships apart!

    Rachel and Sophiezily walked back to the room suite with a cheerful mood between them.

    Luckily, room 105 was only a short ten-minute walk from the cafeteria so the duo soon reached the familiar looking metallic door.

    ¡°I wonder if our other two roommates have arrived yet?¡± Sophie whispered as she scanned her finger on the recognition lock.

    Rachel just gave a casual shrug while the door swung open and the pair were assaulted by two furious voices that bellowed out of the room.

    ¡°How could you say something so awful?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to fight a mere human¡±

    ¡°Bring it on wolf girl!¡±

    What the hell was going on?

    Sophie rushed inside to see a terrifying sight before her eyes that made her blood run cold.

    Qiana and a Mendolesa girl were currently facing off against one another with an atmosphere of bloodlust and war between them.

    The Mendolesa girl was sharpening her ws menacingly with eerie red eyes that stared down the much smaller Qiana.

    Qiana remained steadfast against her opponent and stared unflinchingly back with a defiant expression.

    Sophie turned to Rachel and subtly gave a small hand gesture to indicate that they should break up the impending fight.

    Just as she was about to step forward, the Mendolesa girl growled and spat out a rapid string of words that left Sophie confused,

    ¡°The prince can¡¯t hook up with his stepfather It¡¯s gross and it makes no sense!¡±

    ¡°He needs to end up with his loyal aide the Duke of Nottingham!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Daddy Emperor Punishes the Prince¡¯ you stupid wolf!¡± Qiana fired back with a roar.

    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t matter if they end up together because there is no blood rtionship!¡±

    Wait¡­what?

    Sophie was preupied with the aggressive atmosphere between her two roommates that she failed to notice that both girls were holding copies of a book in their other hand.

    She tried to get a closer look at the title and suddenly a strange expression crossed her face.

    This argument was due to a boy love novel??

    (A few minutes earlier)

    Qiana and the Mendolesa girl were both unpacking their stuff on the respective empty beds inplete silence.

    After escorting the lost girl to the room, Qiana avoided all unnecessary contact and just focused on settling down as she nned to take a short nap once the packing was done.

    She took out her clothes, some weapons, cultivation manuals and other items before reaching into the bottom of the luggage to take out her prized possessions.

    Her parents would have immediately confiscated her books so Qiana had to carefully store them in a secret spot before smuggling them onboard the ship.

    She took out a book with a well-worn cover whose faded letters spelled out the title, ¡®Daddy Emperor Punishes The Prince.¡¯

    It was Qiana¡¯s favourite novel that she had read hundreds of times.

    ¡°Oh, I love that book as well!¡± came an excited cry. Qiana turned around to see the Mendolesa girl was also holding a copy of her favourite novel and many other simr titles.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes lit up as she knew that she was in the presence of a fellow fujoshi. The indifferent gaze she directed at the Mendolesa girl suddenly became a lot softer.

    ¡°So, who is your favourite character and least favourite character from the book?¡± Qiana asked.

    They both answered at the same time,

    ¡°I like Duke Nottingham¡­. the emperor is just human scum.¡±

    ¡°I love the emperor¡­. Duke Nottingham is nothing more than a sissy boy.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    (Back to the Present)

    ¡°Why would anyone read such a trashy novel in the first ce?¡± Rachel innocently asked. She rarely read books and preferred watching human reality shows on the virtual.

    Both girls immediately swivelled around and shot poor Rachel identical gazes of rage.

    ¡°Um¡­I don¡¯t think we have introduced ourselves yet. My name is Sophie Peterlor and it is very nice to meet you,¡± Sophie attempted to smooth out the tension by giving out an introduction.

    The Mendolesa girl just noticed her presence and gave a tiny sniff in Sophie¡¯s direction before a contemtive expression shed across her face.

    ¡°My name is Astrid Lockhart and I am going to obtain the first ce standing in the university entrance exam,¡± the Mendolesa girl pridefully stated.

    Qiana rolled her eyes and just gave a short introduction, ¡°I¡¯m Qiana Abazin¡­. please don¡¯t involve me in any trouble.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Rachel!¡± came a joyful call from Sophie¡¯s side.

    This was the first time that Sophie had seen a Mendolesa in real life and their reputation as warriors was certainly not unfounded.

    Powerful bulky bodies with tightpact muscles made them seem like natural predators of all species.

    The Mendolesa race was second only to humanity in terms of raw power and some even spected that their low poption was the main reason that they were not number one.

    ¡°Sophie, did you obtain the spot of first seed from your school as well?¡± Astrid inquired.

    ¡°No¡­in fact I was deadst,¡± Sophie said with augh.

    There were no special advantages given to the top selected seeds once the entrance exam begun so it was not shameful to be ranked near the bottom.

    ¡°But why did you ask?¡±

    Astrid approached her slowly and gave her body tworge sniffs before muttering softly in her ear,

    ¡°You smell like a human mixed with something extremely dangerous.¡±

    Sophie frowned internally but her face held a nk expression as she contemted with Astrid had just told her.

    ¡°Anyways it¡¯s getting prettyte¡­Sophie let¡¯s hurry up and go to the training hall!¡± Rachel nced at her wristband and gave a startled gasp.

    Astrid seemed really excited when Rachel mentioned the training hall and her face resembled an excited puppy.

    ¡°Can I join your sparring session as well?¡± Astrid asked hesitantly.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Rachel replied.

    The two-person sparring session turned into three as Qiana just indifferently gave the trio a nce before returning to her bed and opening up one of her novels.

    The private sparring hall was essible from the back of the room via a transporter that would teleport the participants to different training environments.

    Rachel essed the hub at the base of the transporter and scanned the list of avable training rooms before making a selection.

    [Training Room Selected ¨C Room T- 92]

    [ Suitable for 4- 6 individuals]

    [Preparing Transport¡­]

    A small humming noise was heard as the base of the transporter lit up in a white colour and Rachel stepped on the tform before disappearing,

    ¡°I look forward to fighting both of you,¡± Astrid gave a short bow and also walked into the transporter.

    Sophie clenched her fists in excitement and eagerly took a step forward.

 Chapter 63: The power of a mage

    Chapter 63: The power of a mage

    [Arriving at Training Room ¨C T-092]

    A cloud of white particles formed a blurry figure as Sophie walked out of the transporter with only a small stumble.

    Her stomach still felt a bit queasy, but she fought down the urge to throw up.

    She was getting much better at this!

    Astrid and Rachel had already arrived in the training room and were engaged in a casual chat that Sophie was too far away to hear.

    Rachel beckoned to her cheerfully at some type of podium-like device in the corner of the room, so Sophie jogged forward to meet them.

    ¡°So, this is the device we can use to adjust the training room settings for our spar,¡± Rachel exined.

    ¡°I was thinking we could do the free-for-all mode with a points system to determine the winner.¡±

    ¡°May I take a look at the other settings?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Rachel stepped back and allowed Sophie to look at the interface.

    The premium amodation really provided aprehensive sparring system. There were various options from team based to individual spars.

    Other options such as weapons allowed, handicaps and even medical foam in case of emergencies.

    The point-based system that Rachel was suggesting would require all three participants to wear a tiny shield emitter that would coat their bodies to prevent heavy damage from attacks.

    Points were allocated by the AI monitoring the training room that judged the damage and uracy of all moves.

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Sophie looked at the other options but felt that Rachel¡¯s choice was the best.

    ¡°What do you think Astrid?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just thrilled to fight,¡± Astrid growled.

    Rachel reached out and speedily typed out a series ofmands and a mechanical voice soon echoed around the room.

    [Sparring type ¨C Point based selected]

    [Dispensing barrier protection devices]

    There was a small tform that suddenly rose up from beneath the ground and three metallic orbs appeared on top.

    Sophie picked up one and found that it was surprisingly lightweight.

    She ced it on the side of her hip and the orb unfurled into a rectangr sheet that mped onto her bodysuit.

    Rachel and Astrid also followed suit and soon a golden glow enveloped their bodies and a thin barrier was formed on the outer surface of their skin.

    This barrier was capable of withstanding attacks from cultivators at all levels of the qi spirit stage so there was little chance of injuries.

    Sophie still decided not to use her spider legs to directly attack as the prative power of her appendages might pierce right through the barrier directly.

    The pir device could also be used to summon training weapons as actual weapons would turn this friendly spar into something else entirely!

    Astrid did not choose any weapons but simply flexed her ws with an arrogant expression on her wolfish face.

    Rachel chose a in wooden sword with a sharp edge and thin de that was inspired by the style of the ancient katanas from the former earth nation of Japan.

    Sophie nced at the different choices before picking up a sturdy looking whip and some knives.

    [Activating Countdown¡­.]

    A light beamed down from the ceiling of the training room and three red circles appeared at different locations in a triangr formation.

    The trio each stood on a separate circle as a blinking holographic projection of a timer counted down from thirty seconds.

    [30 seconds]

    Rachel took a deep breath as her body figure shifted slightly into a more streamlined form which was suitable forbat.

    Her hands tightened around the wooden sword and molded to form a perfect grip while the length of her curly hair shortened into a neat bun style.

    [20 seconds]

    Astrid gazed at her twopetitors and gave out a ferocious grin as she crouched forward like a beast on a hunt while producing a small growl of excitement.

    Her ws were fully extended and glistened menacingly in the light while her razor-sharp teeth added to an intimidating atmosphere.

    [10 seconds]

    Sophie curled her hand around the practice whip and swung it around a few times to get a better feel of the weapon.

    She could not help but be inflected by the thrill of the uing fight and her golden eyes shone with a reddish tint.

    [4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­Battle Start!]

    Rachel and Sophie instantly vanished from their former positions and appeared in the center of the room.

    Sophie swung her whip forward with a resounding crack, but Rachel¡¯s body shifted into a liquid which caused the whip to pass through harmlessly.

    Rachel gave out a mockingugh and ran through the gap of the whip¡¯s range and pierced the training sword towards Sophie¡¯s chest which she narrowly avoided.

    Neither side was nning to use qi attacks so early in the duel as they were still feeling out their respective opponent¡¯s strength.

    The winner of the duel would be the one who scored more points on the opponent as judged by the AI, so Sophie knew that she had to engage as soon as possible.

    Plus, this was just a practice session¡­to run away the entire time would defeat the point of training.

    She shed head on with Rachel but could not see the figure of Astrid anywhere in her vision.

    Astrid defied expectations and chose to leap backwards to the far corner of the room and observe the initial round of fighting.

    This was not like the standard Mendolesa warrior who had the reputation of proudly charging into battle headfirst without any sense of fear.

    But then again¡­.

    Astrid was not a typical Mendolesa.

    ¡°mma fulmine mega impetum¡± a loud cry came from the corner as an enormous fire ball rushed towards the shing duo in the center.

    A mage?

    Sophie and Rachel both showed startled expressions as they leapt away in an attempt to dodge the fiery attack.

    Boom!

    The fire bolt crashed against the opposite wall and left a steaming crater with dark soot marks around the edges.

    ¡°Gelida dominico de hieme,¡± Astrid chanted with determination as a ring of frost spread out from under her feet and turned the floor into solid ice.

    Sophie wobbled unsteadily but used two of her spider legs to pierce into the ground to retain her bnce.

    Rachel was not doing any better and shifted her feet to form tiny spikes to enhance her grip.

    Mages were undoubtedly more powerful than cultivators at the same level.

    They possessed the ability to change qi into mana to form mana bodies that provided the base for spell casting.

    The downside was that mages naturally progressed much slower than cultivators and found breaking into higher levels to be quite difficult.

    Mer University was the smallest university whenpared to the other three of the four great universities, but it was their mages that made them a force to be reckoned with.

    Of course, mages were not invulnerable, and one of their biggest weaknesses was the fact that disruptions to their concentration could cause their spells to fizzle into nothingness or even backfire!

    Astrid stood proudly upright as blood red runes formed around her fur and radiated a sense of power and strength.

    She had achieved the second stage of the qi spirit realm and had also specialized in elemental based spellcasting.

    Astrid was one of the extremely rare talents among the Mendolesa race who had a talent for mana affinity that was even S grade.

    Sophie knew how dangerous mages could be if the battle dragged on, so she dropped all pretenses andunched a qi attack.

    ck Viper Art!

    Sophie leapt into the air and channeled the qi from her palms into the whip which transformed into a deadly ck serpent that charged towards Astrid.

    ¡°Now this is going to be fun!¡± Rachel smiled lightly before circting her qi in a strange pattern around her body.

    She was quite the perverted battle maniac and fighting her two new friends gave a sense of pleasure that almost made her moan in delight.

    Rachel closed her eyes and the training sword in her hand became illuminated by a white glow as her figure vanished once more from the battlefield.

    Holy Sword Art!

 Chapter 64: The most powerful magic spell

    Chapter 64: The most powerful magic spell

    Rachel¡¯s sword emitted a blinding sh of light that caused the whole room to be illuminated with a harsh glow.

    Astrid recoiled in pain and tried to move backwards to get some distance between her and Rachel, but it was to no avail.

    Rachel took advantage of Astrid¡¯s temporary loss of vision and darted forward tounch a quick thrust towards her back.

    Sophie recognised the telling glow of the Holy Sword Art from her numerous spars with her father, so she closed her eyes immediately once she sensed the familiar cirction of qi.

    Righteous qi had to be used to form the cirction pattern to unlock the different moves from the Holy Sword Art, so it was inessible to those practicing dark or demonic cultivation.

    ¡°Urgh¡­¡± Astrid gave out a short grunt of pain as the sword connected with her back and caused her to stumble momentarily.

    No swordsman would miss this opportunity and Rachel followed up by shing forward to aim at her neck.

    Crack!

    Rachelpletely forgot about Sophie¡¯s position as she simply assumed that the blinding sh of the sword art would leave her temporarily immobile.

    This was a fatal mistake.

    Sophie¡¯s whip coiled around Rachel¡¯s body and flung her into the air before crashing down to the ground with a painful thud.

    The shield emitter shed a few times and Sophie could see the holographic scoreboard giving her an impressive ten points.

    ¡°Oh¡­it¡¯s on now!¡± Rachel yelled furiously before getting up from the ground with a huff.

    ¡°Hear my cry Lord¡­your humble servant seeks to drown my enemies in a sea of holy fire and fury.¡±

    Archangel¡¯s Descent!

    ¡°What?¡± Sophie eximed in shock.

    That was a secret body fortification art only taught to core believers of the Nephilim Church who had the potential to be future pirs of the organisation.

    Rachel¡¯s figure was covered in a holy light as if she was undergoing a baptism with gentle trumpet sounds ringing in the background.

    Two angelic wings of pure gold colour sprouted from her back andzily unfurled to an impressive ten meters in width.

    Sophie was under the impression that her roommate had only learnt the holy sword art, but it was now clear that she was actually a believer in the Nephilim Church!

    There was an enormous difference between these two concepts.

    The Earth Federation did not have or promote any official religion but there were still several churches of minor to moderate influence.

    Members of these churches were allowed to obtain cultivation techniques and manuals based on their respective gods or energy.

    One of the most popr churches was the Nephilim Church who worshipped the old Earth mythology of the legendary children of angels and demons.

    Their holy maidens and demon knights were all powerful members of the imperial army whose contributions granted the church threes in a minor star system to govern as they saw fit.

    Members could choose a path of either demonic or angelic cultivation and the church would handle all the expenses of training.

    The secret techniques were graded differently, and the church would pick out candidates carefully out of a tiny pool of potential seedlings.

    These children were either connected to the higher ups of the church or possessed enough talent to make up for theck of a background.

    Sophie¡¯s father had paid an enormous mary price to learn the holy sword art as he was not a member of the clergy.

    Rachel¡¯s transformation was almostplete as the light falling onto her body suddenly concentrated into a halo that floated gently above her head while she hovered in the air.

    She opened her eyes and a piercing white light shot out sweeping the entire length of the room.

    An angel appeared on the battlefield and caused all who witnessed her glory to be left with feelings of awe and veneration.

    This holy atmosphere was promptly disrupted by a loud chant.

    ¡°Vites, has ut canis in pariete!¡± a roar howled out from the corner of the room.

    Just as Rachel was about to lightly drop onto the ground, an enormous vine grew out from under her feet and smashed her right into the wall.

    Sophie: ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Damn it you stupid mutt!¡± Rachel stood up from the crater formed in the wall with an expression of rage.

    ¡°I wanted to look cool you ***** but you went ahead and ****ing disrupted my entrance.¡±

    She may have been surrounded by an angelic aura¡­.

    ¡­but the following choices of words that Rachel yelled out were not holy by any stretch of the imagination.

    Astrid stretched out her ws and dashed straight towards Sophie with an imposing air.

    She waspletely out of mana and at this point most mages would have retreated from the battlefield.

    But Astrid knew the greatest spell of all¡­¡­

    Were her fists!

    White mes coated Rachel¡¯s sword as she leapt into the air and flew straight towards the running figure of Astrid.

    Sophie gave a wary grin before taking out a few of her throwing knives and tossing them straight at the two other fighters.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Twenty minutester)

    After such an intense fight, Sophie was sprawled out on the ground while trying to catch her breath.

    Rachel was also leaning casually against her shoulder with the angelic aura long dissipated, leaving behind just an exhausted girl.

    The only one who seemed to be in cheerful spirits was Astrid who was happily running around the training room to burn off the extra adrenaline from the fight.

    ¡°Shall we have another round?¡± she called out.

    ¡°No way!¡± and ¡°Hell no!¡± were the hasty replies from her tired out sparring partners.

    ¡°Should we check to see who won the spar?¡± Rachel spoke up.

    Sophie groaned with pain and dragged her tired body to the terminal to check the final point tally score for each of them.

    The holographic disy shifted from disying the duration of the duel to a series of dots before the results came out.

    [Points Calcting¡­.]

    [Sophie Peterlor ¨C 40 points]

    [Astrid Lockhart ¨C 100 points]

    [Rachel Empyrean ¨C 35 points]

    All three remained silent as they stared at the scoreboard before Astrid howled in excitement and ran towards Sophie and Rachel before sweeping them together and giving them a big hug.

    ¡°I won! I won!¡± was the celebratory cry.

    Sophie pushed down her small feelings of discontent and wrapped around her arms around this na?ve battle maniac.

    ¡°Congrats Astrid,¡± she smiled gently.

    Astrid nced down at her with beaming eyes and suddenly Sophie was struck by the thought that this wolf girl suddenly looked like a little puppy.

    She had to admit that Astrid was a fierce opponent that she did not have the confidence to beat at the current moment.

    Even when her mana eventually ran out, Astrid was able to use her natural physique and fierce hand to handbat skills to match both Rachel and Sophie who were using qi attacks.

 Chapter 65: Glory to the Earth Federation

    Chapter 65: Glory to the Earth Federation

    (Imperial Army Headquarters- X-0293)

    It was the bimonthly meeting between Commander Aigleld and the current heads of the military officers under his faction.

    The Imperial Army had millions of members so just having one person oversee all the day to day operations would be impossible.

    Commanders were selected from among the four different races and each controlled a different region of the Earth Federation with the final authority belonging to a small council.

    Members of this council were the most powerful beings of the Earth Federation with the minimum cultivation level of god stage to even qualify for entry.

    Commander Aigleld was seated on a stone- like throne while the other members present were standing at attention not daring to even breathe under the pressure.

    Not all officers were physically present as holographic projections of some officers were also interspersed in the crowd.

    The meeting had been going on for several hours at this point and several important matters had already been addressed.

    Hostility with the Insectoid races had recently reached a stalemate as both sides were reluctant to bring out their high-levelbatants over the poor resources in the border star systems.

    This was merely the calm before the storm as several hidden operations were in motion to retaliate and destroy some Insectoid-controlleds.

    ¡°Are there any more matters to address before we wrap up this meeting,¡± themander calmly asked as a brief lull urred.

    His secretary nced at a young man who was sweating profusely at the end of the table and gestured to him to speak up.

    The youth was noticeably younger than the other members present, and his fair skin and golden hair revealed his noble lineage.

    The young man cleared his throat slightly and began to read from his tablet,

    ¡°One of the mining colonies in the outer regions has been decreasing production due to a rebellion that started from the native races working on site.¡±

    ¡°The natives are demanding increased payment and to create safe zones on their heritage sites on the where no mining can ur.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­um¡­sir¡­. the protest has already spread to the two mining colonies nearby and it seems to have caused a ripple effect.¡±

    Themander nced at the young man stammering while reading out the report and just sighed lightly.

    Lieutenant Polignes was a noble scion of one of the prestigious houses in the Federation and had been assigned to an extremely easy gxy to oversee.

    His father was a powerful god stage cultivator and his son was the heir apparent to his noble territory.

    Commander Aigleld gave the child a rtively safe job supervising mining colonies and even promoted his rank directly to lieutenant.

    The boy was clearly still wet behind the ears to not be able to handle such a simple matter.

    ¡°What is the nature of the rebellion? Have the natives started to use violence?¡± one of the officers in the room asked.

    ¡°No¡­.it has beenrgely peaceful, and they have just stopped working and stood outside the mine entrance to prevent extraction.¡±

    Raucousughter echoed around the room as the older soldiers couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    The way the young man had been describing the situation in a frantic tone had made them think that it was a serious matter.

    ¡°This meeting hase to a close. Everyone except Lieutenant Polignes please leave the room,¡± themander growled in a deep voice.

    Holographic figures shimmered and then disappeared while the members who were physically present whispered quietly to one another while leaving.

    Lieutenant Polignes burned with shame as he saw looks of mockery and jeers from the other officers before they exited the room.

    Commander Aigleld was his father¡¯s close acquaintance and it was this bond that had allowed him to rise swiftly up the ranks whenpared to his peers.

    He could see the disappointed look on themander¡¯s face and just sat quietly while awaiting the impending judgement.

    A few minutes passed inplete silence before themander spoke in a harsh tone,

    ¡°Did you not read the training handbook for managing colonies?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­but the only situation described in the manual was a method for suppressing violent insurrections and none of the natives have used force¡­.¡± Lieutenant Polignes hurriedly exined.

    ¡°Follow the standard procedure and do what I say to do,¡± came the reassuring voice of themander.

    The protocol manual of the military was avable to the public in order to increase ountability but many of the actual rules and regtions were kept in the dark.

    Military tribunals would deal with officers whomitted crimes, but high-ranking officers would usually face inconsequential punishments or simple demotions.

    Things had been vastly different when Duke Peterlor was in the upper echelons of the Imperial Army, but his absence had allowed different factions to fight for control.

    His strict rules were now a product of the past.

    ¡°Sir¡­forgive my ignorance but what is the standard procedure?¡± Lieutenant Polignes asked.

    The words that left themander¡¯s mouth made Polignes¡¯ blood run cold,

    ¡°Exterminate one of the native races as a warning.¡±

    ¡°If this so-called rebellion continues¡­. apply for robotic workers from the military factories to handle the extraction of the materials and ughter the rest of them.¡±

    ¡°But sir! That¡¯s a war crime!¡± Lieutenant Polignes eximed in shock.

    ¡°Na?ve boy,¡± Commander Aigleld shook his head slightly.

    ¡°The minute the imperial army stepped foot on that tiny little¡­it was no longer their own.¡±

    He had seen many new recruits unaware of the darkness thaty beneath the patriotism and glory of working in the Imperial Army.

    Conquest and exploration were all nice terms thrown around by the state media but¡­

    What do you think happened to all the native races that resisted the Federation¡¯s extraction of their natural resources?

    The answer was genocide or envement.

    ¡°If you are incapable of even doing this easy method, then I will have no choice but to relocate you to a battlefield,¡± themander threatened.

    Commander Aigleld could see the hesitation and conflict in the young man¡¯s eyes which caused his tone to soften slightly,

    ¡°If you handle this matter well, I can look at promoting your rank directly by two stages.¡±

    To win over some of the more stubborn recruits, a carrot and stick method had to be utilised to encourage them to do what needed to be done.

    First bring up the threat of punishment or demotion which would cause fear in the new recruits and then offer some from of benefits and most would immediately change their stance.

    Lieutenant Polignes gasped in shock, rising up by two stages would make him a captain which would grant him ess to a much higher sry and rare cultivation techniques.

    Was it worth it to sacrifice his future for some backwards and lesser aliens?

    He quelled the unpleasant feelings in his heart and looked themander in the eyes with newfound determination in his gaze.

    Crossing his right hand against his chest, he muttered the only five words that needed to be said in this situation,

    ¡°Glory to the Earth Federation.¡±

 Chapter 66: The wolf girl can dance!

    Chapter 66: The wolf girl can dance!

    ¡°Girls! Girls! Do you see all this cool stuff?¡± Astrid eximed joyfully before running towards the entrance of the entertainment center.

    ¡°Please just put me down first you damn mutt,¡± Qiana¡¯s weak voice quietly murmured.

    It was a strange collection of people that the other students passing by could not help but give a few curious nces.

    A Mendolesa warrior was carrying a ck-haired girl on her back while eagerly looking at the colourful disys in her surroundings.

    Two girls trailed closely behind with indulgent grins on their faces while chatting merrily to one another.

    One of the two girls did appear to be normal looking but the other was clearly a hybrid with four extra appendages jutting out of her back.

    It had been a few weeks since Sophie had boarded the transport vehicle and she had settled into a regr routine with the other girls.

    Training and cultivating constantly throughout the day and night with a regr evening spar between Astrid, Rachel, and herself.

    Qiana did not join any of the sessions but did decide to visit a few times to spectate.

    Sophie had learnt a bit more about each girl¡¯s personality and had naturally gotten closer to each of them.

    Astrid was extremely friendly and it was even to the extent of being a tad clingy towards Sophie and the other girls.

    She was fiercely overprotective of her pack and any snidements made by other students towards Sophie was met by a swift growl of warning.

    Sometimes it even led to a ¡®friendly¡¯ sparring session that usually ended with those unfortunate kids in the ship¡¯s hospital ward.

    Despite regrly sparring with Astrid, Sophie was unable to defeat her even once as she would always be above her by at least thirty points.

    Not even teaming with Rachel to target her together was able to close this gap.

    There was only one word to describe herbat skills¡­monstrous.

    Rachel on the other hand was a heavy sleeper and was quite short tempered when woken up early in the morning.

    She enjoyed ying pranks by shifting her appearance to new characters and trying to scare her poor roommates.

    Quafes chose new human appearances the same way humans would select clothes to wear on different asions.

    The only special note was that she did not transform into any male figures as that would go against the rules of the dorms.

    Thest roommate was Qiana who Sophie was not very close to and was uncertain of her actual personality traits.

    She was a quiet girl who kept to herself and would only engage in social interactions when dragged into it by an enthusiastic Astrid.

    It was not all training as the girls would usually take the Saturdays off to explore the different facilitates onboard the ship.

    Today they would be visiting the arcade to rx and y a few games together. Astrid was the one who suggested the idea and Sophie found herself unable to resist those puppy eyes.

    Qiana was not willing to go but Astrid ignored all the protesting and just lifted her on her back.

    Sophie and the rest entered the arcade and were immediately greeted by a cacophony of sounds and holographic screens.

    It was a very popr spot among the students, so the ce was already packed to the brim, but therge figures of Astrid and Sophie soon cleared a path.

    ¡°Should we check out the retro section?¡± Rachel asked.

    The gang headed to a less popted area with dozens of physical machines with various games, prizes as well as a ping pong table in the middle.

    Qiana got down from Astrid¡¯s back with a huff and headed towards a w machine to win herself a stuffed toy.

    Astrid rubbed Rachel¡¯s hair with her ws sheathed and ran off to an unknown location to y with who knows what.

    Sophie and Rachel picked up two rackets and started an intense game of ping pong with bets getting increasinglyrger andrger.

    ¡°If I win you owe me ten Enas.¡±

    ¡°Too low, you need to make it one thousand Enas.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know as the daughter of a duke¡­. I can up the bet as well!¡±

    It was all in good fun and both girls casually knocked the ball back and forth while secretly circting their qi to enhance their reflexes.

    Loud music red out of a speaker overhead and Sophie heard a song by an AI band called Nexus Wave.

    ¡®There is a guardian fire in soul¡­¡¯

    ¡®Love lost as the heartbeats unfurled¡­¡¯

    ¡®I fight with blood iron and steel¡­¡¯

    ¡®Military life is for me¡­.¡¯

    ¡®Spitting mes and shooting shots¡­¡¯

    ¡®Wooooooohoooo!¡¯

    ¡°God that song was horrible,¡± Sophie furrowed her brows and was not impressed.

    Entertainment such as music and film were not valued highly in the Earth Federation as strength was the main measure of attractiveness.

    Looks did not matter as the gic enhancement of the poption produced many beautiful women and handsome males.

    New songs were rarely sung by actual people and were instead created by recordpanies and performed by AI bands.

    Rachel took the opportunity when Sophie was distracted tond the decisive point and punched the air with excitement as she won.

    Sophie was struck with a sense of sorrow as one thousand Enas disappeared just like that.

    ¡°Check that girl out!¡±

    ¡°Jesus look at her go!¡±

    Sophie gazed in the direction of the yells and pulled Rachel along to see what the excitement was about.

    Hopefully, she would get distracted and forget about the bet.

    ¡°Is that?¡± Rachel asked in shock.

    Arge crowd had formed around a dance game where one girl was tearing up the dance floor with impressive moves and flexibility.

    Her waist swayed gently to the rhythm of the music and some of the observers could not help but think that a goddess had appeared before them.

    If only the goddess wasn¡¯t a seven-foot-tall wolf beast¡­

    ¡°Sophie! Rachel! Come here!¡± Astrid saw her two friends out of the corner of her eyes and dragged both of them to the dance floor amidst the cheers from the crowd.

    Rachel nced at the dance moves on the screen and did her best to mimic Astrid¡¯s movements while giving out charming smiles at some pretty girls and boys in the crowd.

    Sophie¡¯s dancing¡­. well¡­.

    She was just happy to be having fun with her friends.

 Chapter 67: My niece is cute!

    Chapter 67: My niece is cute!

    Pew! Pew! Pew!

    Green blood sttered across the holographic screen as Sophie shot one stumbling figure after another while maintaining a firm grip on her pistol.

    Rachel, Astrid, and her were ying an arcade game called ¡®Zombie Rush Hour¡¯ where the objective was to kill as many enemies as possible before the timer ran out.

    Zombies were not real but certain parasitic alien species could attach themselves to the heads of other creatures and control their hosts in a zombie-like manner.

    The risk was extremely low to cultivators, but ordinary people were especially vulnerable which led to the creation of a booming sub-industry of pharmaceutics purely dedicated to parasite extermination.

    ¡°This is unfair!¡± came a frustrated growl behind Sophie.

    Astrid was trying to hold the ster pistol, but her long ws and the shape of her hand prevented her from getting a firm grip, so all the shots at the zombies were wildly off target.

    ¡°Look¡¯s like this round¡¯s winner is going to be me,¡± Rachel jeered at the other two girls beforending shot after shot on the zombies.

    After Astrid¡¯s wild performance on the dance game, the girls explored other areas of the Arcade and even picked up Qiana who was now holding a stuffed toy bunny in her arms.

    Qiana felt surprisingly bothered while watching Astrid¡¯s struggles with the pistol and approached her to offer some assistance.

    ¡°Stupid mutt let me help you,¡± an exasperated sigh came from Qiana who was spectating the trio.

    She held Astrid¡¯s ws in her hand and gently adjusted the grip on the ster pistol before correcting Astrid¡¯s posture and teaching her how to fire.

    Qiana still thought that all of her roommates were unnecessarily troublesome but¡­. hanging out with them was pretty fun.

    She would never admit this of course.

    [Zombie Rush Hour ¨C Ending]

    [Winner ¨C Mostbeautifulqueen045- 100 zombies killed]

    [Second ce- Captainliquid- 89 zombies killed]

    [Third ce- Magicrulez ¨C 30 zombies killed]

    It wasn¡¯t necessary to use your real ID when ying the arcade games so the girls each chose a different nickname.

    ¡°Wow Sophie, it looks like you set a new record!¡± Rachel gasped in admiration.

    Sophie replied with a grin and struck a pose with a triumphant expression on her face.

    All the training done in the Duke¡¯s mansion had not gone to waste and her marksmanship skills were quire impressive.

    Astrid was very happy with her score as Qiana¡¯s help had caused it to rise from two kills all the way to thirty, so she gave the girl a small lick on the cheek as thanks.

    ¡°Eww¡­. don¡¯t do that!¡± came a furious yell.

    Rachel could not help but giggle slightly at Qiana¡¯s expression of rage while Sophie ran ahead to check out some of the other games.

    It was good to have some days to just rx with friends.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Sophie was exhausted after a long day of ying and just wanted to sleep as soon as possible.

    She was under the impression that the evening spar would be cancelled today but Astrid seemed to have a never-ending supply of energy and eventually convinced them to have a quick ten-minute session.

    Qiana gracefully declined and decided to do some light reading before falling asleep.

    Needless to say, Rachel and Sophie lost quite heavily as both were barely conscious by the end of the duel.

    All of this training made Sophie¡¯s cultivation soar rapidly and she broke into the second stage of the qi spirit realm.

    New acupuncture points opened up and qi flowed through her body cells which brought her firmly into the upper echelons of cultivation among the rest of prodigies.

    The star pendant on Sophie¡¯s neck gave off a familiar warm glow as qi began to circte around her body in a familiar pattern.

    Spider Whisper Art was unlike any other qi gathering technique as no conscious thought had to be used to activate it.

    Once the conditions were met, the qi in Sophie¡¯s body would just flow automatically.

    ¡°Maybe I should visit the space today¡± Sophie murmuredzily to herself.

    When Sophie opened her eyes, she found herself back inside the empty void with only the stone tablet to keep herpany.

    Breaking into the qi spirit stage had not made the space undergo any visible sort of transformation but Sophie could feel that herprehensive skills increased when practicing cultivation techniques in the space.

    Sophie was well aware of her biggest weaknessck of cultivation skills.

    Other than a movement technique and a whip technique, she had no other moves in her arsenal.

    Taking a few deep breaths, Sophie circted qi to the tips of her fingers that soon turned into a silvery colour.

    Steel-tip Strike!

    She had been attempting to master a new technique, but it had been very difficult to make any progress outside of the space.

    Sophie could turn the ends of her hands into the silvery colour¡­. unfortunately, that was the extent of her prowess so far.

    She was undeterred by the failure and stopped the cirction before trying again while making minor adjustment to the qi flow.

    Concentrate on the pattern.

    Keep the flow steady.

    Avoid all distractions.

    Sophie was so engrossed in the training that she failed to notice that the space behind her warped and a figure soon dropped into the void.

    ¡°I found you!¡± came a loud cry that startled poor Sophie.

    She turned around and saw the alien girl who had appeared all those months ago.

    It had been such a long time since Sophie had seen another person in the space that she had put the encounter out of her mind after weeks of trying to find her.

    The alien was extremely humanoid in appearance with golden eyes and pointed ears that resembled Sophie¡¯s.

    Unlike thest time where her figure was blurred and shadowy, Sophie could clearly see her image and the girl looked¡­just like her?

    It wasn¡¯t that they could be considered identical twins but the structure of the girl¡¯s face and something about her smile was very simr to her own.

    The main differences would probably be the length of her fangs and the presence of six spider appendages instead of four.

    ¡°The empress dowager told me about you¡­¡± the alien disappeared from her location and appeared right in front of Sophie with an overbearing air.

    Sophie clenched her fists tightly and prepared for a fight with the aggressive sounding creature.

    She was unsure of what would happen if one sustained an injury in the space, but one could not help but be careful when facing off against the unknown.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that my niece was so adorable!¡±

    Before Sophie could react, she found herself swept up into a tight bear hug by an enthusiastic¡­

    ¡­rtive???

 Chapter 68: A kind lie

    Chapter 68: A kind lie

    ¡°Why are you so skinny? Are you not getting enough food?¡±

    ¡°I heard from the empress that humans are blood-thirsty monsters!¡±

    ¡°Have no fear¡­your auntie will try to rescue you as soon as I can!¡±

    Sophie¡¯s head spun as the strange alien kept checking her body for injuries and rapidly blurting out sentence after sentence.

    She could not sense any aggression or hostility from this mysterious alien, but this was all too overwhelming.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Sophie stepped back while trying to put some distance between them.

    Rai¡¯lle froze at the wary expression on her niece¡¯s face and then the realization that she might be scaring her younger rtive caused her to whisper softly,

    ¡°My name is Princess Rai¡¯lle and I am your mother¡¯s younger sister.¡±

    Sophie was shocked at the sudden revtion, but she still had a lot of suspicions about her new rtive.

    It would be foolish to just blindly trust someone that you just met.

    ¡°Is there any way that you can prove it?¡± Sophie skeptically asked.

    Princess Rai¡¯lle rattled off a string of childhood stories about Sophie¡¯s mother that she could recall,

    How she used to y pranks on the emperor¡¯s other concubines.

    Her favourite colour which was scarlet red.

    Beating up the crown prince in a duel before dering that she had no interest in ruling the tribe.

    Each story was more fantastical than the ones that came before and Sophie listened carefully with a starry-eyed expression.

    The only problem was¡­.

    ¡­.she had no way to verify any of these tales!

    Rai¡¯lle was not stupid and noticed the conflicted look on her niece¡¯s face so she decided to change tactics.

    ¡°What do you know about the qi cultivation method that you currently train in?¡± Rai¡¯lle inquired.

    ¡°Not much¡­. I only know that it circtes automatically,¡± Sophie replied in an embarrassed tone.

    Truthfully, Sophie had not studied the words on the stone tablet in great detail as she spent most of her time in the space practising different cultivation techniques.

    The Spider Whisper Art seemed to merely form extra qi strands in the dantian but there were no other special benefits whenpared to more higher-grade manuals avable.

    ¡°What! You¡¯ve only been automatically circting qi?!¡± Rai¡¯lle eximed in shock.

    ¡°The whole point of this art is tobine it with one of three martial arts!¡±

    Rai¡¯lle, Thai¡¯lle and Sophie were the only members of the Arachne royal family to practice this technique due to the stringent requirements and theck of an immediate increase in strength.

    The manual on its own was nothing more than a subpar qi gathering method with a small boost to speed.

    But whenbined with one of the three speed based martial arts of the Arachne race¡­. none could match up against practitioners at the higher cultivation levels.

    It hadpletely slipped Rai¡¯lle¡¯s mind that her dear niece would not have any knowledge of this.

    Members of the royal family were given memory transfers at birth that imnted all the necessary information rted to survival andmon sense.

    ¡°Consider this a small gift to make up for all the past birthdays I missed,¡± Rai¡¯lle spoke lovingly before lightly tapping Sophie¡¯s forehead with her finger.

    ¡°Urghhh¡­¡± Sophie grunted with pain as waves of information entered her brain.

    Different Arachne martial arts with stances, poses and moves shed across her eyes.

    Spell techniques, illusions and other mystic arts that dealt with mana were suddenly ced inside her head.

    Culture of a foreign civilisation, rituals, etiquette, and the hierarchy of the insectoid empire were all included in the transfer.

    It was a strange feeling because even though all the information was there, most of it was locked away behind a seal.

    ¡°Your brain will not be able to handle all that knowledge at once so I ced some seals to only show you what you can handle at your cultivation level,¡± Rai¡¯lle exined.

    Sophie took a quick nce at the stone tablet out of the corner of her eye and found that she could now read the words more quickly than before.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sophie gave a small bow to the alien.

    No matter if the alien was her aunt or not, it was clear that this was a great gift.

    She had no idea how precious this knowledge was, but it far exceeded anything that the Federation had on the Insectoid races.

    The atmosphere became quite pleasant between the two and Sophie felt more and morefortable in the presence of Rai¡¯lle.

    She was still a bit cautious, but a lot of the doubt had faded away already.

    There was no need for such an apparently powerful person to bother with such petty schemes when they could just easily p her to death.

    Rai¡¯lle was very curious about Sophie¡¯s life among the humans and asked plenty of questions which Sophie was happy to respond to.

    Due to an unspoken agreement, Rai¡¯lle did not ask about any information that would be considered sensitive.

    Sophie also learnt a little bit about how well humanoid insectoids were treated in the empire as they were considered a high life form more akin to demigods.

    All humanoid tribes could exert natural suppression over their lesser intelligent brethren and had the highest number of high-level cultivators.

    The disadvantage was that unlike humans¡­these insectoid tribes with great potential were unable to rapidly reproduce.

    This meant that in a war, it was unlikely for god stage cultivators to get involved as they could not easily be reced.

    Sophie enjoyed the easy flow of conversation but there was one burning question that was upying her thoughts.

    ¡°Um¡­Princess Rai¡¯lle,¡± Sophie stammered.

    ¡°Call me aunt!¡± came the immediate reply.

    ¡°Auntie¡­do you have any news on how my mom is doing?¡± she looked at her aunt with a hopeful expression.

    Princess Rai¡¯lle kept seeing the image of her older sister in Sophie¡¯s gaze and could not help but shudder slightly while lying through her teeth,

    ¡°Princes Thai¡¯lle¡­I mean your mother¡­she is currently in closed door cultivation while trying to break through to the Ascension stage.¡±

    ¡°This process will probably take several years.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s face sunk at the news as it appeared that the reunion with her mother was doomed to be far off into the future.

    It pained Rai¡¯lle to keep the matter of Thai¡¯lle¡¯s imprisonment a secret, but it would do her daughter no good to know the truth.

    The nearest stargate at the location of the prison was heavily guarded by multiple god stage cultivators and one would have to be in the Ascension Stage in order to escape.

    Princess Thai¡¯lle was one of the most talented cultivators among the Arachne race so it was a great loss to theirbat capabilities to see her locked away.

    But¡­the risk of her joining the fight for session had left some of the concubines with no choice but to whisper in the emperor¡¯s ear to dy her release.

    Sophie was currently the only offspring of any of the royal princes and princesses, so she was far removed from any right to the throne.

    Plus, there was an enormous issue of whether or not the emperor would order a kill on sight warrant if the court learnt of her existence.

    Rai¡¯lle saw that her hands and legs were now melting away into a shadowy form which indicated that the duration of her stay was nearly up.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time left in the space,¡± Rai¡¯lle spoke in a serious tone.

    ¡°Before I leave, there is one more thing that you should know¡­

 Chapter 69: Arachne Martial Arts

    Chapter 69: Arachne Martial Arts

    Sophie listened seriously as her aunt drew closer and began to speak in a solemn tone,

    ¡°Each star of Ethnaise contains its own space for training and cultivation but practitioners can transfer their consciousness into other areas every couple of months.¡±

    ¡°The duration of their stay depends on the strength of the person transferring their consciousness.¡±

    Rai¡¯lle¡¯s form began to shake and flicker as her outer appearance became engulfed by dark shadows.

    She was merely in the Qi tide stage and it was impressive enough to be able to stay for the duration of ten minutes.

    Unfortunately, it seems like it would be quite some time until the aunt and niece pair could be reunited once more.

    There were only three current cultivators who trained in the Spider Whisper Art and the empress had ordered all the remaining amulets to be ced in her storage ring.

    Out of the three, Sophie and Rai¡¯lle were the only ones with the amulets so Thai¡¯lle had no way to ess the space.

    Sophie¡¯s identity would not be exposed to any of the royal children at least for the current moment.

    ¡°Time seems to be up,¡± Rai¡¯lle looked down at her body with a sad grin before lifting her head to gaze at Sophie onest time.

    ¡°You seemed to have inherited my sister¡¯s impressive beauty.¡±

    Sophie could detect a strange mixture of nostalgia and grief in Rai¡¯lle tone that left her slightly confused.

    Sophie reached out to try and grab the disappearing figure, but the shadows hadpletely coated Rai¡¯lle¡¯s body and she vanished secondster.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Several dayster)

    ¡°Sophie!¡± came a pitiful whine.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows and kept her eyes closed while remaining in a deep state of meditation.

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    This was clearly not going to be a useful session as the constant noise surrounding her made it impossible for her to concentrate.

    ¡°What is it Astrid?¡± Sophie gritted her teeth to calm herself down and tried to speak in a calm tone.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to spar anymore?¡± came a sullen reply.

    Astrid was gazing at her with the look of a pitiful wife abandoned by her husband while Rachel roared withughter in the background.

    It had been several days since the incidence in the space and Sophie had spent most of the time in silent meditation.

    Sophie did warn her roommates that she was doing an important task but did not expect the meditation tost for such a length of time.

    Astrid was not a simple-minded beast as her outer appearance would suggest but¡­

    She was beginning to miss the daily battles!

    ¡°Alright fine!¡± Sophie groaned and Astrid¡¯s ears immediately perked up in excitement.

    ¡°Let me do some private training and we can spar tonight.¡±

    Astrid was thrilled by the prospect and gave Sophie a big hug and small lick on the cheek to express her joy.

    Sophie smiled back and then walked into the suite¡¯s transporter to book a meditation room to help her concentrate a bit better.

    She had no choice but to spend every day absorbing and trying to memorise the information that her aunt had left behind.

    Even with the knowledge avable being only a fraction of the total amount due to the seals, it was still more than enough to give Sophie a massive headache.

    The meditation room was only the length of a small bedroom, but the floors and ceiling were painted a calming shade of green.

    Soft gentle music was emitted from the speakers as a cool breeze circted around the room which caused Sophie¡¯s hair to sway slightly in the wind.

    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Sophie was greatly rxed by the peaceful atmosphere.

    She had finished with the basic knowledge about the structure of the Insectoid Empire and now had a greater idea about the culture of her mother¡¯s faction.

    Sophie then decided to look over the information about the three martial arts thatplemented the Spider Whisper Art.

    The Spider Whisper Art waspatible with three martial arts of the Arachne tribe that were based on speed.

    It was counterproductive to learn more than one as the qi cirction patterns were unique for each martial art.

    Learning more than one could also lead to qi deviation if the practitioners were unable to distinguish between the different flows during a fight.

    Each martial art had its strength and weakness clearly described within the sea of knowledge that Rai¡¯lle had given Sophie.

    She had even included her own enlightenment and notes on the different arts to help her niece make the right choice.

    Zephyr was the name of the first art which specialised in aerial typebat.

    It involved strengthening the spider appendages to allow the practitioner to shoot up into the air and strike from unpredictable angles.

    This art¡¯s main strength was to decrease the body mass of the practitioner which made the body more lightweight and aerodynamic.

    The weakness of course was an increase in the fragility of the body.

    Umbra was the name of the second art which focused more on stealth type moves.

    This martial art also required some type of mana affinity and would mix fierce strikes with shadow magic to produce devastating effects.

    Perfect for assassins was the special note that Rai¡¯lle had ced next to the information about this martial art.

    This art was impressive but cultivators with righteous qi or holy magic would be able to dispel any shadows formed.

    Thest martial art technique was called Rsychosis and it was by far the most difficult of the three arts to train in.

    It dealt with mental disruption!

    This involved moving the body in a specific motion duringbat to imnt hypnotic suggestions in an opponent¡¯s psyche.

    It did not require mana or mental force but anyone facing this art would find that the illusions produced were almost unbreakable.

    This was a very serious decision to make and Sophie had to stop and ponder for a few minutes before making her choice.

    She would learn to train in Rsychosis!

    Zephyr was a useful art, but aerialbat was not a significant advantage against high tier cultivators who could also fly.

    Truthfully, the ability to use shadow magic and be an unseen assassin did appeal greatly to Sophie¡¯s hidden desire to act cool.

    But her low mana affinity made this an impossible option.

    Rsychosis was a martial art with techniques that could hold up against even god stage cultivators and would be useful throughout her cultivation journey.

    Creating illusions seemed to be the tricky and cheap method that Sophie had high expectations for during the university entrance exam.

    If she couldbine her new sneaky skills with some well-ced poison traps¡­. hehe.

    This was going to be fun!

 Chapter 70: The Entrance Exam Begins!

    Chapter 70: The Entrance Exam Begins!

    (Alpha Star System- Hidden Location- Ex T- 980)

    The remaining weeks seemed to pass by quickly as the constant training and sparring kept Sophie extremely busy.

    Her greedy Frostwing egg also seemed to enjoy her qi as it would absorb a significant amount every time Sophie would ce her palm on its surface.

    She had achieved some degree of sess using the Rsychosis martial art, but it was limited to making her figure blur slightly when moving towards the eyes of opponents.

    It would still be a long time before she became able to replicate and create life-like illusions.

    Circting qi in this strange new pattern as well as constantly shifting her movements in a fight was quite draining both physically and mentally so this technique was treated as a trump card.

    Fortunately, she had picked up some additional cultivation techniques to enhance her fighting prowess during the exam.

    She had even managed to win one spar against Astrid!

    But only by two points.

    ¡­¡­and with Rachel and her teaming up.

    Site 13 was the closest testing site to Gaia, so their exam was going to begin much earlier whenpared to the other sites.

    And it would start as they stepped foot on the ex.

    There was a grand total of roughly one million students aboard the transport vessel so the students would be teleported in batches to different locations on the ex.

    The entrance exam would be in the form of a survival free-for-all fight where students would be constantly eliminated until only the top one thousand remained.

    This ex was fully under the control of the exam monitoring team and had been modified with mechanical barriers to slowly push the candidates into smaller zones as time went on.

    It would be impossible to make it to the cut off mark without eliminating at least several other participants or having impressive stealth skills.

    Students would start off on equal footing and needed to fight others for weapons, supplies and food stock.

    In addition, the ex was home to all manner of fearsome beasts and monsters that would provide an additional challenge for the poor students.

    ¡°Next in line please!¡± came a loud call.

    Sophie and her friends were currently lined up to get clearance for entry into the transporter.

    Each student would need to be scanned to prevent the smuggling in of banned weapons or goods.

    They could not start the entrance exam with weapons, but supply crates could be found in hidden locations.

    In addition, for safety purposes, each student would be provided a barrier device that would coat their body with an absorbance gel in the event of a fatal attack.

    This was considered an elimination and the student whose device triggered would be transported back to the ship.

    Communicators and wristbands were also forbidden to prevent coordinated team ups.

    ¡°How are you all feeling?¡± Rachel asked.

    Sophie just gave a weak smile and nervously rubbed her hands together.

    The closer their position in the line reached to the scanner also corresponded to her increasingly strong sense of worry about the impending month of trials.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready to kick some ass!¡± came a confident growl from Astrid who bared her fangs in excitement.

    Qiana was quietly standing behind the trio and no one could tell what she was thinking.

    The line shortened and soon it was Sophie¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Please step on the zone to your left,¡± the security workerzily spoke.

    Sophie stepped on a metallic te and a harsh green light swept up and down her body for a few minutes.

    Great importance was ced on this entrance exam so multiple sweeps were implemented as a precautionary measure.

    A robotic arm extended down from the ceiling and ced a metallic device on the side of her hips which would serve as the barrier deployer.

    The worker nced at the control panel on the side and gave an okay sign, so Sophie headed towards the transport door.

    ¡°Good luck guys!¡± Sophie turned around to give a quick wave.

    Astrid and Rachel waved back with broad smiles and even Qiana raised her hand slightly.

    [Arriving at Ex ¨C T-980]

    [Please disembark]

    A cloud of white particles formed into the figure of Sophie as shended on the surface of the ex without any trouble.

    ¡°Always carefully observe the terrain to look for any noteworthy threats or features,¡± the voice of Katarina echoed in her mind.

    Sophie calmed herself down and carefully gazed at her new environment.

    She was in the middle of a meadow with soft gentle grass below her feet. Tall trees stood proudly in the distance as a dense jungle appeared to be surrounding this patch of grass.

    There were twentyrge crates in the middle of the meadow as well as one hundred raised stone tforms that encircled the loot.

    Several of these tforms were upied by students who were showing tense expressions on their faces.

    There was also a holographic screen above the crates but Sophie was too far away to make out the words.

    Why were they just standing still?

    What was preventing them from fighting one another?

    Question after question entered Sophie¡¯s mind as she shifted uneasily from side to side.

    A mechanical voice soon interrupted Sophie¡¯s state of concentration,

    [Stand on one of the raised tforms and wait until the entrance exam officially begins.]

    Sophie looked up and realised that there was a small robot hovering in the air above her and showing a shing arrow towards the tforms.

    Some students were on tforms next to others while some were standing on spots without any neighbours.

    Sophie was unsure if all the spots would be filled but quietly walked towards a tform on the north-eastern side that seemed to be upied by the least number ofpetitors.

    The holographic screen that was floating above the supply crates was showing a thirty-minute countdown that was slowly ticking down.

    There was only one word to describe what would happen after the countdown ended¡­

    Bloodbath.

    One could not know the contents of what was inside of the crates, but the supplies would certainly not be enough for all the participants present on the tforms.

    There were other crates hidden around the ex but who would be willing to take the chance to find one at random.

    Cultivators with weapons would have a great advantage against those without.

    All the students present needed to rush for a crate and protect their supply from being stolen by theirpetitors.

    Sophie carefully observed the ground of the meadow, but thend was t without any spaces to hide or terrain to take advantage of.

    The other students on the stone tforms came from a variety of different races, there were the fierce Mendolesa, cheerful Servies as well as humans and a couple of hybrids.

    Naturally, it was impossible to tell which of the figures were actually members of the Quafes race in disguise.

    [ 10 minutes remaining¡­.]

    More figures stumbled out of the transporter and were directed to one of the empty spots on the stone tforms.

    [5 minutes remaining¡­.]

    Each tform was now upied by a student and the atmosphere became more and more tense as bloodlust filled the air.

    Sophie scanned each figure and was left disappointed as it appeared that none of her roommates were ced in this section of the ex.

    [2 minutes remaining¡­]

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and started circting qi around her body in a familiar pattern.

    [30 seconds remaining¡­]

    Various runes, techniques and skills were being activated in advance as the students intensely focused on the ticking clock.

    [The University Entrance Exam¡­. will now begin!]

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and soon vanished from the spot as she activated her movement skill to the highest level.

    It was time to show off her abilities!

 Chapter 71: Are you freaking insane?!

    Chapter 71: Are you freaking insane?!

    [Begin!]

    The unexpectedly loud announcement created a small moment of pause before each student rushed into action.

    Some attacked their neighbours to eliminate thepetition at the start of the exam while others focused attacks on those running towards the crates.

    There were even a few that immediately left the tforms and ran away from the impending battles.

    It was clear that the Mendolesa students would have an advantage in the initial stage of the exam before weapons came into y.

    Sophie did have a new palm technique up her sleeve, but her spider appendages were more than enough to block any stray attacks.

    Her main n was to just grab a random crate and immediately flee towards the jungle and look for shelter near a location with fresh water.

    Unfortunately, she did not seem to be the only one with this idea as several other shadowy figures shot towards the crates in the blink of an eye.

    Out of the corner of her eyes, she could seem one figure aiming an attack right at her legs.

    ng!

    Sophie blocked the swipe of a Mendolesa warrior with her spider legs before turning around andunching a fierce kick towards his stomach.

    The poor warrior flew backwards before crashing into the ground with a resounding thud.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Sophie growled.

    That counterattack had cost her a few precious seconds, but it was enough for the other students to grab a crate each and shoot towards the forest.

    There were only twenty crates and after the initial grabbing, only five crates remained.

    Sophie rushed towards the smallest crate in the corner of the pile and picked it up in her hands before fleeing away from the battling students.

    ¡°Stop them!¡± came a random voice.

    Various beams, spells and attacks came hurtling towards her direction, but Sophie started circting qi in the strange pattern ording to the teachings of the Rsychosis Art.

    Sophie¡¯s body begun to blur slightly and the shadow of an identical copy of her image could be seen faintly at the side of her location.

    The attacks missed frequently and eventually the students just shifted their target to the other easier to hit opponents.

    Sophie ran and ran as fast as her legs could carry her until the sounds of the battlefield faded away into the distance.

    She leaned against a nearby tree and began to exhale slowly to calm down her racing heart.

    Sophie was now surrounded by a dense jungle with a faint mist hovering over the canopy and hot air blowing against her face.

    The crate held tightly in her hands was only the size of a small backpack, but Sophie looked forward to seeing the contents within.

    It was important to find a safe location before opening it up to see what was inside.

    There was a bubbling noise from a nearby stream, so Sophie headed towards its direction to get a fresh supply of water to quench her thirst.

    Sophie dipped her hands into the stream and felt the refreshingly cool sensation of water touching her fingertips.

    It would have been foolish to attempt to grab all of the items in the meadow and Sophie was quite satisfied with her haul.

    ¡°I wonder how the other girls are faring,¡± Sophie whispered to herself.

    She did not have to be too concerned as Rachel and Qiana had both decided to give up on fighting for the supplies in their respective zones and just headed into the jungle to search for water and food.

    Although Astrid decided to take quite a different approach whenpared to her other roommates¡­

    (Astrid¡¯s POV)

    Dozens of students ran towards the loot crates in the middle of the meadow but just as the quickest ones were about to grab a crate¡­.

    ¡°Ignire Ignis Malum!¡± came a low growl.

    An enormous fireball was shot at the center of the supplies and a resounding boom was heard before an explosion turned all of the goods into ash.

    The students near the heart of the explosion were all instantly eliminated and those on the outskirts of the st could not help but vent their fury.

    ¡°Son of a bitch!¡±

    ¡°Why would you blow up all of the supplies?!¡±

    ¡°Are you fucking insane?¡±

    Maniacughter echoed around the meadow as Astrid unsheathed her ws and leapt into the air beforeunching spell after spell.

    Shrieks of pain and fear could be heard from a distance as well as the telling shes of golden light which signified a barrier¡¯s deployment.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Transport Ship 13 ¨C Central Monitoring Room)

    In a spacious room in the middle of the transport ship, there were several figures frantically rushing from one holographic screen to another.

    ¡°Keep a look on the beasts in quadrants delta, alpha and omega.¡±

    ¡°Sir! We already have seen two hundred thousand eliminations in the first hour!¡±

    ¡°Send in reinforcements to the hospital ward¡­. thepetition this year is particrly fierce.¡±

    It was a chaotic mess as several test administrators scrambled around to handle all the various issues that had cropped up since the exam begun.

    The hospital wards had to be run smoothly as the barrier devices would only activate upon the detection of a fatal blow so students could still be terribly injured or brought to the verge of death.

    The first couple of days would have the bulk of the eliminations as the students fought one another for supplies and control of vantage points.

    Typically, there would be a lull in violence until the zone began to gradually shrink and the candidates would be forced into a smaller area.

    Each barrier device acted as a tracker which allowed the satellites in the ex¡¯s atmosphere to capture and ry their location in real time.

    This also allowed university scouts to pull up the feed of specific students to monitor them closely which would help in making the decision whether to send an offer or not.

    There was a luxurious room located at the back of the monitoring hall where all four of the university representative scouts were located.

    As University¡¯s scout was a young man with a skinny appearance and greasy hair.

    He was constantly checking his wristband and every single one of his camera feeds showed the footage of a young noble.

    Darren was as amoner who was lucky enough to have been admitted to a side branch of As University and joined the scouting team upon graduation.

    He had to carefully monitor and give preference to the noble children under the orders of the higher ups.

    The Servies scout for Mer University was an elderly creature with greenish hair and seemed to be much smaller than the average member of her race.

    She resembled a wise olddy in a pixie¡¯s body.

    But the arcane runes that constantly shed under the surface of her skin were quite threatening.

    Her name was Adriana Greenhorn and she was also the dean of the frost mage department at Mer University.

    The Quafes scout for Tantibus University was transformed into his natural liquid form and happily swishing from side to side in a bowl.

    While the screens in front of him were randomly cycling through different students.

    Zrudread University¡¯s scout was by far the most rxed out of the four and was leaning back on his chair while sharpening his wszily with a knife.

    Selvon Girze was the boot camp instructor for the freshman students of the main branch and was a massive nine-foot-tall Mendolesa warrior.

    The most striking detail about him was the fact that all of his screens were nk except for one that was ying thetest drama produced by B.Y.T Entertainment.

    His nonchnt mood caught the eye of Darren who could not resist curiously asking him a question,

    ¡°Are there no students that you need to keep an eye on?¡±

    The Mendolesa warrior just bared his fangs and spat out a short sentence,

    ¡°We judge our seedlings based on their strength using the results of the test only.¡±

    ¡°My interest only lies in the top three hundred.¡±

 Chapter 72: Hunting down her prey

    Chapter 72: Hunting down her prey

    The university entrance exam would span the duration of one month and candidates were required to not only survive the attacks of other students but also a criticalck of supplies.

    Food could be obtained from either foraging berries and fruits from nts or by hunting down and cooking the wild animals scattered around the ex.

    The mostmon reason for elimination was not frombat but rather by starvation or dehydration.

    Each barrier device also served as a SOS signal that students could send out by entering their candidate ID.

    Upon the detection of the signal, students would then be teleported back to the transport ship before the exam ended and be eliminated.

    Ex T-980¡¯s surface was mainly covered by rain forest biomes which caused the air to feel particrly humid.

    Sophie had to constantly wipe off the beads of sweat forming on her brow as she recalled the three basic rules of survival taught to her by the duke before she left Gaia.

    The first step was to find a clean source of drinking water.

    Next was to create a base with sufficient shelter against harsh conditions or enemies.

    And finally, cautiously expand your hunting range to find food.

    She had already found a stream, but the location was far too close to the meadow which would increase the odds of running into another student.

    Sophie nned on following the winding stream and see if any suitable base locations were along the way.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s see what is inside this thing first?¡± Sophie muttered to herself.

    Outwardly there was nothing special about the crate as it was a small box made of a strange metallic element.

    There was a visible button on the top of the crate, so Sophie pressed down with her index finger and the crate unfolded to reveal the contents within.

    Sophie pulled out a water pouch, several nutrition vials, a piece of parchment and a sleeping bag which doubled as a backpack.

    The number of nutrition vials inside the crate wouldst about a week so Sophie made the decision to only use them in emergencies.

    She was quite disappointed to see ack of weapons inside the box but at least the sleeping bag would make the nights more bearable.

    It was an undeniable fact that therger crates would have weapons inside, but Sophie did not want to take the risk to go back and check.

    Cultivators at the qi body and spirit stages were indeed more powerful than ordinary mortals, but they were by no means invulnerable.

    Sophie estimated that she only had the ability to face a maximum of three qi spirit opponents at the same time.

    It was important to take this time to refill the water pouch, so Sophie crouched down and unscrewed the lid of the pouch before gently cing it into the stream.

    Water flowed into the opening and Sophie ced the pouch next to her new backpack when it was finally filled.

    She looked up and saw red birds flying overhead while joyfully singing cheerful songs and making the forest seem more vibrant.

    This peace and tranquility were soon shattered by the sounds of people trampling through the wilderness.

    ¡°Check out these footprints!¡± came a deep voice near Sophie¡¯s location.

    ¡°Maybe one of those kids who grabbed a crate went this way¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears perked up and her eyes slowly shifted from their typical golden hue to a more reddish colour.

    She clutched her chest in pain as her heart rate began to speed up.

    Thud! Thud!

    Sophie¡¯s heartbeat rose under an unfamiliar emotion as all she could hear was the loud pounding noise of blood being pumped furiously through her veins and arteries.

    She gazed in the general direction of the intruders and the bushes, trees and grasses all melted away as the scenery shifted into a world of orange and red.

    Five humanoid figures were walking in her direction and it would only be five minutes until they reached the stream.

    Thud! Thud!

    This emotion¡­. Sophie had felt it once before when Jack had challenged her to find his location in the holodeck.

    It was not fear.

    Thud! Thud!

    It was not nerves.

    Thud! Thud!

    Sophie¡¯s mouth formed a twisted grin as her fangs lengthened and gleamed sharply under the beams of sunlight.

    Thud! Thud!

    It was the urge to hunt and devour.

    (Ayasha¡¯s POV)

    At the end of the bloodbath for the supplies at the center of the meadow, only fifteen students were left standing.

    Everyone¡¯s qi reserves had been heavily exhausted, so the formation of an uneasy alliance was created among the survivors.

    They were all split into different teams by a noble girl named Elevora Matrell who had taken over as the temporary leader due to her strength.

    Ayasha¡¯s team was in charge of hunting down the students that fled with the supply crates into the jungle and eliminating them.

    It was a five-man squad that wasprised of two regr humans, two mendolesa warriors and one member of the quafes race that had transformed into a human girl.

    She did not know any of her teammates prior to the exam but it was unlikely experience a betrayal so early in thepetition.

    They were all armed to the teeth with weapons from the supply crates and a certain amount of confidence filled their bodies as any lone cultivators encountered would not be a threat.

    It was an eagle-eyed Mendolesa warrior named Elijah who noticed the tracks on the ground and soon the team headed towards the direction of the cultivator who made them.

    Their journey soon took the team into a small clearing with a stream flowing through with crystal clear water.

    ¡°Strange¡­. why is no one here?¡± Elijah said with a frown.

    It was indeed a weird situation as there was an opened crate with supplies thrown onto the ground near the riverbank in a messy state and with no person was in sight.

    What happened to the student who fled with this box?

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense. This exam would not have candidates encounter beasts capable of killing students with one blow,¡± reasoned the other Mendolesa.

    Their squad captain walked up to a water pouch on the ground and held it in his hands for a brief moment before turning around and speaking in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°This has clearly been filled up using water from the stream.¡±

    ¡°Why would a person take the time to do this and then leave without it?¡±

    The other members of the team walked towards the bank of the stream and started to investigate the rest of items to search for any clues.

    Ayasha looked at her teammates busily moving about and headed under one of therger trees at the edge of the clearing to get some shade.

    She yawnedzily and could not understand why the team leader was making such a fuss.

    Wasn¡¯t it a good thing that there was no one guarding the supplies on the ground?

    Ayasha closed her eyes and started circting qi around her body to recover back to her peak state but a loud cry broke her concentration.

    ¡°Ayasha get away from there!¡± Elijah shouted in a fearful tone.

    ¡°She is in the fucking trees!¡± yelled the other warrior.

    Mendolesa warriors had a much stronger sense of smell than other creatures but theck of any visible opponents had caused the duo to rx their guard.

    Ayasha nced upwards in a panic before something heavy dropped onto her body and her vision faded into darkness.

 Chapter 73: The Living Nightmare

    Chapter 73: The Living Nightmare

    ¡°Remain calm and take out your weapons!¡± the squad leader ordered as panic began to set amongst the team.

    Elijah did not have the chance to take a good look at the person who ambushed them as the attack had urred unexpectedly, but this person smelled¡­. dangerous.

    His every instinct screamed to flee the scene immediately.

    The girl in front of him looked generally human-like but her golden eyes and weird appendages jutting from her back made it clear that she was a mixed-race hybrid.

    ¡°Okay we can negotiate¡­. you don¡¯t hurt her, and we let you walk out of here alive,¡± the team leader tried to the reason with the strange girl.

    Stab!

    Horror and fear could be seen in the expressions of the hunting team as a ded appendage was poking out of Ayasha¡¯s stomach.

    The hybrid girl gazed at them with a twisted grin on her face before melting into the shadows and disappearing.

    ¡°Help¡­.me¡­¡± Ayasha tried to crawl towards her team but soon copsed due to her injuries which caused the barrier device to activate.

    Golden light soon surrounded her figure and she was teleported back onto the transport ship for treatment.

    How could this have happened?!

    Every remaining member of the team held their weapons in a defensive stance and started to scan the surrounding forest with great caution.

    Three of the four held ster pistols in their grip while Elijah opted to use a heavy great axe toplement his naturally high strength.

    All they could hear was rustling from the treetops and a blurry shadow moving rapidly amongst the leaves.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie circted her qi to activate her movement technique and swiftly ran around the team to prevent them from locking onto her position.

    Her vision was still stuck in a weird world of orange and red, but all of the students were prominently disyed before her eyes.

    It was like she had a built-in radar.

    Food¡­.

    Hungry.

    HUNGRY.

    Sophie did not notice that saliva was dripping down slowly from her mouth and melting the soil beneath when itnded.

    She circled behind the wary students and dashed forward while unleashing her new fist skill at one of them.

    Frost-born Gauntlet!

    Cold air surrounded her hand and an icy aura coated her fist with small spikes jutting from above the knuckles.

    Punch!

    The other Mendolesa warrior howled in pain as the attack hit him squarely in his spine which gave off a loud crack.

    He flew forward and crashed into a tree and tried to stand up, but the blunt trauma had left him paralysed and the frost energy started to damage his internal organs.

    The barrier device soon activated, and he was send back to the transport ship.

    Sophie had eliminate two of the five members of the squad, but herst attack had drawn her out into the open.

    ¡°Shoot down this fucking bitch!¡± the team leader roared as they opened fire while Elijah dashed forward with his axe.

    Pew! Pew!

    sma shots were spread wildly across the clearing as rage overtook themon sense of the remaining members of the squad.

    They were all geniuses of their respectives and yet someone was eliminating them singlehandedly.

    Who could bear such a blow to their pride?

    Under their watchful eyes, Sophie¡¯s figure seemed to blur and shift as if it were translucent. Every shot seemed to just pass over her body without causing any injury.

    The initial reddish tint to her golden eyes was bing more and more pronounced as Sophie darted through the barrage of attacks.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t getting away that easily!¡± Elijah growled in rage.

    ming Meteor Strike!

    The great axe in his hand glowed a fiery red colour and ignited into harsh mes.

    Elijah raised his weapon high into the air before mming it down onto Sophie¡¯s head.

    ng!

    A sharp ringing noise was heard around the clearing as the hybrid girl simply lifted one of her appendages and blocked the full brunt of the attack.

    Elijah stood still in shock and did not seem to realise that the girl had already darted past him and into the backline of the team.

    Stab! Stab!

    Sophie¡¯s spider appendages extended into the bodies of the remaining two members of the team and her fangs extended outwards into the neck of one of the girls.

    Hunger¡­¡­

    MUST FEED.

    She was just about to tear into her flesh when the familiar golden light of the barrier device lit up and the injured students were teleported back to the ship.

    ¡°One more prey to hunt,¡± came a soft whisper of the female devil that rang in Elijah¡¯s ears.

    He abandoned all thoughts of avenging hisrades when he saw the look in the hybrid girl¡¯s eyes when she gazed at him.

    They were all geniuses that stood above the masses but in her presence¡­

    ¡­they were nothing more than food.

    Elijah bent his knees and leapt high into the air beforending in the forest opposite the clearing.

    He then started to frantically run away to seek reinforcements from the other members of the alliance.

    All of his pride had been shattered from the overwhelming terror inflicted by the living nightmare that was the hybrid girl hunting him down.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes gleamed in excitement at the fleeing Mendolesa as her blood began to surge and boil at the prospect of a chase.

    She gave the boy a head start of ten seconds before preparing to activate her movement ability to catch up.

    Somehow the thrill of giving her prey a moment of hope gave Sophie a deep sense of arousal.

    Thud! Thud!

    ¡°Ouch¡­what the hell?¡± Sophie clutched her chest in pain as she watched the Mendolesa warrior vanish off into the distance.

    Her eyes shifted back into their typical golden hue and Sophie just felt a wave of pain and exhaustion wash over her body.

    It felt like she had just been hit by a truck.

    The unfamiliar emotions that had driven her actions to this point also vanished abruptly and Sophie was at a loss to exin why she behaved so recklessly.

    All the qi in her dantian had been exhausted to maintain this strange state but the side effects were horrific.

    Sophie crashed to the ground and could not use a single muscle to move her body.

    If that Mendolesa warrior brought back reinforcements¡­she would have no means to resist.

    ¡°Grr¡­¡± Sophie gritted her teeth in determination and slowly crawled towards the supplies scattered around the ground and ced them in the backpack.

    After a few minutes of effort, she managed to muster enough energy to weakly stand up.

    There was a grand total of three ster pistols on the ground, so Sophie fastened one onto her hips and ced the other two in the backpack.

    It was important to move as quickly as possible, so she limped off in a random direction away from the clearing.

    (Thirty minutester)

    Elijah brought back several students to seek revenge on the hybrid girl who wiped out their squad but when they arrived at the clearing¡­.

    Sophie was long gone.

 Chapter 74: Treasure Map!

    Chapter 74: Treasure Map!

    (Ex T-980- Night Cycle)

    There was a small cave located under a steep cliff that had dense bushes and shrubbery concealing its entrance from prying outsiders.

    This was the base that Sophie had chosen after several hours of walking away from the clearing.

    She was quite satisfied with this area as there was a freshwater spring only ten minutes away and the natural foliage provided a great source of cover.

    Empty nutrient vials were scattered across the ground as Sophie had consumed about four days worth of food stock.

    The crippling sense of hunger and weakness that had gued her after the fight was only resolved after drinking nutrient vial after vial.

    Sophie could not afford to consume so wastefully but her inner hunger was too overwhelming to fight against.

    Only three more days worth of food was contained in the remaining vials, so she nned on spending the next few days hunting down some beasts for meat.

    ¡°But what were those strange feelings,¡± Sophie whispered to herself.

    She could not recall what had happened once she encountered the hunting squad as it was like her memories were locked behind a foggy daze.

    All Sophie could recall were vague images and a deep sense of pleasure that enveloped her body when her spider appendages cut through the flesh of her opponents.

    When her fangs extended to bite that delicious human¡­. STOP IT!

    Sophie clutched her head in pain as she fought down the sick urges that were welling up inside of her.

    Her eyes started to flicker between the typical golden glow and the reddish tinge.

    Hungry¡­. need to feast¡­.

    Stab!

    A jolt of pain shot through her arm as she jabbed her fingernails inside her flesh to snap herself out of those urges.

    It appeared to work as the pain brought Sophie¡¯s mind some rity and her eyes turned back to their golden colour.

    Sophie nced at the small puncture wounds on her arm and fell into contemtion.

    What was happening to her?

    Was this an ability from her mother¡¯s side?

    It would be a few more months until her Aunt would be able to meet her again in the ne¡¯s training space so she would not get any immediate answers to her questions.

    This new ability was extremely powerful as it seemed to elevate herbat senses to a higher level, but the side effects were quite heavy.

    And those emotions¡­. Sophie was terrified of how quickly they suppressed her sense of reason.

    Unless it was an emergency situation, she really did not want to use her ability ever again.

    Sophie took out all of the supplies from the backpack and unfolded it to transform into a sleeping bag.

    The sleeping bag was made of memory-morphing foam, so it was suitable for creatures of all races.

    Sophie double checked the entrance to the cave and shifted some of the smaller tree branches to block any openings before entering the bag.

    It was very difficult to fall asleep as the buzzing noises of insects singing joyfully in the wilderness outside was quite irritating.

    To distract herself, Sophie picked up the parchment that was also in the supply crate and tried to read its contents.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes gleamed softly in the moonlight as the darkness seemed to have no effect on her vision.

    ¡°What on earth?¡± Sophie gasped in shock.

    The contents of the parchment was a treasure map!

    It was a well drawn map with details about thendscape that covered a twenty-kilometer radius from the initial starting point of the clearing.

    There were rivers, streams, springs and even the location of some beast habitats!

    But what really drew Sophie¡¯s attention was the shiny mark that was drawn right above the location of a sunken valley.

    All thoughts of sleeping vanished instantly as Sophie jumped to her feet before hurriedly packing up her supplies and leaving the cave.

    Who knows how many copies of the treasure map were amongst the remaining crates at the clearing.

    She had to grasp this opportunity before anyone else!

    (Testing Site 03 ¨C Zenteroae)

    ¡°You have been fully surrounded your royal highness,¡± came a nasal voice dripping with sarcasm.

    ¡°What is the use of a mech controller with no mech!¡±

    These students had been provided with specific names from the total amount of royal children present in their testing site and were given orders to eliminate everyone on the list.

    It was even detailed with their publicly known cultivation levels and techniques.

    Princess Cleo stood in the middle of a desert environment with twelve students surrounding her with murderous intent.

    Each was well armed with knives, swords, ster pistols and poison vials.

    It appeared that one of her siblings had bribed some of the candidates aboard their transport vessel to deal with her and others personally.

    How else could these random students know about her secrets?

    She even had a pretty good idea about who it was¡­.

    ¡°Now will you activate the barrier device willingly? Or do we need to personally activate it for you,¡± yelled another mocking student.

    Cleo stared nkly into the distance with a lost expression that caused the ambushers to mistakenly take it for shock.

    Truthfully, she was wondering if her beautiful hybrid girl was doing okay.

    They had beenmunicating daily onboard their respective transport ships, but it would be a whole month until she could speak to Sophie again.

    This was a much pressing issue to her than the current problem of several armed enemies surrounding her with ill intentions.

    Princess Cleo¡¯s lighthearted and mischievous appearance and over reliance on her personal mech was nothing more than a shield to hide her true abilities.

    But against these low lives¡­.

    Why bother to pretend?

    A strong pulse of mental force was emitted from her location and struck every student in a five-kilometer radius.

    Mental Spike!

    Horrific screams echoed throughout the cold desert as each student copsed on the ground before starting to convulse.

    Not only her attackers but also those unfortunate enough to be in the range of the attack.

    Cleo walked forward gracefully until she arrived at the student who had openly mocked her and was now twitching on the ground.

    She leaned down and whispered softly in her ear,

    ¡°I know mech controllers are rare, but do you honestly believe that we are useless without our weapons?¡±

    The girl was in too much pain to understand the words that Cleo was muttering as it felt as though her head was about to exploded.

    Cleo gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder with a derisive sneer and then sent a mental thought into her brain,

    (¡°Don¡¯t worry I will put down your master once I finish off his hounds.¡±)

    Later that day¡­. over fifty students were eliminated by a single participant.

 Chapter 75: Beast Beneath The Moonlight

    Chapter 75: Beast Beneath The Moonlight

    Beautiful.

    That was the only word that Sophie could use to describe the primal wilderness of the forest.

    Gentle moonlight beamed down through the treetops and illuminated the nts beneath with a soft glow.

    Small insects chirped loudly in the underbrush and Sophie¡¯s golden eyes could see their hidden burrows and nests.

    It was important to conserve her qi reserves, so she was just travelling at a normal pace towards the treasure.

    One could not assume that there was only one copy of the treasure map in the supplies and others might have already reached the location.

    Sophie was fully prepared to engage inbat.

    The Spider Whisper Art circted automatically in Sophie¡¯s body, which gave her a source of seemingly boundless energy.

    Sophie¡¯s movements became faster and faster until she was little more than a shadowy blur zipping through the night.

    There were two ster pistols strapped to her hips securely while her remaining supplies were safely ced inside the backpack on her back.

    ¡°I wonder what the treasure is,¡± Sophie mused to herself.

    Could it be rare pills, weapons or even armour?

    Sophie consulted the parchment once more and discovered that the waterfall was only five hundred meters away from her current location.

    She slowed down her run and started to approach the area more cautiously while her pointed ears perked up to detect any strange noises.

    Four hundred meters¡­.

    The overwhelming roar of the waterfall crashing into the rocks below was mixed with the panicked shouts of students.

    Three hundred meters¡­.

    Sophie could now make out what the students were saying, and their words sent a small shiver down her spine.

    ¡°Get away from the third head!¡±

    ¡°Help¡­I think it bit my¡­¡±

    ¡°Son of a bitch¡­I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Two hundred meters¡­.

    Sophie was having an internal conflict over whether or not to proceed in the direction of the treasure.

    There were clear sounds of battle along with screams of pain and distinct golden lights that indicated the elimination of unlucky students.

    Someone¡­. or rather something was the cause of this ruckus.

    One hundred meters¡­.

    Eventually curiosity won out over fear and Sophie decided to climb one of the trees to move above the battling students.

    She would take a look at the situation and see if it were possible to fish for opportunities in these troubled waters.

    The trees in the forest were quite sturdy so Sophie wrapped her arm around one of the branches before scaling rapidly upwards.

    She hopped skillfully from branch to branch without making a sound before she came to the entrance of a clearing.

    There was a medium sized waterfall that flowed down a steep cliff into a deep blue pool of water below.

    Strangely enough, the water did not form a river but just poured into the hole where the water level never rose.

    It was like the pool was some sort of bottomless pit.

    Over sixty students were scattered around the pool of water that formed under the waterfall with varying expressions of fear or excitement.

    The numerous equipment thaty uncontested on the ground indicated that the numbers had once been even higher.

    It appeared that not everyone had formed teams as the solo students were on the outskirts of the clearing.

    Sophie frowned in puzzlement as there seemed to be no visible signs of conflict between the students and everyone was just staring intently at the waterfall.

    ¡°Everyone stay on guard!¡± yelled one of the students leading a squad.

    On guard? On guard against what?

    Boom!

    An enormous jet of water sprouted into the air from the pool and rose several feet above the ground.

    A monstrous beast emerged from the pool with fearsome momentum and immediately lunged forward and swallowed five students.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Sophie could only trail off in shock at the creature before her eyes.

    The monster was serpentine in nature with a long and slender body that was the size of a two-story building.

    Three snake heads were attached at the neck with each having their own special characteristics.

    The left head resembled a viper¡¯s with blue fangs that cooled the air into frosty wisps of gas. Sophie watched as it bit one the students and caused his body to turn into an icicle.

    What was terrifying was the fact that he had died before the barrier device had activated!

    The head on the right resembled a cobra¡¯s with purplish- yellow fangs that gave off small sparks of lightning.

    It appeared to the most aggressive of the three heads and grabbed students in its mouth before swallowing them whole.

    Sophie could not tell if this act allowed them to survive before the barrier activated or caused their death in the digestive tract.

    The middle head seemed to be the most passive one and just hung back while watching the other two attack the students with an expression of disdain.

    It¡¯s appearance was simr to that of a garter snake with fangs that were bright red in colour and caused the temperature around them to significantly increase.

    In ordinary years, a beast of this power level would not have been allowed inside the testing grounds of the university exam.

    But the recent increased ambition of the higher uppers in the military advocated sessfully for the students to be exposed to more danger in the exam.

    It was to be a trial of fire to weed out the weak and cause the strongest to survive.

    There were a total of twenty such danger zones hidden on the and the monitoring team aboard the starship watched each carefully.

    Certain students were not allowed to die so the barrier devices would be remotely activated in a life or death situation to avoid bacsh from their powerful families.

    Ordinary participants would not be afforded this luxury.

    ¡°Run! Run while you still can!¡±

    Who knows which students started the first call to retreat but several abandoned the notion of fighting the monster and fled away from the clearing.

    The numbers dwindled down to only a few brave teams that were eager to see what sort of treasure was hidden behind the guardian beast.

    The snake-like beast was in no means invulnerable and the attacks of the students had caused small wounds to form around its body.

    With each cracked scale, the remaining students fought even harder than before.

    Sophie¡¯s figure was well hidden in one of the trees as numerous thoughts raced across her head.

    Her mind seemed to be split into two vastly different courses of actions.

    One part of her wanted to flee the scene immediately while the other side of her wanted to¡­.

    CONSUME.THE.SNAKE.

    Sophie pressed her fingertips on her temples in pain as her eyes shifted from their golden hue into the blood red tinge.

    Hunger¡­.

    ¡°Ahh!!!¡± came an anguished scream.

    A dark shadow fell above the tree that Sophie was hiding in and she could see the middle head ignoring all the other students and staring directly at her.

    Sophie¡¯s predatory eyes gleamed back in the darkness as her perfect night vision saw a student only fifty meters in front of her being ripped into two separate pieces.

    Meanwhile the creature hissed softly and moved slowly towards her location.

    The three headed creature had only a basic sense of intelligence but could sense a bloodline threat from the two-legged human hiding in the tree.

    It was an instinctual urge to flee from this human that caused the creature to treat Sophie as a threat to be eradicated.

    Sophie bent her knees in preparation to meet the challenge while her fangs extended outwards while giving off a menacing air.

    A few students noticed that the beast was now distracted and fired off surprise attacks which cracked some more scales.

    Green blood oozed out from the wounds.

    The snake-like monster roared in pain and all three heads swiveled around briefly to bite the nearest couple of humans before turning back to face its formidable enemy.

    Huh?

    The beast sniffed the air in confusion a few times but could not detect any traces of the two-legged girl who was just in front of its eyes.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Sophie had long since fled in the opposite direction.

    What challenge? What love of treasure? What hunger?

    I just freaking saw that monster slice a student in half and the swallow a few others whole¡­.

    This young miss has fully mastered the great Dao of Running Away!

 Chapter 76: The Dynamic Duo!

    Chapter 76: The Dynamic Duo!

    Sophie ran frantically away from the beast without any thought of hesitation or regret. The echoing screams of the students killed by the monster eventually faded into the distance.

    Leaves stuck on to her bodysuit as she hopped from one tree to another while the wind whipped her hair gently.

    There might have been a chance to engage the creature if she broke into the third stage of the qi spirit realm, but it would be suicide to attempt it now.

    She nced at the parchment every couple of minutes to determine the direction of the cave and headed back to her base.

    The journey was roughly forty minutes and Sophie was utterly exhausted by the time she arrived.

    It was time to take a good night sleep!

    (Day 2)

    Harsh rays of sunlight streamed through the mouth of the cave and fell onto Sophie¡¯s face. She gave a small yawn and stretched out her armszily.

    The other students probably would have had sleepless nights in this strange environment, but Sophie had the ability to just fall asleep once her heady down on a surface.

    The downside was that it was quite difficult to wake up once she went to sleep.

    ¡°Alright time to get to work,¡± Sophie whispered to motivate herself before beginning her tasks for the day.

    Not every day would be filled with fights, excitement, and duels as the majority of thepetitors were simply spread too far apart in the initial stages to encounter one another.

    Sophie picked up the empty water bag and strapped one pistol against her hip before heading towards the nearby stream to fill up her water supply for the day.

    She had been a bit busy the day before, so it was now time to build a toilet in the wilderness.

    Sophie was not too enthusiastic about this duty but¡­. there were no other freaking options!

    The location chosen was some distance away from the base and the stream to prevent any sort of contamination.

    Wilderness toilets were built by digging a small hole with a rough depth of about three meters and lining the outside with soft leaves.

    She used her strength to tear a few strips of bark from the trees nearby to construct a wall to obscure the view from passerbys, but Sophie was not the greatest woodworker.

    The wall was barely standing straight, and it seems as though a strong breeze would be enough to topple it over.

    The construction did not take too long but the experience was truly dreadful. Sophie was constantly looking at her surroundings to make sure that no one was nearby.

    Afterwards Sophie returned to the cave and sat down while trying toprehend the secrets behind the Rsychosis martial art.

    She could form a somewhat blurry clone of herself but that was far from enough.

    (Day 4)

    The nutrient vials were running dangerously low, so Sophie took the day off to go hunting for more food supplies.

    It was important to maintain absolute quiet when trying to hunt down prey, so Sophie lightly tapped her feet while leaping from branch to branch.

    Her eyes stayed their golden colour, but her fangs were growing slightly at the mere thought of consuming some meat.

    ¡°Screech!!!!!!¡±

    A loud cry bellowed through the forest and Sophie spotted an injured birdying on the ground while facing off against another creature.

    She scrambled higher up into the tree and watched the two beasts with an expression of a hunter gazing at prey.

    The bird was the size of an average man with a gorgeous plumage of feathers that shifted colours mesmerizingly in the sunlight.

    It¡¯s opponent was a cat-like beast with green fur and two horns that jutted out of the sides of its head.

    The battle between these two beasts had reached the climax and the bird shot feather after feather at the feline who dodged with ease.

    Rip!

    It did not take long for the feline to dash straight through the barrage and swipe its ws confidently against the bird¡¯s throat.

    Blood spurted into the air as the bird died in agony. The feline roared with pride before a sma shot entered its brain and killed it instantly.

    Sophie was the master of the art of kill stealing!

    Cough cough¡­. kill securing was the better term to use.

    Both carcasses were quite heavy, but Sophie dragged their bodies towards the cave before skinning their outeryers and getting some firewood to roast the meat.

    Sophie smoked the meat and stored the excess supply in the cave as future snacks until the next day.

    There were no spices or seasoning provided to the contestants, so the meat was cooked thoroughly but it tasted pretty vourless.

    (Day 8)

    Sophie had followed the same routine of searching for prey, getting water, and reinforcing the base for thest couple of days and it was beginning to get a bit boring.

    She had yet to see another student as the cave was located in a hidden area and therefore it wasn¡¯t very essible.

    Today Sophie decided to expand her hunting zone as the prey had recently be quite scarce due to overhunting.

    Suddenly her ears perked up as an unfamiliar presence was travelling at high speeds above her location.

    Enemy nearby!

    Sophie¡¯s eyes shot upwards, but the attack had arrived before she could even react.

    A dark shadow shed overhead before Sophie felt an enormous weight drop down on her body with a frightful thud.

    She crashed down to the ground from the tree she was standing on while the mysterious figure loomed menacingly above her body.

    ¡°Sophie!¡± came a joyfully cry.

    Astrid tightly hugged Sophie with a broad smile on her face and gave her a small lick of affection on the side of her cheek.

    ¡°Hey Astrid,¡± Sophieughed.

    It was a wee surprise to find that her Mendolesa roommate had found her so quickly before the zone was shrunk.

    Astrid stood tall with an intimidating aura and Sophie could see numerous scars that ran down the sides of her body.

    She had clearly engaged in a high number of fights with other students but none of the injuries seemed to be serious.

    ¡°Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?¡± Astrid fired off question after question while wagging her tail furiously.

    Sophie smiled indulgently at her concerned friend and exined what she had been through the past couple of days.

    From the surprise attack at the stream to the encounter with the ferocious snake-like beast at the waterfall.

    Astrid attentively listened before regaling Sophie with tales of her valor. Apparently, she had eliminated every other participant at the clearing she had been ced in.

    She did not have any supplies as the loot in the center of the meadow had burnt up mysteriously.

    Sophie nced at Astrid with a suspicious look when hearing about this matter but the Mendolesa girl pretended not to see it.

    Then Astrid spent the past couple of days roaming around the ex and defeating any strong enemies that popped up.

    Astrid even managed to get a lucky encounter and her cultivation was now at stage four of the qi spirit stage!

    Only a handful could match her cultivation level amongst the younger generation of the Earth Federation.

    ¡°Do you think anyone has grabbed that treasure yet?¡± Astrid asked suddenly.

    Sophie paused for a moment before stopping to contemte, ¡°Hmm¡­I don¡¯t believe anyone has defeated the snake yet.¡±

    Astrid¡¯s eyes gleamed with an eager air and herpetitive nature seemed to inflect Sophie with a spark of excitement.

    With Astrid¡¯s cultivation level¡­it would not be totally impossible to defeat the snake-like beast.

    ¡°You thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡±

    ¡°Say no more wolf girl!¡± came a confident reply.

    The duo turned into blurry shadows and shot towards the location of the waterfall with newfound determination in their hearts.

    They would scout the beast first and thene up with a n to defeat it.

    Astrid nced at the hybrid girl who was swinging from vine to vine like she was born in the jungle when a small detail caught her attention.

    ¡°By the way¡­¡± Astrid spoke hesitantly.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°Do you need some eye drops? Your eyes are super red!¡±

 Chapter 77: Tragedy

    Chapter 77: Tragedy

    It took roughly one hour for the duo to reach the small valley that the parchment indicated but the journey had gone smoothly.

    Sophie could now hear the familiar roar of the water crashing into the deep pool below.

    The pair moved stealthy towards the clearing, but Sophie was shocked at the scene before her eyes.

    Several teams of students were battling the triple headed snake with fearsome attacks and abilities.

    It appeared that the parchment was in several more crates than Sophie had anticipated as there was well over one hundred students battling the monster while countless others watched from the forest.

    A silent majority was content to see others be exposed to the dangers of battling the monster while they hung back and tried to fish for benefits.

    Three students tried tounch sneak attacks at Astrid and Sophie from the shadows but a series of ster shots to their chests caused them to be instantly eliminated.

    Astrid observed the entire situation with an oddly serious look on her face before tilting her head slightly in confusion and turning around to gaze at Sophie.

    ¡°Sophie¡­I just realised something,¡± Astrid quietly whispered.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Sophie replied in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°Do we need to defeat the guardian beast? I mean where exactly is this so-called treasure located?¡±

    ¡°Is it inside the pool of water?¡±

    ¡°Is the beast the treasure?¡±

    High intelligence was the key characteristic of mages and Astrid was no exception to the rule.

    Some might stereotype her battle junkie tendencies as proof that she was nothing more than a muscle-head.

    But the Mendolesa girl¡¯s enemies would suffer if they mistook her straightforwardness for naivety.

    When it came to tactics in fighting¡­. Astrid had one of the sharpest minds that Sophie had ever encountered.

    Astrid¡¯s only weakness was dropping her guard once a fight had presumably been won.

    She had raised an interesting point which caused Sophie to frown slightly and mull over the words in her mind.

    What exactly was the treasure? Or was there even one in the first ce?

    The parchment simply marked this location on the map as a ce of interest but in retrospect this could mean a number of possibilities.

    Was the something inside the beast a treasure?

    It was possible to turn the fangs into weapons but without poison from the creature they would simply be sharp daggers.

    Meanwhile the fight was still intensifying as this new batch of students were clearly more powerful than the ones that Sophie had seen before.

    Ying Yang palm strike!

    A bald student wearing monk robes leapt high into the air before striking a heavy palm on the backside of the beast that exploded with a ck and white aura.

    The snake roared in pain andshed out towards the airborne student, but hispanion quickly drew its attention with another attack.

    Bone prison art!

    Enormous bone spikes burst out from the ground and pierced the soft underbelly of the creature.

    This team was clearly made up of students at the qi spirit stage and Astrid¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement as she saw the powerful moves.

    The middle head of the snake hissed loudly and spat out a glob of reddish venom that caused the temperature to rise.

    It struck one of the students on the outskirts of the battle and he screamed in pain as his flesh began to melt.

    Luckily, the barrier device activated immediately, and he was teleported back to the ship before his injuries could be fatal.

    The triple headed snake was not in good shape either as it appeared as though it had suffered through several days of fighting and was beginning to feel exhausted.

    Human wave tactics were surprisingly effective!

    sh!

    A blue line crossed the neck of the snake before the right head was loppedpletely off.

    Screeeeeech!!!

    The wielder of the de was a noble girl wearing an intimidating full set of armour and numerous hidden weapons.

    Shended gracefully on the ground before sheathing her sword and making a proud deration of strength.

    ¡°Listen up all you cowards hiding in the bushes!¡± she roared at the students in the forest.

    ¡°Either step up or after we bring down this monster¡­. You. Will. Be. Next¡­¡±

    The unspoken threat hung in the air for several minutes but no one made a move from the sidelines.

    ¡°We should join,¡± Sophie muttered.

    ¡°After fighting together for so long, those students in the clearing will definitely more united than those in the shadows.¡±

    She looked at Astrid to get her opinion but the Mendolesa girl just waved her ws happily and vanished from the spot.

    ¡°Palus creata, sub hoc anguis¡±, came azy chant before a thick swamp appeared under the snake which caused it to sink into the ground.

    Countless students shot wary looks towards the mage that suddenly appeared in their midst, but Astrid paid them no mind.

    Not willing to be outdone, Sophie shed forward and shot several ster rounds straight into the creature¡¯s eyes.

    Her marksmanship was remarkable, and each shot was directly on target.

    It appeared that their willingness to step forward was a trigger for the remaining students as one after another came out of the forest to join the fight.

    The girl who shed through the left head retreated from the battlefield to sit down and mediate.

    Clearly that impressive sword strike had caused a copious amount of qi consumption.

    Triple headed snakes were fearsome creatures but the loss of one of its main heads had greatly reduced itbat abilities and it eventually sumbed under the barrage of attacks.

    The right head took out several students before Astrid casted a freeze spell to lock it in ce as Sophie shattered it with a powerful kick.

    Losing two of its heads caused the creature to lose a great deal of blood and it crashed down at the edge of the pool with only the middle head barely hanging on.

    This round of fighting had finished with a pyrrhic victory for the students as the survivors walked slowly towards the dying beast.

    What little unity shared between fellow candidates was beginning to disappear as shes of greed appeared in the eyes of the surviving students.

    The creature was bound to be full of precious materials and food that would be useful during the exam.

    And there was not enough to go around¡­.

    The only surviving head was the middle one who opened its injured eyes to watch the approaching students with an unreadable expression on its face.

    Jeers and taunts were directed towards the triple headed snake as the surviving students couldn¡¯t help but vent their frustrations.

    ¡°Hahaha look at this pathetic creature!¡±

    ¡°You eliminated my friend you piece of shit,¡±

    ¡°Ayds¡­who wants some snake meat tonight?¡±

    Laughter rang throughout the clearing, but Sophie hung back while carefully watching the snake weakly resting on the ground.

    Something did not seem right¡­.

    It was only a small feeling of difort, but Sophie could not shake off the notion that she needed to leave the area now.

    ¡°Damn¡­they might take all the good stuff,¡± Astrid whined before following the crowd of students towards the beast.

    She leapt forward before Sophie could discuss this uneasy feeling that was crawling down her spine.

    What was wrong?

    Why am I feeling like this?

    The triple headed snake was clearly on itsst vestiges of life, but Sophie could swear that it was now gazing at the students with a taunting expression.

    Fiery energy built up in its mouth, but its fangs had long been shattered so this act seemed to be a futile one in the opinion of the students.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes turned briefly red and she could now see more and more energy umting in its mouth which expanded the beast¡¯s jaws until the bones cracked under the pressure.

    ¡°Astrid get away from there now!¡± Sophie yelled frantically.

    Just as the first student arrived at the remaining head of the snake and prepared to give a fatal blow¡­

    BOOM!

 Chapter 78: Sophies New Ability

    Chapter 78: Sophie''s New Ability

    Death.

    A white-hot me burst from the mouth of the middle head and obliterated anything within twenty feet of its location.

    The full force of a being at thete stages of the qi spirit realm was fully unleashed as the triple headed snake blew up its own dantian in a suicide attack.

    It was determined to take down as many of those hateful two-legged creatures as it could before death would close its eyes.

    Sophie was knocked down to the ground by the shockwave of the st and could hardly see as a thick cloud of dust bloomed.

    Where was Astrid?!

    Students near hery on the ground disoriented from the st, but Sophie stumbled to her feet and dashed towards the dust cloud.

    A ringing noise echoed constantly in her ears from the loud boom created by the attack and it was throwing off her sense of bnce.

    Sophie darted inside but her vision was constantly being obscured by the dust particles flying into her eyes.

    These particles caused her to tear up slightly, but Sophie was too worried to bother about these annoyances.

    Several golden lights shed around her which indicated that students were being teleported back to the transport ship.

    Panic began to set in as Sophie spotted the charred remains of what looked to be a burnt corpse.

    What if she was already¡­.

    ¡°No, I need to remain calm,¡± Sophie whispered to herself.

    ¡°Astrid!¡± Sophie shouted constantly as she kept searching for her friend.

    More and more bodies came into view with the less intact ones having limbs scattered as far as the eye could see.

    ¡°Calm down. Calm down,¡± she kept repeating the same string of words to settle down her emotional state.

    As the minutes slowly ticked by, Sophie got increasingly more and more frustrated as desperation began to set in.

    (Do you need strength?)

    (Do you need vision?)

    The Spider Whisper Art started to circte automatically inside her dantian as a gentle voice spoke softly in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    If anyone could see into the dust cloud, they would see the silhouette of an enormous arachnid hovering over Sophie¡¯s body before vanishing abruptly.

    (I grant you the sight of my eyes)

    (Seek only what you need)

    Sophie stopped for a moment as her eyes shifted colours from a golden hue to a new shade of purplish ck.

    I need to find her¡­.

    Find.

    FIND.

    The world around her shifted into a vision of ck and white with a singr violet figure twenty meters to her left.

    All her other senses had disappeared, and Sophie could no longer hear, smell, or taste anything in her surroundings.

    It was like the only object in her mind was the violet figure.

    Sophie walked automatically towards the figure and found Astrid unconscious with severe burns on her back and a deep cut on her hindleg.

    Sophie blinked and the new colour faded away as quickly as it had appeared, and she was left in a state of confusion.

    What just happened?

    Who was that voice?

    These were clearly questions to find out at another time and Sophie knelt on the ground to quickly check Astrid¡¯s body to look for any serious injuries that could be fatal.

    It appeared that her warning was effective as Sophie could detect remnants of mana usage which indicated that Astrid may have casted a barrier spell before the snake blew up.

    The supply crate that Sophie had gotten did not have any medicine or bandages, so Sophie was forced to transform the backpack into the sleeping bag.

    She tore the memory foam into strip- like pieces and started to bandage Astrid¡¯s visible wounds on her back and legs.

    Eventually, she would need to wash the burns to avoid infections but right now stopping the bleeding was a priority.

    The duke had made sure that basic first aid was taught during the months of training before the entrance exam, so Sophie was fairly skilled at the task.

    She got most of the bandaging done after ten minutes which was enough for the cloud of dust to disperse.

    Precious few remained alive inside the st zone and most of the surviving students were the ones at the outskirts.

    Sophie took a small break to gaze at the surroundings and saw deep pools of blood and chunks of flesh from the serpent coating the ground in a scarlet hue.

    Cries of pain and loss were heard as students discovered that many of theirrades had died due to the st.

    The temperature had risen so Sophie wiped a few beads of sweat from her brow and something caught her attention.

    Inside a meaty chunk of flesh only three meters away from her was what appeared to be two golden boxes the size of a fist.

    Curiously, she ventured over and grabbed the two items before returning to Astrid¡¯s side.

    She was still in an unconscious state and Sophie could not determine if it were due to her injuries or mana exhaustion.

    The boxes had small marks on each of its sides so Sophie turned them around to get a closer look at the details.

    ¡°One of five and three of five?¡± Sophie muttered.

    Sophie was quite puzzled by the phrases on the boxes that seemed to have no purpose.

    In addition, she had tried to open these boxes but despite her best effort they would not budge.

    Furthermore, each of these strange items had small holes or protrusions that seemed to be some kind of puzzle¡­.

    Wait a moment¡­

    ¡°Fuck we need to leave right now!¡± Sophie hurriedly tried to bandage all the remaining wounds before it was toote.

    It was truly a devious trap.

    One could not get to the treasure withoutbining each of the five separate golden boxes hidden inside the serpent¡¯s body.

    This meant that even holding on to four of the parts would grant no benefits to the cultivator who picked them up.

    The exam testers had ced such a fearsome boss to contain the treasure and then ensured that a bloodbath would ensue due to the five separate pieces.

    ¡°Hey, look at what was inside the snake!¡± came a cry of excitement.

    Sophie turned her head around to observe a student pick up one of the boxes and joyfully exim to hisrades.

    This caused several of the students to rush towards the remains of the beast and hurriedly dig inside the flesh lumps on the ground.

    The student was still celebrating when a dagger was pierced through his throat and the box was stolen by another examinee lurking in the background.

    It did not take long for the sounds of fighting to resume as any box found immediately triggered fierce attacks towards the holder.

    This was no doubt the intention of the devils in charge of the entrance exam.

    It was only going to be a matter of time until someone discovered that all five boxes were required¡­.

    They needed a distraction to sneak away as people would treat those who left the clearing as potential box holders.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and casually slipped one of the boxes in her pocket before throwing the other one in the air.

    ¡°Look there is one of the boxes!¡± she yelled loudly.

    Numerous eyes followed the long arc that the box travelled in the air before itnded on the far side of the clearing.

    She had to make a distraction and possessing two of the boxes would undoubtedly paint arge target on her back.

    There was an immediate stampede of students as they each rushed towards the unimed treasure.

    No one paid any attention to Sophie and Astrid as one was severely injured and the other appeared to want no part in the fighting going on.

    Sophie groaned softly while wrapping her arms around Astrid¡¯s body and then gently picking her up.

    She circted qi frantically towards the meridians in her arms and legs to enhance her physical capabilities.

    This eight-foot-tall wolf girl was quite heavy!

    Flying swallow knives!

    Sharp des headed towards their general direction from an unexpected ambush, but Sophie¡¯s spider appendages turned into blurs and deflected all the strikes.

    She turned her gaze towards a student hiding in one of the bushes nearby and her eyes started to flicker from gold to red.

    ¡°Do you truly believe I can¡¯t slice open that throat of yours?¡± Sophie growled menacingly.

    Killing intent washed over the poor student and he swiftly turned around to flee.

    This student used to be a part of a gang on his native and those eyes reminded him of the killers in the gang who bathed in the blood of hundreds.

    Fortunately, no one else was foolish enough to stop their departure and Sophie walked confidently with the weight of her injured friend on her back.

    Shrieks and cries from the battlefield slowly faded away into the distance as the duo vanished into the dark forest.

 Chapter 79: Archangel Raziel

    Chapter 79: Archangel Raziel

    (Rachel¡¯s POV)

    sh!

    A student¡¯s eyes widened in shock as the barrier device activated and she was transported back to the ship before she was even aware of the attack.

    Rachel stood proudly at the shore of ake but there was irritation in her eyes as she nced at the weapon in her hand.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel right¡­¡± Rachel muttered softly as she held the sword in her grasp and swung it around a few times.

    Sword cultivators channeled their qi into their personal weapons to perform attacks and this created a spiritual bond between the weapon and the wielder.

    Modern science had long disproved the theory of weapon spirits, but each sword cultivator spoke about their de as if it were alive.

    Rachel¡¯s sword was one of the thirteen holy des of the church and it had been her partner ever since she was chosen as a saint candidate.

    She never brought out that weapon when sparring with Sophie and Astrid as the sword would only be held if she were attacking with killing intent.

    Who could say what the results would have been if she was allowed to use her real de during the sparring sessions instead of a training sword.

    Naturally, the swords that she had been using during the entrance exam was taken from one of the supply crates, but they seemed to be a bit too fragile.

    Channelling her righteous qi into the weapons caused tiny fractures to appear so Rachel had to fight her enemies using normal attacks.

    Her temporary base was a small man-made hut at the shore of ake due to the abundant supply of fishes and freshwater present in the area.

    Theke was by no means small and several cultivators had visited her location, but most did not actively look to engage inbat.

    Everyone was waiting for the zone to shrink at theter stages of the exam, so it made no sense to risk elimination by fighting unknown opponents.

    The day was surprisingly peaceful as no more students came to her location so Rachel decided to hunt for some food.

    Quafes technically speaking did not need to consume nutrients but Rachel much like the rest of her race wanted to mimic human behaviour.

    She shed down a branch from one of the nearby trees and stripped the bark with well practiced motions to create a fishing pole.

    Her hand shifted into her liquid form and changed into the shape of a string with a hook that she attached to the pole.

    It was a good day to fish and Rachel soon caught two medium sized fishes that had rainbow coloured patterns on their spines.

    Many of the examinees were going through constant battles and conflicts but Rachel¡¯s area was more akin to a safety bubble and she spent the majority of her timezily fishing.

    ¡°Ahh it seems to be almost time,¡± Rachel smiled gently before piercing a hole through the brains of the fishes and storing their bodies in a container.

    Gentle afternoon sunlight streamed down on her face and Rachel basked in the warm glow before entering the hut to perform her daily prayer.

    She had formed a contract to borrow the power of the Archangel Raziel and it was a sign of her devotion to the church to pray often.

    But it was also a duty that she was quite happy to perform.

    When her parent died, and she became an orphan¡­.it was only the church who willingly took her in and gave her a home.

    The Nephilim Church was an organisationprised of different factions and undercurrents with each believing in a different perspective of the church¡¯s teachings.

    Saints and demon knights were given power by higher level entities whose identities were linked to the angels and demons of the old Abrahamic religions.

    As for what these beings truly were¡­. only the pope was aware of the truth.

    Rachel just followed the principal of staying true to her own moral code and this may have been why she was chosen as Raziel¡¯s saintess.

    Archangel Raziel was known as the ¡®Keeper of Secrets¡¯ and a saint had not been chosen by him for over five hundred years.

    He was known to be a neutral observer of the heavens and took a liking to the stubborn yet kind girl during the holy ceremony.

    Rachel was blessed with his aura of truth ability that could distinguish the nature of all beings who stood in her presence be it good or evil.

    Taking a deep breath, Rachel began to chant a version of the scripture that she had modified,

    ¡°Archangel Raziel first and only of his name.¡±

    ¡°The keeper of secrets who watches over the heavens and the river of time.¡±

    ¡°This humble servant promises to fulfil your will and only use this great strength to do good deeds for the ones I care about.¡±

    Solemn chants echoed around theke and two angelic wings sprouted from Rachel¡¯s back while trumpets sang in the background.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Site 013- Sector Gamma- Temporary shelter of group designated X-3019)

    ¡°Truly we will be in the top one thousand for sure!¡±

    ¡°John check your weapons to make sure there aren¡¯t any issues.¡±

    ¡°Captain we managed to take down ten squads so far. I think it¡¯s safe to say there is no one in site 13 who could possibly be our match!¡±

    Loudughter and merry conversations could be hearding from a group of students sitting down around an open fire.

    This was clearly a powerful team as all of the students were fully armed with a variety of weapons and armour.

    Some even had bloodstains on their bodysuits which they did not bother to wash away as it enhanced the fierce intimidation effect.

    A piece of meat was slow roasting over the fire while one of the students coated its outeryer with spices and oil.

    This caused a delicious smell to be present at their location which would alert nearby predator beasts, but it was obvious that the team members were confident about their strength.

    The group was formed with several noble children leading at the helm. It was fortunate that their meadow had several participants that were allies on the transport ship.

    Their powerful group attracted more cultivators to join for protection which created a false sense of security and might.

    From the outside, one would see a group of twenty to thirty students of the qi spirit and body stages rxing and enjoying themselves.

    But¡­

    There was one detail about the scene that did not seem to be quite right.

    A mysterious girl was walking quietly by each student in the area and reaching down to pick up their weapons right off their bodies.

    She would also stop and search their bags for any useful supplies before taking them out and cing them in her spatial storage ring.

    There seemed to be something strange about the situation as no attention was drawn to the girl¡¯s actions as her victims would continueughing and chatting as if nothing had urred.

    One student got up suddenly and bumped into the girl, but he just looked around in confusion as the girl just moved pass him without hesitation.

    She moved almost like a phantom with her feet seemingly dancing through the camping area in a specific pattern of movement.

    The girl was of average height with beautiful dark ck hair, a slender physique and thick sses that covered her eyes.

    Her face seemed to be shrouded in a white fog- like mist that caused any person that viewed her figure to immediately struggle to recall what she looked like.

    ¡°Damn¡­.it seems like I¡¯ve already pushed the limit of the storage capacity of this ring,¡± Qiana spoke with a frown.

    Even though she did not control the volume of her tone, it was like none of the cultivators nearby could hear the words that she spoke.

    Qiana gave a small sigh and picked up as many weapons as she could before abruptly leaving the area without a sound.

    House Abazin always stood by their principal philosophy that protected their noble lineage for generations.

    The greatest strength¡­. was to aplish your goal without confrontations. To be as silent as a shadow but to cast your influence in the darkness.

    Ten minutes passed before cries of shock and anger rang out from the forest but Qiana had disappeared to find another group of victims.

    Several unlucky teams would be having a sleepless night ahead of them.

 Chapter 80: Lifelong Sisters

    Chapter 80: Lifelong Sisters

    [ Zone restriction has begun¡­]

    [20% of site 13 will now be inessible. Good luck candidates!]

    Astrid opened her eyes slowly as the loud voice of the mechanical announcer roused her from her sleep.

    She tried to sit up but immediately felt sharp pains in both of her hind legs which caused her to abandon the attempt.

    Someone had apparently bandaged all of her injuries and ced her on a soft bed made of grass and leaves.

    There was an earth bowl next to her bed filled with fruits as well as a small water bag ced on the side of it.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Astrid held her head in pain as she tried to recall thest memory before cking out.

    She remembered leaping confidently towards the snake in hopes ofnding the finishing blow but suddenly Sophie yelled at her to get away from the beast.

    Astrid was confused but she managed to cast aplex barrier spell before turning around to flee.

    Herst memory was of an orange me bursting behind her back before the world turned dark.

    This barrier spell was one that would constantly drain mana in proportion to the attack that it absorbed.

    To have cked out meant that her mana waspletely exhausted when faced with the explosion. The fact that she still had injuries meant that Sophie¡¯s warning had saved her life.

    Clearly Astrid¡¯s mana had been circting through her injuries to aid with the healing process but that would have put her in aa as her mana was constantly being drained.

    ¡°Sophie, where are you?!¡± Astrid hurriedly called out.

    She was inside of a small cave that was surprisingly cozy with a small fire that was still burning with left over pieces of dried wood.

    Two grass beds were inside of the cave as well as enough supplies and weapons to sufficiently arm a squad of ten cultivators.

    Astrid sniffed the air a few times and determined that Sophie¡¯s scent hung around the items in the cave, so it was obviously her base.

    Shey back down on the grass bed and turned around to look at the entrance of the cave with the expression of a lost puppy.

    (Two hourster)

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally awake!¡± Sophie noticed the wolf girl staring intently at her when she arrived with some fresh meat from hunting.

    Thump! Thump!

    Astrid¡¯s tail wagged furiously as it stirred up dust on the cave floor. Sophie just smiled and walked towards her friend to check her injuries.

    She unwrapped all of the bandages before washing the wounds with warm water and reapplying fresh bandages taken from the squads defeated by her.

    It had been almost three weeks since the encounter with the triple headed elemental snake and the closing of the area had begun.

    Every day from today the avable area the candidates could upy would be drastically shrunk until only a stretch of five kilometers remained.

    Astrid had remained motionless during this time and if it were not for the fact that the barrier device did not activate, Sophie would swear that the girl was dying.

    She knew precious little about mana and magic in general, so Sophie all could do was just make sure to spoon-feed her friend fresh vegetable soup and clean the wounds regrly.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Sophie asked with concern.

    ¡°Is the exam nearly over?¡± Astrid replied with a question of her own.

    ¡°Yeah you¡¯ve been asleep for a long time. There are only five days left,¡± Sophie spoke in a solemn tone.

    Astrid¡¯s tail stopped wagging as she hung her head in frustration before giving out a sad whisper,

    ¡°I will probably need three days to fully recover now that I can cast healing spells rather than just have my mana unconsciously healing me.¡±

    Sophie frowned slightly as this was certainly bad news. There were only five days left in the entrance exam and the candidates were now fully engaging in fights with one another.

    Only twenty thousand participants were left from the initial million, but this still meant that there would be a significant amount of culling done over the next few days.

    Ex T-980 had terraforming devices imnted under its surface to create mountain ranges that would form the barrier to slowly push the students closer starting from today.

    Already twenty percent of the zone was gone, and it was fortunate that Astrid and Sophie¡¯s hideout was inside the remaining area.

    But who could say what area would be restricted next¡­.

    Sophie was confident in her chances of survival, but she would need to spend three of the remaining five days protecting herself and Astrid from other squads.

    Astrid could read Sophie¡¯s contemtive expression and whined softly before moving her hand towards the barrier device to activate it.

    She did not want to burden her new friend with the extra baggage as the exam intensified.

    It was a hard decision to make but Astrid was determined to make sure that Sophie could qualify for one of the four universities.

    ¡°Stop that!¡± Sophie saw Astrid¡¯s movements out of the corner of her eyes and lunged towards her friend to swiftly grab her hand.

    ¡°Now what the hell were you thinking?¡± Sophie scolded the Mendolesa girl fiercely who just hung her head and listened quietly.

    ¡°I¡­I didn¡¯t want to destroy your chances of passing the exam,¡± Astrid exined.

    Sophie did not see herself as a hero of justice or the protector of the innocent. Had it been someone else who had been injured then she would not have spared them a second nce.

    Years of being shunned and rejected by her fellow peers had caused Sophie¡¯s heart to be indifferent to the affairs of others.

    But the exception was to those she considered her friends and family.

    It is often said that children pick up their habits from their parents and the warmth that Sophie¡¯s father showed her formed a mantra in her heart.

    She would never abandon the ones she cared about.

    ¡°Look Astrid,¡± Sophie knelt down and firmly wrapped her hand around Astrid¡¯s paw before giving it a small squeeze.

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m so weak that I can¡¯t protect you?¡±

    Astrid shook her head frantically in the negative and seemed worried that her actions might have offended Sophie.

    ¡°I won¡¯t give up on you¡­.so don¡¯t you dare give up on yourself!¡± Sophie confidently dered.

    Astrid raised her head and took a deep look at the hybrid girl who seemed to be surrounded by an aura that made her fearful and feel protected at the same time.

    Yearster Astrid would recall that this was the exact moment when she became lifelong sisters with Sophie.

    The sweet moment between the pair was interrupted by the beeping noiseing from their barrier devices.

    A holographic map projected from their device and showed the area left in site 13. There was a red zone which was slowly advancing on all sides to form a smaller and smaller circle.

    Numerous green dots appeared on the holographic map which showed the distance and location of all the eliminated participants.

    The examiners had drastically increased the difficulty of this year¡¯s entrance exam and it seemed that those eager to hunt others would have their positions exposed.

    Sophie noticed that several groups of green dots were clustered near their location.

    It appeared someone or even multiple people were hunting down survivors in their area.

    She then took a peek at the notification that was shing on the corner of the screen.

    [Warning! Warning!]

    [Participants are inside a future restriction zone]

    [22 Hours until terraforming begins¡­]

 Chapter 81: House Abazin

    Chapter 81: House Abazin

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± a pained shout echoed through the forest as yet another student was eliminated by Sophie.

    She ducked and weaved through the focused fire of the enemies on her left side before retaliating by flinging out clumps of dirt to blind their eyesight.

    ¡°Frostborn Gauntlet!¡± Sophie roared as her hands turned an icy blue colour before punching straight through the armour of two Mendolesa warriors blocking her path.

    She shot a Servie who was trying to cast a spell, but the quick-witted fairy creature zipped away before her attack couldnd.

    Sophie sighed in frustration but just continued to run frantically away from her pursuers while Astrid slept peacefully on her back.

    They say that misfortune does note alone and just as Sophie and Astrid were moving away from their hideout, several hunting squad surrounded their location.

    Worse still, there was a student with a tracking ability amongst them, but Sophie managed to eliminate him once she identified which one it was.

    Astrid casted a spell to transform the ground into mud during a critical moment but this mana expenditure seemed to be too much as she immediately fainted.

    Sophie was not one to miss opportunities and managed to eliminate an additional five members of the squad before fleeing into the dense jungle.

    These opponents would ordinarily not be her match in speed, but the added weight of Astrid was slowing her down.

    Moonlight de!

    A sense of danger was felt from behind her and Sophie trusted her instincts enough to promptly tilt her head to the side.

    This saved her life as a fierce wave of sword qi narrowly brushed against her cheek which caused a small line of blood to appear.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes begun to turn as red as the blood dripping down her cheek, but Sophie bit her tongue to snap herself out of this new state.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Sophie muttered as she halted her footsteps.

    In front of her was an enormous cliff with a height that seemed to soar to the heavens.

    There were no rocks or foot holds to climb up and it was obvious that climbing would put the duo in a vulnerable position.

    ¡°There they are!¡± came an excited cry.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as one student after another walked confidently towards them.

    With her back against the cliff, it would seem that she would need to fight off all the pursuers while trying to protect Astrid.

    Sophie tightened her grip on her ster pistol in her right hand and slowly reached into her left pocket to grab the other one.

    It was a real shame that most of her cultivation techniques were only usable with a whip and Sophie had been unlucky enough to not manage to find one among all the crates that she had looted.

    Just as she bent in knees in preparation for the fight ahead¡­. something unexpected happened.

    ¡°Where did they go?!¡± one of the hunters yelled.

    ¡°I swear they were just here!¡±

    The leading student who hadunched a fierce sword attack against Sophie was suddenly looking around as if she had lost sight of the pair right before her eyes.

    ¡°Check the surroundings, they can¡¯t have gone far!¡± another student reasoned.

    Sophie froze in shock as every single one of the students started to act as if Astrid and she did not exist.

    They were both in the open with no cover or trees blocking their figures from the enemy, but it was like their presence had been erased.

    Curses and arguments erupted amongst the students as each split up and headed into separate directions to search.

    Some even attempted to scale the cliff or feel around its surface in hopes of finding the hidden area that the duo was hiding in.

    Sophie did not let down her guard and walked cautiously away from the group but surprisingly enough¡­.no one followed them.

    The students did not seem to be under an illusion matrix and there seemed to be no vestiges of mental force used.

    Yet Sophie was unable to suppress her curiosity and her golden eyes darkened in colour as she shot one final look towards the group to search for any clues.

    Their pupils!

    Each student outwardly appeared normal but there seemed to be a tiny white fog swirling gently inside their eyes.

    Who would be able to manipte the sight of dozens of qi body cultivators? Even the qi spirit stage was not so powerful.

    Sophie was unsure whether or not her golden eyes would be able to handle this mysterious technique.

    The duo vanished into the forest while the students who were hunting them had a big argument about continuing the pursuit or to look for new targets.

    No one noticed a ck-haired girl with sses silently walking through the crowd and gazing at the direction Sophie just left in.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (30 minutester)

    Astrid was still snoring loudly, but Sophie did not rx her vignt state until they arrived at the shore of ake with no people that she could sense nearby.

    She checked the holographic map on the device and let out a deep sigh of relief. No eliminations had taken ce in this area.

    ¡°You owe me for this,¡± came a whisper from behind Sophie¡¯s back.

    Sophie turned around with a pistol ready to fire but halted her movements abruptly when she saw Qianazily rxing on the ground.

    ¡°What happened to wolf girl over there?¡± Qiana asked nonchntly but Sophie could see a trace of concern in her eyes.

    ¡°Astrid got injured but it¡¯s not enough to activate the barrier device. In about two days time she should be fully healed once the spell works,¡± Sophie exined.

    Qiana frowned and ced her thumb on a ring which caused arge amount of supplies to suddenly appear.

    There were nutrient vials, a whole arsenal of weapons, tents, and various parchments. It appeared that Qiana had managed to grab herself a spatial treasure during the exam.

    She rummaged around the crates until she found a needle filled with a purplish solution. Sophie recognised it as a high-quality gene stimting drug capable of speeding up the healing process.

    Astrid groaned in pain when the drug was injected into her body, but Sophie could see the flesh wriggling around the open wounds as they began to rapidly heal.

    Qiana had never joined in one of the spars so Sophie had no knowledge of her cultivation level or realm but it obvious now that this in looking girl was very dangerous.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you until the exams finish,¡± Qiana dered and then reached for some tents to get them set up.

    Her collection of loot from other students may seem impressive but Qiana was not about to im that she was guaranteed to survive until the final day.

    It would be better to group up allies that she could trust.

    Well¡­. rtively trust. Qiana never fully trusted anyone.

    House Abazin had passed on the family techniques to her, but they were not as powerful as Sophie had assumed. Her family mainly used these techniques for escaping dangerous situations.

    The technique required her full concentration to utilise so it would be impossible to either attack or defend with qi without breaking the technique.

    Many assumed that the technique was illusion or hypnosis in nature but that would be wrong.

    Her technique relied on electrical maniption.

    Qiana was able to modify the electric signals sent to the brain by the nerves in the sensory organs of the body to create a false image in her enemies¡¯ minds.

    The art was called Lightning Transmission and it only worked on individuals with an electrical nervous system so the liquid- form Quafes were immune.

    ¡°Hey Qiana,¡± Sophie suddenly spoke while Qiana was busy setting up the tents.

    ¡°What?¡± came an irritated reply.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Qiana said nothing and continued to build the portable tents but a faint reddish tinge could be seen creeping up the tips of her ears.

 Chapter 82: Sophie And The Spellcasters

    Chapter 82: Sophie And The Spellcasters

    Shortly after the tents were set up, Qiana vanished into the nearby woods and only came back several hourster when the sun had just set.

    She casually dropped off some more supplies at Sophie¡¯s feet before entering one of the tents and retiring for the night.

    Qiana had already mapped out the surrounding area and managed to loot the pockets of quite a few squads that ventured too close to their base.

    Sophie gently moved Astrid into one of the remaining tents and ced a warm nket over her body. The Mendolesa girl whimpered softly but continued to sleep on as if nothing could wake her up.

    Sophie assumed that she would be on the first watch for the night, so she climbed up a tree to get a better image of any approaching enemies.

    The darkness of night was no problem as her golden eyes saw images as clear as day. It was oddly rxing to hear the sounds of wind passing by and the rustling of small animals.

    Ex T-980 had two lunar moons that hung eerily in the night sky and theck of pollution made all the stars clearly visible.

    Looking up in the night sky, Sophie was struck by the passing thought of how tiny and insignificant she was in the grand scale of the universe.

    If you had told her only a few months ago that she would bepeting in the four great universities entrance exam¡­. she would have justughed in disbelief.

    How could such a talentless cultivator possibly be qualified?

    Sophie still felt a small sense of loss when she reminisced about the period of time when Sui Meng was in control of her body.

    The earth-born transmigrator had not been destroyed but the two personalities had perfectly fused, so she was truly alone in her mind now.

    Howls and cries of battle could be heard in the distance between the different squads of students and even between the beasts on the ex.

    Just because it was night did not mean that the fighting would stop, rather certain squads took advantage of the cover of darkness to perform daring raids.

    Suddenly Sophie¡¯s pointed ears twitched in a certain direction and she quickly turned around to take a look.

    ¡°Damn it! When I find that thief, I will rip his fucking throat out!¡±

    ¡°Did anyone see who did it? Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to search¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice¡­. without food we have no chance.¡±

    It appeared to be one of the hunting teams that Qiana had robbed as they kept cursing and keeping an eye out for someone.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed as she zoomed in to make out their figures in more detail. It was a team consisting of ten Servies who were zipping around with furious expressions.

    The squad was only five hundred meters away, so Sophie just took a mental note of their position and silently drew out the ster pistol on her hip.

    She knocked on Qiana¡¯s tent p and exined the situation quickly and then left before the drowsy girl had time toin.

    Lookouts were always supposed to remain at their post so Sophie could only apologise to Qiana in her heart as she had to wake up the irritated girl to rece her on duty.

    Qiana was not pleased but Sophie had been keeping watch for awhile, so she reluctantly took her position as lookout.

    Wait a moment¡­.

    Sophie walked past the supplies Qiana had dropped off this afternoon and a unique device caught her attention.

    There was a small metallic cylinder that could fit in her palm with a red button ced on the side of its shell and a slit at the top.

    Sophie cautiously pressed the button and a long carbon fibre rope burst out of slit as the device turned out to be a whip.

    Sophie gazed at the weapon in her hand before a dreadful smile crept up the corners of her mouth.

    Her eyes shifted automatically from their golden hue to a more reddish tinge.

    Kill¡­. Kill¡­. KILL.

    It was hunting time.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Azore Fernwink was the daughter of a highly respected Archmage and had an impressive affinity to magic.

    Some even praised her as a future pir of the Earth Federation and she had long broken into the qi spirit stage.

    She managed to assemble a group of talented peers during thepetition and had wiped out several teams of various races.

    Azore disdained foreign races who attempted to learn magic and her father¡¯s warning that a Mendolesa warrior in testing site 13 was a great talent was immediately dismissed by her as an over exaggeration.

    How could those muscle-headed brutes possibly have the intelligence to derive spell nodes and cast spells.

    Magic was in the blood of the Servies people and only they had the right to explore the nature of mana.

    Everything was going smoothly, and her team was in a good position for thest days of thepetition until a mysterious event urred several hours ago.

    Someone had managed to bypass every single rm and ward ced around their resting spot and stole all of their supplies.

    What was the most frightening aspect of the robbery was that everyone was alert and vignt, but none even realised what had happened until all their supplies had vanished.

    They were not technically helpless as spell casting did not rely on the use of external weapons, but all their nutrient vials and tents were gone.

    Morale amongst the squad was low which lead Azore to attempt to lighten the mood by bringing up the Mendolesa girl to mock.

    ¡°Hey, did you all hear the rumors?¡± she whispered.

    ¡°What rumors,¡± one of her team members replied.

    ¡°Apparently a Mendolesa girl is trying to be a mage! Can you image a big hulking brute trying to manipte mana?!¡± Azore joked.

    ¡°Hahaha! Oh, by the goddess that is a funny image,¡± a Servie named Flix burst into giggles.

    ¡°Can those beasts even read??¡±

    Laughter erupted and the team¡¯s mood was instantly uplifted when a panicked shout came from their scout up ahead.

    ¡°Someone has just triggered our wards!¡± a frantic cry was shouted out.

    He attempted to fly back when a dark shadow grabbed his arm and the Servie was dragged into the bushes and an agonising scream of pain soon followed.

    ¡°Everyone stay calm and be vignt,¡± Azoremanded as she cautious took a step forward.

    She waved her hands around in a strange pattern as the runes on her arms lit up with the magical flow of mana.

    ¡°Lux sursum hoc loco!¡±

    Bright light flooded the area and caused the Servies to squint involuntarily but no attacker could be found.

    Sophie was pissed off.

    Really pissed off.

    She had heard the mockingughter that flowed from these stuck-up little pieces of shit when talking about Astrid.

    Her rage seemed to be reflected in her eyes as the reddish hue darkened significantly.

    Each member of the Servies team was looking left and right to spot her image but none guessed that she was above them in the trees.

    Dark Waves Consume All!

    Sophie flicked out her whip asyers uponyers of ck shadows formed into a tidal wave of deadly qi energy.

    Bang!

    The waves crashed into two of the Servies which caused them to be flung backwards while bleeding profusely.

    Three down¡­.

    Sophie had crushed their rib cages, so it was not long before the barrier device activated, and they were teleported back to the transport ship.

    ¡°Vites restringere eam,¡± Azore chanted out another spell and vines erupted from the ground where Sophie had justnded.

    They pierced nothing as Sophie had already dashed to another location. She stared down the Servie in the front of the team as a few thoughts shed across her mind.

    (You¡¯re wrong.)

    ¡°cies perforabit!¡± a frost mage called Raine shouted as ice shards appeared and shot towards Sophie¡¯s blurry figure.

    They all passed by harmlessly as Sophie ducked and weaved between the slow-moving projectiles.

    (Astrid can cast spells faster than you all can.)

    ck Viper Art!

    The snake- like creature formed from her whip swallowed three more members of the squad and they were instantly eliminated.

    ¡°What are you? A monster?!¡± one of the male Servies shrieked.

    I am.

 Chapter 83: Losing Control

    Chapter 83: Losing Control

    Hourster Sophie returned to the base camp and immediately went inside one of the tents.

    Qiana nced at her figure as she passed by but soon wrinkled her nose in disgust at the unpleasant smell.

    Sophie reeked of blood.

    The battle had ended quickly once Sophie whittled down the squad¡¯s numbers one by one until Azore was the only survivor left.

    Worthy of being a magical prodigy, the battle would have taken much longer to finish had Sophie not been ustomed to battling mages from all the spars she had with Astrid.

    Sophiey inside the sleeping bag, but an unpleasant feeling rolled around in her stomach and she desperately fought the urge to throw up.

    Her hands were shaking as she recalled almost losing control once the fight ended.

    (shback)

    Azore¡¯s golden barrier was activated but Sophie¡¯s spider appendages pierced through the golden foam and shot straight for the Servie¡¯s heart.

    It was almost like¡­. the fight could only end in death.

    No¡­ no¡­ I¡­. I can¡¯t let prey escape¡­

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Azore cried out in fear as she saw the hybrid girl¡¯s appendages break the barrier created from the device.

    This should be impossible! The barrier was designed to resist all attacks from cultivators under the qi tide stage.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes werepletely bloodshot and the only singr thought in her mind was to eliminate the target.

    Stop.

    STOP THIS.

    Sophie managed to wrestle control at thest moment and shifted the trajectory of the appendages to hit non vital areas of the girl¡¯s body.

    She still remembered the look of fear and horror on Azore¡¯s face as the girl nearly died due to her actions.

    What was happening to her?

    Were these urges a result of her cultivation method or from her mother¡¯s race?

    The rest of the trip back to the camp base was a blur as Sophie¡¯s eyes constantly flickered between a reddish and golden hue.

    All she wanted now was to sleep as a wave of exhaustion swept through her body causing her to walk unsteadily.

    Restless thoughts gued Sophie¡¯s mind as shey in bed for a few minutes before drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

    Her dream that night showed the shadowy figure of a beautiful Arachne stroking her hair lovingly while singing a peaceful song.

    Thenguage was unknown, but the meaning could be felt without understanding the lyrics.

    ¡°Fey my daughter¡¯s ene¡±

    ¡°a am a hero¡±

    ¡°a am belda ae esto¡±

    ¡°ae a arktanye ni gaia em the hecurta is in va nesi¨C she was hapria va rescue a a nesi¨C char a want va be¡±

    ¡°fey my daughter¡¯s ene¡±

    Sophie was unable to see the details of the mysterious woman but felt a deep bond of connection even stronger than the one felt in the presence of her aunt.

    By the morning time¡­. Sophie could no longer remember the contents of that dream, but a warm feeling of love had chased away her dark mood from the previous day.

    (Insectoid Empire- Exile Zone ¨C Prison Area 789)

    Princess Thai¡¯lle opened her eyes and instinctively raised her hand to touch the star amulet around her neck but grasped nothing but air.

    Old habits died hard and it would be a lie to say that she did not miss the essory that apanied most of her cultivation journey.

    She would need to break into the Ascension Stage before being able to project her consciousness into her direct blood rtives¡¯ minds.

    At the peak of god stage, it was already quite impressive to be able to send her emotions across to her daughter.

    The only problem was that Thai¡¯lle had no idea how her emotions would manifest in her daughter¡¯s dreams.

    Well it was no use worrying about things she could not control.

    ¡°Alright time to cultivate!¡± Thai¡¯lle muttered and started to circte qi around her body at a breathtaking pace.

    She never stopped training in this harsh environment as the thought of reuniting with her lover and daughter was all the motivation that she needed.

    Five years to break out of the prison zone was way too long¡­¡­maybe it was time that the exiled princess of the Arachne tribe reminded her race why she used to be feared.

 Chapter 84: Final Day - Part 1

    Chapter 84: Final Day ¨C Part 1

    (Entrance Exam ¨C Site 013 ¨C Final Day)

    [ Attention candidates!]

    Sophie snapped to attention as the booming mechanical voice sounded out from an unknown location.

    [ We are now entering the final 24 hours of the exam]

    [ The zone will be heavily restricted in 5¡­. 4¡­.3¡­.]

    ¡°Are you guys ready?¡± Sophie turned to herpanions and shot them a fiery gaze of determination.

    ¡°Let¡¯s kick some ass!¡± Astrid growled as magical runes lit up her arms in a frighteningly glow.

    Qiana just looked at the two of them before sighing heavily and giving a short nod of acknowledgement.

    Astrid had fully healed thanks to thebined efforts of her regenerative spell and Qiana¡¯s medicine.

    When she woke up and found out about Qiana¡¯s assistance¡­.

    ¡­. well¡­ poor Qiana became covered in happy licks shortly after.

    Sophie was confident in the trio¡¯s abilities but now was not the time to get arrogant. All those students who survived to this stage were by no means easy opponents.

    The final stage of the entrance exam had the least number of participants, but the fighting would be the most brutal.

    No one would be holding back.

    The trio¡¯s barrier devices bleeped, and the holographic map showed that the mechanical barriers were advancing slowly towards their location.

    There was the vague sounds of fighting up ahead and their team passed by several squads engaged in deadlybat.

    Qiana¡¯s special technique proved to be a godsend as none of the students noticed them as they walked by.

    The only weakness of this move was that Qiana could only maintain this ability in short bursts of time when covering people other than herself.

    ¡°Archangel Descent!¡± came a cry from the distance.

    Sophie¡¯s ears perked up as she stared ahead at the familiar glow of holy light that was surrounding the figure of Rachel.

    Rachel was fighting alone against two groups of students and one of her opponents was also covered in holy light not weaker than her own.

    ng!!

    Rachel was fighting evenly with the mysterious student when an unexpected sneak attack hit her from the left side causing her to sustain a heavy blow.

    She was flung in the opposite direction of the attack and crashed into the ground with a heavy thud.

    Quafes did not have a circtory system so Rachel did not spit out any blood but the small grimace of pain on her face indicated that her injuries were not light.

    ¡°We need to help her!¡± Astrid sniffed the air twice before darting forward.

    Sophie activated her movement speed ability as her eyes started to flicker between gold and red.

    No one.

    NO ONE TOUCHED HER FRIENDS.

    Sophie¡¯s expression of bloodlust was noticed by Qiana who said nothing, but a trace of concern surfaced in her eyes.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Transport Ship 013 ¨C Surveince Room)

    Tense expressions were shown on the faces of the exam administrators as they carefully reviewed the real time footage to look for an unexpected issues that could crop up.

    A mistake had already been made with one of the treasure areas indicated on the parchments found in the loot crates.

    The triple-headed elemental snake was supposed to have been in the initial stage qi spirit but somehow a higher-level creature was ced instead.

    It was fortunate that none of the important candidates had died during the fight or their lives could have been forfeit.

    Five thousand students remained from the initial one million and the zone had now made ess to ny two percent of the ex¡¯s surface impossible to enter due to the mechanical barriers activated.

    Private betting and gambling among the staff wasmonce as each administrator had a couple students that were their favourite.

    Of course, their opinions did not matter as the final offer would be in the hands of the recruiters.

    Each of the final one thousand students would be given an offer but noteworthy individuals who were eliminated early could still gain the attention of the universities.

    Darren scowled as he cross referenced the list of noble candidates with the students remaining in thepetition.

    This year was full of impressive geniuses and several children of noble houses had been eliminated early.

    Having a high cultivation was not always the predictor of sess in a fight and students not used to realbat could lose to those with more experience.

    As University would still give those noble houses some face and offer their children ces in the side branches, but those spots were limited.

    Commoners who deserved a ce would be left out to amodate.

    The other two recruiters from Tantibus and Mer University were also pulling up holographic video feeds to analysis the battle reports of certain students.

    Adriana Greenhorn from Mer University kept reying a battle where several students she had her eye on were decimated by an unknown hybrid girl.

    Darren had nced at her feed and the image of Sophie caused his slight headache to only worsen.

    As University was biased towards noble children but hybrid offsprings who were always illegitimate were the exception to the rule.

    The daughter of Duke Peterlor was a special case as she was the actual heir to his titles and thus considered a high noble.

    Arguments erupted between the higher ups at the university over whether or not to include her on the shortlist for entry and neither side could reach a conclusion.

    Unfortunately, this meant that this hot potato had fallen in Darren¡¯sp and he had to make a decision that could offend one group of higher ups.

    Darren spent a few days agonising over the matter before putting it aside and praying that the girl would just get eliminated early.

    ¡­. his wish did note true.

    Instead the hybrid girl seemed more and more likely to make the final cut which meant that a decision had to be made.

    He was almost jealous of the Mendolesa recruiter who was just leaning back on his chair casually with his eyes seemingly closed.

    Zrudread University was by far the most rxed when it came to a student¡¯s background as all that mattered to those brutes was strength.

    This attitude was reflected amongst the wider Mendolesa society where there was no concept of nobles ormoners.

    Instead the great divide was between the strong and the weak.

    What Darren did not realise was that the Mendolesa recruiter had his eyes narrowed into slits and was gazing at the hologram feed of one particr student with great interest.

 Chapter 85: Final Day- Part 2

    Chapter 85: Final Day- Part 2

    Rachel gritted her teeth in pain as she stood up with fury burning in her eyes. Her opponent was another saint candidate who had contracted with the Archangel Gabriel.

    The girl¡¯s name was Selena and she belonged to a different faction within the Nephilim Church, so the rivalry between the two was not small.

    Selena had the bearing of a holy maiden with a lithe figure and gorgeous blond hair that flowed gently down her back.

    Her eyes gleamed with holiness and purity that made one unable to look away.

    Rachel was confident in beating Selena in a one on one duel, but the presence of other students was disrupting her concentration as she had to be constantly on guard against sneak attacks.

    Each saint candidate was temporarily contracted with an archangel or demon for a period of two hundred years.

    The church would then hold an internalpetition called ¡®Veniza¡¯ to carefully select no more than three individuals to be permanent hosts of the deities.

    This was the highest honour in the church and the individuals selected would be the core leaders in the future.

    The entire power dynamics of the different factions could shift with eachpetition as the number of saints in a faction would change the bnce of power.

    Holy Sword Arts¡­.

    Second form ¨C Illuminating ze!

    Rachel¡¯s sword ignited in an eye catching purplish ck me which swept towards Selena and the rest of her team.

    ¡°Dodge quickly!¡± Selena leapt backwards and avoided the fire sessfully but others in her team were not as fortunate.

    Agonizing screams burst out of the students caught in the ze as their barrier devices activated to send them back to the ship.

    The purplish ck me seemed be almost alive as it attacked the students in odd angles to hit their bodies.

    What was terrifying was that the fire did not seem to stop burning once it struck the students no matter what technique they used.

    Beads of sweat ran down Rachel¡¯s brows as this ability consumed a significant amount of her qi reserves.

    ¡°Is that all you got changeling?¡± Selena mocked as she activated her angelic wings to soar into the sky.

    Rachel narrowed her eyes in fury at the insult and continued to direct the me in Selena¡¯s direction.

    Changeling was an offensive term used to describe the Quafes as nothing more than substitute humans.

    A poor man¡¯s version and never being able to match the original.

    Selena flew confidently in the air and avoided the purple fire chasing her figure whileughing joyfully.

    ¡°My turn,¡± she spoke in a sing- song voice.

    Holy Sword Arts¡­

    Fifth form ¨C God¡¯s judgement!

    Selena¡¯s sword became coated in qi energy until the weapon transformed into a massive beam of sword light that shone towards the heavens.

    Even the members of Selena¡¯s team backed away slowly to avoid being hit by the shockwaves from the attack.

    This was the moment!

    Selena could feel the raw power of the Lord flowing through her body and enhancing her attack.

    She was one of God¡¯s chosen and being able to eliminate a fellow saint candidate would surely grant her favour among the higher ups in the church.

    The massive beam of sword light grew bigger and bigger as more qi energy flowed from Selena¡¯s dantian into the weapon.

    Rachel was not beingcent and started to mutter an ancientnguage as a white barrier formed around her body.

    This was the strongest defensive technique that she knew, and it would consume all the remaining qi in her body.

    Sword versus shield.

    An unstoppable force versus an immovable object.

    Whoever won would decided the fate of the other.

    Just as the tension between the two had reached its peak¡­. a loud but familiar howl could be heard.

    ¡°Get away from Rachel you flying chicken!¡± Astrid yelled in fury.

    Under the dumbfounded eyes of the spectating students, a Mendolesa girl burst out from the nearby forest and darted towards the twobatants.

    Many watched in amazement as there was no doubt in their minds that this girl would have to be an idiot.

    Did she not see the enormous force of the attack?

    Selena was shocked at the unexpected interruption, but it would have no impact on the oue of the fight.

    Her attack had been fully charged and there was nothing that the Mendolesa girl could do to stop it.

    Coming over would just make one elimination turn into two.

    Selena gave acent smile and swung her sword towards Rachel¡¯s location with a wave of unstoppable qi energy behind it.

    What poor Selena failed to realise was that this Mendolesa girl was not merely a brute and one could never underestimate the power of a magic caster.

    ¡°Spatii perturbation!¡± Astrid chanted.

    A loud crack was heard, and all the spectators were astonished to see Selena vanish as if she had never been there.

    Selena¡¯s pir of sword light had also disappeared with her and Rachel was left on the ground staring at Astrid with great puzzlement in her eyes.

    ¡°What¡­what happened to her?¡± Rachel asked in confusion.

    Astrid leapt confidently to her side and grinned with a devilish smirk.

    ¡°Simple teleportation spell to send her to a random location within a twenty-mile radius,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Am I impressive? Make sure to praise me!¡±

    Teleportation spells were quite tricky to pull off as they were cast towards specific coordinates rather than directed towards the person.

    It was a testament to Astrid¡¯s skills that she could urately predict Selena¡¯s movements to seed in casting the spell.

    Rachel gazed at the Mendolesa girl who was now proudly wagging her tail and striking several poses.

    She resisted the urge tough and just gave Astrid¡¯s head a few pats.

    Of course, Astrid did not mention that she had modified the spell to seek out a body of water, so it was very likely that Rachel¡¯s opponent was now at the bottom of a river orke.

    The other students of Selena¡¯s team still had not gotten over the series of events when they were violently struck by a series of ster shots that targeted their vital areas.

    Sophie had followed closely between Astrid and had hidden herself in the treetops to eliminate the remaining students once Astrid seeded in interfering in the duel.

    Qiana was also nearby in case something unexpected happened but luckily, she did not have to step in.

 Chapter 86: Fresh Meat

    Chapter 86: Fresh Meat

    ¡°You guys are all here!¡± Rachel noticed Sophie in the distance and gave an enthusiastic wave.

    Qiana¡¯s figure also appeared in the middle of the clearing as the quiet girl just hummed slightly in reply.

    The four roommates had reunited, and Rachel hurriedly took them towards her small hut that she had been using for thest couple of weeks.

    They exchanged stories along the way and Rachel was astonished when she heard about the fearsome triple headed elemental snake.

    Sophie and Astrid had been battling squads, beasts and fleeing nonstop while she had just been fishing peacefully on theke.

    Rachel would not have even encountered Selena¡¯s squad if she had not wanted to scout out the surrounding area.

    Even now there were no other students close to her base, so the area was still rtively safe to rest.

    Sophie was immediately struck by how well constructed everything was.

    Rachel had made chairs, beds, and various other pieces of furniture from the trees nearby and the gap between her base and the ones that Sophie had constructed was quiterge.

    The location was very scenic, and the clear waters of theke actually made the hut seem like a vacation home.

    [ 10 hours left candidates]

    [ 3975 Students remain¡­. 3974 Students remain¡­]

    Sophie constantly checked the reports on the barrier device and found that students were still being eliminated but the pace had slowed down.

    Thepetition was only going to get fiercer and fiercer as the hours ticked down.

    Only ten hours remained, and it was impossible not to be a bit nervous.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here for long,¡± Qiana spoke up.

    ¡°This location may not have many students now but as the zone gets restricted, there are bound to be people who arrive at theke eventually.¡±

    ¡°Rachel¡¯s base is too exposed,¡± she exined.

    Qiana did make a point and the others frowned as they tried to n out their next moves. The decreasing number of students put a great amount of pressure on them.

    One wrong decision could make all the hard work of the previous weeks result in naught. Each person had different opinions over their next course of action.

    Astrid voted that they should seek out other squads and eliminate them to quickly drop the number of remaining students down to one thousand.

    Rachel and Qiana disagreed and wanted to find a new safe location to just wait out the rest of thepetition.

    They turned to Sophie who was still mulling over the matter. Astrid¡¯s idea was too risky because fighting constantly would quickly deplete their qi reserves which would lead into a dangerous situation.

    It should have been a straightforward decision to make but Sophie was torn between making the decision to hide and the blood lust bubbling beneath her skin.

    Eventuallymon sense prevailed, and Sophie decided to follow the lead of Qiana and Rachel.

    The trio began to discuss potential hideouts that could be camouged with trees or leaves while Astrid pouted in the background with a sulky expression.

    Qiana had a decent knowledge of concealment formations so she was designated as the head constructor of the base.

    Sophie did not know at the time, but their decision was nothing more than hopeless naivety.

    Would the exam administrators really allow students to just hide and wait for the exam time to run out?

    (Transport Ship 013- Monitoring Room)

    ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s just as we predicted,¡± an elderly examiner stood at the monitoring station with a barely concealed smirk.

    ¡°Several groups of students have stopped fighting and are now trying to conceal their presence from the otherpetitors.¡±

    The closer the time ticked down towards the end of thepetition meant that the candidates would no longer take any risks.

    Most would just bunker down and wait out the duration of the exam, so it was up to the administrators to prevent this urrence.

    Sometimes students needed a little¡­. well let¡¯s call it¡­. motivation¡­

    ¡°Release the trackers,¡± the elderly man ordered.

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± came the resounding reply from his subordinates.

    Mysterious cages were carried to the transporter and beamed directly down to the ex¡¯s surface.

    Each cage had several holes to let in fresh air and aggressive rattling could be heard faintly from the outside.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [ Attention Students!]

    [ Please check your barrier device and avoid hostile enemies]

    [ 9 hours and 57 minutes remain¡­ 9 hours and 56 minutes remain¡­]

    Beep! Beep!

    The barrier device emitted a ringing noise and the girls hurriedly opened up the holographic map function to see that the markings had changed from a green to red colour and shifted locations.

    There were clusters of these red dots at different areas at the outer part of the zone but more kept appearing every second.

    These red dots were rapidly spreading from the corners of the zone towards the center while travelling in groups of around ten.

    None of the girls were sure of what these dots symbolised but the warning from the mechanical announcement meant that they would soon be facing a new type of enemy.

    ¡°We need to move now!¡± Qiana gazed at the map and spoke decisively.

    The speed of the red dots was faster than expected and it would not be long until they reached theke shore.

    The group quickly packed up their gear and ran towards the opposite direction of the red dots which was deeper inside the zone.

    Sophie just had the terrible thought¡­.

    What if these creatures were herding them towards the central area?

    (Ex T-980 ¨C Unknown Location)

    Several cages appeared inside a forested area and the lock outside the box was slowly unlocked with a mechanical click.

    Noises of excitement was heard from inside one of the crates as a beast slithered outside and cautiously looked at its new surroundings.

    The beast was a pink and fleshy glob of mass in the shape of a worm with razor sharp spines poking out of its body.

    It was a low-level Insectoid race that was used primarily as a scout by their more intelligent Insectoid leaders.

    Their individual strength was not particrly impressive, but their main noteworthy trait was in their fearsome tracking and pack hunting abilities.

    More and more of these beasts slithered slowly out of their crates and joyfully rxed in their newfound freedom.

    One of the beasts sniffed the air a few times and caught the delicious scent of fooding from the distance.

    It opened its enormous maw filled with dangerous looking teeth and started to dig a hole to travel underground.

    Fresh meat!

 Chapter 87: The Fearsome Tarkkakans

    Chapter 87: The Fearsome Tarkkakans

    (Outer region of the zone)

    A group of students were sitting around and discussing the announcement sent by the exam administrators with different thoughts running through their minds.

    Some wanted to investigate the red dots on the map in case they were actually hidden opportunities while others were in favour of moving away from this mysterious force.

    The team leader was getting a headache over the matter and decided to let the decision be made by a vote between the members.

    There were twenty members in the squad, so the voting was a rather straightforward process.

    It was a shame that the discussion proved to be a fatal distraction as none seemed to notice that one red dot had begun to rapidly approach their location.

    Reeeeeeeee!!!

    A shrill cry of rage was heard from beneath a student¡¯s feet as an enormous beast burst out from the ground and chomped down on her legs.

    The girl shrieked out in horror as herpanions rushed to her aid while unleashing qi techniques and weapon strikes against the creature.

    But this low-level Insectoid beast seemed to take no damage as the pinkish fleshy blob just absorbed all the attacks.

    Blood spurted out of the girl¡¯s legs as the razor-sharp teeth of the creature pierced the flesh easily.

    She could not take the pain any longer and activated her barrier device to teleport herself back to the transport ship.

    The beast opened its maw to take a bigger bite but strangely enough its prey had somehow disappeared.

    Where had it gone? Was the food hiding?

    It was not very intelligent so it sniffed the air a few times but could not find where the delicious snack had gone.

    The team leader of the squad noticed that the beast was momentarily distracted and hurriedly issued a series ofmands.

    ¡°Fuck¡­we need to leave this area now and head further inside.¡±

    ¡°But sir what about our tents?¡± another member asked.

    ¡°Just leave the damn things and run!¡±

    To the leader¡¯s credit, it was a decisive move on his part to abandon all the supplies on the ground and immediately run but he inadvertently made a serious error in judgement.

    Members of this insectoid race¡­. were pack animals.

    One beast after another erupted from the ground and soon agonising scream could be heard from the terrified students.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Move! Move!¡± Qiana yelled as Sophie and the rest darted through the forest. They passed several other groups of students along the way but paid them no attention.

    Whatever those red dots were¡­. they moved faster than expected.

    What was strange was that the red dots seemed to be unaffected by obstacles in their path such as trees or cliffs and kept travelling in straight lines.

    Sophie reasoned that the only exnation was that this unknown force was travelling either below ground or flying in the skies above.

    ¡°How close are we from the center of the zone?¡± Rachel panted as beads of sweat rolled down the sides of her face.

    Qiana consulted the holographic map before making a rough estimate of about three hours.

    Travelling to the interior of the zone did increase some risks as there would be more confrontations with enemy candidates but the red dots getting closer and closer put a sense of urgency in their hearts.

    Archangel Descent!

    White wings filled with holy energy sprouted from Rachel¡¯s back as she flew above the treetops to scout the area ahead.

    ¡°Where is the nearest red dot?¡± she called out.

    ¡°There should be one around three kilometers to our right,¡± Sophie checked the map and replied.

    Rachel squinted her eyes to get a better view but could see no enemies in sight.

    Meanwhile Astrid at the front of the pack with her powerful hindlegs makingrge jumps that covered a great distance with every leap.

    She turned her head around and noticed that Qiana had a tired expression on her face as stealth techniques did not also grant her a great amount of stamina.

    ¡°You¡­. what the heck are you doing?!¡± Qiana stammered as Astrid suddenly stopped and approached her.

    The Mendolesa girl scooped Qiana up in a princess carry and ran with the now blushing girl in her arms.

    ¡°Put me down right now you stupid mutt!¡±

    Sophie cracked a small smile at the actions of the duo but then immediately perked her ears up to listen for any movement in their surroundings.

    She had no way of knowing but already the surviving members of the entrance exam had drastically dwindled to around two thousand.

    Scouting type Insectoids were nothing more than simple cannon fodder in Interster wars and one expert could eliminate their entire presence from a battlefield.

    But for students in the qi body and spirit stage, they presented a tough challenge to ovee.

    ¡°Stop right there!¡± came a fierce voice.

    Sophie snapped out of her thoughts and realised that a group of seven students had surrounded Astrid and Qiana.

    Astrid was eager to fight and had already activated the mana inside her body which caused a heavy pressure that was emitted from her runes.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± Sophie muttered to herself. She yelled out an order to Astrid when she saw the Mendolesa girl stopping her movements to fight.

    ¡°Astrid you go on ahead with Qiana and Rachel. I¡¯ll take care of these guys.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± came a reply with a touch of disappointment.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes in displeasure at Astrid¡¯s reluctance and the wolf girl soon got the message and just bent her knees and leapt out of the ambush.

    Rachel flew by overhead while shooting the Sophie a look that signaled her to hurry up and finish the battle.

    The other students had attempted to follow Astrid, but Sophie soon arrived at their location and activated her carbon fibre whip.

    The long and thin weapon coiled dangerous around Sophie¡¯s hands as she carefully circted her qi to use one of her more powerful cultivation techniques.

    ck Waves Consume All!

    The whip in Sophie¡¯s hand started to move in a strange pattern as she jumped into the air andshed out towards her would-be attackers.

    Waves of dark qi energy smashed into their bodies and the force of the attack caused the barrier devices to instantly activate.

    Sophiended gracefully on the ground and approached the weapons that were now scattered about

    One of them caught her eye which was a collection of vials with the symbol for poison printed on the side.

    She nned to just grab it quickly and then run to catch up with the rest of her teammates.

    Reeeeeeeeeee!!!!

    What could only be described as the cross between a pig squealing and a shrieking cry of a child was heard from below Sophie¡¯s feet.

    Sophie¡¯s quick reflexes saved her life as she leapt backwards as the creature¡¯s jaws snapped at the ce she had been before.

    The beast was one that she had never encountered so far in the examination and yet it seemed oddly familiar¡­.

    Sophie quickly shifted through the memory inheritance her aunt had given her and a particrly nasty species crossed her mind.

    Tarkkakans!

 Chapter 88: The Scent Of An Impure

    Chapter 88: The Scent Of An Impure

    Reeeeeeeeee!!

    The Tarkkankan continued to squeal loudly as its fleshy body squirmed on the ground. Sophie backed several steps away while keeping a careful eye on the monster.

    There was something unnerving and yet familiar about this Insectoid race that cause Sophie to just observe carefully instead of attacking.

    She quickly sorted out the information about this species from the inheritance given by her aunt and a contemtive expression surfaced on her face.

    Tarkkakans were bred specifically for scouting and even sometimes as a delicacy for high level Insectoid races.

    Their impressive tunnelling abilities allowed them to cross great distances within a short period of time.

    They tracked down prey using a sensory antenna located at the top of their head to detect movement on the surface.

    Poor vision and a bulky figure made them easy to outmanoeuvre once they emerged from the underground.

    Reeeeeeee??

    The Tarkkankan swung its head in Sophie¡¯s direction but made no attempts to close the distance between them.

    Sophie inched closer and the creature started to crawl in the opposite direction while its flesh jiggled.

    It seemed almost¡­. scared¡­

    Sophie was not too far off the mark with that train of thought as Tarkkakans were sensitive to the presence of higher-level Insectoid races.

    Sophie¡¯s scent was giving the beast a sense of bloodline suppression.

    But the scent smelled¡­.

    Impure.

    Reeeeeeee!!!

    Struck by an unexpected increase in confidence, the beast suddenly squealed and pounced towards Sophie with an unexpectedly fast burst of speed.

    Its jaws opened wide and the razor-sharp teeth hidden in its maw glistened sharply in the sunlight.

    Stab!

    If Tarkkakans could make facial expressions, then this poor creature¡¯s face would be one of horror.

    Two of Sophie¡¯s spider appendages extended outwards and pierced through the impressive defense of the creature as if it were no more than paper and urately prated its heart.

    Sophie was not even conscious of the action as she nned on activating her movement technique and escaping.

    Her spider appendages withdrew from the creature¡¯s body as the Tarkkankan copsed unwillingly to the ground.

    Sophie flicked her appendages a few times to get the greenish yellow blood off her limbs but saw that the still-beating heart was attached to one.

    Hungry¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes immediately shifted to red as an overwhelming craving for the organ engulfed her rational mind.

    She wrapped her hand around the heart and carefully brought it to her mouth.

    What she did next caused several observing exam administrators to throw up as the hybrid girl ced the whole heart in her mouth and swallowed it with relish.

    It was actually¡­¡­ pretty tasty!

    If Sophie had to describe the vour, then she would say it was an odd mix between pork and beef but with an almost gooey texture.

    Suddenly Sophie felt a pleasant burst of energy flowing into her dantian as the Spider Whisper Art started to circte automatically.

    Crack!

    Several meridians in Sophie¡¯s body began to widen as the qi strands flowed at a much faster rate than before.

    The power swelled until Sophie could sense that she had broken into the third stage of the qi spirit realm.

    Sophie closed her eyes and groaned softly in pleasure as thefortable feeling gradually disappeared.

    Flexing her hands, she could tell that something had changed in her body.

    The Spider Whisper Art certainly had secrets and Sophie vaguely felt that she had not evene close to realizing its full potential.

    Sophie shook her head to snap herself out of the daze and started to head towards Astrid and the rest.

    The Tarkkakans were clearly tracking down students based on their ground movements so staying still or flying would allow them to avoid detection.

    It sounded like a simple solution but very few candidates would recognise the beasts much less know to stay still.

    But something was still bugging her¡­. aren¡¯t Tarkkakans pack animals?

    Only one had surfaced so where had the rest gone?

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Sophie shouted in realization as she dashed frantically towards her roommates.

    If the Tarkkakans were not targeting her then their potential victims would be Astrid and the rest of the group!

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie rapidly consumed the newly formed qi in her dantian and moved quickly before it was toote.

    She managed to find the trio after ten minutes of running and saw that Astrid was curiously poking a dead Tarkkankan with a stick that she had found on the ground while Rachel flew in the air and was scouting out the surrounding area.

    The corpse of the beast was badly mutted by mes which indicated that it had suffered a gruesome death in the hands of Astrid¡¯s fire spells.

    Qiana had moved from inside Astrid¡¯s arms to on her back but a faint reddish tinge on her ears could still be seen.

    ¡°Hi Sophie!¡± Astrid waved cheerfully as she noticed the hybrid girl first. Sophie was about to reply when the rumbling noise beneath her feet caused her expression to rapidly shift.

    ¡°Astrid climb up a tree with Qiana and don¡¯t move a muscle!¡± Sophie yelled.

    ¡°Rachel keep flying and don¡¯tnd!¡± she barked out two quickmands.

    It was a testament to how trusting Astrid was as she immediately whispered to Qiana to hold on tight before climbing up arge tree using her ws to gain a better grip.

    Sophie¡¯s warning came at the right time as the ground started to shake as hundreds of these worm-like Insectoids burst out in a frenzy.

    Astrid gazed at the pinkish blobs of flesh coating every visible surface of the ground and felt her blood run cold.

    She was able to defeat one of these creatures in about three minutes but could not fight against a group.

    The sounds of squealing was heard from the beasts below as each of them raised their heads to try and find the lost prey.

    There was clearly the lingering scent of food¡­. but where had the food gone?

    One of the more intelligent Tarkkakans attempted to scale a nearby tree but its blubbery body was unable to climb sessfully.

    ¡°What are those things?¡± Qiana whispered in a disgusted tone.

    ¡°A species of low-level Insectoids that use those antennas to track down prey from movement,¡± Sophie exined.

    ¡°We should be safe as they are pretty clumsy onnd and they can¡¯t detect us if we don¡¯t move.¡±

 Chapter 89: End Of The Entrance Exam

    Chapter 89: End Of The Entrance Exam

    Rachelnded on the branch to the left of Sophie and stared at the Tarkkakans wriggling around the ground with an expression of disgust.

    ¡°Do you think that any other students will figure out their weaknesses?¡± Astrid asked curiously.

    The Mendolesa girl had never seen this strange species before as like most mages she spent most of her free time learning about different magic runes and spells.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen pictures of them before on the virtual, but I¡¯ve never researched any of their behaviours or habits,¡± Qiana adjusted her sses as she spoke.

    Cultivators would usually go into battle equipped with their own personal AI that could scan nearby enemies and match them to species in the Earth Federation¡¯s database.

    It was just impractical to memorise the strengths and weaknesses of the billions of races scattered around the universe.

    Many were not even documented properly or had even been discovered so it was always great advice to be wary of foreign alien species.

    ¡°Sophie how did you know about these Tarkkakans?¡± Rachel questioned.

    There was an abrupt silence as Sophie remained in the same position as if she never heard Rachel speak.

    ¡°Err¡­ Sophie are you okay?¡± Astrid noticed that something was wrong and turned around to give the hybrid girl a look of concern.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes kept flickering from a golden hue to a blood red colour as drool slowly dripped down from the sides of her mouth.

    She did not respond to Astrid or Rachel¡¯s questions as the pinkish flesh of the Tarkkakans became almost translucent in her eyes with a beating heart that was now clearly visible.

    Hungry¡­. more¡­. food¡­

    Hunt¡­HUNT!

    It took Astrid shaking her arm a few times for Sophie to finally snap out of her daze as her eyes slowly returned to their normal colour.

    ¡°Sorry I was a little bit distracted,¡± Sophie apologised to her roommates.

    Astrid was d to hear that her friend was alright and just wagged her tail a few times while Rachel alsoughed and called Sophie a day dreamer.

    Only Qiana was gazing at the hybrid girl with an indecipherable emotion in her eyes.

    ¡°We do have one problem with this situation,¡± Qiana suddenly whispered.

    ¡°Any student who manages to defeat these Insectoids will probably earn bonus points to increase their overall rank.¡±

    The university entrance exam would be considered passed if a candidate couldst until they became one of the final one thousand students remaining.

    They would then be given an offer by at least one of the four great universities to either their main or side branches.

    But¡­. there was also a ranking system in ce.

    Students were given points for various actions performed during the exam such as fighting, treasure hunting or general survival skills that were tallied at the end of the exam.

    These points were decided by an advancedputer program controlled by an independent AI with no input from the exam administrators.

    Generally speaking, those ranked in the top four hundred were given offers to the main branches of the universities while those outside this rank group were given offers to the side branches.

    Hiding in the trees would guarantee that Sophie and her friends would pass the exam, but they had no way of knowing if their points currently were enough to break into the top four hundred.

    ¡°So, do you think we should try to take some of them down?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m always down for a fight!¡± Astrid unsheathed her ws and gave a proud deration.

    Rachel also nodded her head in affirmation as holy light began to flow into her body.

    Qiana gave an exasperated sigh at the enthusiastic trio and replied,

    ¡°Do you girls even have a n? I¡¯m fairly certain that we can¡¯t face that many Tarkkakans at the same time.¡±

    Sophie paused and looked down at the hundreds of Tarkkakans still crawling around the ground as her cheeks flushed slightly.

    Yeah¡­. she was under the impression that they would jump down and fight. Her overwhelming instinct to consume their hearts was influencing her rational judgement.

    ¡°Of course, I have a n,¡± Astrid furrowed her brows before analysing the situation.

    ¡°Based on the characteristics of the Tarkkankan race we know that one of their ring weaknesses is their poor night vision and inability to detect objects in the air.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, we need to adopt a herding strategy where one of us will act as bait to draw them to a certain area before Rachel and I bombard them with me type attacks.¡±

    ¡°Their flesh may be resistant to physical attacks, but it seems to char just as easily as any other.¡±

    ¡°Also, to avoid getting overwhelmed we need to pick an ambush location with connecting tree branches so we can move quickly in the event that the trees we are currently on fall down,¡± she exined.

    ¡°What?¡± Astrid pouted slightly as she nced at her now stunned roommates.

    ¡°I am a super intelligent mage you know!¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea wolf girl,¡± Qiana smiled slightly as she felt quite impressed.

    ¡°I can move the fastest so I should be the bait,¡± Sophie volunteered.

    They spent a few more minute finalising all the details before putting the n into action.

    Qiana had rope inside her spatial storage device so she created make-shift bridges between several trees. She then moved to the spot that the group had designated as the ambush site.

    Rachel activated her wings and soared into the air while Astrid started to breath slowly as the runes on her arm glowed.

    ¡°Are you ready Sophie?¡± Rachel asked.

    Sophie nodded in acknowledgement and bent her knees as she prepared tounch herself towards the ground.

    Astrid opened her eyes and chanted a spell,

    ¡°Festina et celeritate!¡±

    Sophie felt a surge of power flow through her body and sensed that she could now run a great distance without getting tired.

    Shended on the ground with a resounding thud as the Tarkkakans swung their heads around as they detected that food had now appeared.

    Reeeeeeeeee!!

    Squeals of excitement could be heard amongst the crowd as those with faster reactions had already moved in Sophie¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Come here you ugly bastards!¡± Sophie yelled loudly as she ran around the forest while being followed by a tidal wave of Insectoids.

    Just when the wave had reached to over ny Tarkkakans, Sophie changed directions rapidly and led them to a clearing filled with older trees and dead branches.

    ¡°Now guys!¡± Sophie called out before activating her movement technique and disappearing.

    ¡°mma anulus est calidum!¡±

    Astrid immediately followed up by casting a spell that created a ring of fire that trapped the Tarkkakans inside the clearing.

    ¡°Oh god please grant me the power to smite the non-believers,¡± Rachel closed her eyes and chanted a quick pray.

    Holy fire consumes all!

    An enormous pir of me shot up from the ground and incinerated the flesh of the Tarkkakans as they squealed out in pain.

    This attack was not enough to finish off the beasts as they had a powerful life force and regenerative abilities, but their temporary loss of mobility was all the opportunity that Sophie needed.

    Stab! Stab!

    Sophie weaved confidently through the charred bodies of the Insectoids while her spider appendages urately extended and punctured straight through their hearts.

    The poor Tarkkakans never stood a chance under the fearsome barrage of attacks.

    Many were ughtered without putting up any meaningful sort of resistance and the only survivors were the lucky ones who did not enter the clearing.

    The hybrid girl even managed to sneak a few hearts into her pockets as she was not sure of her teammates¡¯ reaction if she just ate them on the spot.

    Sophie climbed up a nearby tree and prepared to repeat the strategy all over again in a different ambush site when something unexpected happened.

    A loud rm was suddenly red and the surviving Tarkkakans froze in ce as dark purplish veins appeared under the surface of their pinkish flesh.

    Reeeeeeee!!

    Shrieks of agony were heard from the creatures as each beast¡¯s skin began to shrivel and dry up.

    The Insectoids died within the span of a few minutes.

    ¡°What a strong poison,¡± Sophie whistled in admiration.

    The mechanical voice boomed out from the emitter boxes nearby as the following announcement was made.

    [1002 students remain¡­. 1001 students remain¡­. 1000 students remain!]

    [Congrattions to those who survived!]

    [It seems that the odds¡­. were in your favour!]

    ¡°We did it!¡± Qiana shrieked with excitement andughed madly as she ran around with a joyful expression on her face.

    Astrid picked up the girl in her arms and the duo twirled around the burnt clearing while the Mendolesa girl¡¯s tail was wagging non- stop.

    Qiana was in such a good mood that she even smiled when Astrid gave her cheek a few licks.

    In fact, she thought that the silly wolf girl now seemed to look even more pleasing to the eye.

    Rachel just leaned against a barely standing tree while choking back a sob of relief.

    The results of this exam would have directly influenced her standing within the church so she was under quite a lot of pressure.

    Sophie just stood still while trying to process the announcement as various emotions surfaced in her heart.

    She¡­did it!

    All those months of training¡­. all those years of beingughed at¡­. she fucking did it!

    Their barrier devices simultaneously gave out a buzzing noise as small holographic windows popped out with new information.

    [Please check your barrier device for your individual ranking¡­]

    Sophie hurriedly checked her device and saw a list of names with the final ranking of the exam.

    The high processing speed of the AI made theputations easy to perform and the results were instantaneous.

    The final rankings were as followed:

    1st ce ¨C Ethan Kneyre

    2nd ce ¨C Astrid Lockhart

    3rd ce ¨C Sophie Peterlor

    .

    .

    .

    19th ce ¨C Qiana Abazin

    .

    .

    .

    27th ce ¨C Rachel Empyrean

    Every member of their team had managed to break into the top one hundred of the entrance exam!

 Chapter 90: University Recruiters

    Chapter 90: University Recruiters

    (Transport Ship- 013)

    (Private Room 105Y)

    [3rd ce ¨C Sophie Peterlor]

    When Darren saw the line of text on the monitor screen, he could not resist the urge to let out a string of curses.

    The best-case scenario would have been that the hybrid girl was eliminated early in the examination so that he would be justified in not sending an offer.

    Even if she did make it to the final one thousand, an offer to the side branches of As University would have been a decentpromise between the two factions.

    But she made it to third ce.

    There was no good reason not to send in an offer to As University and the only possible option would be the main branch.

    How could Darren exin in his report the decision to send one of the top students in the entrance exam to a side branch?

    What was even worse was that many of the noble children on his priority list did not perform as well as expected.

    The Tarkkakans were a challenge that very few of those sheltered students were able to handle.

    Darren rubbed his temples in frustration before entering a string of text into hismunicator device and submitting.

    There was one more factor that Darren had to take into ount.

    This decision was not an easy one to make but the risk of offending a god stage cultivator like Duke Peterlor over this matter¡­. well only a fool would do it.

    That monster had once razed an entire mercenary corps to the ground for attempting to kidnap his daughter for ransom.

    It was a well-known fact among the upper nobility of the Earth Federation that Rokan Peterlor was not a man to be messed with.

    And his daughter was not someone they could involve in their schemes.

    Darren decided to just send an offer of admission and pray silently that the hybrid girl did not ept.

    (Private Room 105G)

    [2nd ce- Astrid Lockhart]

    Unlike the As University recruiter, Adriana Greenhorn was ecstatic to see the high magic potential of the Mendolesa girl.

    That level of talent was on par with the geniuses of the Servies race and several professors who had seen the footage were now fighting over her.

    Race meant little in the face of overwhelming talent and unlike the younger generations, Archmages were more nonchnt about such matters.

    Servies may have the best magic potential on average but that did not mean that there were no hidden dragons among the other three species of the Earth Federation.

    It was only rare that it was a Mendolesa.

    Mer University had a simple approach to their requirements and only took those within a certain grade of mana potential.

    Having just one main campus and no side branches meant that their student poption was the lowest among the four great universities.

    Honestly even the final rankings of the exam were pretty inconsequential as mages usually had ack ofbat experience at lower cultivation levels.

    Three important figures had even made offers to take Astrid as their direct disciple before she had even entered the school!

    Among the three was a man called Lapis Hollystorm who specialised in spatial magic and was infamous for rejecting all of the students who came to learn from him.

    The heavens truly blessed the talented and Adriana could foresee that the Mendolesa girl was certainly going to be a powerhouse of the future.

    (Private Room 105F)

    Swish! Swish!

    A mass of liquid was happily flowing from side to side in a container while humming along to a pop song.

    ¡°I can see the wind whistling through the moonlight¡±

    ¡°My love for you sparkles in the sunlight,¡±

    ¡°My beloved, your eyes drown me in the sorrow of the wonder of tomorrow,¡±

    ¡°I will run a thousand yards to save you!¡±

    Bubbling noises were heard from the container as the Quafes recruiter attempted to sing along to the tune in his liquid state.

    He could afford to be rxed aspared to the other three University recruiters, his job was rtively easy going.

    Tantibus University would send offers to all students who made it into the top one thousand as their robust departments covered all areas of cultivation.

    Some called them jack of all trades master of none, but the fearsome graduates of their campuses would prove those naysayers wrong.

    The Nephilim Church was located right in the middle of the Quafes¡¯ zone of the Earth Federation and their influence was not to be underestimated.

    Many of the graduating alumni were members of the clergy and the recruiter was happy to see a saintess candidate in this batch of students.

    (Private Room 105H)

    ¡°The rookies this year have quite a bit of potential,¡± whispered the Mendolesa warrior lounging casually on his bed while reviewing footage of the exam.

    He was very impressed by the few teams that decided to face the Tarkkakans head on instead of hiding or fleeing.

    Of course, Selvon was only impressed with those that managed to emerge from the encounter unscathed.

    Reckless bravery was nothing more than foolishness.

    Most recruiters would be selecting seedlings for both the main and side branches but Selvon was only interested in the top students.

    There was nock of candidates to fill the vacant spots in the side branches, but it was important to select only the highly talented for the elite ss to maintain the quality.

    Zrudread University prided themselves on producing the fiercest warriors in the Earth Federation so Selvon was interested in both potential and attitude.

    He had already made a shortlist of fifty names from the entire batch of one thousand students with the lowest rank among the list being ny-eighth ce.

    Not all the students would ept the offer, so he had also made a back up list of additional names from the remaining candidates.

    ¡°Those four¡­.¡± Selvon grinned with his fangs bared as he reviewed the footage of Sophie and her team.

    He dialed a number in hismunicator and a few lines of text came from the other end,

    Selvon: [ I am going to use my authority to send schrship offers to ten students from site 013]

    Head Recruiter: [ You don¡¯t have that authority.]

    Selvon: [ Remember that night in Venus when you met those lovely bargirls¡­.]

    Head Recruiter: [. .. .. ]

    Head Recruiter: [ Alright I can pull a few strings]

    Head Recruiter: [Please don¡¯t tell my wife]

    The now cheerful Mendolesa exited the chat and essed the virtual to watch one of the new romance dramas produced by B.Y.T entertainment.

    Anything was possible with the power of a good informationwork!

 Chapter 91: You didnt strike me as a bottom

    Chapter 91: You didn''t strike me as a bottom

    It had been a few days since the examination finished and most of the students were now rxing in their rooms or hanging out in the various entertainment centers on the transport ship.

    Emotions varied quite drastically among the students as those who passed were now joyfully celebrating while those who failed were in various stages of grief.

    The difference between heaven and hell was only a narrow line and for many of these geniuses, not getting an offer would severely impact their future.

    ¡°My¡­aren¡¯t you a greedy girl,¡± Sophie cooed gently as she stroked the sides of her Frostwing egg with a loving expression.

    The egg had grown significantly bigger during the duration of the exam and it would not be long until it hatched.

    Sophie bit her finger and carved out a blood pattern on its blue surface while injecting a steady stream of qi.

    For some reason, this naughty animal kept absorbing qi like an endless ck hole, but Sophie could tell that the air around the egg became colder once more qi entered its shell.

    Frostwing bats did require plenty of care and attention during their early childhood months as thisbat beast was a sociable animal.

    Sophie was looking forward to bonding with her newpanion who would be her only partner until she reached at least the Qi tide stage.

    It was a rare moment of peace and quiet in room 105 as Sophie was the only one present inside the suite as her other roommate were off on various trips.

    Qiana had taken Astrid on a shopping spree to get some new clothes while Rachel was hanging out in the Arcade trying to flirt with beautifuldies or handsome gents.

    Sophie and Rachel were not blind and could tell that the Mendolesa girl and Qiana were developing feelings for one another but neither appeared willing to confess anytime soon.

    Generally, the university term would begin in September so the students would have three months to rx before joining their new school.

    There were also some exceptions as the elite sses of the universities would have five-week training camps before the regr term begun.

    Offers would usually arrive two weeks after the examination ended as recruiters would need to submit their potential list of applicants to their respective office of admissions for confirmation.

    Potential students would be given until the end of July to ept or decline the offer, so Sophie nned on discussing the matter carefully with her father.

    She really wanted to call Cleo to brag about her aplishments in the exam, but it seemed that the examination at Site 03 had not finished yet.

    Ring! Ring!

    A notification popped up on Sophie¡¯s wristband as she saw that her father was trying to reach her.

    [Dad Calling¡­.]

    [ept] [Decline]

    Sophie clicked ¡®ept¡¯ and soon the holographic figure of Duke Peterlor was projected from her wristband.

    ¡°Congrattions my precious daughter!¡± the duke cheerfully spoke with a sense of pride.

    His baby girl had ced third among thousands of geniuses!

    ¡°You¡¯ve really won some face for this old man and I¡¯ve been bragging to all my exrades for days now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks dad,¡± Sophie replied with a smile.

    The father daughter duo chatted for a few minutes about casual matters and Sophie just gave a brief summary of her experiences during the exam.

    She did not mention any details about her bloodlust mode or the connection to her aunt as her father had always said to remain vignt when discussing her heritage.

    Sophie nned on having a long chat with her father once she arrived in the Peterlor mansion and seek his advice on controlling her new urges.

    She also had to tell her father the news about her mother!

    Hopefully, her father would be d to hear that her mom was in a cultivation retreat and in good health!

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­. also, I think I will join the Imperial Army just like you did after graduation!¡±

    Sophie wanted to follow in her father¡¯s footsteps as he was considered her hero.

    The duke paused for a moment before speaking hesitantly,

    ¡°I was in the Imperial Army for years and I can say confidently that the universe is not a kind ce.¡±

    ¡°But in recent years I can¡¯t help but get the feeling that a creeping darkness has been inflecting the mindset of the army.¡±

    ¡°War was once treated as ast resort but now¡­.,¡± Rokan trailed off and fell into a contemtive mood.

    Sophie remained silent as she could tell that her father was experiencing a surge of emotions when discussing the new changes to the army.

    It must be difficult for a man once in charge as amander to now be looking in from the sidelines, but the duke never regretted his choice.

    He was the only pir of support that his daughter had in this world and it was not possible to go into dangerous battlefields without worrying about the impact his death would have on Sophie.

    Many were eyeing the enormous wealth and assets held by House Peterlor and it was only his personal strength that chased away these hungry wolves.

    It was also too risky to involve himself in the politics and intrigue of the upper nobility, so House Peterlor had remained seemingly neutral for thest few years.

    ¡°We can discuss this matter once you return to Gaia.¡± Rokan ended this conversation with finality.

    ¡°Okay bye dad. Say hello to Jack and Katarina for me,¡± Sophie waved goodbye before the holographic projection dissipated.

    Sophiey on the bed while thinking about her father¡¯s opinion on the army when the door to the suite suddenly made a noise.

    Buzz!

    Rachel entered the room while holding what appeared to be a mountain of stuffed toys and roses given to her from admirers in the Arcade.

    ¡°Those two lovebirds aren¡¯t back yet?¡± Rachelughed as she walked towards her bed. She definitely would need to buy some extra luggage bags by the end of the journey.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let Qiana hear you talking like that,¡± Sophie smiled back.

    ¡°What about you? Any romance you¡¯ve been hiding?¡± Rachel teased.

    Cleo¡¯s beautiful figure and piercing green eyes shed across Sophie¡¯s mind as she thought about the mischievous princess.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure¡­. there is this girl who has been kind of flirty towards me, but we haven¡¯t gone on any dates or anything,¡± Sophie replied.

    ¡°Hmm¡­you didn¡¯t strike me as a bottom,¡± Rachel stared at her with a knowing gaze.

    ¡°Oh, fuck off!¡± Sophie mockingly yelled.

    The words of her roommate did strike a chord and Sophie realised that she had been the passive one during their interactions.

    Well no more!

    Sophie was determined to ask out the princess once they both returned to Gaia and flip the dynamic of their rtionship.

 Chapter 92: Departures And Goodbyes

    Chapter 92: Departures And Goodbyes

    (Transport Ship 013- Hangar 005)

    Mechanical buzzes and noises were heard as mini spaceships constantly flowed out of the port and travelled to the below.

    Each spaceship was carrying students who took part in the entrance exam and left the hangar at regr intervals.

    This process would repeat until all the native students on Gaia were transported safely back home.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you girls,¡± Astrid teared up while giving Sophie and Qiana a big hug.

    The transport ship had arrived at the drop off point closest to Gaia which meant that it was finally time for both Qiana and Sophie to return home.

    Rachel was the first of the group to leave when the transport ship arrived at her home a few days before and her parting was quite bittersweet.

    Sophie and Qiana were assigned to the same space vessel so they would be travelling down to the surface together while Astrid would need to wait until the transport ship finally reached the Hydra Star Cluster.

    It seemed that the exam at Site 03 was still ongoing as Cleo had yet to reply to any of Sophie¡¯s messages.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to send a message once you finally decide what university you are going to attend,¡± Sophie reminded the girls.

    Astrid had received an offer from all four universities while Qiana, Rachel and Sophie had only received three offers.

    This was to be expected as none of the trio had the mana talent required to be considered for a spot in Mer University.

    Sophie was thrilled to be offered a spot in the elite ss for both Tantibus and Zrudread University while As University had offered her a regr spot at the main campus.

    Zrudread University had also thrown in a schrship offer!

    The girls had all exchanged contact information and nned to keep in touch regrly during the summer break.

    ¡°Make sure to call me everyday!¡± Astrid whined softly.

    The Mendolesa girl was in an extremely low mood at the thought of not seeing her new friends for a couple of months.

    ¡°Try not to miss me too much wolf girl,¡± Qiana teased while yfully running her hand through Astrid¡¯s fur.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to find some new novels to rmend the next time we meet.¡±

    The two avid boy-love fans had spent their remaining time on the transport ship reading two new novels called ¡®Sensei in the Boys Academy¡¯ and ¡®The CEO Is A Bottom!¡¯

    Sophie was curious and tried to read some chapters but¡­.

    The taste was way too heavy!

    Especially that CEO one!

    Rachel had also said that she would bring some gifts the next time they met but her gift was not one that Sophie was particrly thrilled about.

    The shape-shifting girl¡¯s version of a gift was apparently the promise to transform into the naked version of whatever celebrity they had a crush on.

    Her roommates had all politely declined the generous offer.

    ¡°I¡¯m nning on taking this summer to figure out what branch of magic to specialise in,¡± Astrid vowed.

    Qiana also talked about her goals this summer and Sophie just stood at the side looking at the flirty girls while feeling like a third wheel.

    Sophie¡¯s wristband buzzed softly, and two notifications popped up.

    [Please Board The Vessel R-367]

    [Departure Time ¨C 5 minutes]

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time to go,¡± Sophie gently brushed Astrid¡¯s fur one more time and turned around to join the queue.

    Qiana gazed into the eyes of the Mendolesa girl with a strange emotion and opened her mouth to say something¡­.

    But the words just died in her throat.

    She shook her head slightly and just said a formal goodbye before joining Sophie in the queue.

    The spaceships were about the size of a small bus with a slick exterior made of a carbon- aluminum alloy.

    Stepping through the entrance door was apanied by a green light that scanned the students entering inside.

    The scan would match their DNA to the information on file to ensure that no student was travelling on the wrong spaceship.

    Quafes were able to mimic the outer appearance and even organs but their DNA structure was fundamentally unique to their species.

    Sophie gazed out of the window and waved goodbye to Astrid who was still staring mournfully at them while her tail drooped down in sadness.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes slightly reddened at the sight and choked out a small sob as she raised her hand in farewell.

    It did not take long for the other eighteen students to board the ship and soon the ship¡¯s AI gave out an announcement.

    [All students are ounted for]

    [Preparing for departure in 5¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­.]

    [Estimated arrival time ¨C 20 minutes]

    With a loud boom, the thrusters at the back of the spaceship ignited and the vessel shot out of the hangar at a frightening speed.

    Sophie gazed out of the window and could see the transport ship getting further and further away in the distance.

    It was aplex feeling to realise that her journey was now over. The months she had spent onboard the ship with her new friends seemed to pass by in a blink.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely getting together for a high school reunion with my friends sometime in July.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do when you go back?¡±

    ¡°Pray that my mom doesn¡¯t kill me for failing to pass!

    Excited chatter was heard from the students around her as most had felt slightly homesick during the long months and were d to be returning.

    Sophie had bought a small backpack in addition to her two luggage bags and stored the Frostwing egg inside.

    Wider cracks had appeared on the surface of the blue egg and Sophie could swear that a soft cooing noise could be heard from the inside.

    Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie could see Qiana staring at themunicator in her hand with a crestfallen expression.

    ¡°Do you want to talk?¡± Sophie asked carefully.

    ¡°No,¡± came the abrupt response.

    Sophie could tell that the quiet girl was in a bad mood, so she tried her best to distract her by spending the rest of the trip pointing at the beautiful stars outside of the window.

    Her n seemed to work as Qiana started to brighten up and Sophie also begun to tell dirty jokes she found on the virtual.

    Sophie had already came to the realization that this seemingly quiet and polite- looking girl¡­.

    Was quite perverted!

    She would need to light a small candle in prayer for Astrid in the future.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Originally Sophie nned to ignore the new messages but a quick look at the sender caused her heart to race as she sat upright in shock.

    The messages were from Cleo!

    Sophie opened hermunicator andughed softly at the new nicknames Cleo had set in the chat window.

    Cutie Princess: [Hi Sophie!]

    Cutie Princess: [My exam finally ended¡­. guess who got sixth ce :D]

    Spider Lady: [ Awesome!]

    Spider Lady: [ I came third in my testing site]

    Cutie Princess: [ Seems like I will need to hug your thighs in the future lol]

    Cutie Princess: [ Not that I mind¡­.]

    Spider Lady: [ Actually when youe back¡­.do you want to go to an amusement park together]

    Sophie¡¯s palms were slightly sweaty as she typed out the next couple lines of text while holding her breath nervously.

    Spider Lady: [ Not as friends¡­like an actual date¡­]

    Cutie Princess: [ ¡­¡­]

    Cutie Princess: [ Yes! Yes! Yes!]

    ¡°Hey¡­who are you talking to?¡± Qiana asked when she noticed that her friend was slightly distracted and sneaking nces at hermunicator.

    ¡°Um¡­nothing Qiana!¡± Sophie quickly responded.

    She had gotten a date with a princess!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile at the airport)

    ¡°Are you okay milord?¡± Katarina asked with concern.

    The duke said nothing, but his brows furrowed slightly as he tapped the sides of his pants with his fingers.

    Why was his overprotective father sense starting to tingle?!

 Chapter 93: Dadâ€¦ Im Interested In Girls

    Chapter 93: Dad¡­ I''m Interested In Girls

    (Gaia International Spaceport Terminal)

    ¡°Dad!¡± Sophie called out joyfully as she ran forward and threw herself into the duke¡¯s waiting arms.

    It had been the longest period of time that the father- daughter duo had been separated and Sophie was overwhelmed by a feeling of happiness.

    Qiana had gone to another gate where her family was waiting patiently, so the girls hugged tightly and promised to hang out after the graduation ceremony.

    The Royal Academy would hold a celebration for all the students who sessfully passed the university entrance exam.

    There were even rumors and whispers that this current year had the highest amount of university candidates in the history of the school.

    ¡°Sophie!¡± Rokan smiled as he felt his precious baby girl in his arms.

    The moment did notst too long as the duke immediately started to pepper Sophie with question after question.

    ¡°Have you been eating okay?¡±

    ¡°Did anyone bully you?¡±

    ¡°Did any boy approach you with bad intentions?!¡±

    Sophie patiently answered the questions one by one until her overprotective dad was somewhat satisfied.

    ¡°Wee back young miss,¡± Katarina stepped forward and respectfully bowed.

    ¡°I predicted a sixty percent chance of sess, so yourck of failure was to be expected,¡± Jack muttered while ying around with his tablet.

    Jack spoke in a monotone voice with no traces of any other emotion but internally he was quite shocked.

    The information he sent to his employers stated that Sophie was unlikely to ce in the top one thousand, but she had well surpassed his calctions by reaching third ce.

    There were many who did not want another monstrous talent like Duke Peterlor to be outside of their control.

    Rokan Peterlor was the fastest among the Earth Federation to reach the god stage in centuries and his breakthrough to the ascension realm seemed to be just a matter of time.

    If his daughter even exhibited a fraction of his talent, it was enough to get several leaders of the Federation to feel slightly uneasy.

    Jack frowned as he gazed at the hybrid girl and an indecipherable emotion shed across his eyes.

    ¡°Hi Jack! Hi Katarina!¡± Sophie nodded at the two loyal death guards.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I didn¡¯t get chance to practice the Art of Poison during thepetition, but I have been injecting myself ording to the schedule,¡± Sophie confessed to Katarina.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay miss, over the next few months I think you are ready to now learn some poison qi techniques,¡± Katarina replied softly.

    ¡°Wait a moment!¡± the duke loudly interrupted the reunion.

    ¡°Why are we just hanging around the airport¡­. we need to celebrate!¡±

    He turned to Katarina and Jack and whispered a series ofmands to which the duo nodded and soon left in hovercars with Sophie¡¯s luggage bags.

    The duke ced his hand on Sophie¡¯s shoulders and a frightening qi started to circte around his palm.

    Spatial void sh!

    Sophie gasped in surprise as the surrounding space began to warp and twist as Sophie found herself at the entrance of a strange building.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Your old man thought that a meal at the finest restaurant in Gaia would make an excellent early gift,¡± the duke boasted.

    Sophie did not notice it before but the building in front of her was simply a marvel of architecture.

    It appeared to be made entirely out of a crystal-like material which gleamed hypnotically as the colours shifted and morphed.

    The building seemed to be carved from a single block as Sophie could not find any additions or modifications to the original material.

    All this beautiful work culminated in the overall image of a magnificent pce whose height soared to the heavens.

    ¡°Shall we go inside?¡± the duke offered his hand as the duo walked towards the entrance.

    Sophie was amazed that the interior was as impressive as the outside with the soft glow from luminous materials providing a gentle light.

    [Do you have a reservation?] came a voice that echoed in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    Rokan reached deep inside his pocket and took out a silvery token that was adorned with tiny jewels on its edges.

    [Please go to room two on the upper floor]

    The duke ced the token back into his pocket and with practised ease, he led Sophie up a spiral stairway to the upper rooms.

    Surprisingly enough, inside the room was quite empty with only a long table and several chairs casually lined up.

    The chairs were made out of a wooden material and seemed out of cepared to the luxury outside.

    ¡°Dad what was that voice?¡± Sophie asked curiously once she sat down.

    ¡°The guy who runs this ce is a powerful psychic, so he tends to monitor guests remotely to prevent any trouble,¡± the duke replied.

    There was a holographic projection of a menu floating quietly above the table, but Sophie could not recognise any of the food advertised.

    It proved not important as her father simply waved his hand and ordered the entire stock.

    He was well aware of the bottomless hole that was his daughter when eating.

    Thankfully, he was wealthy enough to afford it!

    A burst of qi shot out of the duke¡¯s head and made a bubble that enveloped the room.

    ¡°Now you can tell me what actually happened in the entrance exam.¡±

    Sophie tapped her fingers casually against her leg and began to recount the full details of her experiences.

    From meeting her aunt in the hidden space to battling the triple headed elemental snake and even the details about her new ability.

    The duke leaned back against his chair with his eyes closed as he tried to digest this shocking new information.

    His ex-lover was in seclusion?

    Why did she abandon him and Sophie?

    Why would Thai¡¯lle¡¯s sister reach out to his daughter if her family hated hybrids?

    Rokan had subconsciously been blocking out any thoughts of his beautiful Arachne lover as the pain from her betrayal had cut him to his very core.

    ¡®But what if there were other circumstances?¡¯ this idea kept bouncing around his head.

    The duke sighed heavily and just warned his daughter to be careful. Maybe Thai¡¯lle sister would be able to help his daughter control her new abilities.

    Besides, even if her mother¡¯s family meant harm, they would need to strike deep within the core of the Earth Federation to even reach Sophie.

    And the old monsters guarding the border were not simple decorations.

    Sophie could tell that her father had not told her the full story between him and Thai¡¯lle, but she did not press him on the matter.

    There was a final issue that she needed to bring up.

    Sophie had noticed that her father constantly preached about staying away from boys and it did not take a genius to figure out that he assumed that she was straight.

    But¡­. she wasn¡¯t.

    Sophie did not want to hold any secrets from her father, and it would be impossible to hide this fact if she developed a rtionship in the future.

    She bit her lip nervously before telling him one more piece of news.

    ¡°I will be meeting princess Cleo for a date in a couple of days.¡±

    ¡°Dad¡­ I¡¯m interested in girls.¡±

    There was dead silence after Sophie confessed her sexuality.

    The duke could not say a word as he sat in his chair as if frozen from shock.

    ¡°I¡­I should have told you sooner¡­I¡­¡± Sophie trailed off as her father raised his hand to cut her off.

    ¡°So, what you¡¯re telling me¡­.¡± the duke spoke with furrowed brows.

    ¡°I need to watch out for girls as well?!¡±

 Chapter 94: Chess Piece

    Chapter 94: Chess Piece

    ¡°Sweetie I was just kidding!¡± the duke hurriedly apologised as he saw the increasingly dark look on his daughter¡¯s face.

    Truthfully, Rokan was a bit shocked over the unexpected confession but he knew that it was important to support his daughter fully and pretend to not be surprised.

    His mind started to race as the image of troublesome boys approaching his daughter with bad intentions was suddenly reced¡­.

    ¡­ with the image of troublesome girls approaching his daughter with bad intentions!

    Homosexuality was not a taboo topic among the general poption and even had a small growth in poprity over thest couple of centuries.

    Years of campaigning done by popr same- sex cultivator Dao partners proved to be somewhat effective.

    Of course, there were still pockets of discrimination as although technology and times may change¡­ humanity would remain the same.

    There was even the invention of new technologies that could create children artificially through DNA fusion which made the lifestyle more epted by grandparents eager to see some grandkids!

    ¡°But why were you so nervous?¡± the duke asked in a puzzled tone.

    Was it possible that his daughter thought of him as a prejudiced man?

    Maybe it was Sui Meng¡¯s residual memories, but Sophie was quite scared to admit that she liked girls.

    Sui Meng had been disowned by her parents when she hade out of the closet and Sophie did not want to experience that same level of betrayal.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­I guess I didn¡¯t know how you would react when I told you,¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke.

    The duke stood up and walked towards Sophie and gave her a tight hug. Sophie closed her eyes as she felt her father¡¯s warmth and affection.

    Rokanughed and whispered in her ear,

    ¡°Honey¡­ your mother isn¡¯t even human¡­¡±

    ¡°I would like to think that I am pretty open minded.¡±

    Small tears formed in Sophie¡¯s eyes as she gazed at the man who had sheltered her from rain and hardships for all of her life.

    If her future partner could be half the person that her father was¡­ then she would have noints.

    Knock! Knock!

    [Dear Customers]

    [Your order has arrived!]

    Arge mechanical robot in the shape of a man with many arms entered the room while carrying over twenty tes full of delicious food.

    It walked towards the table stiffly and ced each dish down with practised ease before withdrawing silently from the room.

    Sophie sniffed the air as thebination of spices, meats and different aromas made her stomach loudly growl and she sat up straighter in excitement.

    The duke looked at his daughter who now only had eyes for the food on the table and could not help but remember a certain gluttonous woman who behaved exactly like Sophie when food arrived.

    Sophie chose one of the tes at random and lifted up the cover to see the mystery thaty beneath.

    Seafood!

    Rows of fried shrimps each with a crispy brown exterior were ced in a circr pattern around the border of the te while a dark red marinara sauce was inside a dipping bowl.

    Hungry¡­hungry¡­.

    Sophie offered a quick thank you to her father for the meal and then dug in with great gusto.

    Each shrimp had a crunchy texture and a soft interior that simply melted within her mouth.

    I¡¯ll just have one¡­maybe two¡­okay just three¡­

    Shrimp after shrimp were swallowed until the entire te had been emptied out in a matter of minutes.

    A warm current spread through Sophie¡¯s body and she could feel a wave of heat entering her dantian.

    ¡°Notice anything special yet?¡± the duke smiled as he saw his daughter¡¯s confusion.

    ¡°Dad is this made from spiritual beasts?¡± Sophie tried to guess.

    ¡°Yep¡­every dish is made from the flesh of creatures in the qi tide stage and it has a simr effect to gene enhancing serums,¡± Rokan boasted proudly.

    It was every father¡¯s greatest joy to flex their wealth in front of their adoring children!

    At the duke¡¯s cultivation level, this enhancement was just negligible as he would need to refine and consume the body of beasts in the god stage to grant himself the same effect.

    He also did not mention that this method of improving strength was expensive to sustain as only highly trained spiritual chefs could trap qi inside the flesh of these beasts.

    Sophie stretched out her arms to rx before eagerly trying out the other dishes to enjoy what others would call a once in a lifetime opportunity.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Imperial Complex- Side Pce- 9847)

    Among the grand pces that were scattered about the Imperial Complex there was one particr building located at the far end of the concubine wing.

    This pce¡¯s exterior was just as impressive as those surrounding it, but this was merely a disguise for its true state of affairs.

    Inside the building clearly showed the ravages of time as there was a clearck of maintenance work done or any sort of furniture present.

    Princess Cleo walked up a narrow set of stairs and approached the figure standing quietly on the balcony with an air of mncholy surrounding her.

    ¡°This lowly one greets the imperial concubine,¡± Cleo stopped a few meters away and knelt respectfully.

    ¡°Oh¡­does this unfilial daughter actually recognise her mother?¡± came azy drawl.

    ¡°I was beginning to think that you were just like that bastard father of yours and forgot me here in this boring ce to rot.¡±

    These words would be immediate grounds of treason and execution for nder against the imperial family if heard by others.

    But the bitter sounding woman seemed not to care.

    She appeared to be an attractivedy in herte fifties with small traces of aging that did little to diminish her once great beauty.

    Her skin was a pale and fair colour with piercing green eyes that were almost identical to her daughter¡¯s.

    ¡°I heard whispers that you are now courting the offspring of the Peterlor household,¡± Concubine Sisrelis suddenly spoke.

    Cleo was startled as she did not expect that the news had spread so quickly among the information channels.

    But it was her mother¡¯s next statement that caused her mind to go nk.

    ¡°Good. Manipte her well and we can have a god stage cultivator join our faction.¡±

    ¡°Mother! That¡¯s not what I¡­¡± Cleo argued fiercely.

    ¡°DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME!¡± her mother loudly screeched in rage.

    Concubine Sisrelis¡¯ green eyes seemed to narrow with anger and she promptly dismissed her daughter from the pce with the expression of an unhinged animal.

    As the footsteps of her daughter faded into the distance all the emotions of rage and anger on her face seemed to vanish abruptly without a trace.

    ¡°Why did you not warn her to stay away from the hybrid girl?¡± a dark shadow flowed from beneath the concubine¡¯s feet and whispered gently.

    The middle-aged woman gazed into the distance and the colour of her pupils became cloudy as numerous calctions and deductions raced across her mind.

    Not many among the royal family knew that her daughter¡¯s mental strength had been entirely inherited from her side.

    ¡°Duke Peterlor has long been a thorn in the emperor¡¯s eyes and many do not want to wait until he reaches the Ascension realm,¡± she spoke slowly.

    ¡°It is merely a matter of time until his family is uprooted, and his lineage is destroyed.¡±

    ¡°But just in case he survives¡­my daughter may prove to be a vital chess piece with an indirect link to the most promising cultivator in the Earth Federation.¡±

 Chapter 95: I Bleed The Same Colour As Any Other Man....

    Chapter 95: I Bleed The Same Colour As Any Other Man¡­.

    ¡°This is the life,¡± Sophie sighedzily as she leaned back on the wooden chair.

    The tes that were originally stacked with a variety of different cuisines were nowpletely spotless as not a single crumb remained.

    Rokan gazed at his daughter who was now closing her eyes and basking in the afterglow of the meal.

    She was lucky that her father was a rich man!

    The duke reckoned that even a middle-ss family would have long gone bankrupt under the enormous pressure of feeding this bottomless ck hole.

    Well it was alright¡­. Rokan didn¡¯t even mind if his little glutton simply wanted to spend the rest of her life eating the most expensive food.

    What was the point of having money if not to use it?

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s head out,¡± the duke got up and beckoned to his daughter.

    ¡°There is one more ce that I would like you to visit with me.¡±

    Sophie could tell that her father¡¯s tone seemed to be unusually solemn, so she obediently got up to follow him outside.

    The duke passed one of the serving robots on the way and casually swiped a ck card to pay for the meal.

    Apparently, the robots were programmed to enthusiastically see off the guests as a line of mechanical servers cheerfully escorted them to the exit.

    [Thank You!]

    [Pleasee again!]

    Sophie waved back and soon the magnificent Crystal Pce restaurant faded away in the distance.

    Night had now fallen, and a slight rain was plummeting down which made the streets of the city unusually gloomy.

    It was simple for a god stage cultivator to project their domain outwards so the area around the duke and his daughter waspletely dry.

    ¡°Dad are we going to get the hovercar?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°No¡­I want you to experience this from outside of a ss window,¡± the duke replied.

    They were currently in the nearest city to the capitol which was called Vermillion City. It had a poption of around two hundred million citizens and was divided into two distinct districts.

    The wealthy lived in mansions and vast estates on the north side of the city while the slums were located on the south side.

    Sophie figured that her father wanted to show her one of his vis in the northern side but as they walked further and further amidst the towering skyscrapers, she could not help but think that something was wrong.

    Why were they heading in the opposite direction?

    The northern part of Vermillion City looked like the typical high-tech city of the future.

    Hovercars flowed gently through the air, beautiful gardens were located at regr intervals and Sophie saw well-lit shops advertising various merchandises.

    But as Sophie silently walked around while holding her father¡¯s hand¡­ thendscape started to change.

    The well-lit streets became darker as the streetlights were more and more infrequent along the pavement.

    The buildings were no longer towering structures but were now concrete apartments with graffiti sttered on their exterior.

    The smiles andughter were nowhere to be found as Sophie observed that the residents wore tattered clothing and had tired expressions on their faces.

    One could hear the sounds of children crying, animals shrieking and the brutal sounds of fighting interrupting the quiet night.

    Strangely enough, no one seemed to notice Sophie or her father¡¯s presence as they walked through the slums.

    Sophie figured that it must be due to one of her father¡¯s cultivation techniques.

    Her father walked deeper and deeper into the impoverished area of the city while remaining oddly silent.

    The buildings had now gone from concrete apartments to shaky wooden shacks.

    Sophie could tell that this area was extremely dangerous as she saw men and women of various ages shaking violently from drug overdoses.

    The Earth Federation had banned the sale of non- medical drugs for several years now, but some provinces enforced thew more strictly than others.

    It was clear that the localw enforcement department was not doing their job in thismunity as crime appeared to be rampant.

    ¡°This is where I grew up,¡± Rokan had a nostalgic look on his face as he whispered.

    He stopped in his tracks and turned slightly to examine a run-down apartment building with a broken door barely hanging on its hinges.

    ¡°Sophie¡­what is the difference between nobles andmoners?¡± he suddenly asked his daughter an unexpected question.

    ¡°Bloodline or heritage I think that¡¯s what my teachers said in school,¡± Sophie ventured a guess.

    The duke shook his head andughed bitterly,

    ¡°It¡¯s power.¡±

    He could still vividly recall the day a strange man in a ck uniform knocked down his apartment door and imed that he was a potential heir to a dukedom.

    For the young orphan struggling to survive on the streets, it seemed like the fairy tale ending that he had only dreamed about.

    But what the once innocent child got was a bloody fight for session that ended with his entire new-found family either dead or missing.

    Rokan was afraid that his daughter would getcent after passing the entrance exam and would begin to act like the other waste second generation children.

    Maybe it was his upbringing, but the duke never once thought that his blood was superior to others.

    There was no difference between high level cultivators and the noble ss.

    In fact, nobles without a powerful warrior of their own would have fewer speaking rights in the emperor¡¯s court.

    Not like that drunken fool would ever listen to any meaningful advice.

    ¡°Wealth, connections, family ties¡­.is all meaningless under a heavy fist,¡± Rokan exined patiently.

    ¡°Nobility is tied deeply to cultivation.¡±

    Sophie gazed at her father who had surging emotions in his eyes and nodded her head in acknowledgement.

    She would train harder than any of her peers in order to preserve the safety of the Peterlor House.

    ¡°So, Dad¡­why does the Royal Academy teach us that we are naturally superior to themoners if cultivation as all that matters?¡±

    Sophie clenched her fist as she recalled several of her teachers bringing up the topic throughout the years.

    ¡°I will never understand those ridiculous nobles who see themselves as gods who rule over the lost sheep that is humanity,¡± the duke hummed in rage.

    ¡°Teaching children those ridiculous ideas will just inte their confidence and turn it into unfounded arrogance!¡±

    Rokan took out a small de and sliced open the palm of his hand with a knife technique. The attack barely made a dent in his skin, but two small droplets of blood ran down the sides of his hand.

    ¡°I bleed the same colour as any other man.¡±

 Chapter 96: The Date

    Chapter 96: The Date

    ¡°Hey¡­. look at that girl over there.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to stare honey!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s beautiful but it¡¯s just a shame that¡­¡±

    Beams of sunlight gently streamed down on the body of a girl casually leaning against a wall.

    She seemed oblivious to the whispers of the curious passersby as her fingers nervously gripped amunicator device.

    One nce at the girl would exin why she kept drawing in the stares of others as there was only one word that could describe her.

    Gorgeous.

    Dressed in a white blouse which was paired with dark blue jeans and white sneakers that made the girl overflow with the charms of youth.

    It would not be strange to mistake the girl for a popr idol were it not for the four spider-like appendages poking out of specially designed holes in her outfit.

    The girl¡¯s height was also quite tall at around six feet and nine inches with intimidating golden eyes and pointed ears that gave away her alien heritage.

    Sophie kept looking at the time on hermunicator device as she waited patiently for Cleo to show up.

    Rokan was not pleased that his daughter was apparently going on a date but the fake tears that welled up in Sophie¡¯s eyes caused the poor duke to reluctantly change his mind.

    The duke¡¯s suggestion of also apanying the girls as a chaperone was also firmly declined by his daughter horrified at the mere thought.

    In fact, out of the corner of her eyes she could spot the blurry silhouettes of the shadow guards the duke had arranged to serve as extra security measures.

    This was thepromise that the father daughter pair had agreed on.

    The location of the date was going to be at a zoo called the ¡®Tmperora Valley Zoo¡¯ which was in the middle of a gated noblemunity.

    Sophie had always enjoyed watching animals and Cleo seemed to have no problem with her suggestion, so the date was official!

    ¡°God, I look like I mess,¡± Sophie whined as she stared at her reflection in one of the storefront mirrors.

    It was not too obvious, but she could still see the bags under her eyes that she desperately tried to hide with make up.

    Did she get a good night sleep?

    Hell no.

    Poor Sophie spent the entire night frantically tossing and turning as she stressed over her uing date with Cleo.

    What if she embarrassed herself?

    What if she misread Cleo¡¯s attraction to her?

    These questions kept bouncing around Sophie¡¯s mind which caused her to not get a single wink of sleep.

    Sophie was currently waiting at the entrance to the zoo as the meeting time was ten o clock.

    She had arrived around five minutes early, but her princess was nowhere in sight.

    Ding! Ding!

    A notification popped up on hermunicator and Sophie immediately opened up the chat window.

    Cleo: [ Sorry I just reached! Where are you?]

    Sophie: [ I¡¯m leaning against the brick wall at the entrance]

    Cleo: [ Oh! I see you!]

    Sophie looked up from hermunicator and vaguely detected some movement before the heavy weight of a body fell straight into her arms.

    She staggered back slightly but fortunately there was a wall behind her that provided support so she did not fall down.

    ¡°I missed you the whole-time during the exam,¡± Cleo rubbed her head gently in Sophie¡¯s chest like a small cat.

    ¡°Silly girl, didn¡¯t we talk basically every day on the virtual?¡± Sophieughed as she questioned.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same!¡± came the firm reply from the girl in her arms.

    Cleo was wearing a deep cerulean blue dress with wave-like patterns that flowed gracefully along the sides.

    She was wearing light make up whichbined with her piercing green eyes and fair skin, made her seem like a sea fairye ashore.

    ¡°So, did you wait a long tim¡­.¡± Cleo finally looked up at Sophie¡¯s face and trailed off in shock.

    For the first time in her entire life, Princess Cleopatra Sisrelis found herself at aplete loss for words.

    ¡°You¡­look¡­good,¡± she managed to stammer out while blushing heavily.

    Sophie¡¯s face could have been created by the gods themselves as her delicate nose, sharp eyes and full lips gave her a seductive beauty.

    Paired with a slender figure with curves in all the right ces¡­. those towering peaks caused Cleo to miss Sophie¡¯s reply as she eyed them hungrily.

    ¡°Are you ready to go in?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°Err¡­yes!¡± Cleo hurriedly spoke as she averted her eyes.

    What if Sophie found out why she wasn¡¯t paying attention?!

    Sophie¡¯s father had given her the highest V.I.P pass for the zoo that allowed a maximum of ten guests, so the girls entered without any problems.

    [Wee to Tmperora Valley Zoo!]

    A holographic sign shed above the air as Sophie and Cleo walked inside the massive zoo.

    The zoo was divided into different sections based on the gxy where the animals were originally found.

    The architecture of the zoo was based on buildings in the twenty first century so most of the structures were made of concrete or steel.

    There was even recreations of scenes inside historical photographs like popcorn vendors and cheerful old men selling balloons.

    It was a Saturday, so the zoo was fairly crowded, and Sophie saw many families taking their kids to enjoy the exhibitions.

    There were even quite a few couples boldly showing their love by flirting and saying sweet words to one another.

    Sophie mentally lit a candle for the poor single dogs enjoying the zoo by themselves.

    ¡°Should we check out the Milky Way section?¡± Cleo asked.

    ¡°I heard that scientists managed to create felines gically simr to the long-lost tiger species!¡±

    Cleo had spent several hours going over the different attractions in the zoo in order to boost her image during the date.

    Sophie had no problem with her suggestion and followed the bubbly girl who confidently walked ahead.

    She was even a bit curious as Sui Meng¡¯s memories of earth animals were thousands of years ago so who knew what direction evolution had taken some of these creatures.

    Wait a minute¡­

    Sophie noticed that Cleo and she were simply walking in the same direction with an awkward distance between themselves.

    This won¡¯t do!

    ¡°Come on Sophie¡­ you need to take control of this rtionship!¡± Sophie mumbled to herself as she gathered up her courage.

    ¡°I heard that they n on cross breeding some of the whales with¡­¡± Cleo was still talking enthusiastically when a firm hand grabbed her palm.

    She turned around to see the hybrid girl blushing furiously before rushing forward.

    Mhmm!

    Cleo¡¯s eyes widened in shock as a pair of lips gently touched hers before leaving as abruptly as they arrived.

    Sophie was now looking away, but it was impossible not to see the reddish tinge at the back of her ears.

    A mischievous glow appeared in Cleo¡¯s eyes as she decided to tease her fiery pepper.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I like darling¡± Cleo walked forward and whispered softly in Sophie¡¯s ears.

    ¡°But don¡¯t tease me again or I might lose control¡­¡±

 Chapter 97: This Pet Is Just Like Its Master!

    Chapter 97: This Pet Is Just Like Its Master!

    Sophie blushed frantically as her newfound courage disappeared just as quickly as it arrived. She was still no match for Cleo¡¯s charms.

    This princess had clearly mastered the great Dao of Flirting while Sophie was still in the beginning stages of cultivation.

    Cleo¡¯s green eyes sparkled mischievously as she tightly held Sophie¡¯s hand as the pair walked towards the new tiger disy.

    It did not take long before the noises of the people waiting to see the exhibition reached Sophie¡¯s ears.

    ¡°This is a great day for the Federation!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m live streaming this right now and the views are just rolling in!¡±

    ¡°I heard that tigers were worshipped as Gods back in the ancient times.¡±

    ¡°Why is there such a big crowd?¡± Sophie asked curiously as they arrived.

    ¡°This is going to be the first reveal of the long- lost tiger species! Scientist have never seeded in creating an animal that was one hundred percent gically identical to the original,¡± Cleo whispered softly

    ¡°But the zoo ims that they have done it,¡± she eagerly stared at the nylon cover that was draped over the cage.

    Sophie was also thrilled to see what would have been a familiar species in Sui Meng¡¯s time and she waited patiently along with the rest of the crowd.

    Soon all the avable spots were upied, and the tour guide cleared his throat before confidently stepping up to a podium.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen¡­. I present to you the newest addition to the Tmperora Valley Zoo!¡± the tour guide proudly announced before pushing a button on a remote in his hand.

    Gasps of amazement rang out from the crowd as the cover slowly fell down to reveal the animals within the enclosure.

    ¡°I need to take a picture!¡± Cleo excitedly yelled before whipping out hermunicator and snapping a few shots.

    She was far from being the only one as many could not wait to share the news on the virtual, and some were even shedding tears of joy.

    This was simply a historical event!

    When the Draxi Empire abducted the human race to assimte them within their armies over thousands of years ago, it was an unexpected event that caused great upheaval.

    This period of time was called the ¡®Age of Darkness¡¯ as information about earth culture could only be passed down by word of mouth so details were naturally lost.

    It was only when humans overthrew their alien masters that spaceships returned to colonise the, they once called home.

    But many years had passed and all that remained of human settlements were the ruins where once great cities had been built.

    All books, records and storage devices had long fallen to the ravages of time.

    Even the animals they knew were no longer the same as many had gone extinct or evolved into different creatures.

    One of these animals that had long gone extinct were the tiger species.

    Scientists managed to gically recreate a version of the animal based on the opinions of hundreds of biologists and historians who specialised in researching ancient earth history.

    Sophie could see the raw emotion and passion in her fellow spectators but as she gazed at the animals, only one thought ran through her mind.

    These¡­aren¡¯t tigers.

    I mean they were certainly cat-like in appearance with stripes but that was really where all the simrities ended.

    Firstly, the skin of these tigers was a bright green colour with red stripes that ran down their back in uneven patterns and their height was around the size of arge housecat.

    Then for some reason, their ears were simr to that of elephants and the beasts pped them aroundzily.

    Sophie reasoned that maybe therge ears were for enhanced hearing as the cats did not seem to have eyes.

    ¡°Sophie! Isn¡¯t this crazy?¡± Cleo grabbed her arm happily.

    ¡°Actual¡­err¡­yeah this is super urate,¡± Sophie was going toin but seeing the cheerful look on Cleo¡¯s face made the words die down in her throat.

    Maybe a little white lie won¡¯t hurt¡­ it wasn¡¯t like she could exin that the memories of a woman who lived during that ancient era were inside of her brain.

    Besides if she really squinted her eyes and looked again¡­

    Nope.

    They still didn¡¯t look like tigers.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we visit the other animals,¡± Sophie could not bear to watch as the tour guide kept boasting about the enormous achievement the zoo had created.

    Fortunately, the rest of the trip was surprisingly enjoyable as Sophie saw animals that were simply breathtaking.

    From giant beetles that yfully rolled around in the dirt, to enormous blue whales who swam gracefully around a man-madeke and even tiny monkey that chattered noisily when visitors walked by.

    There was no trace of awkwardness between the two girls as their love of animals kept the conversations flowing naturally.

    Cleo was also giving Sophie brief kisses whenever the hybrid girl got distracted by the sights, so the mood was very sweet.

    Time seemed to fly by and soon Sophie received a message from one of the shadow guards saying that the transport vehicle was ready for departure.

    Several hours had gone and the sun once bright in the sky was dipping steadily down to the horizon.

    ¡°Man¡­I wish that I had abat beast pet,¡± Cleo remarked as the duo walked out of the exit while still holding hands.

    The afternoon sun was slowly setting which meant that the sky was now a beautiful shade of reddish orange.

    Cleo was pouting slightly as she talked about her great dream to one day own a private zoo and Sophie couldn¡¯t help but think that the beauty of the sky paled inparison to the girl next to her.

    ¡°You mean abat beast like my Frostwing bat?¡± Sophie snorted in rage.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started on thatzy little thing who keeps staying in its egg,¡± Sophie continued to grumble.

    ¡°It was supposed to hatch over a week ago!¡±

    For some reason, her pet decided to create a few more cracks in its shell but then abruptly ceased all movement.

    Sophie would have gotten worried were it not for that fact that every time she injected qi into the egg, she would hear loud cooing noises of satisfaction.

    What was she going to do with such a hungry animal to look after?

    If the Duke could read his daughter¡¯s mind at the time¡­. he would have remarked,

    ¡°That pet was obviously taking after its master!¡±

 Chapter 98: Unknown Factor

    Chapter 98: Unknown Factor

    (Unknown Location ¨C Society of Pure Humanity)

    Beautiful serving girls walked silently around an open room that was the size of a banquet hall.

    They handed out colourful drinks to over one hundred individuals sitting at a rectangr table.

    Each chair was carved from expensive mahogany wood and adorned with gold and silver to demonstrate wealth and influence.

    The members of this group were anonymous to all except the leaders of the society in order to prevent identity exposure.

    One would be surprised to find out that beneath the facial modification masks hiding their appearances were several influential figures among the Earth Federation.

    These individuals were from various economic, political, and manufacturing sectors and even belonged to different court factions but were calmly sitting down and talking with one another.

    They were all united by themon dream upon which their secret society was formed.

    One day the Earth Federation would fall entirely under human control.

    This goal was still many years from being achievable, so the society had set a smaller goal of expelling hybrid citizens from positions of power.

    Hybrids were even worse than the other alien races as they were living proof that a member of humanity had dirtied their bloodline.

    They hadrgely seeded in the years prior, but Duke Peterlor¡¯s decision to make his hybrid daughter the heir to a dukedom was a p to their faces.

    He had even allied with opposing voices in the court to stall various bills that would reduce the rights of hybrids in the Federation.

    Speaking of Duke Peterlor made each member feel an intense mix of anger and rm.

    He was the youngest in the history of the Earth Federation to reach the god stage and the ascension realm seemed a matter of course.

    Many wanted to see the duke dead before his potential could be realised as he presented an enormous stumbling block to their ambitions.

    That wasn¡¯t to say that none tried but all assassinations had failed spectacrly, and the duke had even tracked down and killed the clients whomissioned them.

    No one dared to send another attempt on his life after those warnings.

    Duke Peterlor had taken a neutral stance in all matters unrted to hybrids so the society was unable to influence others to make an enemy out of this powerful man.

    But the holographic images now projected on the screen overhead made all the members contemte deeply.

    The images showed Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter in apparent courtship with one of the royal princesses and the leaders among the society were very concerned.

    Could this be a sign that the duke was involving himself in the war of session?

    ¡°We need to be careful of this development. The duke has obviously decided to support a candidate as the next head of the royal family,¡± ady leaned back on her chair and spoke.

    ¡°But this makes no sense! Surely there were better options to pair his daughter with if Duke Peterlor really wanted to dive into politics,¡± another man argued.

    ¡°Princess Cleo has no significant background and her potential in mech piloting is the only thing of note.¡±

    ¡°Precisely! He wants a puppet that he can control to push his hybrid agenda!¡± came a loud retort.

    Fierce arguments were heard from different sides of the table as this unexpected change in the situation made them all restless.

    ¡°Enough!¡± came the firm yell from a man who walked quietly into the room.

    What was surprising was that none of the cultivators among the members sitting down were able to detect this man¡¯s movements.

    ¡°The spy I nted among duke Peterlor¡¯s death guards is still gathering information on the defenses protecting his lunar colonies.¡±

    ¡°We can ignore the rtionship between his hybrid bastard and that unknown princess girl. He will soon realise that he is nothing but an arrogant child who offended those he cannot afford to touch.¡±

    With just two statements, the man managed to calm down the anxious room and soon the members began to address other pressing matters.

    The man remained silent for the rest of the meeting and his poker face prevented others from reading the dark thoughts hiding beneath.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Peterlor Mansion- Study Room)

    ¡°I¡¯ve finished my investigations into Princess Cleo¡¯s background and family n sir,¡± the head butler stepped forward and presented several papers.

    It was important to properly dig out intelligence on his daughter¡¯s potential partner as matters involving the royal family were quiteplex.

    There were dark undercurrents flowing beneath the seemingly peaceful exterior and the duke had no desire to see his daughter used a chess piece in the war of session.

    ¡°Sir pardon my rudeness but is it wise to do this behind the young miss¡¯s back?¡± the butler hesitated briefly before speaking up.

    The duke remained silent and rapidly scanned through the information presented on the papers with a guilty conscience.

    Rokan frowned heavily once he turned thest page of the document and realised that there was nothing more on file.

    ¡°Is this all?¡± the duke asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes sir. Several gaps exist in the data gathered and even using the underground informant groups, we were unable to get any new information,¡± the butler responded.

    ¡°I suspect that someone has modified or restricted ess but my team was unable to determine who or what faction was responsible.¡±

    The documents had many details on princess Cleo as she was known as one of the high potential royals among the younger generation of heirs but there was little to no information on her mother or the family n that stood behind them.

    This made no sense.

    Even though the current emperor was a lustful man, it was impossible for a meremoner or a noble with no background to enter the imperial harem.

    Behind every concubine stood an impressive noble faction with interlocking groups of interests which made the power dynamics of the court particrly treacherous.

    Previous emperors of the dynasty had limited the number of women in the imperial harem, but the current head of state would ept any woman that qualified.

    Concubine Sisrelis was the only name given when referring to Cleo¡¯s mother and no information could be found on her maiden or first name.

    Rokan could understand if Cleo¡¯s mother were favoured by the emperor and her personal data was protected by the imperial authorities.

    But all reports indicated that the emperor had not visited her pce once in thest fifteen years.

    The duke was no stranger to the members of the imperial harem and had visited the pces on many asions due to his position but the picture of Concubine Sisrelis shown on the paper was still unfamiliar.

    She was definitely just as attractive as many others in the harem with flowing dark hair, a modest figure and piercing green eyes, but the duke felt that there was something unsettling about her appearance that he could not describe.

    He furrowed his brows and rubbed his temples a few times while thinking of what action to take next.

    Should he forbid Sophie from interacting further with the princess?

    As an overprotective father, Rokan was notfortable with such an unknown factor interacting with his daughter but at the same time there was no reason to split them apart.

    Why did his daughter have to get involved with a royal?!

    Aren¡¯t normal girls good enough?

    He sighed heavily and gave out a new order to the head butler,

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop the investigation into Concubine Sisrelis¡¯ background and I will also arrange a face to face meeting with her once Sophie leaves for university.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Frostwing Hatchling¡¯s POV)

    I love my mommy!

    My mommy doesn¡¯t look like me¡­. some bad guy must have stolen her wings! I will beat him up when I get bigger.

    I remember swimming around happily in a small room when I saw a floating silver thingy entering inside the darkness.

    It was very tasty and made me feel warm!

    But my mommy isn¡¯t here right now. Where has she gone?

    Maybe I should look for her!

    Crack! Crack!

    Two new lines appeared on the sides on the egg as the fierce baby wed furiously to free himself from the shell.

 Chapter 99: The Frostwing Bat Hatches!

    Chapter 99: The Frostwing Bat Hatches!

    Rokan was still discussing some other matters with the head butler when Sophie burst into the study room.

    ¡°Dad I¡¯m back!¡± she excitedly spoke.

    ¡°Young miss please wait for us,¡± two flustered maids followed behind her rather out of breath.

    The duke had temporarily fired all the staff while Sophie was taking her entrance exam and all workers in the mansion had to undergo strict evaluations before resuming their old positions.

    His worries were not unfounded as several spies sent from various noble houses had been caught leaking information to outside groups.

    Needless to say, they would no longer be physically able to carry out such acts of betrayal after a few hours of Katarina¡¯s interrogation sessions.

    Cultivators who studied poison techniques may not be able to split mountains in half or crush their enemies with overwhelming force.

    Yet their very presence on the battlefield was enough to make their enemies feel the cold scythe of death.

    What is the use of a man with overpowered strength when he is on his knees gasping for breath?

    To see his flesh rot and melt off his limbs before his very eyes as he screams and cries for mercy.

    A sword may kill a man once¡­. but poison can make a man beg for death.

    None of the traitors nted in the Peterlor estate were allowed to escape and Katarina made sure to send a message to their masters by leaving the bodies on their doorsteps as a warning.

    Sophie had no idea of her mentor¡¯s darker side as Katarina had always been a sunny and kind friend when training her in the art of poison.

    Well¡­maybe sometimes she woulde off as a bit sadistic when administering the injections.

    ¡°Wee back mdy,¡± the head butler bowed slightly as Sophie entered the room.

    The duke sneakily hid the investigation files under a pile of papers and also greeted his daughter with enthusiasm.

    ¡°How was your date with that princess friend of yours,¡± her father asked.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes sparkled as she talked about the amazing experience at the zoo where she saw animals whose appearance far exceeded her imagination.

    The popcorn and snacks were quite delicious and being on a date somehow made the ice cream taste even sweeter.

    Boosting Cleo¡¯s image would make any future meetings between the two easier, so Sophie did not hesitate to inte the good qualities of her partner.

    Of course, she did not mention Cleo¡¯s bad habit of kissing her when she least expected it.

    Sophie somehow had the hunch that her father would not be too pleased.

    The duke smiled along as Sophie continued to talk about Cleo¡¯s sense of humor, beautiful appearance, and great cultivation talent but inwardly he was very unhappy.

    Why did he suddenly get the feeling that his precious treasure was being stolen away by others under his very nose?

    Rokan still remembered thest visit Cleo took to the Peterlor mansion where that scoundrel princess tried to meet his daughter secretly.

    He still needed to settle ounts!

    ¡°Oh, by the way,¡± Sophie paused for a moment to bring up another topic.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time to give my little frostwing bat some qi!¡±

    The qi injecting ritual was now done on a daily basis even though the guidebook from the pet store said that it was unnecessary as the blood bond had already been formed.

    ¡°Bye dad!¡± Sophie waved goodbye and left the study room while her two personal maids followed swiftly behind.

    Petra and Alice were two of the new helpers hired by the duke and neither possessed high cultivation skills as they were simply there to fulfill Sophie¡¯s personal needs.

    Both girls came from one of her father¡¯s lunar colonies and Sophie had a decent impression of them.

    They were both very polite and seemed to blend into the background and would only step forward whenever Sophie called for their assistance.

    That wasn¡¯t to say that Sophie would meet any danger with weak maids as her well being was carefully monitored by a team of death guards whenever she went outside.

    The duke had attached great importance to his daughter¡¯s firstbat beast pet, so the egg was housed in an empty room on a luxury bed.

    Sophie had also brought additional nkets to make a vaguely nest-like building so the egg would be warm and safe.

    This room was next to Sophie¡¯s bedroom which was only about a six-minute walk from the study so it did not take long for the group to arrive.

    ¡°Petra why don¡¯t you go on ahead to check on the egg while I stop in my bedroom to get some things?¡± Sophie suggested.

    The maidservant nodded silently and opened the door to the hatchery while Sophie entered her bedroom to drop off some trinkets, she had bought during the zoo trip.

    She had only just ced a few items on her desk when a loud noise interrupted the quiet atmosphere.

    ¡°Young miss this is terrible!¡± came a panicked shriek from the room next door.

    Sophie froze in shock and quickly ran over to take a look. She could not bear the thought of something awful happening to her pet.

    She was greeted by what appeared to be a¡­.

    Winter wondend??

    The entire floor of the room was covered by a thick sheet of ice and frost could be seen creeping rapidly up the windows.

    Sophie activated the scanner function on her wristband and found that the temperature in the room had dropped to around minus twenty degrees Celsius.

    One of the Frostwing bat¡¯s abilities was frozen domain which allowed the pet to drastically lower the temperature in its immediate surroundings.

    At the highest rank, this ability could sh freeze enemy cultivators and slow down any spells or qi attacks that entered its range.

    But this Frostwing bat had not even emerged from its egg!

    Frostwing bats took a long time to fully mature into adulthood and their first ability would develop after one year at the earliest.

    This initial version of frozen domain would only be able to lower the temperature by a few degrees and would pose little threat.

    As Sophie nced at the now shivering maid at the entrance of the room, she could not help but harbour some doubts.

    Why was her pet so much stronger than what the guidebook predicted?

    Crack! Crack!

    The egg shuddered a few times and the numerous cracks on the outer shell started to widen as the bat sensed that its master was nearby.

    Sophie had reached the qi spirit stage, so she was unaffected by the cold as she walked carefully into the room.

    Cool white clouds formed around her mouth as she slowly exhaled and soon reached her naughty little pet.

    The cooing noise began louder and louder until suddenly the fragile egg fully cracked, and a furry creature tumbled out.

    Sophie gently picked up the frostwing bat in her hand and felt her heart instantly melt at its adorable appearance.

    The frostwing bat resembled a puffy ball of fur that was silky to touch with two small wings jutting from its back.

    ¡°What a cutie,¡± Sophie whispered as she observed its beautiful light blue coloured fur and tiny size.

    It¡¯s eyes were closed as it had just hatched, and they would not open until a few days had passed but Sophie¡¯s palm was thoroughly sniffed by the bat whose tiny nose kept twitching in happiness.

    (Mommy!)

    Sophie felt a mix of various emotions from the fledgling transmitted into her mind through the blood bond and was pleasantly surprised.

 Chapter 100: Dragons Breath

    Chapter 100: Dragon''s Breath

    (Mommy!)

    (Mommy look at me!)

    Sophie could not hear the bat¡¯s thoughts as the blood bond had not matured enough to establish a mental link.

    She did however have a vague sense of the emotions that her new pet was feeling so the excited little bat was enough to make her smile.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s see if you are a boy or a girl?¡± Sophie curiously flipped the bat over to find out.

    She had already figured out a few potential names for her firstbat beast pet, but they were all gender specific.

    Baby frostwing bats were covered in soft fur but that did not prevent Sophie from seeing the business downstairs.

    Yep¡­ that¡¯s a male.

    ¡°Your new name will be¡­¡± Sophie paused for a moment and carefully went through all the names in her mind before a certain one just stood out to her.

    ¡°Moon. I will call you Moon.¡±

    The frostwing bat now called Moon responded with a loud,

    ¡°Squeak! Squeak!¡±

    Moon was thrilled that his mommy had returned so his frozen domain ability slowly deactivated and the room returned to its normal temperature.

    Sophie remembered that Frostwing bats required regr feeding, so she sent one of her maids downstairs to get some warm milk from the kitchen.

    Petra soon returned with a feeder bottle and offered to help out but the frostwing bat did not allow anyone except Sophie toe near.

    He was very territorial!

    Rokan had heard the news from Sophie and also stopped by to check up on his daughter¡¯sbat pet.

    Sophie excitedly told him about her bat¡¯s ability to use frozen domain and the duke nned to ask a couple of his friends in the beast pet field if they knew about this phenomenon.

    Moon was not too happy that his mommy seemed distracted and started to wail loudly.

    The duke shot the crying bat a casual look filled with a threatening aura that made Moon stop instantly.

    His beast instincts warned him not to mess with the older man in front of him who smelled simr to mommy.

    Moon became very obedient after this incident and Sophie could not figure out what had happened.

    (Next Day)

    ¡°Well isn¡¯t he just adorable,¡± Katarina cooed softly as she lightly tickled the frostwing bat¡¯s ears.

    Sophie¡¯s training had not stopped since she returned home but now there was an additionalpanion by her side.

    Moon would cry loudly whenever Sophie left his sight even for a moment and his frozen domain ability would activate instantly.

    The duke was not too pleased that, yet another creature was taking away his daughter¡¯s attention.

    So, he made sure to let the little bat know the hierarchy of the house!

    He had also reached out to some of his beast cultivator acquaintances to question the rapid growth of the frostwing bat and had received positive news.

    Apparently, it was generally epted that the younger the pet was when their ability first activated was directly linked to their potential.

    Moon was perhaps one of the more impressive frostwing bats in terms of raw talent.

    Sophie was also notfortable with leaving her little baby by himself, so she got an empty box and filled it with soft bedding to carry Moon around.

    She walked to her different training sessions with the happy frostwing bat in her arms.

    Today would be a day long solo session with Katarina as she would be teaching Sophie some poison techniques.

    Sophie had followed her immunisation schedule rigorously and Katarina was now confident enough to teach her some skills.

    ¡°Alright, I will now teach you a poison technique called ¡®Dragon¡¯s breath¡¯,¡± Katarina stopped ying with the bat and stood up.

    ¡°Watch carefully as I demonstrate.¡±

    Katarina reached into her pocket and took out a vial of purplish ck liquid that shifted around the tube with an eerie light.

    Sophie figured the attack had something to do with spreading the poison, but she was still shocked when Katarina leaned back and casually poured the contents of the vial straight into her mouth!

    The poison infiltrated Katarina¡¯s meridians and directly flowed through all corners of her body before entering her dantian.

    ¡°The essence of this technique is to nourish the poison with the qi inside of your body to enhance its corrosive qualities,¡± Katarina exined as she saw her now dumbfounded student still in a daze.

    ¡°This allows even a weak poison to be something much more dangerous.¡±

    One rotation¡­

    Two rotations¡­

    Three rotations¡­

    Katarina turned to face the opposite direction and gently took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

    A purplish ck mist was expelled from her mouth and spread rapidly until the entire area of the training room in front of Katarina was covered by the dark fog.

    Hiss!

    Sophie could see the walls of the training room begin to melt as the metallic outer shell was unable to withstand the powerful corrosive effect.

    ¡°Amazing!¡± Sophie pped loudly in awe as Katarina just smirked proudly.

    Moon did not know what was going on, but his mommy seemed happy, so he also started to cheerfully make cooing noises.

    ¡°Are you ready to give it a try?¡± Katarina held out a smaller vial filled with a reddish-brown liquid and ced it in Sophie¡¯s hands.

    ¡°You will start off with a weak poison so don¡¯t worry if something goes wrong.¡±

    Katarina had carefully selected the poison from amon grasnd snake whose effect amounted to nothing more than a mild irritant.

    Even enhancing the poison using this technique would not significantly increase its lethality.

    Sophie had absolute trust in her teacher, so she unscrewed the vial¡¯s stopper and followed Katarina by pouring the liquid into her mouth.

    Cough! Cough!

    Sophie choked hard as the burning liquid slid down her throat, but the pain was not enough to disrupt her concentration.

    She could feel the poison entering her body and wrapped the liquid up in her qi to control its path.

    The poison passed through her meridians and entered her dantian without much trouble as Katarina helped greatly by cing a hand on her back to guide her qi.

    One rotation¡­

    Two rotations¡­

    Three rotations¡­

    When Sophie felt that the poison had been sufficiently nourished, she guided the toxic liquid back into her meridians and they flowed straight towards her mouth.

    ¡°Okay now take one deep breath and slowly exhale to release the poison,¡± Katarina patiently instructed.

    She was quietly shocked at how fast Sophie had learnt this technique as most would be unable to withstand rotating the poison more than two times when first training this skill.

    Sophie could feel the poison welling up in her throat, so she took a deep breath and brought it into her mouth.

    This was it! She had finally found out her impressive talent!

    She excitedly opened her mouth and exhaled softly in a forward direction.

    And¡­.

    Nothing happened.

    Wait¡­. what??

    Where did the poison go?!

 Chapter 101: Why is the poison so powerful?

    Chapter 101: Why is the poison so powerful?

    Dragon¡¯s Breath!

    Sophie was undeterred by her apparent failure and simply took another deep breath to try again for a second time.

    She exhaled slowly while doing her best to mimic Katarina¡¯s movements from the earlier demonstration but there was still no poison mist generated.

    What was baffling was the fact that Sophie could feel the poison entering her mouth just a few moments ago but it seemed to have vanished into thin air.

    She carefully circted some qi around her body to detect any abnormalities but could not seem to find anything wrong.

    It was like she had never taken the poison in the first ce!

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon wasn¡¯t sure what his mommy was doing but was just happy to be a little cheerleader as he waved his furry wings in the air.

    ¡°Um Katarina¡­. I¡¯m not sure what just happened,¡± Sophie spoke in a puzzled tone.

    Katarina was none the wiser to the situation as she had never seen something like this before.

    Generally, the mostmon mistakes when learning the Dragon¡¯s Breath was scattering poison into your own body during the nourishing process in the dantian.

    Sophie had clearly guided all the poison into her mouth and only had to perform the simple act of blowing outwards.

    There should not have been any problem.

    ¡°Let me take a look,¡± Katarina moved closer and stretched the corners of Sophie¡¯s mouth to look inside.

    Poison Sensory Art!

    The tips of Katarina¡¯s fingers turned a purplish colour as she moved them in a sideways motion along the edges of Sophie¡¯s lips.

    She could tell that the poison had not left Sophie¡¯s body and yet there were no visible indicators to show where it had gone.

    ¡°I can sense that the poison has pooled somewhere in your mouth but for some reason I can¡¯t see where exactly,¡± Katarina exined as she stepped back.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon thought that the strange two-legged creature had just attacked his mommy and the temperature around him started to plummet rapidly.

    I¡¯ll save you mom!

    ¡°Calm down baby,¡± Sophie stroked his head gently and the frosty temperature disappeared just as quickly as it arrived.

    Sophie quite enjoyed petting her fluffy pet as it would only be a few more months until Moon matured enough to begin training.

    Until then, she would spoil him rotten!

    ¡°Should I try this technique again?¡± Sophie asked.

    ¡°No¡­I need to figure out what went wrongst time so why don¡¯t we take a ten-minute break?¡± Katarina suggested.

    Sophie had no problem with taking a short rest and just flopped on the groundzily. The ceiling of the training room could simte the conditions of different environments.

    Right now, the artificial sun was shining brightly overhead, and it appeared to be midday.

    Sophie sent a message to one of her maids waiting on the side to bring lunch and it was not long before Petra arrived with over ten tes of food in a serving cart.

    The servants were all ustomed to their young miss¡¯s great appetite!

    Sophie made sure to feed Moon first so her hungrypanion would not stare anxiously at her food as she ate.

    For some reason, this frostwing bat turned out to be a glutton just like his master.

    Sophie casually picked up one of sandwiches and her fangs extended outwards as she took a deep bite.

    Sizzle! Sizzle!

    Sophie hurriedly flung the sandwich away as the unexpected noise when she bit into it made her startled.

    The sandwich rolled around a few times before stopping abruptly as it appeared to melt into the floor of the training room.

    Small holes in the floor had appeared at the areas where it had bounced.

    ¡°Mdy what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Katarina rushed to her side and quickly moved Sophie away from the food.

    ¡°Did you just try to poison the young miss?¡± she red menacingly at the maidservant as poison swirls started to form around her palms.

    ¡°No¡­ I swear I didn¡¯t!¡± Petra knelt and shakily replied.

    Who would be mad enough to attempt an assassination in front of the duke¡¯s greatest interrogator?

    If she ended up in the hands of the ¡®poison witch¡¯ then her fate would be worse than death.

    Katarina activated her poison sensory technique to check the state of Sophie¡¯s body and found no foreign liquids inside.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± Katarina had still not ruled out the possibility of foul y, so she asked Sophie about the sequence of events that led to throwing away the sandwich.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I just bit down on the sandwich normally and I heard a sizzling noise,¡± Sophie exined.

    She was genuinely confused as well.

    Katarina was no idiot and the gears slowly begun to turn in her head as a strange theory shed across her mind.

    She recalled that during the bio-scan, it showed that Sophie¡¯s fangs were hollow and had channels that were connected to special nds in her mouth.

    What if the poison from the technique flowed into the mouth nds instead and then subsequently into her fangs?

    ¡°Mdy, I want you to bite one of my arms so I can check out something,¡± Katarina decided to test out the theory as soon as possible.

    ¡°Err¡­okay,¡± Sophie also had a vague idea in her mind, and it seemed that Katarina wanted to see if the poison was trapped in her fangs.

    Katarina stretched out her right arm and Sophie took a few steps closer to get into range.

    Hungry¡­. fresh prey¡­.

    Sophie did not even notice that her golden eyes had gradually shifted colour into a reddish tint as her fangs extended and she firmly chomped down on Katarina¡¯s right arm.

    After a brief moment of contact, she moved away with an almost disappointed expression on her face that went unnoticed.

    This was just a theory that Katarina had in the spur of the moment, but she was confident that a poison cultivator like herself would not be in any danger.

    Besides if Sophie¡¯s alien heritage were affecting how the poison techniques were expressed as she performed them, then she would need to adjust the training n and speak to the duke.

    ¡°Um¡­Katarina,¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke as she saw that her mentor was still contemting silently.

    ¡°Is your arm supposed to look like that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± came the confused reply.

    Katarina nced down at her arm and almost froze in shock.

    The flesh on her right arm had turnedpletely ck and started to rot with dark blue veins protruding eerily through the skin.

    She found that all sensations in her arm had gone numb and Katarina had to consciously send qi to the meridians in her arm in order to prevent the poison from spreading through the rest of her body.

    This made no sense!

    Katarina took another look at the state of her arm and was in quiet disbelief. The poison given to Sophie to practice with was from amon grasnd snake.

    And yet, it took consuming her only grade seven detoxification pill to reverse the effects of Sophie¡¯s bite.

    No matter how many times the poison was nourished, it should be nothing more than a mild to severe irritant.

    How could it possibly burn the floor of the training room or affect her?

    Katarina could also tell that the poison entering her body from Sophie¡¯s fangs hadponents of the irritant she had ingested earlier.

    But it seemed to have been greatly mutated or modified as it was able to even affect a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

 Chapter 102: I Kept The Family Together

    Chapter 102: I Kept The Family Together

    (Hydra Star System ¨C Ankupra)

    (Ugrora Gated Community- House # 305)

    ¡°Astrid! Emma took my phone!¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t! Stop lying or I¡¯ll hit you!¡±

    ¡°Big sis I¡¯m hungry¡­. when can we get some food?¡±

    Astrid ced a hand on her temples and then sighed in frustration as she exited the kitchen to deal with her younger siblings.

    She had to raise three naughty little cubs by herself as it had been a few years since the ident that took her parents¡¯ lives.

    ¡°Emma Lockhart and Jackson Lockhart stop fighting this instant!¡± Astrid called the two squabbling children by their full names and both fearfully ceased all movement.

    Big sister was scary when she got mad.

    ¡°Sister give me a hug!¡± came a cheerful voice from the remaining sibling who tried to provide a distraction.

    Astrid kneeled down and tightly wrapped her arms around I who smiled sweetly back at her.

    The bad mood from earlier vanishedpletely and Astrid returned to the kitchen but not before shooting the two naughty brats a look of warning.

    ¡°Thanks I, we owe you one,¡± Jackson whispered once Astrid left the room.

    ¡°I know¡­. you can pay me back in either cash or credit,¡± the sweet look on I¡¯s face disappeared instantly as she eyed down her two siblings.

    A new quarrel soon erupted but it died down quickly once I reasoned gently with the power of her fists.

    Astrid was listening to the noisesing from the living room and felt a warmth in her heart.

    It was good that her younger siblings had such a strong bond with one another.

    Charlie and Tia Lockhart were the names of Astrid¡¯s parents.

    They were ordinary folk who jointly ran a small real estate business that had be profitable thanks to the increase in property value in major cities.

    They had four children with one elder daughter, two younger girls and one boy.

    The younger ones were triplets and were inseparable since birth although they did like to argue regr with one another.

    The family may not have been wealthy enough to break into the upper society circles, but their home was filled with warmth and love.

    Astrid grew up an innocent and carefree girl as she was treated with envy and awe from her peers due to her natural magic talent.

    It had been years since a Mendolesa warrior had mana talent above grade B and Astrid was treated as a precious seedling by her teachers.

    This happiness all changed with a single phone call.

    One day was enough to shift the course of her life forever.

    Astrid could still remember getting that fateful phone call from the police and numbly going to the hospital to identify the bodies of her parents.

    She vividly recalled just throwing up constantly when she saw that the corpses of her parents were not even in one piece.

    After that¡­. everything just became a blur.

    The police said that her parents were driving while under the influence of drugs and had gone off a cliff.

    Their bodies had been recovered by a passerby who had seen the ident firsthand and then messaged the police.

    Astrid could not understand the report as her parents had never shown any signs of substance abuse, but the police dered the case as closed.

    Rtives and family friends appeared seemingly out of nowhere and quickly divided up the profits of thepany that her parents had painstakingly built.

    Astrid was still in shock at the time and could not stop them until more than half of the assets had already been stolen.

    Her siblings were only ten years old at the time and Astrid was a pampered girl at the age of thirteen.

    It was sudden how the looks of envy towards her had turned into gazes of pity and even some delight from those who were jealous of her potential.

    Everyone thought that it was the end of the Lockhart family, but Astrid made a series of decisions that shocked the curious onlookers.

    Mendolesa society promoted values of self-reliance and independence which Astrid took full use of to put her n into effect.

    Mendolesa warriors could seek adulthood status at the age of twelve through legal channels and Astrid resolutely applied and was approved.

    Astrid sold all the remaining shares of thepany in her name and just managed to raise a fund of around one million Enas.

    She hired a team ofwyers and sued all of her greedy rtives forpensation money.

    Her aunts and uncles could not believe that a young girl would be so ruthless and intelligent.

    Naturally, her actions painted a target on her back and Astrid was afraid that her greedy family would hire someone to target them.

    Astrid dropped out of the top high school she was attending and took her siblings with her to a tier two on the outskirts of the Hydra Star System.

    She broke off all contact with everyone she knew and disappeared silently overnight.

    No matter how hard her rtives looked, they could not find her.

    A two-bedroom house in the Ugrora gatedmunity was within her price range so Astrid took her three younger siblings and settled down permanently.

    Online sses were avable through the virtual and Astrid enrolled herself in one to have a flexible learning schedule and still finish high school.

    There was also apetition for avable public spots to the university entrance exam so Astrid never stopped training herbat skills.

    She sent her siblings to a private school and Astrid had to work at various jobs to make ends meet.

    Astrid spent the next three years raising her younger siblings and trying to fill the roles as both a mother and a father figure.

    It was difficult and at times she would break down and cry in the bathroom when no one was watching.

    But she would look at the peaceful smiles on her siblings faces and carry on.

    Astrid made sure that none of her siblings knew the enormous amounts of pressure she was under.

    They deserved to grow up without worry or concern, but she made sure to teach them all the skills necessary to survive if something were to happen to her.

    ¡°Alright you little monsters, lunch is ready!¡± Astrid called out and immediately three figures dashed towards the dining table.

    ¡°Wow this looks so good,¡± Emma couldn¡¯t help but drool at the delicious feast before her eyes.

    ¡°Big sis is the best!¡± I praised.

    ¡°I call the steak on the right,¡± Jackson hurriedly spoke.

    A bountiful feast of well seasoned meat dishes, steamed vegetables and fried rice that would not look out of ce when served in a restaurant.

    Takeaway meals were delicious but after one month of adding up all the money she had spent while feeding four people made Astrid immediately look up cooking videos on the virtual.

    After a lot of practice and small burns from using the stove for the first time, Astrid was now confident in her cooking skills.

    Heck if she didn¡¯t like fighting so much¡­. culinary school wasn¡¯t a bad idea.

    ¡°Thanks for the food!¡±

    ¡°Big sis you¡¯re better than the cafeteriadies!¡±

    ¡°I love your cooking!¡±

    Three voices spoke one after the other and Astrid was pleased to watch her siblings eagerly bite down on the food she had prepared.

    ¡°Do you see this mom and dad?¡± Astrid closed her eyes and whispered to herself.

    ¡°I kept the family together.¡±

 Chapter 103: Simple Days

    Chapter 103: Simple Days

    ¡°Hey girls!¡± Sophie¡¯s avatar made a waving motion as she approached her three old roommates from the entrance exam.

    It was august and the deadline for university selection from the avable offers was soon approaching so the girls had decided to meet in the virtual to have a short meeting.

    After much discussion with her father, Sophie had decided on picking Zrudread University as they had offered her an elite spot on the main campus.

    Part of the reason was that she was sick and tired of dealing with the discrimination from the other noble children so it would be a nice change of pace to go to a different environment.

    The Mendolesa warrior culture was also very interesting, and Sophie wanted to see how their society differed from the human ones.

    She had already talked to Cleo who agreed to pick the same university.

    What Cleo did not mention to Sophie was her secret desire to finally eat her up once they got away from the gaze of her overprotective father.

    Sophie also wanted to stick together with her friends from the entrance exam, but it was clear that they may be heading their separate ways.

    Sophie was currently resting inside a state-of-the-art nutrient cabin while cables attached to her brain directly connected her to the virtual.

    She found that her avatar was inside of a simted high-ss restaurant with soft gentle light providing a rxing atmosphere.

    The virtual technology of the future was incredibly advanced, and it was possible to have meetups with individuals that were star systems away.

    Electrical signals were transmitted over an interconnected quantumwork which meant thatg was no longer an issue.

    Qiana was also connected via a nutrient cabin so her avatar was identical to her real-life appearance.

    Astrid and Rachel could only afford simple VR headsets, so their avatars moved a bit stiffly and only had a rtively simr outer appearance.

    ¡°Hi Sophie!¡± Astrid cheerfully walked forward and gave her a hug.

    ¡°Well someone seems to have grown a bit,¡± Rachel winked as she subtly looked down.

    ¡°Do you have to be such a flirt all the time?¡± Qiana groaned as she leaned back on one of the chairs.

    They spent the next forty minutes animatedly talking about all the events that had urred during the break.

    Rachel¡¯s position in the Nephilim Church had risen drastically following the results of the entrance exam and it was clear that the position of saintess was only a matter of time.

    This newfound fame and influence was very useful as Rachel sessfully seduced many attractive girls and guys from the congregation.

    She was bisexual but did have a certain love for the fairer sex as in her own words,

    ¡°No one fucks harder than a repressed religious chick.¡±

    Qiana byparison had a much tamer break as her family begun to train her in managing their corporations.

    Her siblings were all disqualified from the heir selection due to their poor cultivation talent or character ws which left Qiana as the next head by default.

    She had always been very intelligent, and it did not take long before her natural skills in diplomacy and business had won her great praise from the n elders.

    If there was oneint that she had¡­.

    THERE WAS NO TIME TO READ BL NOVELS!

    How did the CEOs in every romance novel have so much time to chase the love interest?

    Qiana vented to Astrid every night about her struggles to live up to her family¡¯s expectations and the wolf girl had been a steady pir that she could rely on.

    Their rtionship had not ventured into the romantic territory yet but there were certainly ambiguous feelings between the two.

    Sophie had spent most of the break training herbat skills none stop in order to gain an edge over the talented students in the elite ss.

    Poison techniques that brought poison to her mouth as part of the skill would always somehow get redirected to the hollow tubes in her fangs.

    Katarina was forced to teach her other techniques, so Sophie learnt how to manipte poison gases and create toxic liquids bybing different substances.

    The poison produced naturally in her venom nds was found to be lethal to all cultivators under the upper qi tide stage especially when mixed with another poison.

    This was a hidden ace, but Sophie could not use this ability in spars or practice fights as it could easily take her opponent¡¯s life.

    Plus, it would be quite difficult to bite an opponent in a fight when considering the use of sma guns, des, other weapons, and qi techniques.

    Astrid had spent most of her time with her three siblings and brushing up on her magical knowledge for the uing semester.

    A certain honorary professor at Mer University had reached out to her with an offer of direct apprenticeship which Astrid agreed to after proposing some conditions.

    Lapis Hollystorm was one of the most powerful Archmages in the Earth Federation and specialised in spatial magic.

    He was infamous for being a stubborn old man and had rejected all previous applicants who wanted to study under him.

    This was simply the chance of a lifetime for Astrid.

    ¡°So, have you all picked which universities to go to?¡± Sophie asked casually.

    ¡°The church is located near Tantibus University and the head priest wants me to study there,¡± Rachel sighed.

    ¡°That¡¯s a real shame,¡± Sophie pouted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going to Zrudread University and joining the elite ss.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ I guess that means you will see Astrid and I,¡± Qiana gazed tenderly at the wolf girl and replied.

    ¡°Really? Astrid, I thought you would go to Mer University,¡± Sophie spoke in a confused tone.

    Mer University may not be outstanding in other aspects but when it came to mage craft and mana spells, there was simply no equal.

    Astrid as a grade S talented mage should pick Mer University without question as it was the only university who could bring out her full potential.

    ¡°I am a student of Mer University,¡± Astrid spoke up.

    Astrid received three puzzled looks in reply, so she hurriedly provided an exnation,

    ¡°My younger siblings will be staying with me in a family housingplex close to campus and I didn¡¯t want to take them to a new star system.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, it seems that my mentor from Mer University struck a deal with some of the higher ups and I will be taking sses with the elites from Zrudread University.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just be treated as a foreign exchange student.¡±

    Astrid had underestimated the importance of herself in Lapis¡¯ heart as this was his one and only precious apprentice.

    His first one too!

    When Astrid talked about her tough home situation, he immediately contacted the principal of Zrudread University and got himself the role as a temporary professor.

    Of course, his sses would only have one student.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you all,¡± Rachel sniffed as tears filled her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, at the end of every year we will be required to join the battlefields at the border so you will see us then,¡± Qiana reassured her.

    Sophie and Astrid alsoforted the sensitive girl and soon Rachel was smiling cheerfully again and bragging about how many girls she would bed in college.

    Time flew by and the minutes quickly turned to hours as the girls continued to chat.

    ¡°Well I think that¡¯s about it for tonight,¡± Sophie opened up the log out window as it was now getting prettyte.

    ¡°Does anyone have anything else to say before we log out?¡± Astrid asked.

    ¡°Actually¡­. I heard a rumor that duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter is courting a certain royal princess,¡± Qiana smirked devilishly as she sold out her friend.

    The news was an open secret among the upper nobility with various reactions from the different factions.

    Qiana¡¯s parents knew of her friendship with Peterlor heir and just warned her to pretend to be casual acquaintances in public.

    ¡°Really?!¡± Rachel said in shock.

    ¡°She better not hurt you or I will beat her up,¡± Astrid growled menacingly and flexed her ws.

    Suddenly Sophie was surrounded on all sides by her friends who were now eager for some gossip.

    ¡°Is she cute?¡±

    ¡°Have you gone all the way?¡±

    ¡°Are you all official yet?¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t official yet but hopefully¡­. someday,¡± Sophie blushed furiously as she tried to avoid the relentless string of questions.

    Still she could feel a warm tingle in her heart when gazing at her friends close by who had looks of excitement and celebration as they continued to pester for more details.

    She would miss these simple days.

 Chapter 104: Graduation Ceremony

    Chapter 104: Graduation Ceremony

    (Royal Academy- Auditorium)

    ¡°From the beginning, this school has always been a ce where students can strive for excellence and uphold the glory of their noble heritage.¡±

    ¡°The founders created a vision of discipline, tolerance and productivity which is carefully followed to this very day.¡±

    ¡°I have had the privilege and honour to be selected as the head of this great institution. The seeds that I have carefully nurtured are what has led to the results today¡­.¡±

    Sophie and the rest of the graduate students were sitting quietly backstage as Principal Yang continued his lecture about the history of the school.

    His long talk had been going on for two hours now and Sophie could see that several members of the audience were yawning sleepily.

    Not that she med them.

    The man kept repeating the same points over and over while also praising himself.

    This year had a record number of students who passed the entrance exam and their friends, families and loved ones were among the audience present.

    As for the role of the academy in those results¡­.

    Who didn¡¯t know that every student who qualified came from upper nobility houses or ns.

    It was obvious that the private n resources and training were the two biggest factors that contributed to the results.

    The graduation ceremony was a rite of passage for the students who graduated sessfully and received admissions to universities.

    Very few would enter one of the four great universities of the Earth Federation, so those graduates were allowed to make a short speech in front of the audience of parents.

    Sophie, Qiana, Aiden, Su Ling and Leona were the five students that had passed the entrance exam and received offers of admission.

    Aiden, Su Ling and Leona were attending As University which was the typical choice of noble heirs while Sophie and Qiana were taking an unorthodox path by attending Zrudread University.

    ¡°We will now hear a few words from our sessful students!¡± Principal Yang enthusiastically dered.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Sophie whispered to Qiana in a soft tone.

    ¡°I was going to ditch this whole affair if he didn¡¯t shut up.¡±

    Qiana burst into a fit of giggles and just shot Sophie a stern look to tell her to behave.

    ¡°The first candidate to speak is¡­ Qiana Abazin,¡± the principal announced.

    ¡°Wooo go Qiana!¡± Sophie cheered and joined the thunderous apuse as Qiana walked onstage while holding the ends of her skirt nervously.

    She walked towards the podium and pulled out a piece of paper with her speech carefully prepared.

    ¡°I would like to thank my teachers, peers and family for helping me get where I am today. It would not be possible to enter Zrudread University without their constant support,¡± Qiana spoke with clear pronunciation.

    ¡°For anyone in the audience who wants to give up¡­. you need to keep going forward and follow your dreams.¡±

    ¡°Cultivation is a marathon not a sprint so constant effort and hard work is far more important than raw talent.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Qiana gave a short bow and returned backstage.

    She could see her parents in the back row pping along with the rest of the audience and a small grin shed across her face.

    Principal Yang stepped up again to introduce the next speaker,

    ¡°Thank you Qiana for that lovely speech and now we introduce the next graduate¡­ Aiden Marken,¡±

    Sophie listened half heartedly as the rest of the speeches basically said the same thing as Qiana.

    They would thank the school and then their parents for helping them seed.

    Time passed by quickly as the candidates took a much shorter time to give their speeches whenpared to the principal and soon only two students were left.

    ¡°And the next candidate is¡­ Leona Braveheart.¡±

    Sophie could not help but spare a nce as her ex friend walked on stage with great confidence in her stride.

    Leona was wearing the official knight uniform of House Braveheart with a steel sword at her hip which made her look exactly like a female warrior.

    She walked up to the podium and pulled out a piece of paper before gazing backstage.

    Aplicated expression crossed her face and she hesitantly returned the note to her pocket.

    Her air of confidence slowly faded away as she kept opening her mouth, but it took a few moments before the words came out.

    ¡°I¡­I used to think that talent was everything. I judged people based on their innate potential and saw those with talent weaker than mine as lesser.¡±

    ¡°I was wrong.¡±

    Awkward silence reigned in the auditorium and Leona could see her family with questioning looks on their faces.

    Truthfully, she had prepared a normal speech, but the months spent aboard the transport ship during the entrance exam gave her plenty of time to think.

    She may never get forgiveness from Sophie and that was something that was out of her hands.

    But¡­ her once best friend deserved an actual and proper apology.

    She clenched her fists tightly and continued to speak the words from her heart,

    ¡°Sophie was once my best friend, but I let the opinions of others and the discrimination of hybrids in this academy influence my poor decisions.¡±

    ¡°I turned a blind eye to the bullying and suffering she received at this academy and did not treat her like a true friend should.¡±

    ¡°No amount of regret will ever change my actions, but I am here to tell you Sophie¡­that I am deeply sorry.¡±

    Leona tried to continue but the surging emotions of guilt and pain caused tears to form at the corners of her eyes.

    She hurriedly rushed off stage and headed to the bathroom to fix her appearance without ending her speech.

    Whispers and gossip erupted as soon as her figure disappeared into the distance as everyone was amazed at the shocking contents of her speech.

    Some parents were even concerned¡­. was there a bullying problem in the school?

    Duke Peterlor in the audience made a special note of the matter and nned to pay a small visit to certain noble houses whose children had mistreated his daughter.

    Sophie felt aplex feeling as she saw the proud figure of her former best friend seem so shaken and unsure of herself during the speech.

    Compared to herst apology¡­it was clear that Leona truly meant what she said this time.

    Sophie held no hatred towards her, but it would be unlikely that the pair would ever be friends again.

    The principal was unsure of how to continue the ceremony and coughed a few times before introducing thest speaker.

    ¡°Um¡­ the final graduating student will be¡­. Sophie Peterlor.¡±

    Sophie walked onstage under the piercing gazes of hundreds in the auditorium.

    It was probably due to the fact that Leona had made her the subject of her speech that Sophie gained everyone¡¯s full attention.

    Sophie could see her father secretly give her a thumbs up gesture which filled her with a burst of confidence.

    She decided to speak her mind and honestly talk about how she felt as a student in the Royal Academy,

    ¡°Hello everyone. My name is Sophie Peterlor and I was the first hybrid student to attend the Royal Academy.¡±

    ¡°I managed to pass the entrance exam, but full credit must go to my father and my home tutors for this aplishment.¡±

    ¡°Truthfully, there are a lot of issues within this school that are masked by an outer appearance of prestige and nobility.¡±

    Sophie dived into the various problems she had experienced in the school, from the bullying and stuck up attitudes of some students to the uneven distribution of resources and teachers.

    Some teachers had clearly only gotten in due to their connections with the school administration and it was directly reflected in their poor teaching skills.

    The Royal Academy boasted of an impressive track record of candidates passing the entrance exam but that was entirely because of external factors.

    Sophie could see that Principal Yang¡¯s face was getting increasingly more and more ugly as time passed but she didn¡¯t care.

    Some things just needed to be said.

    Principal Yang reached out to pull Sophie away from the podium, but he only managed one step forward before a voice boomed in his head.

    (Touch my daughter and I¡¯ll cut off that hand of yours)

    (And I will pay you a visit in the near future to discuss what exactly my daughter has experienced in your school)

    Beads of sweat ran down Principal Yang¡¯s face and he was forced to smile fawningly in the direction of Duke Peterlor and allow Sophie to continue her verbal take down of the school.

    Principal Yang could foresee a series of meetings with the Board of Education after all theints he was sure to get from irate parents.

    Why didn¡¯t he just skip the ceremony this year?!

 Chapter 105: University Awaits!

    Chapter 105: University Awaits!

    (Hydra Star System ¨C Eleron)

    (Zrudread University ¨C Teacher¡¯s Offices ¨C East Wing)

    ¡°Hmm¡­. I think these four candidates can be added to the training camp roster,¡± Instructor Selvon whispered to himself as he typed a series ofmands into the mainputer.

    The carefree look typically present on his face was long gone as he mulled over the difficult choices to make.

    The elite ss at Zrudread University received the most resources and specialised training but staying in the ss was not an easy feat.

    Spots in the elite ss must be earned and students could not rx based on the results of the entrance exam.

    Only the top thirty students in the entire year would be able to qualify and usually the bottom half of the elite ss would be swapped out frequently after every exam.

    The two-week training camp before the start of the semester was toy the groundwork for the intense work schedule of the elite ss.

    Typically, the first round of eliminations would ur after the first midterm at the end of September but Selvon had a different idea in mind for this year.

    In addition to the thirty students who qualified from the entrance exam, he would add an extra seventy students who couldpete to steal a spot and move up from the main ss.

    Selvon did not want to have his young pupils experience that level of pressure so early but the recent affairs of the Earth Federation left him no choice.

    The Earth Federation may be a universal powerhouse, but it was surrounded on all sides by three other powers with hungry appetites.

    The war with the Insectoid Empire was not going as well as the media portrayed it to be.

    Both sides were in a stalemate and had sustained heavy losses.

    Neither side could gain any advantages even when the god and ascension stage cultivators stepped up to join the fight so eventually the high tierbatants withdrew.

    Insectoids and humans had high reproductive capabilities so these losses would not put a dent in their poptions, but it was different for the Mendolesa.

    Mendolesa warriors had low birth rates and most did not seek out the use of artificial insemination to get pregnant.

    It was important to raise the standard of the elite ss graduating from the university to give them a better chance of survival once they reached the border.

    Selvon may act and look like a heartless warrior but every time he received word that one of his students had died in battle¡­.

    He would feel a piece of his heart breaking.

    There was no worse feeling in the world than experiencing the pain of losing your students.

    The training camp was to be held on one of the lunar colonies privately owned by the university and Selvon nned on putting those one hundred students through hell.

    Warriors are forged in fire and adversity.

    ¡°Astrid, Sophie, Ethan, Marcus, Jodi¡­.¡± Selvon grinned silently as he looked up the profiles of a few students that he had ssified as high potential seedlings.

    He looked forward to seeing which students would eventually make the cut and secure their spot in the elite ss.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two dayster- Private transport ship D-012)

    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m princess Cleo, it¡¯s very nice to meet you,¡± Cleo smiled nicely as she shook hands with Qiana.

    Cleo was casually resting her head on Sophie¡¯s shoulder and enjoying the soft body of her beautiful girlfriend.

    ¡°Likewise, it is an honour to meet a proud daughter of heaven,¡± Qiana gave a short bow as her diplomatic training kicked in.

    ¡°No need for the formalities. Any friend of Sophie is a friend of mine,¡± Cleo dered proudly.

    Sophie giggled at the serious look on Cleo¡¯s face and the atmosphere between the three girls rxed instantly.

    The trio were on route to the Hydra Star System to join the rest of the elite ss in the training camp.

    Few details were given by the university and the elite ss candidates were only given the location and time when the camp would begin.

    Astrid was already close by the lunar colony so she would be arriving early and waiting for them at the site.

    Apparently, there was to be nomunication with the outside world once the session begun so Sophie had already promised her dad to take lots of pictures.

    Duke Peterlor was very nervous to see his daughter leave for University and had made Cleo promise repeatedly to look after his precious treasure.

    Cleo had met the father daughter duo at the airport and her obvious love and concern for Sophie had earned Rokan¡¯s reluctant approval.

    This approval was still subject to a lifelong trial where he would make sure that the princess always treated his daughter properly.

    They had met Qiana onboard the vessel as she was quietly reading one of her favourite novels, but the title alone made Sophie blush.

    Did this girl have no shame reading those sorts of novels in public?!

    Transport ship D-012 was a lot smaller than the one used for the entrance exam and it was the equivalent of a luxury private jet.

    The seats were made of high-quality memory foam, the meals were custom made by five-star chefs and each passenger was given their own private suite.

    Although Cleo imed that she suffered from nightmares and had brought her belongings into Sophie¡¯s room.

    Naturally, it cost a small fortune to buy a ticket, but money was something that a princess, duchess heir and a future countess did notck.

    Sophie was living the life of a rich second generation!

    There was a man-made stargate that led to the Hydra Star System so the journey would only take about one week toplete.

    Sophie and her friends would arrive the day before the training camp begun.

    It was going to be the start of her university adventure!

    (Meanwhile- Transport Ship A-923)

    ¡°Sorry but this spot is full.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t sit next to me you lowlymoner.¡±

    ¡°God, they let anyone join As University.¡±

    Mocking jeers and taunts were directed towards a skinny girl who was dressed in a simple white blouse that stood out among the sea of fancy dresses and uniforms.

    The girl was quite pretty with purple hair that swayed gently from side to side and an oval face with soft, delicate features.

    Vivian tried not to cry as she was repeatedly chased from different areas of the transport ship by stuck up noble kids.

    She was fortunate enough to win a schrship to the elite ss of As University but the relentless bullying by her soon to be peers had doused her enthusiasm.

    These nobles were absolutely horrible!

    Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she walked around while trying to find an empty section.

    ¡°Hey, you,¡± a firm hand grabbed her arm which caused poor Vivian to gasp in surprise.

    Vivian froze in shock as she was guided to an empty seat by a strange girl who then sat her down and resumed staring out of a window.

    ¡°Um¡­thank you,¡± Vivian whispered as she turned to get a better look at her kind saviour.

    The girl next to her was dressed in the uniform of a high noble house and had a natural air of arrogance with cold eyes.

    At first nce, one would assume that such a girl would be just like the rest of the nobles, but Vivian could tell that she was kind-hearted.

    Vivian could feel her heart skip a beat when she saw the beautiful side profile of the girl¡¯s face.

    She did not know where this burst of confidence came from, but she could not help but continue to talk.

    ¡°My name is Vivian. What¡¯s your name?¡± Vivian nervously asked while holding the hem of her dress.

    The girl ignored her for a few moments which caused Vivian¡¯s mood to sink lower and lower, but then she unexpectedly gave a brief reply.

    ¡°My name is Leona Braveheart.¡±

    ¡°I only brought you here because your tears were ruining my good mood.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want them to bully you, then be my follower,¡± the girl spoke in an unfeeling tone, but Vivian could see that the tips of her ears had slowly turned red.

 Chapter 106: Do you need your beauty sleep son?

    Chapter 106: Do you need your beauty sleep son?

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron- Lunar Colony X-374)

    The transport ship had arrived a bitter than expected which meant that Sophie and her friendsnded on the lunar colony the evening before the training camp would begin.

    Qiana had left the shuttle early to meet up with Astrid while Sophie and Cleo were still upied with flirting with one another in Sophie¡¯s room.

    The pair stepped off the vessel around six o clock and gazed in amazement at the beautiful¡­.

    Beautiful?

    Err¡­.

    The lunar colony resembled a in the beginning stages of terraforming with red dust sandstorms raging in the distance and a barren, rocky environment.

    The air was hot and dry which caused beads of sweat to run down Sophie¡¯s forehead as the heat was quite ufortable.

    ¡°What a hell hole,¡± Cleo raised her hand in front of her eyes to block out the harsh re of the sun.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not so bad at the training site?¡± Sophie cheerfully spoke.

    Cleo just rolled her eyes at her optimistic girlfriend.

    It was quite obvious that this training camp would be two weeks of pain.

    Sophie checked the coordinates on hermunicator and saw that the camp was only a ten-minute walk away, so the duo headed off in the right direction.

    ¡°I see it!¡± Sophie yelled as she spotted some structures in the distance.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Cleo staggered slightly as the harsh environment was taking a toll on her soft and delicate body.

    Sophie saw that she was ufortable, so she picked up Cleo¡¯s luggage and the two girls walked into the camp.

    The camp was exactly as Cleo predicted.

    It was in the middle of a desert and the structures that looked impressive from a distance turned out to be a series of small tents.

    An elderly Mendolesa warrior greeted them as soon as they stepped foot on site,

    ¡°May I see your IDs?¡±

    Sophie and Cleo held up the two identification cards the university had sent in the mail and the elderly man scanned both items and broke into a smile.

    ¡°Would you like separate tents or a double bed?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Double bed!¡± Cleo spoke up quickly before Sophie had time to respond.

    ¡°Follow me,¡± the Mendolesa warrior spoke and guided them to a white tent at the far corner of the camp.

    Sophie could see other students lounging around the camp or still unpacking their luggage bags and chatting merrily with one another.

    Two important details captured her attention.

    Firstly, the majority of the students were Mendolesa, but Sophie could see hybrids, humans and even a few Servies zipping around.

    And secondly¡­there were way too many students.

    The elite ss supposedly only had thirty spots and yet Sophie could tell that the students present outnumbered that amount by arge margin.

    ¡°Here you are,¡± the Mendolesa warrior spoke as he brought them to a tent a little bigger than the ones surrounding it.

    He turned around to leave and Sophie hurriedly asked him the question on her mind,

    ¡°Um¡­ why are there so many students?¡±

    The elderly Mendolesa continued to walk away and gave a short reply, ¡°This year the students willpete for those thirty spots with one hundredpetitors.¡±

    Cleo frowned as she had researched the details about the previous training camps, and no one had said anything about eliminations.

    Sophie was also concerned but there was nothing the duo could do except meet the challenges head on.

    They entered the tent and found two sleeping bags.

    And nothing else.

    ¡°This is going to be a long two weeks,¡± Sophie sighed as she started to unpack and put her clothes on the side of the bed.

    The camp did not have the facilities to housebat pets so Moon was sent directly to a hatchery on the main campus where he would be pampered by specialized beast workers.

    Sophie could feel thezy glutton¡¯s happiness through the spiritual bond, so she knew that he was being treated well.

    ¡°Alright I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± Sophie rubbed her eyes wearily and dove under her covers.

    ¡°Me too,¡± Cleo replied and joined her on the same bed.

    ¡°Cleo¡­this sleeping bag is way too small,¡± Sophie opened her eyes and stared at her girlfriend.

    ¡°No! I still have nightmares,¡± Cleo¡¯s green eyes stared back mischievously, and Sophie found herself unable to kick this troublesome girl out.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Midnight)

    ¡°Alright maggots¡­. get your asses out now!¡± a loud voice boomed from a megaphone and echoed across the whole camp.

    ¡°Training starts in five minutes!¡±

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    Not just satisfied with the announcement, the instructor activated the rm function on the speakers to wake up any heavy sleepers.

    Sophie woke up bleary eyed as she tried to make sense of where the loud noises wereing from.

    She had only just fallen asleep as Cleo¡¯s warm body had kept her wide awake due to certain naughty thoughts shing across her mind.

    ¡°Sophie¡­what¡¯s happening?¡± Cleo groaned before burying her head in her girlfriend¡¯s arms.

    ¡°It looks like the training is happening now. Let¡¯s hurry up and get changed,¡± Sophie shook Cleo gently and got up from the bed.

    The girls had slept in their undergarments as the hot atmosphere of the lunar colony made it almost impossible to getfortable.

    These damn tents did not having any cooling or heating devices to adjust the temperature inside.

    Sophie¡¯s clothes were made from memory foam, so it only took a few seconds to ce the tiny device on her chest which then expanded the material to coat her body.

    She had to help Cleo change into her training uniform as the princess was feeling toozy to move from the bed.

    Her figure was¡­. very impressive.

    Cleo¡¯s body may not be as seductive as her own, but the two soft milky peaks and slender shape made Sophie nervously gulp quite a few times.

    No student wanted to bete at the first training session of the camp especially after the possibility of elimination was stated by the instructors.

    Those in the elite ss were especially wary as seventy other students would bepeting fiercely to take their ces.

    It did not take long for the students to assemble outside their tents in various states of tiredness.

    Sophie spotted Qiana and Astrid at the far end of the crowd and gave a short wave.

    ¡°Well this is what I like to see!¡± Instructor Selvon stepped forward with his assistants and pped sarcastically.

    ¡°Sir why are we up so early?¡± a handsome student at the frontined. He was an attractive blonde with blue eyes and the look of a typical wealthy second generation.

    Selvon bared his fangs and approached the sleepy candidate who was still rubbing his eyes in a drowsy manner.

    His assistants exchanged knowing looks with one another and gazed at the poor students while having the expressions of watching a good show.

    The other students quickly moved to the side as anyone could tell that the instructor was not in a good mood after hearing that question.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Selvon whispered gently as he ced his hand on the poor student¡¯s shoulder.

    His bulky seven-foot frame dwarfed the boy while his razor-sharp ws menacingly glistened under the moonlight.

    ¡°Do you need your beauty sleep son?¡±

    The handsome boy sensed that something was wrong and tried to blend into the crowd but the firm grip on his shoulder prevented any movement.

    ¡°How about a challenge?¡± Selvon grinned with a mocking smirk.

    ¡°Take one hit from me and I will excuse you from the first session.¡±

    ¡°Just one hit?¡± the student asked hesitantly and Selvon nodded in confirmation.

    ¡°Alright I ept your offer!¡± the boy proudly dered.

    It was important to establish prestige among hispetitors and who knew if his brave attitude would impress the instructors.

    Instructor Selvon and the boy moved to the front of the crowd of students and stood just two feet apart from each other.

    The student clenched his fists tightly, nted his feet firmly on the ground and adopted a defensive posture while Selvon casually ced his hands at his sides.

    Something was not right about this challenge.

    Sophie could not tell what was wrong as the instructor would obviously not use his full strength on the boy and each student here should have a high enough cultivation level to survive one blow.

    And yet¡­. every fibre of her body was screaming at her to get away from the Mendolesa warrior as quickly as possible.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Selvon spoke in azy drawl.

    ¡°Ready sir!¡± came the firm reply.

    Instructor Selvon vanished from the spot and before anyone could react, he mmed a closed fist into the boy¡¯s stomach.

    Even Sophie¡¯s golden eyes could not track the instructor¡¯s movements as he was too fast for her to sense.

    Boom!

    The boy was sent flying in the opposite direction until he crashed into one of the tents andy sprawled out on the ground.

    He was clearly unconscious and one of the assistants ran over to drag his body to the infirmary.

    Instructor Selvon faced the rest of the students and spoke again,

    ¡°Does anyone else have any more questions?¡±

    The crowd was silenced instantly as students nervously looked at one another while still in a state of shock.

    Who would be mad enough to ask another question at this time?

 Chapter 107: The First Challenge

    Chapter 107: The First Challenge

    ¡°Come on maggots this is yourst chance,¡± Instructor Selvon ced his hands behind his back and continued to stare intensely at the rest of the students.

    ¡°Anyone? Any brave souls?¡± he asked one more time.

    Silence.

    Sophie could see Astrid in the distance try to open her mouth to talk but she was immediately silenced by Qiana who pinched her furiously.

    Selvon waited until a few more minutes had passed before speaking once more,

    ¡°The first challenge is going to be a simple one as I am feeling in a good mood tonight. All you have to do is pick a partner and runps around the camp.¡±

    ¡°Each team will be ranked based on the furthest distance travelled and the unlucky teams at the bottom may face elimination.¡±

    Cleo frowned as this challenge would be heavily biased towards physically gifted cultivators or those who trained in body enhancement techniques.

    Being a mech controller meant that her mental force was quite impressive but in terms of physique¡­. she was quite average.

    She was not the only one with concerns as other students whispered among themselves.

    No one expected that the very first night of the training camp would begin the elimination process.

    Selvon observed the confident smirks on some of the more athletic students¡¯ faces and could not help but suppress augh.

    Did these greenhorns truly think this test was only about endurance and strength?

    ¡°Are you maggots waiting for a fucking invitation? Move your asses now!¡± Instructor Selvon roared.

    Forty-nine teams would consist of two members with the exception of one team that would have three since a certain student was currently in the infirmary.

    The assistants at his side moved towards the crowd of students with their tablets to register the teams.

    ¡°My beautiful consort, will you escort me through this harsh trial?¡± Cleo gently teased Sophie as they went to register.

    ¡°Of course, darling, but I would like a special rewardter,¡± Sophie¡¯s eyes gleamed as she leaned closer and whispered in Cleo¡¯s ear.

    Cleo immediately flushed bright red as she did not expect her innocent girlfriend to make such a suggestive response.

    Sophie was slowly getting used to Cleo¡¯s habit of teasing and was now able to respond with some flirting of her own.

    The duo giggled and appeared more rxed than the other students who had tense expressions on their faces as they moved around trying to pick a suitable teammate.

    Many students were still choosing their partners so the assistant closest to Sophie was currently unupied.

    They approached the friendly looking Mendolesa warrior who was meticulously checking the list of students on his tablet.

    ¡°Names please,¡± he spoke in a bored tone as they came closer.

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor and Cleo Sisrelis,¡± Sophie replied.

    The Mendolesa warrior typed out their names on his tablet and handed two tracker pins to Sophie and Cleo.

    ¡°Your team number is twenty. Go to the entrance of the camp and wait for the rest of the teams,¡± he pointed in a certain direction and started to help the next team that arrived.

    Cleo pinned the tracker at the side of her hip with practised ease and helped Sophie put the tracker on as she was less familiar with the technology.

    They were not the first team to arrive at the entrance of the camp and more than a few teams were waiting patiently while chatting among themselves.

    ¡°Man, my wings are going to freaking hurt after flyingp afterp,¡± a Servieined to her partner.

    They were both dressed in mini uniforms with special holes for their translucent wings and their fairy- like appearances.

    Servies had multi coloured eyes that sparkled like jewels with pale almost translucent skin that made them seem like fragile porcin dolls.

    Sophie secretly thought that they were very cute.

    ¡°I just hate that we had to wake up at midnight. Couldn¡¯t we just do this in the morning?¡± Sophie joined the conversation with a friendly smile.

    ¡°Right! And theck of ess to the virtual is killing me,¡± the other Servie girl was happy to talk to another student about her suffering.

    ¡°I just started watching a new soap opera and I can¡¯t binge it anymore!¡±

    ¡°My name is Misha, and this is my partner Hazel,¡± she introduced herself.

    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Sophie and this is my girlfriend Cleo,¡± Sophie replied.

    Cleo gave a polite nod towards the two Servies.

    ¡°You guys are cute together,¡± Hazel shot a look of envy towards the pair.

    Sophie could not spot Qiana or Astrid, so she spent some time talking to her new acquaintances.

    Maybe it was because she was no longer in the toxic environment of the high noble society on Gaia as Sophie found herself more confident in starting conversations with new people.

    Plus, it was a big help to have Cleo at her side.

    Hazel and Misha did not possess the high enough mana talent to warrant a spot at Mer University, but their other cultivation techniques were impressive enough to be offered a spot at Zrudread University.

    Misha specialized in hidden weapons and needles while Hazel spent most of her time mastering ice qi techniques.

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    The bleeping noise echoed around the camp as Instructor Selvon once again ced a megaphone to his lips.

    ¡°Is this a fucking vacation? Any student not at the entrance in three minutes will be directly eliminated!¡±

    The remaining students hurriedly grouped up with any other candidates who were avable and soon the entrance to the camp started to get crowded.

    ¡°Is that thest team?¡± Selvon asked one of the assistants.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± came the prompt response.

    ¡°Alright maggots. Start to run!¡± Selvon bellowed.

    The length of the entire circumference of the camp was about five kilometers which seemed like an easy task for cultivators.

    The problem was that no one knew how manyps they had to run.

    Misha and Hazel waved goodbye before soaring into the air and zipping ahead.

    The Mendolesa warriors got on all fours and started to run like a pack of wolves while the humanoid students also dashed forward without hesitation.

    ¡°No need to waste our energy by running fast,¡± Cleo whispered, and Sophie nodded in agreement.

    The other students seemed to treat this challenge as a sprint when it was more akin to a marathon in Sophie¡¯s opinion.

    Sophie bent her knees and started to breath deeply as she opened her meridians to allow qi to flow through her body channels.

    The familiar rush of power was almost addicting, and her golden eyes started to flicker with a scarlet hue.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±

 Chapter 108: I want to be friends with her!

    Chapter 108: I want to be friends with her!

    Onep¡­.

    Twops¡­.

    Fourps¡­.

    There seemed to be no end in sight as Instructor Selvon kept a watchful eye on the students with no indication of eventually letting them rest.

    Many students were beginning to feel the burn and those with weaker stamina had already dropped out to let their partners run in their stead.

    The challenge stated that the teams who came inst would be eliminated so it was only logical for the weaker members to drop out to not burden their teammates.

    Sophie was still running at a steady pace with not even a bead of sweat running down her brow.

    She just felt a constant surge of energy as her eyes shifted in colour to a darker hue of scarlet.

    It was almost like she was on a¡­.

    Hunt.

    Maybe it had something to do with her hybrid body, but physical challenges had never been much of an issue.

    Cleo on the other hand was not faring so well as she could feel her legs slowly begin to cramp as the challenge continued.

    Stamina had never been her weakness when she took the entrance exam as her opponents would either instantly lose due to her mental abilities or she would face fellow psychics who would fight in the mind realm.

    Sophie noticed something was wrong and slowed down her pace to draw closer to Cleo.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Sophie asked with concern.

    ¡°Tired as hell,¡± Cleo cracked a weary grin as she continued to press onward while pretending to be fine.

    How could she lose face in front of her girlfriend?

    Sophie appeared to be unfazedp afterp and Cleo was unsure if she was feeling envious or delighted.

    Her darling having such great stamina was certainly a¡­. wee surprise. Cleo blushed as certain dirty thoughts shed across her mind.

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    The familiar re from the megaphone echoed around the camp as the students were in for another helpful pep talk by the head instructor.

    ¡°Come on maggots pick up the pace!¡±

    ¡°My granny bless her soul, can outrun you pieces of dog shit!¡± he bellowed.

    Instructor Selvon was not pleased that certain students had slowed down and decided it was time to gently encourage them¡­. well rtively gently

    ¡­. okay maybe not so gently.

    ¡°God, I hate that son of a bitch,¡± Cleo grumbled to herself.

    Sophie gave her hand a squeeze of encouragement and the duo continued to run while circting their qi in a regr flow.

    (At a different side of the camp)

    ¡°Fac me gravitate!¡±

    Astrid chanted a new spell she had learnt from her mentor and cast it on herself and Qiana.

    Qiana gasped in surprise as she felt her body had suddenly be much lighter and it was now much easier to run.

    Astrid was not the only one with this idea as students used qi techniques from movement abilities to spells to even bloodline skills.

    No one wanted to be eliminated and Selvon was pleased to see the students incorporate those techniques while under pressure and constantly moving.

    It was easy to unleash qi techniques when in the peace and stability of a training session whose environment would not drastically change, but real fights would not be so kind.

    These students may be the top of the Earth Federation¡¯s younger generation based on the results of the entrance exam but Selvon still saw them as nothing more than rookies.

    Students would need to learn how to draw out their potential even in the most trying of circumstances.

    In war, even a genius could die to an ordinary man.

    Eightps¡­.

    Tenps¡­.

    Twelveps¡­.

    Cleo was now panting and struggling to breathe as the hot environment was not making the challenge any easier.

    She was finally approaching her limit.

    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m can¡¯t seem to make it anymore,¡± Cleo apologised to Sophie as she turned around to walk back to the camp entrance.

    Sophie gave her a short peck on the cheek to cheer her up and the princess felt her spirits recover instantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll go all the way,¡± Sophie pledged.

    The duo were about to separate when a random students darted over and yelled out,

    ¡°Wait you¡¯re making a mistake!¡±

    Sophie nced to the side and saw an attractive male student whose appearance was something straight out of a fairy tale.

    Brown, curly hair gently drooped over a masculine face with a sharp jawline and a muscr body. His lively ck eyes glinted fiercely as he rushed forward to stop Cleo.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Sophie pulled Cleo behind her protectively as she remained wary.

    ¡®Never trust a boy who looks that good!¡¯ was the mantra drilled into her head by her father.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Ethan Kneyre,¡± the boy introduced himself as he saw the two suspicious stares directed at him.

    ¡°Let me offer you some advice¡­. the instructor said whichever teamesst will be eliminated. I think his emphasis on teams means that he wants us to stick together with our partners,¡± he exined.

    ¡°Why give us this hint then?¡± Sophie asked cautiously.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we yourpetitors?¡±

    ¡°To test his theory out,¡± Cleo frowned as she answered Sophie¡¯s questions.

    Cleo was familiar with the dark nature of people from years of living in the royal pce, so she usually assumed the worse when it came to a person¡¯s character.

    With some exceptions of course.

    She saw through this so-called friendly advice and had no problem with directly exining the scheme to Sophie,

    ¡°Carrying an extra burden will definitely slow down the stronger teammate and cause the overall ranking to drop if the results only matter based on one person.¡±

    ¡°But if his theory is correct then you need to finish the challenge with your partner.¡±

    ¡°I think that you are thinking too much,¡± Ethanughed nonchntly with a carefree grin.

    ¡°Your partner is probably still in the race so you either want us to get eliminated as yourpetitors or see if you are correct,¡± Cleo attempted to tear off his mask directly.

    She did not like how this strange boy was constantly watching Sophie ever since he had approached them.

    ¡°Well you can choose to believe me or not,¡± Ethan shrugged with no apparent change in his expression.

    Ethan¡¯s smile remained on his face as he waved goodbye to the duo who were still musing over his information and he blended into the crowd of other students.

    His partner was a Mendolesa warrior named Terrance who was still running with great determination.

    Terrance sniffed the air a few times and looked over when his teammate arrived with a confident spring in his steps.

    ¡°Why did you go to tell those random girls your actual deduction?¡± he asked in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°That hybrid girl came in third ce in my testing site for the entrance exam,¡± Ethan replied.

    ¡°I want to be friends with her!¡±

 Chapter 109: Cleo Misses A Great Opportunity

    Chapter 109: Cleo Misses A Great Opportunity

    ¡°I¡­. I can¡¯t go on,¡± Sophie panted as traces of exhaustion could finally be seen on her face.

    They had been running for over five hours now and she had lost count of the sheer number ofps she had ran.

    The crowd of students had thinned out considerably as more and more people could not go on with the rigorous challenge.

    Astrid and Qiana were moving at a slower pace now as the wolf girl had underestimated the mana consumption of her new spell and had emptied her qi reserves by ident.

    ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡± Cleo asked as she looked at Sophie with worry in her gaze.

    She was currently hanging on to Sophie¡¯s back as her legs had given out some time ago.

    In ordinary circumstances, being so close to her beautiful girlfriend would have made her overjoyed but it was clear that Sophie was running on herst vestiges of strength.

    Ethan had also passed on his advice to other students and some agreed with his theory while others dismissed it as nonsense.

    The remaining students were split into two main groups.

    One group of students were carrying their tired partners and running together while the other group were running by themselves even when their teammates already dropped out.

    Pain.

    Every muscle fibre in Sophie¡¯s body was screaming out in agony as she relentlessly continued to press on under the watchful eye of Instructor Selvon.

    ¡°Sophie the challenge should be over soon. If you can make to the end, I will promise you a surprise,¡± Cleo clenched her fists and tried to be encouraging.

    ¡°That reward you promised better be very special,¡± Sophie growled.

    Cleo started to blush as dirty thoughts ran through her mind and she whispered some extra motivation in Sophie¡¯s ear in the form of certain promises.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s pace rapidly increased as if injected with a fresh burst of energy.

    ¡°Sir are we going to end the challenge now?¡± one of the assistants asked curiously.

    Instructor Selvon paused for a moment and swept his eyes over the students still participating in the challenge with an approving gaze.

    These were some good seedlings!

    He activated his megaphone and yelled out an announcement,

    ¡°Alright maggots you can take a rest!¡±

    ¡°The challenge is over!¡±

    Joyful cheers could be heard from the weary students as they stumbled and barely managed to walk back to the camp entrance to meet up with the rest of the students who had quit the challenge.

    Sophie and Cleo managed to find their two other friends and the four moved towards the crowd together.

    ¡°I just want to go home,¡± Qiana groaned as she buried her head in Astrid¡¯s fur.

    Her always neat and tidy appearance was long gone as her ck hair drooped messily down her shoulders and her sses were nowhere to be found.

    Instructor Selvon waited until thest student had arrived before grinning savagely and reaching for the megaphone once more.

    ¡°Congrattions maggots! Everyone who ran together or dropped out together with their teammates have passed this challenge.¡±

    His casual statement infuriated some students who were shocked and confused over the results.

    This was a p to the face to those whosted to the end without the aid of their partner.

    ¡°Damn that Ethan guy was right,¡± Sophie whistled in shock as furious whispers erupted from the crowd.

    ¡°This is unfair! How could they pass?¡± one girl was livid and voiced out herint.

    Instructor Selvon remained silent and asked a familiar line,

    ¡°Does anyone else have a question they want to ask?¡±

    Maybe it was the strength in numbers, but other students were brave enough to give the instructor several replies.

    ¡°You never said that we needed both members on the team to run together!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t ept this!¡±

    ¡°Why should I be punished for my teammate¡¯s uselessness?¡±

    Instructor Selvon stood firm but Sophie could detect that under his calm surface was a volcano that was waiting to erupt.

    ¡°Are you finished?¡± Selvon finally spoke after several moments had passed.

    ¡°Do you want to know why I designed the challenge this way?¡± he asked the crowd in a dark tone.

    ¡°On the battlefield there is no such dream as overturning the tide of battle by yourself. Especially low cultivators like yourself who are no more than pieces of shit anyone can kill.¡±

    ¡°Your only security will be the members of your squad who will be the difference between life and death.¡±

    ¡°But what does that have to do with this challenge?¡± one student asked in a perplexed tone.

    Instructor Selvon sighed as this behaviour was to be expected. These geniuses had been praised since birth and naturally their ego would not ept the help of others.

    But he needed to drill into their minds the need to stay together with theirrades on the battlefield by the end of the training camp.

    Selvon¡¯s hands trembled slightly as he remembered the heartbroken faces of the parents he had to bow down and apologise to when their child died in battle.

    He rather his students hate him for his harsh training than die due to ipetence.

    ¡°Think about this reason when you return to your tents,¡± he spoke in a heavy voice.

    ¡°Do you think any squad will want a member who abandons their team to move alone by themselves? That behaviour will get you killed or sent straight to martial court.¡±

    ¡°Now get some rest¡­ we have some more fun challenges nned for the rest of the two weeks.¡±

    Instructor Selvon dismissed the students and walked off with the assistants to double check the preparations for the uing weeks.

    The crowd left in different directions as each student headed towards their tent.

    Sophie wanted to find Ethan to offer thanks for his advice, but she could not spot him anywhere.

    Astrid and Qiana bid the duo goodbye as they returned to their tent which caused Sophie and Cleo to follow suit.

    She would just need to find Ethan tomorrow and repay this debt of gratitude.

    It was fortunate that their wristbands showed the location of their tent as neither one of the girls could remember its location after a night of running nonstop.

    The white tent was just as in and simple as they remembered.

    Cleo was exhausted and just stripped off her outerwear and crashed on the sleeping bag with a sigh of relief.

    Sophie decided to brush her teeth before sleeping as there was a small water storage device located at the corner of the tent.

    She pressed a button and the memory foam clothes that coated her body turned into a liquid form and was sucked back into the device.

    Sophie was now d in nothing more than her undergarments and she headed for her luggage bag to get her pajamas when a thought urred to her.

    Didn¡¯t Cleo give her a promise of a special surprise?

    She immediately walked away from her luggage bag and moved towards the princess with a glint in her eyes.

    ¡°Cleo I¡¯m ready for my reward,¡± Sophie swayed her hips seductively as she approached the sleeping bag with dark desire surfacing in her heart.

    ¡°Hey Cleo¡­. Cleo?¡± she poked the figureying down on the spread.

    There was no response as her princess had fallen fast asleep!

    Sophie felt a small sense of reluctance, but she could not bear to wake up her peacefully sleeping girlfriend, so she gently pressed a kiss on her forehead and crawled into the bag.

    ¡°Goodnight sleepyhead,¡± she whispered lovingly.

    ¡°Sweet dreams.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Gaia ¨C Unknown Location)

    ¡°This way please your royal highness.¡±

    The two servants bowed respectfully as they opened a door to let the guest inside to meet their master.

    Their master had attached great importance to the asion, so the servants did not dare to offend this esteemed guest.

    A veiled woman wearing a dress adorned with precious rubies, sapphires and other expensive gems entered a private room.

    The room was quite luxurious with a golden floor that screamed wealth and prestige. In the center of the room was a dinning table with several chairs ced around.

    There was only a single inhabitant inside the room, and it was a handsome middle-aged man with a roguish smile and attractive features.

    He wore a jacket that fit his body perfectly with an elegant striped patterned tie that somehow added to his incredible charm.

    ¡°You truly are a difficult person to meet,¡± the man chuckled lightly and motioned for the woman to sit down.

    The woman removed her veil to reveal a face that was simr to Cleo¡¯s, but harsh lines and a permanent frown gave her a gloomy disposition.

    Her piercing green eyes scanned the room for any monitoring devices before she sat down with grace and dignity befitting the high nobility.

    ¡°I never expected the great Duke Peterlor to take interest in an abandoned concubine like myself,¡± the woman remarked in an even tone as she poured herself a ss of wine from the bottle in the middle of the table.

    Despite being in the presence of the youngest god stage cultivator in history, there were no visible changes in the expression on the woman¡¯s face.

    ¡°Oh please,¡± Rokan leaned back in his chair as he continued to observe the woman thoughtfully.

    ¡°I think you know exactly why I called this meeting Concubine Sisrelis.¡±

    The woman acted as if she never heard the words that the man spoke and took a small sip of wine from the ss.

    As the shadows beneath her feet started to twist and lengthen ominously.

 Chapter 110: Checkmate

    Chapter 110: Checkmate

    ¡°This meeting has to do with your daughter courting my precious child?¡± Duke Peterlor drummed his fingers on the table with a steady rhythm as he spoke.

    ¡°You are quite the straightforward man,¡± Concubine Sisrelis took another sip of wine and felt the cool liquid run down her throat smoothly.

    It was clearly an expensive mixture inside the wine bottle made from rare and exotic fruits.

    ¡°Why bother with a facade?¡± Rokan smiled with confidence.

    Concubine Sisrelis was almost amused by the nature of the youngest god cultivator in the Federation¡¯s history.

    All of her meetings with other nobles in the past were nothing more than tiring affairs where no one spoke as openly as the duke.

    Everyone wore masks to conceal their true thoughts and their words were nothing more than thinly disguised weapons.

    The concubine knew that was useless to verbally probe the other party, so she just held up two fingers and got straight to the point.

    ¡°Two billion,¡± she stated quietly.

    ¡°I will sell my daughter to your house for two billion Enas.¡±

    ¡°Use her, kill her or anything that you fancy. Her life and death will be in your hands.¡±

    ¡°You would sell your own daughter?!¡± Rokan was taken aback.

    Shock and disgust could be seen on the duke¡¯s face as he reevaluated the woman seated across from him.

    He knew that members of the royal family treated their own children as goods to be sold but he could never imagine even considering the thought.

    Sophie was priceless.

    He would give up all the wealth in the worlds just for her.

    ¡°Outsiders may think that us mother-daughter pair are holding on to your thighs, but I would rather break the bond with money,¡± Concubine Sisrelis spoke in a calm voice.

    ¡°My daughter will no longer have anything to do with me.¡±

    Her information channels had long passed on various rumors that it was only a matter of time until the human supremacy supporters wouldunch an ambush to kill their greatest political rival.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s presence was a rallying point for hybrid rights activists and his death would open up the floodgates for swift actions to be taken against the hybrid individuals on Gaia.

    Eventually new restrictivews that targeted their kind would be introduced to the other human controlled territories across the Earth Federation.

    No one knew of the Emperor¡¯s stance on the matter, but it was probably due to the fact that he was more interested in spending time with whores than running his empire.

    An awkward silence was formed between the pair as the duke still could not believe that a mother could be so cold-hearted.

    After a few moments had passed¡­.

    ¡°Are you familiar with the game of chess?¡± Rokan reached under the table and pulled out a board which broke the quiet atmosphere of the room.

    The chessboard was not expensive and was made from simple design that had figures carved from wood to represent the pieces.

    Many aspects of the culture and life from ancient earth before the ¡®Great Envement¡¯ had been long lost to the ravages of time.

    Certain pieces of history had been passed down due to word of mouth or rediscovered from old ruins.

    Some of the strategy games such as go, chess, checkers and manc were still popr even to this day among the military officers and the noble ss.

    Chess was a game of great skill and tactics that pitted two opponents against one another tomand an army of troops to capture the enemy king.

    After surviving many years in the royal pce, Concubine Sisrelis was no stranger to the game but she was a bit caught off guard to see the duke bring it out unexpectedly in the middle of their meeting.

    ¡°What side would you like?¡± Rokan asked politely.

    ¡°ck is no problem,¡± Concubine Sisrelis replied.

    Duke Peterlor brought the board closer and begun his attack by moving his Queen¡¯s pawn to the middle of the board.

    ¡°The ckmar-Diemer Gambit?¡± Concubine Sisrelis noted in surprise.

    Concubine Sisrelis was expressionless as she moved her pawn to ept the trap without any hesitation.

    One¡¯s style of y in strategy games would often give hints to the true nature of their character.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s ystyle was fierce, aggressive, and open with no signs of trickery or deception.

    Admiral traits in a warrior but Concubine Sisrelis noted that these characteristics showed that the man was horribly naive.

    It was clear that he would not survive for much longer in the political world of the high nobility but was it worth the risk to offend him?

    Hmm¡­. worse case she could just sacrifice her offspring to one side and stay neutral if pressed by the duke¡¯s enemies.

    Besides, it was a simple matter to just birth another child to rece Cleo.

    Concubine Sisrelis continued to y and soon fell into an advantage as piece after piece were captured with ease.

    She relied on a style based on trickery and duplicity which caused the duke to gradually be on the losing side.

    ¡°Do you want some friendly advice?¡± Concubine Sisrelis suddenly spoke up.

    ¡°Please by all means,¡± the duke gestured meaningfully as he leaned back in his chair.

    ¡°You should learn topromise and join the tides that will swallow the Federation. A simple and honest man like yourself will always be a thorn in the eyes of others,¡± she exined.

    ¡°All you need to do is rece your current heir to protect that hybrid daughter of yours.¡±

    The duke remained silent and continued to move his pieces around the board as if he never heard the words that the concubine had just spoken.

    Concubine Sisrelis was going to press on with her point but recalled that Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter was his pride and he was fiercely overprotective of her.

    The words to persuade the man died in her throat as the shadows below her feet whispered in her mind to drop the matter.

    Duke Peterlor continued to y in a straightforward manner and a series of moves by the concubine showed the prowess of his opponent.

    His castle was taken¡­.

    Then his bishop¡­.

    And finally, his queen¡­.

    ¡°I think I have seen enough to judge your character,¡± the concubine spoke in a dismissive tone as she felt that victory was now a foregone conclusion.

    ¡°I will be taking my leave now.¡±

    She stood up and briskly walked out of the room without taking a second nce behind her to gauge the duke¡¯s reaction.

    Her identity as the mother of his daughter¡¯s girlfriend was enough to ensure that the duke would not take offense to her abrupt exit.

    Concubine Sisrelis always trusted her instincts and every fibre of her body was telling her that this man would definitely suffer in the future.

    New ns would have to be set in motion¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Rokan observed the concubine leaving the room while shaking her head at his seemingly foolish character and naive nature.

    A trace of a devilish smile shed across his face.

    He casually moved one of his knights to an open square position that the concubine had overlooked.

    Checkmate.

 Chapter 111: Professor Macabre

    Chapter 111: Professor Macabre

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    [Ring! Ring!]

    ¡°Good morning maggots!¡± a loud roar echoed around the camp as Instructor Selvon joyfully woke up the sleeping students.

    ¡°I hope you are all well rested for the exciting day ahead!¡± he spoke with fake concern.

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Sophie cursed in rage as she woke up bleary eyed and feeling very tired.

    The midnight run challenge had finished around five in the morning and yet here was the instructor heartlessly waking them up after only a brief moment of sleep.

    ¡°Cleo, we got to wake up,¡± Sophie shook the princess gently as Cleo had somehow managed to continue to sleep even with all the noise.

    ¡°Urghhh¡­¡± Cleo groaned as she turned her body around to adjust to a morefortable position.

    ¡°Maggots I¡¯m not seeing anyone outside!¡± came the furious voice of the devil instructor.

    ¡°Does a lucky student want a taste of my fist?!¡±

    Desperate times called for desperate measures.

    Sophie turned on water dispersal machine and then dipped her fingertips in the running liquid to wet them lightly.

    She pressed the cold, wet digits against Cleo¡¯s neck.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Cleo opened her eyes sleepily and pouted cutely at her girlfriend.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to go outside,¡± Sophie leaned over and brushed her lips delicately over Cleo¡¯s with an affectionate smile.

    The girls were still getting used to the strict schedule of the training camp as it was only the first day.

    They put on their clothes in record time before walking outside.

    Instructor Selvon was once again at the center of the camp and a crowd of students had formed at his location with a few stragglers joiningte.

    Sophie and Cleo blended into the crowd and patiently waited for the instructor to begin talking about the training details for the day.

    Out of the corner of her eyes, Sophie spotted Ethan and his Mendolesa friend Terrence, so she nodded at them and mouthed a thank you.

    Sophie was not ashamed to admit that she would not have figured out the true meaning of the first test without the helpful advice given so it was a small matter to offer thanks.

    Ethan raised his hand and waved back with a smile while Terrence gave her a short nod of acknowledgement.

    Five minutes passed and Instructor Selvon gripped his megaphone to address the crowd with his usual enthusiasm.

    ¡°Okay maggots listen carefully because I will only be saying this once!¡± Instructor Selvon announced.

    ¡°We will now be separating you all into different sses under my assistants who will be grading your progress over the next two weeks.¡±

    ¡°Only those at the top of your respective sses will be able to keep their spot or steal a spot in the elite ss. Do I make myself clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± came the united cry from the students.

    [Ding!]

    Sophie received a notification on her ck wristband that stated that she was in group seven whose ssroom was apparently ab building about two kilometers away from the camp.

    ¡°What group did you get?¡± Cleo asked curiously.

    ¡°Group seven. How about you?¡± Sophie replied warmly.

    ¡°Group one,¡± Cleo was feeling quite unhappy. This reminded her of the same situation with the university entrance exam where the girls were separated into different testing sites.

    Sophie wanted to offer her unhappy girlfriend someforting words but Instructor Selvon interrupted their sweet moment.

    ¡°Are you maggots waiting for a fucking invitation?¡±

    ¡°Get to your site now!!¡±

    The duke had packedrge quantities of nutrient vials inside of a spatial storage device in Sophie¡¯s luggage bags so there was no change of running out.

    Sophie took one of the vials out of her pocket to drink as breakfast and passed three to Cleo so she would not go hungry during the day.

    ¡°See you tonight babe,¡± Cleo flirted and squeezed Sophie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°You were the one who missed outst night,¡± Sophie teased as she left the confused looking princess staring at her back.

    Sophie had some idea of what criteria the instructors used to separate the students.

    Before arriving at the training camp, students were required to fill out an outline form that noted down their area of specialization.

    There were options that ranged from sword cultivators, beast masters, mech controllers, mages, poison cultivators and the general category.

    Cleo had inputted the option of mech controller while Sophie had chosen poison cultivation as her specialization.

    Unfortunately, her frostwing bat Moon was still too young to handle any training, so Sophie had to rule out the beast master option.

    Although she nned on taking it a few sses in that field once university had officially begun.

    Speaking of Moon, Sophie was beginning to miss her little furball and she could not wait to go to the main campus to pick him up.

    The dusty environment of this lunar colony was truly barren as Sophie could only observe endless red sand as far as the eye could see.

    The location of theboratory was clearly marked on her holographic map and it took only ten minutes for Sophie to arrive.

    A metallic alloy coated the outer surface of the building that stood out in the vast desert with its sleek design and futuristic look.

    Sophie entered the two-story building and followed the direction signs that led her into a small ssroom.

    The ssroom was in the form of ab with several long tables and various measuring instruments, scientific devices, a fume cupboard, and vials of unknown liquids.

    There were two chairs at every table, so the students were well spaced out with plenty of room to spare.

    Sophie gave a friendly smile to her fellow students already seated in the ssroom and quietly made her way to a seat at the front table.

    After years of being forced to sit at the back of the lecture hall during her years at the Royal Academy, she was determined to be a teacher¡¯s pet!

    Two kilometers was hardly a great distance for qi spirit cultivators, so the rest of the students soon trickled in and the chairs gradually filled up.

    Sophie casually scanned the ssroom and counted a grand total of nine other students and including herself, it was a total of ten.

    The students were mostly other humans or hybrids but there was one Mendolesa boy and one Servie girl.

    The Servie girl was currently ying with a couple of the measuring cylinders at her station.

    [ss is now in session]

    A gentle female voice softly spoke over the inte and a mature woman strode into the room with great confidence.

    ¡°Hello, my dear students,¡± a ferocious looking woman entered theb while wearing a whiteb coat and various mechanical devices attached to her right arm.

    ¡°My name is Professor Macabre, and I will be in charge of teaching the poison cultivators from the training camp.

    ¡°We may have the least number of students after the mages and mech controller sses but that just means that you all will have my full undivided attention and care.¡±

    Professor Macabre was a human woman with brown, wavy hair that hung over a harsh looking face. She had lidded blue eyes with dark bags under them that made her seem exhausted.

    A small but vicious scar ran across from one side of her face to the next making her more resemble a mercenary rather than a scientist.

    ¡°I will begin our first lesson by helping you to create your own original poison form!¡±

 Chapter 112: Astrid Learns A Lesson In Humility

    Chapter 112: Astrid Learns A Lesson In Humility

    ¡°Professor Macabre,¡± one girl raised her hand timidly and asked a question.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just buy the poisons avable on the virtual?¡±

    Poison cultivators could create their own concoctions, but it was an expensive process that required severalboratory equipment.

    That didn¡¯t even factor in having to learn the in-depth knowledge of the chemical make up of the toxins they wanted to create.

    Money could buy almost anything on the virtual with the exception of certain items restricted by the Earth Federation¡¯s government.

    There was a booming market of poison manufactures who sold their products to poison cultivators, assassins and those who wanted an extra hidden ace up their sleeves.

    Naturally, the prices for these goods were quite high but most of the students entering the four prestigious universities came from well off families.

    Resources had a bigger impact on cultivation level than just having raw talent alone.

    It was very difficult to narrow the gap which is why the majority of students came from well developeds.

    ¡°That is a good question,¡± Professor Macabre spoke calmly and adjust her sses slightly before giving an exnation.

    ¡°Most of the poisons avable online only have the barrier of money to purchase so they can be considered rtively easy to obtain.¡±

    ¡°Those manufacturers also sell the antidotes for most of their products and poisons on the market are researched thoroughly by most ns or noble families.¡±

    ¡°It may seem like an unnecessary step to create your own original poison, but I can say confidently that it can mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Being exposed to a mysterious poison with no known antidote means that your victims will often die before they can even get medical treatment.¡±

    ¡°Did I answer your question?¡± Professor Macabre smiled gently at the student who nodded in agreement.

    Despite her terrifying appearance, the professor quite enjoyed her rxing teaching job after retiring from fighting on the frontier.

    Poison cultivators may have a bad reputation, but the professor had a deep passion for the subject.

    Professor Macabre felt a morbid fascination when holding simple vials of liquids that could take a person¡¯s life within seconds.

    Professor Macabre wrote some words on the board behind her and started to teach with great enthusiasm.

    ¡°Now I will begin the lecture with some basic information on the nature of poisons and then you will spend the rest of the afternoon attempting to make one.¡±

    Sophie listened attentively as she tried to absorb as much of the lecture as possible.

    What if this material would be tested on a surprise quiz!

    The ck wristband also had a recording feature, so she nned on listening to the information a second time when she returned to the main camp.

    The lecture begun with the main difference between poison and venom although most people tend to use these two terms interchangeably.

    Poison was a toxin that entered the body due to inhtion, swallowing or absorption through the skin.

    This was basically used by some techniques such as poison gas, poison aura and palm attacks that coated poison on the user¡¯s fingertips.

    Venom on the other hand is injected directly into the body via a needle, stinger, or bite.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs would be considered venomous as she had to bite into a person¡¯s skin to deliver the fatal dose.

    ¡°Now ss there are three main factors to consider when creating an effective poison,¡± Professor Macabre paused for a moment and faced the ss seriously.

    ¡°The first factor is the chemical structure of the toxin, the second factor is the degree to which the substance is absorbed and finally thest factor is how does the victim¡¯s body react to the substance.¡±

    ¡°Keep in mind that the immune system of cultivators and their regenerative abilities improve substantially the higher one cultivates.¡±

    ¡°A poison that may kill a qi body cultivator immediately, may be nothing more than an irritant to a qi tide stage cultivator.¡±

    The lecture continued on for the rest of the morning with a small thirty-minute break for lunch to allow the students to return to the main camp to get some food.

    Sophie had her nutrient vials, so she stayed behind to review the content of the lesson.

    She was not alone in the ssroom as two other students had also stayed behind and were working seriously.

    ¡°Hello¡­hello,¡± Sophie heard a quiet whispering from behind her.

    Sophie turned around to see a small boy with two bone-like wings jutting from his back.

    He was clearly another hybrid and his eyes were mesmerizing as one had a normal blue pupil while the other waspletely ck.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t understand thest part of the lecture did you record the professor by any chance?¡± he spoke in a soft tone.

    ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± Sophie replied, and she tapped her wristband against hismunicator to transfer the files.

    The hybrid boy thanked her politely and returned to his seat while trying not to make any unnecessary noise.

    This was the first time that Sophie had ever spoken to a fellow hybrid, but it was a pity that the boy left before she could even get his name.

    (Mage training session)

    ¡°This is unfair!¡±

    ¡°Howe she gets a specialized Archmage teacher and we don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Yeah that isn¡¯t right!¡±

    Protests finally erupted among the rest of the mage ss as Astrid had spent the morning being privately tutored by a respectable Archmage while the rest of the ss just had an ordinary lecturer.

    The Servie students in particr were furious as they considered it a great insult to be seen as less talented than a Mendolesa girl.

    ¡°Astrid is my apprentice so she will not be taught by sub par teachers or joining you poor excuses for mages,¡± Archmage Hollystorm rudely responded to thements.

    ¡°Err¡­no offense assistant Medina,¡± he added a few secondster.

    Lapis Hollystorm had spent most of his time cooped up in his magic tower designing new spells and furthering his study of spatial magic so his people skills were a bitcking to put it mildly.

    His words did little to calm down the angry students, so Astrid whispered in his ear a quiet suggestion to solve the problem.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Archmage Hollystorm announced.

    ¡°You can all face my apprentice at the same time. If you beat her, then I will host the lectures for the mage students for the entire two weeks.¡±

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± came a shocked reply from one of the students.

    ¡°This is awesome!¡±

    ¡°Terra arena ortum,¡± Archmage Hollystorm chanted a spell which caused a grand arena to emerge from the ground and trap the students within.

    Astrid found herself surrounded by the six other eager mage students whose mana begun to surge as they prepared to cast their spells.

    She found her blood begin to surge in excitement as the runes on her back glowed ominously as the thrill of battle filled her mind.

    ¡°Hyacintho aquaniatus!¡± cried one of the Servies.

    A giant wave of water crashed towards Astrid¡¯s location, but she leapt away with ease and chanted a spell of her own.

    ¡°Vitis vestis eos!¡±

    Snake-like vines erupted from Astrid¡¯s palms and directly struck half of the students.

    The vines slithered gently up their bodies and wrapped tightly around them in a vice-like grip before mming them into the ground.

    Lapis nodded his head in approval as he saw the impressive qualities of his young apprentice.

    Astrid resembled the battlemages of old who would not stay still and cast spells but were active participants inbat.

    Her fearsome reflexes and fast spell casting time reduced her opponents advantage of superior numbers as the Mendolesa girl was simply a step above her peers.

    After their initial surprise when facing Astrid¡¯s vine spell, the remaining students were able to stop it with fire spells andunch their own counter attacks.

    The battle took twenty minutes to end as these top students were still quite powerful in their own right.

    Painful groans could now be hearding from the mage training area as Astrid¡¯s challengers were now painfullyying on the ground with heavy bruises.

    ¡°Ha! I truly am the greatest mage!¡± Astrid proudly puffed out her chest and boasted.

    She definitely needed to brag to Qiana once the training session ended for the day.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Archmage Hollystorm said with a twisted smile. It was clear that his apprentice had gotten excited over her results and needed to learn some humility.

    ¡°How about we spar for a bit then?¡±

    Servies were by nature a peace loving and friendly race, but it would be fair to say thatpared to his gentler brethren¡­.

    ¡­. Archmage Hollystorm was the perfect mentor for a battle crazy Mendolesa apprentice.

    ¡®Bring it on old man!¡± Astrid teased yfully as the runes on her body lit up once again with dark and menacing patterns.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Five minutester)

    Astrid was nowying on the ground with the other students as her once pristine and shiny fur was now slightly charred and bloodied.

    Archmage Hollystorm had intentionally restricted his power to the qi spirit stage and yet Astrid could not evennd one hit on his body.

    That innocent looking fairy mentor was a crazy fiend in battle!

 Chapter 113: The History Of Mech Controllers

    Chapter 113: The History Of Mech Controllers

    (Training Camp- Holodeck Building)

    [10 minutes¡­.9 minutes¡­.8 minutes¡­.]

    [Less than 5 minutes remain!]

    The holographic words were projected above the simtion room which caused the nerves of the remaining students to tense as the countdown slowly ticked down.

    The group for general cultivators and the assassination candidates were both training in a simted hologram room that mimicked the environment of a forested area with dense trees and foliage.

    Students were ced in the assassination ss based on their skills in movement, concealment, and killing techniques.

    There were ten students in the ss which was quite tiny whenpared to muchrge number of forty students in the general ss.

    Assistant Lucy and Instructor Cain organised a joint training session to help the members of both groups of students improve theirbat sense.

    The assassin ss were given a ten-minute head start to enter the environment and conceal their presence.

    General ss students would then enter the training field once the countdown timer ended and a team battle wouldmence.

    Instructor Cain had set different goals for each group of students.

    Assassins were randomly given the profiles of different students in the general ss and their goal was to kill their targets.

    Bonus points were earned if they eliminated the other members of the squad the target was chosen from.

    Students were equipped with barrier devices that would activate upon the detection of a fatal blow so serious injuries were unlikely to ur.

    The general ss were separated into ten squads of four students each and tasked with ensuring that all members of their team survived by the end of the exam.

    ¡°Time is nearly up,¡± Instructor Cain spoke calmly as he headed towards the first aid section to pick up healing serums to treat the minor injuries that students had suffered.

    Assistant Lucy carefully reviewed the real time footage of the exercise and doubled checked the current results with the AI that was monitoring the simtion room.

    It did not take long for the potential results to be calcted and the assistant scanned the generated list and praised certain students.

    ¡°Squads one, two, three, four, six, seven, eight and nine are most likely to end the exercise without the loss of a single member,¡± she stated nonchntly to her fellow instructor.

    It was estimated that almost all of the squads would pass the exercise sessfully.

    This was to be expected as new students in the assassination ss were unlikely to have the required skills to pull off a sessful kill on an alert target in the middle of a group.

    Assistant Lucy finally cracked a smile when she read the list of names from the assassin ss who managed to already eliminated their targets before the exam ended.

    ¡°Qiana Abazin and Caleb ck have both shown impressive potential,¡± she noted down these two promising students in her mind.

    She was particrly impressed by the quiet girl who blended almost silently in the background of any crowd.

    House Abazin were mainly active in politics and did not send any of their direct offsprings to serve time in the military.

    So where did Qiana get such deadly skills?

    The squad she hunted did not notice her presence until it was far toote.

    Assistant Lucy¡¯s onlyint would be that this talented student did not attempt to take out the other members of squad five and earn bonus points.

    Qiana simply retreated back into the simted forest once the barrier on her target had been triggered.

    She was now peacefully waiting for the countdown to end.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Training Camp- Mechanical Armory)

    Compared to the high intensity battles and lectures that were happening at the other training sessions, the mech controller ss was very rxing.

    ¡°Wee to training everyone,¡± an older man spoke very informally to his small ss of students.

    His name was Instructor Barrett and he had served in the Imperial Army as a mechanical engineer and mech controller for over two hundred years before finally retiring to teach the next generation.

    Instructor Barrett was an older man with grey hair that was mixed with dark soot and poking out in all directions as if he had just got an electric shock.

    He wore the standard mechanical overalls of the Imperial Army and his figure was still quite good for a man of his age.

    The ss begun with Instructor Barrett briefly describing mechs and their history in the Federation.

    Mech controllers were an extremely small fraction of the total number of cultivators in the Imperial Army due to the strict requirements to nurture one.

    Currently in the Imperial Army, there were no more than two mech controllers who were able to handle mechs with the power of god stage cultivators.

    Prospective controllers needed to have a solid foundation in cultivation, vast quantities of mental force and the ability to concentrate intensely for hours on end.

    Mechs were a marvel of scientific engineering.

    Records show that they were first envisioned hundreds of years ago in ancient Earth media and science fiction stories.

    With the fall of the Draxi Empire, humanity and the other three races were able to absorb their scientific knowledge and research which helped them to create ultimate weapons of war.

    It took hundreds of years for the first early mech to be created which had roughly the same power as a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    Their robotic structures were typically made from nanoparticles and powered by dark matter energy cores.

    The shapes of these mechs ranged from humanoid, beast-like or even customized specifically for a controller¡¯s preference.

    The following years of research only produced more and more powerful models until they could even rival void stage cultivators.

    Naturally, there was great excitement among the higher ups of the Federation and the Imperial Army ordered thousands of these machines to be built and attempted to have ordinary soldiers pilot them.

    Which alien civilisation would be able to halt the advance of a fleet made up of thousands of void stagebatants.

    These orders came before the mechs could be properly tested by the researchers for any negative side effects on the users.

    Unfortunately, it was soon discovered that most people could not even draw out a fraction of the full abilities of these mechs without suffering significant mental and physical bacsh.

    Those lucky survivors of the bacsh experienced either permanent brain damage or had to be put on life support after their nervous systems shut down.

    These incidents were enough to spark public outcry from the families of these victims and mech research was halted for decades as scientists tried to figure out what went wrong.

    It was discovered that only those with a strong enough mental force were able to pilot these mechs for long periods of time.

    Mech controller candidates were treated as precious gems and almost every student with significant potential was guaranteed a spot at the four prestigious universities.

    ¡°Now for the training camp, the university has generously allowed you all to design your own mechs that will be built and delivered in the next two days so we can start practice,¡± Instructor Barrett exined.

    ¡°Please only use the beginner mechs as the base of your mech so that means the Phantom, Trident, Ravager, and Pioneer series.¡±

    The ss seemed more like a private tutoring session as Cleo¡¯s ssmates were only two other students.

    One was a Mendolesa girl named Elenora and the other was a Quafes called Drew who kept switching between two gender forms, both of which looked fairly androgynous.

    There was a ck box in front of each of the three students, so Cleo pressed the button on the side curiously and a holographic workshop was projected around her.

    [Wee Mech Controller!] a line of text appeared on a screen.

    [Please select the level of mech you require¡­.]

    [Beginner] [ Intermediate] [Advanced]

    Mechs that were ssified as above ¡®Advanced¡¯ could only be purchased through special military channels and their manufacturing process was a closely guarded secret.

    The instructor said to chose a beginner mech, so Cleo selected the first option and begun the browse the different choices and types of mechs.

    Cleo was using the X-r61 model from the Phantom series as a base to create her own custom mech to use during the training camp.

    The Phantom series were sleek, lightweight humanoid mechs that specialized in aerialbat and scouting.

    What theycked in heavy firepower waspensated for by high maneuverability and speed that could outss opponents.

    It was a bit of an advanced choice for a beginner as they required some extra skill to operate but Cleo relished the opportunity.

    Clicking on the mech opened another window that showed the potential modifications as well as a simtion of how these changes would affect the stats of the mech.

    ¡°Hmm can I add an extra thruster without unbncing the lower half of the mech?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I should add twoser swords¡­. they look badass,¡± Cleo whispered as she mused carefully over the long list of features.

    ¡°Woah your mech looks pretty cool,¡± came an excited voice from Elenora who was peering over Cleo¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± the princess smiled back politely as she continued to add features to her mech.

    The Mendolesa girl attempted to start a conversation, but Cleo was too preupied by the wonderful world of robots.

    Ever since Cleo was a little girl, one of the only happy memories of her childhood was sitting on her mother¡¯sp as they watched action movies together.

    One of her personal heroes was the actor who yed Matias Hunter from the ¡®Mech God Ultimate Warrior¡¯ trilogy who would defeat swarms of aliens with his trusty mech that he nicknamed ¡®The Golden Girl.¡¯

    (shback)

    ¡°Does my little girl want to be a mech controller like that handsome big brother on the screen,¡± a younger version of Concubine Sisrelis smiled lovingly as she stroked Cleo¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Yeah mommy! I want to be a superhero,¡± little Cleo giggled loudly as she waved her arms around excitedly.

    Joyfulughter echoed around the empty pce as the mother daughter pair teased one another gently.

    It was a warm and happy moment.

 Chapter 114: Poison Session- First Assignment

    Chapter 114: Poison Session- First Assignment

    (Training Camp- Poison Laboratory)

    The lunch break had finally ended, and the students were all patiently waiting in their seats for the professor to arrive.

    Not a single one of the students dared to bete.

    ¡°Wee back ss. I hope everyone is ready for the afternoon session,¡± Professor Macabre strolled casually back into the room.

    New mechanical devices were attached to her right arm that bleeped ominously with shing red lights.

    She was also carrying arge briefcase which she then opened to reveal hundreds of vials tightly packed inside.

    ¡°I will hand you a weak poison along with a random set of twenty supplementary materials to enhance the mixture.¡±

    ¡°Your task is to raise the lethality of the base toxin to at least double its initial strength by the end of this afternoon.¡±

    Professor Macabre believed in the importance of applying the information taught in lectures so that the students would gain a better sense of understanding.

    She had already covered a basic overview of some processes that could enhance the lethality of a poison, but it was unlikely that many students would seed today.

    That was to be expected.

    Students would get a feel for using theboratory equipment and hopefully by the end of the training camp at least three students would qualify for slots in the elite ss.

    Sophie was feeling a sense of anticipation at the challenge ahead.

    She may not have the highest talent in sword cultivation like her father, but Katarina had praised her as a poison genius.

    She peeked at the other students and found that the expressions on their faces ranged from excitement to worry and concern.

    There were five scientific devices on Sophie¡¯s desk with each serving a different purpose.

    The beginner poison detector would measure the lethality of different poisons using a rtive scale of one to ten with one being the weakest and ten being the strongest.

    The poison crucible was a device that facilitated the breakdown of poisons into separateponents via heating to allow for mixing.

    Sophie was not sure of the function of the other three devices as Professor Macabre had yet to cover their functions in the lectures this morning.

    ¡°I will now start passing out the materials. Good luck students,¡± Professor Macabre took the briefcase and walked table to table while handing out the vials.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sophie said politely when she received a purplish vial and twenty other vials of differing colours and smells.

    Each vial wasbelled properly with the name of the substance inside, so it was no problem to identify what was the base poison that she had been given.

    The purple vial had tape attached to its ss outer surface with the name ¡®Maixexidel¡¯ scribbled down in pen.

    Sophie first typed out the poison¡¯s name in the virtual search engine to look up information and then ced the vial inside the poison detector to measure its strength.

    [Three minutes to analyse sample¡­.] a line of text shed across the device¡¯s screen.

    Maixexidel was a poison created from the blood of an alien beast species called the Qern.

    They were small mammal-like animals with six arms, four legs and a thin tail that was almost the length of an average sized human.

    Their poison was secreted as an effective deterrent against predators on their as the poison would cause mild hallucinations when ingested.

    There was a surprisingck of information on the virtual, probably due to the fact that their poison was hardly of use to most poison cultivators.

    Even ordinary people would survive exposure.

    [Ding! Ding!]

    The poison detector bleeped twice before presenting the results of its analysis.

    [Poison Lethality ¨C 1.4]

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Sophie mused thoughtfully as she nced at the secondary materials.

    On the surface this seemed like an easy assignment as she was only required to create a poison with a lethality of 2.8.

    Well there was no use in overthinking and getting stressed out, so Sophie turned her attention to the vials on the table and started to read theirbels.

    Other students had already begun to add supplementary materials to their base poison, but Sophie took her time studying the materials.

    There was no rush as the afternoon training session wouldst for about three hours.

    Poison making was a much moreplicated business than she had earlier anticipated.

    The supplementary materials were all unique with varying properties that added strange effects to the poison.

    Some materials would sh with one another and reduce the overall effectiveness of the poison mixture so careful research had to be done.

    Professor Macabre had not forbidden the ss from looking up data on the virtual.

    Cultivators tended to have an enhanced memory so any information presented could be quickly absorbed and understood.

    Sophie had a couple of empty vials under her table, so she took out a few to begin her experiments.

    Her first attempt created a poison with the lethality of 0.7 which was much lower than the desired amount, so she modified the form and tried again.

    ¡°Maybe I should use thorn aniseed and heart moss,¡± Sophie muttered as she held two vials in her hand and eyed them carefully.

    Minutes turned to hours, but Sophie had no clue that time was passing by so quickly.

    Every thought in her head was strictly rted to the fascinating world of poison creation and Sophie found herself lost in the mesmerizing process.

    She eventually managed to create two vials with the lethality of 2.79 and 2.81 respectively which was barely at the mark of a pass.

    Sophie was dissatisfied but when she checked the time on hermunicator, there were only five minutes left.

    She ced the vial with 2.8 lethality on the table and was going to ce the 2.79 vial in the discarded bin when an idea urred to her.

    Professor Macabre was at the back of the ss helping another student so she quickly uncapped the top of the vial and swallowed the contents before searching for a filter funnel and an empty vial.

    The familiar burning sensation as the poison entered her mouth, but no hallucinogenic effect was felt.

    It was an easy process to wrap her qi around the poison to direct it straight to the venom nds in her mouth.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs lengthened and her eyes shifted into a dark scarlet colour.

    She bit down hard on the sides of a filter funnel and watched carefully as the modified venom produced by her nds dripped down the funnel and into the empty vial.

    When her fangs eventually shrunk and retracted slightly, she ced the filter funnel to the side and ced the vial inside of the poison detector.

    She was just about to press the analysis button when Professor Macabre announced that the assignment was over.

    ¡°I will now begin the evaluations from the front row and move back,¡± she said calmly.

    Sophie was in the front row, so the professor walked towards her and held up the 2.81 vial in her hand with an approving nod.

    ¡°What was the finally score given by the poison detector,¡± Professor Macabre asked.

    ¡°A little over two point eight,¡± Sophie replied stiffly.

    Professor Macabre was not worried about students being dishonest as the poison detectors kept a record of the poisons analysed during the session.

    Any student caught cheating would automatically be expelled from the training camp.

    Professor Macabre wrote down an evaluation on her tablet and turned to leave which caused Sophie to blurt out a frantic,

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Sophie hurriedly exined as the instructor paused momentarily,

    ¡°Actually, I also made a poison with a higher lethality,¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke up and pressed the start button on the poison detector device.

    [Analyzing Sample¡­. three minutes¡­ two minutes¡­.]

    Her father did not forbid her from revealing her hybrid abilities in school as it was important to stand out to receive resources.

    Duke Peterlor only warned her not to reveal any hint of her Insectoid origins.

    As far as the general public was concerned, her mother was a member of an unknown alien species so any questions could be glossed over with superficial answers.

    Sophie waited patiently with her professor for the results to appear on the device.

    [Ding! Ding!]

    [Analysisplete¡­. poison of 7.4 lethality detected!]

    Her venom nds had increased the lethality of the Maixexidel poison from 1.4 to a whopping 7.4 which was more than five times!

    ¡°How did you aplish this?¡± the professor asked curiously.

    ¡°I have venom nds that can modify and enhance any poison I swallow,¡± Sophie exined proudly.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Professor Macabre leaned closer to Sophie¡¯s body and the temperature begun to drop as the teacher narrowed her eyes into slits.

    ¡°Biological abilities are also part of your strength, but it is important to have strong theoretical knowledge.¡±

    It was not umon for hybrid students or other alien races to possess the ability to create or modify toxins.

    In fact, over her many years in the Imperial Army, Professor Macabre had killed many enemies with such biological advantages in the poison arts.

    The biggest weakness of these individuals was that they would often neglect the theory behind creating poisons and simply rely on their innate abilities.

    This may work in normal circumstances but if an enemy was able to counter their racial abilities then they were often left helpless.

    Professor Macabre had good feelings for the hybrid girl who paid close attention to her lectures in the morning, so she decided to give her some extra work.

    ¡°I will ept this vial as well for today but in exchange for the rest of the week you will be required toplete assignments twice.¡±

    ¡°One poison must be made using your venom nds and the other poison must be made only using the knowledge you learn in ss¡±

    Professor Macabre smiled gently and ced a warm hand on Sophie¡¯s shoulder. It was clear that this hybrid girl was a talent that needed strict nurturing.

    What Sophie did not know was that she woulde to deeply regret showing off in ss.

    In the following days, poor Sophie would be given twice the workload of her fellow students and also had toplete bonus assignments.

 Chapter 115: Elimination

    Chapter 115: Elimination

    (Insectoid Empire ¨C Gadrion)

    (Temple of the Great Weaver)

    ¡°Oh, valief vaire.¡±

    ¡°Mercime ana v¨¢re- mime -iel ar her hinya.

    ¡°L¨®tesse se grow up healthime ar polda -esse i r¨²cima n¨®r -o i humans.¡±

    ¡°Anne- her i huore ana n- a hunter man does vamme caure¡±

    Religious chanting echoed through the empty hall of the once prosperous temple as its sole upant continued to kneel and pray diligently.

    The temple was a holy ce of the Arachnais tribe who worshiped the great weaver and mother of all arachnids.

    Thenguage spoken in the chants would not be found in the Federation¡¯s database, but the words roughly tranted to,

    ¡°Oh, great weaver¡±

    ¡°Mercy to protect my daughter and her child.¡±

    ¡°May she grow up healthy and strong in the terriblend of the humans.¡±

    ¡°Give her the courage to be a hunter who does not fear¡±

    Legend said that this god was once one of the primordial beings who hunted and killed all those who threatened creation.

    The weaver was not a merciful god.

    It was said that the Arachnais race were created in her image to give guidance and leadership to the other Insectoids.

    Certain members of the royal family could even call upon her spirit to grant them strange and terrible abilities.

    The former great empress of the Arachnais tribe seemed like a fragile elder as she bowed respectfully at the enormous statue of a spider carved from a mysterious metal that glowed in the darkness.

    It had been three weeks since she had peacefully divorced from her husband and moved to this hidden to supposedly live out the rest of her days.

    Perhaps she could have fought in the political court to maintain her position as she still had considerable influence over severalrge families but¡­. the empress was simply tired.

    Ever since birth, she had been raised by her family to govern and rule one of the great races of the Insectoid Empire hand in hand with her husband.

    The emperor was not an awful or unjust ruler and he even enjoyed great poprity among the younger Arachnais.

    This was due to his war-like attitude towards the Unova Syndicate and the Earth Federation. Two universal powerhouses thaty beyond the empire¡¯s borders.

    His darkest secret which he forced the empress to conceal was that he was unfaithful in his marriage.

    Arachnais were supposed to be monogamous and they believed strictly in principals of loyalty and permanentpanionship once two individuals had wed.

    Emperor Fay¡¯lle¡¯s indiscretions could have cost him a great deal of poprity from the older generations, so it was important to keep them a secret.

    The presence of children who were birthed by his concubines was exined away as children adopted by the empress with no rtion to him.

    Emperor Fay¡¯lle¡¯s excuses were obviously quite clumsy but none of his ministers dared to rip apart this farce.

    It was an unpleasant situation but the empress was not treated badly by her husband nor had she suffered any apparent loss in power so she could only turn a blind eye.

    She had two lovely daughters named princess Thai¡¯lle and princess Rai¡¯lle, one of whom would be the next leader of the Arachnais tribe.

    Life was simple and unchanging until the emperor banished her eldest daughter permanently from the pce.

    Just for the sin of bearing a hybrid offspring with a human.

    It was then that the empress knew that all of her so-called power was nothing more than a lie.

    Despite her begs and pleads, she could not overturn the emperor¡¯s decision and was forced to watch her daughter be chained and sent to an exile zone like a criminal.

    Manyughed at her fall from grace, but the empress paid them no mind.

    She was chained under the weight of all the different responsibilities of being the queen but now¡­.

    She could finally rescue her daughter.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Zrudread University- Training Camp- Lunar Colony X-374)

    ¡°Wee maggots to the first mass elimination event!¡± Instructor Selvon bared his fangs in a twisted grin as he observed the terrified students.

    A week had passed since the training camp had first begun and Sophie was now perfectly settled into her new routine.

    sses would start promptly in the morning andst untilte in the evening.

    The instructors increased the workload drastically and many students struggled to keep up with the elerated pace.

    Students were still expected to cultivate regrly in the night and gene boasting serums were provided for free to aid in their cultivation practice.

    Professor Macabre was quite demanding towards her students and Sophie found herself forced to stay for extra lessons from her enthusiastic teacher who paid her special attention.

    It was quite tiring, but Sophie truly had nothing but respect for her teacher who passionately treated poison creation as an expression of art.

    The only downside was that Sophie was too exhausted after a long day of work to fool around with Cleo in the night.

    The two girls would just snuggle together under the nket and fall asleep while hearing the soft sounds of their lover¡¯s beating heart.

    Thirty students from the one hundred potential seedlings would be granted a spot in the elite ss after the training camp so naturally there were two main events to reduce these numbers.

    After one week, half of the students would be sent to the main campus to join the ordinary ss while the final thirty would be selected at the end of the two-week training camp.

    Those students who were initially ced in the elite ss and lost their spot would still receive money and resources from their schrship offer until the end of the first year.

    If they still could not climb back into the elite ss, then they would have no one to me but themselves.

    [Ring! Ring!]

    Instructor Selvon pressed the rm button on his megaphone to gain the attention of the students before beginning to speak.

    ¡°I will now say the names of the eliminated students,¡± Instructor Selvon opened up his tablet and scrolled down the list of names.

    Nervous nces were exchanged, and many students held their breath while praying that they had survived the elimination round.

    ¡°Leroy Harris.¡±

    ¡°Dan Meadows.¡±

    ¡°Leah Dudley.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°and Bianca Larson.¡±

    Silence fell over the students as Instructor Selvon read thest name on the list and mixed emotions could be felt.

    Relief and joy could be seen on the remaining students who had not been eliminated which was in a direct contrast to the frustration and anger on faces of the students who had to return to the main campus.

    ¡°Listen up maggots,¡± Instructor Selvon said solemnly as he peered deeply into the eyes of the disappointed students.

    He did not want to see these students give up on themselves as their road to cultivation had only just begun.

    Instructor Selvon lowered his voice and spoke with a rare moment of kindness and empathy,

    ¡°You can let this momentary failure define you or choose to press on and strive for constant improvement.¡±

    ¡°The ordinary ss at Zrudread University still provides resources far beyond what normal students outside of the four prestigious universities can afford.¡±

    ¡°There will be multiple opportunities to enter the elite ss during your stay at the university, but it is up to you to grasp the chances with your own will.¡±

    He too was once a student that had been dropped from the elite ss and the surge of emotions at the time almost broke him.

    But he pulled himself together and by the next midterm exam¡­..he had once again returned to the ranks of the elite ss where he remained among the top five students in the year.

    It was always easy for young geniuses to handle sess but learning how to cope with failure was something that could not be taught.

    The eyes of some of the eliminated students brightened after Instructor Selvon¡¯s speech but many still seemed downcast.

    No one seemed to be in the mood for regr sses so the instructors simply announced that today would be considered a rest day.

    Sophie entered her tent with uneasy thoughts running through her mind.

    She was once again reminded of the intense struggle that the university had arranged between students.

    This would prepare them for the cold hard truth of the universe which was that power was all that mattered.

    Resources could only be fought over by those strong enough to take them.

    Sophie shook those dark thoughts out of her head as it was a rare day of rxation and she nned on spending time with her precious princess.

    Maybe she could even¡­.no¡­no¡­it was still daytime!!

    ¡°Sophie why are you blushing?¡± Cleo teased gently as the hybrid girl¡¯s ears had turnedpletely red.

 Chapter 116: The Rumor

    Chapter 116: The Rumor

    ¡°Your attack clearlycks prative force.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t use that poison unless you want to send yourself to the hospital.¡±

    ¡°Adjust your posture and bend your knees to lower your center of bnce.¡±

    Professor Macabre was walking around her students while giving out helpful pointers on how to improve their poison maniption techniques.

    She was quite satisfied with the results of the current training camp so far as only three out of the ten students in her session had been eliminated.

    This number was already much better than the previous years.

    The hybrid girl Sophie in particr was her favourite student.

    Professor Macabre was no stranger to the rumors that the formermander Duke Peterlor had sired a child with an alien race but she was simply curious rather than disgusted.

    Regardless of the differing opinions on his character, no one could mock the great duke¡¯s achievements in battle.

    His ingenious tactics, personal strength and discipline won battle after battle against the Earth Federation¡¯s enemies.

    It was clear that his retirement had left a gaping hole in the upper echelons in the army that no one seemed to be able to fill.

    Sophie concentrated as a thin wisp of poison gas circled around her palm in a counterclockwise motion.

    The rest of the reddish-brown poison inside the vial soon flowed out of the container and joined the wisp.

    Breathe slowly¡­.

    Sophie exhaled gently as the cloud of gas rotated faster and faster until it resembled a miniature hurricane.

    Now!

    The cloud of gas shot directly forward and pierced the target dummy with frighteningly strong uracy.

    The target sizzled as the corrosive poison directly melted the areas where the gas had touched.

    Her impressive achievements caused Sophie to feel a bit cocky, but her teacher soon burst her bubble of joy.

    ¡°Sixty percent of that poison attack leaked into the surrounding area,¡± Professor Macabre spoke sternly.

    ¡°Try again.¡±

    There were two main purposes to this exercise. The first purpose was to increase the strength and uracy of the students when manipting poisons on the battlefield.

    The more important purpose was to control the leakage of poison attacks into the nearby environment.

    Poison cultivators had a poor reputation as the less skilled members wouldunch attacks that would affect friend and foe alike.

    In the Imperial Army there was a strict standard for poison cultivators to maintain as no one wanted an ally whose attacks would hurt them as well.

    To use your qi to control every molecule of a poison gas so it does not diffuse into the surroundings was quite difficult.

    Even Sophie who was the top student could only manage to control forty percent with her best efforts.

    She was not disappointed by her apparent failure as years of working hard while beingbelled as trash gave her a strong will.

    Failure was nothing more than the stones building the road to sess.

    ¡°Hey new bestie! Can you tell me how you can control your gas so well?¡± a puzzle voice spoke up from behind Sophie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Me as well please,¡± came another voice in a much softer tone.

    Sophie turned around to see a Servie girl fluttering her wings gently while staring at her with starry eyes.

    A hybrid boy with two bone-like wings was also not far behind. Unlike the Servie girl, he was looking at the ground to avoid Sophie¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Celestia and Rafessa¡­. what a surprise,¡± Sophie rolled her eyes and teased the duo gently.

    Sophie had naturally gotten closer to her fellow ssmates during the training camp and she was surprised to find out that she was quite popr!

    She was on pretty good terms with Celestia who was well known as a girl with a love for gossip and rumors.

    Celestia never spread malicious rumors or gossip personally but she loved to pick up information and share it with her friends.

    Thanks to her, Sophie now knew some shocking secrets about the cough¡­ cough¡­. private life of certain amorous students.

    Somehow this troublesome Servie even had news about the scandals among the deans at Zrudread University and which assistants in the training camp were developing feelings for one another.

    Sophie just had to bow down in admiration at her talent.

    Forget cultivation¡­. this girl clearly was better suited for entertainment news!

    Rafessa on the other hand, they were not particrly close, and he only seemed to approach her when he wanted help.

    He kept to himself and did not interact with his other ssmates, so Sophie figured that he probably had a timid personality.

    At least she finally got his name after a week had passed.

    ¡°I wrapped my qi around the outer surface of the gas cloud,¡± Sophie demonstrated by opening up a new vial and pushing the smoke upwards.

    An invisible force was coating the gas and it moved in a uniform direction until it hovered slowly over her palm.

    ¡°Then I followed the professor¡¯s example and rotated it to build up momentum,¡± she exined.

    The poison gas started to spin in a familiar pattern but an expression of dissatisfaction could be seen on Sophie¡¯s face.

    She could tell that while spinning the gas, tiny particles were breaking away and spreading out into the surroundings.

    ¡°I think we need to coat every molecule with our qi but that is definitely going to take a lot of practice.¡±

    Rafessa nodded politely and said a few words of thanks before disappearing to the back of the ss.

    Celestia cheerfully spoke once the hybrid boy had left,

    ¡°Sophie you are a freaking lifesaver. I¡¯m almost tempted to kiss you!¡± Celestia flew closer while puffing out her lips.

    p!

    She was brushed aside immediately by Sophie.

    ¡°Just kidding. We all know that you only have eyes for that princess Cleo.¡± Celestia seemed unbothered by the rejection and zipped closer with an expression full of anticipation.

    Sophie was trying to focus but the eager fairy staring at her intensely was disrupting her concentration.

    ¡°Fine¡­. what gossip do you want to share,¡± Sophie sighed in resignation. She wasn¡¯t making much progress so taking a small break wouldn¡¯t hurt.

    Celestia quickly turned her head around to see if Professor Macabre was paying them any attention.

    Their teacher was currently helping out some students at the back of the ss so now was as good a time as any.

    ¡°One of my sources told me¡­¡­

 Chapter 117: The Imperial Army Offers Freedom

    Chapter 117: The Imperial Army Offers Freedom

    ¡°The Imperial Army is not as great as the media makes it out to be,¡± Celestia lowered her voice and whispered into Sophie¡¯s ear.

    ¡°I found this information on a restricted forum where some guy made a conspiracy theory that the state media is being manipte to hide the war crimes of the army.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s expression remained the unchanged but internally her thoughts were racing as certain dots were being connected in her mind.

    She could spot Professor Macabre¡¯s ears twitching slightly in their direction.

    ¡°(Laugh and pretend that what you said was just a joke)¡±

    ¡°(We don¡¯t know if any of the instructors or monitoring devices nearby are recording our conversations)¡±

    Sophie projected a voice qi transmission into Celestia¡¯s head and the Servie girl quickly started to follow her instructions.

    ¡°Man, there are some really crazy conspiracy theories out there,¡± Celestia chuckled as Sophie yed along with a small grin on her face.

    ¡°Girl you need to stop going on those forums. Trust me everyone there really has nothing better to do,¡± Sophie replied cheerfully.

    Truthfully, the fact that her father did not want her to join the human faction of the Imperial Army had raised her suspicions that something was amiss.

    Call her paranoid but if the higher ups of the government were truly censoring the actions of the Imperial Army, then any citizens caught spreading these rumors would face punishment.

    The duo changed topics to discuss more harmless pieces of gossip and Sophie¡¯s golden eyes noticed that their teacher had now stopped listening to their conversation.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Atraobluye Star System ¨C Uaer)

    This was the birthce of a pre-interster race called the Grakoids who were scaly humanoid aliens with four legs and gill-like openings located on the sides of their chests.

    It was just one of the countless races who gazed up at the night sky and wondered if they were alone in the vast universe.

    Maybe one day, their leading scientists would discover the use of warp travel and they would build vessels to sail across the cosmos.

    Maybe one day, they could have even be a future universal power.

    But fate is often a cruel mistress¡­.

    Boom!

    Explosions erupted one after another in the middle of a crowded city as multiple psionic bombs blew up.

    This was hell.

    A wave of purplish energy spread out from each explosion that ttened buildings and vaporized any poor soul trapped in its path.

    Bang! Bang!

    Some Grakoids with stronger physiques were able to bear the brunt of these explosions, but their severely injured bodies were nothing more than easy targets for the snipers hovering in the air using anti-gravity boots.

    Men wearing dark cloaks and high-tech masks were calmly recharging their sma snipers and searching for new targets.

    Screams and cries from the innocent civilians echoed around the brokenndscape as desperate people fled the city.

    A young alien girl was separated from her mother and cried out for help when a nearby building toppled over which killed her instantly.

    A couple trying to flee from the carnage were trampled to death by the mob of civilians desperate to run away as fast as they could.

    ¡°Sister please wake up!¡± a green skinned alien boy with gills held his sibling in his arms tightly as she stopped breathing.

    ¡°You monsters!¡± he screamed in pain as the life force of his precious sister slipped away.

    Hate. Fear. Anger.

    These emotions surfaced in his heart.

    His eyes narrowed into slits as he focused his attention on the invaders who had brought his people to the brink of ruin.

    These strange two- legged creatures who had arrived on their world and spoken words of peace and mercy while secretly nning to destroy them.

    This was just one of the many terrorist attacks being shown on a hologram screen that were recently carried out by the hidden operatives of the imperial army.

    This unlucky civilisation was located in a neutral zone in the middle of the Unova Syndicate and the Earth Federation.

    These two universal powerhouses were reluctant to go to war directly with one another as the threat of the Insectoid Empire was ever present.

    Proxy wars became the solution as both sides fought to upy and colonises to obtain the natural resources from this star system.

    As for the natives inside this war zone¡­. some things are better left unsaid.

    Spaceships with the logo of the Imperial Army gathered around the¡¯s atmosphere in what could only be described as a menacing swarm.

    The gship of the fleet was an enormous star cruiser called the SS Liberator helmed by Admiral Jackson who led many a sessful campaign in the Atraobluye Star System.

    His fleet of ships had crews of only the top soldiers from the Imperial Army.

    Espionage, explosives, sabotage, assassinations, andbat were just some of the skills that these officers were expected to have mastered.

    Jackson himself was a cultivator of the void stage with a thick and muscr body covered in red tattoos that glowed eerily in the light.

    His face was split entirely down the middle by a long scar that disfigured his appearance.

    Using the full might of the Imperial Army may seem like overkill for such a weak civilisation, but this fleet was created to fight against the Federation¡¯s real enemy in this star system.

    The Unova Syndicate.

    ¡°Do we have any new information on the inorganicposition of this,¡± the admiral asked the technicians currently looking over the data collected by the scanners.

    ¡°Good news admiral! It seems that the core of that has an ore reserve with rare metals that we have never seen before,¡± an excited woman wearing a whiteb coat rushed forward and presented her findings.

    ¡°Well done,¡± Admiral Jackson nodded in approval as a surge of excitement filled his heart.

    It seems that a profit or a promotion could be made if he yed his cards right.

    ¡°Has the media been sent the relevant footage and tapes of our victory?¡± Admiral Jackson asked casually.

    ¡°Yes sir! We have already transmitted the edited video,¡± came the reply from one of his officers.

    ¡°The news tomorrow will tell of the terrible dictator Xuzax who ruled over this with an iron fist until the Imperial Army came to give these poor people their freedom!¡±

    Cheers and apuse erupted as the soldiers celebrated their impending fame and fortune.

    There would definitely be some bonuses distributed to those who participated in the attack.

    As for whether there was an actual dictator on this resource rich¡­.

    These backward natives clearly did not have a central government so any of their local tribe leaders could be called a dictator or portrayed as one.

    Public rtions and the image of the Imperial Army in the hearts of the citizens must never waver and the admiral made sure to also rouse the spirit of his men.

    ¡°Remember what we do is for our great nation! We will be the unsung heroes who will boldly expand the territory of our ancestors.¡±

    Admiral Jackson leaned back on his chair as he watched the major cities of the burn to the ground.

    ¡°Glory to the Earth Federation.¡±

 Chapter 118: The Mysterious Door

    Chapter 118: The Mysterious Door

    ¡°Sophie¡­. I need a hug,¡± Cleo pouted slightly as she tightly wrapped her arms around Sophie.

    Sophie started to blush furiously, and Cleo could not help but think that the hybrid girl looked very cute.

    They were currently strolling casually through the desert.

    One would even be under the impression that they were going on a date as they maintained a leisurely pace.

    The two suns hanging high above in the sky made the temperature rise significantly and beads of sweat had formed on the brows of both girls.

    Their feet sank into the dusty red sand with each step as the winds howled.

    Enormous sand dunes towered in the distance while dust storms menacingly spun in the shape of tornadoes.

    It was now the final two days of the training camp and the students were undergoing one final test to determine cement in the elite ss.

    The Hunting Exam!

    This was to test thebat skills of the students and to apply the knowledge they learnt during the training sessions.

    Sophie was under the impression that this test would be simr to the entrance exam but there was one small difference.

    The students were not the hunters.

    They were the prey.

    Instructor Selvon had given them a six-hour head start to flee from the camp and outrun the pack of robotic dogs programmed to track down the students.

    Each student had been equipped with a standard barrier device and the objective was to survive for two days without triggering the device.

    Students could also attack one another but they would not be awarded bonus points for their actions.

    In addition, Astrid¡¯s mentor had created several spatial rifts with challenges inside that students could solve to receive weapons and armour that could make the test easier to pass.

    Large groups would be easier to spot so students were encouraged to separate into smaller squads of around two or three.

    Cleo and Sophie had to decided to move as one team while Qiana and Astrid also travelled as a duo but had gone in a different direction.

    Celestia had wanted to join Sophie¡¯s team but Cleo just eyed her down with a death stare and refused to ept her.

    That was the Servie girl who had tried to kiss her girlfriend!

    Even if she hadter exined that it was just a joke¡­. Cleo was not taking any chances.

    ¡°I think our first priority should be to find a water source and then make a shelter,¡± Sophie hummed softly as she tried to peer into the distance.

    She had better vision than most but for some reason, the heat waves causing the air to shimmer and vibrate slightly was messing up her depth perception.

    It was a real shame that none of the students were given a map of the surrounding area, so they had to explore thendscape by themselves.

    ¡°Shall I scout ahead?¡± Cleo asked as she reached for her backpack to get her mech suit out.

    Mech controllers would have an unfair advantage during this test as they could cover more ground and fight off students in the same tier easily.

    Naturally, some restrictions had been ced upon them.

    Students were given the same mech model with only enough battery charge tost for three hours.

    The mech that Cleo had stored in her backpack was only a basic exoskeleton model that could enhance her speed and strength.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. maybe we should save it in case of an emergency,¡± Sophie replied as she touched the vials in her pocket lovingly.

    Poison was unlikely to work on the robotic dogs chasing them, but it would be enough to deal with any students with bad intentions towards them.

    Plus, she could always swallow the contents of the vials and try to bite the mechanical dogs.

    Her venom nds added a corrosive property to any toxins that she swallowed so it probably could melt their metallic outer shell.

    A few more hours passed by peacefully without any sight of other students or their pursuers.

    Sophie was feeling a bit bored staring at the endless desert, so she made some small talk with Cleo.

    ¡°Are you excited for our university life?¡± Sophie asked nonchntly.

    ¡°I was thinking of joining a few clubs or maybe taking part in some freshman events. The rock-climbing club seems pretty interesting.¡±

    Cleo paused for a moment to consider the question and replied in a happy tone,

    ¡°Personally, I¡¯m really excited about the archaeology club and the virtual reality games club. I always wanted to try those games, but I never had the chance.¡±

    ¡°I definitely want to y the new fantasy game called ¡®Eterenia Online¡¯ Dark elves are super pretty!¡±

    Sophie nced at her girlfriend who was now exining all the different races and sses of this new virtual reality game.

    It was fascinating how her green eyes sparkled as she excitedly spoke about her favourite characters.

    Cleo noticed that Sophie was just staring at her with an adoring expression and was not paying attention to her words, so she leaned closer and whispered in her ear.

    ¡°I applied for us to live in the same dorm apartment¡­. I am certainly looking forward to spending some lovely nights with you,¡± Cleo winked suggestively as she purred softly.

    Sophie could feel the warm breath of her princess tickling her neck as her heart begun to beat rapidly.

    Images of Cleo¡¯s snowy white flesh, perfect hourss figure, and towering twin peaks with soft pink cherries at the center shed through Sophie¡¯s mind.

    A strange feeling of arousal swept through her body and her knees trembled involuntarily as Sophie¡¯s eyes begun to darken ominously.

    It was a different colour from the usual golden hue as deep pinkish tendrils spread out from the center of her eyes.

    This new state caused her entire vision to be narrowly focused until all she could see was Cleo.

    ¡°Hey Sophie are you alright?¡± Cleo asked worriedly as her girlfriend had suddenly stopped moving.

    Sophie¡¯s head was turned away from Cleo and the princess could not see the conflicted expression on her girlfriend¡¯s face.

    An inhuman voice that sounded vaguely feminine whispered sweet temptations in Sophie¡¯s head as she struggled to stop herself from losing control.

    (Take her now!)

    (None should even be allowed to look upon your mate)

    (She is YOURS!)

    ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah¡­ I¡¯m fine,¡± Sophie managed to mutter as she furiously dug her nails into the flesh of her palms.

    The knuckles on her hand turned white from the sheer amount of force applied and small puncture wounds caused a steady stream of blood to trickle out.

    The pain sobered her up instantly and by the time Cleo saw her face, the pinkish colour of her eyes had long since disappeared as abruptly as it arrived.

    What was that?

    Was it a new racial trait?

    Sophie hid her hands behind her back as her regenerative abilities quickly sealed the wound and soon only a small scar remained.

    Cleo was looking at her suspiciously, but Sophie just awkwardlyughed and tried to resume the conversation.

    Sophie was not an idiot and knew that her mental state seemed to change every time that her eyes shifted colours, but she was unsure of what exactly triggered it.

    This was not the first time that she had lustful thoughts towards Cleo but somehow it felt different this time.

    It almost felt like an urge to¡­¡­

    Possess.

    Hopefully, it would not be too long till her aunt Rai¡¯lle visited her in the amulet¡¯s space as Sophie had many questions to ask her.

    It wasn¡¯t that she wanted to keep these problems a secret from Cleo but a small part of her was afraid that Cleo would see her as a monster.

    Years of rejection from the other noble children had left a shadow on Sophie¡¯s heart and even her newfound confidence was partially used as a shield to conceal her insecurities.

    ¡°Sophie is something bothering you?¡± Cleo continued to talk with a concerned tone, but she was soon interrupted by Sophie who was eager to change the topic.

    ¡°Look over there!¡± Sophie eximed.

    Hidden in the shadows of one of the giant sand dunes was a smallke full of dirt brown water with tiny bubbles indicating that something was swimming inside.

    What was strange about theke was that in its center was what appeared to be a wooden door with strange arcane runes that glowed softly in the sunlight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± Sophie hurriedly moved forward as she dragged Cleo along.

 Chapter 119: Terrifying And Super Attractive

    Chapter 119: Terrifying And Super Attractive

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Cleo stumbled slightly on something as the duo approached the brownishke to enter the secret realm.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Sophie hurriedly rushed forward to help her up.

    ¡°Yeah I think I tripped over a rock,¡± Cleo winced as she got up.

    Sophie peered at the ground beneath them but could not find any rock or foreign object that would trip someone.

    Sophie could not shake the feeling that the hunting exam so far had been simply too easy. They had yet to encounter any of the mechanical dogs and a secret realm was just within their sight.

    Would that devil instructor Selvon really make it a rxing two days of just walking?

    Something just felt¡­. slightly off.

    Cleo was a cultivator, so the chance of her ankle twisting during her fall was extremely low.

    They continued moving forward for a few more minutes when a strange noise could be hearding from behind them.

    Grrr¡­¡­

    Woof! Woof!

    Woof! Woof!

    ¡°Fuck it¡¯s a set-up!¡± Sophie yelled as her pointed ears twitched slightly.

    She turned her head around to spot what appeared to be a sea of robotic dogs rising up from beneath the sand.

    One had even emerged from the location that Cleo had tripped over.

    It was a well-nned ambush as the mechanical dogs crawled out of the sand directly behind their location and moved quickly to trap them.

    Soulless eyes stared intensely at the pair as they spread out in a circr formation and walked forward while snarling.

    These mechanical soldiers were wolf- like in appearance with a metallic outer coating that harshly reflected the sunlight and made them difficult to stare at directly.

    Each of these dogs had high powered thrusters located at their hindlegs and razor-sharp teeth that could easily rip through flesh and bone.

    Sophie counted that at least two hundred of these monsters were part of the formation and her heartbeat began to rapidly increase as she prepared for the uing fight.

    Psychic Shockwave!

    Cleo pressed her fingers to her temples and sent out a shockwave that sted the nearby dogs approaching their location.

    Sophie did not ck off either and rushed into the roaring mass of mechanical soldiers with reckless abandon.

    Rsychosis Martial Art!

    Her figure begun to blur and shift as she danced around the battlefield while her spider appendages urately pierced the mechanical core of the robotic dogs.

    Sophie¡¯s speed seemed to get faster and faster as she narrowly avoided the fangs of the dogs while retaliating with punches and kicks.

    Hunt¡­. hunt¡­. HUNT!

    ¡°Is that all you got you pieces of shit?¡± Sophieughed wildly as a reddish tinge spread rapidly across her golden eyes.

    Rsychosis was a martial art developed by the Arachnais tribe with special emphasis on short, direct attacks that used minimal movement.

    In addition, the special foot steps the practitioner was required to follow would nt illusions in the minds of their foes.

    This was obviously useless against the robotic dogs, but Sophie just used the footsteps unconsciously.

    Psychic Repulsion!

    Cleo was hardly a damsel in distress as she continued tounch psychic sts towards the mechanical soldiers.

    Her repulsion skill sent the poor dogs flying in the air until they crashed back to the ground several miles away.

    There was no need for Cleo to put on her mech suit for such weak opponents.

    (Training Camp Base)

    ¡°Instructor Selvon it has been almost ten hours since the hounds have been released and camera footage shows that they have already engaged with several groups,¡± an assistant reported.

    ¡°How are the students handling the attacks?¡± Selvon asked curiously.

    ¡°Very few seem to be in any significant danger as the restrictions ced on the mechanical dogs make them fairly easy to handle,¡± a technician answered his question while fiddling with the monitoring equipment.

    ¡°Well,¡± Selvon bared his fangs and grinned savagely.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we increase the difficulty just a little bit¡­.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Sophie was joyfully ripping off the limbs of the mechanical dogs surrounding her when she felt a strong sense of danger.

    There was a deadly threating from behind!

    She immediately jumped to the side as an energy beam was shot towards her previous location.

    Boom!

    A smoking crater was formed on the ground where the beam hadnded, and waves of smoke and dust filled the air.

    ¡°What?!¡± Sophie eximed in surprise.

    She continued to move around the battlefield but this time¡­.

    something had changed.

    The mechanical dogs were now somehow faster and there were several asions when she only just avoided their fangs from sinking into her flesh.

    This would be a problem by itself but now it appeared that certain dogs were also using energy sts to attack her from a distance.

    Grrr¡­

    A mechanical dog opened his mouth as a blue ball of energy formed and pulsed menacingly before heunched the beam straight at the immobile Cleo.

    Psychic Barrier!

    The space in front of Cleo twisted and started to distort to form the shape of a barrier.

    Boom!

    The blue beam of light struck the barrier directly and Cleo staggered backwards as a thin trickle of blood ran down the sides of her mouth.

    Psychic Annihtion!

    Cleo always believed in the philosophy of an eye for an eye and she tore the mechanical dogs nearest to her into small fragments with a wave of psychic energy.

    Sophie was preupied with fighting her own battle with a group of dogs but then she spotted her princess bleeding slightly¡­.

    Something snapped.

    She could not even remember exactly what happened to the three dogs she was fighting as their bodies were suddenly ripped to pieces by her appendages.

    All she could focus on was getting to Cleo and the unfortunate mechanical soldiers in her path were instantly torn to shreds.

    ¡°How dare you,¡± Sophie whispered with a terrifying aura of a demon who had crawled straight out of hell.

    ¡°How dare you touch what¡¯s MINE!¡± she roared in rage.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes were now fully red and pinkish tendrils slowly appeared as her vision narrowed until all she could focus on was Cleo.

    Another dog leapt towards her location, but it was abruptly pierced by two spider appendages before being split into two pieces.

    ¡°Annoying thing,¡± Sophie muttered darkly.

    Sophie could feel the Spider Whisper Art circting automatically as her qi started to violently surge in her dantian.

    One of her eyes were now fully pink while the other still maintained its reddish hue. Sophie bent her knees and vanished from the spot.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s movement skill ability seemed much stronger than before as she teleported from one side of the battlefield to the other while killing all the enemies in her path.

    She was a reaper of death.

    Cleo stood still in shock as the vast army of mechanical soldiers were utterly decimated by a cultivator in the qi spirit stage.

    ¡°You are the one who hurt her,¡± Sophie tightly gripped the throat of the sole survivor of the army.

    The roles of hunter and prey had been fully reversed.

    If the mechanical creature had emotions¡­. it would be cowering in fear.

    Chomp!

    She leaned forward and bite the outeryer of the dog as her fangs easily pierced its metal frame.

    Corrosive liquid entered its body right above the location of its mechanical core.

    Sophie watched emotionlessly as the light slowly faded from its eyes.

    There was only one more desire to fulfill.

    Sophie¡¯s other eye gradually lost its reddish colour and the pinkish tendrils quickly spread until her both eyes were identical with a pink hue.

    Her figure vanished once more as she appeared directly in front of Cleo.

    ¡°Sophie what was tha¡­.¡± Cleo¡¯s question was immediately cut off as Sophie grabbed her and pressed a furious kiss against her lips.

    I need her.

    I want her.

    I WILL HAVE HER.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs retracted as she felt the soft touch of her girlfriend¡¯s lips.

    She could taste the delicious fruity scent of Cleo¡¯s lip balm and she hungrily pressed her mouth to feel the warmth of her mate.

    A gentle moan of arousal was heard from Cleo as she felt her knees go weak under Sophie¡¯s passionate attack.

    Cleo¡¯s eyes widened abruptly as the hybrid girl eagerly withdrew her lips and begun to softly nibble at her neck.

    Sophie¡¯s hands naughtily roamed all over Cleo¡¯s body until they eventually gripped and massaged her girlfriend¡¯s firm ass.

    ¡°Sophie¡­. Sophie stop this,¡± Cleo attempted to calm her girlfriend down, but Sophie appeared to be addicted to kissing her.

    Sophie seemed almost like an entirely different person and her behaviour was both terrifying and super attractive.

    ¡°One more kiss,¡± Sophie seductively whispered into Cleo¡¯s ear as she once again pressed her lips to Cleo¡¯s.

    This time the kiss seemed tost for an eternity as Sophie did not want to stop even as Cleo pounded her fists against her chest.

    She needed to breathe!

    Just when Cleo felt as though she was about to pass out from ack of oxygen, Sophie¡¯s body trembled, and she suddenly copsed to the ground.

    Thest thing Sophie heard as her vision started to fade was the familiar inhuman voice speaking softly in her mind in what seemed to be an almost proud tone.

    (Out of all of my believers¡­. you are truly my favourite)

    (Even your mother could not call upon my power as easily as you do)

 Chapter 120: "Sophie Wake Up!"

    Chapter 120: "Sophie Wake Up!"

    Warmth.

    Sophie could feel herself slipping deeper and deeper into thefortable darkness as Cleo¡¯s worried face soon disappeared.

    She could only remember an intense feeling of arousal and lust before her body was filled with exhaustion.

    Time lost all meaning in this strange state.

    It could have been minutes¡­ hours¡­ years¡­ or even centuries since she closed her eyes.

    Sophie had spent a lifetime drifting through the void of emptiness.

    Vaguely Sophie sensed that her body was being lifted up and moved around by someone, but she found herself unable to open her eyes.

    Perhaps she would never wake up.

    Sophie smiled peacefully as she continued to float through the darkness until a soft voice began to whisper.

    ¡°Sophie¡±

    (Why won¡¯t you just leave me alone?)

    The voice just got louder and louder as if the speaker was starting to get annoyed.

    ¡°Sophie wake up!¡±

    (Just let me rest.)

    ¡°Please wake up now!¡±

    Sophie opened her tired eyes with a small yawn as she casually stretched her arms and legs to rx.

    Hmmm¡­. It seems like she had been resting her head on afortable pillow.

    Wait a pillow?

    Sophie raised her head and saw the princess staring back at her with a teary-eyed expression while desperately trying to avoid crying.

    She was currently resting her head on Cleo¡¯sp.

    ¡°Err¡­ hi Cleo,¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke.

    There was no loss of memory after using her new state and Sophie remembered all the details of violently grabbing her girlfriend and nting hot kisses on her lips.

    She could even recall the soft and yet firm texture of Cleo¡¯s ass. That recollection made Sophie¡¯s cheeks quickly redden with shame.

    ¡°Um¡­ where are we?¡± she decided to bring the conversation to a less sensitive topic.

    ¡°We are in the dungeon that Archmage Hollystorm created. I dragged your body into the wooden door because quite a few students were attracted by the noise of our battle.¡± Cleo replied.

    Cleo winced as she recalled carrying the heavy hybrid girl through the dungeon for over two hours.

    Fortunately, the students who entered the dungeon first had the option of sealing the portal behind them.

    None of their pursuers had followed them inside.

    Sophie took a deeper look at her surroundings and realised that they appeared to be in arge open cave. The lighting was provided by a row of torches that burned with an eerie green me.

    The floor of the cave was brownish in colour, but magnificent stctites and stgmites formed intricate sculptures of art.

    Mysterious drawings of monsters covered the walls of the cave and Sophie could swear that some pictures seemed to be moving slightly.

    ¡°Did you finish the trial on your own?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes, it was a simple matter,¡± Cleo smirked as she flexed her arm muscles with pride.

    Cleo was naturally downying her experience in the dungeon.

    How could the spatial realm created for the elite ss test not be dangerous.

    She had to drag her unconscious teammate through eighteen different floors with various monsters, aliens and beasts that attacked anyone in sight.

    Cleo was forced to use the entire battery life of her mech suit and even then, she had barely passed.

    Currently her mental force was zero and her body was screaming to get some rest but her lively persona left Sophie with no way of knowing her true state.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we can stay here for up to eight hours after clearing the dungeon, so it is not an issue to camp here for the night.¡± Cleo stated matter of factly.

    ¡°We have plenty of time to discuss what happened before you fell unconscious.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ what are you talking about,¡± Sophie was flustered, and the tips of her ears soon turned red.

    Cleo said nothing for several minutes causing poor Sophie to feel quite anxious.

    The princess finally spoke after the awkward silence had fully developed and Sophie looked as though she was being put through strenuous torture,

    ¡°You have a lot of exining to do. What the hell happened back there?¡±

    Sophie frowned as she tried to sort out all the events that had urred. It would probably be best to start from the beginning, but Sophie was unsure of how much to tell her girlfriend.

    Truthfully¡­. she was worried and afraid.

    A not so small part of her just wanted to lie to Cleo. Tell her that it was one of her racial abilities that she had full control over and with no side effects.

    Not mention that mysterious voice that whispered in her head.

    Sophie was unsure of where it came from or what its purpose was.

    Lying may be the best option.

    But was it?

    Sophie gritted her teeth and made the difficult choice,

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what is happening to me. During the entrance exam I found that I can basically enter different ¡®hunting modes¡¯ that enhance my strength, speed or grant me special abilities.¡±

    ¡°My eye colour changes depending on what mood I am in during the hunt and I can easily lose control of myself.¡±

    ¡°That pinkish colour that you saw earlier is a new one and it seems to amplify my lust and attraction for you.¡±

    ¡°Plus, there is this freaking voice in my head that whispers to me sometimes when I enter these hunting states.¡±

    These string of sentences were blurted out of her mouth at a fast pace as Sophie nervously gripped her hands together while not daring to look in Cleo¡¯s direction.

    She couldn¡¯t lie.

    Even if Cleo saw her as a freak just like the rest of the other nobles.

    She couldn¡¯t lie.

    Honesty was one of the most important aspects of a rtionship.

    If she could not trust her partner with her secret fears and burdens¡­. then there was no point.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier?¡± Cleo gently spoke as Sophie felt a warm hand lovingly touch her hair.

    ¡°I¡­ I was scared,¡± Sophie admitted softly.

    ¡°I was scared that you would break up with me and call me a freak.¡± She could not help the small tears that formed at the corners of her eyes.

    Cleo¡¯s gentle hand continued to stroke Sophie¡¯s hair as the princess leaned forward and ced her forehead against her lover¡¯s.

    ¡°Do you really think so little of me?¡± she teased with a mischievous grin on her face.

    Sophie gazed at the piercing green eyes that seemed to contain an ocean of deep emotions.

    She found herself being lost as she gazed deeply into the eyes of the most beautiful girl in the universe.

    Small pinkish tendrils started to move from the center of her eyes as Sophie breath became a bit heavier.

    Sophie¡¯s face twisted in pain as she desperately fought these new urges to push this innocent girl down and defile her.

    ¡°No. I never once thought of you as that kind of person,¡± Sophie spoke without hesitation.

    ¡°It was my fault for projecting my fear against other nobles onto you.¡±

 Chapter 121: Cleo Uses The Power Of Intimidation

    Chapter 121: Cleo Uses The Power Of Intimidation

    ¡°These new abilities¡­.¡± Cleo hesitated for a moment before continuing to speak.

    ¡°Are they from your mother¡¯s race? Actually, do you know anything about your mom?¡±

    The woman who bore Duke Peterlor¡¯s child was a mystery to even those in the upper echelons of the Earth Federation.

    There were simply too many hidden races and species scattered throughout the universe who could sessfully produce a viable offspring with a human.

    It helped that the human genome structure was perhaps one of the most unique among the different races as it seemed to absorb the DNA of foreign species without any side effects.

    Some hybrids were actually created by injecting or modifying different genes of an unborn fetus rather than from a natural birth.

    ¡°Cleo¡­. I wish I could tell you, but my dad told me to keep it a secret at least for now,¡± Sophie bowed her head and whispered.

    ¡°He did tell me a little bit about how they met but I feel like he left out a lot of private details.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ honestly don¡¯t know how I feel about my mom.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cleo squeezed Sophie¡¯s hand gently as she could tell that her girlfriend was struggling to get her words out.

    Sophie could feel the warmth of Cleo¡¯s palm and the words that were trapped in her throat suddenly rushed out.

    ¡°Well I¡¯ve been hearing stories about how great and powerful my mom is from my dad and other people but¡­. it¡¯s almost like hearing about a legend rather than a person.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a picture of my mom. I¡¯ve never hugged her or even heard her voice.¡±

    ¡°A small part of me even resents her for not being a part of my life for so long. Though I know that it might not have been possible because of her race.¡±

    Sophie could not help but tear up as a surge of emotions overwhelmed her.

    She understood that her mother being an Insectoid could not be known publicly as the duke¡¯s wife.

    She did not know the circumstances that parted her parents as her father had remained silent on that matter.

    But even still¡­. what girl did not want to at least be held in the soft embrace of their mother?

    Sophie had buried these emotions as she thought that it was selfish to me her mother for not being in her life but facing Cleo¡¯s concern, it all came flooding out.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ Sophie look at me,¡± Cleo furrowed her brows and forced the hybrid girl to stare into her eyes.

    ¡°Shall I tell you a story?¡± she whispered quietly.

    Sophie was a bit confused, but she nodded slightly which caused Cleo to take a deep breath and begin telling her tale.

    ¡°There was once a little girl who lived in a far away castle with her mother,¡± Cleo¡¯s hands trembled softly but she pressed herself to continue.

    ¡°Now the little girl and her mother were both royals, but the king had no need for either one of them.¡±

    ¡°They were abandoned and left to be forgotten. The girl cried for several days but her mother was always by her side and eventually she started to be happy once more.¡±

    ¡°The girl¡¯s mother would tell her stories every night about far away kingdoms and wars, about magical beasts and demons who fought against brave heroes.¡±

    ¡°But the girl¡¯s biggest hero was her mother who was always by her side.¡±

    ¡°Eventually the girl was given a test and the results proved that she was a special child who could control mechs.¡±

    ¡°The treatment of the mother daughter pair was improved greatly but the king still would not visit them.¡±

    ¡°His daughter did not mind as she felt that her mother would forever be by her side.¡±

    ¡°If only her mother had not turned into a different person.¡±

    ¡°The changes were not overnight, and the daughter could not notice any differences until months had gone past.¡±

    ¡°At first it was just the small things¡­. her mother was a bit more impatient and she seemed to sleep less and less.¡±

    ¡°She started to talk to herself which caused the daughter to seek the help of the royal healers, yet they all said that nothing was wrong.¡±

    ¡°Her mother became stricter and harsh. She rarely smiled and refused to interact with her daughter outside of brief lectures.¡±

    ¡°The daughter was convinced that her mother had been ced under a spell, but no one seemed to believe her.¡±

    ¡°Or rather no one in the kingdom cared.¡±

    ¡°Every night the daughter would try to heal her mother with rare herbs and medicines, but nothing worked.¡±

    ¡°Eventually even she could no longer handle the verbal abuse and violence that her mother used to mock her relentlessly.¡±

    ¡°She gave up and wondered if her original mother had just been a childhood dream.¡±

    Cleo bit her lips and stared off into the distance with a nostalgic look on her face.

    This was the first time that she had opened up to anyone about the suffering she had gone through over the years.

    No one in the pce had trusted her words.

    They all called her a liar.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Sophie did not know what else to say.

    She could not imagine her loving father turning into a person that hated and abused her.

    She got up from Cleo¡¯sp and wrapped her arms around her saddened girlfriend as a gesture of support.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­. I will always love you,¡± she promised solemnly.

    Cleo could tell that Sophie was very upset and outraged on her behalf which made her love this gorgeous hybrid girl all the more intensely.

    ¡°Look¡¯s like we both got mommy issues,¡± Cleo giggled as she nted a soft kiss on Sophie¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Maybe we should start taking turns spoiling and pampering each other like real mamas,¡± she said with a wink.

    ¡°Call me ¡®Mommy Cleo¡¯ when we are alone.¡±

    ¡°E that¡¯s fucking gross!¡± Sophie replied but she could not prevent the corners of her mouth from lifting up.

    The mood lightened quite a bit after Cleo¡¯s joke and the two girls fell into afortable silence.

    ¡°Alright it¡¯s getting prettyte. Let¡¯s sleep for a few hours and wait for the secret realm to kick us out,¡± Cleo broke the silence and yawned sleepily.

    The ground was hard and very painful to sleep on, but Sophie had mastered the art of falling asleep, so she had no trouble drifting off.

    Cleo solved the problem by crawling into Sophie¡¯s arms and resting her head on the two soft and fleshy mountains.

    Cleo could not help but give one of the two peaks a firm squeeze as some not so innocent thoughts surfaced in her mind.

    Maybe Sophie¡¯s new hunting mode could be very spicy in the bedroom!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (The next day)

    ¡°Just three more hours to go!¡± Cleo remarked cheerfully as she checked the timer on her wristband.

    The girls were now trekking through the open desert in high spirits as they had note across any significant challenges in their journey.

    They had only encountered small groups of robotic dogs that Sophie had swiftly dispatched with her spider appendages.

    Most of the students that had crossed paths with the two girls were actually pretty cautious so both parties simply avoided one another and went in opposite directions.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ is that an oasis up ahead?¡± Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as the scenery from several miles away suddenly became enhanced.

    ¡°I could use some water,¡± Cleo wiped some sweat off her brow as the heat was particrly high today.

    Cultivators tended to have greater resistance to hot and cold temperatures, but qi body and spirit cultivators were not capable of ignoring it entirely.

    ¡°Sophie!¡± came a happy cry from behind a nearby sand dune.

    Poor Sophie did not have any time to react before arge mass of fur mmed into her body.

    Lick! Lick!

    Sophie found herself under the assault of the over enthusiastic greetings from a Mendolesa girl who was very pleased to find one of her best friends.

    ¡°Stupid mutt don¡¯t just a use a teleport spell and go on ahead,¡± an exhausted Qiana raised her hand to half heartedly wave as she took a few minutes to recover from rushing over.

    She seemed to be in good spirits as her clothes were not torn or damaged from any fights, but Sophie could smell the faint tang of blood from the dagger on her waist.

    Qiana had always felt¡­ weird.

    Sophie could sense that her cultivation base was higher than this quiet girl and yet she could not shake the feeling that Qiana was hiding part of her strength.

    ¡°Um¡­ Astrid could you please get off from Sophie?¡± came the polite request from Cleo who was now smiling gently at the Mendolesa girl.

    Her piercing green eyes focused on the sides of Sophie¡¯s cheeks that were now covered in saliva and a subtle expression crossed her face.

    Astrid decided to ignore this wicked woman who had stolen away her best friend.

    Cleo continued to smile harmlessly but the air surrounding her had gotten noticeably colder.

    Astrid halted her movements as her beast instincts suddenly warned her of some impending threat.

    She nced at the princess who was still smiling, then made the wise choice of getting up and helping Sophie to her feet.

 Chapter 122: Conflict!

    Chapter 122: Conflict!

    ¡°So how have you girls been handling this exam?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°I hate this stupid desert,¡± Qiana groaned as she took a small piece of cloth from her pocket to wipe away the sweat on her brow.

    ¡°It¡¯s too damn hot. The sand gets everywhere, and we keep getting attacked by mechanical dogs every fucking hour.¡±

    Perhaps the only positive from this whole stupid test was the private time that she had spent alone with Astrid.

    Not that Qiana would ever admit this.

    ¡°We encountered an ambush yesterday when several of those dogs buried themselves under the sand,¡± Cleo remarked.

    ¡°Really? How many did you kill?¡± Astrid¡¯s eyes sparkled as she pestered Cleo for more details.

    It was under this lighthearted atmosphere of telling jokes and stories that the girls travelled closer and closer to the oasis.

    Sophie was d to spend some more time with her friends.

    She was the only one in the poison cultivator ss and it was pretty lonely to not see herpanions as often as she would like.

    It was also a relief to see how well Cleo had fit into the group¡¯s dynamic although there did seem to be some tension between her and Astrid.

    ¡°Wow look how beautiful the water is,¡± Astrid gasped in amazement as she ran ahead to jump into the crystal-clear water.

    The green trees merrily swaying in the wind stood out among a sea of endless sand dunes.

    Purplish red fruits hung from their branches releasing a fragrant scent that attracted small insects tond on their surface.

    In the center of this unique forest was a smallke with water so clear that any observers could directly see the sandy floor.

    Ssh!

    Astrid dove headfirst into the water and happily swam a fewps around the edge of theke as she waited for the rest of the group to catch up.

    ¡°Girls you need to join me!¡± Astrid waved cheerfully as she threw water droplets at her iing friends.

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Sophie did not have to think twice before she joined Astrid in the water.

    ¡°Watch out for anything suspicious,¡± Cleo called out warily as she eyed the seemingly safe oasis with concern.

    If this training camp had taught her anything¡­. it was to never let your guard down.

    ¡°Okay I will,¡± Sophie promised as she swam awkwardly.

    Her spider appendages were a bit too cumbersome to use in the water and they ended up throwing her slightly off bnce.

    Qiana and Cleo refilled their water pouches and started to chat informally as they both decided to act as lookouts.

    The red sun still shone down harshly but the tall, leafy trees provided enough shade so none of the girls were feeling too ufortable.

    Astrid had even tried to eat one of the fruits growing on the trees and found that it tasted like rotten meat.

    She spat it out immediately as the other girlsughed in amusement.

    ¡°One more hour to go,¡± Cleo checked her wristband as the timer slowly started to approach the end.

    ¡°Thank god,¡± Qiana muttered in relief.

    This training camp had been an interesting experience and Sophie was really excited about her new life on the campus.

    Parties, new cultivation techniques, life with Cleo in a private apartment and finally seeing Moon again!

    Through the soul bond with her darling pet, she could tell that her furry little bat was missing his mom.

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing from the north east,¡± Qiana suddenly spoke up and broke the peaceful atmosphere.

    Astrid and Sophie swam to the shore immediately and left the water.

    ¡°How many are there?¡± Cleo whispered in a serious tone.

    ¡°Seven,¡± Qiana replied as she slowly withdrew the dagger attached to her hip.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes sparkled as her vision zoomed towards the seven outlines approaching from the distance.

    ¡°Three humans, three Mendolesa and one Servie,¡± Sophie informed them.

    ¡°Each of them are carrying swords of different styles or lengths. If I had to make a guess, I would say that they might not be friendly.¡±

    The humans were holding lightweight swords molded after the traditional curved swords created by the Japanese people in the ancient earth era.

    The three Mendolesa warriors wielded heavier weapons more akin to ymores or broadswords with devastating power.

    What was interesting was that the Servie was not holding a sword but rather a curved sickle that gleamed menacingly in the sunlight.

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s set up an ambush,¡± Cleo took charge and directed the girls to different positions.

    ¡°Qiana I need you to hide and wait for the right moment to eliminate whoever is the leader of their team.¡±

    The quiet girl nodded, and her figure abruptly vanished as if she had never been there.

    Sophie was unnerved to discover that even her illusion piercing eyes were unable to find Qiana¡¯s location.

    ¡°Astrid you cast an invisibility spell on yourself and Sophie while I will act as bait to see if they have bad intentions.¡±

    ¡°I will hold up my hand and point three fingers in the air to signal to start the attack.¡±

    Cleo exined the rest of her n as Astrid and Sophie listened carefully.

    The Mendolesa girl thought that it was a good idea although she would have preferred to simply beat them up directly.

    Oh well¡­ she would give her best friend¡¯s annoying girlfriend some face.

    ¡°Verto novis invisiblis!¡± Astrid chanted as the magical runes on her back lit up.

    This was amon camouge spell that wouldst until either Astrid¡¯s mana ran out or the person who received the spell was hit by an attack.

    Sophie felt as small tingle as if her body were being covered by a soft nket.

    She looked down at her hands to find them¡­.

    Still there?

    ¡°Hey Astrid¡­. err¡­ did your spell work?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly.

    ¡°Of course, it did. No one can see either one of us,¡± Astrid replied proudly.

    Sophie observed the Mendolesa girl who looked exactly how she did before the spell was cast and could not help but suspect that Astrid was joking with her.

    ¡°Yeah I can¡¯t see either one of you,¡± Cleo also joined in the conversation.

    Maybe it was her golden eyes? Sophie thought that they could only see through illusions, but it also appeared that magical spells also had no effect.

    But then what kind of power was Qiana using to obscure her vision?

    Sophie tried to find the dark-haired girl by sending qi into her eyes to enhance her sight, but she could still not even find a trace of Qiana.

    ¡°Okay¡­ get into position. They will be here in five minutes,¡± Cleo requested as she adjusted her posture to give off a weak disposition.

    Astrid darted into a nearby group of trees while Sophie stood right behind the princess in order to quickly respond to any immediate attacks.

    Ambush or not¡­. Cleo¡¯s safety was the number one priority.

    No one touched her.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes darkened with a pinkish glow as a deep feeling of possessiveness threatened to overwhelm her.

    Pierce!

    Small droplets of blood appeared on Sophie¡¯s legs as she tightly mmed her fingernails into her flesh.

    The resulting pain managed to snap her out of the strange state.

    Sophie sighed in relief as she controlled herself just in time.

    ¡°Oh, look at the oasis!¡±

    ¡°Finally, we can get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Look someone is there already.¡±

    The group of students arrived at the oasis with great momentum as they chatted casually among themselves.

    ¡°Hello there. Are you all here to get some water as well?¡± Cleo smiled weakly as she timidly asked a question.

    Growing up as a royal princess¡­. one needed to learn how to act!

    She was the very image of a soft and delicate girl which caused the approaching students to let their guard down slightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we don¡¯t n on fighting,¡± one of the Mendolesa girls bared her fangs and replied politely.

    ¡°We will just get some water and wait for the exam to end,¡± a handsome boy rested his hand on his sword as he spoke.

    ¡°What a relief,¡± Cleo spoke in a naive and innocent tone as she secretly raised three fingers into the air behind her back.

    Truly these students¡­.

    ¡­. were poor actors.

    ng!

    Sophie¡¯s spider appendages moved without hesitation and blocked the iing blow directed at Cleo.

    One of the students had evidently gotten tired of pretending and had sent a sharp burst of sword qi towards Cleo¡¯s heart.

    Sophie¡¯s sudden move had broken the invisibility spell cast on her body and the seven students were astonished to find a hybrid girl appear out of thin air.

    ¡°It¡¯s a trap!¡± one of the Mendolesa warriors yelled in surprise as he unsheathed his sword.

    ¡°mma circulus dissiliunt!¡± Astrid roared as the magical runes on her back glowed with a fiery red colour.

    She released the invisibility spell and poured her mana into this strike.

    A ming magical circle with mysterious symbols appeared under the group¡¯s legs and a pir of fire erupted from the ground.

    Swoosh!

    Two of the Mendolesa students were not fast enough to avoid the ze and their barrier devices activated under the intense heat.

    Unfortunately, it would be foolish to think that this would be enough to eliminate the entire team as only the most elite students were qualified to attend this training camp.

    Sword cultivators in particr had the deadliest attacks that could defeat even those of higher cultivation levels.

    The five remaining students recovered quickly, and the three humansunched a variety of different sword styles and attacks towards Astrid.

    Moonlight Sword Dance!

    Sakura Petal Rain!

    Blood Storm Pierce!

    The other two students used movement skill abilities to close the gap between themselves and Sophie to unleash their most powerful sword strikes.

    This was not going to be an easy fight.

 Chapter 123: The Hunters Become The Hunted

    Chapter 123: The Hunters Be The Hunted

    (Vijay Shivanand¡¯s POV)

    Out of all the numerous branches of cultivation¡­. the way of the sword remains the most popr.

    Just like the rest of my childhood friends, I saw the dramas and historical videos on the virtual.

    Sword cultivators who were capable of splitting mountains apart with a single strike and dancing around the battlefield while ughtering their enemies.

    When my father handed me a wooden sword to train, it was one of the happiest days of my life.

    Despite the high poprity of sword cultivators, most potential seedlings will fail to form a single strand of sword qi even after years of training.

    The way of the sword does not require talent alone but rather¡­.

    Practice.

    Practice.

    And more practice.

    Swinging your training sword for hours on end until your hands are shaking, and your legs are ready to give out.

    Repeating different stances and routines until they be second nature.

    Your sword should react before your mind even has time to think.

    Callouses and scars will cover your once soft and delicate palms, but you wear them as badges of pride.

    My parents were wealthy merchants who travelled through different star systems while selling rare goods and materials.

    Our brown skin and dark hair were the only gic traces of our ancestors who lived on the subcontinent of India during the Ancient Era.

    I was very fortunate to be born into a wealthy family as my father spared no expense when hiring well known sword cultivators to tutor me.

    Genius is the term that my parents and teachers would use to describe me.

    Naturally, my ego and my arrogance grew as I thought that none of my peers were my match.

    But when I took part in the University entrance exam¡­.

    I was humbled.

    In the sea of geniuses and monsters, I was no more than a slightly talented sword cultivator.

    By sheer luck I narrowly managed to secure a spot on the main campus of Zrudread University in the regr ss.

    It came as aplete shock to get an offer to attend the elite ss training camp and potentially move up into the elite ss before the term begun.

    On my first day of the camp, I cheerfully greeted my tent mate but was met with scorn and rejection.

    It turns out that he was an original member of the elite ss and in his eyes, I was nothing more than an insignificant ant.

    I learnt a painful truth that day, these elite students were not worried about losing their spots.

    They simply saw us as minor obstacles on their journey to the top.

    Emotions of bitterness and rage filled my body.

    I spent the rest of my days at the camp furiously training as hard as I could to narrow the gap.

    Luckily, I met others who were just like me.

    Those who were considered as nothing more than stepping stones to train the gifted students of the elite ss.

    Fuck that.

    It was easy to discover the weakness of those so-called elites.

    They usually acted alone and were full of pride and confidence.

    At the start of the final exam of the training camp, the instructors mentioned that students would not be given bonus points for eliminating other students.

    Upon hearing that announcement, some students formed groups to brave the wilderness of the desert as a team while others decided to go solo.

    Many of the elite students chose the second option.

    That was our chance.

    I gathered a group of ten sword cultivators, and we formed a ¡®death squad.¡¯

    The instructors may have said that eliminations would not grant extra points, but it was not forbidden.

    The lesspetitors who could qualify meant that it would be far more likely that we ¡®ordinary ss¡¯ students would be able to steal a spot.

    Our targets did not only include the elites.

    We managed to sessfully dispatch any smaller squads or lone students who crossed our path.

    Three of our original teammates had gotten eliminated but the seven of us who remained were determined to finish the exam together.

    We were quite the oddbination as there were three Mendolesa warriors called Sasha, Amelia and Kain who specialized in heavy swordsmanship.

    The humans of the group in addition to myself were Louisa and Finley.

    We all had different sword styles but themon factor between them was an emphasis on speed.

    Surprisingly enough, a Servie boy by the name of Aven Petalfall was chosen as our unofficial leader.

    His calm and analytical mind could find the solution for any unexpected situation that urred.

    I had yet to see his swordsmanship as he usually hung at the back of the group and gave out orders to the rest of the team.

    It was the final day and we had travelled for several hours across the endless sand dunes while suffering under the intense heat of the red sun¡¯s harsh rays.

    The scenery was unchanging, and I was beginning to get bored when Sasha suddenly spoke up,

    ¡°Oh, look at the oasis!¡±

    ¡°Finally, we can get some rest,¡± Finely sighed in relief as he wiped some sweat off his brow.

    The patch of greenery and the blueke was very conspicuous in the middle of the sandy desert and it didn¡¯t take long for us to arrive.

    ¡°Look someone is there already,¡± Amelia whispered as she bared her fangs.

    I squinted my eyes and saw what seemed to be a delicate and fragile girl peacefully standing on the shore.

    ¡°Hello there. Are you all here to get some water as well?¡± she spoke in a timid and unconfident manner as she stared warily at us.

    Clearly, she could not be an elite student judging by her meek demeanor.

    Perhaps she was thest surviving member of a squad that had been wiped out.

    It was just unfortunate that she had encountered us.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we don¡¯t n on fighting,¡± Sasha replied politely while discretely sending me a secret wink.

    That was the signal to swiftlyunch an attack.

    ¡°We will just get some water and wait for the exam to end,¡± I casually rested my hand on my sword as I spoke.

    The girl just smiled naively and said,

    ¡°What a relief¡±

    Honestly, I¡¯m quite surprised that this foolish girl had not gotten eliminated already.

    One swift strike should end this quickly.

    My de hummed softly as sword qi gently wrapped around its body.

    I unsheathed my weapon tounch a quick strike at her heart.

    ng!

    What just happened?

    A seven-foot-tall hybrid girl appeared out of thin air and blocked my attack with what seemed to be spider appendages attached to her back.

    ¡°It¡¯s a trap!¡± one of mypanions yelled in shock.

    I barely had any time to react as a magical circle suddenly formed beneath our feet and I could vaguely hear chantinging from a nearby group of trees.

    Unexpectedly, an enormous pir of fire erupted from the ground which I narrowly avoided thanks to the early warning.

    Sasha and Amelia howled in pain as the intense heat activated their barrier devices and suddenly, we were down to only five students.

    ¡°Get into alpha formation and target their spellcaster,¡± Aven Petalfallmanded as he activated a movement skill and rapidly approached the hybrid girl with Kain by his side.

    Mages were notoriously weak at closebat, so it only made sense to eliminate this threat quickly and join the fight against the hybrid girl and her weak friend.

    Moonlight Sword Dance!

    Sakura Petal Rain!

    Blood Storm Pierce!

    We unleashed our strongest moves towards the Mendolesa mage who seemed like an easy target.

    Until I saw her mocking smile.

    My final thoughts as Iunched my counterattack alongside Louisa and Finely was¡­.

    Well shit.

 Chapter 124: No Emotion

    Chapter 124: No Emotion

    Time seemed to slow down.

    Astrid gazed at the three human cultivators leaping towards her with an odd feeling of happiness.

    This was it.

    This was her true purpose in life.

    Battle.

    Get stronger.

    And more battles.

    ¡°Da mihi substitutum,¡± she chanted softly as the first attack reached her location.

    Moonlight Sword Dance!

    A sword glowing with an eerie light shed forward in a crescent arc while the vague shadow of a moon could be seen in the background.

    Sakura Petal Rain!

    A sea of beautiful pink flowers floated gently in the air as beams of sword qi swirled menacingly around a thin de.

    Blood Storm Pierce!

    A crimson red ocean of blood rose eight feet off the ground as the savage war cries of the souls trapped within gave this sword style an evil feeling.

    sh! sh! sh!

    Astrid¡¯s body was split in multiple pieces as her separated corpse fell onto the ground.

    Blood stained the sands of the desert and her attackers froze in shock.

    Had they¡­ killed her?

    Why had the barrier device not activated?!

    One of the boys could not help throwing up when he smelt the metallic tang of blood and saw the internal organs sliding out of the body.

    ¡°Fuck man you got to pull yourself together,¡± Louisa knelt down andforted Vijay who was now holding back a sob.

    ¡°How could we have known that the barrier device would fail,¡± Finely ced a warm hand on Vijay¡¯s back and tried not to look at the corpse.

    ¡°All we can do now is to enter the elite ss and dedicate that honour to our fallen ssmate.¡±

    ¡°Guys¡­¡± Vijay teared up as he felt the love and concern of his friends.

    These were his true brothers!

    He was feeling sick when viewing the death of this nameless Mendolesa girl but the path to cultivation would always be bloody.

    At least with his trusty friends by his side¡­ nothing could stop this dynamic trio!

    ¡°A that¡¯s actually pretty sweet,¡± came a feminine voice from behind them.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Finely smiled as he continued to lend support to his friend.

    Wait a minute¡­.

    Whose voice was that?

    And why was it so familiar?

    He was struck by a terrible thought as he slowly turned around to see who the person behind the voice was.

    There she was.

    A grinning Mendolesa warrior with magic runes pulsing with the flow of mana.

    ¡°Holy shit the mage is alive!¡± Finely screamed in shock as he jumped back.

    He hurriedly withdrew his weapon and pushed Louisa and Vijay out of the way.

    His other two friends were still confused about what was happening, so they were far too slow to react to the iing spell.

    ¡°Adducam asino hic spatium magicae!¡± Astrid yelled as the runes on her back lit up.

    Finely found himself losing control of his body as a strange suction force brought him straight into the Mendolesa girl¡¯s grasp.

    Her master specialized in spatial magic and the old archmage had taught his apprentice quite a few new tricks.

    Punch!

    Her tightly closed fist mmed straight into Finely¡¯s temple which knocked the poor boy out cold.

    Violence was once again her favourite magic spell!

    ¡°Rush her before she can cast another spell,¡± Louisa roared as she activated a movement skill and teleported to Astrid¡¯s side.

    She swung her de immediately at the Mendolesa girl, but Astrid simply ducked her head slightly and let the sword pass by her harmlessly.

    Louisa was undeterred and she continued tounch strike after strike without fail.

    Astrid grinned happily as she ducked and weaved through the flurry of blows.

    This was a good fight!

    It was clear that the two sword cultivators would no longer fall for simple tricks.

    The girl was attracting her full concentration by attacking relentlessly while the boy was focusing onnding a critical hit if she showed any openings.

    Sakura Petal Dance!

    Louisa gathered her energy and began to dance gracefully as beautiful petals rained down on her figure.

    Her eastern features, soft dark hair and delicate face made her seem like an image straight out of a painting.

    Astrid wanted to stop and apud but she discovered that every petal that touched her body turned into a hidden stream of sword qi.

    Small cuts formed on her face and back as she frantically moved away to avoid the numerous petals.

    ¡°Ego postulo a scutum!¡± Astrid chanted as a silverish green barrier coated her body and prevented Louisa¡¯s attacks from reaching her.

    ¡°This is my chance,¡± Vijay muttered as he carefully gripped his sword.

    Right now, this mage¡¯s barrier would be fully absorbing the impact of Louisa¡¯s Petal Dance which left him one opportunity to strike and pierce the shield.

    He trained and trained after being humiliated by the elite students at the camp.

    Fortunately, his life seemed to have turned for the better as he discovered that an ordinary swordsmanship manual sent by his father contained a legendary method.

    The God¡¯s Sword Art!

    Each form would grant him strength above his peers!

    Finally, it was his time to fight back and rise to the top!

    Beauties, riches, and fame were all going to be his.

    Vijay was not going to underestimate his opponent, so he decided to use form two of the style to unleash his strongest attack.

    Deep breaths. Focus your will. Channel your inner tranquility.

    A dangerous aura surrounded his body as the qi in his dantian flowed in a strange pattern.

    The nearby insects and microorganisms started to shrivel up and lose their vitality as the aura got stronger and stronger.

    Vijay closed his eyes as he thought about his experiences.

    He rememberedughing and telling jokes with Finely and Louisa.

    Flirting with Sasha during the long and lonely night in the desert.

    A lone tear formed in one eye as he recalled the bond, he shared with his friends who stood by his side.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you down,¡± Vijay whispered in his heart.

    ¡°Believe it!¡±

    Vijay opened his eyes and a white glow appeared. His aura shrank and concentrated on the tip of his de as he entered his stance to attack.

    God¡¯s Sword Art Form Two ¨C Heavens Split!

    Pierce!

    ¡°Wha¡­.¡± Vijay whimpered in shock as a ck dagger pierced straight through his back and exited the other side.

    He shakily touched the dagger and felt its cold metallic edge stained in his blood.

    His sword fell out of his hands as Vijay felt his strength slipping away..

    Everything was slowly turning dark and he could make out the familiar golden glow of his device activating to save his life.

    He could sense that the mysterious attacker withdrew her dagger from his chest and walked away quietly.

    Who had done it?

    God¡¯s Sword Art Form Two ¨C Heavens Split was an attack that drew in the life energy from the surrounding area to enhance the lethality of the skill.

    Any cultivator nearby would have been exposed and yet he could not sense the presence of anyone!

    Vijay fought desperately to open his eyes one more time and he managed to see her.

    A quiet, in, unassuming girl.

    The kind of girl who would fade into the background of any crowd.

    She may have heard him making a noise as she turned around to shoot him one final nce.

    Vijay pinched his hand to keep himself awake as he tried to search for the typical proud and arrogant look that cultivators had when they defeated an enemy.

    Chills ran down his spine as he realised the horrifying truth.

    No emotion could be seen in her gaze.

    There was no pride.

    Nor arrogance.

    Nor happiness.

    Nothing.

    It was like defeating him was akin to a child stepping on an ant.

 Chapter 125: Going To The Store To Get Milk

    Chapter 125: Going To The Store To Get Milk

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the one on the right,¡± Sophie whispered to Cleo as she adjusted her stance to lower her center of gravity.

    It was important to maintain your stability and posture during a fight to prevent any openings from appearing that your opponent could use to attack.

    ng!

    Sophie¡¯s upper right appendage shot forward and intercepted the strike by the Mendolesa warrior while Cleo engaged with the sharp witted Servie boy on the side.

    Members of the Arachnais tribe were born with six rtively short spider appendages jutting out of their backs but Sophie¡¯s physiology was a bit different.

    That did not mean that she was at a disadvantagepared to the other Arachnais as what shecked in quantity¡­.

    Was made up for by other benefits.

    Her spider appendages were sharper and of greater length which significantly increased the range of her strikes.

    ¡°What are those weird things?¡± the Mendolesa boy growled as his sword strikes were blocked with ease.

    What came as a surprise to him was that his sword was beginning to show cracks whenever it crashed against the hybrid girl¡¯s appendages.

    It had to be known that Kain¡¯s father had passed down this sword to him when he begun his training and this particr de was made of a rare metal called adamantium.

    The battle between the two fell into a deadlock but beads of sweat formed on Kain¡¯s brow as he was forced to avoid the rapid attacks of the hybrid girl.

    Perhaps it was time to unleash his hidden card.

    Frozen impact shock!

    Boom!

    Sophie stumbled for a moment as the ground beneath her feet shock and a thinyer of ice slowly crept up her body.

    A sword cultivator would never miss this opportunity.

    The Mendolesa boy lunged at Sophie and swung his broad sword directly at the hybrid girl¡¯s neck.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes burned red with rage.

    Strength flowed violently through her body and the familiar urge to hunt surged in her mind.

    The ice shattered instantly as she casually raised one arm to deflect the attack.

    Kain saw the small movements of the girl but paid them no mind.

    He could already picture his sword slicing easily through the flesh and blood of the hybrid girl.

    Could an arm withstand the full force of a broad sword?

    Not by a cultivator who was only in the qi spirit stage.

    Sophie smirked as she channeled her qi to flow in the familiar pattern of her most deadly martial art.

    Rsychosis!

    Before Kain¡¯s disbelieving eyes, the hybrid girl suddenly split into three separate people with each being almost identical.

    His broad sword shook slightly in his hand, but he pressed on and his de connected to the neck of the figure in the middle.

    It was the real one!

    Kain felt the solid impact of his sword slicing through the hybrid girl and secretly felt a deep sense of relief.

    This opponent had given him a great deal of pressure.

    Fortunately, it was all over now.

    ¡°Is that all you got?¡± a demonic voice whispered softly into his ear.

    The voice was oddly seductive and yet all Kain could feel was shivers running down his spine.

    Chomp!

    The three images of the hybrid girl faded away as Sophie gripped the Mendolesa boy tightly and sank her fangs deep into his flesh.

    Hungry¡­. must feed¡­. prey¡­.

    ¡°What the.¡­¡± Kain groaned in pain as he desperately tried to shake himself free.

    He found himself unable to move as a strong feeling of drowsiness made his vision begin to darken.

    Sophie was not worried about killing him as she had discovered during the training camp that her venom nds could enhance a poison in three different ways.

    One was to boost the lethality of a poison by increasing its corrosive properties while another would add a sleeping agent to a poison to knock out her target.

    Thest enhancement could cause aphrodisiac- like symptoms in the victims but Sophie had yet to test it out on an actual person.

    Kain closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

    He did not even notice that Sophie had pressed his barrier device to manually activate it.

    Now it was time to help her princess.

    Sophie turned around to help Cleo but was astonished to see the situation unfolding before her eyes.

    (Aven Petalfall¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Activate the barrier device on your uniform before I slit this girl¡¯s throat,¡± he yelled at the hybrid girl.

    Aven firmly pressed the cold metallic sickle to his hostage¡¯s neck.

    It seemed that it had been the right choice to target the weak and delicate girl who had acted as bait for the ambush.

    She could not stand one strike from his mighty sword before copsing to the ground and begging for mercy.

    Aven had noticed how dangerous that hybrid girl was during her previous fight with Kain, but it appeared that she cared for this girl.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt her,¡± the hybrid girl screamed in desperation and fear as she kowtowed in awe at his handsomeness.

    ¡°I had eyes, but I failed to recognise Mount Tai!¡± she begged and pleaded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worrydies¡­ I will deal with you myself,¡± Aven yelled heroically as two beams of sword light struck both girls and activated their barrier device.

    sh!

    He turned around and struck a pose while the gentle sunlight streamed down on his face.

    Is no one my match?

    A few minutes passed and he was now shaking hands with the instructors and the assistants of the training camp.

    ¡°You are quite possibly the most talented cultivator we have ever had at Zrudread University,¡± Instructor Selvon praised as he spoke in a humble tone.

    ¡°It is my honour to offer you a spot in the super mega ultra elite ss.¡±

    ¡°Wow he is so cute,¡± came the shrieks of his adoring fangirls who rushed to his side to ask for an autograph.

    Aven was very patient and personally interacted with each of the beautifuldies surrounding him when a familiar voice caught his attention.

    ¡°Son I have finally returned,¡± came an elderly voice.

    Aven gasped in surprise as a middle aged Servie man with a grey beard and bent wings appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Daddy?¡± Aven teared up as he hugged the man.

    ¡°But everyone said that you left me and mom to run away with your secretary!¡±

    ¡°No, my son. There was a very important reason that I left for fifteen years,¡± his father replied.

    ¡°I went to the store to get some milk.¡±

    Aven forgave his father and the two reconnected under the cheers and thunderous apuse by his fangirls.

    This was the happiest that Aven had ever experienced in his life.

    But his day was not done yet as to hisplete and utter bewilderment¡­.

    The sand beneath his feet had turned into money!

    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m rich!¡± Aven dived into the pool of Enas credits and swam with a great big smile on his face.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Real world)

    ¡°Err¡­ Cleo¡­ what did you do to him?¡± Sophie hesitantly asked as she watched the Servie boy roll around in the sand whileughing madly.

    ¡°I simply trapped him in a mind illusion that will slowly erode his sanity until he is driven mad,¡± Cleo exined in a nonchnt tone.

    ¡°Plus, it alters his mental and emotional state while being stuck in the illusion,¡± she added calmly.

    Damn.

    Sophie thought that she was a monster but holy hell¡­.

    Her girlfriend was one stone cold bitch.

    Fuck¡­ but it was turning her on.

    Cleo mistook Sophie¡¯s conflicted expression as one of disapproval so she hurriedly exined that her mental spell would onlyst for a few more minutes.

    Maybe when she broke into the higher realms of cultivation, she would be able to drive people to insanity.

    But she was far from that level.

    Cleo approached the joyful Aven still giggling happily and gently pressed the button on his device to activate the barrier.

    ¡°See no harm done,¡± Cleo smiled at Sophie as she tried to reassure the hybrid girl that she would never break someone¡¯s mind during a college exam.

    Wait a minute¡­

    Why did her girlfriend look almost¡­. disappointed?

 Chapter 126: University Life Awaits!

    Chapter 126: University Life Awaits!

    Ring! Ring!

    Ring! Ring!

    Sophie¡¯s barrier device bleeped twice as multiple lines of text appeared on a holographic projection.

    [Attention candidates¡­. the examination has now ended!]

    [Please wait for a transport vessel to arrive]

    [You will be taken back to the camp base shortly]

    ¡°We did it!¡± Cleo yelled in excitement as she ran towards Sophie and flung herself into the hybrid girl¡¯s arms.

    Mwah!

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened in shock as Cleo stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips tightly against her girlfriend¡¯s.

    The princess was feeling quite mischievous as she slipped her tongue inside of Sophie¡¯s mouth and flirtatiously teased and poked.

    ¡°Can you two get a room?¡± Qiana muttered in disapproval as she carefully wiped the blood off her dagger.

    The two lovebirds in front of her seemed to be in their own separate world as Qiana¡¯s suggestion waspletely ignored.

    In fact, Sophie¡¯s hand was roaming dangerously close to Cleo¡¯s ass as the kissing intensified with passion.

    Luckily, the hybrid girl managed to calm down her urges as it was neither the time nor the ce to act on her instincts.

    ¡°I could use some food,¡± Astrid whined as she rubbed her belly mournfully.

    There was nothing to eat in the desert and this Mendolesa girl was starving.

    At this point the nd nutrition vials in the base camp¡¯s cafeteria seemed as appetizing as a five-star meal.

    ¡°Same! I could eat an entire year¡¯s worth of nutrient solution,¡± Sophie broke away from the kiss and replied.

    Cleo was not pleased that her make out session had been interrupted and shot a fierce re towards Astrid when Sophie was not looking.

    ¡°We have one week before the semester begins¡­. I just n on rxing and spending most of my time reading,¡± Qiana yawned as she stretched her arms out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to join a club and have an awesome campus life?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°No,¡± came the prompt reply from the quiet girl.

    Qiana only enjoyed a few simple pleasures in life such as reading and gardening.

    Honestly if it weren¡¯t for Astrid¡¯s tendency to drag her around¡­ she would be in her room all day.

    ¡°Have you all gotten your timetables yet? I just got a rough outline sent to mymunicator but none of the times are final,¡± Cleo joined in on the conversation as it seemed that her intimate moment with Sophie had passed.

    ¡°At least you got sent some information. I swear they just like to keep us in the dark on purpose,¡± Sophie scowled as she recalled inquiring about the uing semester and not getting a response.

    All majors required that first years had to take a core set of courses so the girls would be spending most of the year together.

    Sophie had chosen to specialise in poison and beast cultivation, Cleo had selected the mech controller field and Qiana had enrolled in the assassination major.

    Astrid¡¯s situation was a bit special as she was being privately taught by Archmage Hollystorm so all the sses for her were optional.

    The girlsughed andined but there was an undercurrent of relief.

    They had survived the intense training camp!

    Although the results were not based solely on the final exam alone¡­. Sophie was confident that they would all pass with flying colours.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    A sleek transport pod arrived near Sophie and her friends while making soft hums.

    The transport pod was shaped like a boat, but the anti gravity rings attached to its bottom side allowed it to float a few meters off the ground.

    ¡°Alright girls let¡¯s go back!¡± Sophie smiled as she lifted up Cleo in a princess carry and jumped onboard the vessel in one smooth motion.

    Astrid and Qiana followed shortly after and the pod hummed as it sped across the desert back to the camp.

    It was a testament to how advanced the vehicles were in this era as the distance travelled during two days of walking was easily covered in about five minutes.

    ¡°Oh, look at the crowd,¡± Astrid bared her fangs as she spotted the cluster of students huddled in the center of the camp.

    The transport pod stopped at the entrance with a loud hum.

    The girls disembarked and joined the sea of students as they waited for the announcement by the head instructor.

    There were various emotions present on the faces of the students.

    Some wereughing and joking, others hung their heads anxiously while quite a few winced as their injuries had yet to properly recover.

    Sophie and her friends were by no means thest group to arrive and it took fifteen more minutes until all the students who took part in the exam were ounted for.

    Instructor Selvon emerged from one of the tents and slowly walked towards the front of the crowd with the other instructors and teachers in tow.

    Sophie spotted Professor Macabre in her usual white coat and couldn¡¯t resist giving a small wave.

    Instructor Selvon cleared his throat and to the utter confusion of the students¡­.

    He begun his speech in a calm voice.

    ¡°My dear students. It has been a great honour and privilege to have taught you all during these two weeks.¡±

    ¡°You are simply the most talented, courageous and amazing students that I have ever seen, and your performance reflects that,¡± Instructor Selvon continued to speak as he wiped tears from the corner of his eyes.

    Some students could not help but tear up.

    Maybe they had misunderstood this kind and gentle teacher who had a hard personality on the outside but was secretly warm and fuzzy on the inside.

    Instructor Selvon paused for a moment to observe the reactions of his students before pouring cold water on their inted egos.

    ¡°Now that is what I would be saying¡­.¡±

    ¡°IF YOU SORRY EXCUSES FOR MAGGOTS HAD LEARNT A SINGLE FUCKING THING IN THIS TRAINING CAMP!¡± he loudly bellowed.

    ¡°Make stupid mistakes like that on the battlefield and don¡¯t worry about the Insectoids because I WILL KILL YOU ALL MYSELF!¡±

    ¡°Yep¡­ that¡¯s the instructor I know,¡± Sophie giggled as she whispered in Cleo¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Some of themon mistakes during this exam were not checking the surrounding areas for enemies and engaging in fights while being outnumbered rather than running away,¡± Instructor Selvon frowned as he berated the students.

    ¡°Also, some of the groups did not establish a lookout during the night and ate strange fruits without checking for poison.¡±

    The students selected for the elite ss did put on strong performances and demonstrate some of the skills they had learnt during the training camp but Instructor Selvon was still not pleased.

    Each student at one point during the course of the exam had made a careless error that could have cost them their life on the battlefield.

    All it took was one mistake for it to be your final one.

    Instructor Selvon demanded perfection because perfection would mean the difference between life and death.

    He talked for an additional twenty minutes before one of the assistants interrupted to hand him a tablet.

    ¡°I will now announce the names of those who qualified for the elite ss,¡± Instructor Selvon tightly gripped the tablet he started to read off the names.

    ¡°Celestia Wildflight.¡±

    ¡°Ethan Kneyre.¡±

    ¡°Terrance Phillips.¡±

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor.¡±

    ¡°Astrid Lockhart¡±

    ¡°Cleopatra Sisrelis.¡±

    ¡°

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°And finally¡­. Qiana Abazin.¡±

    Astrid pulled the girls into a group hug as they cheered softly. The other students whose names had been called were also in a celebratory mood.

    Sophie felt her heart fill with warmth as she saw the happy expressions on the faces of her friends.

    Her life had changed ever since that fateful day when a mysterious consciousness had entered her body and took control for a few months.

    But considering everything that had happened¡­.

    Sophie wouldn¡¯t change a damn thing.

 Chapter 127: The Sanctuary

    Chapter 127: The Sanctuary

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron ¨C Zrudread Main Campus)

    ¡°Now as you can see on your left-hand side are the practice arenas where students can fight the different beasts raised by the school.¡±

    A Mendolesa boy wearing a white battle suit continued to point out the different facilities on the campus while a group of students followed him with great enthusiasm.

    Sophie and Cleo were currently attending a freshman orientation session where senior students would guide the neers and show them around.

    The training camp had ended, and the students were given a night to rx before a spaceship sent them down to the below the next morning.

    They were then separated into groups of five and would familiarise themselves with theyout of the campus and some of the important facilities.

    This would be an all-day affair which allowed the cleaning staff to sanitise the new dorm rooms for the iing students.

    Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand as she struggled not to show the excitement on her face.

    Everything was just so thrilling!

    Various climates, biomes, and environments from dense tropical jungles to a frozen arctic tundra were created to give studentsbat experience in different situations.

    First years were restricted from traveling outside of the central city, but it was still a huge area that epassed over five thousand square kilometers.

    ¡°Cleo, I heard that elite students are given their own mansion,¡± Sophie whispered quietly.

    ¡°Yeah but I¡¯ll just live with you,¡± was the immediate reply from her girlfriend.

    ¡°Excuse me! Stop talking you two in the back!¡± came the irritated voice of their guide.

    ¡°Sorry senior,¡± Sophie apologised sincerely as she resumed listening with a guilty expression.

    The air was unusually fresh and pure as the Mendolesa race had a distinct trait that set them apart from other interster races.

    They rarely used advanced technology when constructing their settlements.

    Sophie noticed that the buildings were constructed out of simple materials and the city more resembled a vige than a major metropolis.

    Houses were spaced far apart from one another with each having a small garden where fruit trees and flowers were grown.

    In addition, there were numerous special zones such as a magic tower, zoo, mech repair shop and star hanger where sses would be held.

    The residents of the central city were the rtives of students, facility members and other workers who helped with the day to day operations of the university.

    Astrid was staying with her three younger siblings in a family unit, so she decided to not go on the orientation tour and just spend some time with them.

    Qiana had also volunteered to keep herpany and Sophie had idently seen her frantically searching on the virtual for gifts to give to young kids.

    She really wanted to leave Astrid¡¯s family with a good impression of her.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    The senior guiding them suddenly stopped and checked hismunicator as an iing notification arrived.

    Sophie noticed that his eyes widened in shock and his hands trembled slightly while he read the line of text.

    ¡°Alright that is it for today. I have an emergency that just came up so I will send the map to your wristbands and you can go explore for yourselves,¡± the senior hurriedly spoke and then left.

    A few minutes passed before a detailed map of the central city was sent to the wristbands of the students along with some personal notes that added some extra detail.

    ¡°Hmmm where do you want to go next?¡± Cleo asked.

    There was still quite some time before the dorms opened up, so she was still eager to explore.

    ¡°I think we can pick up Moon at the Sanctuary and then get some lunch at one of the restaurants nearby,¡± Sophie replied.

    Her original n was to pick up her little frostwing bat in the afternoon, but it looks like she would be seeing him much earlier.

    The duo left the rest of the group who were also now going in separate directions as they headed for the Sanctuary.

    Sophie still could not get over how weird it was to be walking through a city of mostly Mendolesa warriors.

    Sure, you could see the odd Servie flying around or a small group of humans talking cheerfully to each other, but tall muscr wolf-like humanoids made up the crowd.

    ¡°Youngdy would you like to buy a charm?¡± came a mature sounding voice.

    Sophie slowed down as she spotted a kind looking Mendolesa elder setting up a stall with one type of product.

    It was a simple wooden stall with the merchandise ced on top of silky sheets to disy to potential customers.

    Cleo noticed that her girlfriend seemed fascinated by the goods on disy, so with a doting sigh she followed Sophie to the stall.

    ¡°I have the finest paper charms that will bring you young folk great wealth, prosperity, love and happiness!¡± the merchant boasted as she gestured at the rows of talismans.

    Each talisman was made from a greenish paper and various symbols that signified different qualities were drawn on their backs.

    ¡°Can I get one charm for luck for myself and one charm for happiness,¡± Sophie smiled as she talked to the elderlydy.

    ¡°No problem. That will be four hundred Enas,¡± said thedy as she handed Sophie two paper charms.

    Sophie was not a firm believer in fate or luck, and it was pretty unlikely that these charms would change her life.

    But they were a great souvenir.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Sophie ced the talisman of happiness in Cleo¡¯s hands and waved goodbye to the Mendolesa elder.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Cleo blushed slightly as she received the gift.

    Sophie sent the money to the seller¡¯smunicator device as the pair walked away.

    In a good mood, the girls strolled casually around for about thirty more minutes as they took in the sights and sounds of the city.

    They finally arrived at one of the special zones of the city nicknamed ¡®The Zoo.¡¯

    This was where the beastpanion cultivators would do most of their training and where therger pets were kept.

    There were battle arenas, veterinary clinics, hatcheries, and arge expanse ofnd with different environments where students could drop off theirbat pets.

    Thisrge area was covered by an enormous force field to make sure that the flying pets were unable to escape and there was only one entry and exit leading out of the Sanctuary.

    Surprisingly for an environment where a lot of animals were kept, the air was still rtively pleasant smelling.

    Air freshener and filtering devices were ced at numerous locations at regr intervals to make sure that the stench was bearable.

    Sophie and Cleo scanned their student ID cards on a scanner nearby and a small ripple appeared in the forcefield just wide enough to allow them entry.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Sophie eximed in surprise as she wandered inside.

    She thought that the Emperios Interster Beasts pet store had a variety of animals, but it was clear that their animals were just a small drop in the ocean of differentbat pets.

    Tall green giants with small mouths,rge noses and horned feet werezily taking naps on the ground while their handlers gave them massages.

    Aquatic typebat beasts were merrily swimming in arge pool of water and jumping into the air to catch the food thrown into their enclosure.

    Swoop!

    A dark shadow passed over Sophie¡¯s head and she nced upwards to see what appeared to be an enormous dragon-like reptile majestically soaring through the air.

    The workers in the Sanctuary seemed to be very professional and each went about their tasks with meticulous care.

    The quiet peace and tranquility was shattered by some loud voicesing from the distance.

    ¡°How is it possible for him to have escaped his cage twenty times?!¡±

    ¡°Someone catch him before he makes another mess!¡±

    ¡°He broke into the storeroom and somehow ate two months worth of food!¡±

    ¡°Seems like a naughty beast is misbehaving,¡± Cleo smirked as she listened carefully.

    ¡°Hmm I me the owner for that type of behaviour,¡± Sophie said self righteously.

    ¡°It is the responsibility of the cultivator to make sure that their pet is fully trained and learns the right behaviour.¡±

    ¡°Whoever is the owner of that troublesome pet should be ashamed of themselves!¡±

    The voices gradually got louder and louder as Sophie noticed that they appeared to be getting closer.

    She was just about to tell Cleo that they should move when she heard an oddly familiar sound.

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    <em>Mommy! Mommy!</em>

    <em>I smell Mommy!</em>

    A small light blue bundle of fur crashed into Sophie¡¯s arms with a joyfully squeak.

    Sophie looked down to discover that the troublemaking pet she was berating¡­.

    Was her own.

    ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± Sophie smiled indulgently as she gently nuzzled Moon against her cheek.

    ¡°Um¡­ what was that about poor behaviour being the owner¡¯s fault?¡± Cleo teased.

    She made a mental note to never let Sophie be in charge of discipling their future child.

 Chapter 128: Hmph! You are far too young!

    Chapter 128: Hmph! You are far too young!

    (Zrudread University ¨C Family Housing Complex ¨C Apartment 302B)

    The family housingplex was a section of the central city upied by row after row of endless vis and mansions.

    Zrudread University allowed students to bring up to five family members with them for the duration of their study and had even created a local high school to provide education for the minors.

    Not all the vis were the same size and students could upgrade their amodations by either paying extra cash or rising up in status.

    Elite students were given mansions twice the size of the surrounding houses with robotic butlers and cleaners to maintain the property.

    A certain quiet girl wearing thick sses was standing in front of one such house.

    Ring! Ring!

    Qiana nervously pressed the doorbell and waited patiently for what seemed like an eternity before she heard footsteps walking towards the door.

    ¡°Hey Qiana! Wee to my¡­.¡± Astrid swung open the door and could not help but give her friend a second look.

    The girl standing in front of her was almost unrecognizable.

    Qiana was wearing a lovely green dress that left the top of her shoulders exposed but gently flowed down the rest of her body.

    It was an elegant fit that entuated her slender figure and thin waist.

    She wore a diamond ne that sparkled in the sunlight along with two emerald earrings forged by an alien race of cksmiths known as the Sami.

    Qiana was the spitting image of an attractive noble heiress and her natural aura of wealth and luxury was a direct contrast to her usual look.

    ¡°Do¡­ do you like it?¡± Qiana hesitantly spoke as she nervously gripped a small white bag.

    ¡°Yeah you look absolutely stunning,¡± Astrid quickly replied.

    In fact, Qiana¡¯s appearance had left her lost for words.

    Astrid¡¯s parents had been fairly well-off merchants, but their wealth was a far cry from being able to match those hailing from ancient noble households.

    ¡°Pleasee inside,¡± Astrid just realised that she had been staring at Qiana for far too long, so she hurriedly gestured for the girl toe in.

    Qiana smiled shyly and walked quietly inside while observing the interior of the mansion. Her first impression was that it was very clean and tidy.

    The temperature was carefully controlled using air vents and not a single speck of dust could be seen on any of the furniture.

    Large packing boxes that were ced at the corner of the reception room were the only sign that Astrid and her family had recently moved in.

    ¡°I was just making lunch,¡± Astrid spoke as she guided Qiana around the house.

    ¡°Do you want some help?¡± Qiana offered.

    ¡°Sure!¡± came the enthusiastic reply.

    Astrid was not sure where her siblings were hiding as no one came to disturb her private time with Qiana.

    She had told them in great detail that a very important friend of hers wasing over and they had to be on their best behaviour.

    But now they seemed to have vanished.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the kitchen,¡± Astrid said proudly as she led Qiana inside.

    This was definitely a professional kitchen, but it seemed to have been modified to have an old school appearance with culinary appliances such as a sr oven, an induction stove, blender, microwave and chopping board.

    But Astrid still had a food replicator for the days when she did not have time to cook.

    A pot of water was boiling on the stovetop and a variety of fruits, vegetables and white meat wereying down on the countertop.

    ¡°Shall I peel the vegetables?¡± Qiana asked.

    Truthfully, this noble girl did not have much experience in cooking but Qiana figured that handling simple tasks wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°Yeah I will de bone the meat,¡± Astrid headed for the rack of knives and started to cut open an unidentified b of meat on the counter.

    Qiana stared at the vegetable in front of her in a bit of confusion as she also held a small knife that she had found nearby.

    What the hell was this?

    It was purplish red in colour with small liquid filled sacs covering its body that resembled pimples.

    Qiana almost gagged as she cut one of the boils and a rotten smell entered her nose.

    Is this even edible?

    Qiana held back herints and resolutely sliced and diced the remaining vegetables all while holding her nose and trying not to breathe.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­ what¡¯s in that white bag?¡± Astrid asked curiously.

    ¡°Just some small gifts for your siblings,¡± Qiana spoke casually as if it were no big deal.

    What she did not mention was that she had spent five hours browsing ten different shopping sites to try and find the perfect presents to leave a good impression.

    The atmosphere between the girls was very pleasant and Qiana suddenly had an unexpected thought that they resembled a pair of housewives.

    The tips of her ears immediately turned red and she shot a look at the Mendolesa girl whose attention was drawn to the soup boiling on the stove.

    Suddenly three unexpected voices could be heard from the distance.

    ¡°Hey, is that a human?¡±

    ¡°Woah her dress is so pretty!¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­ don¡¯t let big sis catch us.¡±

    Qiana tried her best not tough as she spotted three small heads poking out from behind one of the doors leading to the kitchen.

    She was just about to give Astrid a gentle nudge but the Mendolesa girl had long noticed her three mischievous siblings.

    ¡°I, Jackson and Emma you can stop hiding now,¡± Astrid called loud enough for the triplets to hear.

    ¡°Big sister is too powerful,¡± Emma eximed in awe.

    ¡°Darn I knew you two loud mouths would give us away,¡± I muttered with a scowl.

    ¡°You want to fight?¡± Jackson raised his arm menacingly, but his sister just stuck out her tongue and ran ahead.

    I jumped into Astrid¡¯s arms and hugged her big sister cutely before getting ready to put on her performance.

    ¡°Astrid¡­ Jackson said he wanted to hit me,¡± I sobbed as tears ran down her cheek.

    ¡°Jackson how many times do I have to tell you to stop bullying your sisters?!¡± Astrid tried her best to remain calm in front of Qiana, but a trace of anger could still be heard in her tone.

    She started to lecture poor Jackson who was now kneeling down with an aggravated expression.

    I continued to cry in a heartbreaking tone, but she could not stop the corners of her lips from curling up.

    Want to mess with me brother?

    Hmph! You are far too young!

 Chapter 129: A Delicious Meal

    Chapter 129: A Delicious Meal

    Qiana observed Astrid scolding her younger siblings but it was clear that she loved them greatly.

    It was hard to say what Qiana was feeling at this moment when she saw such a warm and happy family.

    Most members of noble ns did not enjoy such close bonds with one another as there was intensepetition among the younger generations for a greater share of resources.

    Qiana was the youngest of the seven heirs produced by Count Abazin and was the only daughter as well.

    In another life, she would have been pampered as a precious jewel and adored by her father and her brothers.

    But she was blessed with an incredible gift in cultivation.

    That wouldter be considered by Qiana as a curse.

    Her older brothers came to hate her when she won the praises of the family elders.

    Her father saw her future potential as a powerful cultivator as yet another political tool to wield.

    How could her brothers rx knowing that their little sister was far more talented and valued more than themselves?

    There were even rumors that Qiana was to be the future countess of House Abazin.

    Qiana¡¯s distant personality developed as a means to protect herself in an environment where emotions were seen as a weakness.

    It was only when she had met this upbeat Mendolesa girl that a ray of sunlight had entered her boring and monotonous life.

    ¡°Astrid,¡± Qiana called softly to get Astrid¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The Mendolesa girl stopped reprimanding her siblings and shot Qiana an inquisitive look.

    ¡°What for?¡± she asked curiously.

    <em>(For being my light.)</em>

    Qiana simply smiled and refused to say as she kept the answer hidden deep within her heart.

    ¡°Oh yeah¡­ I haven¡¯t had these troublesome brats say hello yet,¡± Astrid gently pushed her siblings forward and introduced them.

    ¡°This is Jackson, Emma and I. Come on guys¡­ say hi to my friend Qiana.¡±

    The kids muttered short greetings, but they were clearly still a little bit wary of their big sister¡¯s new pretty friend.

    Qiana was not worried as she held a trump card to melt the heart of any stubborn child¡­.

    Bribes!

    ¡°Here I have some presents for you all,¡± Qiana reached for her white bag and withdrew three tightly wrapped packages that she presented to the children.

    ¡°Thank you, beautifuldy!¡± I smiled sweetly as she held her gift.

    ¡°Can we open it now?¡± Jackson asked with some excitement on his face.

    ¡°Go ahead and make sure to thank Qiana,¡± Astrid nodded at her little siblings and gave permission.

    The sounds of paper being teared echoed around the kitchen as each child eagerly ripped the outeryer of their present to see what was inside.

    Qiana staggered backwards as three little furballs jumped up and gave her big hugs.

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°This is awesome!¡±

    ¡°I love it!¡± came the happy voices of the children.

    Yes, it was a sess.

    Qiana was secretly relieved that all her hard work picking out presents that Astrid¡¯s siblings would like had not gone to waste.

    Astrid had given her some information about the personalities and hobbies of her three younger siblings so Qiana had chosen her gifts based on what she had said.

    Jackson was given a brand-new VR helmet with several popr battle royale, MMOS and shooter games already installed.

    I¡¯s present was a lifetime membership card to a premium beauty and spa franchise that was well-known for being high end and luxurious.

    And finally, Emma¡¯s gift was an artificial intelligencepanion robot with built in protective, emotional, and other functions.

    It was also designed to mimic the appearance of the ancient earth species Vulpesgopus also known as the arctic fox.

    ¡°Alright stop bothering Qiana,¡± Astrid spoke up as she noticed that the liquid in the pot was beginning to boil.

    ¡°Go set up the dinning table and wait for us to bring the food,¡± she ordered to chase away the three wolflings still clinging tightly to Qiana.

    The triplets ran away quickly while answering back in a chorus of voices.

    ¡°Okay I got te duty!¡±

    ¡°Bye Qiana!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t push me, or I¡¯ll hit you!¡±

    Astrid could not help sighing heavily as she affectionately gazed at the joyful figures y fighting with one another.

    Qiana resumed washing the vegetables while humming softly to the tune of a new song that had recently released by the band EXON-2.

    Suddenly she noticed that a tiny shadow was hesitantly approaching her from the dining room.

    ¡°Woah your clothes are so pretty!¡± Emma eximed as the little girl walked forward to touch the hem of Qiana¡¯s dress.

    Emma had always admired the fancy dresses and suits on the drama shows that she watched with I.

    Her dream was to one day be a world renown fashion designer!

    ¡°Would you like to try on my ne?¡± Qiana whispered in a teasing voice as she saw Emma¡¯s eyes staring intensely at her outfit.

    She carefully unhooked the diamond ne and ced it on Emma with great care not to get the small jewels trapped in the Mendolesa girl¡¯s fur.

    Emma¡¯s eyes shone with happiness as she rushed back to her other siblings to show off her new shiny ne and brag.

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s okay?¡± Astrid asked with concern.

    ¡°Emma tends to get pretty aggressive when handling things that she likes. I don¡¯t want your ne to break.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­. I can always just buy a new one,¡± Qiana replied nonchntly.

    If a high noble house could not afford to rece one ne, then they would be aplete joke.

    Astrid stayed silent for a moment as shemented about the gap between people.

    That ne seen as receable in Qiana¡¯s eyes was probably worth at least five years of her sry when she worked part time jobs.

    Astrid decided to put these depressing thoughts out of her mind and focused on cutting the meat into long thin stripes and cing them into the pot of soup.

    Qiana passed her the vegetables obediently and soon a delicious and savory smell wafted out from the kitchen causing the hungry trio in the dinning room to salivate.

    ¡°Calor obsistens!¡±

    Astrid muttered a quiet heat resistant spell and picked up therge pot of soup without fear of being burnt.

    ¡°Big sister can you hurry up? I¡¯m starving!¡± came the impatient cry from Jackson.

    ¡°Are you willing to cook?¡± Astrid yelled back.

    ¡°No¡­¡± was the sullen reply from her brother.

    ¡°Then sit your little tail down on that chair and wait patiently!¡± Astrid¡¯s big sister mode was now on full disy.

    Qiana could not help but think that this responsible elder sister was very attractive.

    It was a far cry from how Astrid usually behaved in a carefree manner when hanging out with Sophie and the rest.

    Qiana followed behind Astrid closely and entered the dinning room.

    It was quite cozy with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and soft gentle light illuminating the room.

    The dinning table was able to seat about twenty people and the chairs were made of afortable variation of memory foam.

    Astrid¡¯s siblings had already set out five bowls and were eagerly waiting for their big sister to bring over the food.

    Astrid could tell that everyone was ready to eat so she carefully poured a generous amount of soup into each bowl without spilling even a single drop.

    Qiana sat down with Emma on one side and Astrid on the next as she gazed at the mixture inside the bowl.

    It truly was fragrant.

    The colour of the soup was a dark orange with vegetables floating merrily inside and several lean cuts of meat resting at the bottom.

    She elegantly held a spoon in her hand and scooped up a tiny amount of soup before blowing on it gently.

    Qiana¡¯s posture and atmosphere was exactly like someone dinning in a fancy restaurant which caused Astrid and her family to unconsciously straighten up.

    It was time for the first mouthful.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes widened in shock as the intense vour threatened to overwhelm her.

    She could not resist going for another taste.

    ¡°So, how do you like my cooking?¡± Astrid hesitantly asked after Qiana was halfway through her meal.

    The Mendolesa girl¡¯s tail was wagging from side to side nervously and she kept tapping her feet on the ground repeatedly.

    Qiana had once tasted a meal at a royal banquet prepared by the finest chefs who used ingredients that cost upwards of millions of Enas.

    This was a home cooked meal using frozen vegetables, meat from a local butcher and store-bought spices.

    Qiana doubted that anyone in her family had ever eaten food made from ingredients that cost less than four hundred thousand Enas.

    And yet, her opinion on this humble meal was said out loud almost immediately,

    ¡°I have never eaten anything better.¡±

 Chapter 130: Black Rose Hunter Guild

    Chapter 130: ck Rose Hunter Guild

    (Zrudread University- ck Rose Hunter Guild)

    ¡°This seems to be the ce,¡± Cleo checked the map on hermunicator before looking up at the imposing building.

    It would not be wrong to call this building a fortress as the sturdy walls, sma cannons and robotic guards patrolling the nearby area was a menacing sight.

    Green vines wrapped around the outer walls of the fortress with several ck roses swaying happily in the wind.

    A mysterious scent was being emitted by these flowers that made Sophie feel a bit light headed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside,¡± Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand and the two girls entered the building without fear.

    In the interster era, universities were not safe greenhouses for geniuses to practice without experiencing realbat.

    Zrudread University especially ced emphasis on encouraging students to take breaks from sses to explore the gxy.

    Many guilds and organizations were able to rent locations on the main to set up bases for recruitment.

    One type of organization that was very popr was the numerous hunter guilds whose purpose was to track down individuals wanted by the Earth Federation.

    These individuals included terrorists, traitors, robbers, murderers, and the general scum of the universe.

    Students were given extra credit for sessfullypleting assignments and were allowed to keep all the cash rewards.

    Sophie and Cleo were at their final stop for the day as they decided to join the ck Rose Hunter guild.

    The ck Rose was a grey organisation, but their strength and membership benefits were too appealing to turn down.

    Plus, this was the mercenary group that Sophie¡¯s father had joined while he was attending As University.

    Bounty hunting was a profession that would draw condemnation from peace groups within the Earth Federation, but their protests fell on deaf ears.

    The girls stepped inside the building and immediately a green light scanned their bodies for any ss four weapons.

    Sophie could see out of the corner of her eye quite a few sma turrets pointed at their general direction.

    Ding! Ding!

    Two beeps were heard as the green light touched the back of her student card.

    The scanning stopped and Cleo let out a small breath of relief.

    Sophie could not help thinking that the ck Rose was certainly a vignt organization.

    The interior of the castle-like building was a spacious hall with benches and chairs spaced out at regr intervals.

    People of all races and species were merrily chattering with one another and drinking sses full of a purplish liquid supplied by a small bar at the corner of the hall.

    Cleo and Sophie walked towards the receptionist desk while overhearing the conversations between some of the mercenaries.

    ¡°Son of a bitch! You¡¯re still alive Ronan?¡±

    ¡°Ha! You think that measly smuggler could have escaped from me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing! I took down three interster pirate ships before breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Oh please¡­. I ended five civil wars before I even woke up!

    It wasmon to hear prideful boasts and Sophie saw that several confrontations were gradually getting violent.

    On the way to the receptionist desk, Cleo spotted a towering wall covered in sheets of paper, so she brought Sophie over to take a look.

    The wall was over twenty feet tall with thin sheets of paper pinned down on its surface.

    Mercenaries were approaching the wall at regr intervals to scan the wanted posters for appropriate targets.

    It was very old fashioned, but this was apparently intentional.

    There was also a small QR code next to the wall that hunters could use to send the information to theirmunicators digitally.

    Sophie noticed that each sheet of paper generally followed the same format. There was arge picture of the target, the list of crimesmitted at the bottom and a row of stars at the top.

    Each poster had a different number of stars that corresponded to the danger posed by the fugitive.

    Sophie traced her hand over one of the papers while deeply thinking about when to take her first assignment.

    The best time would probably be after the first midterm in October.

    ¡°The star system is the general power level of the fugitive that needs to be hunted down,¡± Cleo exined as she saw Sophie staring at a poster.

    ¡°Targets are ranked on a scale of one to five with one being the weakest and five being the strongest.¡±

    ¡°The ranking will include factors such as cultivation level, special abilities, racial heritage and organization strength.¡±

    These rankings were not perfect as it relied on the publicly known data about the individual in question and most criminals would have hidden cards.

    But it was good enough to get a general sense of what the danger would be like.

    Students in the qi spirit stage were rmended to only take on targets ranked as one star.

    These targets would generally be low level criminals wanted for petty crimes.

    Of course, they could always choose to take on harder assignments, but the ck Rose organization would notpensate their hunters.

    You would receive nothing for any injuries or death that urred while on a mission.

    Sophie walked over to the far section of the wall and took a curious nce at the five-star section.

    She wanted to know what the gap between herself and the Federation¡¯s most wanted was.

    ¡°What the hell,¡± she gasped in surprise.

    Yeah¡­.

    She was not going to take those assignments any time soon.

    A demonic looking man in the void stage was wanted for massacring threes, raping thousands of men and women and nning the Galran Prime terrorist attack.

    And he was one of the gentler ones!

    Some of the crimes listed under some of the other five-star targets made Sophie sick to her stomach.

    A smiling Mendolesa girl wearing a ck uniform came over as she noticed the pair staring at the bounty wall.

    ¡°Hello, are you two new recruits?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah. We are both freshmen,¡± Sophie replied with a friendly nod.

    ¡°Excellent! Pleasee this way,¡± the recruiter gestured for the girls to follow her and led the pair to the back of the hall.

    There were a few private rooms attached to the main hall and the recruiter brought the duo to one of the smaller ones.

    The room was about the size of a hotel suite with a small table and chairs in the center.

    ¡°Please take a seat. My name is Melissa and I will help you both through the sign up and registration process.¡±

    Melissa pulled out a couple of chairs for the girls and brought out her tablet to record the information.

    ¡°What are you names, cultivation level and general special abilities,¡± she asked.

    ¡°My name is Cleo Sisrelis, my cultivation is in the early qi spirit stage and I am a mech controller,¡± Cleo took the lead and replied first.

    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m Sophie and my cultivation is in the middle qi spirit stage. I¡¯m a poison cultivator but I also have abat pet,¡± Sophie stammered slightly as Melissa stared intensely at her.

    ¡°Alright I have basically everything I need,¡± Melissa wrote down a few lines of text on her device as she spoke.

    ¡°Come back in a week for your guild cards.¡±

    It was that simple?

    Just their name, cultivation level and special skill was all it took for them to join the organisation.

    Melissa had not bothered to verify or check anything that Sophie and Cleo said which raised the interest of both girls.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about us lying about our information?¡± Cleo asked curiously.

    ¡°Trust me,¡± Melissa bared her fangs andughed darkly.

    ¡°We don¡¯t care if you lie or not. The ck Rose only wants results.¡±

 Chapter 131: I Love You (R-18)

    Chapter 131: I Love You (R-18)

    (Zrudread University- Elite Student Housing Complex)

    (Mansion 456Y)

    Knock! Knock!

    Sophie was unpacking the clothes in her luggage bags when she heard two loud taps against her door.

    The girls had sessfully registered at the ck Rose hunter guild and had returned to their mansion for the night.

    Sophie had gone to her room after dinner to sort out some clothes that she had yet to unpack.

    Moon was sleeping soundly in his own private room as the mischievous little bat was feeling very tired.

    ¡°Come in Cleo,¡± she yelled and continued to arrange her dresses in her new closet.

    Sophie could hear footsteps as the princess entered her room softly and stood at the foot of her bed.

    ¡°Is something wro¡­.¡± Sophie turned around and the words in her mouth died down in her throat.

    Sophie stammered off in shock as the beautiful girl in front of her eyes simply took her breath away.

    Nothing could have prepared her for Cleo¡¯s choice of clothes.

    The princess was dressed in a racy ck lingerie set that tightly gripped her curvaceous body.

    Sophie had always known that Cleo was very gifted in a certain department but to see the voluptuous twin peaks straining against the bra that barely contained them revealed how majestic they really were.

    Of course, there was also her firm ass that shook gently from side to side as Cleo walked forward while swaying her hips.

    ¡°Do you like what you see?¡± Cleo bit her lips seductively and struck a pose.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ Cleo¡­ why¡­ are¡­¡± Sophie was frozen in surprise as she still could not process what was happening.

    Her attempt to form a coherent sentence was soon interrupted by Cleo¡¯s lips fiercely pressing against her own.

    Cleo¡¯s lips were incredibly soft and delicious.

    Sophie found herself melting into the warmth of her lover¡¯s touch, she had lost herselfpletely in the intense sexiness of the moment.

    The sweet taste of another woman¡¯s smooth, relentless, and ravenous lips.

    Sophie was notpletely clueless and part of her knew exactly why Cleo had entered her room¡­

    But she didn¡¯t care.

    Sophie wanted her.

    She wanted this beautiful and fierce woman who had entered into her life and made her feel emotions she had never felt before.

    The eyes of the hybrid girl started to shift from a golden hue to a dark shade of pink.

    Cleo was on cloud nine as she felt Sophie¡¯s hands roaming her body hungrily and gently squeezing her sensitive areas.

    It took all of her willpower not to moan loudly.

    Suddenly Sophie took the offensive and her tongue deeply prated Cleo¡¯s mouth and made lustful advances to which Cleo was eager to ept.

    Sophie withdrew her lips from Cleo¡¯s mouth and shifted her attention to the princess¡¯s lovely ears which she nibbled.

    Cleo¡¯s face was now flushedpletely red as her breasts were now fully aroused with her nipples gradually beginning to harden.

    ¡°Oh¡­Sophie please don¡¯t stop,¡± Cleo groaned as Sophie¡¯s hand firmly caressed the underside of her breast.

    Sophie¡¯s pupils were nowpletely pink, and the hybrid girl just had a loud voice in her head screaming in a nonstop loop.

    (Take her.)

    (Take her.)

    (MAKE HER YOURS)

    Rip!

    Cleo screamed in shock as Sophie violently tore the flimsy lingerie covering her body and pushed her girlfriend onto the bed.

    Sophie crawled slowly on the bed and eased her thigh between Cleo¡¯s legs, pressing and touching the smooth wet pussy of the princess.

    Cleo¡¯s pink flower was hairless and ripe with slight wetness that indicated her deep arousal.

    ¡°Stop staring so much,¡± Cleo blushed shyly under the intense re of the hybrid girl.

    Sophie was still fully clothed but somehow her shirt and jeans felt restrictive and bothersome.

    Rip!

    She directly tore off her outfit and Cleo was treated to the sight of a literal goddess.

    If Cleo had a body that men would die for¡­

    Sophie¡¯s would have killed them directly.

    The hybrid girl stood at an imposing height of seven feet with two long slender legs, a busty hourss figure and two enormous mountains resting on her chest.

    Her mixed features such as her spider appendages and pointed ears gave her beauty an exotic air.

    ¡°I want you now,¡± Sophie whispered in a husky tone that sent shivers down Cleo¡¯s spine.

    Sophie pressed her body against Cleo¡¯s and began to rub and press the pair¡¯s breasts together.

    This unexpected move sent Cleo into another level of pleasurable arousal as the feeling of Sophie¡¯s nipples touching her own finally caused her to have a mini orgasm.

    Sophie smiled darkly, arched her back, and moved her breasts into Cleo¡¯s mouth.

    No trace of a proud daughter of heaven remained as Cleo eagerly licked, sucked, and rolled her tongue around Sophie¡¯s nipples.

    ¡°God you make me so fucking wet,¡± Sophie moaned as her naughty fingers roamed lower and lower until she made contact with Cleo¡¯s pink flower.

    Cleo just stiffened in shock as a finger stroked the outer area of her pussy with love and care before plunging deep inside without any warning.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Cleo screamed in ecstasy as Sophie relentlessly pumped her fingers into her pussy without pause.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s eyes shone with a pinkish glow as they found a tiny button hidden deep inside of their lover¡¯s flower.

    ¡°Please¡­ please don¡¯t stop. Don¡¯t you dare stop!¡± Cleo¡¯s body twisted and turned as she found herself lost in the feeling of passionate love.

    Sophie could sense every movement that the princess was making as her vision changed and she saw pink spots appearing on Cleo¡¯s body.

    Every time she made contact with one of these spots, her girlfriend would moan even louder.

    Sophie lowered her head and kissed her way down Cleo¡¯s body.

    First her two swollen breasts were gently sucked and fondled.

    Then she nted numerous brief kisses down her belly, upper thighs and finally right above the entrance of her pussy.

    (Take her.)

    (TAKE HER)

    (OWN HER BODY AND SOUL)

    The pink colour in Sophie¡¯s eyes receded slightly as a rare moment of rity caused the hybrid girl to pause.

    This wasn¡¯t right.

    She needed to make love to her girlfriend because she adored her.

    Not because of some warped instincts or a strange voice screaming in her mind.

    It had to be her choice.

    ¡°Cleo,¡± Sophie whispered softly.

    ¡°I love you.¡±

    Sophie pressed her lips against the fleshy hood that covered Cleo¡¯s stimted clitoris.

    Her tongue moved cautiously and entered the opening.

    The taste of Cleo¡¯s pussy was sweet with a slight hint of a tang, but it blended seamlessly together into a vour that was both intoxicating and addicting.

    ¡°Ahhh! Cleo shrieked as Sophie¡¯s tongue sent her to a new realm of pleasure.

    She bucked her hips and buried her cunt deeper into Sophie¡¯s eager mouth.

    As Sophie continued to lick, Cleo was filled with conflicting emotions.

    Her initial n was to seduce Sophie and dominate the hybrid girl in bed but now the tables seemed to have turnedpletely.

    Sophie was so aggressive and knowledgeable about her weak spots.

    If Cleo did not know any better, she would have sworn that her normally passive girlfriend was the incarnation of the goddess of sex.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Cleo could feel something building up inside of her lower half as Sophie¡¯s tongue yed around with her clit.

    ¡°Sophie I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to cum!¡± Cleo shrieked as a wave of pleasure caused her consciousness to fly into the sky.

    Warm juices gushed out of her pussy and pure happiness flowed through every corner of her body.

    Cleo never knew that she was a squirter, but Sophie¡¯s face was nowpletely covered by the liquid of love that sprayed out.

    Sophie eagerlypped up the delicious juices as if she were dying of thirst causing Cleo to remain in a state of daze.

    The hybrid girl finally stopped and moved her body upwards and captured the soft lips of her girlfriend.

    The two girls kissed for a few minutes before separating to allow Cleo some air to breathe.

    ¡°That was amazing,¡± Cleo panted slightly as she tried to recover from her post-orgasm bliss.

    ¡°Was?¡± Sophie smirked as her lustful eyes hungrily roamed the body of her girlfriend.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t even gotten started yet.¡±

    Screams of pleasure could be heard echoing around the mansion for the rest of the night.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Poor Moon did not get anymore sleep.

    The pure and virtuous image of his mommy had shatteredpletely.

 Chapter 132: The Ends Justify The Means

    Chapter 132: The Ends Justify The Means

    ¡°Good morning sweetheart,¡± Sophie whispered softly in Cleo¡¯s ear and shook her girlfriend gently.

    ¡°Urghh¡­. I hate you,¡± Cleo groaned as she felt her body aching all over.

    The first couple hours of sex were simply amazing, but Sophie just keep on going and going until Cleo almost passed out from exhaustion.

    ¡°Have some self control next time!¡± Cleo muttered cutely and gave Sophie a scowl.

    ¡°Yes, it was my mistake,¡± Sophie nodded obediently.

    Sophie stretched her armszily and got out of bed to get some clothes for the pair.

    She casually picked out twofortable dresses and returned to Cleo¡¯s side.

    ¡°Come on sleepyhead,¡± Sophie teased and pulled the nkets off the reluctant princess.

    Cleo¡¯s body was covered entirely with purplish hickeys that caused Sophie¡¯s pupils to dte slightly as she felt a familiar stirring of arousal.

    She even noticed the prominent tattoo on her girlfriend¡¯s chest.

    Wait¡­. a tattoo?

    Cleo never had a tattoo.

    Sophie paused for a moment as the strange tattoo drawn on Cleo¡¯s milky white skin was not something that was presentst night.

    She could attest to that personally as not a single region of Cleo¡¯s body was left unexplored after their trysts.

    On further inspection this tattoo was simr to a brand or a mark.

    It was dark red in colour and formed a mysterious circr pattern with small cryptic symbols that glowed eerily.

    Sophie could feel a vague connection to this mark but could not tell if this was a good or bad thing.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Cleo asked as she realised that Sophie had gone silent.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ look down at your chest,¡± Sophie replied and gestured with her thumb.

    Cleo was feeling very confused now but followed Sophie¡¯s suggestion and her eyes immediately widened in shock.

    ¡°This is new,¡± Cleo muttered as she touched the mark curiously.

    Everything felt normal and Cleo could not detect any differences from how her chest felt before this mark was formed.

    ¡°Sophie do you want to touch it?¡± Cleo casually asked.

    The hybrid girl tentatively shifted one of Cleo¡¯s twin peaks out of the way and carefully ced her fingertips on the mark.

    Sophie felt a warm tingle in her chest and a small wave of pleasure rocked her body every time she stroked Cleo¡¯s mark.

    ¡°I think this mark might have something to do with me,¡± Sophie frowned as she felt the connection between the two girls start to strengthen.

    ¡°Oh¡­. Is this a weird ability from your mother¡¯s race?¡± Cleo asked nonchntly.

    ¡°Not sure. I can ask someone when they visit me next about what the hell this is,¡± Sophie replied.

    None of the information about her heritage that her aunt had sent to her mind mentioned anything about a dark red brand appearing on the chest of someone she had sex with.

    Sophie assumed that their night of passion was probably the trigger but for what was the purpose of this mark¡­. she didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s get some breakfast,¡± Cleo leapt out of bed and winced slightly as her aching body reminded her of the night before.

    ¡°Wait¡­ aren¡¯t you concerned about this?¡± Sophie hurriedly picked up her girlfriend in a princess carry as it was clear that the poor girl could not walk properly.

    ¡°Well yes but I don¡¯t believe that anything you do to me will hurt me,¡± Cleo stared deeply in Sophie¡¯s eyes and lovingly touched her cheek.

    Sophie could not resist giving Cleo a deep kiss that took the surprised girl¡¯s breath away.

    They went downstairs to get some breakfast with a cheerful and pink mood between them.

    Sophie was feeling the happiest that she had ever felt as she watched the beautiful girl sitting down right beside her.

    Unbeknownst to the two girls at the time, the shadows beneath Cleo¡¯s feet started to twist and move slightly.

    A portion of the shadows tried to merge into Cleo¡¯s body but were repelled by an unknown barrier.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Imperial Complex- Side Pce ¨C 9847)

    Concubine Sisrelis poured herself yet another ss of wine and drank it with trembling hands.

    Despite her calm appearance, the concubine could not help but reach for more alcohol to get herself numb.

    Today was the day that the seed nted in her daughter had finally germinated.

    It was not an easy decision to make at the time and even now she still felt a trace of regret.

    But the ends would always justify the means.

    She was just another pretty face in the emperor¡¯s harem and women without fangs did notst long in the imperial backyard.

    Even without her daughter having the potential to be a mech controller, Concubine Sisrelis still had the power given to her by the symbiote she had willingly bonded to herself.

    She could still recall the day that the Mienieids embryo that she had carefully ced on her daughter¡¯s chest burrowed deeply inside without a trace.

    The shadows beneath her feet twisted and shifted until a vaguely humanoid figure could be seen with two piercing red eyes.

    ¡°Why did you want me to bind another of my kind to your daughter? The deal we made only involved you alone,¡± the shadow stayed silent for a moment before curiosity overcame it.

    ¡°No, she will thank me for doing this,¡± Concubine Sisrelis argued back.

    ¡°I have given her the chance to be a higher being. A chance to improve her talent and to gain an advantage over her other siblings.¡±

    ¡°When she sits on the emperor¡¯s throne andmands the lives of billions to serve her every desire¡­. she will understand.¡±

    The shadowughed darkly in a mocking tone as he felt the emotions of his host.

    She could lie to others about her motive but not to him.

    It was not out of goodwill or love that the concubine had willingly turned her daughter into a monster.

    The power granted by his species would gradually turn any host they bonded topletely mad.

    And the only emotion that the shadow could feeling from his host was greed.

    Perhaps once, the concubine had loved her daughter and sought out power to protect her from the numerous conflicts among the royal family.

    But that woman had long ceased to exist.

 Chapter 133: Playing With Fire

    Chapter 133: ying With Fire

    ¡°Moon!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time for breakfast!¡± Sophie knocked twice on the door before she walked into the spare bedroom.

    Sophie was determined to spoil her pet rotten, so the lucky Frostwing bat had an entire bedroom all to himself.

    He was even given several toys, soft pillows and grooming essories bought by his pampering owner.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon¡¯s ears perked up when he heard the footsteps of his mommy, but the memory of the night before was still fresh in his mind.

    Suddenly he felt a bit angry.

    Why did it seem that his mommy loved that bad girl more than him?!

    Hmph! I¡¯ll ignore you now!

    ¡°Moon please look at me,¡± Sophie whispered softly but her little pet buried himself under his nket and refused to look at her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Cleo asked with concern as she entered the room.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon turned around and saw the hateful woman who corrupted his mommy.

    He waved his wings around angrily and the temperature started to drop.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s feeling well,¡± Sophie approached Moon and stroked his furry head with a worried look on her face.

    ¡°Should I take him to the vet?¡± she muttered.

    Moon left thefort of the nket immediately and leapt into Sophie¡¯s arms with a fawning expression.

    He wanted to punish his mommy but not at the cost of going to the vet.

    Those terrifying two-legged monsters would stick him with needles that hurt. Plus, the food was very bad!

    ¡°Seems like he¡¯s feeling better,¡± Cleo remarked as she helped Sophie put down the food in her hand.

    Frostwing hatchlings were fed a milk-based mixture with vitamins, minerals and the extract of a certain flower that contained highly dense ice energy.

    It was naturally very expensive but everybat beast that fell into the legendary category required countless resources to raise properly.

    This was part of the reason why only wealthy cultivators would bother to own one.

    Sophie carefully pressed the bottle to Moon¡¯s lips and the greedy bat sipped on the mixture hungrily.

    One bottle was usually enough for an entire day, but Sophie had already prepared extras just in case.

    For some reason, her Frostwing bat ate a lot more than what was typically expected.

    Moon was feeling very sleepy once he finished his meal as theck of rest was finally catching up on him.

    He dozed off in Sophie¡¯s arms, so the hybrid girl tucked him into bed and nted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

    ¡°Shh¡­¡± Sophie ced a finger to her lips and gestured to Cleo to leave the room with her.

    The girls headed back to Sophie¡¯s bedroom to n out what to do for the rest of the day.

    sses would start next week so they could take this time to explore the inner areas of the city but both girls were feeling quitezy and wanted to stay inside.

    ¡°Remind me next time to put a noise cancelling barrier in our room,¡± Cleo was not blind to the obviously unhappy gaze Moon had put on when he looked at her.

    Honestly, it was very embarrassing to know that her voice could be heard echoing around the whole mansion.

    ¡°Oh? So, there is going to be a next time,¡± Sophie smiled sweetly as one of her hands roamed downwards and gave Cleo¡¯s butt a friendly pat.

    ¡°Keep those naughty hands to yourself,¡± Cleo attempted to frown but the lustful glint in her eyes gave her true emotions away.

    ¡°You know¡­. we still have a few days before sses start,¡± Cleo whispered seductively.

    Rip!

    Sophie immediately tore off Cleo¡¯s dress and aggressively pushed the princess onto the bed.

    ¡°You¡¯re ying with fire,¡¯ Sophie growled as she firmly grasped both of Cleo¡¯s breasts and rubbed the two soft mounds.

    ¡°Maybe I want to get burned,¡± Cleo stared back with determination as she leaned forward and pressed her lips tightly against her girlfriend¡¯s.

    Moon awoke yet again to the sounds of oddly familiar screams of pleasure.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Is it toote to change owners??

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Sunday)

    (Amusement Park- Forest Lord Kingdom)

    ¡°Sophie!¡± Astrid waved happily as she ran up to the hybrid girl and gave her a big hug.

    ¡°Astrid!¡± Sophie immediately returned the hug and asked Astrid how her family was settling down in their new home.

    ¡°Hey, are you alright Cleo?¡± Qiana whispered as she noticed that her friend seemed slightly unwell.

    There was a reason why Qiana had asked this question¡­.

    The pair were giving off twopletely different atmospheres.

    Sophie was a bright ray of sunshine in her pure white sundress and floppy hat while Cleo was walking with a small limp and wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants that did not expose any skin.

    Large bags were under Cleo¡¯s eyes and the princess just seemed exhausted and ready to drop at any moment.

    ¡°Yea¡­yeah! Um¡­ I just was¡­. studying pretty hard,¡± Cleoughed awkwardly and attempted to evade the question.

    What a joke!

    How could she tell Qiana that Sophie had fucked her senseless for multiple days and nights in a row until she almost copsed?!

    Sophie¡¯s alien heritage muste with an enhanced physique and stamina as the hybrid girl just kept going and going without rest.

    Qiana clearly did not buy her poorly constructed excuse but her upbringing as a noblewoman prevented her from pursuing the topic any further.

    Fortunately for her curiosity¡­. Astrid was a far more open individual who said exactly what was on her mind.

    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Astrid sniffed Sophie a few times before running over to Cleo¡¯s side and giving her a sniff as well.

    ¡°Cleo is wearing one of your clothes¡± she dered confidently.

    ¡°No. I mean we aren¡¯t the same height, or you know¡­. she doesn¡¯t have four freaking spider appendagesing from her back,¡± Sophieughed in reply.

    ¡°Then why is your scent all over Cleo?¡± Astrid asked innocently.

    Sophie paused for a moment to think of an appropriate excuse when a small giggle escaped Astrid¡¯s lips.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a naive child. My nose can tell that you marked her all over her body with your scent,¡± the Mendolesa girl teased.

    ¡°Congrattions you two.¡±

 Chapter 134: Project Rhatets

    Chapter 134: Project Rhat''ets

    [Personal log of assistant Zachary Walsh]

    [Day 1]

    I am recording my daily experiences working on the Rhat¡¯ets project located on [Data Encrypted].

    Perhaps I may never see my loving wife and children again, but my sry will be enough to ensure that they livefortably for a lifetime.

    I know that my two boys are strong enough and will grow up to be fine young men.

    Who knows why I was chosen out of the thousands of scientific researchers that fought desperately for a ce.

    I specte it may have something to do with the thesis paper I wrote on Insectoid biology for my master¡¯s degree.

    The spaceship travelling to this researchb had a fairly uneventful journey with myself and three other nervous recruits.

    Jonas, Kevin, and Isaiah were tall, muscr men far more suited forbat purposes rather than academics but who was I to judge.

    They remained silent for the duration of the trip and I was unable to learn anything about their background.

    Upon arrival, I was led away from the three men by an attractive youngdy by the name of Doctor Valenna.

    The three men were taken to an area nicknamed the ¡®pens.¡¯

    No prior information was given about the purpose of the Rhat¡¯ets project, so I curiously asked the young doctor some questions.

    She refused to answer any of them and brought me to a small dorm room.

    It was roughly the size of a prison cell, but at least the bed was clean, and the temperature was set to afortable level.

    I was given a tablet to record my daily life and any important data concerning the project.

    The tablet was imnted with three bugging devices and I suspect that the room I was given has also beenpromised.

    Fortunately, the hacking skills I learnt in college came into good use and I sessfully disarmed the devices on the tablet without alerting the higher ups.

    What have I gotten myself into?

    [Day 2]

    Today was a great day!

    Whoever must have funded this project must be extremely wealthy because the scientific machinery present in some of the buildings would have cost billions of Enas.

    I was apparently the first new recruit in quite some time as the other researchers andb assistants took very good care of me.

    Certain areas were off limit until I passed a trial period but for the most part the staff were very warm and friendly.

    The males would give me firm handshakes and wide smiles while the females would wink flirtatiously and hug me briefly.

    Someone had even managed to smuggle in a bottle of premium wine and an impromptu party was held at the end of orientation where I was the main star.

    One of my colleagues, a middle-aged man by the name of Doctor James told me that tomorrow was the day he would take me to the heart of the Rhat¡¯ets experiment.

    The location was the pens that the three men onboard my transport ship had been led to, so I assumed that they had already started working on their own experiments ahead of me.

    I am excited to finally get to uncover this mystery!

    [Day 3]

    It¡¯s humans.

    They keep humans in the pens.

    Well¡­. what used to be humans.

    I write out these lines of text while struggling to get the bile and vomit to stoping out of my throat when I recall the horrors that I just witnessed.

    Row upon row of naked former humans held in cages just like animals while researchers calmly observed and carried out experiments that led to the death of some.

    These¡­. humans¡­. no, I should call them¡­.

    Monsters.

    Weird and twisted appendages grew out of their body orifices while their skin was an ashy grey colour.

    Their faces seemed to be constantly stuck in an expression of pain and the only sound they were able to make was a silent scream.

    Apparently, the noise was too bothersome, so the guards directly removed the vocal cords of the humans kept within the farm.

    This project has vited every single moral, ethnical and legal guidelines set in ce by the Earth Federation.

    I even managed to spot Jonas, Kevin, and Isaiah among the naked sea of bodies, but they were in no state to hold any sort of rational conversation.

    Kevin and Jonas had been sewed together into some unholy abomination that oozed a purplish slime as it crawled across the floor.

    Isaiah wasying silently on the ground as I suspected that whatever modification had been done to his body had caused his heart to stop beating.

    Doctor James began to talk about the project, but the nauseating smell and sights before my eyes finally caused me to vomit relentlessly.

    I was taken back to my dorm room and told to rest for the remainder of the day.

    My reaction was fairlymon so it was actually expected that I may need to take a break to process this new revtion.

    One question kept echoing through my mind¡­.

    Why was this ce allowed to exist?

    Unless¡­ it was intentional.

    I am scared.

    I want nothing more than to meet with the higher ups of Project Rhat¡¯ets and leave but there is no doubt in my mind that I will be killed to maintain this secret.

    All I can do now is record as much information as I can and find some way to leak this onto the virtual.

    Researchers are encouraged to maintain daily journal entries but any reference to the location of this base is forbidden.

    Despite getting rid of the bug devices, it would be prudent to remain cautious.

    I will therefore encrypt the name of the in my daily log until I can find the means to send out a message.

    My hands are still trembling as I type out thisst sentence. I fear that my dreams tonight will be full of the creatures that I have seen.

    [Day 4]

    I have finally found out the purpose of project Rhat¡¯ets and the waters run deeper than I initially suspected.

    This vition of human rights was approved by a group of nobles within the Earth Federation who used off the record grey organizations to provide funding.

    The goal of these experiments is tobine the genes of an Insectoid with those of a human to create a hybrid.

    The hope is to create an individual with the strong physique and regenerative abilities of an Insectoid along with the cultivation talent of a human.

    Members of the high-level insectoids races have yet to been captured alive.

    Therefore, all the specimen used as the gic base are the lesser insectoids species such as the Tarkkakans, Oythyoras and Peneelira.

    The project has been ongoing for years upon years with little sess.

    Rather than creating the ultimate weapon¡­. only useless, twisted abominations have been produced.

    Some less optimistic researchers even theorise that human and Insectoid DNA can never mix and create a viable individual.

    I finish this daily log with dark bags beneath my eyes.

    [Day 65]

    I have been working as a lead researcher for several months now and I have been sessfully promoted to the upper management.

    The path I took to reach this position¡­. I am ashamed to record.

    Please forgive me.

    I have done terrible things.

    My hands are stained with blood and I cannot close my eyes without seeing and hearing the victims who have lost their minds due to my experiments.

    I cannot go into detail without feeling the familiar urge to vomit.

    I relish the feelings of guilt as they are myst threads of sanity in this wretched ce.

    Most lose them far earlier.

    Every researcher typically feels ufortable with their first experiment, but it gets easier and easier as the numbers increase.

    They be indifferent to human life at best and gain pleasure from the cruel torture at worst.

    As a man of science this may seem ridiculous, but I truly believe that this ce is cursed.

    Someone always goes missing every couple of months and none of the cameras can track their whereabouts.

    Meanwhile, the humans in the pens have somehow regained the ability tough despite their vocal cords being surgically removed.

    I hear them every night hysterically giggling and whispering words in anguage that no one has been able to decipher.

    No breakthroughs have been made thus far and all experiments have been ssified as failures.

    The higher ups are getting impatient but there is truly nothing we can do.

    Pressure is mounting and I could not be happier.

    I pray that we never seed.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [Day 745]

    She did it.

    Doctor Valenna has achieved a viable fusion.

    May God help us all.

 Chapter 135: Why are you ignoring me?!

    Chapter 135: Why are you ignoring me?!

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Sophie, why are you ignoring me?!¡± Astrid whined softly as she kept circling around Sophie with a wide grin on her face.

    Sophie raised a fist threateningly at the Mendolesa girl who responded with augh and ducked behind Qiana.

    Astrid¡¯s keen sense of smell had exposed Cleo and Sophie¡¯s night of passion, so the two girls had to endure some relentless teasing.

    Even the rtively quiet Qiana could not resist pulling Cleo aside and asking the princess some questions that made her blush with shame.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you are making such a big deal of it. I seem to recall that you introduced Qiana to your family a few days ago,¡± Sophie teased back with a smirk.

    ¡°Even I haven¡¯t gotten to meet Cleo¡¯s parents yet!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± Astrid replied quickly.

    ¡°We are just friends,¡± Qiana chimed in but the tips of her ears had slowly turned red.

    Sophie said nothing but silently observed the awkward silence between the pair as they fervently denied any romantic connection.

    Who exactly did they think they were fooling?

    A blind man could spot the sexual tension between them.

    Well she wasn¡¯t going to force it.

    Every rtionship was different and perhaps the two girls needed some time before they got together officially.

    ¡°Girls are we going to sit around and talk all day or actually go into the park?¡± Cleo walked up and held Sophie¡¯s palm naturally.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t resist nting a soft kiss on her girlfriend¡¯s lips and stroking her hair gently.

    It was strange but every time she showed some affection to Cleo, the princess wouldin that the mark on her chest gradually became warmer.

    This was definitely an unusual situation but for now it seemed that there were no negative side effects.

    The girls had nned a special outing to the ¡®Forest Lord Kingdom¡¯ which was an amusement park located at the entertainment section of the campus.

    Much like the name suggested, it was a theme park with a heavy emphasis on the natural fauna and floramonly found on differents.

    There were numerous hiking trails scattered around the park and visitors were free to explore at their own pace.

    Sophie checked the map on hermunicator and led the girls right to the entrance of the park which was only about ten minutes away.

    ¡°Simply beautiful,¡± Qiana sighed with some emotion in her eyes as she gazed at the majesty disy.

    There was only one entrance leading into the park and it was a in wooden door over thirty feet in height with countless dark green runes carved on its surface.

    The runes would glow and shift positions seemingly at random, but Sophie found that the movements were oddly calming.

    Enormous trees that grew towards the heavens could be seen above the door while a variety of cheerful bird calls filled the air.

    ¡°Shall we go in?¡± Astrid¡¯s tail wagged furiously as she eagerly took out her student card and ced it on the scanner nearby.

    Suddenly holographic words floated above the scanner device after Astrid¡¯s card had been ced down.

    [Checking Identity¡­. Astrid Lockhart]

    [Identity Confirmed!]

    [Please enter]

    The wooden door swung open, but Astrid waited patiently for the rest of the girls to check in before holding onto Qiana¡¯s arm and walking inside with an extra spring in her steps.

    ¡°What trees are these?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she could not help craning her neck upwards to get a better look.

    The forest seemed to be straight out of the prehistoric era back on ancient Era.

    The trees were the size ofrge skyscrapers and their leaves were around the size of buses.

    The trunk of most trees was purplish ck in colour and Sophie could detect a sickly-sweet smelling from the fruits hanging from their branches.

    ¡°These are Siqot trees from the Elusions that are known to be quite rare,¡± Cleo replied in shock as she admired the tall trees.

    Zrudread University truly deserved its title of being one of the four great universities judging by these small details.

    Siqot trees were not found within the territories controlled by the Earth Federation but rather it had to be bought from a neutral star civilisation called the Dhans.

    And even then, the supply was quite limited and only those with deep pockets or backgrounds would be able to purchase seeds.

    The path beneath their feet was made from a simple gravel- like stone and soon split off into three separatenes.

    Sophie checked the map and discovered that each path led to a different special area of the park.

    The right path would bring visitors to the petting zoo, the left part would take them to a group of wooden sculptures while the middle path¡¯s destination was the poison garden where dangerous nts were grown.

    ¡°Which path shall we take?¡± Sophie frowned as she looked over the merits of each choice.

    ¡°Actually, why don¡¯t Qiana and I take the left path and you guys can go together,¡± Astrid spoke up with a faint smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a lightbulb during your date,¡± she said righteously.

    Of course, the Mendolesa girl¡¯s motives were also a bit selfish as she wanted to spend some time alone with Qiana, but Astrid was not going to admit it.

    ¡°No¡­I don¡¯t min¡­. urk!¡± Sophie was going to reassure her friend that she wasn¡¯t a bother when Cleo¡¯s hand covered her mouth.

    ¡°Go on ahead,¡± the princess smiled devilishly, and Astrid took the opportunity to quickly grab Qiana and take her down the left path.

    ¡°Bye girls!¡± she waved goodbye as Qiana just followed her while sighing in resignation.

    The pair¡¯s figures slowly faded off into the distance and Cleo finally removed her hand from Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice that Astrid wants to take Qiana on a date?¡± Cleo rolled her eyes at her clueless girlfriend.

    Sophie was incredibly smart and thoughtful when it came to their own rtionship but somehow, she was at aplete loss at picking up signs from others.

    ¡°Come on don¡¯t sulk,¡± Cleo stood on her tip toes and brushed her lips against Sophie¡¯s.

    The hybrid girl responded by deepening the kiss and aggressively sticking her tongue into Cleo¡¯s mouth while her hands roamed down the back of the princess.

    Ouch!

    Sophie felt a sharp pain in her ribs as Cleo gave her a quick jab on her side to get her attention.

    ¡°Are you crazy? Wait until we get home¡± Cleo scolded fiercely but her voice had a coquettish undertone.

    Sophie hung her head while feeling a bit guilty. It was fortunate that no one was nearby to witness her girlfriend getting groped.

    She may have gotten a bit carried away.

    Sophie had never shared an intimate moment with anyone before Cleo and the mere touch of her lover was enough to get her slightly aroused.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Sophie gave Cleo a short hug and wrapped her arms tightly around her body.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s go down the middle path get this over with,¡± Sophie¡¯s eyes gradually shifted to a pink colour as a certain lustful thought shed across her mind.

    ¡°But when we get home¡­.¡± Sophie blew a hot breath against Cleo¡¯s neck.

    ¡°I am going to fuck you until you can¡¯t walk properly.¡±

 Chapter 136: John Archibald Willis Henderson Goodman The Third

    Chapter 136: John Archibald Willis Henderson Goodman The Third

    ¡°Hello iing freshmen of the year 3467!¡±

    ¡°You have been selected from countless other geniuses to be a member of the main campus of our great university.¡±

    ¡°I hope by the end of these five years of studying you will turn out to be fine cultivation warriors and fight for the glory of the Earth Federation.¡±

    ¡°This academy was established on a dream by our noble founder John Archibald Willis Henderson Goodman the third and thenter built by his son John Archibald Willis Henderson Goodman the fourth¡­.¡±

    Sophie was feeling bored out of her mind while the principal continued to talk on and on about the rich history of the school.

    Why did every assembly have to be so freaking long?!

    She was currently sitting down next to her friends in a vast open field while the face of the principal was projected onto a holographic screen floating above them.

    Principal Malik was an elderly Mendolesa man with a firm chest full of muscles and a lean yet toned body.

    His fur colour was a bit unusual for the typical Mendolesa as it was a soft white colour that matched his scarlet red eyes.

    Mendolesa males were characterized by having slightly bulkier bodies, shorter tails, and dark fur while females typically had slender bodies, long tails, and a lighter fur colouration.

    The sun shone down fiercely on those listening to his speech on the field and beads of sweat could be seen running down the backs of the white uniform of the elite ss students.

    Sophie still found it to be an interesting experience being in a college where the majority of students were not human.

    Under the integration policy of the Earth Federation, the four great universities were required to have at least a thirty percent poption of students outside of their race enrolled on campus.

    There were about one thousand students packed on the grass listening to the principal but only a tiny fraction of those would be in the elite ss.

    Zrudread University would only hold one general assembly for the freshman students and then there would be no more.

    This would also mark the beginning of the official interactions andpetitions between those in the elite ss and the students in the regr sses.

    No ss was mandatory to attend and one could even skip the midterms if they were in the regr ss.

    The only important event was the final exam at the end of the semester that determined which students would be staying on the main campus.

    There was fiercepetition as the students on the side campuses eagerly waited for any opportunity to move up.

    As strange as it may sound, Zrudread University had a very rxed academic policy and encouraged students to study on their own.

    Cultivation resources, techniques and training rooms were just some of the resources avable for students to freely use.

    The elite students were also able to book private sessions with teachers to receive personalized training in their field of choice.

    Sophie had already booked quite a few sessions with Professor Macabre from the training camp as she had formed a liking to the stern yet caring teacher.

    The main goal of the university was to produce powerful warriors not schrs.

    Perhaps theck of structure and order was a test to see which students had the willpower to keep up their training schedule on their own when they were under no supervision.

    It was easy to fall into the cycle of partying, drinking and other forms of entertainment when students finally got a chance to cut loose.

    ¡°Qiana are you getting any of this?¡± Astrid yawned sleepily as she whispered to the quiet girl next to her.

    Hearing no response, Astrid tilted her head cutely and discovered that Qiana was already fast asleep with a boy love novel still being held in her hand.

    It was clear that she had not been paying any attention to the speech from the start!

    Astrid wanted to talk to Sophie about this revtion but was treated to the sight of two lovebirds showing off their affection.

    ¡°You look gorgeous in that uniform,¡± Sophie smiled gently as she flirted with Cleo.

    The white uniform of the elite ss was heavily inspired by typical militarybat gear, so it contained many hidden pockets and various self defense devices woven into the fabric.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Cleo held her girlfriend¡¯s hand shyly as her face blushed red.

    The uniform was short sleeved and exposed Cleo¡¯s neck as well, so Sophie had to make sure not to leave any visible marks on the princess during their ¡®study¡¯ sessions.

    Astrid gazed at the sugary sweet scene between the two girls and had to resist the urge toin.

    Why the heck did they need to rub their rtionship into the faces of poor single dogs like herself?!

    Poor Astrid was in a grumpy mood for the rest of the assembly but neither Sophie nor Cleo noticed as they were stuck in their own little world.

    A strange thought struck Astrid while she wore a despondent expression from theck of attention.

    Maybe she would take this opportunity to actually pay attention to Principal Malik!

    (Five minutester¡­.)

    Zzzz¡­¡­Zzzzz¡­Zzzzz

    Astrid had fallen asleep while resting her head gently on Qiana¡¯s shoulder as the principal seemed to be more effective at knocking people out than any tranquilizing drug.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Principal Malik finished the end of his speech with a quick summary of everything he had just said during thest two hours.

    ¡°Now I would once again like to thank our founder John Archibald Willis Henderson Goodman the third, his son John Archibald Willis Henderson Goodman the fourth and his grandson¡­.¡±

    ¡°Frank.¡±

    ¡°The Goodman family¡¯s legacy will truly live on within the hearts of the proud members of Zrudread University!¡±

    The virtual projection showed principal Malik standing up from his chair and passionately addressing the students.

    Polite apuse was heard from some the students who were still paying attention, but by now the majority of students were already in dreand.

    The principal took an additional fifteen minutes to finally wrap up before the students were dismissed to head towards their first ss.

 Chapter 137: This Girl Is Scary!

    Chapter 137: This Girl Is Scary!

    (Zrudread University- Saint Theodore Building)

    (ssroom 1A)

    ¡°Good day new students and wee to your first day of university,¡± came a cheerful voice from the front of the ss.

    ssroom 1A was the ce where the freshman elite ss students would have a brief morning home room period before leaving for their various lecture locations.

    Professor Gracie Robinson was the teacher assigned to the ss and she was overflowing with excitement and charm.

    Gracie was a kind looking elderly Mendolesa warrior, but the only signs of her age were small patches of white fur scattered around her once brown coat.

    She was shorter than the average Mendolesa at around five feet in height and hobbled around with a wooden cane.

    Sophie had taken quite the liking to her new teacher who reminded her of a friendly neighbourhood grandma.

    The ssroom itself was veryfortable with chairs made out of memory foam that adjusted their shape to match the image of the students sitting down on them.

    The room could hold up to one hundred students but only thirty students were ced in the elite ss, so the desks were spaced out nicely.

    Sophie had even spotted a few familiar faces from the training camp who recognised her as well.

    Ethan had smiled and waved at her with a cheeky grin while his desk mate Terrance gave her a short nod.

    Celestia and the hybrid boy from her poison cultivator sessions were both in the ss as well but neither had approached Sophie to talk just yet.

    ¡°Elite students are entitled to two grade S gic serums every month, five cultivation techniques and unlimited usage of the battle arenas,¡± Professor Gracie continued as she listed out various benefits.

    ¡°How generous,¡± Cleo gave out a small whistle in admiration.

    Grade S gic serums could boost the cellr activity of the body which would enhance the speed of cultivation.

    There was even a small chance that beneficial mutations could ur, and certain lucky individuals had gained strange new racial talents.

    ¡°Well we are the elite ss after all,¡± Qiana muttered half-heartedly as shey on the desk while trying to catch some sleep.

    Astrid was not present at the moment as her magic teacher Archmage Hollystorm had whisked her away to learn some more spell craft.

    Honestly, Astrid¡¯s position in the university was a bit strange¡­

    She did not need to attend any sses and would automatically be ced in the elite ss if her skills met the requirements set by the principal.

    Archmage Hollystorm was to be her exclusive teacher but Astrid had told her friends that he also acted somewhat like a father figure.

    Sophie would be lying if she said that a tiny part of her wasn¡¯t a bit jealous of the special treatment that Astrid got for being so talented in magic, but a bigger part of her was simply happy for her friend.

    ¡°However!¡± Professor Gracie banged her cane against the floor to get the attention of the ss.

    ¡°I need to remind you students not to ck off or take things easy now that you have arrived at the elite ss.¡±

    ¡°The workload in university is going to be a step above the material taught in high school. Please use the free resources provided by the school and manage your time carefully.¡±

    ¡°Also keep in mind that thousands of students are fighting for a spot in the elite ss and one slip up can see you transferred out almost immediately.¡±

    Professor Gracie was not exaggerating. The goal of the regr ss students was to move up to the elite ss.

    The only problem was that ces in the elite ss were capped at thirty, so the higher ups created a situation where the demand far outstripped the supply.

    Elite ss students were under great pressure to maintain their position at the top.

    First year and second year in particr were the two years that saw the greatest number of changes in the members of the elite ss students.

    By third and fourth year, a sizable gap would have emerged between the regr and elite ss students so it was highly unlikely that any transfers would ur.

    Professor Gracie smiled in approval as she saw the now serious looks on the faces of her students as they digested the new information.

    ¡°Anyways that¡¯s enough of all that doom and gloom! Why don¡¯t we start off the new semester with some introductions?¡±

    ¡°Starting from the front of the ss. First, I want you to stand up and then say your name and finish off with some fun facts about yourself,¡± Professor Gracie pointed at Qiana to begin.

    Sophie was going to head to the middle of the ssroom when the girls entered the room, but Cleo insisted that they sit at the front since it was the first day of ss.

    In fact, the three girls were the only ones sitting at the front row as most students were spoiled for choice with all the empty desksying around.

    Professor Gracie continued to point at Qiana who was now regretting listening to that stupid princess.

    ¡°Oh god I fucking hate stuff like this,¡± Qiana muttered as she stood up with a weary sigh.

    Qiana was not the biggest fan of icebreakers as she always felt that they were nothing more than a waste of time.

    She was already in a bad mood since Astrid was not with her, so she decided to just say something quickly and sit back down.

    ¡°My name is Qiana Abazin,¡± she spoke in a monotone voice.

    ¡°I enjoy reading.¡±

    Qiana paused her speech for a moment before ending it on a short note,

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Sophie and Cleo apuded softly when she sat back down, and the rest of the ss soon followed suit.

    Although some were wondering about the girl who only spoke in brief sentences.

    Oddly enough, even though their ssmate had just stood up and spoken¡­.

    no one could remember what her facial features looked like.

    In fact, no one could even remember what she sounded like.

    The only one who seemed immune other than Sophie and Cleo was Professor Gracie who thanked Qiana for speaking first and then pointed at Sophie.

    ¡°Alright you can do this,¡± Sophie clenched her fists and whispered to herself.

    It was time to leave a good impression!

    The most important part of any decent impression was the projection of an image.

    Sophie wanted herself to seem like a warm, friendly, and open person in the eyes of the other students.

    Sophie closed her eyes for a moment and briefly ran over her improvised n to project a warm and kind image before standing up with confidence.

    ¡°Good day, my name is Sophie Peterlor¡­¡­

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Nameless ssmate¡¯s POV)

    The girl who stood up in front of the ss instantly stole the attentions of everyone in the room.

    It was not due to the fact that her face was drop dead gorgeous or that she had the body of a seductive goddess or even that she spoke in a clear voice.

    Shemanded respect due to her intimidating aura.

    Her seven-foot-tall stature, fierce golden eyes and four razor sharp spider appendages projected the image of a warrior or killer.

    I wouldter learn that her name was Sophie Peterlor but at the time I was distracted by the strange scenting from her body.

    Mendolesa warriors have powerful olfactory senses that can detect certain characteristics about individuals and that hybrid girl smelled¡­.

    Dangerous.

 Chapter 138: Did you miss me?

    Chapter 138: Did you miss me?

    The first teaching ss of the day was ship navigation and piloting which was to be held jointly with the students of the regr ss.

    While it was true that most spaceships would have an onboard AI to handle all the calctions and maneuvering required to travel safely through the universe there was still a need to learn how to fly manually.

    The main problem was that these artificial intelligence systems were vulnerable to hacks or data breaches during enemy attacks.

    It may seem obvious now but during the initial founding days of the Earth Federation, most of the personnel on spaceships did not know how to fly their vessels.

    The higher ups relied more on AI and robots to handle the basic tasks while the soldiers of the imperial army were the main fighters.

    This all changed when the army met a race of mechanical lifeforms known as the Azarens who could control artificial life.

    Mechanical lifeforms were quite interesting from a scientific viewpoint as instead of beingposed out of biological molecules such as carbon or silicone, they were made out of metallic alloys.

    Such beings tended to form highly technologically advanced civilisations but conversely their cultivation talents were usually very poor.

    The encounter with the Azarens was the first major loss suffered by the imperial army as their own ships turned against their allies during battle and caused immense damage.

    From that day forward, every member of the imperial army was required to undergo basic pilot and navigation training as part of their core knowledge.

    As for the first alien race who had caused the Federation to suffer such a loss¡­.

    The Azarens home was bombarded by orbital strikes until it became uninhabitable and the remnants of the race were hunted to near extinction.

    Rumors still lingered how thest survivors sought refuge in the Unova Syndicate, but no concrete evidence had ever been confirmed.

    Sophie was currently walking to the ship hangar and docks with Cleo and Qiana by her side.

    The homeroom ss had ended a few moments ago but Sophie was still feeling rather upset.

    ¡°Why am I such an idiot?!¡± Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand tightly and pouted cutely.

    ¡°I thought you did a good job letting those people know not to mess with you,¡± Cleo teased as she gently squeezed Sophie¡¯s palm.

    Sophie¡¯s brief self introduction to the ss did not go exactly how she nned.

    Actually¡­. it went theplete opposite.

    Standing up and just saying a few lines about herself seemed like a simple enough task but Sophie was struck by a rare moment of panic as she nked out.

    She could not recall any of her noteworthy hobbies or traits after she introduced herself.

    If that wasn¡¯t bad enough already, her rising surge of emotions caused Sophie to enter fight or flight mode.

    She ended up baring her sharp fangs at her new ssmates while her spider appendages extended outwards with a menacing aura.

    Okay¡­ this was not good.

    Sophie decided to quickly spit out a few words and then sit back down before she drew more attention to herself.

    She could vaguely recall what Katarina had told her was a good introduction when meeting new people and gave it a shot.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cross me,¡± she growled in a dark tone while crossing her arms and staring at the students with piercing golden eyes.

    Fuck.

    Why did she have to say something so unnecessarily edgy?!

    She then sat down and faced the front of the ss with a poker face while screaming internally.

    Sophie¡¯s image in the eyes of her ssmates was that of an intimidating and dangerous girl that one would need to avoid at all costs.

    Who knew what she was thinking behind that cold and deadpan face.

    Only Cleo could tell that her girlfriend¡¯sck of expressions was to cover up how utterly embarrassed she felt.

    Professor Gracie was a bit taken aback by the aggressive nature of her student¡¯s introduction speech, but she recovered quickly and moved on to the next person withoutment.

    The rest of the introductions were fairly straightforward, and the ss was dismissed shortly after to head to their other lectures.

    Sophie had maintained her fierce appearance when leaving the ssroom with Cleo, but her image had instantly copsed once they walked out of sight of the other students.

    ¡°You were very scary,¡± Cleo blushed slightly and whispered in Sophie¡¯s ear,

    ¡°And it was honestly¡­. pretty attractive.¡±

    ¡°Well if you thought that was sexy,¡± Sophie growled in a deep husky tone as she pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s.

    Cleo melted away in the soft embrace of her lover who held her tenderly but kissed her with great passion.

    The kisssted for what seemed like hours, days or even eternity as Cleo felt protected and loved.

    She never wanted this moment to end.

    ¡°So¡­.¡±

    ¡°Are we going to ss or¡­.?¡± Qiana interrupted the pair who were now looking deeply into each other¡¯s eyes.

    The quiet dark-haired girl was not amused at having to stand awkwardly on the side as her two friends got lost in their own private world.

    Plus, they were getting strange looks from the passing students who gawked openly at their disy of affection.

    ¡°Sorry Qiana,¡± Sophie broke away from Cleo with an uneasy smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry but please try to save that love stuff for your dorm room,¡± Qiana smiled back with a gentle tone.

    Qiana hid her true feelings of slight jealousy and smoothed out the atmosphere between the girls.

    Maybe it was time she got a bit aggressive when interacting with Astrid. Lord knows that the stupid wolf girl did not know how to take a hint.

    The trio headed to their next lecture while joking andughing with one another.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Zrudread University- Martha Wayne International Spaceport)

    (Hangar 4561E)

    ¡°Impressive,¡± Sophie looked around in amazement as the girls entered the imposingplex of carefully designed buildings.

    Zrudread University had several different specialized training centers and ship navigation training was held in the Martha Wayne International Spaceport.

    It was one of the first training centers to be funded and built from outside sources as a rich former student of the university had dedicated the spaceport in honour of histe mother.

    This student had certainly spared no expenses and the spaceport was on par with those from grade S trading colonys that handled millions of arrivals and departures per day.

    Each building was constructed out of a metal alloy called Xnertium that was resistant to extreme changes in temperature and was quite sturdy.

    This metal was dark reddish-purple in colour and artists were hired to carve beautiful pictures of flowers on the outer surfaces of the buildings.

    The spaceport was for the exclusive use of the Zrudread University students and each year was assigned to their own separate hangar.

    In fact, students were also able to rent their own spaceships for the duration of their four years on campus.

    Of course, the wealthy students would opt to buy their own private transport vessels as it could be customized with different weapons and protective devices.

    Sophie, Cleo and Qiana were among the first students of the elite ss to arrive at the hangar as the majority of the regr ss students were already there.

    The hangar was about the size of ten football fields with sleek, silverly blue spaceships lined up at regr intervals along the walls.

    These spaceships came in different designs, colours, and sizes.

    There was a raised tform in the center of the hangar where rows of chairs were ced directly in front of the podium.

    Students were already sitting down on these chairs so Sophie and her friends followed suit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we stand out?¡± Cleo whispered as she felt the piercing stares of the other students.

    Sophie stared back at some of the gazes and saw a variety of emotions.

    The attention was not due to her hybrid nature but rather it was the elite ss uniforms on the girls that stood out.

    Envy, longing, and jealousy was openly on disy by some while others revealed an intensepetitive desire.

    More students of the elite ss trickled in slowly and soon the attention on the trio shifted towards the new arrivals.

    Time passed by and no instructor could be seen.

    ¡°Can we leave if he doesn¡¯t show up?¡± Qiana muttered.

    The ss gradually got noisier and noisier as more students started to talk and gossip amongst themselves.

    Ring! Ring!

    Ring! Ring!

    Ring! Ring!

    A series of loud siren noises were red from a megaphone which caused several students to cover their ears in pain.

    ¡°Did you miss me maggots?!¡± a loud chuckle was heard from behind one of the spaceships as Instructor Selvon emerged with a familiar smirk.

 Chapter 139: The Spaceship Is Trying Her Best!

    Chapter 139: The Spaceship Is Trying Her Best!

    ¡°Alright maggots! How is everyone doing today?¡± Instructor Selvon bared his fangs and grinned.

    Ahh! This was the life!

    Nothing would beat scaring innocent wide-eyed freshman students who just entered university.

    A few murmurs were heard in the crowd in reply as all the students who were part of the training camp were suddenly ovee by some unpleasant memories resurfacing.

    Most of the students in the regr ss were a bit nervous at the prospect of speaking up so an awkward silence ensued.

    ¡°ARE YOU WORMS FUCKING DEAF?!¡± came a loud bellow which startled everyone.

    One brave student replied that he was feeling good and Instructor Selvon gave him an approving nod.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s what I like to hear. Okay maggots today will be your first day of pilot training and ship navigation sses.¡±

    ¡°A requirement to graduate is to pass this course so I hope that you will pay attention and pass, so we don¡¯t waste my fucking time or yours.¡±

    Instructor Selvon fumbled around the insides of his pockets for a moment before withdrawing a tiny silver remote.

    [Click!]

    The spaceship nearest to Selvon hummed softly as the lights inside began to turn on and the engine powered up.

    It was a basic model from the X-847 series that was the perfect choice for beginner pilots to learn how to fly.

    The specific name of the ship when tranted from the manufactures¡¯ nativenguage was something along the lines of ¡®Hyper Phoenix.¡¯

    The ship was around the size of a small room with two ck seats made of memory foam for the pilot and one passenger.

    The exterior of the ship was semi circr in shape with three thrustors and powered by a nuclear fusion core.

    It¡¯s sleek and shiny exterior made from a variety of metal alloys found on the Sriae made it almost seem like a luxury car.

    All the ships in the spaceport were donated by the same kind student who had built the spaceport using his own money.

    Sophie did admire whoever this mystery alumni was as he was clearly someone who believed in repaying kindness to the institution that had trained him.

    ¡°Ohhh!! It looks so cool!¡±

    ¡°Damn baby if you think that look¡¯s good¡­ I can buy you one next year.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you broke though?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said next year!¡±

    ¡°Bro you can lie to me but¡­. don¡¯t lie to yourself.¡±

    Whispers broke out among the students as everyone was impressed by the X-847 Phoenix model.

    Instructor Selvon puffed out his chest in pride as he saw the gazes of admiration directed towards the vessel.

    This was his first year teaching the ship navigation course, so he spent several weeks designing a personalized course schedule to train his new students.

    These first couple of sses would just have demonstrations with him flying short distances and showing off the different controls.

    Gradually he would split therge ss into smaller groups and get the teaching assistants to give him some help providing them with individual training.

    The final test of this course was sending them off to sessfully take the licence exam.

    ¡°Okay maggots! I will now demonstrate how to perform a simple hover and then we will go over the safety precautions,¡± Instructor Selvon pressed another button on the remote and a mechanical ding was heard.

    Lift off!

    The thrustors emitted blue mes and the gravity stabilizers pulsated gently to prevent the ship from tilting over.

    What was fascinating was that the ship activated these devices without making a single sound.

    The X-847 Phoenix rose slowly into the air around twenty feet off the ground like a majesty eagle getting ready to spread its wings and soar through the sky.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Sophie whistled in appreciation as she even she could tell that this was a fancy model.

    ¡°Now I will make it hang in the air while I continue the¡­.¡± Instructor Selvon was about to finish his sentence when something unexpected happened.

    [Crash!]

    The spaceship that was floating quite confidently in the air suddenly lost control and plunged headfirst into the ground.

    Instructor Selvon: ¡°¡­..¡±

    Students: ¡°¡­¡­.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    The Spaceship: ?

    (Ten minutester¡­.)

    ¡°Fuck¡­ why can¡¯t I figure this out?¡± Instructor Selvon grumbled to himself while he opened up the wall te and examined the engine.

    He told the ss to standby while he tried to figure out what went wrong.

    The students silently looked at one another but when it became obvious that the instructor was paying them no mind, they conversed quietly amongst themselves.

    Sophie yawned sleepily when out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the familiar silhouette of an acquaintance.

    ¡°Hey Terrance,¡± Sophie patted the Mendolesa boy on his shoulder and gave a friendly smile.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your friend Ethan? I always see you two together.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s busy hanging out with the Delta Omega Phi Gamma,¡± he replied with a weary sigh.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Sophie tilted her head with a confused expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fraternity house and apparently the initiation ceremony for new members is during the first week so he¡¯s skipping all of his sses other than home room,¡± Terrance exined.

    ¡°From what I heard¡­. it seems that he¡¯s in for some hazing by the senior boys in the group.¡±

    Zrudread University was also willing to allow the existence of a number of fraternity and sorority groups that students could form.

    They were basically underground groups within the school with limited supervision and fairly autonomous governance over their own affairs.

    As for the purpose of these groups¡­ it varied wildly.

    Some groups were formed to create studentworks and connections for when graduates entered society.

    Others were created to make teams toplete assignments and tasks given to them by the professors.

    And others were just for the purpose of partying and getting wasted.

    Delta Omega Phi Gamma was one of thetter.

    Ethan had also wanted Terrance to join but the sensitive nose of a Mendolesa was nothing more than a curse when walking into a den that smelled of alcohol, drugs, and certain white liquids.

    Plus, the constant music being sted out of the speakers around the house at all hours of the night made it clear that no one was interested in a healthy sleep schedule.

    Terrance had taken one step inside of the base before immediately turning around and heading back to his dorm.

    ¡°Yeah I got an offer to join the Ionia Eta Alpha Sigma society,¡± Qiana joined in the conversation.

    ¡°The girl who gave me the flyer seemed nice enough but it¡¯s way too tiring to be around so many people.¡±

    ¡°Frats and Sororities aren¡¯t really my thing, but I did get a few messages from current members sent to mymunicator,¡± Cleo chimed in as well.

    ¡°Wait¡­ why didn¡¯t I get an offer?¡± Sophie frowned as she realised that new information.

    For heaven¡¯s sake, she didn¡¯t even know that Zrudread University had fraternities or sororities!

    ¡°Oh? Do you want to move out of our shared dorm?¡± Cleo asked innocently but Sophie felt a heavy pressureing from her gaze.

    ¡°No honey!¡± Sophie smiled harmlessly as sweat rolled down her back.

    Must pamper wife so she doesn¡¯t get upset!

    She took a quick peek to confirm that Instructor Selvon was still fixing the engine on the spaceship and briefly pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°You two have a very good rtionship,¡± Terrance spoke up as he observed the two girls with a strange emotion in his eyes.

    It seemed that his friend Ethan was destined to experience some heartbreak. The poor boy had a mini crush on this terrifyingly attractive hybrid girl.

    Sophie was about to reply when a loud cry of joy was heard from behind the spaceship currentlyying on the floor.

    ¡°Son of a bitch I finally fixed it!¡±

 Chapter 140: Astrids Mage Class

    Chapter 140: Astrid''s Mage ss

    (Zrudread University ¨C Hidden Location)

    (Archmage Hollystorm¡¯s Mage Tower)

    There are several achievements and requirements that any aspiring mage hoping to gain the coveted title of ¡®Archmage¡¯ has to acquire to reach the bare minimum to be considered.

    One of these requirements was the ownership of a mage tower.

    Mage towers were extremely expensive to construct as the material necessary for their creation could run upwards of the range of five hundred billion Enas.

    Mage towers were not just the simple homes of mana wielders but rather it was both a ce to rest and a living weapon enchanted by the owner¡¯s use of runes carved on its surface.

    From the outside, Archmage Hollystorm¡¯s mage tower was a far stretch from an imposing or even impressive appearance.

    It looked like a wooden shack only the size of one small bedroom apartment.

    No expensive materials could be seen in its construction as it appeared that the tower was built out of ordinary hardwood.

    But no one would dare to underestimate this humble abode as it was as simple as breathing to an archmage specializing in spatial magic to manipte the actual dimensions inside of this seemingly ordinary shack.

    It was in this tower that Astrid was currently pretending to study when her mentor flew into the room.

    ¡°Why are you getting so distracted during our lesson?¡± a stern voice whispered next to the Mendolesa girl currently drawing doodles instead of runes on parchment paper.

    ¡°It¡¯s just so boring,¡± Astrid whined as her tail drooped down in frustration.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just fight instead?¡±

    Archmage Hollystorm had to resist the urge to beat this troublesome apprentice of his to death.

    All Astrid wanted to do was duel him!

    No matter how many times he would beat her down¡­¡­

    She would return a few minutester after drinking a healing serum for yet another round with a confident grin on her face.

    Astrid Lockhart was one of the most naturally gifted mages among the younger generations that the archmage had ever seen.

    She would learn any spells he taught almost immediately with the impressive ability to cast them using less time than her peers.

    But it was her dangerously high skill inbat that truly made the Archmage almost obsessed with the possibility of teaching student that would one day surpass him.

    Spatial magic was one of the most difficult branches of magic to learn as it required both talent and the ability to performplex series of calctions in microseconds with every spell.

    If he had to name, the biggest w of his apprentice it would have to be that she got distracted too easily.

    She could only manage to sit down and read spell scrolls for about thirty minutes before her mind started to wander around.

    Archmage Hollystorm would often catch her gazing at the enormous oak tree in the garden of the magic tower with a silly grin on her face.

    Maybe the traditional way of teaching magic would not work, most mages were content to stay indoors all day and read various ancient books and texts, but it was clear that Astrid was not going to learn that way.

    Perhaps he could try a different approach instead.

    ¡°Alright you can take a break from reading,¡± Archmage Hollystorm dered as he left the room to n out a new training schedule.

    ¡°Hell yeah! Thanks, old man!¡± Astrid gleefully put down the pages of runes in her hand and got up to stretch.

    She gave the air a few sniffs and sighed in contentment.

    This was the personal mage tower of an archmage so naturally there was the slight musky smell of old books from the numerous libraries contained in its spacious rooms.

    Honestly, her master treated her very well and generously allowed her to have five private rooms just for her own personal use.

    It was quite the luxurious five-star treatment as the numerous golems walking around the halls were avable to tend to any need or desire that she could possibly have.

    Food, drinks, a back massage and basically any other rxing service was provided.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. I should check up on the girls,¡± Astrid muttered as she pulled out hermunicator.

    ¡°Maybe I should message Qiana first.¡±

    It was pretty lonely having to take separate sses from the rest of her friends, but the girls had made ns to meet every evening of the week and spend time hanging out on the weekends.

    [Silly wolf: Hey Qiana!!]

    [Silly wolf: Wait¡­ why the heck did you change my name?!]

    [BL fan: Astrid¡­ why would we keep your nickname as ¡®Astrid the great, might, powerful, awesome sorceress of magic¡¯?]

    [BL fan: It¡¯s way too long]

    [BL fan: And aren¡¯t you having ss now?]

    [Silly wolf: I could ask you the same question :p because I¡¯m on a break rn]

    [BL fan: Don¡¯t get me started¡­ the teacher is apparently still trying to fix one damn spaceship for like thirty minutes now.]

    [Silly wolf: And I thought that I had a rough morning trying to memorise all these bothersome runes]

    [BL fan: Now why he doesn¡¯t just use another one of the hundreds of shuttles in the spaceport surrounding us is beyond me.]

    [BL fan: Oh wait! Looks like he just fixed it]

    [BL fan: Talk to youter]

    [Silly wolf: Okay! I miss you :(]

    [BL fan: ¡­]

    [BL fan: I miss you too]

    Astrid closed the chat window and sent a long message to Sophie as well as a significantly shorter one to Cleo but got no responses.

    She figured that the ss had probably resumed so both girls had theirmunicators on silent mode.

    Browsing the virtual for some new entertainment news provided a good distraction while she waited for her teacher to return.

    ¡°Damn,¡± Astrid widened her eyes in shock at the trending news.

    A colony of nomadic earthlings had been destroyed in the span of one single day.

    These nomads were human settlers who had rejected the rule of the Earth Federation and spent their lifetimes travelling from to while trading and performing to survive.

    Some saw them as a nuisance, others saw them as harmless and the government had yet to take an official stance on their existence, so they just kept on with their way of life.

    The remains of a major n of nomads called the ¡®Diyebs¡¯ with a poption of two hundred thousand people were discovered by scavengers on a deserted in the Hydra Star Cluster.

    The images from the incident had been banned on the virtual for being too graphic, but the limited description provided by the article indicated that not a single corpse was in one piece.

    The corpses were badly mutted and torn apart with several bodies showing signs of being partially eaten.

    No one knew why this group of people had chosen to visit this nor who exactly was responsible for the attack.

    All electronics, surveince and monitoring devices had been seized by the Earth Federation government.

    There was one surviving audio footage from a tribe leader that a scavenger had managed to hide and upload to the virtual, but it was taken down in mere seconds.

    Astrid tried desperately for a few minutes to see if any sites dared to reupload the audio file, but it seemed that her quest was destined to be fruitless as all traces of it had been wiped clean.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [Data Encrypted] ¨C Base Camp Alpha- Storage Room)

    (ssification Level: Maximum)

    (Terynea sound capture device- Audio -Log # 45612- Last Entry)

    ¡°Mary take the kids and run!¡±

    ¡°They killed all of us!¡±

    ¡°What kind of monsters are they?¡±

    ¡°No! Get away from my son you filthy beasts!¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­. why do they look like¡­. human insectoi¡­. [Data Corrupted]¡±

    Doctor Valenna¡¯s Notes:

    The first trial run of the human insectoid hybrids has been an overwhelming sess, but some concerns still remain when considering their long-term viability.

    All recordings of the operation have been recovered and the rumors on the virtual have been suppressed.

    It was quite unfortunate that scavengers arrived just before the cleanup crew was sent over to wipe away the evidence.

    Clearly better nning must be done for the second round of testing.

    Bounty hunters from the grey market have already been hired to eliminate them swiftly.

    It is important that no evidence linking the government to this project must be found.

    The subjects show a marked increase in their physical characteristics, but their mental capabilities seem to have been directly reduced by fifty percent or more.

    Another troubling issue that has emerged is the subjects¡¯ tendencies to go berserk and disobey orders when exposed to fresh blood or organs.

    And the greatest w of these new modified soldiers is their extremely shortened life expectancy.

    Human DNA can be forcibly mixed with low level Insectoid races, but the resulting hybrids do not live beyond thirty days before their bodies shut down and they expire.

    Currently most subjects have a strength that can be estimated to be within the range of the qi body and spirit stage, but further modifications will be possible.

    Theck of gic samples from high level insectoid races will soon be a barrier to any further progress on our research.

    My current spection is that a perfect hybrid weapon could be created by mixing the DNA with fetuses rather than fully grown adults.

    Tests of this nature should begin next month.

    I can only hope that the higher ups will continue to provide us with appropriate materials on a regr basis.

 Chapter 141: Moons Short Lived Rebellion

    Chapter 141: Moon''s Short Lived Rebellion

    (Zrudread University- Biology Department)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    The red sun shone brightly in the sky as Sophie checked the map on hermunicator carefully and headed to her next ss.

    Pilot training had just ended, and the girls were now headed to the different courses required by their specializations.

    Sophie was taking a double major in poison cultivation andbat beast training, so her workload was heavier than her friends with maybe the exception of poor Astrid.

    Astrid had messaged each girl repeatedly about the suffering she was enduring having been locked up in a mage tower and forced to study.

    The pet training ss was to be held in the Forest Lord Kingdom Park which was a nice change of pace from the traditional ssroom setting.

    Sophie had always felt a strong connection to nature and loved to be surrounded by wildflowers and trees.

    This connection had only gotten stronger when her body had transformed but now, she preferred walking through the shadowy areas on the forest floor.

    It was only a pity that the air smelled quite foul from the animal dung excreted from thergerbat beast pets in the enclosures.

    Naturally, there were robots that would clean the pens regrly, but it still did not erase the faint traces of the odours that caused Sophie¡¯s nose to wrinkle.

    Sophie was not travelling by herself as she had headed back to the dorms after the pilot ss ended to pick up her partner for the training session.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°Come on Moon¡­ don¡¯t ignore me,¡± Sophie pouted as she gave her little bat a few pats on his head.

    Moon was now the size of her palm and his fur became a lighter shade of blue while his long ears remained white.

    He was now a few months old and it would not be long before he could handle some light training exercises to control his special abilities.

    Moon was fully capable of using his ability Frozen Domain whenever his emotional mood fluctuated but he had yet to use the iconic ability of the batbat beast pets which was echolocation.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon bared his tiny fangs and buried himself in Sophie¡¯s hair as the temperature around his body started to drop.

    For some reason ever since Cleo and her started to live together, Moon had be naughtier and naughtier.

    He would often stare at the princess who stole his mommy with a fierce glint in his eyes which went unnoticed.

    Sophie was utterly bewildered as she could not understand what had brought on these changes in her once rtively obedient pet.

    This was to be expected as the hybrid girl had underestimated how sharp the hearing of a frostwing bat was when it came to noises in its immediate surroundings.

    Although one would have to be deaf not to hear the loud screams of pleasureing from the bedroom ¡®study sessions¡¯ that were now urring on a regr basis.

    Really, the only reason for breaks was when Cleo¡¯s body could not longer handle such intense physical exercise.

    Moon was determined to win back his mommy¡¯s affection by monopolising her full attention at all times.

    The first step of his master n was to ignore his mommy and make her worried about him. Then for the next step¡­. well he had not thought so far ahead.

    Anyways that wasn¡¯t a problem!

    It was time for the first step of his n!

    No matter what action his mommy took¡­. he would not respond.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. how about a snack?¡± Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small treat.

    Chomp!

    Moon¡¯s determination vanished just as quickly as it had formed as the bat hungrily stole the treat from Sophie¡¯s hand and munched down with happiness.

    Okay maybe the n would start from tomorrow.

    Sophie could not hear the thoughts of her pet through the blood bond just yet, but she could see the look of joy on his face.

    ¡°That¡¯s a cute pet you have,¡± Sophie turned around to see a Servie boy smiling at her while fluttering his wings in the air.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Sophie replied with a friendly grin.

    The Servie boy must be part of the regr ss as he was not wearing a uniform but rather a in white dress that covered his body with two slits on the back for his wings.

    Sophie thought it looked a bit strange, but it would be pretty impolite to inquire about his choice of clothes, so she just held back her curiosity.

    ¡°Are you a freshman as well?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yep! I want to one day be a beast tide controller,¡± the boy dered proudly.

    ¡°Impressive goal,¡± Sophie whistled in admiration.

    Cultivators were generally put into different groupings such as sword, poison, or medicine but there were numerous subtypes within each group.

    There were sword cultivators who preferred rapiers over broadswords. The fighting style used for each weapon would naturally bepletely different.

    Another example would be poison cultivators, some specialized in creating toxic substances with unique forms while others used secret techniques to enhance the power of poisons bought on the virtual.

    Ordinary pet trainers would only choose to have one or twobat beasts and spend their time and energy pouring all their resources into them.

    It was quite expensive to raise abat beast pet to a high level so most could not afford raising a personal army of animals.

    Beast tide controllers were different. Unlike regr pet trainers, they focused more on quantity rather than quality.

    One method was not inherently stronger than the other but certainly at lower cultivation levels, the ability to summon andmand multiple allies was an overwhelming advantage.

    The requirements for this subtype were very harsh. The minimum requirement was an above average mental force and being able to pass a psychological evaluation.

    Beast tide controllers had to split their consciousness and act as the head of a hivemind to often thousands of different animals each with a will of their own.

    It was a dangerous profession as many were drivenpletely mad.

 Chapter 142: Luna And Blackie

    Chapter 142: Luna And ckie

    ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet,¡± Sophie stroked Moon¡¯s head affectionately and smiled at the Servie boy.

    ¡°I¡¯m Sophie and this is my partner Moon. Say hi Moon.¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings to make a small waving motion and then closed his eyes to enjoy some more head pats.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m Plume Roseheart,¡± the boy managed to stammer out as he just noticed how attractive the hybrid girl in front of him was.

    Sophie noticed that he seemed a bit nervous, so she told a few jokes while they walked to ss and soon the atmosphere got noticeably lighter.

    Plume did not own a singrbat pet as he was training to be a beast tide controller.

    Instead he used a colony of Xephyres to hone his ability tomand multiple species at once.

    Xephyres were tiny fur balls with each no bigger than the size of a marble with the ability to merge together andbine to form different shapes.

    Their fighting ability was quite low, so they were mainly used for training or scouting purposes rather than the mainbatants in a beast tide controller¡¯s army.

    Sophie kept getting distracted by the different animals inside the enclosures as they walked through the park.

    Some animals were only the size of her fingertips while others were sorge than their heads poked into the clouds.

    Strange appendages and orifices appeared on their bodies with some animals having outer fur coats with colours that Sophie had never seen before.

    Fur, gills, scales, wings and so many more¡­.

    Each enclosure had a small sign at the entrance with the species name of the animal inside as well as theirbat pet rating.

    Even in a first-tier institution like Zrudread University, there were only a handful of legendary pets.

    As for pets in the godly tier¡­. Sophie could not spot a single one.

    This was to be expected as the Earth Federation government restricted the sale of these ss ofbat pets to military purposes only.

    Sophie and Plume soon arrived at a forested area with a small clearing in the middle where mats were ced on the ground for the students to sit down with their partners.

    Most students were still getting to know one another so everyone was a bit quiet as they waited for the teacher to arrive.

    It seemed that Plume had some friends in the regr ss, so he gave Sophie a small wave and zipped off towards the back of the clearing.

    Sophie was a bit disappointed that her new acquaintance wasn¡¯t going to sit with her, but she held in her emotions and awkwardly looked around for an open spot.

    Suddenly Sophie saw something that just made her heart melt away.

    A blonde-haired girl wearing a frilly pink princess outfit with red ribbons in her hair was sitting down.

    She elegantly sipped on some liquid in a teacup while fanning herself casually with a small paper fan.

    This girl oozed ss and refinement which made it hard for any friendly students to interact or approach her, so she was sitting by herself.

    She definitely stood out among the other students present but Sophie¡¯s attention was on thepanion beast by her side.

    This innocent looking rich girl had the most fierce and enormous hound that Sophie had ever seen.

    It stood at a whooping twelve feet in height with dark ck fur and three heads that spewed out mes when it exhaled.

    Sophie was reminded of the old Greek legend from ancient Earth about the three headed dog Cerberus that guarded the underworld to prevent souls from escaping.

    ¡°Hi! What species is your dog?¡± Sophie walked over and sat on the mat next to the girl while she stared at the hulking beast.

    ¡°Dog?¡± the girl cocked her brow and smirked.

    ¡°ckie is no ordinary mongrel normon breed. Why he is simply the finest crossbred between a canis lupus and the DNA of a me demon.¡±

    ¡°He is a legendarybat pet and the price¡­. well money is not a concern for people like me.¡±

    ¡°My noble family has the rank of duke!¡±

    ¡°Are you impressed yet?!¡±

    The girl proudly tilted her head upwards and waited for Sophie to gasp in amazement.

    Her parents had always told her to make a strong first impression, so it was time to flex her wealth!

    Firstly, she needed to mention she was well off, then she would talk about her noble title to really make herself seem awesome.

    If there was another person in Sophie¡¯s shoes, they would be leaping at the chance to make a connection with a member of an upper noble house but unfortunately for the girl¡­.

    She introduced herself to the wrong person.

    The main problem was¡­. Sophie was also a rich second generation¡­¡­

    ¡­.. and part of a noble duke house as well.

    ¡°Err¡­.¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke.

    The minutes ticked by as she struggled to find the right words to say.

    An awkward silence had now developed so she figured it was probably for the best to just fake some apuse.

    p! p!

    ¡°Amazing!¡± Sophie smiled while trying not tough.

    The girl puffed out her chest in pride and secretly congratted herself on how well her attempt at making friends was going.

    ¡°Good I like you. You can be my number one follower for the rest of the year,¡± she dered.

    ¡°What is your name?¡±

    Sophie couldn¡¯t help but want to tease this spoiled and yet strangely naive girl, so she decided to give an official greeting.

    She cleared her throat with a few coughs and begun her performance,

    ¡°My name is Sophie Peterlor of house Peterlor. I am the sole heir apparent of a dukedom and this is my partner Moon. Moon is a legendarybat pet from the species Frostwing bat.¡±

    ¡°It is indeed my pleasure to meet your acquaintance.¡±

    Sophie bowed her head and gestured with the universal noble sign of respect. A closed first pressed tightly against the chest while her other hand disyed two finger pointing to the left.

    (Luna¡¯s POV)

    Why can¡¯t I make friends?

    I grew up on a tier three in some backwater star system where my family were basically the rulers of a as we were the highest nobles.

    Ever since I was little, people would approach me with the same greedy look in their eyes.

    It wasn¡¯t so bad when I was younger but as I grew up¡­ the pure friendship I once shared with my ssmates was tainted.

    I lost track of the sheet amount of confessions from both males and females given to me on a daily basis.

    This was not due to my personality or charm but rather in hopes of seeking a connection with the force that stood behind me.

    And what was a stronger connection other than marriage.

    Naturally, my parents trained me well in how to spot such behaviour, but it still cut me deeply every time someone I thought was my friend would pull me aside and ask me for a favour.

    Money, connections, or power.

    It was the same three request over and over and over and over again.

    I just wanted to scream.

    Was I even a person? Or was I just a tool to fulfill their goal?

    Eventually¡­. my heart closed.

    I stopped interacting with my ssmates other than just surface level appearances. I became a loner, but I still had new people approaching me on a regr basis.

    Once the rejections started to increase, my reputation of being a spoilt princess was quietly circted around the school.

    It was a relief to pass the entrance exam for Zrudread University and finally get away from the hell that was my high school.

    My parents were not pleased with myck of social skills, so my mother demanded that I bring at least ten friends to the mansion over the winter break.

    Simple enough¡­.just show off my wealth and status.

    I had no doubt that I would soon attract a crowd of boot lickers and then I could just bring a random group of ten home during the winter break.

    I carefully nned out my entire routine but so far no one had evene near me.

    I me ckie for this.

    That my darling poochie refuses to take a shower whenever I try to get him clean.

    Oh, wait someone wasing over!

    A hybrid girl?

    I vaguely recall her asking something about ckie, but I was too focused on perfecting my routine, so I wasn¡¯t paying much attention.

    Okay here we go!

    Brag about wealth¡­. Check.

    Brag about pet¡­. Check again.

    Final check¡­. Brag about being an upper noble¡­. Check.

    I finished my performance and gazed into the hybrid girl¡¯s eyes while expecting to see the same face I had seen my entire life.

    But something had change¡­.

    She was different.

    Her eyes held no greed.

    In fact, her attention was not on me at all. She seemed more concerned with staring at mybat pet rather than making connections with an upper noble.

    Was she a simpleton?

 Chapter 143: Professor Ward

    Chapter 143: Professor Ward

    Luna froze for a moment at the unexpected noble greeting by the girl standing opposite her.

    This hybrid girl was the heir apparent to a dukedom?

    But¡­. she was a hybrid. This made no sense!

    Hybrids could be granted thest names of certain generous noble families, but no upper-ss house would ever make one a heir apparent.

    Luna¡¯s confusion onlysted for a couple of seconds before her many years of etiquette training soon kicked in.

    ¡°I am Luna Valenburn, and it is likewise an honour to meet your acquaintance,¡± Luna bowed and returned the gesture.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and suddenly grabbed Luna¡¯s arm to fling the surprised girl away from her.

    ¡°What the hell¡­¡±

    Luna hit the ground with a hard thump and soon tears formed in her eyes.

    Why would she do that?

    Luna wanted to scold this hybrid girl fiercely but then she saw that a thick green vine was slowly wrapping itself around Sophie¡¯s leg and creeping upwards.

    The vine resembled a snake and most of its body was resting where Luna was just standing up.

    Sophie had flung the noble girl away to safety!

    sh!

    Sophie frowned and shot one of her spider appendages at this strange creature. The sharp barb at the end of her appendage easily sliced through its flesh.

    She shook her leg a few times to get the remains of the tendril off her leg, but the sliced parts wriggled around and slowly fused back together.

    ¡°You are truly kind to save another instead of yourself,¡± a gentle voice whispered in a melodious tone.

    ¡°Who?¡± Sophie bared her fangs and scanned the surrounding area carefully but could not find where the voice wasing from.

    Truthfully, the mysterious voice was giving her too much credit, Sophie was not a person to sacrifice herself for a stranger she had just met.

    The only reason why she had pushed Luna away was that she sensed that there was no killing intenting from the tendril poised to strike.

    Sophie was curious and wanted to see what goal this creature wanted to aplish.

    She was interrupted from her train of thought by the sounds of the other students protesting about the situation.

    Apparently, there were more tendrils present that had attacked the innocent students waiting for ss to begin.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    ¡°Ow! It hurts!¡±

    ¡°Bryan did you just grab my ankle?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ It¡¯s this vine I swear!¡±

    Not everyone was alert as Sophie, so the green tendrils had managed to trap over sixty percent of the ss while the others were lucky enough to avoid them entirely.

    Thebat pets were not spared, and a noisy cacophony of disgruntled whines, snorts and grunts could be hurt.

    Moon was currently perched on Sophie¡¯s head while staring daggers at the tendril that was holding on to his mommy¡¯s leg.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Go away bad thing!)

    Moon puffed out his chest and mimicked Sophie by baring his tiny teeth at the green vine.

    Unfortunately, this was not very helpful.

    sh!

    ¡°Come on you stupid,¡± Sophie grumbled and once again split the tendril into multiple pieces.

    Suddenly she thought of an idea to stop this creature from regenerating.

    ¡°Moon use your frozen domain,¡± Sophie ordered.

    Squeak Squeak!

    The temperature dropped rapidly, and frost started to form on Sophie¡¯s body. The blue markings on Moon¡¯s fur glowed eerily as the temperature continued to plummet.

    Bingo.

    Sophie grinned as the tendril wriggled on the ground before ceasing all movement and lying still.

    A few students noticed her technique for dealing with the vine and soon a variety of cold skills were activated to deal with the problem.

    p! p!

    ¡°Nice work,¡± a gentle voice sang in Sophie¡¯s ear.

    One of the trees in the clearing opened up to reveal a beautiful woman dressed in a skirt made of green leaves.

    Her skin was ashen grey with small bumpy scales that ran up her arms and a slender tail almost like a whip that jutted out of her lower back.

    What was most noticeable about the woman was her face. She had three eyes that were dark orange in colour with pink pupils and an apparentck of a noticeable nose.

    ¡°Hello ss,¡± the woman spoke with an ent.

    ¡°My name is Caitlin Ward, and I will be your professor for the rest of the year.¡±

    ¡°You may refer to me as Professor Ward.¡±

    The remaining green tendrils still active retreated from the legs of the students and slithered along the ground until they reached the professor.

    Professor Ward muttered amand which caused the green tendrils to fuse into arge ball and then disappear into her storage ring.

    ¡°Sorry about that students. I like to throw a surprise on the first day of ss so I can get a better idea of what kind of students you are.¡±

    ¡°Now please settle down on one of the mats and we will begin the lecture.¡±

    Some students wanted to voice out theirints, but Professor Ward¡¯s aura was very intimidating, so they obediently went to an empty mat to sit down.

    Sophie shivered as she still felt some cold from Moon¡¯s ability but the warm sun beating down on her body was quickly warming her up.

    She sat down on a mat casually and ced Moon on her shoulder while thinking about which alien race was her new professor.

    ¡°Um¡­.¡±

    Sophie felt a small poke on her back and turned around to see Luna bashfully staring at her.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Luna¡¯s cheeks flushed scarlet as she looked down at the ground.

    She moved over and sat directly next to Sophie while her three headed hound ckie plopped down at her side with a low growl.

    ¡°No problem¡­. that¡¯s what friends are for,¡± Sophie replied with a smile.

    It was clear that this girl was a bit socially awkward, but Sophie was genuinely interested in getting to know her better.

    Cleo and the rest of her friends would be enrolled in different courses during their stay in Zrudread University, so it would be good for her to branch out and meet new people.

    Professor Ward gave the ss a few moments to settle down before beginning the lecture with great enthusiasm.

    ¡°Now who can tell me what exactly the true nature of the blood bond is and why is it necessary to form one?¡±

 Chapter 144: Blood Bond

    Chapter 144: Blood Bond

    The atmosphere was silent for a moment until one brave girl at the back raised her hand and attempted to answer the teacher¡¯s question,

    ¡°A blood bond is what allows us to take control of our pet.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Professor Ward went silent for a bit as she waited for anyone else to volunteer.

    Unfortunately, every other student seemed content to just look at her with nk expressions on their faces, so she decided to just continue.

    ¡°At an extremely basic level that is indeed the purpose of the blood bond, but your answer leaves out a great deal of information.

    It was verymon for students to enter this course with little understanding of the true nature of the blood bond as most would have just assumed that the basic knowledge on the virtual was enough.

    ¡°The link between a beast cultivator and theirbat pet is indeed called a blood bond but that is only due to the fact that blood is the initial binding agent between the master and their pet.¡±

    ¡°Truthfully, the bond will eventually get strong enough to bind the souls between the two parties which will enhance the abilities of thebat pet and even in some cases lead to an evolution.¡±

    ¡°The blood bond is both a cultivator¡¯s strength and a crippling weakness. The soul- like nature of the bond allows the cultivation levels of both parties to elerate rapidly but¡­.¡±

    Professor made sure to stare deeply into each student¡¯s eyes before giving out a stern warning,

    ¡°Yourbat pet is not a simple animal that can be easily reced. The death of abat pet can cause a bacsh that can damage your soul directly.¡±

    ¡°It can take years before that damage is healed and some never fully recover.¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon covered his ears in fright as all this talk of death had scared him.

    All he wanted in life was to live with his mommy in peace and eat lots of food.

    Maybe one day he would even get strong enough to chase away that annoying princess who kept taking away his mommy¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Are you able to hear the thoughts of your pet yet?¡± Sophie whispered to Luna.

    Being able to mentally sendmands to yourpanion beast will a sure sign that your bond had increased to the next level.

    Sophie had not reached this step yet as she could only vaguely perceive Moon¡¯s feelings when he was experiencing strong emotions or mood shifts.

    ¡°I canmunicate with ckie¡¯s middle head but the other two just ignore me,¡± Luna confessed with a pout.

    ckie was a triple headed hell hound that was significantly stronger than other pets in the legendary tier but was very difficult to control.

    Each head had a different personality which gave Luna quite a few problems when dealing with him.

    The left head was goofy, happy, and loved to eat raw meat while the right head was quiet and for some reason¡­.

    A vegetarian.

    The middle head¡¯s personality could be summed up with one word¡­.

    Troublesome.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I mean at least you can mentally talk to one of your heads. All myzy frostwing bat wants to do is eat and eat and eat,¡± Sophieforted her.

    ¡°I have no idea how he turned out like that.¡±

    Luna giggled softly and was about to reply when she felt the prating gaze of the teacher, so she quickly shut up.

    Professor Ward opened her storage ring and pulled out arge stack of manuals,

    ¡°Now for our first ss, I will be providing each student with a specific meditation method to perform with your pet.¡±

    ¡°The meditation method given to you has been chosen based on the elemental type of pet that you own and will strengthen the blood bond.¡±

    ¡°I expect each student to at least be capable of linking their minds with theirbat pet by the end of the month or you will be disciplined.¡±

    Professor Ward checked the files on her wristband to make sure that she had correctly matched each student with the appropriate mediation method.

    She gracefully walked around the ss while handing out the manuals to their respective new owners.

    Sophie received a thin book with a mediation method called the ¡®Ice Yin Transformation¡¯ while Luna received a copy of the ¡®me Hellspawn Sutra.¡¯

    Sophie eagerly flipped open the pages of the manual and frowned instantly.

    Well¡­. there goes a portion of her resources.

    The Ice Yin Transformation mediation required submerging both herself and Moon into a pool of frostrite crystals.

    The energy contained within those crystals would be absorbed by the pair and flow into the blood bond to give it a frost characteristic.

    Elite students were naturally given much more resourcespared to those in the regr ss but even still¡­.

    Frostrite crystals were not cheap!

    If she followed the rmended frequency of twice per week that meant that she would have to use a bathtub¡¯s worth of frostrite crystals at least eight times a month!

    ¡°Maybe I should get Cleo to do some bounty hunting missions with me,¡± Sophie muttered as she mentally calcted the cost in her head.

    Yes, it would only take a simplemunication call to her father to get the resources sent from the outside, but Sophie did not want to burden him.

    The duke neverined but Sophie was well aware of how expensive she was to raise, and she was extremely grateful to her dad.

    That was a big part of the reason that Sophie wanted to stand on her own two feet in university and slowly be more independent.

    As the heir apparent to a dukedom, it was important for her to follow in her father¡¯s footsteps and make him proud.

    Many nobles would be waiting for her to make a mistake to disparage the duke for choosing a hybrid as his heir and Sophie refused to even give them the chance.

    Professor Ward calmly observed the faces of the students who were now in various states of shock and despair.

    It was not that she intentionally chose methods that were expensive, it was simply because most students who attended a first-tier university like Zrudread University had bought high ssbat pets.

    Naturally, the mediation methods required to improved them would need significantly more resources.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Unknown- Project Rhat¡¯ets)

    ¡°Please¡­ no¡­. kill me¡­¡±

    ¡°KILL ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡±

    A gut-wrenching scream echoed throughout the underground building as not even the sound damping walls could prevent the cries of pain.

    ¡°Please continue to inject the mutation agent into his blood stream andbine it with the new Insectoid blood sent in from the frontlines,¡± a cold faced doctor in ab coat ordered.

    The higher ups had not been satisfied with the results shown by the project so far which caused the scientists to be under a great deal of pressure.

    Doctor Valenna was now ced as the head of the research team and it was under her leadership that new discoveries were being made everyday.

    Human and Insectoid DNA was not as gically ipatibility as initially assumed so the failures of these hybrids produced could be attributed to other factors.

    So far, no high tier Insectoid had been captured alive which meant that the project had to use the gic material from low tier Insectoid species.

    This had all changed when a brave general managed to extract a vial of purplish blood from an unknown Insectoidmander during a skirmish.

    Doctor Valenna calmly observed the unfortunate man strapped tightly to a metallic table while tubes connected to his arm delivered dose after dose of the mutagen.

    He was nothing more than amon thug captured from a pirate crew so it was unlikely that anyone would notice him disappearing.

    Most of the test subjects in the facilities were taken from simr groups of criminals or political prisoners.

    Suddenly the man¡¯s arm began to swell and bulk up as his veins turned a deep shade of purplish red.

    Rip!

    Two crystalline wings sprouted from his back as his hands transformed into two long pairs of scythes.

    ¡°Urghhh¡­.¡±

    The man could no longer speak coherently and the only sound that came from his mouth was a dull groan.

    Doctor Valenna recorded some notes on her tablet with a sadistic grin on her face.

    This was the first step on the road to perfection.

 Chapter 145: Are You An Angel Sent From God?

    Chapter 145: Are You An Angel Sent From God?

    (Zrudread University- Elite Student Housing Complex)

    (Mansion 456Y)

    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Cleo asked in surprise as she entered the bathroom.

    ¡°Is this a training method or are you trying out a new beauty treatment?¡±

    Sophie and Moon wereying down in a bathtub full of what appeared to be translucent crystals that constantly emitted waves of ice energy.

    ¡°Cleo¡­. I¡¯m cold,¡± Sophie cried tearfully as she had been soaking in the tub for at least three hours.

    The energy contained in the crystals was a lot harder to absorb than she initially expected.

    Sophie had been forced to continually circte the mediation method while shivering under the intense chill.

    ¡°Can you get me some food?¡± she tried to crack a smile, but her lips had already turned numb.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon perked up at the mention of food and stared at the princess with an expression that was a mix of expectation and mild annoyance.

    ¡°Sure darling,¡± Cleo was still confused but headed down to the kitchen to cook some simple noodle dishes for her girlfriend.

    ¡°Love you babe!¡± Sophie yelled as the bathroom door swung close.

    She shifted her attention to Moon and tried to feel if the blood bond connection had strengthen in any way.

    Moon was feeling veryfortable surrounded by all this frost energy, so he had gradually closed his eyes and gone to sleep.

    Sophie stroked his head gently and started to pour her qi into the connection between them.

    Various images shed across her mind briefly as she saw herself flying through the air gracefully in what appeared to be an arctic tundra.

    Her figure was no longer that of a humanoid but rather it was in the form of a small furry creature with two thin wings.

    Was this Moon¡¯s dream?

    It was a strange sensation as Sophie felt like an outside observer in Moon¡¯s body as she had no control over his actions.

    Moon squeaked joyfully as he approached a figure covered in a warm and soft light.

    Sophie tried to get a glimpse of this mysterious person, but their facial and physical features were blurred.

    She could not make out any details about the gender or race of the stranger but felt an overwhelmingfort that gave her soul a sense of peace.

    ¡°Hello little ones,¡± the figure whispered gently in a melodious voice.

    Holy light shone from its palm and tried to cover Moon with a soft glow, but a dark rune appeared behind Moon¡¯s body and formed a dark barrier that blocked the light.

    The figure paused for a moment in apparent shock at the rejection before the trace of a smile graced its lips.

    ¡°I originally nned to give you both my blessing, but it appears that another god has already granted you their favour.¡±

    ¡°Maybe one day when you are strong enough¡­. I will seek you out once more.¡±

    Sophie felt her body jerk backwards and she found herself back in the bathtub with the remaining Frostrite crystals fully drained of their energy.

    What was that?

    Sophie tried to recall what she had seen in Moon¡¯s dream, but the memory was getting fuzzy and unclear.

    ¡°Urghhh¡­.¡± Sophie gripped her head in pain as she continued to struggle to remember any details about the dream.

    ¡°Sophie the food is ready!¡± a loud call came from the kitchen that shattered Sophie¡¯s concentration.

    Thest vestiges of the dream had now fully disappeared, and Sophie was left with a feeling of frustration.

    Well at least food always made things better.

    Sophie groaned and slowly got up from the tub with Moon in hand. The little frostwing bat was still unconscious so she dropped him off on his bed before heading downstairs.

    ¡°Tada!¡± Cleo dered proudly as she passed Sophie a bowl full of seafood ramen.

    The princess had spent days secretly practising cooking in order to give her girlfriend a pleasant surprise.

    It had certainly paid off as Sophie eagerly stared at the noodle dish while trying not to drool in anticipation.

    Soft and yet firm noodles were coiled on the bottom of the bowl while a gentle mist of steam rose from its surface.

    Green vegetables and pieces of shrimp swam merrily around the golden-brown mixture of fish broth that smelled absolutely tantalising.

    ¡°Thank you for the meal!¡± Sophie give Cleo a small peck on the cheek and immediately reached for a pair of chopsticks to dig in.

    Sophie could only describe the food with one word¡­.

    Delicious.

    The bowl waspletely empty within minutes, so she turned to Cleo with a sad look in her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I made plenty for my big glutton,¡± Cleo teased as she brought out a pot with more seafood ramen.

    ¡°Are you an angel sent from god?¡± Sophie asked seriously.

    ¡°Shut up and eat your food,¡± Cleo turned away to conceal the rising blush that was forming on her cheeks.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Sophie sighed in satisfaction as she finally finished her eighth bowl of ramen while Cleo just had a look of resignation on her face.

    Yep¡­. her girlfriend¡¯s stomach was a bottomless void.

    ¡°Thanks again Cleo,¡± Sophie got up from her chair and gave the princess a warm hug.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give a special rewardter tonight,¡± she whispered softly in Cleo¡¯s ear as her eyes slowly shifted to a pinkish hue.

    ¡°So, what were you and Moon doing in the bathtub?¡± Cleo quickly changed the topic to hopefully distract Sophie.

    Listen¡­ she enjoyed their nightly sessions but during the week it would not be very convenient.

    Cleo usually found herself too exhausted to get out of bed for the rest of the day after Sophie was done with her.

    ¡°Oh, that was a mediation method one of my professors gave me in order to strength the blood bond between Moon and myself,¡± Sophie exined.

    ¡°It¡¯s super expensive to buy those Frostrite crystals so I figured that we could run a bounty hunter mission before the midterms.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ We can probably invite Qiana and Astrid to join us but first they need to register at the ck Rose guild,¡± Cleo spoke after thinking for a few seconds.

    ¡°I¡¯ll message Qiana tonight so hopefully we can go on the expedition in about two weeks from now.¡±

 Chapter 146: Honour Among Thieves

    Chapter 146: Honour Among Thieves

    Calypso- Smuggler¡¯s Cove)

    The technology to terraforms was not a closely guarded secret and it could even be sold at a reasonable price on the virtual.

    Of course, these sales were only allowed to go through once the buyer was a citizen with a sufficient social credit score, but the grey market always had solutions to these minor problems.

    Pirates would often get bored staying onboard their mechanical vessels for months or even years on end so it was important to have a home base where they could rx and unwind.

    Naturally, these bases could only bes hidden in the outer regions of the star systems as the Federation usually adopted an attitude of ¡®out of sight therefore it is out of mind.¡¯

    This was based on the silent understanding that the pirates would not harm the interests of therger noble factions.

    Commoners were not afforded such luxuries and would have to deal with the problem themselves.

    One such belonged to a piratemander called Edward the Merciless who would rent out plots ofnd to smaller crews.

    An entire society was built on this hidden and Edward ruled over it with an iron fist as all would bow down to hismands.

    Despite the security risk of allowing outside forces to stay on his base, themander would receive quite a substantial amount of wealth in protection and rent fees.

    In addition, all the brothels, bars and fighting arenas were operated by his own people so the riches generated was far beyond what most spected.

    At one such bar a certain man was celebrating as his luck had finally changed for the better.

    ¡°Bring me more whores and wine,¡± bellowed a fat middle aged man as he cheerfully downed another ss of beer.

    ¡°Drinks are on me today!¡±

    Raucous cheers and apuse rang out from the patrons hanging out at the bar as the middle-aged man bought another round of cheap booze for everyone.

    These patrons were all rough, muscr, and tough men with a variety of scars, injuries and bio-modifications that hinted at their brutal nature.

    Scantily d women swayed their hips seductively while blowing kisses at any gentleman who caught their eyes.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a good mood today Darius,¡± a rat faced teenager approached the older man with a smirk.

    Darius was obviously drunk andughed merrily at the boy before eagerly telling him the source of his newfound happiness.

    ¡°Luke is that you? Ha! Your old quartermaster did well for himself today!¡± Darius boasted.

    ¡°I managed to rob that idiot John of some new treasure that he picked up from god knows where and got my mate Charles to give it an evaluation.¡±

    ¡°He said that he ain¡¯t never seen nothing like that before but reckoned that it was worth a mighty fine fortune¡­.

    What the middle-aged man failed to recognise as he continued to speak was that hispanion¡¯s eyes were now sparkling with the hint of a strange emotion.

    If only Darius had been a little more observant, he would have realised that the emotion was¡­¡­

    Greed.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Holodeck Training Center)

    (Practice Room- A273)

    Crack! Crack!

    The harsh sounds of a whip echoed around the training field as a young hybrid girl furiously kept activating one qi technique after another in session.

    ck Dragon Swallows All!

    King Cobra Strike!

    Poison Mist Eruption!

    The ground splintered and fractured as the girl erupted with a force far beyond what those in the qi spirit stage should be capable of.

    ¡°Not good enough,¡± Sophie growled as she continued to swing her whip at the practice dummy.

    She had been relentlessly practising for several hours and her shirt had long been drenched by sweat.

    It had been fairly easy to get permission to go on a bounty hunting mission as the university would only require students to register their identities and the name of the mission on the school website.

    The mission that Sophie and Cleo had selected after careful consideration was to go after the notorious pirate Long John Daggers who was a known smuggler in the Hydra Star System.

    He was nothing more than a small-time petty criminal, but he had managed to steal some goods from a transport vessel belonging to a powerful merchant family.

    The merchant family had offered up a generous reward for his capture be it dead or alive, so it was the ideal mission.

    Plus, an additional reward was offered for the recovery of the goods lost which was worth almost as much as the bounty itself.

    It was rated as a one-star mission as Long John was only a cultivator in the upper stages of the qi body and his crew were even weaker than him.

    On the surface there should be no problems even if Sophie went by herself but months of training under her father had caused her to be wary.

    Duke Peterlor had made sure that his daughter understood that one could not let down their guard no matter how weak their opponent seemed.

    You never knew what strength a person would erupt with when pushed into a corner.

    Sophie was desperately learning additional cultivation techniques especially those with high area damage.

    She also nned on bringing three vials of poison given to her by Katarina as a final ace in the hole.

    Hopefully, she would not have to use them.

    Sophie had also extended an invitation to Astrid and Qiana, but the pair had declined due to various reasons.

    Qiana had tactfully refused because some personal issues had recentlye up and she had to contact certain figures in the Abazin estate.

    Poor Astrid on the other hand was being locked up by her mentor in the magic tower.

    Archmage Hollystorm had discovered that his student did not respond well to the traditional long lectures and readings associated with mage teachings, so he decided to improvise¡­.

    ¡­. by beating the knowledge directly into Astrid¡¯s thick skull.

    ¡°Urghhh,¡± Sophie wobbled slightly as she felt the all too familiar exhaustion from depleting her qi reserves.

    She casually popped open a vial of nutrient solution and sat cross legged on the ground while trying to regain some strength.

    ¡°You want to take a break?¡± came a voice from the distance.

    Sophie nced up to see Cleo walking over with an expression of concern on her face and holding some white towels.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­. I can go for one more hour,¡± Sophie tried to smile but what came out was more of a painful grimace.

    ¡°Cleo you should know that my body can heal unnaturally fast. I¡¯ll be all right in about fifteen minutes or so.¡±

    ¡°No. You have done enough for today,¡± Cleo ¡®s frown deepened when she observed the sorry state of her girlfriend.

    ¡°But¡­.¡± Sophie tried to argue but shut up immediately when she saw Cleo¡¯s infamous death stare.

    ¡°Okay,¡± she hung her head and said meekly.

    Cleo sighed softly as she knelt down behind Sophie back and started to massage her shoulders gently.

    Sophie closed her eyes as she felt the warm hands of her girlfriend firmly grip her body and unwind some of the tension in her muscles.

    It felt so good.

    Fifteen minutes passed by peacefully as all thoughts of training had long disappeared from Sophie¡¯s mind.

    Gradually the circr motions on her back started to slow down as Cleo finished up her massage session.

    ¡°Thanks babe,¡± Sophie smiled and then turned around to peck Cleo on the lips.

    ¡°You¡¯re the freaking best.¡±

    ¡°As long as you know it,¡± Cleo teased back and gave Sophie a yful pinch on her bottom.

    Sophie ¡®s eyes glowed darkly under the artificial light of the holodeck and Cleo was suddenly struck by the thought that she had made a big mistake.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. it seems to have been two days since ourst ¡®study session.¡¯ Maybe I can show you a few new techniques tonight,¡± Sophie growled in a husky tone as her golden eyes shook with desire.

    The girls ended up renting a spaceship two dayster than expected as a certain princess had found herself temporarily unable to walk properly.

 Chapter 147: The Mysterious Q

    Chapter 147: The Mysterious Q

    (Zrudread University- ck Rose Hunter Guild)

    ¡°Right this way please,¡± a hooded figure led Sophie and Cleo down a winding path of stairs until they reached a simple wooden door.

    Knock! Knock!

    The figure calmly rapped their knuckles against the wooden frame until azy sigh was hearding from the other side.

    ¡°You may now enter,¡± the figure nodded politely at the two girls and then melted away into the shadows.

    Sophie shot Cleo a look of concern before opening the door carefully and walking inside.

    The inside of the room was sparsely furnished with only a single chair in the center and an expensive rug whose material glowed eerily at regr intervals.

    A woman was sitting on the sole chair of the room while patiently observing her new guests. She had brown hair that flowed gently down her shoulders and hung over a sharp, angr face.

    Her eyes were a deep shade of purple that seemed to be able to peer through the fabric of reality itself.

    The skin on her body was covered with dark tattoos that were written in anguage that Sophie had never seen before.

    ¡°Not many students have ever sought out my services and seeded,¡± the woman chuckled with a grin that showed her fang-like teeth.

    ¡°What knowledge do you seek?¡±

    Sophie¡¯s eyes sharpened as her instincts were warning her that the carefree woman sitting down in front of them was incredibly dangerous.

    ¡°We need all the avable information you have on Calypso and the location of the criminal Long John Daggers,¡± Sophie spoke firmly.

    The woman chuckled darkly, and numerous holographic windows appeared around her body.

    She inputted a series ofmands into one of the windows and copied the data onto a small ck storage device.

    ¡°Here you godies,¡± the woman waved her arm and the hologram windows vanished instantly.

    She held out the storage device and Cleo tentatively stepped forward to take it from her.

    She could not help but notice that the hands of the mysteriousdy were gnarled and wrinkled like that of a much older woman.

    ¡°May I offer you some advice?¡± the woman spoke up as the girls turned to leave.

    ¡°It would be wise to disguise yourself upon your arrival to Calypso. There are many dark organizations hidden within the seedy underbelly of the main city.¡±

    ¡°Plenty ve traders would love to catch two beautiful girls. There are even whispers that the Federation have been performing experiments that require human subjects.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern,¡± Sophie bowed her head politely before walking out of the room with a firm grip on Cloe¡¯s hand.

    The hooded figure was waiting for them as they left the room and patiently guided them back up the long flight of stairs.

    Sophie blinked as she found herself back in the bright main hall of the hunter guild with Cleo by her side.

    What was strange and concerning was the fact that neither girl could remember how exactly they had gotten here.

    The exit and entrance of the passageway was blurred in their minds and if it were not for the ck storage device in Cleo¡¯s hands then Sophie would be tempted to think that the encounter was a simple dream.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the highest-level information broker in the ck Rose guild,¡± Sophie whispered.

    ¡°Certainly, she seemed very strange,¡± Cleo remarked.

    The first-ss bounty hunter groups would always be associated with or build their very own informationwork.

    The ck Rose guild was no exception, and they had a number of informants in all manner of organizations.

    Guild members could book appointments with the members of these informationworks, but the prices would vary depending on the individual selected and level of knowledge required.

    Sophie was a very cautious person by nature, so she had booked an appointment with an individual known as Q.

    Q¡¯s real name and identity had never been disclosed by the guild¡¯s upper management and she was treated as a valuable asset.

    Some had even spected that her worth to the organization was far beyond that of the branch managers of the various guilds under the ck Rose.

    Q¡¯s appointments were surprisingly cheap to buy, but her clients would have to be approved by her and no one was sure what the criteria was.

    Sophie had just applied as a back up and was nning on going to a regr information broker when she received the news almost instantly that Q wanted to meet them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the dorm and see what¡¯s inside the storage device,¡± Sophie suggested.

    Cleo nodded in agreement and the pair headed back to the mansion.

    Q¡¯s reputation as one of the best information brokers in the guild was not an empty boast as the hard drive contained all sorts of knowledge on the various power groups and the dynamics within Calypso.

    As the girls read more and more about the different pirate teams on Calypso, a somber mood was formed.

    Both Sophie and Cleo were mulling over the information inside of the storage device with uncharacteristic seriousness.

    Edward the merciless ruled the with an iron fist and his personal cultivation level was approaching the void stage.

    Edward was the bastard son of a noble count and a lowly prostitute who died during childbirth.

    His rough upbringing and scorn he had received from his half siblings was enough to cause the boy to go mad.

    The count saw the fearsome cultivation talent of the boy and raised him as the sword to protect his estate.

    What he did know was that he was raising a viper instead.

    Edward soon rose up the ranks of his father¡¯s personal army until one day he finally snapped.

    During a family banquet he poisoned the wine and the dishes by bribing the servants.

    No one who shared hisst name was spared and the mansion that night was dyed crimson with blood.

    The men of the family were granted a quick demise with a sh to the throat, but the women were tormented until they begged for the sweet release of death.

    Some say that their cries of agony can still be heard during the early hours of the night.

    Edward disappeared after looting the treasury and was not seen for many years after.

    There was an uproar over this tragedy in some noble circles, but Edward¡¯s father had made many enemies over the years, so there were those grateful for what the boy had done.

    The boy who would eventually be known as the ¡®Butcher of the Stars.¡¯

    He controlled an organisation called the ckguard who helped maintain a loose form ofw and order on Calypso.

    Long John and his crew were employed by the son of one of the ckguard captains as his personalckeys.

    Therefore, they were often seen in the inner section of the city where the security was much higher.

    This mission would going to be far more difficult than what was initially expected.

 Chapter 148: Synthetic Flesh

    Chapter 148: Synthetic Flesh

    Edward and his legion of ckguard subordinates would not be the only danger found within the city and Q¡¯s information also contained a warning that undiscovered threats could be present.

    Numerous smaller gangs of cutthroats and murderers roamed the streets. There were also bigger organizations that ran the Dreadwater Auction House and the ve markets.

    In the eyes of their clientele, life was considered nothing more than a cheapmodity that could be bought and sold to the highest bidder.

    very had long been banned by the Federation for thousands of years but that rule only applied to citizens.

    It did not extend to the various exotic alien races that were captured and sold to collectors as exhibitions.

    And this so-called ban could always be bypassed by nobles with powerful enough backing so there was also a growing market for humans.

    This was why humanity was sometimes known as the ¡®scourge of the gxy.¡¯ A nickname that they had earned from years of plunder and ughter.

    It was true that thepetition to control the stars was bloody and fierce, but humans were exceptionally dangerous.

    No other race could easily stoop to the depths required to fulfill their greedy ambitions.

    No other race would be cruel enough to sell out their kind if it helped them achieve their goals.

    And perhaps the most unpredictable element that Sophie and Cleo would face were the people who visited Calypso with hidden intentions.

    This was not part of the Federation, so no background checks or identity verifications were done.

    Who knew what crouching tigers and hidden dragons would be present in this wretched hive of scum and viiny.

    Q¡¯s information also contained the list of noble houses who held interests and investments in Calypso.

    Cleo had been truly startled to discover that several of the nobles involved in these dark markets were part of the different factions supporting her siblings in the war for session.

    That was the truly sad reality of why these pirates continued to exist.

    Edward was indeed a void stage cultivator but in front of the Imperial Army, he would be nothing more than an ant.

    The location of Calypso was not a closely guarded secret and the noble circles had known about its existence for years.

    But despite how manymoners that had been harmed or the merchants who had been robbed, nothing was done.

    All the cries and pleads had fallen onto deaf ears.

    Nobles with investments in the various pirate organizations would receive a cut of all goods robbed from the various merchant vessels.

    It was a symbiotic rtionship with many benefits for both sides. Pirates could even be used to wage proxy wars with rival noble factions without outright dering hostilities.

    ¡°What should we do for disguises?¡± Sophie finished scanning through the files and leaned back with a sigh.

    ¡°We could use hologram projectors, get an enchantment from a mage or use synthetic flesh,¡± Cleo replied as she gave the matter some thought.

    ¡°It would be too risky to use hologram projectors. They can only show an image and we¡¯ll be discovered if anyone touches us by ident.¡±

    ¡°And an enchantment is only temporary, plus we don¡¯t know how long this trip will take.¡±

    ¡°So¡­. we should use synthetic flesh then.¡±

    Disguises with synthetic flesh would be the most effective choice but they were also the most expensive.

    Firstly, an exoskeleton would need to be attached to the outer area of a person so that the body figure and physical features could be adjusted ordingly.

    Then the synthetic flesh would be applied by a special machine that used an AI program to make realistic skin and muscle tissue.

    The machine was avable on campus, but students would need to pay for every usage and the synthetic skin was an additional cost as was the metallic exoskeleton.

    ¡°Hmm do you think I need to hide my spider appendages?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Nah it should be fine. Plenty of hybrids are mixed into pirate crews so you won¡¯t stand out. In fact, it could even make the disguise better,¡± Cleo excitedly spoke as new inspiration struck her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to design our new bodies!¡±

    Cleo hurriedly ran upstairs to get her notebook and begin drawing the early drafts of what Sophie and she should look like once the synthetic flesh was applied.

    She drew a sketch for a hulking monstrosity with four de-like appendages jutting from its back.

    The creature had bloodshot red eyes and distorted muscles that bulged outward. Cleo added some additional details to get the sketch to look more frightening until she was finally satisfied.

    Sophie¡¯s impressive seven-foot height was an advantage that could be used to create an intimidating disguise.

    Cleo also sketched a much smaller figure of a pale skinned youth with rotten teeth and shaggy long hair.

    Both of the early drafts of the disguises were based on Cleo¡¯s image of unattractive men as the risk of assault or unwanted attention would be much lower wearing those faces.

    Sophie stretched outzily as her girlfriend escaped to the study room and walked towards Moon¡¯s room to y with her little bat.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon happily shook his head and flew around Sophie¡¯s body in excitement as he was d to spend some time with his mommy.

    Moon was still too young to go on any missions and Sophie was not willing to take the risk.

    He would be staying with Astrid and her siblings during their time on Calypso as the triplets were very fond of the frostwing bat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you baby,¡± Sophie cooed softly as she stroked Moon¡¯s head.

    ¡°Make sure to behave yourself at Astrid¡¯s ce and be on your best behaviour with her younger siblings,¡± she warned fiercely.

    Moon¡¯srge eyes blinked twice as he pouted cutely with an expression of innocence. He seemed to be saying that he was a well-behaved child, but Sophie knew better.

    Just in case of trouble, she had told Astrid the sure-fire method of calming down Moon if he threw a temper tantrum.

    It was stuffing him with food.

 Chapter 149: That Man May Not Be A Doctor.....

    Chapter 149: That Man May Not Be A Doctor¡­..

    Calypso)

    (Outer District- The Slums)

    Even for a den of pirates, this area was a ce that only those truly desperate would live in.

    Only the poorest or most dangerous criminals would im parts of this territory.

    Even the infamous ckguards dared not pass by during their routine inspections and who could me them.

    The smell of raw sewage filled the air as many residents simply shit and pissed on the sides of the badly paved roads.

    Instead of proper houses, the residents of the slums lived in unsteady shacks that swayed gently if a harsh wind blew by.

    The faces of the criminals here were battle hardened and no one even dared to bring a woman inside this zone unless they were whores or ves.

    In the heart of this district was an out of ce wooden house that was neatly tucked away behind a gambling den.

    Despite its appearance of rtively higher wealth, not a single criminal would dare have any greedy thoughts after what had happened to the poor souls who attempted to enter without permission.

    Their badly mutted corpses that were thrown out on to the sidewalk were a chilling warning.

    At this moment, there was a procession walking down the street that drew the eyes of curious onlookers peering through shuttered windows.

    ¡°Oy, are we sure this is the ce?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go inside and meet those two freaks!¡±

    ¡°Shut up and just leave the goods at the door.¡±

    Two seedy looking men dressed in the official uniform of the ve market traders knocked twice against the wooden frame of the old cottage.

    Knock! Knock!

    A loud groan was heard from inside the humble home and the door slowly swung open to reveal a bottomless darkness.

    ¡°We are here to drop off the goods you ordered,¡± the braver of the two men shouted out as he hurriedly pulled the rope binding the numerous ve girls trailing behind them.

    ¡°Fresh¡­. meat¡­¡­¡± a voice groaned slowly with a hint of excitement.

    The girls¡¯ faces turned white with fear as they had already heard the rumors and whispers about the two men who lived in this ce.

    One was a horrifying monster who would rip the flesh off the body of ves and consume the meat while the victim was still alive.

    The other was a disease-ridden teenager who acted as his assistant and would often be heardughing amidst the painful screams of agony.

    ¡°Go inside you wretches,¡± was themand given to the ve girls.

    Many shook their heads hesitantly but one nce at the ster pistols pointing at their direction made them realise that there was really no choice.

    When thest girl had entered the home, the wooden door closed with a sharp crash and a bag of money was thrown out of the upstairs window.

    The traders picked up the money and quickly left without even checking if the amount of correct.

    As for the life and death of those girls¡­.

    It was no longer of any concern to them.

    The girls entered the quiet home and stood still as their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

    They found themselves in an empty room with no furniture except for a metallic table but the walls were covered in a dark reddish stain.

    Heavy footsteps could be hearding down a flight of stairs and the girls nervously nced at one another.

    Thud! Thud!

    The sounds began louder and louder as a strange man slowly trudged down the stairs.

    No woman among the ves was a stranger to the terrible scenes that urred on a daily basis in this hellhole.

    But even the bravest among them could not help screaming at the sight of the creature walking into the room.

    He was¡­¡­ an abomination.

    Standing at an imposing seven feet in height with thick bulging muscles thatplemented his heavy frame.

    His body seemed weirdly shaped with several of his limbs being of different lengths or sizes.

    The right arm of this beast was distorted and huge while the left arm was slender and fair like that of a woman.

    Four de-like appendages jutted out of his back with sharp pointed barbs that glistened menacingly.

    What was truly bizarre was that the man was dressed in what could only be described as a child¡¯s attempt of looking like a doctor.

    He wore an ill-fitting whiteb coat withrge prescription sses that slid partially down his nose.

    The medical devices he wore on his body were all hung on the wrong ces and some even appeared to be broken.

    ¡°Meat¡­.¡± the beast groaned as he reached into his white coat and pulled out a cleaver.

    The women immediately turned around and fled towards the wooden door but their frantic attempts at opening it would lead to no results.

    It had somehow been locked and no amount of force exerted seemed to be able to open it.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!!!¡±

    ¡°Stay away! Stay away!¡±

    ¡°Almighty goddess please protect me!¡±

    The man smiled mockingly at the women scratching desperately at the door and dropped a small vial filled with a purplish liquid.

    A cloud of noxious gas filled the room and one by one the fearful ve girls fell unconscious with terrified expressions still on their faces.

    The hulking man slowly lumbered over to each girl and removed the mechanical ve cors from around their necks with practiced ease.

    He also injected a healing serum into the necks of the girls with obvious injuries before gently moving their bodies upstairs.

    ¡°Another¡­¡­ batch¡­¡­¡± he whispered to the lithe figure standing by a window.

    The figure turned around to reveal a skinny teenager with pale almost ghost-like features and long shaggy hair.

    His face was covered with a series of nasty pus-filled bumps that asionally oozed out a pale yellowish substance.

    ¡°Should I fire up the transporter?¡± the youth asked with a grin.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t get over how ugly you look,¡± the manughed in a noticeably higher and more feminine tone.

    ¡°Oh please at least I look like a human,¡± the youth replied with a pout.

    The fearsome butcher and his assistant who terrified the criminal residents of the slums were actually Sophie and Cloe in disguise.

    As for how they ended up in this situation¡­.

    We need to go back to the events of one week ago.

 Chapter 150: Unknown Drug

    Chapter 150: Unknown Drug

    (One week earlier)

    Calypso- Gerald Wilkens Port)

    Visitors to Calypso had to first disembark on the lunar colony orbiting the and register an identity.

    The background of this identity would not be checked or verified as it was mainly for the purpose of counting the number of residents on the at any given time.

    Visitors would then be beamed down to the nearest spaceport located at the outer docks of the main city.

    A steady stream of pirates were now leaving through the mechanical doors of the spaceport and conflicts had already begun to erupt.

    ¡°Oi watch where you¡¯re going you piece of shit!¡±

    ¡°You want to fight?!¡±

    ¡°Touch my woman and I¡¯ll break off your fucking arms!¡±

    ¡°Lawrence you stole my goldst week!¡±

    Loud yells and cries of pain could be hearding from the crowd exiting the crowded spaceport.

    The ckguards stationed at the entrance watched indifferently as the familiar blood, violence and rioting was taking ce before their eyes.

    Only in the inner areas of the city would some semnce of order be maintained. The outer area was a chaotic mess of fighting between the various pirate crews.

    Two hooded figures melted seamlessly into the crowd and walked slowly towards the nearest tavern.

    One figure was noticeablyrger than the other with a bulky frame and four de-like appendages jutting out of his back.

    Their appearances did not draw any suspicion from the ckguards as there were many pirates moving around while wearing cloaks or clothing to hide their looks.

    The crowd naturally cleared a small space around the intimidating man but there were still those who were willing to take a risk.

    A thin,nky pickpocket with a face covered in grime and dirt, stepped forward and reached for the lower area of the man¡¯s robe.

    Without even looking down, the man viciously pped the would-be thief and grabbed his arm tightly.

    Crack!

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± the thief squealed in pain as his arm was snapped cleanly in two with the thin bone now visible.

    The man chuckled darkly and whispered ever so softly in the ear of the thief,

    ¡°Meat¡­¡­ fresh¡­¡­ meat¡­.¡±

    The thief struggled with almost superhuman levels of desperation before finally twisting his body free out of the man¡¯s grasps.

    He frantically ran away while clutching his arm in pain.

    The brutal man just stood still for a moment to watch him and then continued on his journey.

    Suddenly Sophie heard Cleo¡¯s familiar voice as the princess sent her a voice transmission through their mental link.

    (Why did you break his arm? Didn¡¯t we want to keep a low profile?)

    Sophie might have been hesitant to injure someone so quickly but a certain memory that resurfaced from Sui Meng¡¯s past had changed her decision.

    Sui Meng¡¯s brother had spent several years in jail for aggravated assault and battery and had gone out of prison a changed man.

    He would tell his little sister stories about his time in prison and the tactics he used in order to survive.

    It was important to establish yourself as a difficult target as that would dissuade the majority of inmates from messing with you.

    There were several methods to achieve this goal from joining a gang to being friendly with the guards, but the simplest and most effective method was always brute violence.

    Sophie concentrated and sent back a message in reply,

    (Look at the reaction of the people around us and you will see why I did it. Pirates are notorious for fearing the strong and bullying the weak)

    (We need to project an image of being ruthless and not easy to deal with)

    Cleo carefully observed the faces of the curious onlookers and soon realised that something had changed.

    There were no more greedy stares in their direction and the eager pickpockets had already changed targets.

    Cleo gave Sophie a short nod of understanding and the pair walked towards an old tavern called the ¡®Lucky Lady.¡¯

    The duo had drafted aplete n on how to kidnap Long John Daggers and bring him in for questioning.

    The bounty was for his death but the bonus reward for finding the treasure was simply too attractive to pass up.

    Of course, if something went wrong then the girls would abandon this n and justplete the bounty.

    The first step of their n was to infiltrate the inner area of the main city and carefully map out the areas that Long John frequently visited.

    It would be easy to n out an attack once they knew of the target¡¯s habits and daily routines.

    Sophie had rented out a Mark 11 delta stealth ship which was currently hovering in the upper atmosphere of the while cloaked.

    The girls were both wearing tracker chips so that the ship¡¯s transporter array would be able to teleport them to safely at a moment¡¯s notice.

    As a backup n, Cleo was carrying a portable transporter array in her storage ring that they nned on building in the event of an emergency.

    The timeframe for this mission would have to be three weeks as the midterm exams would be at the end of the month.

    Both Sophie and Cleo were eager to maintain their status as members of the elite ss so they would have to return to the main campus.

    As the pair wandered around the city, Sophie could not help but stare in awe at the diversity of the different species and races present on the.

    Mendolesa warriors were the most numerous followed by humans and then the asional Servie zipping around.

    There was a high chance that a significant number of Quafes were present as well, but those shapeshifters would not be easily revealed.

    That¡¯s not to say that the races of the Federation made up a clear majority of the pirates as many other unique alien species were moving about.

    Sophie saw races with thin mouths, small noses and pointed tongues while others had scales, wings and strange- looking body appendages.

    They came in all sizes and shapes from those as small as a child to those who towered over the crowd like giants.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get something fun big boy?¡± Cleo¡¯s voice was modified with the help of the mechanical voice modifier ced on her throat, so she sounded like a young teenaged boy.

    ¡°Grr¡­¡± Sophie groaned in a husky tone as she followed herpanion.

    They could not solelymunicate via the mental link as there could be telepaths or psionics hidden amidst the crowd.

    Sophie was ying the role of a freakish monster who could barely speak while Cleo was pretending to be an arrogant young man.

    Cleo led the way inside of a run-down bar made of cheap wooden material and had arge statue of a naked woman in the center of the room.

    There was a hazy smell of smoke from the patrons puffing out wisps of a greenish gas that came from a liquid injected directly into their blood.

    ¡°Give me two shots,¡± Cleo sauntered up to the counter and threw out some coins.

    The bartender was an aquatic alien with a feeble tail, five side fins, a thin strip-like dorsal fin and a row of razor-sharp teeth.

    He was wearing a helmet filled with a deep blue liquid that allowed him to live onnd.

    Two shiny syringes filled with a deep green solution were then ced on the counter and the bartender pointed out an empty table at the back of the tavern.

    Sophie and Cleo sat down on some empty chairs before picking up the needles and piercing the flesh on their arms without any hesitation.

    Naturally, the skin they poked was the synthetic flesh from their disguises as neither girl was interested in taking some unknown drug.

 Chapter 151: Slave Market

    Chapter 151: ve Market

    Calypso- City of Trinidad)

    Walking through the streets of the city was an eye-opening experience for both Sophie and Cleo.

    Houses were built out of simple materials in the outer area and most appeared to be made out of wood or concrete.

    They had just left the tavern and were going to visit the housing register building to rent an apartment for their three week stay.

    It was hard to imagine that even in a society as advanced as the Earth Federation, that a ce like this could exist.

    Victims of drug overdoses were convulsing on the sides of the road while passersby stepped over their bodies without care.

    The pungent odour of raw sewage that was thrown casually out of the window and garbage left out made both girls¡¯ noses wrinkle up.

    Sophie had seen several fights quickly turn lethal as weapons were drawn at a moment¡¯s notice.

    There were even some punks who were brave enough to try to give them some trouble, but Sophie just dispatched them mercilessly.

    She had no interest in keeping scum like this alive.

    What was a bit concerning was that her killing spree did not affect her mental state. Sophie just felt casual indifference.

    Would a human feelpassion if he killed an ant?

    ¡°Oi¡­ you looking for some jingle juice?¡± a greasy old man approached the two girls with a bottle of what appeared to be a golden liquid.

    ¡°Is that piss?¡± Cleo¡¯s face contorted as she smelled the unpleasant odour.

    The old manughed like a madman before throwing the bottle at the pair without warning.

    Fortunately, he was not an urate thrower, so the bottlended just to Cleo¡¯s right and the contents spilled out.

    Cleo immediately jumped away from this disgusting liquid and watched vengefully as the old man then ran away while scratching his pants vigorously with a huge smirk on his face.

    ¡°Fresh¡­¡­ meat¡­¡­ ¡°Sophie growled out an flung a knife towards the old man¡¯s back. It was time to use her disguise as a hulking brute to intimidate these pirates.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± came the painful scream as the knife easily pierced the flesh and entered deep into his spine.

    Sophie walked over to his body and casually ripped the de from his back and moved on without giving him a second nce.

    Cleo was still looking visibly shaken from the pee attack, so Sophie pulled down the hood on her robe to cover her facepletely.

    It was tough for a princess who lived in the imperial pce to get used to such terrible encounters.

    Even one as unfavored as Cleo during her childhood had never gotten pee flung at her before.

    The housing office was the located near the entrance of the slums, but its appearance was far better than those of the surrounding apartments.

    It was three stories high and made out of a ssy ck substance that resembled obsidian.

    Numerous pirates could be seen entering and exiting the building, but the ckguards stationed at the entrance prevented any trouble.

    Sophie lumbered slowly and joined the line with movements that seemed unnatural and twisted.

    It was important to maintain her facade as a monster at all times in order to avoid suspicion. Cleo followed in her footsteps while bowing her head to conceal her expression.

    The line was moving fairly quickly, and it was not long before the two girls found themselves inside the housing assignment building.

    The inside of the building was made out of a translucent ssy material that sparkled gently under light of the chandelier on the ceiling.

    Cleaning robots travelled along the floor regrly as the pirates entering the building were covered in dirt and grime.

    ¡°What you want?¡± came the curt question from the middle-aged woman working at the counter.

    Sophie remained silent and allowed Cleo to do the talking. The princess kept her head down and whispered,

    ¡°Give us a cheap one.¡±

    Thedy at the counter shot them a look of feigned interest and handed the pair a small piece of parchment paper with an address written on it.

    ¡®7A Warthurst Street, St. Roberts Old Shack¡¯

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Red Viper- ve Market)

    ¡°Two thousand Enas for the blonde!¡±

    ¡°Is that freak locked up in that cage over there a new species¡±

    ¡°Boss you know I¡¯m good for the money¡­. let me pay you back Tuesday?¡±

    Perhaps no ce on Calypso was noisier than the open-air ve market run by the Red Viper group.

    Haggling, arguing and even fighting wasmonce but the rules of the market strictly forbid damaging any of the ves before sale.

    Guards were stationed at regr intervals throughout the ve market in order to keep an eye on troublesome influences.

    The truly valuable species, races and creatures would be sold off via auction, so the open-air market was mainly treated as a location to sell subpar goods.

    The ves here were from races that were not aesthetically pleasing, those with injuries or girls who did not meet the beauty standards for the wealthy buyers at auctions.

    They wore little more than filthy rags that did not cover up the malnourished flesh hanging on to their skinny frame.

    It would be fortunate if even ten percent of the ves sold in the open market lived more than a few months.

    No protections or responsibilities were required in order to purchase a sale so naturally the business was good.

    ves were bought for different purposes, some wanted strong muscle in order to do manualbour, others treated them as nothing more than sexual outlets to vent their sick desires while the final group would buy ves to use as cannon fodder in human experimentations.

    Humans, Servies, Quafes and Mendolesa were rarely found in the ve markets as it was quite difficult to get fresh stock in the middle of the Mendolesa- controlled Hydra Star System.

    Quafes were by far the most expensive of the four due to their shapeshifting abilities that made them highly desirable.

    One such Quafes was currently trapped in a small container made out of a dense material that prevented its escape.

    The gooey liquid sloshed around angrily as it frantically pounded on the walls of the container, but it was useless.

    No one wasing to help them

 Chapter 152: The Delightful Children From Down The Lane

    Chapter 152: The Delightful Children From Down The Lane

    Calypso)

    (City of Trinidad- The Slums)

    Two days had passed since Sophie and Cleo had moved into their new home and life was going just as well as could be expected.

    The streets smelled like shit, the neighbours were all murderous cutthroats, Cleo had been hit on seven times by the street prostitutes even with a face full of hideous pus-filled boils and Sophie had gained the reputation of being a mad beast.

    This was to be expected as she had intentionally sent Cleo to pay information agencies to spread various rumors about her sick, twisted appearance and madness induced bloodlust.

    Well if there was one positive about this whole ordeal¡­. the weather was quite nice.

    Concerning the mission, there still had not been a significant breakthrough as neither girl was any closer to figuring out how to gain ess to the inner-city area.

    Long John Daggers must be one of the most lowkey pirates on Calypso as almost none of the tavern owners had even heard of the guy despite his file showing that he frequented bars in the outer area often.

    Today¡¯s goal was to enter the ve market areas and try to rescue as many captives as possible.

    Sophie was not naive enough to think that her and Cleo alone could destroy the different organizations and free all the ves.

    Firstly, because theycked the power to kill everyone in charge as well as defeating the ckguards that would certainly rush over once they heard anymotion.

    Secondly¡­. it would not solve the issue and only be a temporary relief.

    As long as Calypso continued to exist, then new ve trade organizations would simply rece the old ones.

    The n was to use her monster persona to buy as many young ves as possible under the disguise of experimental material.

    Cleo had brought with them a portable teleporter with a direct link to their starship so the newly bought ves would be beamed up.

    The ship had enough dehydrated food and nutrient vials tost for an extended period of time so they would be fine for the few weeks.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears suddenly perked up as she heard a soft, milky voice talking,

    ¡°Excuse me sir, may I have some food?¡±

    A small boy no older than nine or ten was holding a metal pan and approaching a middle aged gentleman while begging for something to eat.

    This was the harsh reality of those who lived in the slums, the origins of these children were unclear as some were brought to the while others had been raised here their whole lives.

    It was a hard life for these children and very few would grow up safely to reach adulthood. This especially true for the boys and girls who were slightly cute.

    No one would be concerned about the disappearance of these kids, so they were a prime target for sexual predators and those with dark desires.

    Sophie felt an ufortable twinge of guilt as she wanted nothing more than to step forward and give the boy some money or supplies but that would break her disguise.

    Fortunately, the older gentleman who saw the tiny beggar was clearly a man with good character as he pulled out some dry rations and ced them into the pan.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you share these with some of your friends,¡± the man smiled and went on his merry way.

    ¡°That¡¯s sweet,¡± Sophie muttered to herself as a trace of a smile graced her lips.

    Perhaps even in the darkest and lowest points of humanity, there was stillpassion and kindness that flourished.

    The boy waved goodbye to the kind old man and headed towards one of the side roads to meet up with the rest of hispanions.

    There were about seven of them in total with the average age being somewhere between pre-teen and early teenhood.

    Sophie kept a casual eye on the boy to make sure that no one would be tempted to hurt him for those scraps of food.

    It was a relief to see him reach his friends without any trouble and he immediately broke the food into smaller pieces and passed them around.

    Thump! Thump!

    Sophie clenched her chest in pain as her heart slowly began to race.

    She stood still for a moment as an ufortable feeling of bloodlust swelled up.

    Thump! Thump!

    Sophie¡¯s eyes gradually shifted from a golden hue to a dark crimson shade of blood red. The world in her vision turned into one with different shades of inverted and messed up colours.

    The children who seemed so innocent and adorable were nowpletely ck with each child having a small blue mass imnted in their lower spine.

    Sophie¡¯s pupils dted as she tried to get a closer look at this mysterious organ.

    This blue mass was pulsating like a heart, but thick slimy tendrils were spreading from its body and directly connecting to the brain of each child.

    Suddenly, each of the blue masses started to vibrate and the children turned their heads around, but something was terribly wrong.

    Their movements were¡­¡­ jerky and uncoordinated as if they were no more than puppets dancing to the tunes of strings.

    Sophie could feel her fangs slowly protruding out of her mouth as acidic saliva dripped onto the ground and burnt small holes in the cheap road material.

    Cleo was feeling a bit confused when Sophie had stopped in the middle of the road but followed her line of sight until she also saw the children.

    At first nce, they simply looked like ordinary street urchins with thin physiques, tattered clothes, and grime over their faces.

    Without warning, the kids dashed away from the pair and immediately disappeared into the darkness of the slums.

    Sophie clenched her fists tightly and had to take a few deep breaths before her hunting mode finally calmed down.

    She resumed her appearance of a lumbering oaf when the sweet voice of Cleo entered her mind via the mental link.

    Cleo: (Something wrong?)

    Sophie: (Those kids triggered some kind of instinct in me¡­. I had the urge to rip out and consume the blue organ inside them)

    Sophie: (I don¡¯t know what it was, but I could tell that it was afraid of me)

    Cleo: (Blue organ?)

    Sophie: (I¡¯ll talkter once we reach the house)

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Little did Sophie know that she would be seeing those lovely children again very soon.

 Chapter 153: Treasure Hunting!

    Chapter 153: Treasure Hunting!

    Calypso)

    (Private Residence- Edward¡¯s Pce)

    ¡°This is some good business,¡± Edward muttered to himself as he reviewed the documents ced on his desk.

    ¡°But it does seem too good to be true.¡±

    Gentle sunlight streamed through the window and shone a light on the handsome figure currently sitting down casually on a metallic chair.

    Edward had most certainly inherited the good looks of his noble father along with his viciousness and cruelty.

    Most people were under the impression that the merciless pirate spent his days raping and piging but that could not be further from the truth.

    There was just so much damn administration work that needed to be done in order to keep some sense of normalcy in a pirate society.

    Luckily, there were AI units who would do most of the work for him.

    Edward would simply be notified of the important matters that required his immediate attention.

    In his hands was an offer for a number of pregnant or fertile women to be sold to an organization called the ¡®Midas Touch¡¯ in exchange for Enas credits and other benefits.

    On the surface, this would seem like a straightforward trade, but Edward had long heard rumors that this grey organization had government ties.

    They were prepared to pay much higher than the market price for those ves, but Edward had to weigh the possibility that it could be a trap.

    Suspicion is what kept men in his type of business alive.

    Not all nobles in the government were fond of pirates and some would leap at the opportunity to put a dent in their numbers.

    Especially the newly formed faction led by that cunning young Duke Peterlor.

    He had already started to push a series of legition that would require the Imperial Army to hunt them down.

    These bills were already seeing pushback from lobbying groups, but the duke¡¯s poprity meant that some had the potential to pass and get approval eventually.

    ¡°Model Unity- 907!¡± Edward called out.

    A holographic woman dressed in an office uniform with a curvaceous body materialized out of thin air.

    ¡°Send a polite decline to the sender of this offer and inform them that they need to visit the ve market in person if they want to purchase ves directly.¡±

    [As youmand sir!] came the mechanical reply.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Inner District- St. Ann¡¯s Escort Services)

    The inner district also had its fair share of gambler dens and whorehouses, but these services were geared towards the upper ss of the pirate society or at least those with connections to Edward.

    The buildings were ssy with rare antique furniture and personal servants who would tend to a patron¡¯s every whim or fancy.

    The girls would most certainly be of a higher quality than those in the outer district and their services would cost far beyond a typical cutthroat¡¯s sry.

    Inside one of these establishments, the son of a ckguard captain was resting casually on a pillowy sofa as his entourage fawned over him with praises and adoration.

    ¡°My lord¡­ there is a great treasure that I can gift you,¡± a rat face man bowed deeply and dared not look directly into the eyes of his master.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± a youngd in his twenties with a heavy-set appearance contemted for a moment as two attractive girls stroked his head lovingly.

    ¡°Speak quickly Johnny boy,¡± the fat man spoke in a greasy tone.

    Long John Daggers collected his thoughts and quickly ran through the information in his head.

    That bastard Darius knocked him out and stole the treasure that he had collected from a merchant couple during hisst raid.

    It was some strange tablet with words in anguage that John did not understand but it looked expensive, so he took it anyway.

    Darius had taken his newly stolen tablet to an evaluator and apparently the stupid thing was an archaeological treasure from ancient Earth!

    It was priceless!

    Fortunately, that evaluator could not keep his mouth shut and soon news of this incredible find leaked out.

    John almost fainted when he heard the news that he had nearly struck it rich.

    At least Darius did not get to enjoy the wealth as his mangled corpse was found behind a tavern with no tablet on his person.

    No one knew who had killed him and the thief absconded with the treasure.

    Thest person seen drinking with Darius in the tavern was a young boy in his crew called Luke, so the suspicion naturally fell on him.

    His master was getting impatient with the silence forming so Long John immediately broke into his prepared speech.

    ¡°A rare and priceless treasure has been floating around the outer district. It is a stone tablet with secrets from ancient Earth,¡± John spoke softly and tried to make his voice sound appealing.

    ¡°No major organization has any im, so it is ripe for the taking. Possession of this wealth is yours for the taking.¡±

    ¡°Excellent!¡± the fat man chuckled gleefully as he ran his hands down the bodies of the women at his side.

    ¡°Take as many people as you want and bring it back to me.¡±

    ¡°It will be done,¡± John gestured towards ten other members of the posse and they swiftly headed out of the brothel.

    Mission aplished.

    John needed permission to leave the inner district and the only method would be to get the approval of his master.

    Now as for what would happen once, he got the tablet¡­¡­ well it would be highly unlikely that the foolish master would ever see him again.

    But how could the son of a ckguard not notice the greed and ambition in the eyes of his subordinate.

    Still seated firmly on thefortable couch, the heavy-set man narrowed his eyes and whispered to the shadow behind him.

    ¡°Follow those men and kill them once they have found the treasure.¡±

    A dark figure nodded slowly and vanished from the room before anyone could notice.

    Long John had underestimated his employer and he would soon be forced to pay the price.

 Chapter 154: Slave Market

    Chapter 154: ve Market

    Calypso)

    (Outer District- ve Market)

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    ¡°Help me please!¡±

    ¡°No¡­. no¡­. stay away!¡±

    ¡°How about this young ripe girl we picked up?¡±

    ¡°Sir, that girl will cost two thousand Enas. Will you be paying the full amount or through installments?¡±

    Loud noises and jeers could be heard from inside the crowded ve market as buyers haggled desperately to get a decent price on the goods.

    The ve market was located in the outer district, so it was naturally surrounded by shoddy buildings and more resembled an area in the slums.

    The temperature was hot and most of the ves locked inside the sturdy mechanical cages were sweating profusely.

    Buyers would stare at them like how one would look at a product on the shelf at a store.

    They were fed periodically with low quality nutrient vials and the attractive ones among the ves had hollow looks of despair.

    It was obvious that most buyers would give them a fate far worse than death.

    ves sold directly at the marketce were deemed to be unworthy for auctions, so they were treated quite harshly as their value was low.

    Most would have some sort of birth or appearance defect with the mostmon w being the loss of limbs.

    Although the marketce seemed quite chaotic, shadowy guards were hidden deep within in the crowd to maintain some semnce of order.

    All troublemakers were swiftly executed without question.

    One could also pay some extra money to hire a guide who would skillfully navigate thebyrinth of cages to get the ves that the client wanted.

    Currently one such guide was walking through the marketce with two very important clients at her side.

    They were a strange duo as the older man was a giant at seven feet in height with a bulky frame and four spider appendages jutting out of his back.

    The young teenager at his side had a fair and beautifulplexion that was spoiled by the enormous pus-filled blisters covering his face and upper arms.

    ¡°Now what kind of goods are you two fine gentlemen looking for?¡± the attractive attendant smiled as she led Sophie and Cleo through the market.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed as she saw the awful condition some of the ves were subjected to.

    There were cages filled with what appeared to be human waste that had not been cleaned and the unlucky ves were kept inside.

    Sophie sighed deeply as she continued to put on an act.

    ¡°Fresh¡­. meat¡­.¡± Sophie groaned as she eyed the back of the guide hungrily.

    She was the spitting image of a demon as she eyed the helpless ves with a gaze of perverse desire.

    All who gazed at her vicious expression immediately started to pray to whatever gods they believed in.

    No one wanted to be the unfortunate ones to be picked by such a madman.

    Shivers ran down the back of the attendant as she subtly gave a signal to one of the passing guards to keep an eye on the pair.

    It was natural to see a dangerous individual shopping around the ve market and this hulking brute seemed especially sinister.

    ¡°What my boss is saying is that we need a regr supply of healthy bodies preferably on the younger side,¡± Cleo tranted in an even tone.

    ¡°There will be a deposit required in advance for any purchases made in bulk,¡± the guide exined patiently.

    Sophie remained silent and showed her a crystalline card with strange engravings on the back.

    Katarina had long taught her how to create a temporary bank ount and transfer some funds from her personal ount without any link between the two.

    ¡°Is that a¡­.¡± the guide was dumbfounded for a moment as she saw the familiar glow of the card.

    It was a crystalline triple diamond ck card!

    The funds required to own one of those cards was more than enough to promote the owner to the level of a priority one customer.

    ¡°Please excuse me for a moment as I grab my supervisor!¡± the attendant gave a quick bow and then vanished to get her boss.

    It did not take long for an out of shape man to scurry over with the attendant leading the way excitedly.

    The man wore an expensive ck tuxedo with thick gold rings on his fingers and several tinum chains hanging on his neck.

    ¡°Good day! My name is Mr. Dionyse, and I am one of the current managers of the market. I must apologise for not meeting with such an esteemed client like yourself much sooner.¡±

    ¡°We would be happy to offer a discount on any human children that happen to catch your eye!¡±

    Sophie was inwardly disgusted by his fawning appearance but no outward trace of it could be seen on her face as she stared expressionlessly.

    Talking about human life as if it were a simplemodity to be bought and sold.

    It seemed that no matter how far humanity advanced¡­. festering darkness like the ve trade would continue to exist.

    Cleo shot a subtle look at Sophie and quickly established a mental link so the two girls could talk secretly.

    Sophie: (Discuss the details with the trader while I scout out the market for anything interesting)

    Cleo: (Okay but we only have room on the spaceship for 200 people so I will try to buy children)

    Cleo: (I fucking hate this awful ce)

    Sophie: (Don¡¯t worry I¡¯lle back to make sure that it burns down to the ground)

    The conversation only took a few seconds, so the trader and attendant had no idea that a discussion had urred between their clients.

    ¡°Grrr¡­. ¡°Sophie growled menacingly as she handed the card to Cleo and walked away to explore the other areas of the market.

    ¡°Forgive my master, he gets rather¡­. impatient,¡± Cleo smiled politely but her eyes hid an unspoken coldness.

    ¡°Shall we finalise the details about the trade?¡±

    Something deep inside her must have sensed the shift in her mood as the shadows beneath her feet started to lengthen and twist with snake-like motions.

    Cleo did not realise that the strange mark Sophie had imprinted on her chest prevented these dark tendrils from entering her heart.

 Chapter 155: "Sit Down Clown"

    Chapter 155: "Sit Down Clown"

    Gaia- Imperial Complex)

    (Royal Conference Room)

    The emperor was the symbolic ruler of the human sector of the Earth Federation but the practical matters of running the empire was left to the ministers in parliament.

    Emperors in the past had yed active roles in personally overseeing the growth of their empire but the current king was content to waste away his days with whores and drinks.

    In his absence, the minsters from the various noble factions begun to get bolder and bolder as more power fell within their grasp.

    Important meetings were held in the royal conference room that was designed with breathtaking magnificence.

    Thick golden pirs held up a luxurious roof adorned with rare jewels and metals.

    The floor was made of a rare mineral called jade that was mined from ancient earth centuries ago.

    Various paintings of dragons and phoenixes were carefully sketched on the walls of the conference room and every chair was made of a specially designed high-ss memory foam.

    The number of chairs in the hall were enough for the select crowd of five thousand nobles who represented the upper nobility.

    These five thousand men and women came from various star systems conquered by the Federation but to gain a seat in parliament required at minimum the status of Count.

    It was currently the once in thirty years meeting by the parliament to renew and discuss the budget for the various branches of government.

    One might expect this group of high-ss nobles to be discussing these financial matters with dignity and calm befitting their positions, but the furious yelling told a different story.

    ¡°The funds allocated to the education sector are way too high!¡±

    ¡°We need another two trillion Enas to expand the current military¡±

    ¡°So those war mongering bastards can pocket some extra cash?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s riching from the man who ¡®lost¡¯ funds during thest terraforming project¡±

    shes weremon as the nobles desperately fought one another in order to reap the maximum benefits for their faction.

    The military faction wanted greater investments to fund their current war against both the Unova Syndicate and the Insectoids while the scientific faction wanted more resources in their ongoing projects.

    Other factions including the art,merce, education, security, and blood purity each had different goals in mind.

    However, there was one group of younger nobles who sat in the middle of the chaos quite calmly as the angry voices continued to rise.

    An extremely handsome man who looked as though he was in histe thirties was cheerfully sipping on some fine wine and checking hismunicator.

    He was well-built with a toned body and powerful muscles that were clearly visible beneath the white shirt that he wore.

    His eyes were a deep shade of blue and his face resembled that of a movie star with a chiseled jawline and soft beard.

    Several of the single noblewomen were shooting him amorous gazes but the man seemed preupied by an important matter.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t my darling Sophie called me yet,¡± Rokan frowned to himself as he scrolled through the chat logs.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. maybe I should send one more message.¡±

    Poor Sophie would find out muchter that hermunicator would have several missed calls and messages from her worried father.

    It was unlikely that a resolution would be reached at least for the next couple of days, so the duke nned to just rx and unwind.

    Although Rokan had retired from the military, he still retained his poprity among the officers who had previously served under him.

    Combined with his easy-going personality and charismatic charm, he had somehow drawn a small group of younger nobles to his side.

    Of course, they still could notpete with the noble factions with thousands of years of history behind them but Rokan¡¯s faction had grown to a size that could not be ignored.

    The empire in recent years had only gotten more divisive under the rulership of a weak king and the different factions no longer had any interest inpromising and working together.

    Every policy and bill was debated endlessly until it became a rarity for anyw to reach the emperor¡¯s desk.

    Rokan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he gazed at the greedy expressions on the faces of the nobles intent on carving out a piece of the budget for themselves.

    Perhaps the Insectoids were not humanity¡¯s greatest enemy¡­¡­

    The Earth Federation had long been slowly rotting from the inside.

    And it pissed him off.

    Without any hesitation, Rokan gently ced down his winess and spat out a few words,

    ¡°Stop talking so much nonsense.¡±

    A powerful coercion swept over the members of parliament that brought the weaker ones to their knees.

    Silence.

    The might of a god stage cultivator demanded respect and the man speaking was the youngest in the history of humanity.

    ¡°You should be ashamed of yourself¡­. squabbling like children,¡± Rokan felt the unfriendly res directed at him but continued on.

    ¡°Have you all forgotten the principles of noblesse oblige? We are granted this strength and positions of power in order to forge a shining dynasty that will spread the glory of humanity.¡±

    ¡°Instead all I see are a bunch of money hungry rats quarreling for scraps to line your pockets.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that an upstart duke like yourself can insult us like this? You overestimate your own ability child,¡± the minister of defence got up from his chair with a sneer.

    He immediately released his own aura that also belonged to the god stage and stood proudly with his arms crossed.

    The nobles of his faction cheered him on with several words of support.

    ¡°Show this upstart his ce!¡±

    ¡°Praise the fearsome Blood sword warrior!¡±

    ¡°Our leader is so handsome!¡±

    ¡°Sit down clown,¡± Rokan growled darkly.

    Boom!

    Cough! Cough!

    The man immediately staggered backwards in shock as blood slowly dripped out of his ears and nose.

    Rokan knew not to go too far so he held back on his strength otherwise the Minister would not have been able to withstand his spiritual pressure.

    The Minister of Defense may be a powerful god stage cultivator¡­ but his foundations were shaky.

    He was far weaker than a certain Arachnais woman.

    Rokan¡¯s words and actions during the meeting may have seemed incendiary and would undoubtedly gather some hatred.

    But it would also drastically increase his poprity with the righteous ministers who still believed in the original goals of the Federation.

    There was not much time left.

    Rokan knew that the blood purity faction was gaining strength by the day and he was obviously a thorn in their side.

    God stage cultivators were powerful but even they would not stand a chance against any member of the Ascension warriors.

    The Blood Purity faction would not stand idly by as a man who supported hybrid rights reached such levels of strength.

 Chapter 156: The First Pillar

    Chapter 156: The First Pir

    Rokan did not mind showing off some of his strength as it would make his enemies treat him with a bit more caution.

    An awkward mood was now set as no one had the courage to speak up and continue the discussion on the distribution of finances.

    ¡°Can we resume the discussion with some more civility?¡± a calm voice interrupted the tense silence.

    An elderly man dressed in robes made of the finest silk walked slowly into the room with a slew of servants following closely behind.

    He seemed to be gliding over the jade floor of the conference room as his feet hovered slightly above the ground.

    ¡°That old monster is actually here,¡± someone hissed in surprise.

    Allen Bartelot was one of the pirs of the Federation and a man who was highly respected and feared among the upper nobility.

    No one could trace his origins or family n as he had been alive for thousands of years. He had been a loyal guard for several generations of emperors and had served the royal family dutifully.

    Ascension cultivators could live for absurd lengths of time, so it was hardly surprisingly that he managed to outlive his various masters.

    All information regarding his personal history had been wiped clean from the Federation¡¯s databases.

    Rokan shot the elderly man a wary nce as the spiritual qi hidden deep within that ancient body seemed to be bottomless.

    Why was he here?

    Ascension cultivators would not simply attend budget meetings¡­. even the death of an emperor would not gather their attention.

    ¡°Young man you must not be so harsh when speaking to your peers,¡± Allen smiled genially and gave Rokan¡¯s shoulder a light pat.

    Crack!

    The bones in Rokan¡¯s shoulder instantly cracked under the pressure exerted by this simple movement but the duke showed no reaction.

    It was a straightforward matter for a god stage cultivator to circte his qi and regenerate any physical damage suffered.

    But whatplicated things was that this was a clear warning that Allen would not tolerate his behaviour.

    ¡°Ie under the direct orders of the majesty himself as the great emperor has dered a royal promation,¡± Allen moved away from Rokan and pulled out a thin slip of paper hidden in his pocket.

    ¡°The king is displeased at the current state of the war with both the Insectoids and the Unova Syndicate.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, this degree states that to obtain great military merits, all upper nobility houses are required to increase their contributions to the Federation by sending every single one of their direct heirs to the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°You will either give these conquests your full support or your children will die.¡±

    Silence. Shock. Horror.

    Various expressions could be seen on the faces of the nobility as this unexpected degree caused several nobles to turn pale.

    Military service had always been optional for members of the high nobility and the only children sent to the battlefield were either those with strong potentials or offsprings who were considered wastes.

    However, it would be an entirely different situation if all direct heirs were conscripted forcefully

    There was not a single house that wanted to take the risk of losing the immediate sessors to their legacy.

    Thete emperor would have never risked offending the noble houses with an order like this but it was clear that the current emperor had no such concerns.

    ¡°That will be all for now,¡± Allen quietly whispered in a soft tone.

    Quite a few nobles had twisted expressions on their faces, but no one was brave enough toin to an Ascension stage cultivator.

    Allen¡¯s eyes swept the conference room and lingered for just a moment on the blood purity faction.

    He sped his hands together almost as if he were offering a prayer and the qi concentration in the room rapidly increased.

    ng! ng!

    Ancient runes quickly formed beneath his feet and lit up the conference room with a golden glow.

    Dense spiritual energy poured into these strange markings as the air slowly begun to distort and twist.

    ¡°What a show-off,¡± Rokan grumbled under his breath as he saw the elderly figure as well as his servants shimmer and then disappear.

    No one was in the mood to continue the meeting so after a few more minutes of fruitlessly arguing once more, the matter of the budget was postponed to another session tomorrow.

    Rokan spent the next thirty minutes socialising with the young nobles in his faction and trying to avoid the flirtations being sent his way by certain amorous noblewomen.

    It was not that he was not appreciative of their beauty, but he was now a father.

    Sophie would always be his number one priority.

    But if the duke was truly being honest with himself, he still missed that strange Insectoid woman who had entered his life like a whirlwind.

    Rokan was interrupted from his musing by a voice transmission that sounded directly in his right ear.

    (I will be expecting your presence at the Aurora restaurant)

    (We need to discuss certain matters privately)

    Rokan¡¯s face showed no change in expression as though the voice transmission had never urred.

    There was only one man bold enough to send him a secret message without worrying about the risk of eavesdropping¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Several hourster)

    (Private Booth 091- Aurora Restaurant)

    ¡°I never expected that I would be greeted by so many old acquaintances,¡± Rokan smirked as several masked men surrounded him.

    His old friend who had sent him the voice transmission was nowhere to be found and instead what weed the duke were the cold hard edges of adamantium des.

    ¡°Do you think that I would not recognise your aura under those pathetic disguises?¡±

    Several of these would be assassins flinched unconsciously and Rokan could not help butugh even harder.

    He casually reached for the sword at his hip and slowly pulled out his loyal weapon from its sheath.

    Thunder Arts

    Bellowing Gale storm!

    A thin red line was drawn across the necks of every cloaked figure in the room and they copsed to the ground.

    Their heads were now fully severed from their bodies.

    Too weak.

    Rokan frowned as whoever sent these men clearly had either underestimated his strength or was nning something else.

    Ring! Ring!

    Suddenly Rokan¡¯smunicator buzzed with great urgency.

    He clicked the eptmand and soon the holographic image of Katarina covered in bloodstains appeared before him.

    ¡°My lord! Our lunar colony is being attacked by¡­¡±

 Chapter 157: Side Story- The Nephilim Church Bible

    Chapter 157: Side Story- The Nephilim Church Bible

    [Excerpt from the holy bible of the Nephilim Church]

    (Genesis 7:14)

    God is infinite.

    Infinitely kind.

    Infinitely good.

    Infinitely cruel.

    Infinitely evil.

    We humans who were molded in his image are all of these traits as well.

    Humans are wed creatures and truly unique among the different races found amongst the stars.

    There is no man or women who is inherently good nor inherently evil.

    Saints can fall into darkness and the sinners can be redeemed by the light.

    God in his infinite wisdom has created us to be wed so that we may witness the beauty of perfection through imperfection.

    The universe begun as a void with nothing but infinite darkness and emptiness that spread as far as the eye could see.

    And then suddenly the void was defeated.

    God created an explosion of energy and matter that formed what would eventually be thes and celestial bodies of the universe.

    The great founder of our church discovered fragments of texts in a tombstone on ancient Earth that spoke of the Abrahamic religions.

    He was the first among the flock to contract with both an Archangel and a Demon.

    The names of these two beings are only revealed to the pope as no demon knight nor saint so far has ever been approved to establish a contract with them.

    The Nephilim Church is not a kind religion for we believe in the truth of the universe. Bnce is the true meaning of life.

    Good cannot exist without evil.

    Every light must cast a shadow.

    For this reason, we appoint twelve saintess and twelve demon knights to contract higher order beings.

    These higher order entities are far beyond what the human mind canprehend. Gazing upon their true body would cause instant death.

    Their mere presence alone would lead to madness and despair.

    We call them angels and demons.

    Twelve was a sacred number in the old Abrahamic religions as it signified the number of apostles who followed an individual whose name was lost to history.

    Spreading the religion of the church is the duty of every follower.

    We must save the poor native races from eternal damnation.

    Glory be to the Father.

    (Leviticus 4:9)

    The story of the princess:

    A wise king had married a beautiful dancer and their child was to be the holy princess of their empire.

    It was said that when the child was born, gold flowed freely from the sky as even the spirits of wealth celebrated in joy.

    The child inherited the intelligence of her father and the gorgeous looks of her mother. She had been trained from birth in the arts of military, economics, and politics.

    When the king finally stepped down, he knew that his kingdom was in good hands. The princess smiled sweetly at her father and swiftly took over the reigns of the empire.

    In the first year, war broke out at the southern border where barbarians attempted to pige and rape the nearby viges.

    The princess personally led the army to ughter and rout them all out.

    Not a single man, woman or child from the barbarian tribe survived.

    In the second year, a terrible famine struck the fields of the farmers and their crops begun to wither and die.

    The princess reformed the agricultural sector and introduced new methods of farming and crop rotation.

    It was thanks to these new practices that her people did not starve.

    In the third year, a horrible gue swept across thend causing those infected to cough uncontrobly until they spat out parts of their lungs.

    Blisters and boils appeared on the surface of their skin and entire towns were wiped out due to this new disease.

    Once again, the princess hired the best medical doctors to study the gue day and night until a cure was found.

    They worked themselves to the point of over exhaustion until a cure was finally produced.

    The princess swiftly distributed the medicine to all the far corners of the empire and yet another crisis was averted.

    In what wouldter be known as the final year of the empire, a hooded man rode into the castle and demanded to speak to the princess.

    The princess ignored the advice of her closest retainers and decided to meet the man privately.

    She had grown brash and arrogant due to her high poprity among the nobility andmon folk alike.

    The hooded man was led into a chamber where he saw the princess lounging on the throne and staring at him with interest.

    ¡°I know what you are,¡± the princess sneered as she shot a nonchnt gaze at the hooded man.

    ¡°I have already defeated your three other brothers. What makes you think that I will not defeat you as well?¡±

    The hooded man said nothing but slowly approached the princess and gently tapped her shoulder.

    For although the princess could defeat famine, gue, and war¡­

    No one could defeat death.

    Revtions 4:16

    How will the universe end is a question that has haunted mankind ever since we learnt the concept of finite.

    Surely if every reaction has a beginning¡­. then there must be an end as well.

    The scriptures on ancient Earth spoke of a rapture where the chosen children of God ascend to the heavens while the sinners remain on Earth to perish.

    However, the Archangels and Demons had spoken to the pope and delivered a prophetic vision of the end times.

    There are many gods fighting for control over the different realities and dimensions.

    There will be a great battle in the distant future that will pit the gods and their believers against one another for the control of the universe.

    We of the Nephilim church have an honour bound duty to support our masters and ensure that humanity are the true victors in the battle.

    It will undoubtedly be a challenging task and it may lead to every single believer of the church perishing under the baptism of hellfire, but we will dly risk our lives for our patrons.

    Glory be to the father and may his name be exalted among the higher order beings.

 Chapter 158: Another Batch

    Chapter 158: Another Batch

    Calypso)

    (Outer District- The Slums)

    ¡°Another batch goes into that wretched ce,¡± an old woman spat on the ground as she fearfully eyed the wooden house.

    Young, beautiful, and attractive girls who were rtively high quality for those found in the market.

    The elderly woman was clearly a long-time resident of the slums as her wrinkled skin and emotionless eyes told the story of ady who had suffered greatly.

    Over half a dozen ve girls had entered its dark interior and after a series of screams¡­. no sounds could be heard.

    As for the fate of those girls¡­. the olddy was unwilling to put herself in danger to find out.

    ¡°Auntie we need to stay away from there,¡± a young child ran up to his older rtive and hurriedly guided her away.

    Everyone in the slums knew that a hulking seven-foot-tall hybrid man now lived in what was considered as the best house in the area.

    But it should be noted that this so called ¡®high ss¡¯ house was nothing more than a sturdy two-bedroom building made of wood and other simple materials.

    The hybrid¡¯srge size, hideous appearance and alien-like appendages were enough to scare off mostmon criminals.

    As for the braver ones who attempted to rob the house¡­. their mutted corpses were flung onto the streets.

    Law and order was just a fantasy in the outer district as the ckguards were mainly there to protect the businesses rather than citizens.

    And even they had no interest in involving themselves with a madman for the sake of some thieves.

    The monster had apanion, but the boy seemed to be suffering from a rare disease that caused terrible boils and warts to grow on his face.

    He was warm and easy going so some of the locals had already became good friends with him. It helped that he would often sponsor a round of drinks for free.

    No one knew what pirate crew both men belonged to or if there was even a faction behind them.

    Most of the pirates in the slums were lone wolves and preferred to act as sell swords rather than joining a crew.

    It was a great risk to join a pirate organization as the number one priority of most members was to look after themselves.

    Pirates notoriously had a reputation of immediately fleeing the battlefield once a fight had turned too disadvantages.

    And when it came to running, one would not have to be the fastest man in the crew¡­

    He just needed to be faster than the slowest member.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Cleo and Sophie had fallen into a regr routine as they gradually integrated into the undergroundmunity.

    New batches of ves were sent over every week and by now Sophie¡¯s reputation as a sick monster was all but confirmed.

    Rumors had spread that she was a cannibal that consumed and stripped flesh down to the bone which was why none of the ve corpses had been thrown out of the wooden house.

    Sophie needed to maintain an air of mystery, so she spent most of the day inside the house while Cleo was the one to do most of the reconnaissance.

    It would not be a lie to say that a small part of her was very worried every time her girlfriend went outside by herself, but Sophie could always feel the connection between them.

    The mark imprinted on Cleo¡¯s chest had recently started to glow with a pinkish hue and Sophie discovered that she could get a sense of the location of her partner.

    Several months had passed by without any sight of her aunt in the amulet space so Sophie did not know who to turn to for information.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t get over your appearance,¡± Cleoughed softly as she gently stroked Sophie¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Do you think I like seeing gross pus boils on my girlfriend?¡± Sophie rolled her eyes and firmly spanked Cleo¡¯s ass.

    The princess shot her an amorous look and the air between the two girls begun to heat up, but their hideous disguises soon quenched the rising passion.

    Sophie coughed awkwardly and tried to change the topic to something else,

    ¡°So, did you find any leads?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah¡­. I heard a rumor that Long John has been looking for a man called Luke,¡± Cleo straightened up and handed Sophie a piece of paper.

    ¡°A bounty hunter at the brothel down the road was boasting about how he would capture Luke and take the treasure for himself.¡±

    ¡°Apparently, some other groups caught wind of these rumors and now there is a two million Enas bounty on his head.¡±

    Sophie opened the folded paper and saw the sketched profile of a teenager probably a few years younger than herself.

    Luke was not a handsome boy by any stretch of the imagination as he had thick greasy hair that hung down his shoulders with piercing grey eyes.

    His clothes were in tatters and would not look out of ce on a beggar.

    ¡°We just need to join the hunting parties and we should eventually find John. From what I heard¡­. it seems that only qi body and spirit cultivators are joining in the search,¡± Cleo continued.

    ¡°Do you want to fish in troubled waters and try to snag the treasure for ourselves?¡± she asked curiously.

    ¡°No. There is no need to take any additional risks,¡± came the firm reply from Sophie.

    If there truly was a treasure¡­.

    Would the big organizations on Calypso simply allow a group of low-level criminals to im it as their own?

    Undoubtedly there would be other forces hidden in the dark.

    Sophie always kept the safety of herself and Cleo as the number one priority during the mission.

    There were no penalties for failing to catch a bounty target but even if they did not manage to capture Long John, they had still freed over fifty ves so far.

    Most of the ves were human but there were a few noteworthy exceptions¡­.

 Chapter 159: Ruin And Destruction

    Chapter 159: Ruin And Destruction

    (Procyon Star System)

    Tengiueria- Lunar Colony A-674)

    A silvery-grey spaceship was hovering above the location of Tengiueria with a tense atmosphere onboard the vessel.

    Rokan was leaning on themand chair with a pensive expression as various men and women under hismand did not dare to breathe too heavily.

    Five corpsesy scattered on the ground with their bodies already torn to pieces, but no one paid them any attention.

    House Peterlor had lost many of its colonies during the war for session, but the young duke Rokan had managed to regain many of these former territories.

    Perhaps the crown jewel of his collection was a lunar colony in the Procyon star system where an oritheium mine was located.

    Oritheium was a rare metal used in the creation of ss four weapons and above so the profits from the mine were steady.

    Lunar colony A-674 was roughly eight times smaller than Gaia with about the same gravity.

    The initial conditions on the moon were not sufficient to support life as the temperature would fall quite drastically during the night cycle.

    Years of terraforming and billions of Enas invested by the duke personally had turned this once frozen tundra into a lush and vibrant grassy environment.

    But now¡­¡­

    ¡°Exin to me what happened here,¡± Rokan growled as he shot a dark look at his subordinates kneeling on the ground.

    What was once the crown jewel of his collection was now nothing more than ash and rubble.

    Bits and pieces of the moon were floating around in the vast expanse of space, but the majority of the mass had already been vaporised.

    Katarina had been hospitalised following her injuries as she fought off several qi tide cultivators by herself.

    Her body was filled with vicious death energy as one of the pirates had been a mage, but the stubborn girl had made sure to loop off his head before the effects of the spell reached her heart.

    The twins Cain and Luke were off on a hidden mission by the duke himself, so they were not on the lunar colony at the time of the incident.

    Unfortunately, this left Jack as the only death guard avable to give the report.

    Most of the subordinates onboard the vessel were ncing in his direction with expressions of ¡®better him than me.¡¯

    ¡°We were attacked by a local pirate crew led by a man known as Orin ¡®Snake- eye¡¯ Jackson and it seems to be a random act of violence,¡± Jack whispered as he nervously adjusted his sses.

    ¡°Orin has been ssified as a level three terrorist threat by the Federation¡­.¡±

    Rokan interrupted him with a dry chuckle,

    ¡°Do you truly believe this was only done by pirates?¡± he asked mockingly.

    ¡°Have you ever seen a pirate fleet with an orbital cannon and five void cultivators in their ranks?¡±

    ¡°And tell me¡­. when is thest time a mage has needed to resort to a life of crime in order to make ends meet?¡±

    ¡°A child could havee up with a better excuse than that bull shit you just spewed at me.¡±

    Silence.

    Jack swallowed the rest of his words back down his throat and stepped back into the shadows.

    Small droplets of sweat could be seen on his brow as he silently prayed that the duke never found out about his involvement in this matter.

    No one was more familiar with the hidden darkness inside the duke¡¯s heart than his death guards.

    The five corpses torn apart on the ground were the void cultivators who were part of the pirate fleet.

    As for the rest of the bodies¡­. the duke had sliced them apart already.

    His small movements did not escape Rokan¡¯s eyes and the duke could not help but smile inwardly as he saw how desperately the traitor acted.

    Jack had his uses which was why the duke had yet to expose him.

    It was vital to his future ns that Jack be known as the only spy who had sessfully infiltrated his inner circle.

    Several of the nobles supporting the blood purity faction had chosen to remain hidden which meant that it was difficult for Rokan to find and put pressure on them.

    The link between Jack and the man who was bribing him could be a weakness that the duke could exploit.

    And truthfully, what urred today was not a huge loss.

    The oritheium mine had been slowing drying up over thest couple of years and now the remaining supply was worth only about two billion Enas.

    An unimaginable sum for most but it was just considered a small loss for a noble house as wealthy as the Peterlors.

    The real valuable assets of the Peterlor household were all stock investments in a wide range of businesses scattered across the Earth Federation.

    Rokan had not shared the full list of his business ventures with anyone except the head Butler so even Jack had no clue about the full extent of wealth in his name.

    But there was a far more pressing matter to address.

    ¡°Were there any lives lost?¡± the duke leaned forward with a serious expression.

    An intelligent looking woman with dark violet, long hair and a narrow face checked hermunicator before answering the duke.

    This woman¡¯s name was Emma and she had been working with the duke for ten years as the administrative head of his mining colonies.

    ¡°Thanks to the early warning system we managed to fully evacuate all workers on the before the fighting urred,¡± Emma softly spoke.

    ¡°There are a few that sustained mild injuries during the initial panic, but it seems that the objective of the pirates was to destroy the moon rather than capture or kill any hostages.¡±

    ¡°Compensate them properly and make sure that their injuries are treated for free,¡± Rokan ordered.

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Secretary Emma bowed and sent a message out to her assistants.

    ¡°This was clearly a warning sent to us,¡± Rokan stood up from his chair and walked over to the nearest window.

    Each step was filled with power and his figure swelled as the killing intent normally hidden deep within his body was on full disy.

    ¡°I intend to return it in kind.¡±

 Chapter 160: Mission Accomplished?

    Chapter 160: Mission Aplished?

    Calypso)

    (Outer District- Nameless Back alley)

    Run down shacks and narrow streets were the most prominent features of the outer district as most would view these homes as just temporary.

    Pirates would still fight constant gang wars with one another to control these poor territories as the drug trade was particrly lucrative.

    Numerous hidden alleyways and side paths snaked between these flimsy houses as shady figures moved silently.

    A young teenager wearing a simple brown leather jacket and in pants with small holes and tears was currently crouching down in pain as he hid behind a pile of garbage.

    ¡°It fucking hurts!¡± an agonising scream burst out of Luke¡¯s mouth as he frantically held his bleeding shoulder.

    The wound was bleeding profusely with a purplish tinge due to the poison coated on the de that pierced his body.

    Luke had been running for hours through the streets of the outer district as the bounty hunters on his trail had somehow found his safe house.

    ¡°I wish I¡¯d never picked up this stupid thing¡± Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stone tablet with peculiar writing.

    The stone tablet was blood red in colour with the words on its surface written in anguage that Luke had not seen before.

    Strangely enough the more he looked at the letters, the more he could feel his mind slipping into a rxed state.

    This was the mysterious treasure that he had stolen from Darius but who could have known that it would paint such arge target on his back.

    Long John Daggers and several ckguards were among the crowd chasing him and it was only a matter of time until they caught up.

    Rip!

    Luke tore off a piece of his jacket and frantically bandaged up his wound as he prepared to flee to the docks.

    The purplish poison on the wound was slowly sapping his energy away as the flesh around the hole started to rot and fester with pus.

    There was only one chance of survival and that was if he could somehow find a ship at the docks and leave the immediately.

    Luke groaned as he summoned up hisst traces of energy.

    He tried to get up but stumbled as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground with a dull thud.

    It only got worse for the thief when the voices of his pursuers finally came within earshot.

    His vision started to swim and blur, but he could still make out the familiar ck striped uniform of the ckguards and the man leading them.

    ¡°Behind that pile of garbage!¡±

    ¡°There he is!¡±

    ¡°Hand over the treasure or we will execute you on the spot.¡±

    Long John sighed in relief as he finally caught up to the target who had evaded capture for several hours.

    Who knows how the information had leaked out but somehow it seemed that every lowlife in the slums had heard of the existence of a rare treasure.

    Fortunately, the ckguards sent by the captain¡¯s son to assist him in the chase provided a strong deterrent force to those seeking to fish in these troubled waters.

    (Move)

    (MOVE!)

    (PLEASE JUST LET ME MOVE!)

    Luke desperately crawled on the ground with his hands, but his injured body finally showed signs of shutting down.

    It was true that one¡¯s life would sh before their eyes at the moment of death as all Luke could see were his past memories.

    From running away from home at the age of thirteen to joining a small-time gang of drug smugglers in the Alpha star system.

    Memories of time spent with whores, drinks, and gambling.

    And the haunting memory of the shock and disbelief in Darius¡¯ eyes when Luke plunged a dagger into his heart.

    Luke chuckled darkly as he felt his life force slowly slipping away.

    He would soon be seeing his ex- quartermaster in hell.

    This was thest emotion he felt before everything went dark.

    John had approached the teenager with an almost sadistic grin and fired a sma shot right in the middle of his head.

    The stone tablet rolled out of the hand of the corpse and John bent down to pick it up.

    What he did not notice at the time was that some of the blood from Luke¡¯s dead body was being sucked into the tablet.

    ¡°Mission aplished. Let¡¯s return to the young master and I will present this treasure to him personally,¡± John gripped the tablet tightly and turned to face the ckguard squad leader.

    It would be hard for him to pocket the treasure for himself, but John was convinced that he could give the guards the slip once they returned to the inner district.

    But how could his small movements escape the eyes of the experienced ckguards.

    Bang!

    John froze in shock as a bullet hole appeared in his chest.

    The spurting blood blossomed like a gorgeous crimson flower.

    ¡°How¡­ could¡­. you¡­.¡± John managed to mutter a few words of disbelief before his body also dropped to the ground.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile)

    ¡°So¡­ do we just cut off his head once they leave?¡± Cleo whispered as she peered through the binocrs.

    ¡°I guess,¡± Sophie replied as her golden eyes narrowed sharply.

    While Cleo needed a visual enhancement device, Sophie¡¯s night vision was good enough to even spot the loose strands of hair that fell on the shoulders of the ckguards.

    The two girls were currently perched on the rooftop of a nearby bar to quietly observe the situation in the small alleyway from a safe distance.

    They were not the only party currently hidden in the dark but so far no one had made a move to target the ckguards.

    Clearing a bounty mission just required proof that the target was dead so they could still get the money if they brought in the body or took a picture.

    What was bothering the duo was whether or not to attack the ckguards and attempt to steal the treasure.

    Sophie could not help but feel that the words on the stone tablet where vaguely familiar, but she could not remember where she had seen them before.

    It would not be a lie to say that she was not tempted but it would be an extremely dangerous operation.

    Attacking the ckguards was tantamount to challenging the authority of Edward the merciless and those foolish enough to challenge his rule often ended up with fates worse than death.

    Sophie¡¯s pondering was soon broken by a firm tap on the shoulder from Cleo who was now staring at a certain location.

    ¡°Look at those children over there,¡± the princess eximed in surprise as she noticed something strange.

    As the ckguard squad leader approached the corpse of Long John to pick up the tablet, several tiny figures emerged from the shadows of the alleyway.

    Their eyes were glowing eerily with an orange hue and Sophie could spot small tendrils of flesh erupting from their backs.

 Chapter 161: Cleo Is Given A Nasty Shock

    Chapter 161: Cleo Is Given A Nasty Shock

    (Children¡¯s POV)

    We are the Techilik.

    Our race is strong and united.

    No creature could resist our will to survive.

    It is the destiny of all biological life to join our family and be one.

    Individuality is a burden.

    Free will is a beautiful lie.

    For eons, our kind has roamed the known universe and brought millions of lifeforms into our matrix.

    They fight, cry and struggle but eventually join us.

    They also strengthen us.

    Make us better.

    Make us perfect.

    Until one day we encountered something strange¡­

    We were trapped in a prison by an entity that we could notprehend.

    Even now we still cannot remember the events of what happened that day.

    Time passed endlessly in that dark hole until one of our kind managed to escape.

    We discovered hope once more.

    The units may die but the group will survive.

    But the universe has changed.

    Creatures are now filled with a peculiar energy that can resist our influence.

    Now we can only assimte the feeble and weak of society.

    This is wrong.

    All should know peace as part of our loving family.

    We will guide these lostmbs into our eternal pasture.

    We will give the lifeforms of the universe the gift of hope.

    No one will ever have to be alone.

    (Main Story)

    ¡°Leave the tablet here.¡±

    ¡°Leave the tablet here.¡±

    ¡°Leave the tablet here.¡±

    The children opened their mouths simultaneously and their voices echoed through the darkness in perfect sync.

    It was unnerving how their bodies seemed to twist and contort as they approached the ckguards with a steady pace.

    The tendrils on their backs slithered silently on the ground and wrapped around the legs of several of the men.

    This attack had caught the ckguardspletely by surprise and they could not draw their weapons in time.

    Bleurgh!!!

    A dirty looking boy no older than seven approached the squad leader who was now squirming on the ground and vomited a mass of blue liquid into his mouth.

    This process was then repeated by the other children who poured this strange liquid down the throats of the remaining men.

    Silence.

    The seconds turned to minutes as each child stared at the men with a look of expectation and hope.

    Yet as the time passed and nothing seemed to happen, these expressions slowly contorted to rage.

    ¡°Why did we fail?¡±

    ¡°Why did we fail?¡±

    ¡°Why did we fail?¡±

    The chorus of cries were interrupted by the heavy footsteps of arge man walking towards them.

    His height was an imposing seven feet and his rippling muscles, spider appendages and fangs all showed that he was not fully human.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished as she directed the flow of qi to her legs to increase her speed.

    sh! sh! sh!

    Without hesitation Sophie unsheathed her dagger and sliced right through the fleshy tendrils binding the ckguards and the men quickly got up from the ground.

    It seems that there really was no gratitude among pirates as the majority of the men freed immediately dashed away.

    ¡°Squad leader let¡¯s just go!¡± one of the ckguards spoke up as he watched Sophie¡¯s back warily.

    Even the ckguard had heard rumors about the madman from the slums and who knows if he would turn on them next.

    The leader stood still for a moment but then decided that bringing back the treasure was more important than dealing with this situation, so he took the rest of his men and fled.

    Sophie nced at the departing men with a sharp glint in her eyes but decided against pursuing them.

    At least for now.

    Hehehe¡­¡­ it appeared that the squad leader hadn¡¯t noticed that Sophie had stuck a small microchip to his body when freeing him from the tendrils.

    Several eyes were watching her from the dark, but these stalkers would not pose any immediate threat, so Sophie paid them no mind.

    She had to deal with these children¡­. no creatures first.

    When she had first seen the blue mass inside of their bodies it should have been clear what type of monster they were.

    Hive mind.

    It was the nickname given to any alien species with the ability to assimte the body and mind of other organisms into a super consciousness.

    The Earth Federation had encountered many of such creatures while exploring the gxy and each behaved quite differently.

    Some created empires to rule and govern while others roamed the universe to create more of their kind.

    The ones that were truly dangerous were capable of perfectly mimicking the behaviour of their host without any trace of infection.

    Fortunately, most cultivators were immune as the qi gathered within their bodies could repel foreign influences.

    This still left a significant portion of the poption vulnerable and an incident urred on the former colony of Triagon where an entire nomad civilisation of humans were assimted into an alien race known as the ¡®Collective.¡¯

    The Imperial Army were sent in to scorch the and as a result over two million former humans were burnt alive.

    Under the outrage and pressure from the higher ups in the government, scientists were tasked to create tests that could detect any symbiotic lifeforms.

    They managed to seed.

    But as Sophie gazed at the blue masses controlling the bodies of these children like puppets, her eyes narrowed with rage.

    The minds of these children had long been destroyed.

    Tendrils of purplish flesh oozed out from their backs but there was no change in their expressions.

    Sophie felt the familiar surge of bloodlust but this time she chose to fully embrace it.

    Hungry.

    HUNGRY.

    KILL.

    Her golden eyes darkened and shifted into a crimson red hue as the fangs in her mouth slowly started to lengthen.

    Poisonous saliva dripped down the sides of her mouth and sizzled when they made contact with the ground.

    It seemed that her rage was affecting her spider appendages as tiny metal-like barbs popped out of their ends.

    ¡°Can you really kill us?¡± a little girl with adorable braids and a wide smile walked up to Sophie confidently.

    Pierce!

    Before the child could even react, Sophie had already moved her spider appendages forward and plunged them straight into the girl¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± a painful shriek sounded out from the alleyway causing the onlookers in the shadows to shiver in fear.

    The monstrous brute had killed that girl with no hesitation.

    Some of the more faint-hearted pirates felt dizzy but what they saw next would haunt them forever.

    Sophie shoved her fist into the gaping wound in the girl¡¯s chest and pulled out what seemed to be a mass of tentacles.

    Food.

    Hungry.

    FOOD.

    Sophie¡¯s hand shook for a moment, but the hybrid girl had long lost control of her body to this strange state.

    She could only watch with morbid fascination as she brought the mass of flesh to her lips and bit down.

    Blue blood from the creature spurted out as her fangs pierced the soft interior and the other children clenched their hearts in pain.

    ¡°Oh god! I¡¯m going to be sick!¡± one man could not take it anymore and turned away to throw up.

    Cleo was watching the scene through the binocrs and even she could not help but gag.

    Any girl would also feel a bit queasy watching her girlfriend devour a disgusting alien lifeform with apparent relish.

    Especially when you thought about what that same mouth would be doing to you during your nightly sessions.

 Chapter 162: Hunter

    Chapter 162: Hunter

    ¡°Why is there a hunter here?¡±

    ¡°Why is there a hunter here?¡±

    ¡°Why is there a hunter here?¡±

    The children took a few steps backwards fearfully as Sophie continued to tear into the blue fleshy biomass with a look of pure ecstasy.

    A warm soft current was flowing through her body that made the hybrid girl moan with pleasure.

    Sophie could feel the qi energy in her dantian getting stronger and stronger as this warm current surged through her meridians.

    Boom!

    The ground beneath Sophie¡¯s feet trembled as she directly broke into the upper levels of the qi spirit stage.

    Sophie stretched her arms out curiously as the feeling of this newfound strength was utterly addicting.

    ¡°Arghhhhh,¡± Sophie groaned in pain as her fangs were now fully extended and split her lip during the process.

    Her vision shifted into a strange world of yellow and orangish-red as the mass of flesh hidden inside each child¡¯s body was now prominently disyed.

    Only one thought consumed Sophie¡¯s very soul as the feeling of intense hunger swept through her body with a force that she could not resist.

    Sophie clutched her head as she felt herself losing control as these instincts were just too powerful.

    A voice kept repeating the same phrase over and over in her mind until it begun to drive her insane.

    More¡­.

    MORE¡­.

    I NEED MORE.

    This is when the nightmare really begun for the Techilik.

    (Children¡¯s POV)

    Hunters.

    That is the word our kind uses for organic life capable of threatening us.

    While we have the noble goal of assimting the civilisations of the universe into one peaceful society¡­ these hunters denounce us and seek to destroy what we created.

    But the organic lifeform in front of us¡­

    he made us feel an emotion that we have not felt for eons.

    Fear.

    His aura resembled that of the entity that sealed our kind before we escaped.

    The mere fact that a connection could exist is causing our collective mind to tremble and be restless.

    It is strange.

    He is clearly filled with the energy that prevents assimtion and yet that is not what prevents us from controlling his mind.

    Something or someone is blocking us from infecting him.

    He moves fast for a lifeform of his size and we cannot see him until it is toote.

    The spider-like appendages on his back easily pierce through our shell and then he pulls out the ¡®Delyre¡¯.

    (Trantor note: ¨C ¡®Delyre¡¯ is the collective¡¯s unique name for both the mind and soul)

    Another one of our units has died in vain.

    Another one of our units has perished.

    Another one of our units has expired.

    There are thirteen units of our collective facing off against this man but in the blink of an eye, our numbers were reduced to five.

    ¡°Please forgive us¡±

    ¡°We will leave this ce immediately.¡±

    ¡°We are sorry!¡±

    Our desperate cries for mercy fall on deaf ears as the man lunges forward and sinks his fangs into one of our unit¡¯s shoulder.

    The flesh immediately corrodes with a sizzle.

    We have only ever seen one race with a natural venom as deadly as this.

    But it makes no sense.

    We are not ignorant to the situation within the Earth Federation.

    How could an Arachnais appear in the middle of Mendolesa controlled territory?

    Our questions go unanswered as thest of our units is destroyed via swift decapitation with a silvery dagger.

    A small sense of relief ripple through our super consciousness as the memories of our final moments are transmitted to our other units scattered around in different locations across the.

    As we are now¡­. we cannot seek revenge.

    We cannot afford to have this man destroy our years of progress.

    We have suffered for thousands of years but the day wille when our kind will rise once more to take our rightful ce as the guardians of the universe.

    And we will remember the hatred that was formed today.

    (Main Story)

    The heavy stench of blood permeated the air as torn bodies and broken limbsy spread across the ground.

    What was left of the children¡¯s twisted and mangled corpses were quickly drying out and turning into mummified remains.

    Apparently, the Techilik would also alter the physiological structure of their hosts which meant that after they were removed from the body, the host would rapidly dpose.

    Sophie was not even breathing heavily as the leftover energy gained from eating these fleshy parasites was enough to keep her adrenaline pumping.

    The shadowy onlookers had long since fled the scene after Sophie went on her killing spree and there was no doubt that new rumors would spread through the outer district after tonight.

    More¡­.

    MORE¡­.

    WHERE ARE THE REST OF MY PREY?

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Sophie shrieked in rage as the ground beneath her feet trembled under the pressure of her qi energy.

    The corners of her eyes had started to drip blood, but Sophie continued to desperately scan the surrounding area for any more targets to consume.

    She had gotten a taste for this addicting sensation and now it could not longer be quenched.

    Sophie continued to howl as inhuman noises and grunts spilled out from her throat.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Punches were sent in random directions as Sophie thrashed and howled like a madman.

    Suddenly her raging figure was halted temporarily by the familiar sound that echoed in her mind.

    [The fight is over Sophie]

    [Come let¡¯s go home and rx]

    Cleo¡¯s gentle and loving voice projected in Sophie¡¯s mind as the princess approached her rampaging girlfriend with hesitant steps.

    She had long noticed that something was wrong and headed over from the roof of the tavern to calm Sophie down.

    But Sophie was no longer in a state of reason to control her actions.

    Stab!

    A spider appendage shot forward and nearly pierced Cleo¡¯s heart but stopped a centimeter away from her flesh.

    Before Cleo could even breathe a sigh of relief, she froze in shock as a strong hand picked her up by the neck and started to squeeze.

    ¡°Hungry¡­. hungry¡­.¡± Sophie growled darkly as she applied pressure.

    The shadowy entity hidden deep inside Cleo¡¯s body trembled with fear as it sensed the immediate danger.

    Sophie¡¯s mouth opened wide and her fangs slowly closed around Cleo¡¯s neck¡­.

 Chapter 163: The Princess And The Monster

    Chapter 163: The Princess And The Monster

    Chomp!

    Cleo closed her eyes and winced as she felt warm blood ssh across her face.

    How could this have happened?

    Sophie had fully gone out of control and it appeared that she would even attack her own girlfriend without hesitation.

    Surprisingly, Cleo could feel no pain even though the fangs should have pierced straight through her neck.

    Did Sophie¡¯s venom always have a numbing effect?

    Cleo slowly opened her eyes and gasped in horror at what happened during those few moments.

    Sophie¡¯s right arm was bleeding profusely as the hybrid girl had sank her fangs into her own flesh at thest second.

    Luckily, Sophie¡¯s body was immune to the poison that her venom nds produced otherwise the skin on her arm would have begun to melt.

    But it hurt like hell.

    The pain brought back a shred of rity but one look at Cleo¡¯s body caused Sophie to enter a state of rage once more.

    ¡°Stay back!¡± Sophie growled in pain and roughly shoved Cleo to the side.

    The princess flew several feet in the air before crashing heavily against a stone wall with a hard thud.

    Sophie could see a strange biomass hidden deeply inside Cleo¡¯s chest and the familiar feeling of hunger threatened to overwhelm her.

    It was slightly different from the ball of flesh inside the children as this creature seemed to be vaguely humanoid.

    If she had to describe it, the alien symbiote looked like a shadowy stick figure with four dark tendrils that spread through Cleo¡¯s body and wrapped around each of her organs.

    One tendril was repeatedly trying to enter her heart but was being repelled by a glowing pink barrier.

    Just then an ancient sounding voice boomed in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    Kill¡­.

    KILL¡­.

    KILL AND THEN FEED.

    Sophie stumbled as she walked towards Cleo with uneven footsteps as her mind was now split into two different desires.

    The rational part of her wanted to shut off this hunting state and chase after the tablet held by the ckguards while the other part of her wanted to eat the creature inside Cleo.

    But as Sophie came closer and closer to Cleo¡­¡­ her sense of reason faded, and she once again became a mindless beast.

    Cleo groaned as she raised herself up from the ground.

    Sophie¡¯s hard throw had made her slightly dizzy, but it was nothing that a cultivator could not quickly recover from.

    She saw Sophie walking over with an expression of bloodlust, so she knew that the hybrid girl¡¯s moment of rity had gone.

    Mental Link!

    Cleo established a mental connection and sent a tentative message to try to calm Sophie down once more.

    [Sophie?]

    It seemed to have little effect as Sophie moved forward at the same pace without a moment of hesitation.

    Cleo gritted her teeth with determination and tried again a second time with some more force.

    [Sophie!]

    [Listen you have to snap out of this]

    [I believe that you are in there somewhere]

    Cleo continued to send message after message into Sophie¡¯s mind but there was still no response from the hybrid girl.

    ¡°Must hunt¡­.¡± Sophie groaned as she swung her fist and prepared to deliver a fatal blow to the meat vessel containing the delicious food.

    [Sophie please don¡¯t make me do this]

    The fist showed no sign of slowing down as it approached Cleo¡¯s chest with the intent of splitting it open.

    Mental Spike!

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Sophie shrieked in pain as a severe headache shattered her consciousness and then the world slowly turned dark.

    Thest thing she saw was the tearful face of her girlfriend running towards her body with an expression of grief.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Calypso- City of Trinidad)

    (Inner region- St. Ann¡¯s Escort Services)

    ¡°Excellent work!¡± Kohli chuckled as he held the mysterious stone tablet in his palm.

    The tablet was warm to the touch and the strange writings covering its surface seemed to mesmerize all who gazed at them.

    Strangely enough the tablet appeared to stick to his skin, and it took some effort to put it down on the table.

    Kohli was in an extremely happy mood as he listened to the report given by the ckguard squad leader.

    Apparently, they had killed off that useless man John and also managed to intimidate several low life gangs who dared to threaten his authority.

    ¡°Tell me more about that madman from the slums,¡± Kohli smiled as he cupped the breast of the prostitute serving him.

    The squad leader trembled as even the memory of the events that urred only a few hours ago were enough to cause him to be unsettled.

    He took a few deep breaths and continued his report with some additional details that the young master would want.

    ¡°He is a monstrous brute of a man that is clearly not fully human. Standing at a height taller than most men at seven feet and four de-like appendages jut out from his back.¡±

    ¡°I do not believe that he is capable of much higher-level thinking as his speech was slow and only a few words were uttered every time he spoke.¡±

    ¡°If I could describe him in three words it would be merciless, cruel and dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I watched him ughter a group of modified children without any hesitation and then he ate the flesh from their bodies,¡± the squad leader held back the urge to vomit as he relived those dark moments.

    Kohli pondered for a minute and then gave out a new set of orders to his subordinate,

    ¡°Seek out this man and offer him an employment contract to serve me personally as a bodyguard or butcher.¡±

    ¡°Offer him whatever he desires whether it be money, men, women or children. Tell him we can fulfill any demand once it is within our power.¡±

    As the son of a ckguard captain along with his overweight size and general demeanor of an arrogant child there were many who simply saw him as a boy drunk with power and ignorant to the world.

    But they would be underestimating him.

    There was a reason why despite the many illegitimate bastards born from his father, he was the only one allowed to be called the heir.

    Kohli¡¯s job was to quietly grow an underground army that could one day overthrow the rule of Edward on Calypso.

    His father was constantly watched due to his position of power but there would be fewer eyes on the son.

    This madman could potentially be another valuable chess piece to aid their cause.

    Should he refuse, then Kohli had no problem with killing him as a way to boost his reputation among the scum in the outer district and grow his prestige.

 Chapter 164: Welcome Home My Child

    Chapter 164: Wee Home My Child

    Darkness.

    Nothingness.

    Purgatory.

    Sophie found herself gently floating in a void-like space with little control over her body.

    There was nothing as far as the eye could see and time seemed to be sped up as the minutes turned to hours then days and then years.

    ¡°What happened just now?¡± Sophie frowned as she tried to remember what could have brought her to this strange ce.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± she shrieked.

    Sophie could not help but clutch her head in pain as wave after wave of memories hit her all at once.

    She saw herself attacking the children to rip the parasites out of their bodies and then consume the fleshy biomass.

    She could still recall the warm flow of qi in her body after being promoted to the upper levels of the qi spirit stage that had felt veryfortable.

    Sophie could also remember trying to turn around to tell Cleo that they needed to go after the ckguards to get the stone tablet.

    But then¡­. she lost control.

    The memories after thest parasite had been eaten were disjointed and fragmented with a cloudy white fog preventing her from seeing most of the details.

    From the bits and pieces of the different images shown, Sophie reasoned that she must have gone on a rampage.

    It was just frustrating that thest few moments leading to the end of the memories were gonepletely.

    As for why she was in an endless darkness, there were really only two possible exnations.

    Sophie may either be a mental space or suffering a psychic attack that caused her to fall under an illusion.

    Sophie glided gently through the void while looking for a way out.

    Most illusions would have tiny cracks that would allow their victims to discover ws in their fake reality.

    Once these ws were identified then it was a simple matter to dispel the illusion.

    Sophie tried for a few minutes without much luck until an idea suddenly struck her.

    Oh wait¡­. she could use her enhanced vision!

    Sophie smiled and directed the flow of qi to her golden eyes.

    This caused her pupils to shine with an eerie light as her vision shifted into a world of yellow and orangish-red.

    All illusions would fade away under her Arachnais gaze.

    Unfortunately, there were absolutely no changes to the scenery ofplete and utter darkness which left Sophie quite disheartened.

    Clearly this ce was not an illusion which meant that it was a mental space.

    This would be a bit trickier to escape as one would be trapped within the confines of their own mind.

    ¡°Fuck how do I get out of this wretched ce?¡± Sophie groaned as she tried to rack her brain for a solution.

    ¡°Are you so desperate to leave my domain?¡± an enchanting feminine voice sounded out from the void.

    ¡°Wait who said that?¡± Sophie warily nced around but could see no one else present in the darkness but her.

    ¡°Sorry but you are far too weak for me to reveal my true form. You will need to get a lot stronger before we can have a proper conversation face to face,¡± came the smug reply.

    Far beyond Sophie¡¯s location in the void, a mysteriousdy was staring at her with a look of curiosity and adoration.

    It was hard to describe her appearance as it seemed to be constantly shifting between two forms at the same time.

    She had eight eyes that were sat deeply within their sockets and also glowed a warm golden colour.

    Her figure was well endowed with two massive mountains in the middle of her chest that would make any woman jealous.

    Six de-like appendages flowed gently out of her back with several purplish stingers attached to their ends.

    The ears of the woman were pointed and with greenish veins that covered all the avable surface.

    Instead of the typical extended fangs of the Arachnais tribe, thedy only had slightly sharper than usual teeth.

    Her physical characteristics matched that of the ancient Arachnais ancestors from eons ago.

    The other form that constantly ovepped with her body was an enormous spider beast with massive limbs that seemed to have no end in sight.

    Features of the monster seemed to be distorted as the space around its body warped and twisted in a strange manner.

    The womanughed lightly to herself as she saw the confusion on the little spiderling¡¯s face who managed to reach this ce.

    It had been hundreds of years since a member of the Arachnais royal family had been born with the special physique needed to channel the powers of the great Weaver to this extent.

    These chosen Arachne cultivators were also able to astral project their souls into the domain of the goddess.

    They were exceedingly rare as this physique would only appear at random times throughout the long history of the tribe.

    The individual who reached the closest in modern times had been a princess named Thai¡¯lle who showed great promise but ultimately barely failed to reach the potential threshold required to enter this subspace.

    Ironically, it was not even a pure-blooded Arachne but rather her daughter who was a hybrid mixed with the blood of a human who gained this special physique.

    The great Weaver had taken a liking to the girl and the high priestess Raphi¡¯elle also held a certain level of fondness as well.

    This weak little hybrid would be the spark that would set the universe aze to bring about great change.

    The universe had begun to stagnate and even the gods had resigned themselves to small time battles and petty squabbles.

    Very few had the courage to gamble with truly high stakes involved.

    This displeased the Weaver who nowcked entertainment and worthy prey to hunt.

    It was clear that this game had been going on for far too long¡­

    And it was time to reset the board.

    ¡°You may call me Raphi¡¯elle,¡± the priestess sent another voice message to Sophie.

    ¡°I am the current host for the great weaver. The hunter goddess who we have both pledged our souls and will serve for the rest of our lives.¡±

    ¡°Wee home my child.¡±

 Chapter 165: There Is No Choice

    Chapter 165: There Is No Choice

    (Domain of the Hunter Goddess)

    ¡°Wait I never pledged my soul to anyone!¡± Sophie firmly retorted.

    The information given to her by Princess Rai¡¯lle had some knowledge about the background of her mother¡¯s people.

    Most of the detailed knowledge were sealed away as to prevent Sophie¡¯s mind from bing overwhelmed by the foreign memories¡­.

    But she had still grasped the basic history and culture of the Arachnais.

    This included the various religions and cultural practices held by different members of the tribe.

    She knew that some of the Arachnais tribe folk worshipped a hunter goddess called the Great Weaver but many of the younger generation simply saw her as a myth.

    Worship of the Weaver was now a lesser religion only practiced by a few members of the royal family and some nomadic Arachnais groups.

    ¡°Oh?¡± came a coldugh from the mysterious voice.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle smiled as she saw the angry looking spiderling showing an expression of both dissatisfaction and disbelief.

    It was so cute!

    Being the priestess and host of an elder goddess was impressive, but it was pretty lonely spending thousands of years in a void by yourself.

    This is why Raphi¡¯elle was very pleased whenever a new member of the Arachnais tribe managed to find their way here.

    Raphi¡¯elle asked calmly, ¡°Then tell me whose power have you been borrowing for your own use?¡±

    ¡°Did you really think that you could simply gain strength without paying a price?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you need to learn about the greatness of the one who saved us all¡­.

    The priestess transmitted into Sophie¡¯s mind the true origins of the hunter goddess as it was important that the hybrid girl gained some understanding about the master she now served.

    Unlike many of the other gods, the hunter goddess did not want or need the worship and adoration of her race.

    She was content with choosing a few powerful individuals to share her power and blessing them with great strength.

    These individuals would then serve as her apostles and carry out her will.

    This meant that her image had gradually faded away from the consciousness of the everyday Arachnais nsman.

    Even the royal family had begun to see her gift as just a mere gic ability.

    The fools.

    If it were not for the protection of the Weaver¡­.

    There would be no Arachnais tribe.

    The universe is nothing more than an endless cycle of death and life.

    Of destruction and rebirth.

    Eventually all races fall.

    Life is nothing more than a brief sh of miracles in the cold unfeeling void of empty space.

    It was a time long before the name Arachnais was used to describe her people.

    They were simply known back then as the Ranzioere.

    The Insectoid Empire of that time was nothing more than a collection of scattered races whose goals, ambitions and objectives were widely different.

    The hierarchy was not as defined back then as dozens of higher order races fought desperately for control over their simple-minded brethren.

    The lower order insectoids creatures were not an infinite resource and hence wars begun to erupt between the different species.

    It was in this era filled with war and strife that a Ranzioere girl whose true name remains a mystery managed to secure a longsting dynasty for her people.

    The Ranzioere people had aligned themselves with another Insectoid race known as the Igairens but were betrayed.

    Men and women.

    The young and the old

    They were all massacred without mercy.

    The Arachnais tribe of today was supposed to fall eons ago were it not for that unknown Ranzioere girl who managed to cross the border of mortality during a crucial battle.

    The realm beyond the Ascension stage.

    A ce where strength had no meaning as the universe became nothing more than a chessboard.

    She was the first of her kind to enter the realm of the gods.

    Gods may not use their powers directly on reality as it would easily disrupt the fabric of space and time.

    However, the newly born hunter goddess managed to safely hide away thest survivors of her people until the war ended.

    When the Ranzioere nsmen returned to the Insectoid Empire they found that many of their fellow higher order races had been destroyed.

    Even their one-time friends and then enemies the Igairens were no more.

    Only three other races remained.

    Naslitsers, Serpentinea and the Fayera.

    Serpentinea were humanoid insectoids with stic and stretchy skin that resembled that of rubber.

    They were covered in yellowish scales and had tiny green spikes that jutted out of their shoulder des.

    Three bright pink eyes were located along their torso and the mouth orifice was found near their posterior.

    Naslitsers on the other hand were beast-like creatures with narrow mouths and long noses that made them appear permanently angry.

    Their bodies were snake-like with a long continuous tail that stretched further than seven feet.

    Possessing no limbs, this race relied on psychic abilities to move objects around using only their mind.

    And thest race was the Fayera who were enormous aliens over eight feet in height with four translucent wings found on their backs.

    Their body was covered by a metallic exoskeleton that was extremely difficult to break as it was made of a modified chitin material.

    Five long pincers, tenpound eyes and two de-like scythes for arms made them one of the strongest insectoid races inbat.

    However, with only four higher order races left, the Insectoid Empire was now a mere shadow of the strength that it once possessed.

    It was this senseless destruction and loss of life that formed the basis of the treaty of Namiar.

    The higher order races of the Insectoid Empire would never take up arms against their own kind ever again.

    Millions of years passed and the Ranzioere people evolved and changed due to the subtle influence of the hunter goddess into the modern day Arachnais.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­. a lot to take in,¡± Sophie paused for a moment and replied carefully.

    ¡°I am grateful that the Weaver saved my ancestors, but I don¡¯t want to pledge my soul or serve her for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°You may be under the wrong impression,¡± Raphi¡¯elle¡¯s tone shifted and Sophie shivered as she sensed eight eyes staring at her from the darkness.

    ¡°There is no choice.¡±

 Chapter 166: Are You People Deaf?!

    Chapter 166: Are You People Deaf?!

    Calypso- Outer District)

    (The Slums)

    Beep! Beep!

    ¡°Here you go babe,¡± Cleo held Sophie¡¯s hand lovingly and gently fed her a vial of nutrient solution.

    Two days had passed since Sophie had fallen unconscious and Cleo had to carry her heavy body back to the wooden house.

    As she fed the sleeping Sophie, Cleo was seriously considering just giving up on retrieving the stone tablet.

    They had already achieved the goal of their bounty hunting mission so there was no need to take any unnecessary risks.

    It was not unusual for the victims of a severe mental attack to take a couple of days to wake up, so the princess was not worried.

    Cleo did not want to permanently damage Sophie¡¯s consciousness, so she had used a simple mental technique that overloaded a person¡¯s mind with sensory stimuli.

    It would not have been that effective under normal circumstances, but Sophie¡¯s loss of control made her more susceptible to the attack.

    And just in case of any unexpectedplications, Cleo had attached a biometric scanner that regrly checked Sophie¡¯s vitals to make sure that the hybrid girl was healthy.

    Beep! Beep!

    The results of the medical scanner showed that there were no external or internal injuries and Sophie was apparently just sleeping.

    ¡°What am I going to do with you?¡± Cleo whispered as she saw that Sophie had furrowed her brow in pain.

    She needed to have a long and honest conversation with her girlfriend.

    When Sophie¡¯s eyes turned blood red and she lost control¡­.

    It would be a lie to say that Cleo was not afraid of her.

    The memory of Sophie aiming that final blow at her chest with no emotion other than pure rage still sent shivers down her spine.

    Were it not for her quick thinking to use a psychic attack¡­. she could have died.

    She still had dark purplish bruises on her neck from when Sophie grabbed her during the rampage.

    Even now a few dayster, her neck had yet to fully heal from suffering the painful grip of Sophie¡¯s hand.

    How could she forget the feeling of having her life sh before her eyes and the one responsible being the woman she loved.

    Sophie was not fully human, and Cleo knew that being with her would have some challenges, but this was really too much to handle.

    ¡°I still love you¡­. it¡¯s just¡­.¡± Cleo sighed heavily and let the rest of the words remain unspoken.

    She felt sick to her stomach as a violent rush of emotions kept hitting her whenever she thought about the events that happened.

    Knock! Knock!

    She was interrupted from her train of thought by a loud banging noiseing from the front door.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there in a few minutes!¡± Cleo tapped her voice modifier and answered with the voice of a youthful boy.

    The stairs of the wooden house were getting more unstable and Cleo nearly fell trying to get downstairs.

    Knock! Knock!

    Knock! Knock!

    The loud banging continued, and Cleo was already in a bad mood, so this was just the spark needed to set her off.

    ¡°I said I was fuckinging!¡± Cleo snarled in rage and opened the door to see seven ckguards pointing sma rifles at her chest.

    ¡°Are you people deaf?!¡±

    Silence.

    Cleo was about to say some more choice words when she realised who exactly were the people staring at her from the yard.

    Cough¡­cough¡­

    Cleo awkwardly coughed a few times to lighten up the mood, but it seemed to have no effect.

    Seven grim faced men of differing heights and armed with darkbat suits were still holding their weapons with the ends pointed at her.

    It was a tense atmosphere as Cleo slowly raised her hands in the air and made the gesture for surrender.

    She could easily dispatch these would be assants with a mental strike, but the princess was curious about what their purpose was.

    Sophie had sessfully spread their reputation as a pair of monsters who should be avoided so many would steer clear of their humble wooden home.

    There was no reason for a ckguard troop to be here as Sophie had not attacked or killed any individuals on Edward¡¯s protection list.

    ¡°Are you the boy who lives with the monster?¡± one of the men asked her cautiously.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Cleo replied with an even tone.

    A well-built man with shaggy ck hair stepped forward and exined the purpose of their visit,

    ¡°We need to speak to him. Our young master has been impressed by his strength and is extending an offer to have him join our crew.¡±

    ¡°The conditions of the contract can be negotiated, and all of his demands will be met to the best of our abilities.¡±

    ¡°ves of all genders and species can be arranged for his pleasure.¡±

    Cleo internally frowned with disgust as she saw the fawning smiles on the faces of the ckguard troops.

    Who was this so-called ¡®young master¡¯?

    And where did he get the qualifications to allow the daughter of a duke and a princess to serve under hismand?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but he is busy at the moment,¡± Cleo lowered her arms and replied with a polite smile.

    ¡°But I will pass on the message and you can expect a reply in a week¡¯s time.¡±

    Cleo had no desire to ept this offer on the behalf of Sophie, but it may turn messy if she refused these men outright.

    Little did she know that her decision prevented a potential attack as the men were under the orders of Kohli to open fire immediately if the offer was rejected.

    ¡°That is¡­. eptable,¡± the dark-haired man replied.

    ¡°We will return in one week but here is a little token of favour from our young master for your troubles.¡±

    He approached Cleo with a brown bag that had a small vial of medicinal cream inside.

    It was a high-quality product used for skincare to help heal disease that affected the flesh.

    Cleo¡¯s synthetic flesh was covered with oozing sores and pus-filled boils so whoever sent this gift had clearly done their research.

    This only increased Cleo¡¯s wariness about the whole situation but she epted the gift with a cheerful nod and closed the door.

    Outside the wooden shack the men departed but not before one of them hid a small silvery grey device in the corner of the yard.

 Chapter 167: Time For The Truth

    Chapter 167: Time For The Truth

    (Domain of the Hunter Goddess)

    ¡°Rx my child,¡± Priestess Raphi¡¯elle gently whispered as she saw that Sophie¡¯s face had a nervous expression.

    ¡°There is only one demand that the great Weaver expects from her followers¡­.¡±

    ¡°Hunt.¡±

    You had to feel sorry for the hybrid girl as it was quite overwhelming to be suddenly transported into an unknown realm where a hidden entity proimed that their master owned your soul.

    Sophie was trying her best to remain calm and ask questions but the pressure from the eight eyes hidden in the void staring at her was making it difficult.

    For now, it would be best to get as much information as possible to know about the benefits or detriments to be a follower of the hunter goddess.

    ¡°Hunt? Hunt what?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle chucked lightly and replied,

    ¡°Worthy prey.¡±

    ¡°Hunt those who are as strong or stronger than you and offer their life essences to the Weaver.¡±

    ¡°She requires an offering at least once every five years.¡±

    ¡°In return you will be able to channel her powers but the extent to which you can make them your own depends on your willpower.¡±

    What Priestess Raphi¡¯elle neglected to mention was that most worshippers would only be able to unlock one aspect of the Weaver¡¯s abilities, but Sophie¡¯s body could handle three states.

    The Berserker rage where anger and adrenaline would fill the body which led to enhanced physical strength and regeneration.

    Their vision would shift into a world of orangish-red and the user would be able to hunt prey in a state of mindless fury.

    The pheromonal state that was characterised by the user emitting subtle odours that would enhance the pleasure and act as an aphrodisiac against a target of the same or opposite gender.

    In addition, the user would gain the ability to see pleasure spots that were areas on the prey that were particrly sensitive.

    And the final ability was the irvoyance state.

    Sophie had used this ability only once as the conditions necessary for its activation were particrly harsh.

    It could only be unlocked if the user were in a deep state of desperation or despair.

    This ability allows the user to peer into the fate of a particr target to see their current and future location.

    This is what Sophie used to find Astrid¡¯s location after the Triple headed elemental snake exploded during the university entrance exam

    The major downside to this ability was that itpletely shuts off the other senses with the exception of sight so it would leave the user vulnerable to attacks.

    Sophie paused for a moment and then asked again to confirm,

    ¡°So, I only need to offer the life essence of a powerful enemy once every five years and that¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°There are no hidden lies or price to pay,¡± Priestess Raphi¡¯elle calmly spoke.

    ¡°How do I sacrifice their life essence?¡± Sophie inquired.

    ¡°Allow me to demonstrate the prayer needed to activate the sacrifice,¡± Raphi¡¯elle replied

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle closed her eyes and the harsh words of devotion echoed around the empty void.

    ¡°Oh, beleg nathron.¡±

    ¡°Im c¨ªn loyal m¨²l offer hi belth- in c¨ªn est-.¡±

    ¡°An i blood -o nin enemies na- i onlui worthui offering na a aenil.¡±

    ¡°Let i enemies -o i Arachnais n¨²r onlui n- govannen with gurth a destruction.¡±

    ¡°Consume i faer -o nin preui a lothron their pitiful polod aid cin in c¨ªn beleg thel-.¡±

    ¡°I d¨² falls a i fuin fills nin. Im am a calf -o c¨ªn will.¡±

    Six sentences were repeated over and over again until Sophie felt as though she was eventually turning insane.

    It was in anguage that was both familiar and strange to Sophie.

    The words spoken vaguely resembled those in thenguage of the Arachnais tribe, but they sounded ancient and full of power.

    Sophie clutched her head in pain as the hidden meaning of the repeating verse slowly entered her mind.

    ¡°Oh, Great Weaver.¡±

    ¡°I your loyal ve offer this kill in your name.¡±

    ¡°For the blood of my enemies is the only worthy offering to a goddess.¡±

    ¡°Let the enemies of the Arachnais people only be met with death and destruction.¡±

    ¡°Consume the soul of my prey and may their pitiful strength aid you in your great purpose.¡±

    ¡°The night falls and the darkness fills me.¡±

    ¡°I am a vessel of your will.¡±

    A mysterious force gripped her body and Sophie found herself chanting along with the words flowing from her mouth with practised ease.

    Time seemed to have lost all meaning and Sophie could not tell how long it had been since she arrived in this realm.

    Eventually the chanting stopped, and the priestess sighed with relief as she received the order from the goddess to return Sophie to her body.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle decided to give the little spiderling a parting gift, so she secretly injected a tiny stream of qi into Sophie¡¯s dantian.

    ¡°I look forward to seeing you soon,¡± the priestess spoke and then waved her hand lightly to send Sophie out of the domain.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Sophie shrieked with agony as the darkness around her loudly shattered and she found herselfying down on a bed.

    Crash!

    Sophie looked up to see Cleo standing at the doorway with a shattered te full of food as the princess had just returned to check up on her.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Cleo was startled to hear her girlfriend cry out in pain, so she hurriedly walked over and began checking her vitals on the medical scanner.

    ¡°No everything seems okay,¡± she muttered as she continued to look over the data.

    Sophie froze as she tried to process what had just happened in that strange space.

    She could remember the encounter with the priestess quite clearly and the words of the offering prayer seemed to be deeply etched into her mind.

    Sophie groaned as she stretched out her limbs and contemted if she should tell her father what had happened.

    She did not want to worry him but as a god stage cultivator he may have knowledge about those beyond the Ascension realm.

    Sophie nned to message him once the mission on Calypso ended.

    But first there was an important matter to address¡­.

    Sophie saw the worried expression on her girlfriend¡¯s face and silently made a decision.

    She could not keep hiding the truth about her parentage and forcing Cleo to deal with her out of control abilities.

    All rtionships need honesty and although Sophie was scared that the princess would choose to leave her¡­.

    Cleo deserved to know the truth.

    It was time to tell her everything.

 Chapter 168: No Regrets

    Chapter 168: No Regrets

    Calypso)

    (Inner District- Secret Location- Research Lab)

    ¡°Fascinating¡­ truly fascinating,¡± an elderly man wearing a white coat eagerly examined the data being shown on hisputer.

    The man was hunched over with poor posture and his wrinkled old face had a lecherous sneer that would make anyone feel ufortable to look at.

    His heavily overweight body and unshaven chin were both signs of his poor health andck of personal grooming.

    He was an ex researcher from a private pharmaceuticalpany who had been fired several decades earlier for inappropriate behaviour towards the young trainees in his care.

    In ordinary circumstances as long as he was producing results, the higher ups would simply turn a blind eye to his personal affairs, but he had made the mistake of harassing the daughter of a minor nobleman.

    It was a miracle that he had managed to reach Calypso with his head still on his shoulders.

    Hisck of personal strength meant that he was targeted and bullied once he arrived in the outer district.

    Were it not for the young master scouting out his potential and recruiting him¡­. this ex researcher would have long been starved to death.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Kohli impatiently snarled as two of his ckguards shot threatening looks towards the scientist.

    ¡°My apologies young master,¡± the old man bowed slightly as he realised his mistake.

    The young master had a ferocious temper and several of his assistants had been killed already.

    ¡°It is just that this stone tablet is truly revolutionary. I have run the writings through the entire Federation¡¯s database and yet can find no matches.¡±

    ¡°Not even the type A decryption software can determine the true meaning of these mysterious words.¡±

    ¡°But it is the other properties of this ancient relic that make me very excited. Somehow it has the ability to absorb blood from open wounds.¡±

    ¡°I have yet to discover the purpose of such a skill as the blood seems to just vanish into the tablet.¡±

    ¡°This material is¡­¡±

    ¡°Do I look like I care?¡± Kohli was getting bored by the exnation and rudely interrupted the scientist.

    The elderly man stopped immediately and put on a fawning smile while cursing inwardly.

    Why had hended himself in such a wretched situation.

    He should have just stuck to maniptingmoner girls at the institution but that damn Alicia was just so attractive.

    Those slender legs, her nubile body¡­ those child birthing hips¡­.

    The perverse old man was snapped out of his train of thought by a loud purposeful cough by the young master.

    Kohli was visibly showing signs of his murderous rage so the scientist hurriedly told him the good news.

    ¡°This tablet can also transfer the inner qi of cultivators from one person to another!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Outer District- The Slums)

    ¡°Cleo, I need you to set up an istion damping field and use the electromaic scanner to look for any nearby listening devices,¡± Sophie unsteadily got up from the bed and approached the princess.

    ¡°Wait don¡¯t get up until your body feels better,¡± Cleo scolded fiercely and led the hybrid girl back to bed.

    Sophie wanted to say some words of protest but the look of firm determination on her girlfriend¡¯s face caused the words to die down her throat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll activate the istion barrier and use the scanner to see if anyone was spying on us,¡± Cleo made sure that Sophie was tucked under the nkets before heading for her storage bag.

    Cleo reached into her bag and pulled out a dark green machine with several blue lines running down its sides.

    The device was about the size of arge ball and was made using thetest technology on the market.

    There was a yellow button prominently disyed which she pressed with her thumb.

    A green light scanned her finger and soon the immediate surroundings of the girls blurred and shifted.

    They were now trapped within a confined space roughly the size of the room.

    Istion dampening devices would create a local spatial disruption zone that prevented any noises from leaking out of the bubble.

    It was the perfect counter to listening gadgets or spyware.

    Some of the downsides were that each device held a small number of charges and the bubble wouldst for only thirty minutes.

    Cleo checked the outer edges of the bubble to make sure there were no holes and then pressed a smaller button on the machine.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A red light swept the room multiple times, but no foreign devices were detected.

    ¡°Okay what do you want to tell me?¡± Cleo crossed her arms and stared deeply into Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I want to tell you the truth,¡± Sophie bit her lips nervously and started to stammer.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ you¡­ I want you to know about my mom¡­.¡±

    ¡°I want you to know what exactly I am.¡±

    Cleo paused for a moment and then sighed, she held Sophie¡¯s hand lovingly and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

    Truthfully, she also wanted to know more about the past of her girlfriend, but she didn¡¯t want Sophie to feel forced.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s reluctance to reveal the racial identity of his daughter¡¯s mother was a well-known open secret among the upper circles.

    Cleo had met the man and didn¡¯t think that he would keep such a matter hidden from the public unless there was a good reason.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me that your father wanted you to keep your mother¡¯s identity a secret?¡± Cleo replied with a soft tone.

    Sophie knew that it was dangerous to reveal her secret, but this was a risk that she was willing to take.

    She gently took off her amulet and held in her palm.

    The familiar warmth of the only gift she had received from her mother and Sophie¡¯s most prized possession.

    It was thanks to this Star of Ethnaise that Sophie was able to cultivate the Spider Whisper Manual and be able to get stronger.

    Her mother must have deeply care about her daughter¡¯s wellbeing.

    Sophie¡¯s impression of her mom was built from the stories told by her dad about his lover.

    The image of Princess Thai¡¯lle made her think of a strong, fierce woman with an indomitable will.

    Sophie hoped that she could one day be as courageous and strong as her mom.

    It was this very thought and the weight of her amulet that made the decision final.

    ¡°Cleo¡­. my mother is an Insectoid,¡± Sophie smiled bravely as the words flowed from her lips.

    ¡°I am half human and half a race of Insectoids known as the Arachnais.¡±

    She did it.

    There would be no regrets.

    No matter what happened now¡­.

 Chapter 169: An Insectoid?

    Chapter 169: An Insectoid?

    There was a tense silence.

    Sophie could feel her newfound courage gradually slipping away as Cleo¡¯s mouth slowly opened to say something and then closed before the words coulde out.

    The princess was just shell shocked and frozen in disbelief.

    An Insectoid?

    The war between the Earth Federation and the Insectoid Empire had been going on for generations with no end in sight.

    There was an enormous blood debt between both sides that would not be resolved until one was annihtedpletely.

    Cleo had only been six years old when she saw the memorial broadcast on the virtual that mourned the victims of an Insectoid attack.

    The image of those ugly hideous bug-like monsters who killed indiscriminately was nted deeply within her mind.

    She saw as those creatures ughtered men, women, and children alike with no remorse.

    As one of the leading candidates to the throne, Princess Cleo was expected to take a firm pro war stance as public opinion was firmly on the side of the military.

    The Imperial Army would not rest until the threats to the Federation both internal and external were eliminated swiftly.

    Cleo¡¯s hand shook slightly as she raised her head and stared deeply into Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    Gold met green as an unknown emotion surfaced in Cleo¡¯s heart.

    Her girlfriend¡­¡­ was an enemy?

    If this matter were to be exposed to the public, it would be the biggest scandal in the history of the noble society.

    The formermander of the Imperial Army had a hybrid offspring with an Insectoid and then named her as heir to his dukedom.

    Cleo was no stranger to the inner darkness of the royal court, and she knew exactly what the fate of her girlfriend would be.

    The Ascension pirs would kill Sophie and then the duke himself to make an example out of them.

    ¡°Wow¡­. err¡­yeah¡­.¡± Cleo managed to mutter out a few words, but it did little to calm down the anxious looking hybrid girl on the bed.

    ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Sophie asked nervously.

    ¡°I mean¡­. your dad and an Insectoid? The same man who fought tooth and nail against the Empire for years at the border?¡± Cleo could not help but ask again to confirm.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ the details aren¡¯t that important, but they met and fell in love during the years he went missing,¡± Sophie replied.

    ¡°It turns out that the wormhole had sent him into the heart of the Insectoid Empire, and he had to survive there all on his own.¡±

    ¡°He met my mom on a small ex, and they bonded during the months spent together.¡±

    The mystery of where the duke had gone after he had been sucked into the wormhole had remained unsolved as the man was very tight lipped about the matter.

    Cleo did not expect to find out the answer from Sophie and it seems that her girlfriend was hiding some of the details or her father did not tell her everything.

    It was no simple matter to survive by yourself in the middle of enemy territory. Even a god stage cultivator would have difficulties escaping if he were surrounded by an entire army.

    But Sophie¡¯s mother¡­.

    Cleo frowned and the shadows beneath her feet started to twist and squirm.

    Her veins and arteries began to widen as a purple gas now flowed through her blood.

    The dark symbiote inside her body opened its purplish eyes with horror as it had heard fragments of the conversation.

    From its gic inheritance memory, it knew that certain Insectoid races specialized in hunting down those of his kind to consume them as food.

    Bam! Bam!

    Cleo winced as she felt a small paining from her chest, but this sensation soon passed.

    She had no idea that the symbiote was frantically attempting to invade her heart but kept getting repelled by the pink barrier created by the mark.

    Bam! Bam!

    Its creepy tendrils wrapped tightly around her organs and tried to enter inside to gain control of her body, but it was futile.

    Eventually the symbiote tired itself out and had to return to its state of hibernation.

    Cleo¡¯s veins returned to normal and it was like nothing ever happened.

    Cleo could not help but wonder where exactly Sophie¡¯s mother was.

    Although the rtionship between Cleo and Concubine Sisrelis was now extremely rocky, she was lucky enough to experience a great deal of maternal love during her early childhood.

    Was Sophie¡¯s mother hidden away somewhere in the Federation?

    Or did she stay in the Insectoid empire.

    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry if this is too personal but what happened to your mom?¡± Cleo asked hesitantly.

    ¡°She is still alive, but my dad never told me why they separated and howe he returned to the Earth Federation with me alone,¡± Sophie smiled as she tried to lighten up the mood.

    ¡°These strange new states and powerse from the Arachnais side of my bloodline and are granted by their goddess.¡±

    ¡°But as you can tell¡­. I¡¯m not very good at using them yet.¡±

    ¡°This is crazy¡­ I¡¯m sorry but¡­. this is actually unbelievable,¡± Cleo stammered as she was still trying to process these revtions.

    ¡°I¡¯m dating an Insectoid.¡±

    ¡°Well you also got fucked by an Insectoid,¡± Sophie joked with a yful wink.

    ¡°Can you take this seriously?¡± Cleo snapped back with anger.

    ¡°Have you forgotten the nomad genocide of V-930 at the border? Or the Zertina Wars that led to the Federation scorching tens in Empire controlled territory?¡±

    ¡°Humans hate Insectoids and I¡¯m sure that they must hate us as well!¡±

    ¡°Do you have any idea what would happen if your secret gets exposed?!¡±

    ¡°The Federation government would either lock you up in some secretboratory facility or just execute you as a warning!¡±

    Cleo¡¯s voice continued to rise, and Sophie looked on in shock as the princess finally lost control of herself,

    ¡°I CAN¡¯T LOSE YOU!¡±

    Cleo broke down in a sob as tears flowed freely from the corners of her eyes.

    All the panic, shock and disbelief seemed to alle crashing down at once.

    From Sophie nearly killing her while being in an enraged state to learning that her girlfriend was an Insectoid¡­.

    Cleo could no longer properly handle these events that urred in rapid session.

    She loved Sophie and the mere fact that her existence would be seen as an abomination by the noble ss was enough to upset her greatly.

    And the fact that her life could be in constant danger was also making Cleo feel to throw up as she was filled with fear.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you worry,¡± Sophie whispered as she felt her heart shatter at the sight of her crying lover.

    Cleo continued to sob but one warm pair of arms wrapped tightly around her body as Sophie drew her closer in for a hug.

    Sophie rubbed Cleo¡¯s back lovingly and whispered soft words offort as her girlfriend silently cried out all of her pent-up emotions.

    Minutes passed by and the two girls seemed to be frozen in time until Cleo suddenly pressed her head against Sophie¡¯s chest and finally started to calm down.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose you,¡± Cleo muttered in a quiet voice.

    ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± came Sophie¡¯s firm reply.

    ¡°I will never leave you.¡±

 Chapter 170: Kohli The Real Protagonist!

    Chapter 170: Kohli The Real Protagonist!

    Calypso)

    (Inner District- St Vincent¡¯s Pleasure Pce)

    The heavy scent of inexpensive perfume mixed with alcohol and drug-filled smoke permeated the air.

    Girls of all kinds of different races and species across the universe could be seen but the vast majority belonged to Mendolesa warriors.

    The furniture avable was sparse and the private rooms for guests only included a wooden table with some chairs and an old-fashioned mattress bed.

    This was a whorehouse on the cheaper end of those in the inner district, but it was precisely for this reason that it served as a secret base for Kohli.

    A week had passed since his ckguard troop had extended the invitation to the monster living in the slums and a reply had been given.

    ¡°Sorry young master but we were unable to secure the targets,¡± a kneeling man spoke with a solemn tone.

    Kohli frowned in displeasure as he reviewed the information sent to hismunicator.

    It seems that the monster had rejected his generous offer, so naturally his men instantly attacked the hybrid in response.

    But as for the result¡­

    Well the severed heads of the ckguard squadying on the floor were the greatest evidence of what had urred.

    In addition, the recording device secretly ced in the corner of the yard had been discovered as well.

    Thest image in its storage bank was therge fist of the hybrid beast approaching its body at a high speed.

    The crime of killing a ckguard was either death or imprisonment but the bodies were not found until several hourster and by then the monster and his assistant had fled the.

    Kohli had attempted to track down their starship but it had apparently already left the outer regions and was headed to an unknown direction.

    Finding them now would be virtually impossible unless he spent a great deal of resources.

    ¡°Forget it,¡± Kohli sighed and then barked out another set of orders.

    ¡°Focus your energy on covering up what just happened and make sure no one connects these dead men to me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that they will return to the after killing those ckguards so spread a rumor that my men managed to track down and eliminate them.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± the kneeling man replied and then teleported out of the room with a casual snap of his fingers.

    Kohli leaned back on the ufortable wooden chair and casually held with the stone tablet he had gotten from that fool John.

    It had been a minor inconvenience to lose the opportunity to kill that monster, but it was hardly enough to put a damper on his joyful mood.

    ¡°You are truly my lucky star,¡± Kohli chuckled as the mysterious writings glowed red.

    He could still feel the new energy flowing freely through his body and knew that his life had now changed forever.

    This stone tablet could transfer the qi energy from one cultivator to another, forcibly raising an individual¡¯s cultivation level at the expense of another.

    Unfortunately, no one so far had survived having their cultivation foundation transferred away but that was a fact that Kohli was not bothered by.

    He had sessfully risen from the qi body to the qi tide stage in a matter of days with no apparent side effects.

    His rate of cultivation progression had now slowed down as it appeared that the stone tablet required sacrifices of those in the qi tide stage in order to raise his level.

    It was must be noted that cultivators in the qi tide stage were considered top powerhouses on the.

    Edward himself was touching the border of the void stage and had been trying for many years to cross the boundary without sess.

    With this newfound power came a surging wave of ambition and Kohli now found himself feeling reluctant to be used as a tool for his father¡¯s war against Edward for control of Calypso.

    This stone tablet would be the catalyst that would lead him down the path of his new destiny.

    Kohli was determined to gain the strength necessary to break free from his father¡¯s grasp and take the for himself.

    Nothing would stop his rise to the top!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile)

    ¡°Are you sure that we didn¡¯t make a mistake?¡± Cleo turned to Sophie who was currently flying the starship.

    They were presently heading towards the nearest Federation outpost in order to drop off the ves they had bought at the market.

    The ves were being kept in the ship¡¯s storage bay which was thergest room along with arge supply of dehydrated food stock and nutrient solutions.

    Sophie was paying close addition to the navigator and scanner to ensure that they were not being followed by any hostile forces.

    She was being assisted by the ship¡¯s AI that was currently upied with the numerous calctions necessary to plot the best possible route.

    The two girls had decided to leave the but not before teaching that arrogant young master a lesson he would not forget anytime soon.

    Cleo was torn between trying to recover the stone tablet and leaving the without taking any additional risks, but Sophie convinced her that the best choice was to escape.

    Sophie could not exin it in words but sometime about the mysterious writings on the stone tablet gave her a strong sense of danger.

    She was unclear of what was the purpose of the tablet, but her instincts knew that it was nothing good.

    ¡°Check the video feed to see if there are any problems with the ves we rescued,¡± Sophie spoke as she steered the ship around an iing asteroid.

    ¡°Okay no problem,¡± Cleo replied and pulled up the video feed.

    A holographic window appeared in front of her body with the view of the storage bay in real time.

    There were currently forty ves packed together in the storage bay, so it was quite crowded with the ves huddling together in small groups.

    Most were shooting nces around the starship and the braver ones had attempted to unlock the doors to escape.

    The older ves put themselves in charge of passing around the food so there were no problems with hunger or thirst.

    The ve traders had only sent over high-quality goods as Sophie had paid quite a substantial amount of money so there were no ves that required immediate medical attention.

    Sophie and Cleo had spent thest few hours making sure that they were not followed so they had not visited the bay yet.

    The ves were now aware that the ship had started to move, and expressions ranged from despair to resignation.

    They could only recall being sent to a monster living in the slums and then somehow finding themselves on a starship.

    Who knew what would happen to them.

 Chapter 171: Beach Date

    Chapter 171: Beach Date

    Eleron- Zrudread Main Campus)

    (Tidecaller National Park)

    Red sunlight shone gently down on Qiana¡¯s face as she gave out azy sigh while feeling content.

    She could hear the quiet roar of the ocean waves in the background along with the cool feeling of sea breeze hitting her body.

    Qiana had always enjoyed spending time at the beach as her mother had taught her at a very young age how to swim.

    Fortunately, she had managed to get a spot that was not too crowded so there was ample space for the wolfpack who had apanied her.

    It was a rare asion where Astrid¡¯s archmage master had allowed her out of the tower so Qiana offered to take her and the rest of the family to the beach.

    Honestly, it would have been nice to have some one on one private time with Astrid but Qiana knew that her siblings would always be a priority and part of the package.

    And they were pretty cute.

    Astrid had dressed I and Emma in matching ck and white one-piece swimsuits while Jackson wore a blue pair of shorts and dark green shades.

    Qiana was wearing afortable two-piece ck bikini and on this special asion she had taken off her thick sses and tied her hair back in a simple ponytail.

    Astrid for some reason was wearing a regr ck track pants and a white tee shirt but in Qiana¡¯s mind she thought that the Mendolesa girl would look good in anything.

    ¡°Grrr¡­. I¡¯m the terrible monster who is going to eat you up!¡± Astrid roared menacingly and chased I and Jackson around the beach.

    ¡°Help me!¡± Jackson yelped as he dashed away with his tail wagging furiously with happiness.

    I said nothing but bent her knees and prepared to outrun her brother.

    The most important lesson she had learnt from growing up with siblings was that when it came to avoiding trouble¡­.

    You did not have to be the fastest.

    But you could not be the slowest.

    Meanwhile Emma wasying down on the same nket as Qiana and staring at the quiet girl with an expression of awe.

    ¡°Can you tell more about trends in high society fashion?¡± the little girl asked Qiana eagerly.

    Emma always had a love for expensive jewels and outfits but with the loss of her parents and the financial hardships that followed she had naturally suppressed her secret admiration.

    Astrid had worked hard to make sure that her younger siblings were well fed and went to good schools but there was little money avable for non essential purchases.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Qiana replied.

    Qiana herself was not particrly interested in fashion but as the heir to a diplomatic house, it was surprisingly important to know about different species and their attitudes towards clothes.

    Some species wore certain outfits to mark special historical events while others had forbidden their people from wearing any coverings.

    Qiana could even remember a species of snake-like aliens who saw anyone wearing a hat as a criminal.

    When establishing diplomatic ties with any race, it was essential to research the culture thoroughly in order to notmit any offenses inadvertently.

    Qiana ran through the list of different high society circles in her mind and decided to talk about the lower-ss nobles,

    ¡°Well there has been a recent trend in making jewellery from a rare gemstone called Emerald found on Earth.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s simple crystal-like structure can be easily replicated in ab, but no noble would dare to wear a fake when attending an important banquet.¡±

    ¡°This emerald jewel is green in colour, so it pairs well with dresses made from the Mongoleias civilisation who are well known for their tailoring skills.¡±

    ¡°Woah,¡± Emma pped her hands together in amazement.

    ¡°What does it look like?¡± she asked curiously.

    Qiana tapped hermunicator and a holographic window opened up with the images of small green rocks with numerous fissures and cracks across their surfaces.

    Meanwhile Astrid had sessfully caught Jackson and was holding him in one arm while she chased after I.

    ¡°Come here you rascal!¡± Astrid yfully called and ran after the little girl.

    ¡°You can¡¯t catch me,¡± I turned around and bared her teeth fiercely, but it just made her seem adorable.

    Astrid unconsciously slowed down at the cute sight of her sibling and I took the opportunity to dash into Qiana¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Save me Qiana!¡± I shrank into Qiana¡¯s embrace and shivered slightly while giving off the impression of a frightened rabbit.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s ying unfair!¡± Jackson protested as he shot I a dirty look.

    I continued to cower in fear but Qiana was not fooled by her appearance.

    This small level of acting was nothingpared to the skills employed by nobles when negotiating trade deals or alliances.

    Qiana was not fond of being treated as a shield.

    Maybe she would teach this brat a little lesson¡­.

    ¡°I¡­.¡± Qiana whispered into the ear of the Mendolesa girl with a gentle tone.

    ¡°I caught you!¡±

    She stood up while holding Astrid¡¯s sister in her arms and ran into the ocean where she dropped the girl into the water.

    Ssh!

    I fell into the water with a startled cry as she could not believe that her sister¡¯s friend had just mercilessly dropped her.

    Qiana turned around to return to the sandy beach when arge wave of seawater hit her right in the face.

    Ssh!

    I grinned as she saw her attacker get a swifteuppance by mother nature herself.

    ¡°Oh? You think that it¡¯s funny?¡± Qianaughed and then merrily swam after the little girl.

    I was a better swimmer than she expected but it did not take long for Qiana to catch her once more.

    ¡°Mind if we join you?¡± came a soft voice.

    Qiana nced up to see Astrid staring at her with a look of tenderness and warmth.

    Astrid had brought Emma and Jackson to join the two girls in the water and the rest of the afternoon was spent ying in the waves.

    It was the perfect afternoon.

 Chapter 172: The Tragedy Of A Slave

    Chapter 172: The Tragedy Of A ve

    (Nameless ve girl¡¯s POV)

    Beauty is a blessing.

    Beauty is a curse.

    very has been formally ouwed under the Earth Federation government for over one thousand years.

    Having experienced the oppression by the terrible Draxes, it was a key point written into the constitution of the Federation that we would not inflict those same sufferings onto others.

    As a child growing up in a rtively well-off family, very had always seemed like a foreign concept discussed only when talking about ancient history.

    There were always rumors and articles circting asionally on the virtual that one could buy people on certain dark sites, but I dismissed them as pure nonsense.

    Anymoner found owning a ve or taking part in the ve trade would be punished with a death sentence regardless of the circumstances.

    I used to be just a normal girl going to high school, hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and arguing with my parents.

    My beautiful face and goddess-like physique always made me stand out when ced within a crowd.

    In fact, I even had silly dreams of going into the entertainment industry.

    I was blessed with long flowing golden hair, piercing deep blue eyes and a fairplexion inherited from my mother who used to be a model.

    Althoughpetition was quite fierce in the industry, I was vain enough to think that I could stand out among the sea of virtual idols.

    My parents always had a rocky rtionship, but I always had enough money to spend on clothes or anything that caught my eye.

    I had even managed to befriend a girl from a noble house named Athena Gardford who would take me to social gatherings under the guise of her attendant.

    Seeing the wealth and prestige of the noble ss really made me feel a sense of envy but my good looks and charming personality allowed me to fully assimte into the circle.

    My poprity gradually eclipsed Athena¡¯s and I could not count the number of love letters sent my way from eager noblemen.

    One of those letters came from a young man who was the second son of a Count and very handsome as well.

    His name was Logan Fisher.

    He was the perfect gentleman and wooed me with sweet words and promises that made my younger self swoon with happiness.

    I decided to give him a chance and epted his courtship with some hesitation in the back of my mind.

    He took me to magnificent restaurants, showered me with only the finest jewels and made me feel like a queen.

    Our rtionship was a secret, but I decided to share my experiences with my close friend Athena as I just had to tell someone.

    If only I had known, the disaster that one stupid decision would bring me¡­.

    Unbeknownst to me, my boyfriend was actually engaged to Athena by a marriage pact long before the two were born.

    My naive and innocent self excitedly told a noble girl how I was in a rtionship with her fiance and described our dates in great detail.

    Athena to her credit did not deal with me personally and I truly believe that she never found out what exactly happened to me.

    She simply told her father who contacted Logan¡¯s family and informed them of the situation that was going on.

    Count Fisher was a no-nonsense man and immediately let his son know that he needed to break up with me.

    Logan refused without a second thought and continued to bring me to various ces as hispanion.

    It was a tense situation as my friendship with Athena was now broken beyond repair, but my boyfriend assured me that he would be there for me forever.

    One day I was contacted by Count Fisher who arranged a meeting with me at a private restaurant that he owned.

    I wanted to make a good impression on my boyfriend¡¯s father, so I dressed up in my finest clothes and met him.

    Count Fisher did not even wait for me to take a seat before holding out a thin credit card and offering me a sum of one million Enas to leave his son alone.

    This was a crazy amount of wealth to an ordinary girl, but the months spent together with Logan had made me reluctant to give him up.

    He promised me that we would be together forever. In my heart I knew that I had finally found my soulmate.

    I politely refused the count and professed my love to his son.

    I told him that all the money and power in the world was useless to me.

    I simply wanted to be with Logan.

    He was my happily ever after.

    I could still remember the strange expression that shed across the count¡¯s face as I ended my speech.

    He said little for the rest of the meeting and I left the restaurant with the mistaken belief that I had persuaded my future father inw to see my point of view.

    My second mistake was not taking the damn money.

    For I soon learnt about the power difference between a youngmoner girl and the hidden forces of a noble house.

    It was only a few dayster that Logan broke up with me.

    His father threatened him with disinheritance and those sweet flowery words and promises amounted to nothing.

    It was then that I realised what the expression that shed across the count¡¯s face really was¡­.

    Ridicule.

    And yet that was not the end of the story, my existence was seen as a thorn in the engagement between Athena and Logan.

    An open secret that was gossiped about in the noble circles.

    Count Fisher was not amused as the political benefits from such an alliance were just too important to mess up.

    His solution was to contact a group of pirates to kidnap me and send me off the.

    As for where he got the idea from¡­. I suspect that it was Logan himself who gave him the answer.

    He must have reasoned that my disappearance would cause the gossip to eventually fade.

    Who knows if they were right or not.

    I was walking home from school one day and suddenly the world turned dark.

    I awoke several hourster to find myself on a strange starship.

    My body was restricted with metallic bindings and I was inside of a cell.

    Dirty greasy men and women stared at me with expressions ranging from pity to open lust.

    I was terrified.

    Tears flowed down my cheeks and I begged my captors to return me to my family.

    I threw away my dignity and knelt as I pleaded with them to show mercy.

    It was no use.

    My impressive beauty caught the attention of the crew, but the captain saw an opportunity instead and kept me in an isted prison for my own safety.

    Commoners were unlikely to take the risk to buy ves, so the majority of traders targeted members of the nobility.

    Virgins or untouched ves would fetch a higher price, so the captain was determined not to let his men have their way with me.

    Perhaps in a sick twisted sort of way I should thank him.

    Compared to the experiences of my fellow sisters sold to the ve traders, I was rtively fortunate not to suffer any sexual humiliation.

    As for what would happen after I was sold¡­.

    I did not dare to think about it.

    It was obvious that with my beauty, I would be nothing more than a pleasure hole to the noble who bought me.

    I spent three weeks onboard the vessel before arriving on a tiny that I wouldter learn was controlled by the pirate king Edward the merciless.

    Once again, I was administered a strange drug and cked out as the captain sent me to the ve market.

    He must have gotten a good price as I saw him leaving the ve market with a cheerful grin on his face.

    The experiences I had while being locked up and put on disy in a cage will forever haunt me for the rest of my life.

    We were no better than animals.

    Buyers would scan our bodies and negotiate prices while those sly merchants eagerly showed off their goods.

    Goods¡­. that¡¯s what they called us.

    Not people.

    People had rights.

    We were just amodity to be bought and sold.

    I saw terrible scenes in the ve market.

    During the first few weeks, one lucky girl managed tomit suicide by stealing a dagger from the pocket of the client.

    That incident resulted in a greater level of restriction and buyers were no longer toe within touching distance of the ves.

    Good treatment andforts were only afforded to the ves being sold via an auction while those of us disyed on the outside were just side products.

    My great beauty was not even enough to warrant a ce in an auction list.

    Nobles had far higher standards than what my natural body could even hope topare to.

    My doom finally arrived when I along with twelve other decently attractive girls were sent into the slums.

    I was surprised that we were apparently being sold to amoner, but little information was given to us by the traders.

    From what I could gather from the whispers of the guards, we had been bought by a horrifying monster that ate humans.

    The girl next to me shook with fear and begged the guards not to send her to the beast but naturally received no reply.

    I don¡¯t know why but instead of being afraid¡­.

    I just felt relief.

    It was a small mercy to be killed than to spend a lifetime of suffering.

    Walking through the slums was a novel experience as it had been the first time, I had really seen how the scenery looked outside of the ve market.

    Run down shacks, sewage waste piling on the sides of the road and fierce men leering at us made shivers run down my spine.

    Eventually we arrived at a wooden house slightly bigger than those around it and the guards promptly left after watching us go inside.

    The door closed behind us with a dull thud which caused several girls to start screaming.

    I tried my best to keep calm and scan the surroundings for anything that could be used as a weapon.

    Then the beast walked into the room.

    A massive man over seven feet tall with a bulky frame and four sharp de-like appendages jutting out of his back.

    I knew any resistance would be futile against such a monster.

    Still I clenched my fist and prepared to at least try one final attack when the man dropped a small vial filled with a purplish liquid.

    I tried not to inhale the fumes, but it was no use.

    As my vision swam and distorted, I prayed that my death would be a quick one.

    This cruel universe and the rampant abuse of power by those wretched nobles had broken me.

    Logan¡­. I hope that you suffer as I did.

 Chapter 173: The Price Of Kindness

    Chapter 173: The Price Of Kindness

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Starship Model Poseidon -567)

    ¡°Cleo you should go in first. I don¡¯t want to scare them,¡± Sophie suddenly spoke up as the two girls were walking to the storage bay.

    Two days had past since they had escaped Calypso and Sophie was now confident that no one was following them.

    Katarina had drilled the importance of caution into the mind of the hybrid girl, so Sophie had not left themand center until she was absolutely certain that there were no pursuers.

    The starship was now travelling automatically with the aid of the AI onboard the vessel towards the nearest Federation outpost.

    It was time to meet the ve girls currently being held in the storage bay, but Sophie was feeling a bit apprehensive.

    Although she no longer had on the synthetic flesh, she was concerned that her de-like appendages would be associated with her disguise and cause the girls to fall into a panic.

    ¡°I should be the one who¡¯s scared,¡± Cleo replied in a cheerful tone.

    ¡°What if one of those girls falls in love with a smoking hot babe like yourself.¡±

    Cleo grinned and gave Sophie a quick peck on the cheek that caused the tips of the hybrid girl¡¯s ears to turn red.

    Sometimes her girlfriend was just too shy about her appearance.

    Both girls had already taken off their disguises and showered thoroughly before the meeting.

    As for why they did this, having spent three weeks covered in synthetic flesh without the opportunity to clean themselves¡­.

    Let¡¯s just say the smelling from their bodies was not very pleasant.

    Spaceships in the Poseidon series were known for their sleek metallic interior designs as well as high eleration rates.

    Sophie and Cleo walked through a maze of silvery grey doors until they arrived at the entrance to arge chamber.

    The chamber was blocked by a sturdy mechanical door that had a single scanner with a hand recognition input.

    The muffled sounds of conversations could be heard on the other side of the door as the ve girls talked to one another.

    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll go in first,¡± Cleo saw that her girlfriend still seemed a bit hesitant, so she knocked on the door and yelled.

    ¡°Move away from the entrance of the door please!¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Violet¡¯s POV)

    A loud shout interrupted the rtive quiet in the storage bay and I could visibly see the expressions on my fellow sisters change immediately.

    We were finally going to get a glimpse of our new owner and find out what exactly he or she nned to do with us.

    ¡°Move the younger girls to the back of the room,¡± an attractive woman in herte twenties hurriedly spoke up.

    I think her name was Silva, but she also held the nickname of the ¡®bossdy¡¯ as she had been serving as the de facto leader and made sure that the food was equally distributed.

    This may simply be dying the inevitable, but it was possible that the younger girls would not be noticed if they blended into the background.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A green light shed, and the door slowly swung open to reveal the figure of a teenage girl who looked roughly around our age.

    She wore an expensive evening gown with red jewels adorning her wrists and neck. Her piercing green eyes and long flowing dark hair added to her innate air of nobility and charm.

    ¡°I am sure you all must be very confused but do not be worried,¡± she spoke in a soft and melodious voice.

    ¡°My partner and I have rescued you all and this starship is currently on route to the nearest Federation outpost.¡±

    ¡°I am Princess Cleopatra, and mypanion is the high noble Sophie Peterlor. We are students at Zrudread University.¡±

    ¡°We¡­. we are¡­. saved?¡± a tense voice sounded out from the back of the crowd.

    ¡°Yeah you will be dropped off to the relevant authorities and can return to your families and loved ones,¡± the noble girl reassured us with a kind smile.

    ¡°What about those of us without family?¡± Silva walked forward and peered at the girl with a suspicious gaze.

    ¡°You will be given a sum of money and be free to travel to whatever or colony you desire,¡± a tall hybrid girl walked through the entrance and replied.

    ¡°We are not so irresponsible as to move you from one dangerous situation to another.¡±

    ¡°The monster!¡± one of the younger girls shrieked in fear.

    No¡­ not ¡­ him.

    I started to hyperventte as the image of the hulking brute who lumbered down the stairs of that old wooden house had been in my nightmares for weeks.

    ¡°That was just a disguise. I would like to think I¡¯m a bit more attractive with my natural looks than when I¡¯m covered in synthetic flesh,¡± the hybrid girl rolled her eyes and cheekily spoke.

    She was absolutely right.

    As my moment of panic faded away, I could form a greater appreciation for the beauty of the hybrid girl.

    Sophie Peterlor stood at an impressive seven feet in height with a busty chest and curvaceous figure that would cause anyone to blush.

    Perhaps her most noticeable traits outside of the four de-like appendages jutting out from her back were the ones found on her face.

    Her face was stunningly gorgeous with ears that were slightly pointed and golden eyes that seemed to stare into one¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Why would you save us?¡± Silva was not intimidated and continued to question the two girls.

    I understood where she wasing from and why she was so wary.

    Having seen the darkness of the ve trade and the evilness of the noble ss, why would these two young nobles rescue us without any sort of gain.

    They were even willing to give us a small sum of money to start a new life if we did not want to or could not go back to our families.

    Kindness never came without a price.

 Chapter 174: Planet Xicoras

    Chapter 174: Xicoras

    Sophie pressed the start button on the holographic window projected above her palm and listened carefully to the deep husky voice of the narrator.

    [Excerpt from the written journal of Chief Ver¡¯ena]

    [Audio provided by Sir. Martin]

    Our people thought that we were the center of the universe.

    In all our years of exploration and conquest¡­.

    None could be our match.

    I can still remember the day that a group of bipedal primates visited our ancestral bearing gifts and offers of friendship.

    They called themselves humans, but I paid them no mind.

    The war-like nature of our people caused my fellow chieftains to treat these humans with mockery and scorn.

    We stood tall with thick, muscr bodies and stone-like flesh tes that grew on our bodies while these humans were soft and fragile.

    Any race that were so hopelessly naive, sweet, and friendly would notst long in this cruel universe.

    These humans imed that they were scouts sent ahead by their government to negotiate a peace treaty.

    That very night, a royal assembly was called, and our king invited us into his conference room to discuss the matter.

    The more aggressive chieftains among the crowd pushed the idea to send a message to the government of the humans by executing these scouts.

    I remained silent as I did not have an opinion on the matter.

    The motion passed and the humans were sent to the Colosseum to take part in death matches.

    No one expected these weaklings to survive that pit of hell.

    And yet¡­. some did.

    The memory of one particr match stood out to me, a team of five humans were pitted against a gically altered Matokan beast.

    Three of the humans died under the beast¡¯s fangs but thest man grabbed his femalepanion and shoved her into its gawping maw.

    While the beast was distracted, he jumped on its back and plunged a dagger straight into its heart.

    What I saw then deeply shocked me to the core.

    Without hesitation or remorse that human had sacrificed his fellowpanion in order to live.

    I write these recollections to serve as a warning.

    For I came to realise the terrible truth about these humans.

    They are a kind and friendly people but only if they are provided with food, warmth, shelter, and rest.

    But should you remove theseforts and ce them in dangerous situations where their lives are at risk over a long period of time¡­.

    And I have yet to meet any other race in the universe who can turn more brutal and violent.

    I can feel the foundations of my house slowly start to tremble as the warships of these humans have filled the sky.

    I fear that nothing, but death and destruction awaits my people for we have provoked an enemy we cannot afford to offend.

    [Special note: These writings are thest remnants of the Sioxue civilisation who were exterminated by the Federation government for acts of aggression against diplomats]

    [More information about the Sioxue people can be found on the virtual Net]

    Sophie paused the rest of the video and leaned back on her chair with a quiet look of contemtion.

    She had been given an assignment to write an essay on one of the Federation¡¯s many conquests for her history course, so the quiet days spent travelling to the nearest outpost seemed like a good time to start.

    Yep even in a cultivation university¡­. one still had to submit essays and write exams.

    The former ve girls had been let out of the storage bay and were now free to roam all areas of the starship except for themand center and some important rooms.

    Sophie and Cleo had clearly exined that they meant no harm, but it appeared that only some of the girls had believed the pair.

    Not that Sophie med them.

    It would be quite naive to think that people embroiled in the darkness of the ve trade could instantly trust two noble saviours who apparently wanted no repayment for their good deed.

    Silva in particr seemed to be more wary than then others but Sophie figured that it was probably because she acted as the leader.

    Sophie pulled up the ship¡¯s navigator screen and continued to scan for any nearby vessels.

    The escape from Calypso had just gone too smoothly for her liking.

    Why didn¡¯t that young master send men to capture them after Sophie killed his men to leave a message.

    Sophie was unaware that Kohli was currently preupied with slowly cumting qi energy and nning to eventually overthrow Edward as the leader of the.

    But that is a tale for another time¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Three Days Later¡­.)

    Xicoras)

    Xicoras was a small in the Hydra star system that served as a major trading hub between the nearby colonies.

    It¡¯s natural barren surface had been long terraformed into a mechanical paradise with towering skyscrapers and hovercars zipping through the air.

    Large corporations were heavily invested in the¡¯s development as there were little to no local taxws.

    Most of the poption were Mendolesa warriors but human merchants and civilians could be seen strolling around with their goods.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s all stick together,¡± Sophie reminded the former ve girls as the group walked through the crowded streets.

    Sophie¡¯s tall height and intimidating de-like appendages easily opened up a space as people tried to move out of her path.

    Not all of the girls they had rescued would be returning to their previous homes, but Sophie still wanted them to file a report at the local police station.

    The maintenance ofw and order varied from to within the Federation with some nobles utilising private armies while others allowed the government to send in troops.

    Truthfully, Sophie knew that the report was unlikely to go anywhere as it would be impossible for the Federation government not to be aware of the ve trade taking ce on Calypso.

    Sophie felt nothing but disgust and hatred towards any nobles who bought ves.

    Make no mistake, it was not humans who were entirely to me for turning a blind eye to this matter.

    Theck of action on their part meant that they were either participators or enablers and Sophie could not decide which was worse.

    Rokan had always told her that the noble ss with their power and privilege had the obligation to look after those they ruled.

    Cleo sensed her girlfriend¡¯s bad mood and gently squeezed Sophie¡¯s hand with a loving smile on her face.

    Sophie smiled shyly back and opened up a hologram window to make sure that they were heading towards the location of the nearest police station.

    ¡°Can you I introduce you prettydies to a fine gentleman like myself?¡± a greasy middle-aged man approached some girls at the back of the group.

    ¡°I can tell by your great bodies that you pretty little things must have done some extensive surgeries!¡±

    ¡°How about a taste of this cock?¡±

    The man swayed and unsteadily moved around as it was clear from his zed expression that he was currently tripping on some kind of drug.

    Sophie frowned as she observed his gaze rest on the chests and thighs of the girls with a barely contained expression of lust.

    ¡°No thank you,¡± Sophie approached him and politely refused on the behalf of the girls.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking to you¡­. filthy mongrel,¡± the man¡¯s voice changed quite drastically as he saw the hybrid girl approaching.

    Those wretched hybrids were bad for business and the recent government policies of equality and tolerance were not appreciated by those who saw them as lesser.

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± Sophie growled as her iris slowly shifted from a golden hue to a crimson red.

    Snap!

    She could feel the familiar rush of adrenaline and bloodlust that was screaming at her to hurt this piece of shit.

    Sophie grabbed the man by his cor violently and flung him on to the ground with great force.

    The man groaned as hended with a dull thud and barely managed to open his eyes when the iron grip of Sophie¡¯s fingers started to squeeze his neck.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m¡­. sorry,¡± the man gasped with fear as his vision began to blur and darken.

    ¡°Sophie that¡¯s enough!¡± Sophie heard the loud cry from Cleo and slowly loosened her grip.

    The man managed to break free from her hold and immediately dashed away while trembling with fear.

    Sophie clenched her head in pain and slowly took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

    The former ve girls were looking at her with expressions that ranged from fear to silent approval.

    ¡°Nice work,¡± Silva grinned as she gave Sophie a pat on the back.

    Another girl by the name of Violet bravely stepped forward and said, ¡°People like that usually can¡¯t be reasoned with using words alone.¡±

    Sophie could still feel the aftereffects of her hunting mode, so she just nodded silently and returned to the front of the group.

    Cleo established a mental link and the two girls silentlymunicated while Sophie¡¯s eyes gradually reverted to their golden hue.

    [Cleo: Are you feeling alright?]

    [Sophie: Yeah, I think that it was just a momentary rush of power]

    [Cleo: Oh? Why was this time different?]

    Sophie could not exin but she just had a vague feeling that the man was not a worthy enough prey to channel the powers of the Great Weaver.

 Chapter 175: Selfishness And Guilt

    Chapter 175: Selfishness And Guilt

    Xicoras)

    (Peacekeeping Station No.093)

    The noble family ced in an administrative position for Xicoras decided to keep control of thew and order firmly in their grasp.

    This was done by utilising private forces on the trading colony paid for by their own wealth.

    Several peacekeeping stations were built throughout the main cities to deal with any unexpected emergencies or criminal behaviours.

    These buildings were outfitted with thetest security devices that included facial recognition, biological and chemical weaponry, barrier devices and runes carved out of null magic to deal with mages.

    Sophie and Cleo were currently standing in front of the reception desk while the former ve girls sat quietly in the waiting room.

    ¡°So¡­. how can I help you?¡± came the bored voice of the woman sitting behind a counter fiddling around with hermunicator.

    She wore the standard white uniform of thew enforcement agency on Xicoras with two ck sma rifles attached to her hip.

    It was clear that her parents were not fully human as evidenced by the small red horns that were growing out of her forehead.

    ¡°Yes, I would like to report the retrieval of several girls who may have gone missing months or years ago,¡± Cleo replied.

    ¡°They were sold by a ve tradingpany on Calypso and my partner and I have evidence that more ves are being held captive on that.¡±

    The princess handed over a data chip with pictures and videos of the ves being held captive that were taken when the pair had been given a tour of the marketce.

    ¡°Well we can run their identities through the database and try to connect them with their families,¡± the policewoman yawned sleepily as she spoke.

    Sophie was secretly pissed at her nonchnt attitude and stepped forward with small flecks of red appearing in her golden eyes.

    ¡°What about our report about the ve trade happening on that? Don¡¯t you all have the ability to connect to the Imperial Army and report important matters like this,¡± she hissed.

    ¡°We are a private force and can only operate on Xicoras so taking action on Calypso is out of our jurisdiction,¡± the policewoman was unfazed by the intimidating hybrid girl and continued to talk calmly.

    ¡°Look I can forward this information to the local authorities in charge of that sector but personally¡­. I wouldn¡¯t hold my breath on anything meaningful happening.¡±

    ¡°Now can you bring the girls over so I can run their ID¡¯s?¡±

    Sophie¡¯s expression contorted as the words of the receptionist made sense, but it still left her feeling bitter.

    Hopefully when this information was sent to the right people then something would be done but Sophie was not naive enough to think that would actually happen.

    Maybe it was time she took matters into her own hands¡­.

    She sighed heavily and walked back to the waiting room to fetch the girls who wanted to be reunited with their families.

    The waiting room was a bit small so only the younger girls were currently sitting on the memory foam chairs while the older women were standing by their sides protectively.

    All eyes looked up when Sophie entered the room, and it did not take long for the hybrid girl to open her mouth and deliver the news.

    ¡°Alright it seems that thedy at the desk will run your facial pattern against the missing person registry list so you can contact your families,¡± she addressed the nervous looking girls.

    ¡°And as I said before, anyone who does not want to will receive a sum of Enas credits and be free to travel wherever you want.¡±

    ¡°I will also give some money to the girls who want to return to their families.¡±

    Silva was the first girl to step forward and walk confidently towards the receptionist desk with a few other girls exchanging looks and then following closely behind.

    The policewoman held out a tiny mechanical device that emitted a beam of blue light and scanned the faces of the girls present.

    From there it was a fairly straightforward procedure for the missing person registry to be scanned and then the corresponding match found.

    Sophie and Cleo had kindly lent the girls theirmunicators so they could contact their families and the happyughter and cries of joy brought a small tear to Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    Most of the parents and loved ones of these girls had simply assumed the worse after months of no news orplete silence from the authorities.

    Sophie could hear the anguish and relief present in the raw emotions expressed from the voices of the concerned families.

    ¡°Those girls are lucky,¡± came a soft whisper from behind Sophie.

    Violet had quietly snuck up and was watching the girls with an odd mix of longing and pain in her gaze.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to contact your family as well?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly.

    ¡°It would be safer if I simply remained missing,¡± Violet smiled bitterly and just continued to watch silently.

    ¡°Is there a reason? I could try to help you,¡± Sophie frowned and turned to face the young girl.

    ¡°No¡­ you have helped enough already, and this is something I need to deal with on my own,¡± came the firm reply.

    Violet soon left and returned to the waiting room while Sophie stared at her departing back with a thoughtful expression.

    Sophie would have readily helped out the former ve girl if she had asked but was not going to force the matter if her assistance was not wanted.

    Perhaps the pleasant atmosphere had even affected the indifferent policewoman as she now talked to the former ve girls with a gentler tone as she looked up their profiles.

    It did not take long for the calls to finish and the excited girls were then escorted out of the buildings by Sophie and Cleo.

    The next destination was a bank run by the Hubertpany that Sophie was going to use to create temporary ounts for the girls.

    It was an easy procedure that could be done using the ATM machines outside of the bank, so Sophie loaded each card with enough money tost for one year and handed them to the girls.

    ¡°Well this is where we depart,¡± Sophie spoke as thest girl received her card.

    ¡°I wish you all the best on your new lives and I sincerely hope that you find happiness and can put these awful experiences behind you.¡±

    ¡°I added the serial number for mymunicator to the additional information page on your banking ount so if you ever get in trouble with those vers please don¡¯t hesitate to contact me.¡±

    ¡°The spaceport is just a short ten minutes walk north of the bank so you can return to your families or travel to any other colony by boarding a transport vessel.¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence as Sophie finished talking but then one by one the girls expressed their gratitude in different ways,

    ¡°Thank you,¡± one girl hugged Sophie and then Cleo tightly before walking away.

    ¡°We can never repay you for this favour,¡± Silva bowed solemnly and ced an open palm against her heart in a strange gesture.

    ¡°You have saved us from a life of hell,¡± Violet teared up and clutched her banking card with an expression of thankfulness.

    A few other voices rang out from the crowd,

    ¡°Words can¡¯t describe how I feel but I hope you know that I owe you my life.¡±

    ¡°I never thought that I would ever see my sister again after being trapped in that hellhole for weeks.¡±

    ¡°I will never forget what you have done for us.¡±

    Cleo smiled and waved cheerfully at the girls as they departed but Sophie¡¯s eyes seemed to sh with a brief emotion of guilt.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Several hourster)

    (Casanca Royal Hotel- Presidential Suite)

    ¡°We did a good thing,¡± Cleo gently held her girlfriend¡¯s palm and stroked Sophie¡¯s face with a loving touch.

    The princess had just stepped out of the shower and Sophie could smell the fresh scent of flowersing from her body.

    The pair were currently staying at the best room in a five-star hotel having already bid farewell to the girls they had rescued.

    Midterms would be held in just a few days so it meant that they would have to leave for Zrudread University first thing in the morning.

    ¡°I just¡­. I just feel so helpless,¡± Sophie confessed in a low tone as shey on the soft bed.

    Something had just been bothering her for thest few hours and she could not help but want to get it off her chest.

    ¡°Despite being the daughter of a duke and the heir to House Peterlor, it seems that I can¡¯t do anything without my father¡¯s help.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cleo was confused at this sudden shift in mood.

    ¡°I messaged my father when you were in the shower and told him to annihte that pirate den using his personal forces.¡±

    ¡°He agreed and it should only take a few days before those grey organizations and that wretched scum Edward are destroyed.¡±

    ¡°You know that I took this mission to prove that I could be independent, and I¡¯ll be honest Cleo¡­.¡±

    ¡°It was selfish of me, but I wanted to return after training and reaching the qi tide stage to deal with Edward myself.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s shoulders shook lightly as the emotions flowing through her body threatened to overwhelm her.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I just fucking awful?¡±

    ¡°For the sake of my pride I was prepared to wait months or even years until I gained enough strength to do the job myself.¡±

    ¡°No isn¡¯t that just the healthy attitude of a young noble cultivator?¡± Cleo couldn¡¯t figure out what was the reason behind Sophie¡¯s guilt.

    ¡°Cleo¡­.¡± Sophie clenched her fists in rage.

    ¡°My first thoughts after we escaped Calypso wasn¡¯t towards the ves that we left behind but rather how could I get stronger.¡±

    ¡°How many ve girls would have been sold off during my time in training?¡±

    ¡°How many would be killed, beaten, tortured or forced to spend the rest of their lives in sexual servitude to some vile master?¡±

    ¡°All because of my arrogance.¡±

 Chapter 176: Prey (R-18)

    Chapter 176: Prey (R-18)

    The room was silent for a moment as Cleo did not know what to say.

    Sophie¡¯s feelings of guilt were logical but yet they went against themon sense of the noble ss.

    Nobles were expected to control and maintain the stability of society but not the safety of random individuals within it.

    Just by freeing a small portion of the ves on the market was enough to go far and beyond what a typical noble would do.

    And yet Sophie was feeling conflicted for even briefly having the thought of waiting for a couple of months or years before rescuing the rest.

    Why was her girlfriend so silly?

    ¡°Where is thising from?¡± Cleo gently held Sophie¡¯s face and forced the hybrid girl to look at her.

    ¡°You. Are. A. Good. Person,¡± the princess spelled out the sentence clearly.

    Thud! Thud!

    The only thing Sophie could hear was the steady beating of both their hearts in the dark hotel room.

    Two different people.

    Two synchronised heartbeats.

    Thud! Thud!

    Cleo was still gazing at her with an expression of love and concern but there was one more issue weighing down on Sophie¡¯s consciousness.

    Sophie turned her head away from the princess and spoke in a somber tone, ¡°Do you know how many people I killed over the three weeks we spent on Calypso?¡±

    The princess frowned and tried to remember but her musing was interrupted by Sophie giving her the answer.

    ¡°Over fifty.¡±

    ¡°I killed over fifty people.¡±

    ¡°And I felt¡­. nothing,¡± Sophie growled.

    It had been the first time that Sophie had taken a human life and yet she did so with startling ease.

    What was worse was that there were no feelings of remorse.

    Her father had told her that everyone¡¯s first kill would leave them with nightmares or make them feel sick to the core.

    And yet¡­.

    She had easily stained her hands with blood and it simply felt like killing an ant.

    ¡°Then you are lucky,¡± Cleo finally spoke up after a few minutes passed by.

    ¡°Those men you killed were murders, rapists and criminals that the local authorities have purposefully ignored.¡±

    ¡°Do you truly believe that if you had spared their lives that they would have somehow magically be good people?¡±

    ¡°I get it,¡± the princess wrapped her arms tightly around the hybrid girl and whispered in her ear.

    ¡°I also wish that we did not live in an era where killing is the norm, but it does not make you a monster.¡±

    Sophie raised up her arms and returned the hug as Cleo¡¯s words echoed around in her mind.

    Had Sui Meng still been in control of her body then these words may have been hard to ept as the values of her era told her that murder was wrong, but Sophie was not her anymore.

    She did not think that the act of killing was bad but had been concerned over just how easily she had done it.

    The girls remained in the same position for a long time as Sophie just felt calmer having her girlfriend in her arms.

    ¡°Oohhh,¡± Cleo moaned slightly as Sophie adjusted her position and their breasts briefly touched.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes instantly shifted into a pinkish hue as she gazed at her soft, sweet, and amazing girlfriend who always knew what to say.

    They had not been intimate for a long time as it had not been possible with the synthetic flesh attached to their bodies.

    But now¡­.

    Sophie eyed Cleo¡¯s thin red nightdress that barely managed to cover two soft mounds and her mouth began to water.

    ¡°Do you like what you see?¡± Cleo whispered seductively and gently unhooked the back of her nightdress.

    She was not an idiot and could tell that her lover was feeling highly aroused.

    Truthfully, she was also willing to spent the night drowning in pleasure.

    ¡°I want to see all of you,¡± Sophie growled impatiently and reached out for Cleo¡¯s nightdress.

    Rip!

    She easily tore apart the silky fabric and now Cleo¡¯s exposed bodyy directly in front of her eyes.

    Cleo¡¯s dark flowing hair, her piercing green eyes and beautiful face that resembled an ancient empress.

    The princess¡¯s slender physique had curves in all the right ces and although her breasts were a bit smaller than Sophie¡¯s, the hybrid girl could still hold them firmly within her grasp.

    They were just so perky, firm and¡­. kissable.

    Sophie could not help herself and slowly moved forward to press her soft lips against Cleo¡¯s dark pink nipples.

    She gently flicked the tiny nub with her tongue while her other hand wandered down Cleo¡¯s lower body and yfully touched her moist opening.

    Cleo threw back her head and moaned like crazy as she had not felt such a strong surge of pleasure in a long time.

    She was no match for Sophie¡¯s careful ministrations that took her breath away.

    Sophie¡¯s well experienced tongue was constantly switching from one breast to the next and driving Cleo crazy.

    A few minutes passed and now the princess¡¯s breasts were covered in saliva as well as small suction marks.

    Cleo climbed onto Sophie¡¯sp and started to wiggle her hips seductively and press soft kisses against her girlfriend¡¯s mouth.

    Sophie gripped the back of her head firmly and pushed her tongue into Cleo¡¯s mouth.

    She used her other hand to press a small button at the back of her bodysuit and soon the memory foam clothing melted away.

    ¡°I am always shocked at how big they are,¡± Cleo joked as Sophie¡¯s enormous twin peaks came into view.

    They were massive and should be a D or E cup at minimum.

    Sophie blushed slightly as she felt Cleo¡¯s gaze full of passion.

    ¡°Let me return the favour,¡± Cleo smiled lustily.

    She moved her palms and ced them onto Sophie¡¯s gorgeous tits and started to squeeze them with great enthusiasm.

    Her skill was honestly a bitcking, but Sophie still felt waves of pleasure when Cleo pressed their breasts together.

    Sophie stifled a moan and just pressed her lips hard against Cleo¡¯s mouth as they rubbed their bodies against each other.

    Cleo could sense that her orgasm was slowly building up, so she started to hump Sophie¡¯s leg like a bitch in heat.

    Her clit rubbed against Sophie¡¯s leg over and over until she passed the point of no return.

    Cleo shrieked as a fierce orgasm tore through her body and she squirted all over the bed.

    This sight was enough to throw Sophie over the edge as well and liquid furiously erupted from her vagina.

    ¡°Fuck¡­. that was so hot,¡± Cleo stared nkly at the ceiling of the hotel suite with a zed expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done with you yet,¡± Sophie chuckled darkly, and she slowly adjusted their position, so their clits were lined up against each other.

    ¡°What are you¡­¡­Ahhhhh,¡± Cleo cried out as Sophie began to grind her pussy against hers.

    Pleasure started to build up once more, but Sophie interrupted their scissoring toy Cleo on the bed with a yful grin.

    ¡°I think I want a taste,¡± the hybrid girl lowered her head seductively and then buried her face into Cleo¡¯s pussy.

    Sophie pushed two fingers inside the warm opening as her eager tonguepped at Cleo¡¯s moist vagina.

    She made sure to gently rub the small button hidden in her upper folds that caused Cleo¡¯s world to explode.

    Cleo writhed and shook in arousal as Sophie brought her to a state of ecstasy that went far beyond what she could ever reach by herself.

    She needed to cum.

    All over the girl who was eagerly devouring her pussy.

    ¡°Fuck I¡¯m going to do it again,¡± Cleo yelled as she trembled in orgasmic bliss.

    Her back arched into the air and the amount of liquid that sprayed out covered Sophie¡¯s face entirely.

    Sophie loved it.

    The taste of pussy was simply addicting or maybe it was just the taste of her girlfriend that brought her so much joy.

    She tried to lick as much of the sweet nectar as possible that was flowing out of Cleo¡¯s vagina, but it soon proved to be an impossible task.

    Yep¡­. they were going to be charged an extra cleaning fee from the hotel for sure.

    The bedroom smelled heavily of sex, but Sophie knew that the night was just beginning.

    Her now pink eyes turned her vision into a world of soft colours, and she could see certain spots appearing on Cleo¡¯s body.

    Every time she touched one of these sensitive areas, it would cause the princess to moan even louder.

    Sophie activated her ability to the fullest extent and could now feel a force taking over her body and moving her fingers skillfully all over the girlying under her

    She yed Cleo like a beautiful instrument and by now the once noble princess was sprayed out on the bed while panting loudly in ecstasy.

    But then something went wrong.

    Snap!

    ¡°Arghhhhh,¡± Sophie clutched her head in agony as she felt another power begin to flow through her body.

    ¡°Sophie?¡± Cleo could sense that something was wrong and reached out for her girlfriend but was pushed away.

    Sophie¡¯s vision was split into two as her right eye slowly turned a crimson shade of red while her left remained a pinkish hue.

    Something was causing her predator instincts to be activated but what could it be?

    She unsteadily moved away from Cleo and tried to head for the bathroom to lock herself inside until these feelings passed.

    ¡°Sophie!¡± Cleo tapped her shoulder and Sophie turned around automatically before she could even stop herself.

    The princess¡¯s naked body came into view, but Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed as she saw the shadowy figure hidden deeply within.

    Wait¡­. there it was.

    There was her prey.

 Chapter 177: I See You....

    Chapter 177: I See You¡­.

    ¡°I see you¡­.¡± Sophie growled in a low husky voice as she slowly approached Cleo with jerky, uneven footsteps.

    ¡°Did you think that you could hide from me?¡±

    ¡°Can you run from a hunter?¡±

    Sophie¡¯s right eye shone with a crimson light as she stared at the humanoid creature hidden deeply inside her girlfriend¡¯s body.

    It resembled a shadowy stick figure with four dark tendrils that menacingly spread throughout Cleo¡¯s body and tightly wrapped around each of her organs.

    Sophie did not know what this alien thing was but could feel an attractive core of energy in the center of its biomass.

    Her vision was still split between two different worlds but the pink hue in her left eye was gradually beginning to fade.

    Hungry¡­.

    HUNGRY¡­.

    MUST FEED.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs lengthened and the de-like appendages on her back started to move around restlessly.

    Droplets of saliva dripped out of her open mouth and fell to the ground where they burnt small holes in the carpet.

    ¡°Snap out of it Sophie!¡± Cleo scrambled backwards in fear as the hybrid girl walked closer with a devilish smirk.

    She did not want to send out another psychic attack as there would be an increased risk of permanent brain damage to the victim with each sessive use of the Mental Spike technique.

    Sophie froze for a moment as she saw the beautiful princess staring at her with an expression of terror.

    This was wrong.

    How could the girl she loved look at her like that?

    ¡°No¡­I¡­.¡± Sophie clutched her head in pain as she felt her mind being ripped apart.

    This brief moment of rity was enough for Sophie to get a decent grasp on the situation, so she immediately tried to move away from Cleo.

    She stumbled and nearly fell as she somehow managed to move her legs to rush into the bathroom.

    Sophie mmed the door tightly shut and then shouted at Cleo from inside the room, ¡°Cleo! Lock the bathroom from the outside and under no circumstances should you open it!¡±

    The princess moved quickly, and Sophie was relieved to hear the mechanical whirring noises of the lock slowly being activated.

    She squatted down on the ground and held her face in her palms as she could not help but think of what a burden she was to Cleo.

    She came to a decision at that moment.

    After this incident passed¡­. she would break up with Cleo.

    Sophie loved the princess too much to be constantly putting her in danger whenever she lost control.

    These gifts from the Weaver were not a blessing¡­.

    They were a curse.

    The minutes ticked by and soon turned into hours as Sophie fought desperately not to surrender to the strange power spreading through her body.

    She eventually lost the battle.

    Sophie¡¯s sense of reason was disappearing rapidly and her once clear thoughts now appeared to be trapped within a cloudy fog.

    The crimson colour in her right eye shone even brighter and these conflicted feelings soon disappeared without a ripple.

    Sophie growled with animalistic fury as her instincts fully took over and she found herself alone without her prey.

    Why am I here?

    Where was it?

    She could sense that the wretched creature was still nearby¡­¡­

    Both eyes were now fully red, and Sophie¡¯s vision soon turned into a world of yellowish orange as her sight now extended to beyond the door.

    She saw a figure nervously pacing around the room with a dark shadowy entity hidden inside of her body.

    There you are¡­

    Meanwhile Cleo was sick with worry as it had been quite a long time since Sophie had locked herself in the bathroom and she was starting to get concerned.

    Sophie was not carrying any weapons and the mechanical doors built in the royal suite of the hotel could resist blows from cultivators in the qi tide stage.

    Maybe it was due to the sudden nature of the emergency, but Cleo made the mistake of forgetting one important detail¡­.

    Sophie herself was a weapon.

    Stab!

    The de-like appendages on her back easily tore through the metallic door with ease and Sophie kicked the remains out of the way.

    Cleo was caught off guard and froze in surprise for a few seconds but that was more than enough time for Sophie to rapidly close the distance.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s image blurred and she instantly appeared in front of the princess with a bloodthirsty smile on her face.

    Cleo did not even have time to react before Sophie gripped her throat tightly and hoisted her up into the air.

    ¡°I will eat your body and sacrifice your soul to the Weaver,¡± Sophie hissed and squeezed tighter.

    The soft tender flesh of her girlfriend¡¯s neck that mere hours before was being kissed relentlessly was now held with murderous intentions.

    ¡°Sophie¡­. Sophie¡­. stop¡­. it,¡± Cleo struggled for air desperately.

    She was caught between a rock and a hard ce.

    It was clear that Sophie had fully lost control, but the high risk of potential brain damage still made Cleo feel reluctant to use another mental attack.

    Sophie gazed at the princess with an indifferent expression but then something unexpected urred.

    Badump! Badump! Badump!

    Cleo could feel her heartbeat steadily beating as a warm tingling feeling spread from the front of her chest.

    Badump! Badump! Badump!

    The mark branded on Cleo¡¯s chest started to glow a pinkish colour and Sophie could feel her emotions gradually begin to calm down.

    Cleo found herself filled with a feeling of deep inner peace and confidence.

    She somehow knew exactly what to say and the words flowed freely out of her mouth.

    ¡°I love you,¡± Cleo stared deeply into Sophie¡¯s eyes with an overwhelming emotional mix of warmth and concern.

    An invisible connection formed between the two girls that brought Sophie back to her senses.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes slowly returned to their normal golden hue as her grip loosened slightly which allowed Cleo to break free.

    ¡°Are you back to norma¡­.¡± Cleo cautiously spoke but was interrupted by Sophie fiercely pressing her lips against hers.

    Cleo closed her eyes in bliss as she felt the sweet taste of her girlfriend¡¯s lips and the long tongue hungrily exploring the inside of her mouth.

    Sophie did it.

    She had managed to break free of her hunting state.

 Chapter 178: Containment Breach

    Chapter 178: Containment Breach

    (Hydra Star System) (Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory) Zachary hid under his bed in fear as he listened to the facility''s AI unit continue to ring out an rm. He was a member of a team of scientists working on Project Rhat''ets with the position of research assistant. It was the middle of the night and he had woken up to the sounds of panicked screams and what appeared to be sma shots being fired continuously.

    The lights above his bed were shing bright red, and he could also hear the heavy footsteps of armed guards running through the nearby hallways.

    This was madness.

    All of the experiments should have been heavily sedated at all times in order to prevent any idents from urring. No one ''mew what kind of changes in behaviour would ur when crossing the DNA of a human with that of an Insectoid.

    Zachary could not help but secretly think that those horrific monsters should never see the light of day.... The recent breakthroughs using the new samples of gic material obtained from the battles at the border produced stronger hybrids than the previous batch.

    The turning point was using a vial of purplish blood obtained from the body of an Insectoidmander after his death at the hands of an Imperial officer. Images from the battlefield showed that this alien was over eight feet in height with four translucent wings that enabled him to fly short distances. His metallic exoskeleton was resistant to most physical based attacks and his five long pincers, tenpound eyes and two de-like scythes for arms made him a nightmare to face. Before his death, this Insectoid had managed to eliminate an entire squad of qi tide stage cultivators all by himself. So far only three individuals had survived the gene-splicing procedure performed using the Insectoidmander''s DNA, and they were named the zero generation. Although they were still far from being effective weapons, it was certainly a step in the right direction. But still.... the intelligence of even the most sessful hybrids created by the scientist were not any higher than that of newborn infants. Something just wasn''t right about this containment breach. How could they possibly escape without outside help? Zachary reached under his bed and pulled out a smallser knife that he usually used for dissecting tissue samples. It was unlikely to be of any real help if one of those freaks actually came into his room but feeling of a warm de in his hand was oddlyforting. Ding! Zachary nced down at hismunicator and saw three messages sent from the emergency broadcast channel. (Attention All Units!) (Attention All Units!)

    (This Containment Breach Has Been Dered A ss 1 Emergency- Lethal Force Has Been Authorised!)

    Shit.

    Each viable hybrid produced was a valuable product and an important part of the research done at Project Rhat''ets. For the leaders at the facility to enable lethal force meant that the threat had truly reached the point of no return. The void stage cultivators stationed around the base would probably be making their move now.

    Zachary knew that these hybrids would not survive for much longer. For all their physical advantages and enhanced cultivation base, it did not matter when facing a cultivator in the void stage. The gap was just toorge. Zachary gripped the knife even tighter but secretly felt a bit rxed in his heart. With any luck this would set back the project by a few months or even years. Doctor Valenna was truly a heartless demon and it was under her direction that the test subjects had gradually shifted from only using hardened criminals to a mix of both criminals and ves. Bang! Bang! The metal door shook heavily, and Zachary fell back in horror as he saw the imprint of a de pounding against the material. "No._ no.... no," Zachary whispered softly as he stared at the door without even blinking. Fear. Shock. Horror. I don''t want to die.

    Thefort of having a lmife in his hand was nowpletely gone as all the researcher could think about in that moment was whether he would live to see his family again. "Urghhh...... REEEEEEEEEEEEED an inhuman mix of screeching and animal grunts could be heard from the other side as it appeared that the hybrid Imew he was in there.

    Suddenly a loud tearing noise could be heard as arge section of the door was torn off and Zachary could see the monster staring hungrily at him.

    It was the stuff of nightmares. A vaguely humanoid figure whose arms and legs were coated in a metallic chitin-like material with bulging veins clearly visible beneath the surface. Its eyes were bloodshot red and leaked out a yellowish crusty liquid that fell to the ground with a soft ssh. The mouth of the hybrid was filled with razor sharp teeth that cut the upper part of its lips whenever the monster made a noise. Three deformed and misshapen wings grew from his back with the left wing being slightly more developed than the right.

    One hand was that of a normal human male while the other had somehow transformed into a de-like scythe. "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED the hybrid squealed in excitement and stumbled across the room towards the researcher on the bed.

    "Stay.... Stay.... STAY BACK!" Zachary was now fully panicking. He tried to hold his Imife straight and remain calm, but his trembling hand gave away his true emotional state. The hybrid seemed to enjoy watching the researcher shiver as its creepy smile stretched even further. Stab!

    Zachary''s eyes briefly widened in shock as the de-like scythe went straight through his chest and ripped out his heart.

    He died instantly with a frozen expression of disbelief still present on his face. "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED the hybrid threw back its head and swallowed the heart in one bite. The siren continued to re loudly as the creature walked out of the room and sniffed the air a few times to find any more prey.

    (Command Center)

    Multiple hologram windows were floating silent in the air as Doctor Valenna eagerly watched the performance of her children_

    The higher ups had secretly approved of this new experiment that would test thebat abilities of these newer hybrids in a real-life scenario.

    All of the important personnel were warned in advanced and were temporarily housed onboard the starship floating above the''s atmosphere. The remaining members were those deemed as expendable and contained a mix of trained security guards and researchers who were not experienced inbat.

    Of course, the void stage cultivators were forbidden from making any moves as it was obvious that the hybrids would not be their match.

    But it would be valuable information to see how they fared against those around the same cultivation level as themselves.

    "Hmmm," Doctor Valenna frowned and recorded some data on her notepad. One of the three hybrids had just died under heavy gunfire. The creature had still managed to kill ten guards before its eventual demise but that simply was not good enough. The hybrid who had just killed Zachary was currently hiding in the shadows and watching a squad of armed personnel march by with a hungry gaze. But that was not the scene that attracted Doctor Valenna''s full attention....

    Thest hybrid had just single-handedly ripped apart twenty cultivators in the qi spirit stage and was now gleefully rubbing the blood from the corpses all over its body. "How fascinating," the cold-hearted women smirked and continued to write notes. 0

    "Perhaps they can be tamed using psychological methods such as hypnosis or obedience training.."

    deFlorelesslyRomanim Hello my dear readers, Hope everyone h having a good day! I''m looking forward to the new batch of trial books because......( the mob lead onesst week kind of sucked lol) Side note:in still unhappy that my favourite novel Really Am Nor The Lord Of Demon wasn''t selected. Keyways don''t forger to leave ament or drop a power stone vote :D

 Chapter 179: Subject 002

    Chapter 179: Subject 002

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

    ¡°Doctor what are the results of this new experiment?¡±

    ¡°Can these hybrids be weaponised?¡±

    ¡°What can we expect to see in the future from project Rhat¡¯ets¡±

    Doctor Valenna confidently stood in an open conference room and listened carefully to the numerous questions being thrown her way by the hologram figures projected on the chairs.

    She wore a simple whiteb coat with multiple pockets that she filled with various scientific devices and surgery knives.

    Her curly brown hair, average looking features, easy going smile, and thin ck sses made the doctor appear to be a kind physician.

    Even with the position of head researcher on project Rhat¡¯ets, she did not have the security authorisation to see the faces of the higher ups directly.

    The facial details of each hologram figure was blurred slightly and the voicesing from their mouths had been heavily modified.

    But Doctor Valenna had no doubt in her mind that these men and women were at the absolute top of the Federation government.

    Now was the opportunity to impress the higher ups and secure more funding for further experimentation.

    Science was the great truth in the universe!

    Doctor Valenna reached for her notepad and started to read the notes she had written down a few hours ago,

    ¡°The experimentsted for approximately five hours and saw three hybrids who we nicknamed subject 001, subject 002 and subject 003 face off against seventy-nine guards with cultivation levels ranging from the qi body to qi spirit stage.¡±

    ¡°They were armed with standardbat uniforms and ss two sma rifles capable of neutralising previous hybrids produced using Tarkkankan DNA.¡±

    ¡°There were also twelve junior level researchers that were present as a control group but none of them survived.¡±

    ¡°And what of the hybrids?¡± a distorted voice that was vaguely feminine was heard from one of the holograms.

    ¡°Please just give us the shortened version and we will investigate the full details in greater depth after the meeting.¡±

    Doctor Valenna adjusted her sses and skipped over the next few sections to give the higher ups a summarised version of the experiment.

    She coughed awkwardly and then continued to speak,

    ¡°Subjects 001 and 003 sustained heavy wounds and died immediately from a mix of blood loss and blunt force trauma.¡±

    ¡°Subject 002 managed to kill the remaining security forces and researchers all by himself so he was sedated and then brought back to my personalboratory for further testing.¡±

    ¡°The results from this experiment show a marked improvement over the previous results and I can confidently say that my team and I are moving in a positive direction.¡±

    ¡°But that is not good enough,¡± a dark chuckle was heard from one of the hologram figures.

    ¡°Over ten billion Enas have been invested in this project and all you can produce are cannon fodder trash.¡±

    ¡°Now doctor¡­. listen carefully to me.¡±

    Doctor Valenna stood still as beads of sweat started to run down her back.

    Whoever that person was¡­. he was emitting a fearsome aura that could be felt even through a light projection.

    ¡°I want you to produce at least one hybrid that can enter the qi tide stage. You have two months to aplish this goal.¡±

    ¡°Or you will find yourself suffering the same fate as your test subjects.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Casanca Royal Hotel- Presidential Suite)

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Sophie held Cleo tightly and felt the soft body of her girlfriend gently press against her own.

    She just felt sick.

    An unpleasant mix of shame, regret and guilt was now flowing through her mind.

    This was the second time that she had lost control and almost injured the princess thanks to the powers given to her by the Great Weaver.

    The room was quiet as Sophie wept silently and Cleo was still trying to process what had just happened.

    ¡°Do you know what triggered the hunting state?¡± she finally asked.

    Sophie frowned as she tried to recall her thoughts and emotions during thest few hours.

    She could vaguely remember seeing something inside Cleo that captured her attention.

    But what was it?

    She knew that it was not Cleo herself¡­.

    Unlike the previous time, Sophie could sense that the memories were just within her grasp, so she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

    Subconsciously her left hand drifted slowly down Cleo¡¯s chest and gently pressed against the pinkish mark.

    Wait!

    Now she remembered!

    Sophie¡¯s expression turned serious and she hesitantly opened her mouth to exin to Cleo what had happened,

    ¡°Cleo don¡¯t freak out¡­. but I saw an alien inside your body and that was what triggered me.¡±

    ¡°It looked like a humanoid stick figure with four shadowy tendrils that were wrapping around your organs.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell if these tendrils merged with your other organs but for some reason these appendages stayed away from your heart.¡±

    Sophie was unsure of why her girlfriend¡¯s heart had remained free of the tendril¡¯s influence but spected that it might have something to do with the mark on her chest.

    ¡°Wait¡­. what?¡± Cleo asked in confusion.

    ¡°What do you mean that an alien is inside of me? Like a symbiote? But the qi in my body would prevent any symbiote from assimting.¡±

    Sophie paused for a moment as she realised that Cleo was right about the impossibility of the situation.

    The qi stored in the dantian would act as a natural barrier to prevent symbiotic lifeforms from fusing into the host body of a cultivator.

    However, she did not doubt what she had seen inside Cleo¡¯s body so there must be another exnation.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ What happens if a symbiote enters a host before the host starts cultivating?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Well then in that case there would be a high chance that the qi formed would recognise the symbiote as one of the host¡¯s organs,¡± Cleo replied after giving the matter some thought.

    ¡°I started cultivating pretty early and I also stayed in the Imperial Complex for most of my life so how could a symbiote have entered my body?¡±

    ¡°Plus, I did numerous medical scans and physical augment procedures just like my other siblings. Any symbiote hiding inside my body would have been detected immediately.¡±

    Cleo¡¯s mood was uneasy as the very notion of some foreign creature hiding away in her body was deeply disturbing.

    A small piece of the shadows beneath her feet began to writhe and contort into various horrific shapes.

    Neither girl noticed these changes as the light in the hotel room was pretty dim and Sophie was preupied with digesting this new information.

    Logically speaking, there was no way that a princess could have been exposed to a symbiote much less go through years of different medical scans and procedures without any detection.

    ¡°Sorry if I sound crazy and I know it makes no sense, but I know what I saw. There was something there,¡± Sophie desperately tried to convince her girlfriend.

    ¡°Rx babe,¡± Cleo chuckled and brushed her lips against Sophie¡¯s.

    ¡°I believe you.¡±

 Chapter 180: Studying?

    Chapter 180: Studying?

    (Zrudread University- Biology Department)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°I am not going to tell Cleo to move out!¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°And that reminds me¡­. why has three months worth of pet food just magically disappeared without any trace.¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°I call bullshit! We did not get robbed!¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°So, they just broke into our house and took nothing but pet food?!¡±

    Sophie was cheerfully arguing with Moon as the little Frostwing bat pped his wings excitedly and continued to squeak loudly.

    They attracted strange looks from the nearby students, but Sophie was too engrossed in ying with her baby bat that she paid the stares no mind.

    She had really missed spending time with Moon while on her mission and apparently the feeling was mutual as the Frostwing bat had not left her side since she returned.

    It appeared that Moon¡¯s intelligence had grown quite rapidly while staying with Astrid and her siblings and now Sophie could hold conversations with him through the blood bond.

    She still could not understand everything as the images and words being transmitted via the mental link were a bit fragmented at times, but it was enough to get the general gist.

    The pair were currently walking through the forested area of the park on their way to ss as it was thest day before the midterms.

    Sophie smiled as she felt the warm light of the red sun hanging overhead and the cool breeze gently hitting her face.

    Moon was perched on her shoulder and nuzzling her neck with adorable purrs to get her attention.

    Sophie and Cleo had returned yesterday but took the day off to sort out some important matters.

    The bounty had been processed and a decent sum of credits had been sent into their ounts.

    Unfortunately, after including the costs of buying all those ve girls and giving them an additional sum of money¡­.

    This adventure turned from a profit to a loss.

    Well at least on the plus side, Sophie and Cleo¡¯s ranks in the ck Rose guild had risen and they were now qualified to take on harder missions.

    It seems that only a handful of freshmen had decided to take up bounty missions before the first midterm.

    As for the matter of the symbiote, Cleo had contacted her mother who told her toe visit the imperial pce after the midterm.

    She did not reveal any details about Sophie¡¯s abilities during her conversation and simply used the excuse that somehow the symbiote could be seen using her mental force.

    Cleo did not want to lie to her mother, but Sophie¡¯s true identity and special powers needed to be kept secret.

    Apparently, Concubine Sisrelis was very concerned about her daughter¡¯s wellbeing and wanted to see her as soon as possible.

    Cleo could feel the raw emotions in her mother¡¯s voice when talking to her over themunicator and it brought a tear to her eye.

    Maybe deep down her mother was still the same warm caring person from her childhood.

    Sophie had offered to bring Cleo to the Peterlor estate to undergo a medical scan there, but Cleo politely refused at least for now.

    She nned to first have the royal doctors who were sworn to secrecy perform an in-depth scan for the symbiote and only if nothing were found would she then go with Sophie to see the duke.

    Sophie spotted a familiar acquaintance walking ahead with a gigantic three headed wolf-like creature at her side.

    The surrounding students were giving the pair a wide berth as the enormous twelve-foot dog was asionally exhaling mes from its three mouths.

    ¡°Hey Luna!¡± Sophie called out and gave a wave.

    The blonde-haired girl wearing an expensive red dress stiffened in shock as it was very rare for anyone to address her so casually.

    Luna had spent thest couple of weeks gradually assimting into the campus lifestyle but had yet to make any friends.

    The noble girl¡¯s arrogant nature and aura of dignity made it hard for any of her fellow ssmates to interact with her.

    The only person willing to talk to her was the hybrid girl in herbat pet training ss but she had never attended a lecture after the first day.

    ¡°Oh? How have you been ckie?¡± Sophie walked over with no fear and gave the hell hound a gentle pat on the leg.

    Woof! Woof!

    The middle head bent down slowly and tried to lick Sophie on the cheek, but the size of his tongue meant that Sophie found herself covered in saliva.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon found himself also covered in the disgusting liquid and angrily shook his wings at the giantbat beast.

    (Stupid mutt! I¡¯ll cook you and eat you alive!)

    ckie gazed at the small furry bat scolding him relentlessly and whimpered quietly.

    Somehow this tiny creature was emitting a very dangerous aura that made his hair stand on end.

    ¡°Greetings Sophie of the Peterlor house,¡± Luna was a bit surprised but bowed politely.

    ¡°No need for the formal talk. How have things been?¡± Sophie wiped the saliva off her face with a grimace.

    ¡°I have been preparing for several weeks to perform well in the midterm exam and take my rightful ce as head of the elite ss,¡± Luna responded in an even tone.

    ¡°How has your studying been going?¡±

    ¡°Err¡­. I¡­.¡± Sophie stammered with a guilty look on her face.

    Studying?

    She did keep up with all her assignments during the trip to Calypso but in terms of revision¡­.

    Sophie mainly spent the nights sleeping or performing other activities with Cleo.

    Luna observed the changes on Sophie¡¯s faces and concluded that the hybrid girl was probably ill prepared.

    ¡°Well, it does not matter. Theory is just a small part of the marking scheme, the main bulk of the marks are from the practical exam.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah! Did they reveal any details about it or is it going to be a mystery?¡± Sophie asked.

    Luna shrugged her shoulders helplessly and shook her head.

    The lecturers were notoriously tight lipped and refused to give out any details during ss.

    Talking to the upperssmen was of no use as well because the contents of the midterm exam varied each year.

 Chapter 181: Number One Of The Assassin Class

    Chapter 181: Number One Of The Assassin ss

    Out of the many majors and different specializations offered at Zrudread University, the assassination ss was the one with the highest number of dropouts.

    Unlike sword cultivators with their impressive moves, poison cultivators with their noxious fumes, mages with their spells or mech controllers with their gigantic machines

    ¡­. assassins were not shy.

    Emphasis was ced on stealth, tracking, misdirection and killing techniques that eliminated targets with one swift strike.

    Some thrived in this type of environment while others could not handle the boring monotony of training.

    But for those who graduated, they were all but guaranteed spots in the Imperial Army as scouts were in high demand.

    Battles could be won or lost before they even started.

    A good scout in a squad was often the difference between life and death on the battlefield.

    Due to the inherent risk of this position and the casualty rate being quite high, it was rare to see the son or daughter of a noble house choosing the assassin major.

    But of course, there were always exceptions¡­.

    (Qiana¡¯s POV)

    Concentrate.

    Focus.

    The most important trait of an assassin is patience.

    The patience to wait hours or even days for that one opportunity.

    That singr moment.

    You must not even breathe.

    You must not even think.

    Qiana closed her eyes and felt the familiar quiet of the silent world. It was in these moments that she truly felt at peace.

    No noise.

    No distractions.

    No emotions.

    Just the cold steel of the dagger gripped tightly in her palm.

    House Abazin were a noble family of diplomats in the light¡­.

    And murderers in the dark.

    They were far from the most powerful cultivators in the Federation but were certainly some of the deadliest.

    What was the use of a man possessing great strength when a hidden de shes his throat?

    Or he experiences the sweet taste of poison in his wine.

    Qiana¡¯s ears tilted ever so slightly as she sensed movementing from the bushes to her right.

    It was time.

    Lightning Transmission!

    Small electromaic signals pulsed outwards from Qiana¡¯s body and entered the minds of the surrounding students.

    This was a special technique created by the ancestors of house Abazin that allowed the wielder to modify the electric signals sent to the brain of their victims.

    These signals would create false images in the minds of the victims.

    Qiana lightly moved along the forest floor and tapped her knife gently against the necks of the nearby students as she passed by.

    She made sure not to cause any injuries by using the back side of the de.

    Despite the cautious looks and wary attitudes by the students scanning the forest closely, Qiana simply walked straight through their line of sight without fear.

    One¡­

    Two¡­

    Three¡­

    Four¡­

    Qiana kept a mental tally of her victims and it only took around fifteen minutes for her to track down all twenty students in the ss.

    As she tapped her knife against the neck of a Servie girl hovering in the air, the loud voice of the ss instructor broke the silence.

    ¡°Time is up!¡±

    Qiana cancelled her technique and the Servie girl was shocked to see a ck-haired girl with sses appear seemingly out of thin air.

    ¡°Good work today Qiana,¡± Professor Aegon cheerfully mmed his pincers together to make a pping motion.

    Professor Aegon was a short creature only two feet in height and hailed from a small in the outer regions.

    His skin appeared thin, but it was very strong with fiery red scales that covered his body.

    He would walk with a limp from a previous injury and mainly used his thick pincers to aid his movement.

    Qiana held great respect for the man as her overreliance on her family¡¯s technique had been a ring weakness that she had not recognised.

    She could still vividly recall the first day of ss when Professor Aegon had directed them to y a game of hide and seek with him as the catcher.

    Naturally Qiana used the Lightning Transmission technique and climbed up a nearby tree to do some reading.

    But¡­ it turns out that her instructor¡¯s species did not have an electric nervous system¡­.

    So, she failed that exercise.

    It had been a hard lesson about the dangers of overconfidence and in the subsequent weeks, Qiana had attended every single optional lecture and office hours of the professor to hone her skills.

    Due to her hard work and efforts, she was now firmly recognised as the top student from those who chose the assassin major.

    ¡°And for the rest of you¡­. I hope that this will serve as a wake-up call,¡± Professor Aegon stared at the other students with a fierce gaze and then dismissed the ss.

    Qiana could feel the stares of envy, admiration and jealousy from the students being directed at her but she paid them no mind.

    Honestly, the only thing on her mind was when would the new chapter of her favourite boy love novele out.

    ¡®Daddy Emperor Punishes The Prince Part Two- The Royal Pounding¡¯ had just released but the author was not updating the book regrly.

    Absentmindedly she sent a few messages to Astrid using hermunicator but received no response.

    Apparently Archmage Hollystorm had found out that midterm season was approaching and nned to give Astrid additional exams on top of the regr ones from the university.

    Poor Astrid had been forced to study relentlessly as her cold-hearted instructor did not allow her to leave his magic tower until she understood the basic principals behind spatial magic.

    On another note, Qiana had yet to confess her feelings towards Astrid as every opportune moment seemed to pass by without her working up the courage.

    Spending thest few weeks with Astrid and her family had just caused her emotions to intensify but somehow talking to the Mendolesa girl directly about her love was impossible.

    Who knew that three simple words would be so fucking difficult to say.

    Qiana sighed heavily and decided to just head back to the house to spent the rest of the day studying or watching dramas.

    Maybe she would invite Sophie and Cleo toe over and watch some dramas on the virtual with her.

    Qiana¡¯s musing was interrupted by a soft voice calling out from behind her,

    ¡°Hey.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to join our study group?¡±

 Chapter 182: Astrid Falls Asleep

    Chapter 182: Astrid Falls Asleep

    (Zrudread University- Hidden Location)

    (Archmage Hollystorm¡¯s Mage Tower)

    A Mendolesa girl was sitting quietly near a window with the gentle light from the red sun outside shinning on her face.

    She was in a study room surrounded by ancient tomes and literary texts innguages written from a variety of races and cultures.

    ¡°So, the overflow of mana when using first tier magic can be severely reduced using Hawken¡¯s theorem,¡± Astrid muttered to herself as she read through the heavy book in front of her.

    ¡°But how does that ount for the circuit break when casting the me ball and frost spike spell simultaneously?¡±

    ¡°Maybe the opposite elemental nature of the mana particles could lead to an adverse reaction?¡±

    Astrid frowned as she pondered over the answer to these questions that were sure to be on the midterm.

    She was not having a good time.

    Who knew that her mentor would suddenly decide that she needed to take the midterm exams with the rest of the year!

    And then he also wanted the young Mendolesa mage to write additional exams based on what she learnt over thest few weeks.

    Spatial magic was one of the mostplex branches of magic and required a solid foundation inputation and mathematics.

    Being able to cast spells that affected fixed areas in time and space was a skill that many were unable to learn.

    Astrid initially struggled quite heavily but it helped that her mentor was arguably one of the best in the field.

    Astrid sighed lightly and peeked at the tall stack of books on magic theorems and forms she still had to read through.

    Generally, her magic lessons would consist of applying the techniques she learnt in practice duels but long hours studying the various theories were still unavoidable.

    ¡°Are you getting bored?¡± came the cold voice of Archmage Hollystorm who was currently watering some nts in the corner of the room.

    ¡°No sir!¡± Astrid quickly replied and returned to scanning through the book.

    Archmage Hollystorm hummed softly and continued to sprinkle water on the leaves of a scary looking nt.

    The nt had dark green tendrils that waved around quite frequently but what was most horrifying about its appearance was its gawping maw with razer sharp teeth.

    It was a rare species of flora only found in the inner regions of the desert of Doliarea and was the archmage¡¯s most prized possession.

    The leaves of this nt could be used to create mana replenishing potions that had little to no side effects.

    Every mage¡¯s biggest weakness was running out of mana so replenishing potions were forever in high demand.

    Well, Archmage Hollystorm did not raise the nt to make any profit, he simply enjoyed the aesthetics of the creature.

    Yes, his tastes were quite strange.

    ¡°That¡¯s all for today girl,¡± Archmage Hollystorm cooed tenderly and stroked a few leaves on his nt.

    This was the life.

    Quiet. Peaceful. Tranquil.

    ¡°Zzzzzzzzzz!¡± a noise suddenly shattered this calm.

    Astrid snored loudly as the long nights of studying finally caught up to her and she passed out with a dopey grin on her face.

    Whatever she was dreaming of must have been pleasant as she kept giggling and whispering in a low voice.

    Archmage Hollystorm ced down the watering can and headed over to his tired student who looked like she needed a firm yet gentle hand in education.

    He raised his hand to deliver a hard p to the back of Astrid¡¯s head but lowered it slowly as he saw the bags beneath her eyes.

    Maybe he had been pushing his student too hard over thest couple of days.

    Astrid was the archmage¡¯s first and probably only direct disciple and he did not have much experience in teaching.

    Truthfully the Mendolesa girl was far and above the progress of her peers and it was not solely due to her grade S mana talent.

    She was simply an incredibly hard worker.

    Astrid had alwayspleted all assignments on time, read ahead before ss and actively asked questions when she didn¡¯t understand something.

    Archmage Hollystorm¡¯s heart softened as he gazed at his sleeping pupil and pulled out a soft nket from his storage space.

    He carefully ced it around Astrid¡¯s shoulders and then left the room.

    Travelling long distances was not a problem for any mage half decent with spatial magic so with a quick snap of his fingers, Archmage Hollystorm teleported himself to his private work room.

    It was quite messy with stacks of letters, reports and strange mechanical devicesying on the floor in a haphazard manner.

    ¡°Frangere illusio!¡± Hollystorm chanted and the messy version of the room disappeared instantly.

    It was just a simple trick to cast an illusion but anyone without the knowledge of the mana flow he used to construct the spell would be unable to break it.

    The elderly Servie flew over to his desk and begun to read some reports about the current affairs of the Federation.

    Fighting a war with the Insectoid Empire and the rising hostilities with the Unova Syndicate meant that the Imperial Army was stretched way too thinly.

    Mages were an important asset and powerful Archmages could singlehandedly turn the tide of battle.

    Naturally, this meant that they were treated as hidden aces.

    The Servie race on a whole were not too favourable at the notion of endless wars and expansion of the Federation but the humans and Mendolesa were eager to gain more resources.

    Quafes remained neutral but would always send representative troops to the various military campaigns.

    Archmage Hollystorm frowned as a particr report caught his attention, several high-level Insectoidmanders had apparently disappeared from the border.

    The intelligence officers guessed that some event had urred within the Insectoid Empire that required their troops to withdraw temporarily.

    Of course, the Imperial Army took this opportunity to attack and scorch severals in the border zone.

    There was also talk about pushing in further and prating deep into enemy lines, but some were hesitant.

    It could very well be a trap.

    As of the current moment, only two of the four high level Insectoid races had stepped onto the battlefield.

    The other two remained a mystery with their appearances and racial traits being unknown.

    The only reason that the Federation had any idea that there were four races was due to information obtained by chance from torturing an alien smuggler who shipped illegal goods across the Empire.

    And even he had note into contact with those two hidden races.

 Chapter 183: Midterm Meeting

    Chapter 183: Midterm Meeting

    (Procyon Star System- Territory of House Peterlor)

    (Lunar Colony- Votuclite)

    This was not the first time that Rokan had dealt with the destruction of one of his mining colonies, it was almost to be expected at this point.

    In fact, during his first few years as the head of the Peterlor household, there were many greedy nobles eyeing his property with great interest.

    The government would turn a blind eye to petty matters like small fights between nobles as long as it did not escte to genocide orplete annihtion.

    However, the nature of this attack was a bit different as no noble house had openly imed responsibility for the matter.

    The pirates and petty criminals who were active in this particr space sector had long fled after the duke led a private campaign against them.

    Dozens of illegally constructed starship fleets had been burnt to ash and the duke himself had singlehandedly wiped-out entire crews with one sh of his sword.

    Finding the true mastermind behind the attack was proving to be difficult as even the leader of the attack did not know the identity of his employer.

    Orin ¡®Snake- eye¡¯ Jackson was now nothing more than a headless corpse thrown out of the garbage chute and left to float in the endless void of space.

    Rokan did have an inkling of an idea about who was the puppet master but without evidence there was no use in confronting him.

    Besides there were now more pressing issues to address.

    Sophie¡¯s recent messages about her new abilities and powers were quite concerning.

    Rokan was feeling quite helpless as Thai¡¯lle had never shown off any strange states when they were together.

    Well aside from one particr night when she branded a strange pink mark on the middle of his chest during one of their passionate lovemaking sessions.

    But Rokan refused to believe that his innocent daughter Sophie would have done that to anyone yet.

    She was far too young to be doing any inappropriate stuff!

    Anyways, the duke was looking forward to seeing his daughter after her midterm exams concluded as he missed her terribly.

    And he had to tell her about an important invitation he had received from the emperor.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Zrudread University)

    (Administration Building)

    ¡°Now are there any more suggestions or concerns about the uing midterm exams?¡± Principal Malik adjusted his sses as he spoke.

    The albino Mendolesa elder was currently leaning against a memory foam chair while the heads of the various departments were seated around a circr table.

    Zrudread University ced a heavy emphasis onbat and hence the nature of the exams given to the students often reflected that.

    Students took these exams very seriously as performing well could lead to a promotion to the elite ss.

    The resources and quality of teaching given to those in the elite ss was simply objectively higher in every measure.

    Students in the elite ss were seen as the cream of the crop.

    Today was thest general meeting held before the midterms in order to finalise the details or suggest anyst-minute changes.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the midterm exam for the freshman poison cultivators too dangerous?¡± a soft spoken Servie pped her wings uneasily.

    ¡°I understand the importance of learning about poisons and antidotes, but we can test the effectiveness of the antidotes using aposite analysis device.¡±

    ¡°We cannot allow students to ingest the poison and then take their antidote to see if it works!¡±

    ¡°Professor Macabre what do you have to say about that?¡± Principal Malik nced at the scarred woman wearing a simple whiteb coat.

    ¡°In my years of teaching, I have often found that students perform best when they have to drink the poison themselves,¡± Professor Macabre whispered in a low tone.

    ¡°It is a necessary skill for any poison cultivator to quickly analyse new toxins and create antidotes.¡±

    ¡°Composite analysis devices are too bulky to be used in field settings, so I do not want my students to develop a reliance on them.¡±

    ¡°Besides the poison I have selected is nonlethal and I will be present at the testing site in case anything goes wrong.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± another voice interrupted from the corner of the room, but Principal Malik just raised his hand calmly.

    ¡°I have already gone over Professor Macabre¡¯s n for her midterm exam and have approved it,¡± the elderly Mendolesa spoke.

    Small grumblings of discontent could be heard from some other teachers, but the vast majority remained silent.

    There was always a thin line to tread between throwing students into realistic scenarios and ensuring their safety.

    Cultivation was dangerous.

    It was estimated that twenty five percent of all graduates would die during their service in the Imperial Army.

    This meant that the university had a responsibility to ensure that their students would be as prepared as possible even if that meant sacrificing their safety in some regards.

    Professor Macabre was an ex-mercenary who spent years fighting at the border with the nickname of ¡®The gue Doctor.¡¯

    Her methods may be a bit more extreme than the other lecturers but the poison cultivators she trained had a high rate of survival.

    ¡°By the way Professor Dayshore, it seems that Archmage Hollystorm¡¯s apprentice will be taking the mage midterm exams,¡± Principal Malik raised another point.

    ¡°Sent me the battle footage of her results as soon as shepletes the exam.¡±

    It would be useful to see what exactly was so special about this Mendolesa girl that convinced an Archmage to leave his position at Mer University to personallye and teach.

    Principal Malik checked the files in front of him and pulled up the profile of the apprentice.

    Hmm¡­. so, her name was Astrid Lockhart?

    Wait.

    Why was the name Lockhart so familiar?

    Principal Malik subconsciously frowned and furrowed his brows as he tried to recall where exactly he had seen that name before.

    Nothing coulde to mind so he just chalked it up to pure coincidence and continued the meeting.

    ¡°We have agreed that all freshmen students will have to participate in the mandatory midterm exam codenamed ¡®Ind Survival¡¯ and then additional exams based on their majors.¡±

    ¡°Has there been any problems with securing the challenges the students will face on the ind?¡±

    ¡°I have contacted several beast dealers who are willing to sell some ss A and B dangerous animals,¡± Instructor Selvon joined in the conversation.

    ¡°But some of the species are in the middle of their mating season so they will be more aggressive than usual.¡±

    ¡°We may have to upgrade the barrier devices just in case.¡±

    This would be an additional expense, but money was one aspect that Zrudread University did notck, so it was a simple matter to approve.

 Chapter 184: The Horror

    Chapter 184: The Horror

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    Sophie squinted as the harsh light of the two yellow suns hanging overhead shone directly on her face.

    In front of her was nothing but the deep blue colour of the ocean and Sophie could hear the roaring sounds of the endless waves crashing onto the shore.

    Strange looking aquatic creatures swam deep below in the depths with one monster in particr resembling a colossal sea serpent.

    The midterm exams had finally begun, and the students were sent to a remote located in a nearby sector.

    The objective of this exam was to survive for three nights without the barrier device attached to the students¡¯ bodies being activated.

    Points were allocated based on the actions taken by the students over the course of three nights, but the exact breakdown of the marks was not told to them.

    These inds would act as a bases for the students and a special warning was given to not enter the ocean.

    These inds were roughly the size of twenty football fields and contained three distinct areas that were a forest, a miniatureke, and a desert.

    This exam was entirely individual, so Sophie was currently stuck on a small ind all by herself.

    Cleo, Astrid and Qiana were also on their respective inds but Sophie had no way of knowing where their current location was.

    ¡°Well let¡¯s see if I can get some wood to make a house and then I can check for any rivers or streams,¡± Sophie whispered to herself and then headed towards the forested area.

    Students were not given any food or water supplies, so everything had to be scavenged from the natural resources nearby.

    Shelter was always a top priority as the temperature of the during its night cycle was still unknown.

    But the importance of clean and drinkable water could not be understated.

    Rustle! Rustle!

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed as she saw the bush to her right shaking slightly with small leaves falling to the ground.

    She tensed up and the four spider appendages on her back arranged themselves in a striking position.

    Whatever came out from that bush was going to be mercilessly stabbed without remorse.

    One second¡­.

    Two seconds¡­.

    Three seconds¡­.

    Time seemed to slow down to a standstill as Sophie¡¯s eyes started to flicker from their usual golden hue to a crimson red.

    It was time to hunt.

    A furry leg poked out from the bush and the rest of the animal tumbled out with a small thump.

    It was an adorable baby rabbit with soft milky fur and two big, adorable eyes that stared into Sophie¡¯s soul.

    The fur of the tiny critter was dark blue with small patches of white that gave it a mismatched appearance that surprisingly added to its cuteness.

    How could anyone resist the charms of this cute and helpless creature¡­.

    STAB!

    Sophie¡¯s spider appendage easily pierced the flesh of its furry coat and entered the bunny¡¯s heart killing the rabbit instantly.

    Sensing the lifeforce drain out from the bunny, Sophie withdrew her appendage and gazed at the corpse with a thoughtful expression.

    A bunny?

    Why would the exam have such harmless creatures present?

    Were they supposed to be food for the candidates?

    Bunnies were animals from ancient Earth who had survived for thousands of years after humanity¡¯s abduction due in part to their fearsome rate of reproduction.

    In fact, when the Federation returned to Earth, there were even some species that showed early signs of developing higher intelligence.

    They were now a popr pet among themoner middle ss especially among girls.

    Sophie walked towards the corpse to pick it up when a sudden feeling of danger stopped her dead in her tracks.

    Someone or something was watching her¡­.

    Sophie could not hear the rustling of any bushes but somehow knew that there were a pair of eyes observing her every move.

    ¡°Come out!¡± Sophie growled and bared her fangs menacingly.

    The colour of her eyes had now turnedpletely crimson and Sophie¡¯s vision had turned into a world of orangish-red.

    The venom nds in her mouth slowly started to activate and small droplets of poison saliva fell onto the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me hunt you down myself,¡± the hybrid girl warned as she swept the surrounding area carefully.

    ¡°Kiee! Kiee! Kiee!¡± a loud cry sounded out from above.

    Sophie ducked instinctively and felt arge weight narrowly miss her head as a dark shadow shed across her body.

    ¡°Goddamn it!¡± Sophie cursed as she ran into the cover of the trees.

    The loud cries and screeches from the unknown creature echoed across the ind.

    A shadow fell on her body once more and Sophie looked up to see what could possibly be the most disturbing scene of her life.

    Arge mass of fleshy wings were squeezed together with several yellowish eyes scattered across its surface that glowed slightly under the sunlight.

    Worm-like tentacles grew out from the monster¡¯s body and wriggled around with creepy motions.

    But it was the centerpiece of the creature that caused Sophie to almost flinch in horror.

    In the middle of the fleshy mass was a girl who looked identical to her.

    It was no illusion.

    From Sophie¡¯s height to her features to even her hybrid traits this girl was simply an exact replica.

    The girl was being manipted like a puppet on a string by the tentacles and her mouth constantly opened and closed as she silently screamed.

    Sophie could not tell if she was alive or dead but seeing the fleshy tentacles wriggling under her skin, she hoped it was thetter.

    Blood flowed freely down the corners of the girl¡¯s eyes and she reached out her arm towards Sophie to make a beckoning gesture.

    ¡°Hell fucking no!¡± Sophie immediately channeled her qi into her legs and activated her movement technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred as she vanished instantly from the spot and appeared several meters away in the nearby forest.

    She continued to dash through the trees desperately while constantly checking behind her back to make sure the monster was not following her.

    ¡°Kiee! Kiee! Kiee!¡±

    ¡°Kiee! Kiee! Kiee!¡±

    ¡°Kiee! Kiee! Kiee!¡±

    The loud screeches of the creature could be still be heard but Sophie was relieved to hear the cries gradually fade away.

    All thoughts of this exam possibly being easy were now gone entirely from her mind.

    That was one fucked up situation.

    Maybe someone else in her position would have been curious about why the girl attached to the fleshy mass looked identical to them.

    But Sophie could not care less.

    She had seen enough videos on the virtual about simr looking tentacle animals to want no part of whatever would happen had she gotten caught.

    Sophie slowed down from a sprint into a mild jog as she wandered through the forest.

    The trees were bright purple in colour with pinkish leaves that swayed merrily in the wind.

    Each tree was around twenty feet in height, but this varied slightly depending on the age of the nt.

    The chirping of small insects and bugs were a constant source of background noise.

    Sophie was cautious and alert as she moved through the trees, but after several minutes her danger sense did not trigger.

    Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Sophie leaned against a nearby tree and thought about her next course of action.

    She decided that the most important goal would be to look for a fresh source of water and then constructing a makeshift base camp.

    ¡°I wonder how Cleo is doing?¡± Sophie muttered as she wiped some sweat from her brow.

 Chapter 185: Sophie Has A Bug Problem

    Chapter 185: Sophie Has A Bug Problem

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    Sophie touched her amulet absentmindedly as she strolled through the forest canopy.

    The familiar warmth of her mother¡¯s gift was oddlyforting.

    The racial memory inheritance given to her by princess Rai¡¯lle all those months ago did exin what exactly the amulet was.

    To cultivate using the Spider Whisper Art required a female of royal blood to wear an artifact known as the Star of Ethnaise.

    But the inheritance didn¡¯t mention that the price paid was servitude to a hunter goddess!

    Sophie truthfully had mixed feelings about the method.

    She had spent years cultivating using different qi gathering techniques to no avail but took to the Spider Whisper Art like a fish to water.

    If only she could talk to her aunt Rai¡¯lle in the amulet¡¯s space¡­. there were just so many questions that Sophie had to ask!

    But her aunt had not appeared for a long time.

    ¡°Ouch!¡±

    Sophie frowned as she felt a stinging sensation on her left leg followed by another sting further up her body.

    She looked down to see what seemed to be tiny insects with rainbow shells and two pointy fangs crawling around merrily.

    Every few seconds they would press their hairy feelers against her flesh and then open their jaws to take a bite.

    What was strange about the matter was that the insects would bite in one location then walk over to a new location to repeat the process.

    Their movements were almost mechanical-like.

    The stinging sensations worsened with each bite, so Sophie quickly acted by taking her hand and brushing them off her body.

    Luckily, these creatures appeared to be quite fragile as their shells instantly burst upon contact with Sophie¡¯s hand.

    Thick greenish-yellow blood sttered whenever they popped but Sophie was unfazed by the grossness.

    Compared to the monster from earlier¡­. this was nothing.

    It took roughly three minutes to get the bugs off her body and it was fortunate that none had crawled to any hard to reach ces.

    Sophie gave her body one more harsh pat down and then continued on her journey to find a nearby stream or river.

    The harsh sunlight shone through the trees, but Sophie¡¯s eyes were beginning to adjust to the unnatural brightness.

    Sophie was already sweating quite heavily, and she had to pause every few steps to wipe the beads of sweat constantly forming on her brow.

    Cough! Cough!

    Sophie clutched her chest in pain as two harsh coughs burst out of her throat.

    The stinging sensations on her body from the insects seemed to worsen with every passing minute.

    Poison?

    But her body could typically handle most toxins instantly¡­.

    Cough! Cough!

    The coughing worsened and Sophie saw small flecks of blood fly out of her mouth as she struggled to breathe.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Hordes ofpound eyes hidden in the treetops stared at the hybrid girl as she leaned against a tree to ride out the symptoms.

    They had seen many prey brush off their initial bites only to fall victim to the potent slow acting toxin.

    This strange two-legged creature would be ample food for the hive.

    First, they would wait until it died and then the worker drones would inject a new poison to liquify its insides.

    Then the transport drones would bring this nutritious liquid to the queen.

    Sophie felt as though fire was coursing through her veins and she could vaguely sense that something was watching her.

    With enormous force of will, she pushed her body forward and tried to get out of range of whatever was hunting her.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Seeing their prey moving away from them caused the insects to fall into a state of agitation.

    Themander drone waved its feelers around frantically and secreted an unpleasant smelling pheromone.

    A noisy swarm of rainbow-coloured insects rose into the air as one unit and then dashed towards the hybrid girl.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as an invisible pressure mmed down on the insects and halted their advance.

    Their prey had been poisoned and yet there was a strong feeling of danger.

    It felt as if they came any closer¡­.

    The two-legged monster would ughter them all.

    An odd silence was formed as Sophie maintained her position and the insects were too wary to make any sudden movements.

    Sophie knew that this would notst forever as she could see an especiallyrge insect angrily buzzing out a series ofmands.

    Wait¡­. the stinging sensations¡­.

    Sophie smiled as she felt the painful feelings slowly begin to disappear.

    The immune system of an Arachnais was definitely not going to fail against some lousy bugs.

    Maybe it was time for the hunted to be the huntress.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes shifted and darkened to a crimson red as the familiar rush of bloodlust and strength surged through her body.

    Kill¡­.

    Kill¡­.

    KILL!

    The insect leader had apparently noticed her changes as hemanded the horde to split into two groups and then charge.

    ¡°Toote,¡± Sophie growled in a husky tone as she leapt forward to meet them. There was a qi technique she had recently learnt that was just perfect for this situation.

    Yin Ice st!

    Her qi circted furiously as frost energy slowly formed around her fists.

    The surrounding temperature rapidly started to drop, and a cool breeze could be felt.

    Frost appeared on the nearby leaves and a cold chill prated deeply into the bodies of the charging insects.

    This change in temperature caught the bugs by surprise and their flying speed slowed down subconsciously.

    It was enough to decide their fate.

    Sophie punched forward and a shockwave of pure frost energy mmed straight into the middle of the horde.

    The fragile shell of those hit directly by the st shattered immediately while those lucky enough to be in the outer zone had their wings frozen and plummeted straight down.

    Sophie had made sure that themander bug was struck directly by her attack and without a leader, the other insects copsed in a panic.

    It just took one worker drone fleeing from the battlefield for the rest to follow suit and quickly fly to safety.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run you pieces of shit!¡± Sophie screamed in ecstasy and chased down the survivors.

    Madness and killing intent clouded her vision.

    The trees in her path were destroyed directly by powerful strikes and Sophie¡¯s sense of reason was slowly fading away.

    The insects flew desperately but how could they outrun an apex predator.

    Suddenly Sophie found herself in the middle of a clearing where an enormous structure stood before her.

    It looked like a pile of mud, but it was covered with tiny holes that led directly inside.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The surviving bugs made a shrieking noise and soon hundreds of these rainbow insects emerged from the structure.

    The mud structure shook as a five-foot-tall version of the insects made its way outside.

    This insect had two extra fangs and one long tail that had a pointed de at the end.

    It was the Queen.

    And she was not pleased with the loss of her loyal soldiers.

 Chapter 186: Dinnertime!

    Chapter 186: Dinnertime!

    (Hydra Star System  Sera)

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Sophie could hear the steady beats of her heart pounding furiously as she gazed at the insect queen.

    The familiar feelings of bloodlust and ecstasy surged through Sophie¡¯s body with greater force.

    This rush¡­.

    Sophie had to fight back the urge to moan as the thrill of the uing fight caused her nipples to harden painfully.

    The crimson colour had now spread and covered the entirety of both her eyes.

    It seemed that her reaction to being in the hunting state was bing more and more violent as time went on.

    And Cleo was currently not there to bring her back to reason.

    Sophie smiled hungrily and bared her fangs with a faint hiss as she quietly observed the insect queen hovering above the ground.

    Towering over her fellow drones at an impressive height of five feet with additional appendages such as her extra fangs and ded tail.

    The rainbow carapace of the queen shone brightly under the sunlight and Sophie had a gut feeling that it would not be as fragile as the worker drones¡¯ outer shells.

    But even still¡­.

    What was the fun in hunting boring prey?

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s movements became strange and uneven as her figure split into three identical copies.

    Using the ancient martial art of the Arachnais tribe had now be second nature and each of the illusions created were capable of dealing physical damage.

    One copy rushed to the right of the queen while the other two darted straight into the middle of the swarm of worker drones.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The insect queen quickly responded by making loud noises using her mandibles.

    The worker drones separated into different groups then moved together as giant swarms.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    The movements of the three copies shifted and warped around the battlefield leaving the insects with no openings to strike.

    The identical versions of Sophie yfullyughed as they continued to duck and weave through the rainbow-coloured swarms that chased them.

    This was it.

    Hunter vs prey.

    A fight to determine life and death.

    Rsychosis when mastered to the highest level could create identical copies of the practitioner that could fight using different techniques.

    These copies would also have a portion of the cultivator¡¯s intelligence and be able to make independent decisions during battle.

    Sophie was far from this level so her clones could only cast a qi technique whenever she did.

    The insect queen pped her wings around angrily, but Sophie and her clones darted around the clearing like ghosts.

    Danger!

    Sophie¡¯s instincts red up and she hurriedly attempted to change her direction, but it was already toote.

    The Insect Queen sucked in a deep mouthful of air and blew out a thick purplish smog that made the surrounding area foggy.

    Sophie closed her mouth and tried not to breathe but the effect of the smoke was not poison as she had anticipated.

    Travelling through the fog was like trying to run in water.

    Sophie desperately tried to get her legs to move but the thick viscous smoke naturally slowed her down.

    This was all the chance that the worker drones needed to strike, and they caught up within seconds.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The insect queen ryed a series of rapidmands and the worker drones rammed straight into the bodies of all the copies.

    Uponnding on the skin, the worker drones would bite and then inject their venom.

    Two of the copies attempted tosh out but this wave of attacks had been enough to rattle Sophie¡¯s concentration, so their figures gradually faded and then vanished.

    The insect queen saw that the remaining threat to her hive seemed to be in a state of shock.

    The loyal soldiers under hermand continued to bite.

    Wave after wave of venom entered Sophie¡¯s body but unlikest time¡­.

    Something had changed.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs lengthened painfully as she felt that this new poison coursing through her veins was being directed into her venom nds.

    There were no ill effects as her immune system had fully neutralised the poison and assimted it into her own body.

    This was the perfect time to strike.

    Sophie¡¯s body was now fully covered by a sea of rainbow-coloured bugs, but her eyes stared directly at the insect queen.

    The stinging pain of the insect bites allowed a brief moment of rity to enter Sophie¡¯s cloudy mind.

    Closing the distance through the fog would be difficult so Sophie had to somehow trick the insect leader to let down her guard.

    She closed her eyes and fell to the ground while ying her arms and legs around as though she was going into shock.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The insect queen joyfully gave out some moremands and the worker drones bit down even harder.

    All the while the purplish fog was slowly diffusing and bing less concentrated.

    Not yet¡­.

    Sophie waited for what seemed like an eternity until she sensed that the purplish fog had dissipated enough to move around normally.

    The insect queen was buzzing around triumphantly as she mistakenly believed that the two-legged monster had fallen victim to her worker drones¡¯ venom.

    Sophie slowed down her movements in order to give the appearance of the venom working and then patiently waited.

    One more minute passed¡­.

    Now!

    Fire Fist Style: The Burning Man!

    Sophie channeled her qi into all the meridians around her body and ignited the energy gathered into mes.

    It was fortunate that the mes from this qi technique did not burn the practitioner otherwise Sophie would be covered in third degree burns.

    And her beautiful hair would be gone!

    The insects crawling on her skin burned away into nothingness and Sophie dashed forward like a ming meteor towards the insect queen.

    Bam!

    A heavy fist hit the center of the insect queen¡¯s thorax and the mes coating Sophie¡¯s body burnt the creature upon contact.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The queen tried to get away, but Sophie was too quick and sank her fangs deep into the queen¡¯s abdomen.

    ¡°How about a taste of your own medicine bitch!¡± Sophie¡¯s muffled voice cried out.

    The insect queen¡¯s immune system stood no chance against the enhanced version of the worker drone¡¯s venom entering her bloodstream.

    Within thirty seconds the queen experienced total organ failure and died only seconds after in agonising pain.

    The remaining members of her hive quickly scattered with the death of their leader and Sophie was toozy to chase them down.

    It was quite the funny twist.

    The queen had died under the venom of her own loyal soldiers.

    Sophie swayed gently as a strong wave of exhaustion hit her.

    The nonstop running and fighting since arriving on the ind had just been too much.

    The corners of her vision started to darken, and Sophie had to fight off the feeling of sleepiness.

    There was still one thing left to do¡­.

    Sophie made her way to the corpse of the Insect Queen and kneeled down until she was staring at the abdomen.

    Something very tasty was inside.

    Something that was calling out to her.

    Sophie¡¯s hands moved involuntarily and tore into the meaty flesh of the queen¡¯s abdomen.

    Gross smelling blue blood spurted out of the hole andnded on Sophie¡¯s body, but the hybrid girl didn¡¯t care.

    She rummaged around the entrails of the creature until she found a small rectangr shaped organ still beating faintly.

    It seemed to be the insect queen¡¯s heart.

    Sophie held the heavy organ in her palm and was ovee by an intense feeling of hunger.

    She slowly moved her hand upwards and pushed the heart into her open mouth.

    Her fangs easily tore through the outer meat of the organ and Sophie swallowed the entire heart in just a few bites.

    The vour of the meat was extremely delicious.

    Somehow the tender flesh and blue blood still coating the organ added to its taste.

    If Sophie had to describe it¡­. the meat tasted vaguely like seafood with a salty aftertaste.

    When the final portion of the meat had been swallowed, Sophie felt an intense burst of energy flow through her body.

    Sophie trembled as the Spider Whisper Art began to circte even though it was still daytime.

    With each cirction of her qi from her dantian to the rest of her body, Sophie could feel some subtle physical changes urring.

    As what these changes were¡­.

    She had no idea.

 Chapter 187: Crunch! Its Finger-licking Good!

    Chapter 187: Crunch! It''s Finger-licking Good!

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    (Artificial Ind No.093)

    ¡°Delicious!¡± Astrid cried out happily as she tore into another mouthful of berries.

    The sweet juices flooded her mouth with bursts of vour, and she could not help but reach for more.

    The Mendolesa girl¡¯s tail was wagging furiously as shey down on the sandy beach enjoying the sweet sounds of the waves.

    Astrid had always loved spending time at the beach so when the details of the midterm were revealed she was simply overjoyed.

    Anything would be better than having to spend days locked up inside that dreadful mage tower.

    Casting magic was mesmerizing.

    The conversion of qi into mana that flowed along the circuits a mage would construct.

    To be able to bend and warp reality using the very fabric that made up the universe gave a rush like no other.

    But studying magic on the other hand was so freaking boring!

    If Astrid had to see one more ancient tome written in some archaguage that was no longer spoken since god knows how many centuries ago¡­.

    She would lose it.

    The only downside to this mini examination or vacation as Astrid would put it was that her friends would be on different inds.

    She was really looking forward to spending some time with the girls since Cleo and Sophie had only juste back from their bounty hunting mission a few days ago.

    The ind was big, but Astrid felt no urgent need to go exploring and was considering dipping her toes in the water.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Astrid muttered and headed towards the beautiful ocean.

    Sunlight gently hit the top of the waves and sparkled with a dazzling glow.

    Small fish-like creatures darted around the shallows.

    They scattered immediately when the wolf girl approached the water, but Astrid justughed happily.

    She gingerly ced one foot in the water to check the temperature and was relieved to find out that the water was quite warm.

    Coming to a decision, Astrid waded further into the ocean until the water reached her chest.

    She rxed her body and floated upwards using the motions of the waves to carry her along.

    Screech! Screech!

    Astrid looked up to see what looked like slug with wings soaringzily through the blue sky.

    Every once in awhile therger ones would join with the tiny ones at the edge of the pack and fuse together.

    The water was crystal clear so Astrid could see green sea nts swaying gently underwater with every passing wave.

    This was the life.

    Peaceful.

    Calm.

    It truly was a picturesque scene¡­.

    If one could ignore the enormous figure of a twenty-foot-long sea beast just outside the shallow area watching the Mendolesa girl with a hungry gaze.

    Two dark yellow eyes peered at the floating girl from the dark depths of the nearby marine trench.

    This sea monster had a bulky frame with four powerful flippers that could propel its body at a high speed.

    Its jaw could extend outwards and contained numerous rows of sharp dagger-like teeth perfect for ripping apart prey.

    The sea monster had never seen a furry two-legged creature in his territory before, but her scent caused his blood to boil.

    There was a reason that the instructors warned the students not to enter the ocean.

    While the animals on the ind were brought in by the examiners¡­.

    No one knew what kind of ancient creatures were in the water nor how powerful they were.

    Astrid ducked her head underwater and then shook her fur slightly as she rose up for air.

    She had long noticed the sea beast staring at her location but was considering if to fight or make her way back to the shore.

    Casting a standard surveince spell was child¡¯s y at this point and Astrid had one active at all times.

    The mana consumption was fairly low as the spell would only alert the caster to the presence of a threat and vaguely hint at the location of the danger.

    Fight or flee¡­

    Astrid still couldn¡¯t make up her mind.

    Ahh what the heck.

    The Mendolesa mage bared her fangs and started to move her mana in a strange pattern as she prepared to cast a series of spells.

    Fighting was always the answer!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Nameless Raurqrill¡¯s POV)

    My kind have always been the rulers of the sea.

    Eons have passed with new species and monsters rising up to challenge our status as kings.

    And yet we remain.

    Years of evolution and growth have made us the perfect apex predators.

    The bones of our foes have long been scattered and turned to dust.

    I move my body silently through the dark depths of the ocean.

    My prey treads the water blissfully unaware that she is already dead.

    I am unable to enter the shallows without bing stranded, so I patiently wait for the two-legged creature to drift further out.

    One-minute passes¡­.

    Two minutes¡­.

    The two-legged creature starts to swim towards the deeper parts of the ocean.

    How foolish.

    My frontal flippers move quickly and propel by body directly under the prey. With jaws open wide, I prepare to rush upwards and swallow her in one bite.

    The Raurqrill quietly swam into position and raised its enormous jaws for the final strike that would end his prey¡¯s life.

    All it would take is one blow to get this tasty meal into its stomach.

    Meanwhile Astrid had finished casting several spells and was fully prepared to do some fishing.

    Despite her apparent reckless nature, the young mage always had a backup n to escape any situation.

    While the beast was hunting Astrid and waiting for her to arrive in just the right spot ¡­.

    She was doing the same.

    Now!

    The beast rapidly swam upwards with startling high-speed using its two muscr back flippers.

    It¡¯s jaw unhinged and rows of jagged dagger-like teeth pierced the flesh of Astrid¡¯s lower body.

    She could only let out a brief gasp of pain before being dragged underwater with a silent scream.

    Bubbles burst from her mouth as she desperately tried to get out of the beast¡¯s mouth, but it was already toote.

    Crunch!

    The sea beast snapped the Mendolesa girl in half and quickly swallowed most of the remains before any scavengers could arrive.

    All that was left of Astrid¡¯s corpse was a torn off hand that sank slowly down to the ocean floor.

    The Raurqrill chewed several times but could not help but feel that something was wrong.

    Why could he feel the body of his prey physically and yet there was no taste¡­.

    ¡°My turn!¡± came a cheerful voice from behind the sea monster.

    The creature turned around in shock to see the prey that he just killed floating peacefully underwater.

    Astrid was surrounded by a transparent air bubble and stared at the beast with a mocking expression.

    ¡°Spatium transire ad caeli!¡± Astrid chanted as dark blue runes lit up her back in the shape of a mysterious pattern.

    These were thest words that the monster heard before the world around him blurred and shifted.

 Chapter 188: Astrid The Mage

    Chapter 188: Astrid The Mage

    Mages are equal parts feared and admired throughout the universe.

    Only a small percentage of any species¡¯ poption would have the talent necessary to learn cultivation.

    And mages were an even tinier fraction of that percent.

    Their mystical arts, strange runes carved into the flesh and general atmosphere of loftiness all contributed to their image of being arcane masters.

    Astrid had never imagined that she would eventually go down the path of magic.

    As a child like most Mendolesa youth she spent her days yfully fighting and engaging in mock battles with her peers.

    Most dreamed of bing powerful fighters who charged headfirst into battle wielding heavy swords and great axes.

    Frontline warriors who stood tall and fought toe to toe with powerful enemies on the field of battle.

    Everything changed when it was revealed that Astrid had a grade S talent in mana.

    It allowed Astrid to see a small ray of hope after the death of her parents and the subsequent destruction of theirpany.

    She worked several jobs in order to raise enough money to buy magic tomes on the virtual.

    Yes, she had the talent but to rely on talent alone would not be enough to get into one of the four great universities.

    For all theining, Astrid was well aware how lucky she was to be personally taught by an archmage.

    And now in the midterm exams¡­.

    It was time to show off her skills and what she had learnt over thest few weeks.

    ¡°Grrrrrrrrrrrr!¡± the Raurqrill howled loudly in rage as he found himself floating in the air above the ind.

    It was a strange sight to see a twenty-foot-tall leviathan beast desperately shaking its flippers in the air.

    Raurqrills resembled the ancient marine reptiles from the prehistoric period on Earth and their deep blue skin hid them well when travelling in the water.

    With an enormous maw capable of crushing any helpless students in one bite, they were certainly a force not to be trifled with.

    Astrid muttered softly and the bubble gently floated upwards until it broke the surface of the ocean.

    ¡°Grrrrrrrrrr!¡±

    The beast spotted the two-legged prey rising up from the water and felt its blood boil in rage.

    Its expression seemed to say, ¡®put me down you coward!¡¯

    Of course, Astrid ignored the angry grunts from the sea beast and stared at her handiwork with a faint sense of pride.

    She had first casted a space transfer magic spell to warp the beast out of the water and then used a spatial lock spell to hold him in ce.

    If only Astrid had been able to learn the spatial rift spell before the midterms, she could have sliced the beast into multiple pieces once it had been frozen in mid air.

    ¡°cies stiria trabes!¡± Astrid raised her right arm slowly and chanted.

    Dark blue runes lit up her shoulder and frost energy started to umte at the tips of her fingers.

    The temperature plummeted and sea water beneath her feet froze over instantly.

    A long spear-like shard of ice formed in her hand and Astrid tensed up her muscles before chucking the shard at the Raurqrill.

    Stab!

    The icicle easily prated the outer flesh of the beast and sank deeply inside with a faint hiss.

    At the point of impact, frost began to spread over the creature¡¯s body and its movements started to slow down.

    The wet and slimy surface of the Raurqrill¡¯s skin became a fatal weakness as the moisture present helped the frost to spread.

    Two yellow eyes narrowed in shock as the beast could feel the spear of ice slowly travelling through its body and piercing each organ one by one.

    Now it was simply time to y the waiting game.

    Astrid stepped onto the shore and headed back to the patch of delicious berries she had found earlier.

    The loud cries and screeches from the Raurqrill were bing fainter and fainter as the beast started to lose energy.

    The purpose of the ice spell wasn¡¯t to kill the sea monster directly.

    Its purpose was to cause the beast to waste energy trying to free itself.

    Aquatic animal had one fatal weakness that could be exploited.

    Take them out of the water¡­¡­ and they would suffocate.

    No matter how powerful they were.

    Astrid joyfully ced a dark red berry in her mouth and bit down on its soft meaty body.

    A burst of vours and juices exploded out that caused her tail to wag furiously.

    The mana expenditure needed to keep the Raurqrill suspended in the air was a bit higher than she initially expected but there should be no problems.

    Astrid closed her eyes and quietly started to meditate.

    Keeping her concentration steady was the key to maintaining high level spells.

    It did not take long for the Mendolesa girl to slip into a state of half consciousness.

    Mediation truly made one feel connected to the universe and the world around you.

    Astrid smiled peacefully as she felt the warm sea breeze gently touch her face.

    Even the painful cries of the dying Raurqrill seemed melodic and tranquil.

    One minute passed¡­

    Thirty minutes passed¡­.

    An hour¡­.

    Astrid remained in this state and felt her mana reserves slowly dwindling away to nothing.

    She had clearly underestimated the lifeforce of this tenacious creature.

    The ice spear had destroyed all its major organs and the Raurqrill should not have been able to breathe for an hour.

    And yet it still continued to il around wildly.

    Astrid frowned as she considered what to do next.

    Maintaining the spatial lock spell was quite costly and she did not want to end up in a situation where her mana was totally depleted.

    Maybe it was time to try the new spell she had learnt just a few days ago.

    ¡°Vitis gellum!¡± Astrid calmly chanted as the mana in her body circted madly to form a strange circuit.

    A thick green vine sprouted out of the ground beneath the floating Raurqrill and grew upwards at a rapid pace.

    The sea monster could vaguely sense the danger, but its energy had long been exhausted so it could only make a few half-hearted attempts at shifting its body.

    Pierce!

    The green vine entered the fleshy gills of the beast and burrowed inside.

    Once inside the gills, the vine gradually expanded to block up the opening.

    Unbeknownst to Astrid, Raurqrills had a primordial pair of lungs hidden inside its gills that allowed these animals to survive for days outside of their marine environment.

    But by blocking the gills¡­. its fate was sealed.

    It only took ten more minutes for the Raurqrill to suffocate and die helplessly.

    Astrid gazed at the floating corpse and cancelled her spell.

    Crash!

    The ind shook heavily under the weight of a twenty-foot-tall beast falling onto it with a dull thud.

    The forested area where the corpsended waspletely destroyed.

    Rows upon rows of purplish trees were ttened mercilessly as well as any small animals unfortunate enough to be within the range of the crash.

 Chapter 189: Fearsome Beast!

    Chapter 189: Fearsome Beast!

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    Caw! Caw!

    [Is it dead?]

    Caw! Caw!

    [It hasn¡¯t moved for hours!]

    Caw! Caw!

    [Why does it look so ugly?]

    Dark shadowy figures continues to fly high above a certain spot as several eyes stared intensely at the corpseying down on the ground.

    These flying creatures known as the Creae were scavengers who travelled from ce to ce looking for leftover carcasses or hunting small animals.

    The Creae¡¯s bodies were long and sinewy like a serpent with tworge transparent wings attached to their backs.

    Their faces were covered in wrinkles and the four pairs of eyes located at the front, middle and sides of the head allowed the creatures to have a full view of their surroundings with no blind spots.

    Living on a mostly aquatic meant that the sides of their necks had developed gills in order to hunt underwater for brief periods of time.

    Therge beaks lined with razor sharp teeth were perfect for ripping and tearing the flesh off the bones of their prey.

    However, they were a cautious species by nature and would often hover over a body for several hours to ensure that no predators were nearby.

    The corpse was of a strange looking animal that the creatures had never seen before.

    It was humanoid with two arms, two long slender legs and four de- like appendages attached to its back.

    The leader of the flock was initially reluctant to consume the flesh of an unknown species, but his children had not eaten for days and were very hungry.

    Caw! Caw!

    [Go down and take a bite!]

    The leader ordered his youngest child tond on the body and begin the feeding process.

    Creae would often send the smallest member of the flock to take an initial bite and also act as a scout.

    A baby Creae broke away from the flock and swopped down.

    Its body was still covered in soft down feathers and its teeth had not fully grown out yet.

    The little Creaended on the ground with a graceful pose and slowly approached the corpse with great caution.

    One step¡­.

    The corpse showed no reaction.

    Two steps¡­.

    Nothing.

    Three steps¡­.

    The Creae gained more confidence at the apparentck of reaction and hurriedly rushed forward with great excitement.

    Two big mountains of flesh in particr seemed to be full of meat so the little Creae opened its beak wide to take a bite.

    Suddenly the eyes of the corpse snapped open and thest thing the Creae saw were two crimson red pupils staring at it in confusion.

    Stab!

    A long de-like appendage shot straight through the poor scavenger¡¯s heart and it fell to the ground lifeless.

    Caw! Caw!

    The Creae flying high above the corpse screeched in rage but their cowardly nature prevented them from taking any action.

    Sophie groaned slightly as she tried to stand up with no sess.

    The zing sun continued to beat down harshly on her body while the cries of the scavengers rang out in her ears.

    She had no idea what had happened after she ate the heart of the rainbow-coloured insect queen.

    One moment she had triumphantly killed and wiped out an entire hive of enemies and the next thing she knew¡­.

    She wasying down on the sand with some freaking monster trying to bite her breasts!

    That was Cleo¡¯s job!

    Sophie clenched her fists tightly and tried to move her exhausted body towards the shade of a nearby tree.

    Her vision blurred and swam constantly as waves of exhaustion continued to crash down.

    Standing up was proving to be too difficult so Sophie was forced to crawl on the ground like a worm.

    ¡°Just a little bit closer,¡± Sophie groaned as she slowly moved her hands and feet towards the dark shade of the tree.

    Every passing minute seemed like an eternity but eventually Sophie made it to under the shady protection of a sturdy tree.

    This was much better.

    Without the harsh light of the sun beating on her face, Sophie could feel her body start to cool down and recover.

    The strange energy flowing through her body had seemingly disappeared, but Sophie could vaguely sense that some changes had urred.

    The ded tips of her spider appendages were now more pointed, and their golden colour seemed more prominent.

    Sophie rested for a few minutes and contemted the changes happening to her body.

    She was unsure if these changes would have happened naturally over time or was the Spider Whisper Art somehow enhancing the process.

    There were clear physiological differences between an ordinary Arachnais member and a hybrid like herself.

    But would her body eventually morph into that of a fully blood Arachnais?

    Sophie had no idea.

    Well, it made no sense to worry about it now.

    As the first offspring between a human and an Arachnais there was really no one she could turn to for help who had experience on the matter.

    Strength gradually returned to her limbs, so Sophie attempted to stand up and continue searching for water.

    All that fighting andying under the sun had left her feeling thirsty.

    Wait¡­. wasn¡¯t there a fresh supply of thirst-quenching liquid just in front of her.

    Sophie approached the corpse of the Creae scavenger and split open its stomach with a quick slice of her nails.

    Entrails and fresh blood spilled out and the pungent odour caused Sophie to frown slightly.

    She really didn¡¯t want to drink the blood but who knows how long it would take for her to find fresh water.

    With hidden dangers scattered around the ind, it was important to remain in peak fighting condition.

    Sophie kneeled down and sank her fangs into the flesh of the creature.

    The green blood of the young Creae tasted slightly salty and warm but Sophie drank it down with relish.

    She could feel a warm current of energy rolling around her stomach with every mouthful and knew that this blood was beneficial.

    Corpses tended to rapidly dpose when exposed to open air, so Sophie hurriedly ate as quickly as possible.

    The Creae flying high in the sky could not believe what they were seeing.

    It should be noted that the blood of a young Creae contained a fearsome toxin and foul odour that repelled most predators.

    And yet the humanoid animal below them was eating the body without hesitation!

    A shiver ran down the back of the leader¡¯s spine and he quickly motioned for the rest of the flock to leave immediately and travel to another ind.

    Who would want to deal with such a fearsome beast!

 Chapter 190: None Shall Survive

    Chapter 190: None Shall Survive

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    The two suns were gradually beginning to set, and a fiery orange glow lit up Sophie¡¯s face as she walked through the forest.

    She had spent hours travelling beneath the shaded canopy and yet no streams or rivers could be found anywhere.

    This made no sense!

    How the hell were these trees growing if there were no fresh water?

    The only exnation Sophie could think of was maybe there were groundwater reserves hidden deep below the soil.

    This would-be bad news as although the roots of the trees could prate the ground and ess the water, Sophie did not know how far down she would have to dig to do the same.

    Screech! Screech!

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed sharply, and she scanned the surrounding area for any threats.

    In the distance a furry ball-like creature was hopping around doing a strange ritual.

    It would wave its tiny arms around and jump from side to side every few seconds.

    When it finished the routine, the creature would let out two piercing screeches.

    Sophie eyed the figure with some confusion but decided to ignore it.

    With night soon approaching, the number one priority was finding a safe ce to sleep. Sophie spotted a small cave ahead and approached it cautiously.

    Caves would be ideal for spending the night as they tended to have a constant level of humidity and temperature.

    The nightly temperature on Sera would most likely significant drop whenpared to the daily heat so it was important to find a warm abode.

    Sophie knew that the benefits of resting in a cave would also appeal to the native wildlife so it would not be a surprise to find an inhabitant inside.

    She tensed her body and crept silently towards the open entrance.

    Perhaps it was her natural instincts, but Sophie discovered that she made no noise when moving.

    Ambush predators could not afford to alert their prey.

    The inside of the spacious cave was pitch ck, but Sophie¡¯s golden eyes easily pierced the darkness and she could see everything within.

    The cave was roughly the size of a small bedroom with grassy nts covering the floor like a soft carpet.

    There were no animals present nor any signs of previous upants, so Sophie entered while scanning the room once more.

    She was never one to shy away from a fight but the constant battles since arriving on the ind had left her feeling worn out.

    The nts were quite soft andfortable to step on.

    Making a temporary bed from their leaves would be easy.

    Sophie smiled as she felt that her luck had finally begun to change.

    She exited the cave and headed for the nearby trees to pick up some pieces of dry wood to start a fire.

    There were also a few stones close by that she brought back as well to create a mini fire pit.

    Sophie also nned to disguise the entrance to the cave, so she sliced off a fewrge branches using her spider appendages.

    Travelling to and from the cave to pick up firewood and block the entrance only took around thirty minutes.

    By the time Sophie returned with thest batch of wood, the suns in the sky had finally set.

    It was eerie how the vibrant and colourful ind was instantly shrouded by darkness.

    The temperature plummeted andyers of frost formed on the trees.

    Sophie exhaled gently and saw a thin mist of white smoke leave her mouth.

    Her body shivered subconsciously which caused the hybrid girl to frown.

    Being a cultivator in the qi spirit stage should have made her body extremely resistant to any changes in temperature.

    Why was she feeling a sudden chill?

    Sophie uneasily nced around but saw nothing suspicious.

    Keeping a cautious attitude, she blocked up the entrance to the cave.

    She ced a small pile of dry wood in the center of the room and used a qi technique to start the fire.

    Infernal fist!

    Sophie¡¯s qi circted madly though her meridians and entered her palms that started to glow red.

    Truthfully, it was not that Sophie was beingzy but rather she had no idea how to rub sticks together to create fire.

    Plus, she was a cultivator so why do the extra work!

    Reaching for a particrly ky piece of wood, Sophie held it tightly in her hand until the high temperatures caused it to ignite.

    Once the piece of wood caught on fire, she then ced it in the makeshift fire pit.

    Crackle! Crackle!

    The ze burned merrily, and Sophie smiled as she felt a wave of warmth wash over her body.

    This would be afortable night.

    Closing her eyes, she started to circte the Spider Whisper Art.

    Cultivation was a constant process that required a great deal of discipline and practice. Talent and hard work would always go hand in hand.

    That was not to say that there were no shortcuts when cultivating but all methods had negative side effects.

    Feeling the familiar pull on her spirit to enter the amulet¡¯s mysterious space, Sophie resisted and kept her mind in reality.

    It would be too dangerous to leave her body unattended in this hostile environment.

    Sophie could feel the energy from her surroundings slowly enter her body and the blood of the baby Creae she had digested earlier in the day begin to assimte.

    The next stage on her cultivation journey was the qi tide stage where the qi in her dantian would transform from a gaseous to a liquid state.

    A vast ocean of qi would then form in her dantian that would nourish her body continuously even while not consciously using qi gathering techniques.

    Almost all students in Zrudread University would enter the qi tide stage in their third or fourth years but Sophie felt that she was touching the barrier.

    The constant intake of prey and the transformation of her body seemed to go hand in hand with an increase in her cultivation level.

    Sophie continue to focus intensely on the qi circting through her meridians but then the words of the Spider Whisper Art started to flow out from her lips.

    She tried to stop the movements of her mouth, but it was like something or someone was controlling her body like a puppet.

    Strangely enough thenguage spoken was not the same as the text on the stone tablet hidden in the amulet¡¯s space but rather in human tongue.

    ¡°Strength leads to anger.¡±

    ¡°We are the hunters of the universe.¡±

    ¡°The night shadows hidden within the mark of the ancients.¡±

    ¡°All creatures shall be enthralled in our dark web.¡±

    ¡°None shall survive the spider¡¯s wrath.¡±

    ¡°I pledge my soul to the great goddess to grant me the power to y all in my path.¡±

 Chapter 191: Breakthrough!

    Chapter 191: Breakthrough!

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    The warm feeling flowing gently through Sophie¡¯s body caused the hybrid girl to rx almost subconsciously.

    The Spider Whisper Art was causing her qi to circte in a new pattern that seemed both familiar and strange at the same time.

    She still had not regained control of her mouth, but the constant chanting was now being spoken in a softer tone.

    Sophie had no way of knowing but with every word spoken, the qi in her dantian was bing more concentrated.

    Energy was pouring into her dantian from an outside source that the hybrid girl was unable to identify.

    The gaseous qi particles in her dantian started to jostle against one another. This was the first step in the process of reaching the qi tide stage.

    Sophie moved slightly closer to the fire and adjusted her body to a morefortable position.

    In ideal circumstances, she would not choose to breakthrough during the midterm exam, but it appeared that she had no other choice.

    Moving on to another stage of cultivation was always a dangerous process as without proper preparation, there could be a bacsh.

    The bacsh from a problem arising during cultivation could have severe side effects.

    These could range from a permanent reduction in aptitude to even in more extreme cases, the loss of life.

    Sophie cleared her mind and recalled the advice given from her father.

    The duke being the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation had informed his daughter of the various tips and tricks he had used during his cultivation journey.

    It was important to constantly monitor your body during the process for any problems.

    ¡°Fuck¡­.¡± Sophie groaned in pain as she felt the first drop of liquid qi form in her dantian.

    It felt like a part of her soul had beenpressed by force.

    One more drop¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s face whitened and small beads of sweat formed at the sides of her brow.

    Two drops¡­.

    Sharp stabs of pain were now coursing through her body as it felt as though she was being transformed into a higher life form.

    More drops¡­.

    The rate of conversion gradually begun to elerate, and Sophie could feel her previously empty dantian being filled with liquid qi droplets.

    The pain now was starting to be unbearable and Sophie¡¯s vision began to darken as her consciousness faded in and out.

    Her hands were now trembling slightly, and her body was now being ravaged by waves of agony.

    Sophie held one hand firmly with her other palm to try to stop the shaking movements, but it was to no avail.

    If there was any benefit to the torture she was currently experiencing, it was that the pain was forcing her to stay conscious even when she felt like passing out.

    The chanting became louder and louder with every passing minute and the familiar words flowed out from her lips.

    ¡°Strength leads to anger.¡±

    ¡°We are the hunters of the universe.¡±

    ¡°The night shadows hidden within the mark of the ancients.¡±

    ¡°All creatures shall be enthralled in our dark web.¡±

    ¡°None shall survive the spider¡¯s wrath.¡±

    ¡°I pledge my soul to the great goddess to grant me the power to y all in my path.¡±

    As Sophie finished speaking thest words of the mantra, she could sense that something monstrous was watching her from the shadows.

    A cold dark feminine voice sounded out in Sophie¡¯s mind with an undisguised tone of glee.

    [Pledge epted my dear child]

    [The ancients say that you will be my greatest hunter]

    [I look forward to seeing what chaos you spread throughout the universe]

    Boom!

    Sophie lurched forward as numerous blocked gates and pathways in her meridians broke open with a bang.

    She could feel other physiological changes urring such as her fangs lengthening slightly and an additional venom nd growing in her mouth.

    The four de-like appendages on her back creaked slightly as the barbed tip at their ends started to sharpen.

    The droplets of qi liquid in her dantian gathered together and started to rotate in a clockwise manner.

    This was thest step of the breakthrough to the qi tide stage as the qi droplets would form an endless ocean in the dantian that would constantly circte.

    Sophie was determined to see this out till the end.

    Qi body and spirit cultivators were nothing more than cannon fodders on the battlefield.

    She needed to gain strength.

    There were just too many people that were important to her.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Sophie roared as small cracks beneath her skin started to form.

    Blood gushed out of these open wounds, but the hybrid girl was too focused to pay them any attention.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Hourster)

    A blood-soaked figure pushed aside some heavy branches with ease and crawled out of a cave.

    The scent of injuries and the appeal of eating a weakened prey caused several scavengers and predators to cautiously approach.

    Their potential prey¡¯s entire body was covered in the crimson red colour of blood, but two piercing gold eyes lit up the darkness ahead and froze the nearby predators lying in wait.

    Danger.

    Threat.

    Fear.

    With every movement the humanoid figure made, the surrounding animals felt an enormous pressure m down on their bodies.

    It was the natural oppression that a higher-level lifeform exerted subconsciously.

    Sophie bared her fangs and pounced towards an orange-coloured winged creature hiding in a nearby tree.

    The hunger she was feeling was threatening to break what remaining sanity she had left.

    The creature did not have any time to react before two puncture wounds appeared on its body and a potent venom was injected.

    This venom was far beyond what Sophie was capable of producing while in the qi spirit stage and the unfortunate animal died within seconds.

    Sophie cut open its flesh with ease and eagerly tore into the bloody remains with great enthusiasm.

    No part of the animal was spared. From its scaly ws to inedible orange feathers, Sophie ate the whole corpse.

    This caused the ravenous hunger to subside slightly, but it was far from enough to calm down the energy starved hybrid girl.

    Not enough¡­¡­

    Need more¡­

    Hunt¡­. HUNT¡­. HUNT!

    A shocking fact wouldter spread among the midterm invigtors that a student in exam sector R-098 had singlehandedly wiped out the entire forest ecosystem in the span of one night.

 Chapter 192: The Saintess Is Not Virtuous!

    Chapter 192: The Saintess Is Not Virtuous!

    (Alcorae Star System)

    (Tantibus University- Student Dorms Building 3A)

    Knock! Knock!

    Knock! Knock!

    A loud noise broke up the peace and tranquility of the early morning as a six-foot-tall muscr man pounded furiously against a metallic door.

    He had sickly pale skin that contrasted with his bulky muscles and piercing blue eyes.

    The ceremonial white robes and staff held in his right hand disyed his identity as a man of faith.

    Bishop Walsh had been a loyal member of the Nephilim Church for over thirty years and his great strength had allowed him to gain the position of Guardian.

    Guardians were the personal bodyguards or supervisors of saints in training to ensure that no harm befell them.

    While they did not have the authority to restrict the actions of these future leaders of the church, Guardians could submit secret reports to the higher ups.

    It was on the basis of these reports that punishments or merits could be handed down.

    Bishop Walsh had initially been very pleased with his new job¡­

    If only his saintess wasn¡¯t so troublesome!

    ¡°Open up! I know you¡¯re in there!¡± he yelled and continued to knock.

    ¡°Alright I¡¯ll be there in a second,¡± a tired voice replied.

    There was a brief silence, and then the bishop heard some feminine gigglinging from the other side of the door.

    With a series of clicks and whirls, the door slowly swung open and the guardian got a glimpse of what appeared to be a disaster site.

    In the living room alcoholic beverages were strewn haphazardly across the floor and a party banner with the words ¡®Saturdays Are For The Gals¡¯ was torn into tiny pieces.

    In addition, most of the furniture was heavily damaged orpletely destroyed.

    Clenching his fists in anger, the man took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before turning to look at the room¡¯s upant.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you behave more like a saintess?!¡± Bishop Walsh scolded harshly.

    ¡°Tell me¡­. what other believer in the church is boozing from sunup to sundown!¡±

    The girl he was addressing rolled her eyes in derision and replied, ¡°Does it matter? Quafes can¡¯t get drunk so I can drink as much alcohol as I want.¡±

    Despite her fiery attitude it was undeniable that the saintess was an impressive beauty.

    Dark chocte coloured skin that seemed to glow under the lights and perfectlyplimented her sharp angr face.

    Gorgeous ck hair that was loosely tied in a messy ponytail and two deep brown eyes that seemed to stare into the soul.

    Silver tattoos were carved in various locations across her body giving the girl a wild and untamed aura of an ancient warrior.

    Her physique was toned and muscr with a bust size that was slightly below average.

    ¡°Did you change your avatar again?¡± Bishop Walsh asked in confusion as the saintess¡¯ appearance looked slightly different.

    ¡°Yeah, I wanted to get a fresh new look for university, so I added some more features to my model,¡± Rachel smiled proudly.

    Quafes were a shapeshifting race of liquid-based creatures so their appearances could change at any moment.

    To avoid any unnecessary confusion or legal trouble from copying the appearance of an existing human, most Quafes would design their own model and then replicate it.

    Humans were seen as the ideal standard of beauty in their culture.

    Rachel had always held a deep fascination with the ancient Earth tribes from the continent of South America.

    Her model was created in part using references from the history textbooks avable on the virtual.

    ¡°Look as the saintess you need to be setting an example and be the paragon of morality,¡± Bishop Walsh sighed heavily and exined.

    Judging from past experiences, his speech would most likely go in one ear and then bepletely ignored.

    Saintess candidate Rachel was a controversial figure within the church and most of the higher ups did not know what to do with her.

    On one hand she was the only person to form a contract with the Archangel Raziel within thest five hundred years and her prowess in battle was unmatched among her peers.

    Archangel Raziel was known as the observer of the heavens as he possessed a discerning ability to distinguish between good and evil.

    This skill had been passed down to Rachel who could now see the auras and karma of those in her sight.

    On the flip side, her reckless behaviours and love of vices such as drinking, procreating, and partying made her more suited to be a demon knight.

    ¡°Okay¡­. I¡¯ll try to tone it down at least until after the midterm,¡± Rachel replied softly.

    ¡°Thank you that¡¯s all I ask,¡± Bishop Walsh smiled.

    Maybe this girl just needed gentle guidance to get her back on the right track.

    ¡°How about I help you with some cleanin¡­.¡± the bishop trailed off in shock as three naked girls and two nude guys strolled out of the bedroom with confidence.

    Rachel followed his eye movements and cursed silently when she saw her previous one-night stands appearing at the worst possible time.

    ¡°Baby when are youing back to bed?¡± a lovestruck girl with green eyes stared at the saintess with a lustful grin.

    ¡°I can probably manage a few more rounds,¡± a handsome boy with golden hair puffed out his chest and boasted.

    ¡°No! You promised to spend some one-on-one time with me,¡± a busty curvaceous girl with a plump ass winked at Rachel.

    ¡°Is that grandpa joining us? I mean the bed is pretty crowded,¡± a husky voice sounded out from the back of the crowd.

    Rachel coughed guiltily a few times and nced at the bishop who now appeared to be frozen in disbelief.

    Maybe she could fix this situation¡­.

    Rachel¡¯s body morphed subtly to form extra muscles on her arms to give her some extra power for the task.

    She gripped Bishop Walsh by the hand and forcefully pushed him out of the room while he was still trying to process the situation.

    m!

    The metallic door closed abruptly, and Rachel hurriedly enabled the anti-sound barrier to prevent any noises froming in.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Three minutester)

    Every student who had not enabled the anti-sound barrier was woken up by a thunderous roar of rage.

    ¡°RACHEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

 Chapter 193: The Monster Lurking In The Deep

    Chapter 193: The Monster Lurking In The Deep

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    (Sector R-098 ¨C Ind 020)

    Sophie leaned against a nearby tree and let out a small sigh of contentment.

    Just two more days and then she could return to the main campus and spend some well-deserved time with her darling princess.

    After the general midterm exam that all students in the year had to participate in, there would be additional exams based on the major chosen.

    Sophie¡¯s double specialization in poison andbat beast cultivation meant that she would have two more exams to go.

    Maybe it was her breakthrough to the qi tide stage but despite a night of nonstop hunting, she was still feeling energetic.

    The hunger gnawing away at her soul had long been sated with the blood and flesh of hundreds of unlucky animals.

    Breakthroughs usually required that the cultivator needed to eat some hearty meals afterwards, but Sophie knew that her hunger was abnormal.

    Just how many had she killed and eaten?

    Sophie had no idea as the events of the night had just been a blur of violence.

    The two suns were shinning brightly in the sky and Sophie felt the harsh light slowly begin to warm up her body.

    ¡°God, I need to shower,¡± Sophie muttered as she looked down at her uniform.

    She was caked from head to toe in blood that had now dried up and felt quite sticky.

    Sophie would be the first to admit that she wasn¡¯t easily grossed out, but this feeling was not a good one.

    Despite covering the entire area of the forest zone, Sophie still had note across any rivers or streams, so the only options left were to either head to theke zone or return to the beach.

    Well, the instructors had warned the students not to go into the ocean, so Sophie decided that theke was the better option.

    God knows what monstrosities lurked beneath the murky depths of the sea.

    Whistling cheerfully, Sophie casually strolled through the forest and headed towards theke located in the northern region of the ind.

    The once lush and untamed forest was nowpletely different after the hunting that urred the previous night.

    Tell tale signs of violence like blood stters on the trunks of the trees, broken branches and the thick scent of death that permeated the air.

    The background hum of insects, or the small rustling from animals scurrying through the underbrush had disappeared.

    There was now only an unnatural stillness and quiet.

    Sophie could have easily activated her movement technique and rushed towards theke, but she wanted to get more familiar with the changes to her body.

    Power was addicting.

    With every cycle that the ocean of qi made in her dantian, Sophie could feel her strength gradually increasing.

    Cultivation was not merely a spiritual journey but rather the act of taking in the energy of the universe to enhance the body on a gic level.

    An ordinary cultivator in the qi tide stage could easily wipe out a squad of qi spirit and body cultivators but Sophie felt as though she was stronger than a typical qi tide cultivator.

    It was just a gut feeling but Sophie eagerly looked forward to heading to the arena once the midterms finished.

    Testing out her strength in a duel would be the perfect opportunity to see how powerful she had be.

    To encourage students to participate inbat, there was a ranking list of the top fighters for each year.

    Those on the list could enjoy additional benefits and mary rewards given out by the university.

    The Arena was the avenue to judge thebat skills, but freshmen were not allowed to use it until after the first midterms.

    Therefore the first years ranking list had yet to be set.

    Sophie was determined to take the number one spot for herself.

    Even without using a movement technique, it only took around forty minutes to reach the crystal-clearke.

    The sunlight bounced off its blue surface and briefly dazzled Sophie until her eyes adjusted a few secondster.

    She could see schools of fish-like lizards cheerfully swimming through the aquatic nts growing on theke floor.

    Cree! Cree!

    Massive skeletal creatures flew in the sky above theke but asionally swooped down to pick up a lizard in their mouths.

    They would circle around theke three times and then drop the lizard in a certain spot.

    The little lizard would then disappear into the waiting jaw of an enormous serpent coiled in the deeper parts of theke.

    These flying creatures were mostlyposed of bone with a dark blue fire glowing slightly in the middle of their chest region.

    How exactly they were flying remained a mystery, but Sophie suspected it might be a psychic ability.

    With the harsh sunlight beating down and the hot temperature of daytime, Sophie was not afraid of catching a chill.

    She eagerly approached the shoreline of theke and dived into the inviting water.

    The tiny aquatic lizards swam away in fear as the hybrid girl joyfully sshed around.

    The first thing Sophie did was scrub the filth off her body using her nails and some sand. It took awhile but eventually the stains disappeared.

    Try as she might, Sophie could not get rid of the dried blood stuck in her hair and with no shampoo or conditioner¡­¡­

    It looked like she was going to be suffering for a bit longer.

    All themotion the hybrid girl was making did not go unnoticed. As more blood and flesh fell into the water, several eyes stared hungrily at the foolish prey.

    Rustle! Rustle!

    Suddenly every eye that was watching Sophie turned to another direction and gazed in horror as the true king of theke dered its sovereignty.

    Dark green tendrils slowly crept across the floor of theke as a massive nt-like body moved with a surprisingly high speed.

    The creature¡¯s roots had long taken hold of the soft soil and its unique ability to terraform any domain to suite its needs meant that it could travel with ease.

    Blooming red flowers were hidden within the depths of its green tendrils and they swayed gently from side to side with hypnotic motions.

    Pierce!

    All aquatic life in its path were stabbed by the pointed thorns hidden in its greenery.

    These unfortunate victims were drained of their biomass in a matter of seconds.

    This particr creature had almost been removed from the exam due to its dangerous nature, but a review showed that the barrier would activate before the student died.

    Only small animals would be killed instantly whilerger prey would be digested over a few hours giving ample time for the student to be rescued.

    Not every ind would have the exact same flora and fauna so students would just have to be lucky to avoid having this demon in their testing site.

    Sophie froze for a moment as her danger instinct red up and goosebumps formed along the sides of her arms.

    There was a threat nearby.

 Chapter 194: The Daily Life Of An Office Employee

    Chapter 194: The Daily Life Of An Office Employee

    ¡°Sui Meng! Why aren¡¯t these files organised yet?¡± a thunderous roar echoed through the officer.

    ¡°All you know how to do is bezy and unproductive for the whole day!¡±

    Snickers and smallughs could be heard as supervisor Chen yelled at the new hire who had been constantly messing up for the past week.

    She was a quiet ck-haired girl who cowered slightly under the ferocious reprimanding.

    Sui Meng wore a in white blouse and ck dress pants but her overall level of attractiveness could only be rated as average.

    ¡°Sorry sir. It won¡¯t happen again,¡± Sui Meng bowed her head and returned to her station.

    Supervisor Chen scowled and then returned to his office to spend some more time ying solitaire and chatting up the busty secretary.

    Seeing that the excitement was over, the other coworkers wearing proper business attire returned to their work.

    ¡°God, I hate this job,¡± Sui Meng groaned as she scanned the excel document on the screen for any errors.

    Being a recent graduate from university meant that her options for a job were very limited as she had no prior experience.

    Working in an investor firm certainly paid decently but Sui Meng could not help but think that her life was just wasting away.

    What was the point of an endless cycle of walking up then going to work then returning home exhausted only to repeat the same events the following day.

    Was it truly living?

    And of course, going back home wasn¡¯t an option as her parents were not thrilled to find out that their daughter was a lesbian.

    Having to listen to one more heartfelt lecture from her mother that liking girls would send her straight to hell would drive Sui Meng insane.

    Most of the clients had no idea what investing in the stock market truly meant and simply trusted the firm blindly.

    Sui Meng tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear and nced around the office.

    Something was wrong.

    She couldn¡¯t identify what the exact thing was, but she couldn¡¯t shake the notion that she shouldn¡¯t be here.

    It made no sense.

    The familiar white walls, the grey ceiling and the rows of endless cubicles were precisely the same as usual, but the edges of her vision seemed blurred and twisted.

    Chalking it up to a headache, Sui Meng peeked at the supervisor¡¯s office to make sure the coast was clear and then opened up google.

    Browsing thetest novels and just searching up random articles that popped up would make the time move much faster.

    Time seemed to pass by agonisingly slow but strangely enough not a single one of her coworkers moved from their stations for the entire afternoon.

    No bathroom breaks.

    No going to the employee fridge.

    Everyone just seemed to be in a state ofplete concentration.

    Tick! Tick!

    The overhead clock slowly chimed, and Sui Meng was relieved to see that it was finally six o¡¯ clock.

    Time to go home!

    Sui Meng got up from her chair and nodded at a couple of work acquaintances before heading towards the elevator.

    Her coat and jacket were still at her workstation but for some reason Sui Meng continued to walk forward as if something was guiding her body.

    The corners of her vision were now starting to darken, and Sui Meng found herself feeling quite sleepy.

    [Wake up!]

    ¡°Did you say something Frank?¡± Sui Meng paused and asked the foreign worker resting his head on the desk.

    Frank a middle-aged man from America grunted and muttered a string of unintelligible words.

    ¡°Okay¡­.¡± Sui Meng walked away feeling a bit confused and then entered the empty elevator.

    Soft gentle music red from the speakers attached to the upper left corner and the melodic words gently flowed into Sui Meng¡¯s ears.

    ¡®I once loved a girl so gentle and true.¡¯

    ¡®Baby my heart reaches out for you.¡¯

    ¡®Your beautiful wings are like crystals shinning brightly under the sun.¡¯

    ¡®Oohhh you my darling Servie are the only one!¡¯

    The words and the tune seemed oddly familiar and yet Sui Meng had never head of the song before.

    Servie?

    Was that a new ng that the kids these days used?

    Ding!

    The doors of the elevator slowly opened to reveal a dark and dimly lit carpark.

    Why a multi-million dor investing firm could not afford better lighting was a question that Sui Meng did not know the answer to.

    Sui Meng could not help but whistle in appreciation as she saw the fancy cars upying the parking spots.

    From a Mercedes Benz to a Rolls Royce to even thetest X-R34 Hovercar model produced by the Vanier family.

    Her father had the exact same hovercar model!

    Wait¡­. dad didn¡¯t own a car¡­.

    Sui Meng frowned once more as a sudden pain assaulted her temples.

    The uneasy feeling was getting stronger as her body felt more sluggish.

    ¡°I really need to call in sick tomorrow,¡± Sui Meng chuckled lightly as she walked towards an inexpensive ck Kia Rio.

    Thepact car was a bit loud and noisy, but the price was super cheap at the second-hand dealership that Sui Meng bought it from.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Sui Meng unlocked the car door and with practised ease tossed her handbag on the back seat.

    Starting up the car only took a few moments and then it was off to her apartment for some much-needed rest.

    A beautiful full moon hung high above in the sky and the numerous stars twinkled and shined with lovely splendor.

    It was a rare moment of peace and quiet in the busy city as not a single other car was on the road.

    Sui Meng cheerfully cruised through the empty streets and could not help but think that luck was on her side.

    What was usually an hour-long trip would probably only take around fifteen minutes since the traffic had just disappeared

    Then she could spend the rest of the night cultivating!

    Sui Meng reached for the amulet around her neck and touched it gently.

    She could not remember where she had gotten this star shaped pendnt, but it looked very pretty against her fair skin.

    Maybe she would wear it on her next date with Cleo.

    Cleo?

    Who was Cleo?

    No¡­. wasn¡¯t she single?

    The constant pressure of keeping her position at her new job meant that Sui Meng had little time for any romantic rtionships.

    Sui Meng shook her head to get these strange thoughts out and then pulled up to her apartment building.

    Living on the second floor meant that there was no view of the gorgeous cityndscape, but Sui Meng enjoyed being close to the ground.

    Getting out of her car, Sui Meng paused for a moment and realised that she had to find a ce to park her vehicle for the night.

    ¡°I can help you with that,¡± a thin man wearing a blue uniform stepped forward from the shadows of the nearby skyscraper.

    ¡°Are you the parking valet?¡± Sui Meng cautiously asked.

    ¡°I can help you with that,¡± the man repeated the sentence with the same tone and inflection.

    ¡°No¡­ I need you to answer the¡­.¡± Sui Meng swayed unsteadily as a sudden spell of dizziness overtook her.

    The strange man took a few steps to grab Sui Meng tightly by the arm and then continued to repeat his phrase like a broken machine.

    ¡°I can help you with that.¡±

    ¡°I can help you with that.¡±

    ¡°I can help you with that.¡±

    His grasp on Sui Meng¡¯s right arm became tighter and tighter.

    Sui Meng could see her fair skin slowly bing purple after the cirction was cut off.

    She wanted to scream and push away the man but found that her strength was slowly fading away with each passing minute.

    The corners of her vision were nowpletely ck and Sui Meng could see that her apartment building was fading in and out of existence.

    A sour smell of death and decay entered Sui Meng¡¯s nostrils causing the young woman to wrinkled her nose in disgust.

    God what was that foul odour?

    [Wake up!]

 Chapter 195: The Huntress

    Chapter 195: The Huntress

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    (Sector R-098 ¨C Ind 020)

    It was a beautiful day.

    The two yellow suns high above in the sky were illuminating the crystal-clear waters of argeke.

    Skeletal bird-like creatures soared above the cool waters while aquatic lizards cheerfully chased after microorganisms hiding in the sand.

    The deeper parts of theke containedrger beasts in all manner of shapes and sizes.

    Their razor-sharp teeth, massive bodies and strange appendages would be enough to strike fear in anyone foolish enough to be caught in their grasp.

    And yet all of these terrifying monsters were currently hiding deep within their burrows and praying desperately that the true King of theke would not notice them.

    Luckily for them it seemed that the King was upied with a new type of prey.

    A hybrid girl with four de-like appendages was currently trapped inside a massive array of green nt-like tendrils.

    She was being held underwater and bubbles would exit her mouth whenever she released some air.

    Strangely enough, there was no expression of terror or confusion on the girl¡¯s face as she peacefully closed her eyes as if sleeping.

    Red flowers bloomed near her face and every few seconds an explosion of orange liquid with small grainy particles inside would ur from the center of these flowers.

    This orange liquid entered the facial orifices of the hybrid girl and she seemed to fall deeper under a hypnotic spell.

    This was the true deadliness of the Mirage Maw!

    Mirage Maw were ssified as a species somewhere in between a nt and an animal on their home of Lorusea.

    They could be found in most types of environments with the exception of ces that had extreme temperature fluctuation.

    It was not due to an overwhelming strength that caused them to be known as apex predators but rather a particrly troublesome ability.

    Illusion Pollen.

    Few animals could resist the hallucinations caused by the pollen sprayed out from the red flowers swaying so innocently.

    The Mirage Maw would hunt by first surprising their prey with a quick jab to their lower half and then hurriedly exposing them to the pollen.

    The prey would then be dragged to a safe ce where special tendrils would inject digestive liquids inside the animal that would melt their insides.

    Another tendril would enter the body of the prey and suck up this gooey biomass substance.

    So far everything had gone roughly as nned.

    The hybrid girl may have had unusually high awareness, so the initial ambush was not sessful, but she failed to escape the widespread explosion radius of the pollen st.

    The Mirage Maw groaned happily as it dragged the strong prey into the murky depths but was now faced with a problem.

    Its tendrils could not prate the skin of the humanoid prey!

    No matter how hard the Mirage Maw tried, its tendrils would just shatter against the fair skin of its prey.

    If Sophie had still been in the qi spirit stage during the encounter with the Mirage Maw, then the barrier device would have already been activated once she got caught.

    Every student was monitored closely by a team of exam invigtors who could activate the barrier device remotely in the event of an emergency.

    Why they didn¡¯t in Sophie¡¯s case was due to her breakthrough.

    Moving from one state of cultivation to the next was not just a simple increase in power but rather an enhancement on the gic level.

    The regenerative abilities of cultivators would improve drastically and injuries that were once fatal could eventually be healed in a matter of seconds.

    But it was the skin of the cultivators that saw perhaps the greatest change.

    Higher ss weaponry was needed to be used against strong cultivators as ordinary swords, des or even sma rifles could not break the surface of their skin.

    Sophie may have been trapped in an illusion, but the poor Mirage Maw was unable to do anything to its prey.

    Grrrrrr!

    The angry creature growled softly in a low tone and several tendrils wrapped around Sophie¡¯s right arm and began to squeeze.

    It was now testing to see if the force it applied could potentially snap the bones of this strange prey.

    Minutes soon passed by and Sophie continued to slumber on without a care in the world.

    Her lung capacity had always been pretty good even before she started cultivating so staying underwater for prolonged periods of time had no effect.

    The Mirage Maw may not be able to break her skin, but the force applied to her right arm was slowly cutting off cirction.

    Sophie frowned subconsciously as she felt small jolts of pain. Two cloudypound eyes continued to watch the hybrid girl¡¯s stuck in captivity.

    (Hallucination)

    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Sui Meng sat up with a startled breath as she found herselfying down in her bed.

    Was it all a dream?

    The terrifying parking valet grabbing her armst night¡­

    Was it just a nightmare?

    Sui Meng could still feel small pains in her right arm asionally but chalked it up to sleeping with poor posture.

    Getting up with a sleepily yawn, she opened up the windows to see the dark and gloomy night sky.

    None of the neighbouring apartments had their lights on and the entire city seemed to be in a state of quiet and peace.

    Huh¡­ seems that I slept for twenty-four hours.

    Sui Meng was still wearing her white blouse and ck dress pants from the day before, but she was feeling toozy to change.

    ¡°Morning beautiful,¡± Sui Meng smiled happily as she approached Cleo sleeping peacefully on the couch.

    She nted a gentle kiss on the lips of her girlfriend. The sweet soft feeling was exactly the same as she remembered.

    Where she had met this girl was a mystery as the gorgeous princess had just appeared in her life without any warning.

    There was no response and Sui Meng didn¡¯t want to wake her lover up, so she decided to make some breakfast.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lovely day!¡± Sui Meng eximed as she cheerfully darted into the kitchen.

    Her four spider appendages had somehow lost the pointed des at their ends and now had rubber hands.

    She was able to fry eggs, roast meat, cook rice and even bake a cake all at the same time!

    It was a great feeling to be a hybrid!

    Hybrid?

    Sui Meng could not shake the feeling that something was just very off, but she took a few deep breaths of the air and the wrongness vanished.

    ¡°Sophie, I want my eggs well done!¡± a pitiful cry came from the couch.

    ¡°Sure, thing babe,¡± came the loving reply.

    Sui Meng didn¡¯t understand why her girlfriend had given her an English nickname but whatever made her happy was not a problem.

    Soon a delicious smell floated out of the kitchen and Sui Meng¡¯s belly growled with intense hunger.

    She needed to feed.

    She needed to hunt!

    Hunt?

    [I am the huntress]

    The illusion was broken instantly as Sophie suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to hunt and kill.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes snapped open and a crimson red colour slowly covered their typical golden glow.

    Her fangs lengthened ominously, and the four de-like appendages easily sliced through the tendrils holding her body down.

    An intense feeling of rage and bloodlust swelled as her body overflowed with power.

    The Mirage Maw sensed that something was wrong and tried to release more pollen but¡­.

    It was already toote.

 Chapter 196: Potential Seedling

    Chapter 196: Potential Seedling

    (Hydra Star System- Sera)

    (Starship Vieperion X567- Command Center)

    An enormous starship was currently orbiting Sera with multiple teleportation chambers installed.

    This was the transport vessel used to house the exam invigtors and the students once they finished the midterm exam.

    It was equipped with state-of-the-art orbital cannons and multiple emergency medical rooms along with regeneration chambers.

    At the front of the vessel was themand center where the data gathered from the various teams monitoring the students would be sent.

    This allowed the higher up supervisors to take a look at the information and catch any errors or concerns.

    Principal Malik adjusted his posture on the memory foam chair as his eyes constantly flickered between the numerous holographic windows in front of him.

    Previous principals did not pay much attention to the first-year sses as it was assumed that they still had much improvement to make.

    They would simply sent an assistant or secretary to monitor the situation and only personally attend the exams featuring the third and fourth years.

    Principal Malik was an exception as he made sure to attend the midterms of every year to personally check the progress of the students.

    There would always be surprises and potential seedlings that would shine.

    In fact, in this current exam there were several students he was keeping an eye on.

    But this exam had one student in particr who was worthy of his attention.

    ¡°Can you give me the name and background of the student on Ind 020?¡± he calmly asked Instructor Selvon.

    Selvon nced at the familiar figure on the screen and replied, ¡°Sophie Peterlor from the elite ss.¡±

    ¡°Her father is the former militarymander of the Imperial Army and her mother is an unknown alien species.¡±

    ¡°She is the heir apparent to House Peterlor.¡±

    Principal Malik raised an eyebrow in disbelief and peered even closer at the hybrid girl who was currently surrounded by the torn up remains of the Mirage Maw.

    It had been a quick end to the fight once Sophie had snapped out of the illusion pollen¡¯s influence and her de-like appendages tore through the flesh of the monster with ease.

    She didn¡¯t stop even as the creature attempted to desperately flee to the deeper parts of theke.

    There was no mercy given.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s prowess in battle and his insane cultivation talent was well known among the Federation having been the youngest to reach the god stage.

    Malik himself had on one asion fought with themander on the battlefield some years ago and the man left quite the impression.

    He was still in the void stage at that time, but his personality and charisma allowed him to win the hearts of his soldiers.

    He was prideful but not arrogant.

    Reckless with his own life but not with those of his subordinates.

    Talented beyond measure but always hungry for another fight.

    Principal Malik saw some of those qualities in his daughter, but it was clear that there were some differences as well.

    But that level of ruthlessness¡­.

    That must have been inherited from the man once known as the ¡®de Reaper.¡¯

    Principal Malik was not ignorant to the shift in culture that urred once Rokan left the Imperial Army as his style of firm discipline and adherence to principles seemed to be ignored by his sessors.

    Generally, the different sections of the Imperial Army whether it be the Quafes or the Mendolesa would remain independent of each other but the changes on the human side were subtly influencing the rest.

    The barrier device attached to the students also acted as a health monitoring device that could track changes that urred.

    Hence Sophie¡¯s exam invigtors were notified as soon as she managed to breakthrough to the qi tide stage.

    However, this did not stir up as much excitement as one would expect.

    It was rare for a first year to reach the qi tide stage so early but not impossible.

    Honestly, some professors even argued that stabilising your foundation was more important at early cultivation levels than breaking through.

    Principal Malik made a small mental note in his heart to add the hybrid girl to the representative list.

    In five months, the four great universities would be holding a friendly sparringpetition between their students.

    Friendly was not the right word as the results of thispetition would determine the rankings of each university.

    Zrudread University had typically held on to the number one spot due to theirbat heavy curriculum but in recent years the other universities hade extremely close to upsetting the status quo.

    Particrly Tantibus University who had recently increased their ties to the Nephilim Church.

    Modern day Mendolesa warriors did not believe in higher powers but rather the strong among them were revered as idols.

    Worshipping and drawing power from otherworldly beings was seen as shameful as the strength disyed was not your own.

    But that did not mean that they underestimated those who did.

    Principal Malik himself had nearly lost a duel against a former archbishop of the church who had joined the terrorist group Nevarda.

    The strange abilities and mysterious techniques cast by the ex-priest had left quite an impression.

    For a religion of peace, those demon knights and saints were fearsome and dangerous warriors on the battlefield.

    Sophie would make a fine addition to the qi tide stage team and Principal Malik had some expectations in his heart about how well she would perform.

    One concern he did have was that the hybrid girl did not seem to be mentally stable as she easily got lost in a rage state.

    Maybe he would rmend a psychologist counselor to check up on her situation once the midterm exams were over.

    Principal Malik mused over the matter for a few moments but eventually tossed it to the back of his mind.

    He opened up some more monitoring feeds and gazed carefully at the actions of the various students.

    Now was time to take a peek at the other students to try to find some more seedlings¡­.

 Chapter 197: The Grand Tutors Meeting

    Chapter 197: The Grand Tutor''s Meeting

    (Procyon Star System)

    Lumclite- Private Manor)

    Tap! Tap! Tap!

    The quiet sounds of knocking could be heard as a handsome middle-aged man rapped his knuckles against the wooden desk.

    Clearly, he was a man of high nobility as his clothes were made of an expensive metalloid thread only imported to the Federation in small quantities.

    His countenance was elegant and yet there was a primal savagery hidden deep within his bones that lurked just beneath the surface.

    He wore a cold smile as he mulled over the contents of the letter in front of him.

    The temperature in the room continued to drop with every passing minute.

    The two maids shivering slightly in the corner of the study room did not even dare to move as they feared drawing the attention of their clearly irate master.

    Their lips were starting to turn blue as frostbite slowly crept up the exposed skin on their bodies.

    ¡°Sir please control yourself before you frighten the new workers,¡± an elderly voice came from the open doorway as the head butler entered inside.

    He waved his hand at the two maids to dismiss them and the girls hurriedly fled the room without looking back.

    ¡°Give them a small bonus. What just happened was my fault,¡± Rokan admitted freely as he leaned back in his chair.

    ¡°Yes, right away sir,¡± Butler Gerald nodded and stared at his master with deep affection.

    He had worked with the Peterlor family for decades now and the man in front of him was still the only person Gerald was willing to serve.

    It was rare to see a noble in his position be able to freely admit fault much lesspensate those affected by his mistakes.

    Even when Rokan had disappeared for years and his household had fallen intoplete chaos, Gerald still had faith that his master would return.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t know what kind of sick game that old bastard is doing,¡± Rokan frowned and passed the letter to his servant.

    Butler Gerald read over the contents of the letter carefully and soon his expression was equally unpleasant.

    ¡°I firmly believe that the young miss should not be allowed to go,¡± Butler Gerald stated his opinion firmly.

    ¡°Do you think I would let her if there was a choice?¡± Rokan replied.

    ¡°The grand tutor has somehow managed to convince the emperor to convene a personal meeting so he can interact with the direct heirs of all noble houses with dukedom status.¡±

    ¡°And of course, the emperor agreed. God knows you just need to give that madman whores and wines and he would be putty in your hands.¡±

    It was an extremely disrespectful attitude to take against the emperor, but butler Gerald did not look surprised.

    The reign of Emperor Sisrelis had seemed so promising in the early years.

    He had sessfully defeated the numerous challengers during the session battles and his cultivation talent was extraordinary.

    There was real hope that humanity could usher in a golden age and be leading race of the Earth Federation.

    But it power corrupts¡­.

    Or power simply reveals one¡¯s true character.

    It started with the addition of a concubine.

    Some eyebrows were raised as although certain nobles having a few lovers here and there was an open secret, this was not ancient times and most still had monogamous rtionships.

    Then it became a problem.

    Suddenly the queen and side concubine were deemed not attractive enough, so the emperor found another¡­.

    And another¡­.

    And another¡­.

    Suddenly the desire to rule an empire seemed to be secondary to the emperor¡¯s main goal of nting his seed in as many fields as possible.

    Some noble houses had even sent their daughters to brush up their presence in front of the emperor to be a concubine.

    Hopefully, their daughters would soon fly into the sky and soar as royal phoenixes.

    How naive.

    A man with thousands of gorgeous women to tend to his every need cannot even remember ten faces much less a single name from countless beauties vying for his attention.

    In the absence of a steady guiding hand from the emperor, the grand tutor had to step forward to act as a proxy.

    This was the source of Rokan¡¯s headache.

    There was an enormous rift between the two men as the grand tutor was part of the Human Purity Faction.

    He had personally pushed for bills to expel hybrids from human controlled territories and wanted to ban the recognition of hybrid offsprings

    Luckily, Duke Peterlor¡¯s faction had enough support to push back on these unjust bills, but this meant that the rivalry continued.

    Rokan sighed heavily and massaged his temples as he tried to figure out the goal of the grand tutor.

    It was impossible for a noble house to ignore the direct orders of the emperor so Sophie would need to go.

    And yet sometime just wasn¡¯t right about the matter.

    Why the hell would the grand tutor hold an education meeting with the younger generation for the first time.

    Rokan could smell in a scheme in the matter and was prepared to wait until Sophie came back during the midterm break to get her opinion.

    Perhaps another man in Rokan¡¯s shoes would have simply scoffed and said that the heir of his family could not be a coward.

    But that man would be an idiot.

    Having the knowledge and still walking into a trap was not bravery but rather the height of stupidity.

    And Sophie¡¯s safety would always be above all.

    The safety of his daughter was even more important than the duke¡¯s loyalty to an unworthy emperor.

    Rokan had no qualms with simply fleeing with his baby girl to the Unova Syndicate or some far away outer region should the worse case scenarios ur.

    ¡°Send a message to our spies and see if anyone has any information on the reason for this meeting,¡± Rokan ordered and butler Gerald nodded obediently.

    ¡°I n on sending Jack on a secret mission with some highly sensitive data on the security system of the new colony.¡±

    ¡°Pardon me sire, but why would you entrust such a mission to Jack?¡± Butler Gerald responded with a puzzled tone.

    Rokan bared his teeth with a bloodthirsty grin and in that split second, his expression looked almost identical to Sophie¡¯s in her hunting state.

    ¡°I have been raising a viper carefully for a long period of many months and years.¡±

    ¡°Maybe its time for my little pet to spread some poison.¡±

 Chapter 198: Mine (R- 18)

    Chapter 198: Mine (R- 18)

    (Zrudread University- Elite Student Housing Complex)

    (Mansion 456 Y)

    ¡°God, I missed you so much,¡± Sophie leaned forward and nted a chaste kiss on Cleo¡¯s lips.

    The general midterm exam had ended the day before and now the girls were resting in the mansion¡¯s bedroom.

    After the death of the Mirage Maw, there were no more dangerous creatures that could threaten Sophie¡¯s safety on the ind.

    So, she spent the rest of the exam hunting down prey and eatingfortably.

    Being a cultivator in the qi tide stage meant that her strength was higher than what the exam was designed for.

    ¡°Sophie, we don¡¯t have time for this tonight,¡± Cleo panted as the hybrid girl skillfully lifted her shirt upwards and exposed two plump mountains.

    The sight of her girlfriend blushing furiously while her two voluptuous breasts were heaving in anticipation was enough to drive Sophie mad.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Sophie growled as her golden eyes shifted into a pinkish hue.

    Thud! Thud!

    The pink mark branded on Cleo¡¯s chest started to glow as the princess felt a wave of pleasure sweep through her body.

    Sophie pressed a firmer kiss on Cleo¡¯s lips while keeping eye contact with those two piercing green eyes as her hands roamed downwards.

    To see the emotions of lust and arousal present on her girlfriend¡¯s face was just so satisfying.

    It was even more of a rush than hunting.

    Cleo eventually closed her eyes in resignation and started to kiss back with her tongue slowly pushing into Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    Sophie tenderly moved her slender fingers across her girlfriend¡¯s engorged slit and could feel the wet sensation.

    Three fingers unexpectedly slid inside the warm pink hole and Cleo could do nothing but moan in pleasure.

    ¡°I own these fucking tits,¡± Sophie fully lifted Cleo¡¯s shirt above her head and tossed the fabric aside.

    Sophie could feel the addicting sensation of herrge breasts gently rubbing against Cleo¡¯s soft skin as her girlfriend¡¯s involuntary movements kept pushing their nipples together.

    Cleo scowled at her cheeky girlfriend and attempted to get some payback by groping her breasts.

    Unfortunately, her hands were too small to hold the sheer mass of Sophie¡¯s enormous D cups, so the princess had to settle for letting her hands squeeze and pinch those dark nipples.

    Sophie smiled as she felt Cleo take the initiative but maybe it was time to remind her who really was in charge in the bedroom.

    She pushed her fingers deeper inside Cleo¡¯s wet pussy and started to relentlessly piston them with reckless abandon.

    Cleo stopped moving her hands and could do little but moan as the electric tingles of pleasure constantly sent shivers down her spine.

    Sophie was like a hungry wolf eating up a helpless rabbit and Cleo could do little but ride out the sensations.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to cum!¡± Cleo gasped and soon the bedsheets werepletely soaked.

    Sophie lovingly stroked the gorgeous ck hair of her girlfriend and took a second to admire the view.

    Cleo was certainly a descendant of royalty and the gic modifications done before birth as well as her good genes had created aplete goddess.

    Soft, tender kissable lips.

    Piercing green eyes that stared deep into your soul.

    A small nose and facial features that would take one¡¯s breath away.

    Maybe she would give her beautiful girlfriend something special tonight.

    Sophie bared her fangs with a smirk as she moved her body downwards.

    Cleo¡¯s wet pussy was shaking slightly as the princess shivered in anticipation. When Sophie saw the moist pink entrance something just snapped in her mind.

    There was no time for delicate soft stroking¡­¡­

    Just pure hungry lesbian desire that coursed through her every vein.

    She struck with great enthusiasm and sent her tongue deeply inside Cleo¡¯s awaiting pussy.

    Sophie¡¯s tongue seemed to stretch as it touched and explored new ces that it had never gone before.

    Cleo could not help but spasm in pleasure as orgasm after orgasm tore thought her body.

    The holy body of the princess was being defiled over and over again.

    She squirted into Sophie¡¯s eager mouth, but the hybrid girl just continued to lick until the princess was little more than a mess who could only asionally let out a soft groan.

    Sophie saw that her girlfriend needed a bit of a rest so with one final lick so she could savor the sweet tangy taste, she moved her body upwards and rested at Cleo¡¯s side.

    Now was time for Sophie¡¯s favourite part of their lovemaking sessions¡­¡­

    Sophie gently wrapped her arms around Cleo¡¯s body and the princess was now firmly held in the embrace of her lover.

    ¡°I love you babe,¡± Sophie whispered softly in Cleo¡¯s ears.

    Cleo had never felt so loved and protected before as she still recovered from the afterglow of her orgasmic ecstasy.

    ¡°I love you too,¡± she quietly replied.

    It wasn¡¯t all about lust.

    Sophie always made sure that her girlfriend knew that she loved her very much.

    She didn¡¯t want to do this with any other woman but Cleo.

    They stayed in that position for thirty minutes until Sophie felt another strong urge directing her towards the princess.

    ¡°How about round two?¡± Sophie nibbled on Cleo¡¯s ear as her girlfriend smiled and nodded.

    Poor Cleo had no idea that after tonight she would be unable to move for the rest of the day.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Several hourster)

    Sophie squinted her eyes as the harsh sunlight entered through the bedroom window and shone on her face.

    Shezily reached for her ckmunicator device on the desk nearby and checked the time.

    It was already midday and Sophie could feel a faint tang of hunger as the activities fromst night had left her famished.

    Ordinary cultivators in the qi tide stage were able to go without eating for several months or even years.

    But for some reason Sophie found herself still having to eat three regr meals per day or she would start to get hungry.

    And who knows what would happen if she lost control of herself due to hunger.

    Sophie still had to participate in two more midterms exams, but she felt prepared and ready to take them on.

    Her poison cultivator exam would take ce in the afternoon in one of the medicalbs while thebat beast exam would be held on the following day.

    Professor Macabre had already sent a message to the students about the nature of the exam so Sophie knew what to expect.

    It might seem useless to know how to make an antidote when your immune system could break down and convert virtually all poisons but that wasn¡¯t the case.

    Just because Sophie may be immune to toxins did not mean that members of her team were as well.

    And just in case a toxin was able to bypass her own immune system, she would need to know how to neutralise it.

    ¡°Sophie¡­. Sophie¡­. I can¡¯t take it anymore,¡± Cleo muttered sleepily as she continued to dream peacefully.

    Sophie took one nce at the princess at her side and then had to look away with a small feeling of guilt mixed with pride.

    Cleo¡¯s body was covered with purplish hickeys that extended from her neck and went down to her inner thighs.

    There was a slight sheen on her body as it had been thoroughly sshed with pussy juices the night before.

    And her puffy pink nipples were now a dark shade of red as Sophie had attacked, bite and pulled on them during their passionate lovemaking sessions.

    Sophie¡¯s original n to wake up her girlfriend to eat some food together had now been discarded.

    Maybe the best thing was to let her rest for a bit longer and then bring the breakfast up on a tray.

    Sophie quietly slipped out of the bedroom and headed for Moon¡¯s room to let the little Frostwing bat out of his cage.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Hi Mommy!]

    Moon cried out eagerly as Sophie entered the room and shook the sides of the metal cage in anticipation.

    His little furry ears were covered in a pair of soft earmuffs that Sophie had bought before they left for the midterm exams.

    She wanted to make sure that her precious baby¡¯s ears were warm in the night. Moon on the other hand hoped that they would block out the noise.

    Combat pets would grow at a much faster rate than humans so the frostwing bat was very much aware that the screams heard were not his mommy ¡®participating in a duel¡¯ during the night.

    Unfortunately, while these earmuffs could reduce some of the noise.

    Moon would need to bepletely deaf not to hear the ear shattering moans of pleasureing from the room next door.

    Well Moon was not a legendary beast pet for nothing and soon learnt how to tune out the noise so he could get some sleep during the night.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings happily as Sophie unlocked the cage andnded on Sophie¡¯s shoulder with a soft purr.

    Sophie headed downstairs to the kitchen and then walked towards the storage unit.

    As members of the elite ss and living in the mansion housingplex, Sophie and Cleo could hire personal chefs.

    But the girls wanted to learn how to cook so they decided to try to make food by themselves.

    It was surprisingly easy¡­.

    To make breakfast.

    As for everything else¡­ well let¡¯s just say that Sophie was secretly thankful that her father had sent over a year¡¯s supply of nutrient solutions.

    Sophie opened the storage unit and pulled out four greenish yellow eggs.

    These were Retiasaur eggs that had been artificially modified to add vitamins and minerals.

    The perfect meal to prevent her girlfriend from getting upset after she found out that she could not longer move would be Sophie¡¯s world-famous omelette!

    Time to cook!

 Chapter 199: Poison Cultivator Midterm

    Chapter 199: Poison Cultivator Midterm

    (Zrudread University)

    (St. John¡¯s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

    Sophie yawned sleepily as she walked into the ssroom.

    Several of her fellow students were already sitting down while others were still putting on theirb coats and googles.

    Safety was a huge concern when dealing with potentially life threating substances so Professor Macabre had spent two lectures drilling the various precautions into their heads.

    Sophie thought that it was actually pretty simr to Sui Meng¡¯s memories of attending chemistry sses back in high school.

    Of course, those poor kids back in the ancient Earth era were taught scientific theories that were incredibly bare bones.

    Theb was also equipped with a shower room to wash off any chemical spills as well as an antidote cupboard that housed the neutralising agents to all the toxins used in theb.

    And as a final resort, every student was informed of the procedure to follow should immediate medical attention be needed.

    The poison cultivator examination would take around three hours to finish but it really depended on what toxin each person was assigned to use.

    Sophie nodded slightly at the two familiar faces at the back of the ssroom as she headed for the coat hanger.

    Celestia was her Servie friend from the training camp days who loved nothing more than to gossip and spread drama.

    How she managed to earn a spot in the elite ss was a mystery Sophie could never hope to solve.

    Rafessa was a hybrid boy with two bone-like wings jutting out from his back.

    He looked down and blushed slightly as he saw Sophie¡¯s nod.

    Sophie picked up her whiteb coat and slipped it on with rtive ease as the material was made of a memory foam that could warp and contort slightly to fit the shape of her body.

    There was an empty workstation right next to Celestia so Sophie strolled over so she could chat for a bit before the professor arrived.

    Celestia was currently browsing through a few open tabs on hermunicator device.

    Sophie initially thought that her friend was doing somest-minute cramming, but every window had a picture of thetest virtual idol.

    Celestia was certainly very pretty with the elven-like characteristics of the Servie race very prominently disyed in her facial features.

    Her wings were translucent and glowed slightly under the sunlight.

    Celestia had deep purplish ck eyes and pointed ears that curved slightly to the right.

    Surprisingly, her pale blue skin fit perfectly with her image.

    Servies were not particrly tall so she was only around one foot or twelve inches in height.

    ¡°Well look who finally showed up!¡±

    ¡°Professor Macabre was such a bitch after her favourite student was gone,¡± Celestia scowled and feigned anger as she teased Sophie.

    ¡°Sorry I just came back from a bounty hunter mission that took a couple of weeks,¡± Sophie grinned and disyed her fangs.

    Celestia fluttered her wings in excitement and then leaned in closer to whisper,

    ¡°You need to tell me all the details.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a rundown next ss,¡± Sophie nced at the clock on the wall and realised that the exam was starting soon.

    ¡°Lame,¡± Celestia pouted and resumed flicking through the various images of virtual idols.

    With the advanced AI and virtual reality technology, there was basically no way for real people topete in the entertainment industry.

    Entertainmentpanies were now heavily invested in the tech sector as eachpeted fiercely with the next to bring out new innovations.

    Well, that sort of stuff wasn¡¯t really Sophie¡¯s cup of tea.

    Following and praising every single move of your favourite celebrity just sounded exhausting.

    Tick! Tock!

    Tick! Tock!

    The clock struck twice and Professor Macabre strolled into the room with a twisted sneer.

    Her brown, wavy hair was not properly brushed and the vicious scar splitting her face in half seemed to be more pronounced.

    The professor was holding a in ck briefcase that jingled slightly as she entered through the doorway.

    Professor Macabre usually looked quite tired but today the bags under her eyes were especially heavy.

    ¡°Alright sit down and let¡¯s get this over with,¡± Professor Macabre spoke softly as she opened up the briefcase.

    Vials upon vials of different coloured liquids could be seen inside.

    Some were fizzling while others were calm.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes to get a closer look, but it proved to be useless as she did not recognise the colour of any poisons she knew.

    Professor Macabre waited until all students were at their workstations before calling out the names of the exam candidates.

    ¡°Wanda Francis!¡±

    A short haired girl approached Professor Macabre and received a vial with an orange liquid that violently shifted around the container.

    ¡°Nathan Boyd!¡±

    A Mendolesa male stepped forward some trepidation and was given a circr vial with a deep blue jelly inside.

    Nathan was considering whether to ask if he could get another toxin instead, but the stern look in Professor Macabre¡¯s eyes caused the words ofint to die down in his throat.

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor!¡±

    Sophie walked up to her teacher and received a vial of reddish-brown liquid that bubbled asionally.

    The vial was only about the size of her thumb and yet the tiny goosebumps appearing on the sides of her arms were clearly a warning sign that whatever toxin was inside¡­

    Was dangerous.

    ¡°I had to change your exam toxin at thest minute since you broke into the qi tide stage,¡± Professor Macabre exined as she saw Sophie¡¯s hesitancy.

    ¡°This will make the exam significantly harder for you than for the other students, but I will also be quite lenient in the marking, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    Was it perhaps unfair to give Sophie a tougher exam?

    Yeah.

    But life wasn¡¯t fair and Professor Macabre held her favourite first year student to a much higher standard than the rest of the ss.

    ¡°I understand miss,¡± Sophie nodded and returned to her workstation with eyes sparkling with newfound determination.

    It was time to show off her skills.

 Chapter 200: High Expectations

    Chapter 200: High Expectations

    (Zrudread University)

    (St. John¡¯s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

    Sophie returned to her workstation and took a closer look at the vial of poison in held tightly in her right hand.

    The reddish-brown colour and the small bubbles constantly being formed made the mixture look quite grotesque.

    Professor Macabre was a tricky woman and deliberately gave the students only a small amount of their assigned poison.

    Hence the number of tests that could be performed on the toxins would need to be carefully considered.

    Poison Cultivation was unique among the other branches of cultivation as it required a strong theoretical and practical knowledge of chemistry.

    Scientific understanding and the ability to useboratory equipment to experiment on different solutions was necessary.

    Sophie was not in a rush to immediately begin the process of testing the reddish-brown liquid and continued to gaze at the substance with a critical eye.

    There was a small notepad and pencil on the corner of her desk, so she reached for a piece of paper and started to write.

    The first step would be to write down a list of experiments and see which ones would be appropriate.

    Sophie absentmindedly chewed on the corner of the pencil as she muttered quietly to herself,

    ¡°Should I use the electrolysis to separate theponents?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I should add some dye and run a chromatography exam¡­.¡±

    ¡°But the addition of dyes tend to cause the break down of any toxins from the Procyon region.¡±

    Sophie rubbed her temples as she tried her best to remember all the various special exceptions and tests that could be performed.

    She was very thankful that cultivators tended to have really good memory recall abilities and since reaching the qi tide stage her memory was now practically photographic.

    Although this was sometimes both a blessing and a curse¡­

    Soon a list of twenty different chemical processes and tests appeared on the paper.

    Sophie smiled with a feeling of contentment and stretched out her armzily.

    Her eyes roamed around the room to peek at the progress of the other students and found that most had already started their experiments.

    Cheating wasn¡¯t really possible as each student was given a unique toxin to produce an antidote for.

    Celestia was zipping back and forth around her workstation while meticulously reading the numbersing from theb equipment she was using.

    Sophie inwardly cheered herself up and headed for the back of theb to pick up the apparatus she needed for the experiments.

    This took around ten minutes as some of the machines were a bit cumbersome to move so multiple trips were needed.

    It was time for the first test!

    Sophie ced a pair of googles over her eyes and slid a face mask over her nose and mouth.

    The fumes of certain poisons could have devastating effects if inhaled and Sophie was taking no chances.

    Although the likelihood of this urring was pretty small as dangerous fumes would diffuse to all corners of the room.

    The top of the vial was unscrewed but after a few tense seconds, Sophie could not detect any strange odours.

    She carefully held a tiny pipette in her palm and ced the end inside the liquid to withdraw the mixture.

    Taking out just two milliliters, Sophie then ced the tiny amount in a small capsule made from a stic-like material.

    The capsule was then pushed gently into the entry port of aposite analysis device.

    This device was roughly the size of a bucket with two entry ports, one for liquid matter and the other for solids.

    Composite analysis devices could break down and match the chemicalponents of various mixtures to known substances from a database.

    The data generated from this device could be further confirmed by carrying out additional experiments.

    The monitor of the mechanical device started to sh, and Sophie could see words slowly beginning to appear on the screen.

    [Liquid Input Detected]

    [Components Found!]

    [Generating List of Components¡­]

    Sophie patiently waited as theposite analysis device continued to sh thest message across the screen.

    She was prepared to endure a slow process.

    Maybe it was having to participate in high pace action orientated tests constantly that the poison cultivator exam was a nice change of pace.

    Sophie¡¯s thoughts eventually drifted to the naked body of her busty girlfriend covered in hickeys on the bed after a night of nonstop passion.

    It had been one of the most beautiful sights that she had ever seen.

    Sophie was so distracted that she didn¡¯t even notice the prideful smirk that gently traced the corners of her lips.

    Ding! Ding!

    Theposite analysis device bleeped twice which caused Sophie to immediately snap out of her musings.

    [List Generated]

    [Substances found: Snine, Aconitine, Colchicine, Dimethyltryptamine, Mescaline¡­.]

    As Sophie observed the list just keep getting longer and longer¡­.

    Her optimistic mood about this exam rapidly started to fade away.

    And she had to resist the urge to curse!

    Professor Macabre had hinted that her exam would be a tad difficultpared to the other students, but Sophie just assumed that the toxin assigned would be deadlier than usual.

    Why the hell was theponent list for this substance roughly the length of two pages!

    Sophie angrily clenched her fists and immediately headed for the reagent cupboard to pick up some neutralising agents.

    She had to somehow make an antidote that could neutralise every single dangerousponent in the toxin and ensure that these agents did not sh with one another.

    Professor Macabre saw her favourite pupil run towards the reagents with some frustration visible on her face and could not help but grin.

    When dealing with gifted students¡­. tough love was always the number one principle in her mind.

    On the battlefield only a truly simple-minded poison cultivator would use a toxin that was easily solved.

    Her beloved pupil may think that the assignment given to her was tough but skilled poison cultivators would easily create toxins based on hundreds of dangerous substances.

    And not all of these substances could be found in Federation databases.

    Of course, students would not typically encounter scenarios like this until they reached third or fourth year but Professor Macabre did not mind giving Sophie a glimpse of the future.

    She had high expectations for the hybrid girl and was eager to see if her student could rise to the asion.

 Chapter 201: Time To Panic

    Chapter 201: Time To Panic

    (Zrudread University)

    (St. John¡¯s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

    The university was unusually silent today as midterm season was now in full swing.

    It also helped that students were punished if they made excess noise around the testing sites.

    Exams were an important asion as they could determine your future life within the school.

    Those in the ordinary ss dreamed of scoring high on the midterms and being transferred to the elite ss.

    This would be the equivalent to scoring to the sky with the help of all the extra resources and training sessions.

    Elite students on the other hand were under enormous pressure to maintain their high standards as the numerous envious eyes watching them meant that others would easily take their ce given the chance.

    Of course, the situation was not so vtile in the higher years as the extra resources given to the elite ss would have significantly widen the gap between them and the typical student.

    But in the first year it wasmonly epted that a good portion of the elite freshman ss would be losing their spots to other rising stars.

    Inside one such exam, a hybrid girl was scratching the side of her head in confusion as several empty vials andboratory equipment were scattered on her workstation desk.

    Two hours had passed since the poison cultivator exam had begun and Sophie was already starting to feel the pressure building up.

    She had long lost count of the numerous failures and useless by-products that had to be disposed down the waste bin.

    It seemed that every time she found a substance that would neutralise oneponent of the poison¡­.

    It would just cause a problem with anotherponent.

    The other students did not know that Sophie¡¯s exam difficulty had been raised so quite a few eyebrows were raised at the sight of the top student currently at a loss.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and headed for the equipment locker to get a new pair of disposable gloves.

    Time may be running out, but the important thing was not to panic.

    Marks could still be awarded even if she did not finish creating an antidote.

    Sophie tried to brainwash herself with some positivity.

    It didn¡¯t really work and as she nced at the clock ticking constantly with a mocking tone, she could not help but fall into despair.

    Sophie put on a set of blue disposable gloves with practised ease and then walked back to her workstation.

    Picking up her dropped pencil, she immediately got to work by penning down the corresponding neutralising agents on the page where the list ofponents had been written.

    Sophie figured at this point it was probably the best course of action to get all the neutralising agents and then worry about bncing out the different substances.

    Two thirds of the list had already beenpleted but those included the biologicalpounds that Sophie was already familiar with.

    ¡°Maybe I should use the blood of Venax birds to counteract the effects of the anticoagnt agent in Xeritheium,¡± she muttered softly.

    The name of the reddish-brown poison could not be found in any database, so Sophie had the sneaking suspicion that it was an original form.

    If only her mysterious powers also included an encyclopedia ability¡­.

    Sophie no longer paid any attention to the clock and immersed herself fully into the wonderous world of chemistry.

    Measuring the quantity of each liquid in the various measuring cylinders at eye level to reduce parax error.

    The quantity of reddish-brown poison was getting smaller and smaller as Sophie had to constantly pipette samples into the variousb apparatuses.

    Eventually she found that the vial was now empty.

    Sophie paused for a moment and then hurriedly checked the list to see if anyponents still needed to be tested.

    And of course, she was still missing two.

    Alright.

    Don¡¯t Panic.

    Let¡¯s check the clock¡­.

    Fuck.

    Time to panic

    There was only ten minutes remaining and almost all of the other students had already handed in their antidotes and left.

    Apparently, Professor Macabre would secretly grade their antidotes and then make the students drink the poison and their concoction in the following ss.

    Each antidote would also be tested by the professor to make sure that it was safe for consumption.

    You would be surprised how many students would end up creating an ¡®antidote¡¯ that was far more deadly than the poison they were supposed to neutralise!

    Sophie was the only person in the back of the ssroom who was still working on the antidote and there wasn¡¯t enough time to test it out properly.

    Mixing random neutralisingponents would be reckless and dangerous so she declined to take that risk.

    Sophie simply re-wrote the list of substances she had tested in neater handwriting and then headed for the equipment cupboard to put the neutralizing agents into separate vials.

    She waited patiently for the timer to end.

    It was better than handing in nothing.

    Tick! Tock!

    Tick! Tock!

    With each passing chime of the clock, Sophie could feel her mood getting lower and lower.

    It never felt good to have to knowingly hand in a failed exam.

    ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡± Professor Macabre called as she checked the small timer on her wristmunicator.

    Sophie got up with a sigh and walked over to the professor with a sheet of paper and several vials of liquids.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I couldn¡¯t make an antidote in time,¡± Sophie lowered her head and quietly spoke.

    Professor Macabre kindly smiled at the downtrodden girl and reached for the slip of paper to give it a cursory scan.

    Her eyes gradually widened as she read the additional notes and rationale Sophie used for choosing the neutralising agents.

    The writings clearly demonstrated a profound knowledge of the theoreticalws governing poison crafting and her deductions were quite logical.

    ¡°Honestly, I would have been shocked if you had,¡± Professor Macabre adjusted her sses and looked at the hybrid girl.

    ¡°But you were extremely close to solving it. You just made a few simple errors when dealing with the cyanide-based toxins and used the wrong form when handling the mercury metalloids.¡±

    ¡°What you did today has already exceeded my expectations.¡±

 Chapter 202: Healthy Eating?

    Chapter 202: Healthy Eating?

    (Zrudread University)

    (Imperial Food Court- The Soldier¡¯s Well)

    Zrudread University had several cafeterias and restaurants scattered around the that students could enjoy.

    Being an intergctic school meant that there was a great need for diverse meal options and menus to be avable.

    Some species could only digest liquid matter while others had to consume metallic substances to gain nutrients.

    Mendolesa warriors were omnivores but generally had a strong preference for bloody meat which meant that their meals were often served rare or raw.

    The Imperial Food Court was the name given to an area with a collection of restaurants geared towards the human pte.

    It was quite the popr socialisation spot among the freshman students as it was located fairly close to the club district.

    This was Sophie¡¯s first time visiting the food court as she typically made meals at home with Cleo.

    But after that exam¡­.

    She needed to treat herself with some good old fashioned junk food.

    Despite the words of encouragement from her mentor, it was still not a good feeling to know that you didn¡¯t seed.

    Well, it did seem that with the adjusted grading scheme she would be able to pass the exam with decent to high marks.

    Sophie consoled herself and then checked hermunicator for any messages.

    She only had a few contacts on her device, so it did not take long to scan her entire recent chat history.

    ¡°Astrid wants to know when my exams finish. Qiana and Cleo are both inactive,¡± Sophie absentmindedly muttered as she walked towards a nearby restaurant.

    ¡°And Rachel just sent me a few pics¡­.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened and she immediately closed the tab window before checking her surroundings to make sure that nobody saw.

    Despite going to separate universities, Sophie had maintained semi regr contact with the Quafes girl who was eager to stay in touch.

    Rachel missed her friends from the university entrance exam and nned to visit them during the break at the end of the semester.

    Now Sophie did enjoy talking to her old friend but there was just one tiny problem¡­

    For some reason Rachel would send her naked pictures of the new avatars she had designed!

    Why Rachel would keep sending these nudes to Sophie was a question that the hybrid girl had yet to figure out.

    What she did not realise was that it was not sexual in nature for Quafes to send naked avatar pictures to their friends.

    In fact, most would seek out the opinions of others when designing a new form to mimic.

    Quafes had no concept of gender or shame as shape shifting into a human disguise was more akin to wearing a hat.

    Or simply showing off a new outfit to a friend.

    Sophie did not want to be misunderstood so she had told Cleo about the situation and her girlfriend had told her not to worry about it.

    Hence Sophie just gave the images a cursory scan and wrote out a few lines of improvements she would make to the models¡¯ facial features.

    It was now the evening and most of the students mulling around the food court were just getting a quick bite to eat before preparing to head off to the club district.

    The fashionable women wore racy tops and low-cut skirts while the dapper gentlemen were outfitted with ck dress pants and a sophisticated suit and tie.

    A line snaked its way through the tables and chairs, so Sophie joined the line and waited patiently for her turn.

    Luckily, the menu was visible from her spot so she could see all the various options.

    Sophie nned on ordering the greasiest cheeseburger on the menu and arge portion of fries.

    Health be damned!

    It was time to treat herself.

    Outside of the exams, Sophie had actually received some good news from her father about her request.

    The duke had led a small fleet of starships to Calypso just a few days ago and singlehandedly captured most of the pirate crews.

    Edward the merciless had put up a decent fight but the gap between the void stage and the god stage was simply insurmountable.

    The death of the de facto head of the pirate society broke the courage of the remaining survivors and many simply surrendered.

    Sophie¡¯s dad didn¡¯t go into much detail about what happened to them afterwards but reassured his daughter that the ves in the market had been freed.

    As for the ves who had already been sold¡­. no ledger list or records could be found so it was unlikely that the duke¡¯s men would be able to track them down.

    Only a few lucky pirates had escaped but these minor crews would not longer be able to threaten that particr sector of the gxy.

    Sophie was overjoyed when she heard the news.

    very was by far one of the vilest acts one couldmit against another sentient creature.

    The line was moving a bit faster with the change of a new shift crew and Sophie soon found herself talking to a bored looking man wearing a green uniform.

    ¡°What can I get you today?¡± he yawned sleepily and reached for the cash register.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have an ultimate animal style beefy cheeseburger covered with butter and a side ofrge fries,¡± Sophie replied enthusiastically.

    ¡°And a strawberry milkshake!¡±

    Apparently, her good mood did not infect the minimum wage employee as he simply sighed heavily and then typed in the order on theputer.

    ¡°That will be five Enas, Will it be cash or credit today?¡± he asked in azy drawl.

    Sophie swiped her card and then headed for the side of the restaurant to wait for her meal to be ready.

    Soon the monstrous meal came into view and Sophie had to stop herself from drooling in public over the delicious feast.

    Two soft fluffy buns with small sesame seeds scattered across their surface.

    Two meaty patties fresh off the grill and dripping with the special house sauce.

    Green lettuce and plump juicy tomatoespleted the mouth-watering sight.

    The entire calorie nightmare was covered with a light sheen from the butter spread evenly around its outer surface.

    The fries were golden and crisp with a heavy sprinkle of kosher salt toplete the appearance.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t resist taking a small bite out of a fry and widened her eyes in disbelief at the firm texture that hide a delicious soft tasting interior.

    The food court was quiterge, so Sophie easily found a spot without any nearby students and dug into the meal with great relish.

    Healthy eating?

    A good diet?

    Calorie counting?

    All of those thoughts flew out of Sophie¡¯s mind as she tasted the meaty and juicy vour of the beef patties.

 Chapter 203: You Will Become King

    Chapter 203: You Will Be King

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Stolen Vessel- Private Room- 203)

    Room 203 was the captain¡¯s private suite, and no member of the crew was permitted entrance inside.

    All reports had to be given from outside the doorway and the captain would stay in his bed with the lights off.

    ¡°Captain the men on the ship are beginning to get restless,¡± a skinny man cowered in fear as he spoke to the figure hidden in the darkness.

    ¡°I followed your orders and told them that John, Henry, Morgan and Alex had all decided to leave so you gave them an escape pod, but some are starting to get suspicious.¡±

    ¡°These men may be criminals, but they aren¡¯t idiots and soon they may realise what is going on.¡±

    The second inmand spoke in a respectful tone but inwardly he could not help but curse his bad luck and misfortune.

    He was an ordinary background member of the gang just a few short days ago but themanding officers had disappeared with rming frequency.

    This had left a power vacuum, so the captain promoted him to fill the void seemingly at random.

    What wasmon with all these disappearances was that they all urred after heading for a meeting with the captain

    Suspicions and rumors had already begun to make their way around the starship, but fear of the captain¡¯s strange powers kept the men in line.

    The current second inmand was now a man called Adam Gill.

    Joining this crew was just supposed to be temporary until he received a better offer but who could have known that a high noble would bring a fleet to destroy the.

    Nobles had silently acquiesced to the pirate society living on Calypso and none of the information groups had known about the uing attack.

    Adam had been drinking in a local tavern when the enemynded on the and he could still recall the duel between Edward the Merciless and the high noble.

    Well duel would imply that there was a fight.

    The noble man simply unsheathed his sword and a thin line of blood appeared on Edward¡¯s neck.

    A man who had reached the void stage in cultivation and was once the ruler of an entire was dead within seconds.

    Adam still shuddered in fear when he remembered those cold eyes that stared at the headless corpse.

    There was no emotion.

    No anger. No rage. No guilt. No bloodlust.

    It was like the sword was simply an extension of his will.

    That was the most terrifying part that caused Adam to immediately flee to the docks and board one of the starships.

    Most of the starships were already upied by crews so Adam was forced to negotiate for his safety and join a gang controlled by the son of a ckguard captain.

    It was not ideal but when the alternative was death¡­.

    You learn to deal with some sacrifices.

    They had been drifting around in space for thest couple of days trying to escape from any pursuers.

    So far, no other ships could be spotted on the radar.

    Adam was even starting to warm up to this wretched crew of murderers, kidnappers, thieves, and rapists.

    You would be hard pressed to find any resident of Calypso who didn¡¯t have some blood under their hands.

    Ideally Adam nned on working with this crew for a couple of months and then leaving for greener pastures.

    But now he was the second highest authority on ship¡­.

    ¡°Release the ves in the prison cells and let the men vent their desires for a few days,¡± a low maic voice sounded out from the corner of the room.

    ¡°That should keep them upied and stop this incessant chattering.¡±

    The sound of this attractive voice snapped Adam out of his thoughts instantly.

    He could not help but frown slightly as he processed the orders from the captain.

    ¡°Are you sure sir?¡± Adam asked cautiously.

    ¡°Those ves would sell for a higher price in good condition and some of the men onboard can be quite rough.¡±

    Tap! Tap!

    Two scarlet eyes glowed in the darkness and the captain impatiently tapped his fingers against the metalloid bedframe.

    ¡°Do I need you to question my orders?¡± he whispered in a sultry tone.

    ¡°No sir!¡± Adam felt an enormous pressure hit his body and the hair on his arms rose up in fright.

    It was like an enormous beast was staring at him from the shadows inside the room and he instinctively knew that one mistake would lead to his death.

    The captain did not speak again so Adam realised that the conversation was over.

    He bowed once and then closed the door to the room.

    Standing outside in the hallway, he took a few moments topose himself and then headed for the prison block.

    The next few days would be a nightmare for the ves onboard the vessel¡­.

    Meanwhile in the dark room, captain Kohli adjusted the bedsheetsfortably and stared at the mysterious tablet held tightly in his right palm with an adoring expression.

    The once arrogant young master whose status was that of the son of a ckguard captain had undergone quite the transformation.

    His body once overweight and covered with unsightly pimples was now lean, muscr, and highly attractive.

    His deep mysterious scarlet pupils could draw both men and women into a hypnotic spell.

    And he now had facial features that resembled an Adonis with high cheekbones, an impressive jawline, and a thin nose.

    But this outward transformation was not the main reason why he was so overjoyed.

    There would always be women willing to flock to a man with high wealth or power regardless of attractiveness.

    No¡­. that was not the reason.

    It was the surge of mysterious power coursing through every cell in his body and promising him the strength to make the universe his yground.

    The stone tablet had the ability to absorb the cultivation level of those it came into contact with and transfer this power to its master.

    Kohli¡¯s cultivation level had shot up from the qi body stage to the qi tide stage and even the void stage was possible.

    However, this was unlikely to happen in the near future as the transfer of cultivation power would only work if the victim had a higher cultivation level than the master.

    It was easy to overwhelm qi body, spirit or even tide cultivators with sheer numbers and high calibre weaponry but void cultivators could easily escape most dangerous situations.

    Were there side effects to this transfer of power?

    Kohli could see perfectly well in the darkness and could not help but smirk as he rubbed the muscles on his arm.

    He now had an aversion to bright light and the asional odd cravings, but these could be easily handled.

    This stone tablet with mysterious writings that glowed red was simply a gift from the heavens.

    Given enough time, Kohli was confident that he would have overthrown Edward and then killed his father to take the throne for himself had the attack not urred.

    But it was no matter.

    Having the goal to rule over Calypso was once seen by Kohli as the pinnacle of desire but he now knew that his petty ambitions were too small.

    Why rule one when you could rule an empire.

    Kohli grinned and continued to stare at the tablet with an almost fanatic look of worship.

    The writings on the tablet begun to blur and soon different symbols reced the original text.

    ¡°What?¡± Kohli gripped his head in pain as an inhuman voice echoed through his mind while repeating the same phrase.

    The voice was rough and sounded like a millions souls all crying out in agony at the same time.

    ¡°You will be king.¡±

    ¡°You will be king.¡±

    ¡°You will be king.¡±

 Chapter 204: Moon Receives A Devastating Blow

    Chapter 204: Moon Receives A Devastating Blow

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Zrudread University- Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    Birds sang joyfully and the various animals resting in their enclosures were now beginning to stir as the first sun rays of dawn could be seen.

    A beautiful hybrid girl with four de-like appendages jutting out of her back was strolling merrily through a forested path with a frostwing bat on her shoulder.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon puffed up his chest proudly and pped his wings happily as he cooed softly in Sophie¡¯s ears.

    ¡°No, you still have to do some more training so don¡¯t tter me,¡± Sophie smiled and rubbed his furry little head.

    The two red suns were now beginning to peak over the horizon, but the cold chill of dawn could still be felt.

    It was early in the morning and Sophie had taken Moon to the park to do some light training exercises before thebat pet midterm.

    Unlike the other midterm exams, Professor Ward had informed the students that only their beast pets would be participating.

    Students had to stay on the sidelines andmunicate with their pets via the blood bond that they should have already developed.

    When Sophie concentrated, she could feel the subtle connection between herself and Moon so there shouldn¡¯t be any problems in that regard.

    There was just one tiny issue¡­.

    Moon was so damnzy!

    Sophie didn¡¯t understand how a legendary rank beast pet could spend the entire day lounging around and only getting up when it was feeding time.

    There was no motivation to improve!

    No drive to conqueror the universe and y all the enemies in his path!

    Moon would justy down in his bed like a salted fish and watch children cartoons on the television that came with the room.

    Pets were supposed to resemble their masters, but Moon was nothing more than azy glutton!

    What kind of person would Sophie¡¯s fellow ssmates see her as?!

    ¡°Alright Moon when we reach the training field, I want you toplete the basic obstacle course two times,¡± Sophie ordered with a firm tone.

    Although she wanted to get some training in before the exam, it was important not to overdo things.

    Leaving Moon exhausted for the rest of the day would defeat the entire purpose of preparing for the midterm.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Mommy I don¡¯t want to do it!]

    ¡°Are you talking back to me young man?¡± Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and Moon could feel an enormous pressure fall on his tiny body.

    ¡°Maybe I should tell Astrid to let her siblings know not to give you any snacks when we visit them.¡±

    ¡°And I might also have to take back those sugary treats that you stole from my backpackst week.¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Wait! Mommy I made a mistake!]

    ¡°Oh?¡± Sophie casually raised an eyebrow and waited.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [I was just kidding before!]

    [How could I question the most powerful, prettiest, and greatest mommy in the whole wide world!]

    Sophie kept a cold expression on her face but inwardly she was roaring withughter at the dejected look on Moon¡¯s face.

    Her silly little glutton would not even bat an eye if you threatened him but mention taking his snacks away and he would immediately behave himself.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t good to tease him too much¡­.

    Sophie gave Moon a small rub on the head and the duo continued their trek through the forest until they arrived at an open field divided into different sections.

    This was one of the many training areas located around the Forest Lord Kingdom Park, but Sophie had chosen this particr one as the obstacle courses here were adjusted for aerial pets.

    She was not the only student with the idea of having some early morning training as several of the sections were already upied by bizarre lookingbat pets.

    It was pretty clear which students were first years and which ones were upper years from a single nce.

    The first-year students were shouting outmands and orders to theirbat pets while the older students appeared to be just staring quietly.

    But even without saying a word, their pets moved instantly in whatever direction they desired.

    This clearly meant that the blood bond between master andbat beast was quite strong.

    Sophie saw a floating eyeball with wings desperately floating through hoops while shedding tears of blood.

    Another was a pet that resembled an octopus with multiple arms and long slender appendages, but the two purplish wings attached to its blob-like exterior gave it the ability to fly.

    The universe truly was a vibrant ce just teeming with unseen mysteries still yet to be explored.

    Even after thousands of years of conquest and settlement, the Earth Federation had only visited a tiny piece of the observable universe.

    Most schrs had agreed that it would be impossible for the Federation to explore even one percent of the entire universe.

    Sophie continued to observe the variousbat beast pets with a look of fascination at their strange appendages and oddly shaped bodies.

    Most flew with the aid of wings or at least some equivalent appendage but some seemed to be moving with the help of psychic forces.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Mommy stop looking at those ugly creatures!]

    Moon was not happy to see his precious mom gazing at those other animals.

    It was bad enough that his mommy was being taken advantage of by that nasty princess girl!

    He didn¡¯t want any morepetition for Sophie¡¯s attention.

    The look in his eyes gradually became more unfriendly and he fiercely rubbed his wings on Sophie¡¯s head to im ownership.

    Sophie felt a surge of jealousy flowing across the blood bond and cheerfully stroked Moon¡¯s furry back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry baby¡­. you will always be my favourite,¡± Sophie affectionately spoke with a gentle tone.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Mommy do you love me more than Cleo?]

    ¡°No. I love Cleo the most,¡± Sophie replied instantly before her brain could process the wordsing out of her mouth.

    There was a brief silence and then Sophie coughed awkwardly before heading for an empty section of the training field.

    ¡°Um¡­ let¡¯s¡­. err¡­. start the training,¡± she stuttered.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon turned his head and refused to even spare Sophie a single look.

    After that heavy blow, he felt like his heart had been shattered into tiny pieces.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Five minutester¡­.)

    Chew! Chew!

    Sophie sighed in resignation as she fed Moon another sugary treat to try to get back in his good books.

    It seemed that she would need to coax her baby before any sort of training urred today.

 Chapter 205: Are You Ready Moon?

    Chapter 205: Are You Ready Moon?

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    The bond between a cultivator and theirbat pet was not something that should be taken lightly.

    Establishing a soul connection with a beast was beneficial to both parties as the speed of cultivation would increase.

    But this power did note without a price¡­.

    The death of abat pet would cause enormous harm to the soul of the cultivator and in some cases could even reduce their aptitude for cultivation.

    This is why training was necessary so that these pets would be able to survive life or death situations.

    Sophie nodded at a couple of familiar faces she saw from her ss while feeding the still unhappy Moon some sugary treats.

    Well at least she knew the way back into her baby¡¯s heart ¡­.

    It was to bribe him with snacks.

    There was an empty section just up ahead, so Sophie walked a bit faster to grab it before anyone else.

    The training field was divided into multiple sections with each having a translucent forcefield separating them.

    This was to ensure that no injuries urred from animals idently crashing into a different section while exercising.

    There was a small gap in the forcefield to allow entrance and once a participant was inside then the bubble would seal automatically.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Sophie rubbed Moon¡¯s head gently as the duo strolled inside the bubble with great excitement.

    The entrance slowly closed behind them with a faint hissing noise.

    Sophie knew that she really should have done this training well before the midterm exam but there simply was just not enough time.

    The bounty hunting mission to Calypso had taken up basically the entire first month and Sophie had only returned two days before the general exam.

    There was a small ck terminal at the upper right corner of the clearing with a screen disying a variety of options and settings.

    Sophie peered a bit closer at the words shing across the screen and saw a few lines of text.

    Input Combat Beast Species: [_______________]

    Choose Your Difficulty: [Easy] [Normal] [Challenging] [Hell]

    Set Obstacles: [Random] [Suggested] [Choose]

    ¡°Okay so I just type in ¡®Frostwing Bat¡¯ in this field,¡± Sophie muttered as she pressed a few buttons while musing about which settings to pick.

    It was the first midterm exam for the semester so it was pretty unlikely that Professor Ward would make the test too difficult.

    At least that¡¯s what Sophie was hoping.

    She took one nce at Moon who was happily munching down on another treat and could not help but worry in her heart.

    Speaking of Moon¡­. he had quite a few strange physical features.

    He was muchrger than the expected size of a Frostwing bat his age and the light blue coloured fur on his back seemed especially bright under the sunlight.

    Also, his eyes did not have the typical cloudy white colour as small flecks of gold could be seen if one stared deeply at them.

    Sophie was unsure if these were some natural mutations or was it a side effect of feeding Moon her qi before he hatched.

    He did take a really long time to get out of his egg¡­.

    Sophie shook her head slightly and then got back to the task at hand.

    As long as Moon was healthy then it didn¡¯t matter what he looked like.

    After a few minutes of deliberation, Sophie selected the easy difficulty and set the obstacles option to ¡®suggested¡¯.

    A rumbling noise could be heard and then several metalloid structures erupted from the ground to form a makeshift obstacle course.

    There was also a white line that also rose up from beneath the soil to form a circuit with the newly appeared obstacles inside.

    The course was divided into three parts with the first being an open stretch that contained round silvery disks flying randomly through the air.

    The second part of the course had hovering rings floating high above the ground with different colours corresponding to the potential points that could be earned.

    Pets were supposed to fly though these openings to score points.

    The final stretch of the course had two robotic guardians menacingly guarding the finish line withser rifles.

    These were not real rifles and the beams of light emitted would just cause a mild stinging sensation.

    Moon would either need to defeat them in order to get through to the finish line or weave between their attacks to sneak by.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Mommy I want to go home!]

    Moon took one look at the obstacle course and immediately lost all motivation.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Sophie smiled sweetly at herzy little glutton.

    Some students in the other sections could not help but stop their training and stare at the gorgeous view.

    It was truly a picturesque scene.

    A beautiful hybrid girl with a lovely smile holding a cute furry frostwing bat while the gentle light of dawn illuminated their figures.

    Only poor Moon was aware that an enormous wave of bloodlust and death was hidden behind that peaceful grin.

    Sophie had not uttered a single word after saying ¡®okay¡¯ but Moon¡¯s instincts warned him that he could not take his mommy up on her offer!

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Mommy I was just kidding¡­. I¡¯ll go now!]

    Moon shivered slightly and immediately hopped off Sophie¡¯s shoulders while feeling the world around him turning bleak and miserable.

    Where had his kind mommy gone?

    Sophie stifled augh as she saw the reluctant frostwing bat grudgingly make his way to the starting line of the obstacle course.

    In an ideal world, she would just raise Moon at home with all the snacks and toys that he could ever want but that would cause nothing but harm.

    Ever since finding out that she was apparently bound to an ancient goddess having to serve in the role of a huntress¡­

    Sophie knew that she would certainly be facing perilous situations in the future.

    Moon needed to be able to know how to take care of himself in a fight.

    As for her change in attitude¡­.

    Moon was a naughty child who needed a firm hand of discipline or he would never learn.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply as Moon reached the starting line.

    She took a few deep breaths to rx her muscles and improve her concentration.

    It was time to practice using the blood bond.

    Sophie quieted her mind and focused on the mental space inside her body where she could feel a thin red line connecting her to Moon.

    The blood bond had been established but it was still fragile and delicate.

    Only with enough training could it gradually strengthen until it became unbreakable.

    Sophie closed her eyes and sent out a message,

    [Are you ready Moon?]

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Yes Mommy!]

    Sophie reopened her eyes and pressed the start button on the terminal monitor screen. A hologram projection appeared in the middle of the field and a countdown begun.

    Three¡­.

    Two¡­.

    One¡­.

    Go!

 Chapter 206: The Nutty Professor

    Chapter 206: The Nutty Professor

    (Zrudread University)

    (St. Peter¡¯s Engineering Facility ¨C Mech Hangar)

    The most well funded department in Zrudread University was definitely the mech controller ss.

    Despite having the least number of students, the resources poured into the ss was enough to make one¡¯s head spin.

    Mech controllers were a rarity and their value to the Imperial Army could not be understated.

    Zrudread University had the funds necessary to create a robust training program to prepare their students with a solid education.

    Unfortunately, most prospective mech controllers would apply to As University.

    The number of mech controller students in a single year group tended to vary but the highest number was six.

    Some years would even have no students registering in the mech controller ss.

    This was due to two main reasons.

    The first being that students with the special physique and the mental force necessary to be a mech operator were a rarity.

    The second reason was due to resources.

    While cultivation talent and mental force tests were given out to students across the Federation, testing for mech controller aptitude was done on a much smaller scale.

    This was because special equipment that was quite expensive to maintain was needed to perform the mech operator test.

    But still the government did their best with subsidies to make the fee rtively inexpensive.

    It was just that given the fact that testing had to be done on an appointment basis made many families not bother to go through the troublesome application process.

    Poor students who may have had the talent for controlling mechs may not have had the opportunity to reveal their talents.

    But even though mech controllers were valued it did not mean that the pressure on them to maintain a standard of excellence was lessened.

    Zrudread University was impartial in that regard and students who thought that their talents would make them indispensable were often given a rude awakening.

    Cleo was currently standing in an enormous open hall with the other students of her ss.

    The hall was built out of a silvery grey metalloid material that gleamed under the light.

    The temperature was carefully regted to not be too hot nor too cold and several robots could be seen performing cleaning tasks.

    Rows upon rows of mechanical suits were lined up along the sides of the hall.

    This was the first-year area of St. Peter¡¯s Engineering facility so the only mech models on disy were from the Phantom, Trident, Ravager and Pioneer series.

    Students were trained using these basic mechs in the first year and then would graduallye into contact with moreplex models after the groundwork had beenid.

    Not all mechs served the same function so it was important for students to get a feel for which type of mech suited them best.

    For example, the Phantom series mechs were sleek, lightweight humanoid models that specialised in aerialbat and scouting.

    This was in direct contrast to the mechs from the Ravager line that were built bulkier with a variety of heavy weapons.

    These mechs traded maneuverability and speed for raw strength and firepower.

    Mechs such as these were built with frontlinebat in mind.

    ¡°Cleo are you feeling okay? Are you feeling sick?¡± a voice came from Cleo¡¯s side.

    Cleo turned slowly to see an androgynous boy staring at her with an expression of concern.

    His facial features were in but they seemed to shift slightly the more she looked at him.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ I¡­. cough cough¡­. I am feeling a bit cold,¡± Cleo stammered and tried not to show the embarrassment on her face.

    The princess was currently wearing a light jacket over her bodysuit and a thick heavy scarf was around her neck.

    It looked very out of ce but what other choice did Cleo have!

    Sophie had ravaged her so mercilessly during their night of passion that the princess woke up with love marks scattered all over her body.

    Her neck especially had two veryrge hickeys!

    And honestly after her body had been yed with so roughly¡­.

    Cleo was surprised she could still walk!

    ¡°I did hear that a flu was going around the campus, but the health store has already made a vine,¡± a mendolesa girl named Elenora chimed in.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll make sure to pick it up after the midterm exam,¡± Cleo smiled gently and lied with no change in expression.

    ¡°Man¡­. I just feel tired after cramming all that useless shit in my headst night,¡± the androgynous boy pursed his lips together and sighed lightly.

    ¡°I was so busy that I forgot to update my blog before ss!¡±

    Cleo wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that her fellow ssmate had spent the previous night cramming before the exam.

    That was her original n as well before she was distracted by an overly loving girlfriend.

    But the princess was not worried as she had been studying the material throughout the semester and felt quite prepared.

    ¡°Drew why did you decide to switch genders today?¡± Elenora asked the androgynous boy curiously.

    ¡°Meh I just felt like trying something new,¡± came the casual reply.

    Cleo listened to the two bickering cheerfully and could not stop the small trace of a smile from gracing her lips.

    The mech controller ss was especially tiny and apart from her, there were only two other students in the year.

    Maybe it was due to the small nature of the ss, but the trio had hit it off quite well.

    It was by no means a close friendship, but Cleo enjoyed chatting casually with them in ss.

    Elenora was a Mendolesa girl who nned on bing a teacher after her doctorate degree while Drew was a Quafes who dreamed of rising up the ranks of the Imperial Army.

    Drew would constantly switch between two different forms that were male and female, respectively.

    But since both forms were very simr in appearance it was hard to tell which gender he/she chose for the day.

    The students continued to chat and wait for the exam invigtors to appear when an enormous explosion urred at the end of the hall.

    Boom!

    One of the mechs blew apart in an explosion of fiery destruction.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    An rm activated and a cold mechanical voice made an announcement over the inte,

    [Activating Safety Measures]

    The forcefield containment fields instantly activated to prevent the metal rubble from flying around the room.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Elenora gasped with a frightened expression.

    The trio had been a significant distance away from the explosion and the barriers that had been deployed ensured that no debris even came close.

    ¡°Ahh man! Look¡¯s like I miscalcted the back thrustors and idently blew the whole damn thing up!¡± a maniacalugh echoed through the empty hall.

    A soot covered figure darkened from the explosion stumbled out with a twisted grin on his face.

    He was a middle-aged man with wild untamed hair and a certain gleam in his eye that would make an observer think he was either a genius¡­

    Or a madman.

    ¡°Professor Barrett? Didn¡¯t the dean warn you not to modify the first year mechs?¡± Cleo spoke carefully.

    ¡°Did he?¡± the man stumbled slightly and swayed around as if he was drunk.

    Cleo and the other two students exchanged looks with one another, but no one offered to go forward and help.

    Professor Barrett was one of the first-year co-instructors, but his personality was well¡­.

    A bit entric to put it mildly.

 Chapter 207: Maze Runner

    Chapter 207: Maze Runner

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    ¡°Hello ss,¡± a calm and melodic voice rang out from an unknown location.

    ¡°I hope everyone is ready for the midterm exam.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry because since this will be your first exam for this course, I will be marking you all fairly leniently¡±

    One of the trees in front of Sophie opened up to reveal a gorgeous woman dressed in a skirt made from purple leaves.

    Her skin was an ashen grey colour with small bumpy scales that ran up the sides of her arms along with a slender tail almost like a whip that jutted out of her lower back.

    But perhaps the most noticeable thing about her appearance was her facial features.

    She had three eyes that were dark orange in colour with small pink pupils and ack of a noticeable nose.

    Professor Ward had developed a reputation among the first year students for being very friendly and kind.

    She would never refuse to meet with a student after ss and her willingness to exin the material again to anyone who didn¡¯t understand made her a popr lecturer.

    ¡°I¡¯m a bit nervous,¡± Luna leaned over and whispered into Sophie¡¯s ear.

    Her three headed hell hound ckie was currently off to the side ying with Moon.

    After a fairly rocky beginning the two beast pets had hit it off and now enjoyed each other¡¯spany.

    The suns were now a bit lower in the sky as it waste afternoon and thebat beast ss had gathered together to take part in the exam.

    ¡°Yeah, I did some training with Moon earlier today but¡­.¡± Sophie whispered back but stopped when she saw the professor looking at them.

    Professor Ward shot the two chattering girls a stern gaze and then made an announcement,

    ¡°Now please follow me to the examination site and we will begin the test.¡±

    Thick green vines appeared beneath her feet and the professor moved through the forest with startling ease.

    ¡°Come on Moon let¡¯s go!¡± Sophie called out to her little furball who was currently sitting on top of ckie¡¯s middle head.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings joyfully and jumped on top of Sophie¡¯s shoulder where he gave his mommy a pitiful look.

    ¡°Alright you can have just one,¡± Sophie rolled her eyes and handed Moon a sugary treat.

    The training session this morning had honestly been a mixed bag.

    Moon had been able to get pass the first and second parts of the obstacle course but when faced with the two mechanical guards¡­.

    He was hit several times by theirser rifles as his aerial maneuverability skills still had a lot to be desired.

    It wasn¡¯t a good result but considering that Moon was still a baby, there was quite a bit of time to improve.

    Sophie didn¡¯t think that Moon and she would get high marks in this exam but at the very least they should be able to pass.

    ¡°Keep up those you at the back!¡± Professor Ward yelled as a couple of students fell behind.

    The forest terrain was getting more difficult to navigate as the professor was leading them away from the well paved trail and heading deeper into the forest.

    Thick tree branches and insidious vines with thorns scratched the students as they followed the beautiful professor.

    ckie was not having a good time but that was to be expected considering that the hell hound stood at a whooping twelve feet in height with three heads that asionally spat out small mes.

    The vines and trees were in the way of his massive frame so eventually the tired hell hound just started to knock the trees down.

    Boom!

    An ancient oak came crashing to the ground as ckie¡¯s left head uprooted it and shoved it to the side.

    Luna looked mortified and was afraid that her pet¡¯s actions would annoy Professor Ward but there was no reaction.

    The noble girl was unsure of what thisck of reaction meant but took it as silent acquittance, so she didn¡¯t order ckie to stop.

    Crash! Crash!

    Several of the other students with bigger pets followed suit and soon a path of destruction was created through the forest.

    What most of the students didn¡¯t know is that when they left one area full of uprooted trees, a thick green vine would erupt from the soil.

    This green vine would then prate the outer bark of the fallen trees and the poor nts would then wither at a rapid rate visible to the human eye.

    In mere seconds they would be reduced to ash and dust.

    The vine would glow an eerie colour and then enter the soil where it would spew out a thick gooey material.

    This gooey material rapidly expanded and soon a tree identical to the one that had just disappeared would grow from the soil.

    Professor Ward was a member of an alien species known as the Treegaloic who spent most of their lives in the forest.

    The vast majority of the members of this species were content to live on their home of Boiseryiea where they were considered to be minor deities.

    They had the ability to destroy and regrow nts.

    Their culture revolved around protecting and healing nature.

    Sophie¡¯s promotion to the qi tide stage meant that her senses were now sharpened and improved so she was well aware of the cycle of death and rebirth happening behind them.

    She could not help but give Professor Ward another nce, it was really amazing the different forms of life the universe held.

    Truthfully, Sophie was even a little bit jealous of her teacher¡­

    I mean who wouldn¡¯t want awesome nature powers!

    Two hours passed by and the endless scenery of trees and exotic nts were starting to get a bit boring.

    Luckily for the students who were beginning to get a bit exhausted, Professor Ward stopped at arge open track field.

    The field contained a gigantic metalloid structure that was shaped like a dome.

    Towering walls made from this ck metallic material formed a barrier to prevent the students from gazing at whaty inside.

    There was arge opening at the front of the metallic wall with enough space for even thergest pet to fit inside.

    Professor Ward waited for a few moments to allow her students to take a couple of breaths and then begun to speak,

    ¡°I have thought about what type of exam to have this year and my department head suggested a maze.¡±

    ¡°I will call names in a random order and once your name has been called please send your pet inside the enclosure.¡±

    ¡°There is a separate exit on the other side of the dome and your goal is to direct your pet using the blood bond and guide them through the various obstacles ced inside.¡±

    ¡°This exam will test your ability to sendmands over a long distance as well as testing your ability to exchange senses.¡±

    Murmurs and whispers broke out among the students as the details of the exam had been revealed.

    On the surface it seemed rather straightforward but considering that most students had only established their blood bonds fairly recently¡­.

    This would be difficult.

    Being able to receive images, tactile sensations, sound and even taste through the blood bond required a lot of concentration from both parties.

    Professor Ward raised a slender fair hand in the air and waited patiently for the ss to quiet down.

    ¡°Okay we will begin with the first student,¡± she pulled out a sheet of paper and cleared her throat.

    ¡°Not me first¡­ not me first¡­. not me first,¡± Sophie closed her eyes and chanted softly.

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor!¡± came the loud cry.

    Fuck.

 Chapter 208: The Test Begins

    Chapter 208: The Test Begins

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex)

    ¡°Good luck,¡± Luna whispered softly, and Sophie nodded back with a smile while hiding her emotions.

    It just had to be me.

    Sophie was showing no expressions on her face but was inwardly cursing up a storm at her bad luck.

    Out of all the students in ss¡­.

    She just had to be the first one randomly picked from a list.

    Sophie walked up to the entrance of the dome structure and could hear the whispersing from behind her.

    ¡°Thank god I¡¯m not the first one.¡±

    ¡°Do you think the maze will be hard?¡±

    ¡°My pet doesn¡¯t even listen to me!¡±

    There was a noticeable sense of relief among the remaining students as no one wanted to be first to participate in the midterm.

    Sophie paused for a moment to admire the sleek design of the metalloid dome.

    From the outside, one could not see a single detail about the maze thaty within.

    The walls were massive and seemed to stretch towards the heavens, leaving one feeling like a tiny ant facing a giant.

    It would be honest to say that Sophie felt a little bit tempted to activate her golden eyes and see if they could prate the structure within but that would defeat the point of the exam.

    Her vision did have a limit and in situations where long distances were involved¡­.

    It was important to get some practice in dealing with the unexpected.

    ¡°Are you ready Moon?¡± Sophie whispered and gave Moon a gentle pat.

    ¡°Just follow my instructions once you enter inside and if something happens then don¡¯t be afraid toe out.¡±

    ¡°But make sure that you actually try,¡± she narrowed her eyes and stared at herzy little glutton.

    Professor Ward had ced a small cor on Moon¡¯s chest with a red button that could be pressed.

    Pressing this button would immediately deactivate the traps hidden inside the maze and that would mark the end of the exam.

    Of course, this was just an added safety measure as the numerous cameras and surveince teams monitoring the maze would ensure that no permanent harm came to the pets.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [I¡¯m ready mommy!]

    Sophie nted a soft kiss on Moon¡¯s head to give him some good luck and watched nervously as her furry pet flew into the dome.

    Moon pped his wings powerfully and soon disappeared from sight.

    When he entered the dome, a buzzing sound was heard, and a wall rose up from the ground to block the entrance.

    The frostwing bat was now trapped inside with only one way to get out.

    Sophie immediately sat down on the ground and crossed her legs.

    It was important to be in afortable position as she did not know how long this exam would take.

    She reached for the small blue crystals hidden in her pocket and ced two of them in her right hand.

    Frostrite crystals were a necessary part of her mediation process.

    Moon and Sophie were both using the Ice Yin Transformation mediation that required extreme cold to focus the mind.

    Sophie closed her eyes and focused on the cold chill flowing into her body.

    Since hitting the qi tide stage this cold feeling had gone from unbearable to slightly ufortable.

    Deep breaths.

    Sophie inhaled softly with her nose and exhaled quietly with her mouth. The surrounding noise of the students and the anxious feeling in her heart faded away.

    She found herself floating in a dark void with a single red line attached to the center of her chest.

    This was the blood bond.

    Sophie grasped the red thread and poured her consciousness inside.

    It was a strange feeling as it felt as though her body was being sucked away to another location.

    Professor Ward smiled slightly as she saw the hybrid girl slip into a meditative state.

    More experiencedbat beast cultivators would not need so much preparation to use the blood bond as one could hardly sit down and close their eyes in the middle ofbat.

    But this was the best method for those who had only recently established a blood bond.

    Professor Ward looked forward to seeing if her student would be able to pass the exam.

    There were certainly some ¡®fun¡¯ obstacles that she had hidden within the maze¡­.

    It was hard to keep track of time as Sophie could feel her soul travel out of her body for what seemed like an eternity along the red thread.

    She saw a massive ball of light at the end of the thread and her consciousness slowly slipped inside.

    Boom!

    Sophie opened her eyes and felt as though her body had changed and morphed into something strange and yet familiar.

    She pped two powerful wings and flew through an endless pathway that was dimly lit.

    The pathway was surrounded by enormous metallic walls

    There was an intersection just up ahead as the pathway split into a right and a left side.

    Sophie wanted to go to the right, but her body flew into the left path without slowing down.

    Wait¡­

    Sophie tried to make small movements but found that Moon¡¯s body was not obeying her instructions.

    She was simply a passenger taken along for the ride.

    Sophie frowned inwardly as she was under the impression thatbat beast cultivators could temporarily take over the body of their pets.

    But it seems that Moon consciousness was too strong.

    Well, no matter.

    Sophie spread her consciousness around Moon¡¯s body to assimte fully and gradually begun to heard the thoughts of her pet.

    But what she was hearing caused Sophie¡¯s astral face to immediately turn ck.

    (Moon¡¯s Perspective)

    This ce is dark.

    I want to go back home.

    I don¡¯t understand why mommy is making me fly into this scary looking cave.

    Maybe I should just fly around for five minutes and then press the red button on my chest.

    I mean how is mommy supposed to know what happened.

    Moon nodded his head and felt proud of himself. It was the perfect n!

    He would just fly around in a circle until a few minutes passed and then give up.

    ¡°Oh? Do you really think I wouldn¡¯t find out that you gave up early?!¡± a loud voice suddenly scolded Moon fiercely.

 Chapter 209: The Son And The Daughter

    Chapter 209: The Son And The Daughter

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex)

    Moon was now obediently flying through the endless maze as he had spent thest five minutes getting ruthlessly scolded.

    Sophie could not believe that thiszy little glutton was willing to give up at the start of the exam without even trying.

    She took a few moments topose herself and then focused on the task at hand.

    Solving this maze would not be an easy task.

    There was no doubt in her mind that the obstacles and traps hidden within would definitely pose a problem.

    In addition, time was of the essence as Sophie knew that she could not maintain the blood bond connection for an extended period of time.

    [Halt!]

    A loud mechanical voice came from a nearby passage that caused Moon¡¯s flying speed to unconsciously slow down.

    The sounds of grating and sparks could be heard as arge mechanical monsters dragged its massive body through the opening.

    Sophie frowned at the sight of a jumbled mess of cogs, parts and sporks that were messily welded together to form some sort of abomination in the shape of a worm.

    [Do you want to enter my shortcut?] the robotic voice stared at Moon with glowing red eyes.

    ¡°Moon be careful and keep your distance,¡± Sophie whispered into her pet¡¯s mind.

    She was unsure if this offer was genuine or was this a trap set by the maze designers.

    If it were thetter, then Moon¡¯s small stature and poor control over his ability meant that a fight would not go in his favour.

    Moon nodded his head secretly and flew a bit further away but still kept within earshot of the strange creature.

    [All you have to do is choose apanion]

    The mechanical monster hunched over, and two small openings appeared on its back.

    Out of these holes came two long thin metallic snakes that rose into the air and hissed at Moon.

    The snake on the left was made of a green metalloid material and had short spikes growing out of its spine.

    The snake on the right wasposed of a reddish-brown metalloid and instead of spikes there were small bumps growing along its back.

    [My darling son is the more powerful of the pair, but his great strength and wisdom are only matched by his dark ambitions]

    [He may turn on you at the first opportunity]

    The green snake waved its tail around proudly and stared at Moon with a hungry expression in its eyes.

    [My cowardly daughter fears the strong and bullies the weak, but she will not betray those who prove themselves worthy]

    The reddish-brown snake closed its eyes peacefully and paid no attention to her father¡¯s words.

    She appeared to be disinterested in Moon¡¯s appearance.

    Should we take him up on the offer or leave?

    Sophie was truthfully torn into two minds.

    On one hand her instincts were not setting off any rms so whatever this mechanic monstrosity was saying was most likely to be true.

    What was concerning was the description of its children.

    The son appeared to be the stronger one, but Sophie did not want Moon to travel with something that could betray him at any moment.

    The daughter was hardly any better as Sophie was unsure of what exactly the words ¡®prove themselves worthy¡¯ meant.

    What would Moon need to do to seem worthy?

    ¡°Let¡¯s just keep flying straight and ignore them,¡± Sophie made up her mind and sent a message to Moon.

    Moon nodded his furry little head and continued to fly in a northern direction.

    He could feel three pairs of eyes staring at his figure as he disappeared into the distance.

    Moon could not help but shiver slightly when recalling the memory of those intense gazes.

    Why did his mommy want him to go to such a scary ce?!

    The frostwing bat continued to fly at a fast pace but the scenery remained unchanged and oddly enough there were no more split pathways.

    Ten minutes passed by uneventfully until Moon was met by an enormous ck metallic wall that sealed off the path.

    Moonnded on the ground cautiously and ced his tiny hand on the stone but to his dismay, the stone seemed quite firm.

    That¡¯s alright.

    Moon was a smart boy and would solve this problem.

    Sophie had also noticed the obstacle and was about to tell Moon to turn around when her pet decided to put his n into action.

    Chomp!

    ¡°O!¡± Moon shrieked in pain as he felt his fangs almost shatter.

    He rolled around the ground in agony while Sophie contemted the meaning of life.

    Why did Moon think that he could bite through solid metal?

    Was this her fault?

    Did her blood somehow turn Moon into a little fool?

    Sophie decided on the spot that Moon would only be allowed to watch education channels from now on.

    ¡°Are you okay baby?¡± Sophie put away her messy thoughts andforted poor Moon.

    Moon tearfully sat up from the ground, crossed his arms and then refused to move.

    He had seen an idol drama where the scary monster chasing the hero had devoured a pile of rubble to find him.

    Moon thought that his fangs were even sharper than the silly monster so naturally he should also be able to eat metal.

    ¡°Moon¡­ Moon¡­. Moon we need to go,¡± Sophie gently spoke.

    Her frostwing bat continue toy on the floor and sulk.

    Moon¡¯s fur had bristled up due to his irritation and now he looked like a puffy fur ball.

    This entire thing was stupid, and he just wanted to go home!

    Sophie sensed his negative feeling through the blood bond and decided to use herst resort,

    ¡°Baby listen¡­. If you can try just one more time¡­.¡±

    ¡°I will take us on a private trip to the beach.¡±

    Moon perked his ears up and a small trace of excitement shed across his face.

    He had spent a few days at the beach during the time Astrid and her siblings were looking after him and Moon had fallen in love with the ocean.

    He loved hearing the gentle waves crashing against the shore.

    The salty sea breeze that touched his fur.

    And the cool sensation of the water when he dipped his toes in the shallows.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Just the two of us?)

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sophie whispered with a loving tone.

    Moon pped his wings excitedly and rose into the air with renewed determination and courage to pass the exam.

    Finally, he would get some alone time with his mommy!

    No princesses allowed!

 Chapter 210: Love And Pampering

    Chapter 210: Love And Pampering

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Sophie could not help but inwardly curse as she saw the unexpected obstacle blocking their path.

    Moon had turned around and now the duo had arrived back at the ce with the side passageway.

    The area where Moon had encountered the mechanical abomination and its two children.

    The original n was to fly pass the side passageway and take a right turn instead of a left at thest intersection on the main path.

    But fate had other ns in mind.

    The mechanical beast had crawled out of the opening and was now blocking up the road with its bulky frame.

    Multiple red eyes stared intensely at the little frostwing bat that had now cautiously slowed down andnded on the floor.

    The two metallic snakes were coiled around their father¡¯s shoulders and making robotic hissing noises.

    It almost sounded like they wereughing at Moon.

    Sophie paused for a moment as she tried to figure out the next step.

    The metalloid barrier was too tough to destroy so the way back was not an option.

    And it was unlikely that Moon could defeat that hulking monstrosity so that meant that the only course of action was to ept the shortcut route.

    But which child should they take¡­.

    The son or the daughter?

    ¡°Moon which snake do you want to pick?¡± Sophie whispered into Moon¡¯s mind.

    ¡°The reddish-brown one!¡± Moon immediately replied.

    He didn¡¯t like how the green snake kept looking at him with the same expression that mommy had when she took Cleo to bed.

    Pure hunger.

    [Which child will you choose to apany you?] the monstrosity groaned and shuffled towards Moon at a slow pace.

    Its bodyposed of a mishmash of cogs and ill fitted robotic parts caused its movements to be jerky and unsteady.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings and pointed at the reddish-brown snake currently closing her eyes with afortable expression.

    [The choice has been made] the robotic voice growled.

    The reddish-brown snake opened its eyes and slithered down the body of its father with startling speed and grace.

    Moon backed up slightly as the metallic creature circled his location with an unknown emotion hidden within its eyes.

    The mechanical abomination groaned,

    [Enter the passageway now]

    The reddish-brown snake bowed its head towards the mechanical abomination and then disappeared into the tunnel.

    ¡°Moon when we enter the passageway be prepared to activate your frozen domain ability at the very second that I tell you to,¡± Sophie instructed.

    Moon nodded his head in agreement and secretly circted a wave of frost energy around his dantian.

    It would only take a brief moment to unleash the full force of his frozen domain attack.

    This was Sophie¡¯s trump card to deal with a betrayal by the snake or an unexpected situation arising.

    She knew that thepanion sent by the mechanical abomination could not be trusted.

    Hopefully, her instincts should be able to warn her of any immediate threats.

    Moon rose into the air and followed the snake into the dimly lit tunnel.

    There was a whirring noise and then the entrance to the tunnel was suddenly closed behind him.

    He was now trapped in the tunnel!

    The dim light was not a problem as Moon had excellent night vision and could rely on echolocation to scout ahead.

    Click! Click!

    Click! Click!

    Moon constantly emitted clicking noises from his mouth and perked his ears up to listen to the soundwaves bouncing off the nearby objects.

    This allowed him to create a mental image of his surrounding environment based solely on the sound received.

    The reddish-brown snake was moving at quite the pace, so Moon was having some difficulty keeping up.

    ¡°Drop down now!¡± Sophie suddenly yelled in his mind.

    Swish!

    Moon¡¯s body acted before he could even process themand as he dived towards the floor just as an object passed over his head.

    With a dull thud the object embedded itself into the wall right in front of him.

    Moon shivered in fright nced at the wall to see what this mysterious threat was.

    It was a dart with a sharp pointed needle with a mysterious purple liquid coating its tip.

    Moon immediately started to tremble, and Sophie could feel his panicked emotions.

    ¡°Moon baby¡­. you need to trust me,¡± Sophie whispered and tried to calm him down.

    ¡°I will spread my senses out from your body and tell you what direction to fly in to avoid the traps.¡±

    ¡°Will you trust me?¡±

    Moon¡¯s body still shook slightly but as he heard the warmforting voice of his mommy, his fears gradually started to lessen.

    Sophie could feel his agitated state begin to calm down and inwardly let out a small sigh of relief.

    Truthfully, her instincts had warned her a bit toote of the danger but luckily it turned out to be fine.

    Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was not in her body that was the reason why her danger sense felt less effective.

    Traps and unknown dangersy ahead but Sophie knew what had to be done to avoid them.

    She needed to fully focus like never before on the warning signs given by her danger sense.

    The reddish-brown snake was waiting up ahead but the look it gave Moon was one of disappointment.

    The tunnel had now split into four different paths and the snake was currentlyying down patiently at the outermost left path.

    It seems as though Moon¡¯spanion was saddened that the dart had not taken him out.

    Moon growled and was about to pounce on that stupid robotic thing when his mom¡¯s voice whispered in his mind,

    ¡°Don¡¯t attack it for now¡­ we need that snake to navigate through the shortcut.¡±

    Hiss!

    The reddish-brown snake rattled its tail and slithered into a much darker tunnel.

    Moon followed behind but soon could not help but wrinkle up his little nose.

    There was an unpleasant odouring from somewhere up ahead that could only be described as a mix of rotten meat and eggs.

    The scent was so bad that Moon¡¯s eyes involuntarily started to tear up and Sophie was even feeling sorry for him.

    She was currently sharing Moon¡¯s senses, so the nasty smell was something that she also had to bear with.

    Who knew that this midterm exam would be so fucking awful.

    Sophie guilty admitted that Moon definitely deserved some love and pampering once it was over.

 Chapter 211: The Blood Bond Snaps!

    Chapter 211: The Blood Bond Snaps!

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex)

    The reddish-brown snake entered the outermost left path without being affected by the smell due to the fact that it was mechanical.

    Moon bravely flew in as well, but the overwhelming stench of rotten meat and eggs was proving to be a burden too difficult to bear.

    Sophie could do little except offer mental words offort to her pet who was obviously suffering.

    The walls of the maze soon turned from metallic to something¡­.

    Much darker.

    Dim light shone through the tunnel, but it was enough to illuminate the horrors thaty in wait.

    Biological fleshy growths coated the walls with unsettling appearances that caused even Sophie¡¯s heart to skip a beat.

    Multiple organs, orifices and eyes grew out of these walls of flesh and Sophie could swear that some eyes were looking at Moon as he flew by.

    The flesh was a pinkish red colour, but several parts seemed to be rotting or poisoned.

    This was the main source of the unpleasant odour that made it difficult to breathe.

    The mechanical snake was swaying from side to side when an arm burst out of a nearby wall and clutched its neck.

    Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

    Moon slowed down in shock as the reddish-brown snake thrashed around helpless as more arms emerged from the wall of flesh.

    Each arm was covered in blistering pus-filled wounds that oozed out a green liquid that sshed on the floor.

    They gripped the body of the snake tightly and started to tear and pull at the mechanical creature as if to rip it apart.

    ¡°Moon use your frozen domain!¡± Sophie quickly ordered as her danger sense warned of an impending threat.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon gathered the frost energy in his dantian and soon a chilling st of icy wind shot out from his open mouth.

    The blue patches of fur on his back started to glow an eerie colour as the temperature rapidly dropped to below the freezing point.

    ¡°What?¡± Sophie inwardly was a bit shocked at just how effective his ability was.

    It must be noted that adult Frostwing bats did have an impressive frozen domain ability, but Moon was still a child.

    To instantly drop the temperature so low meant that his ability would eventually outperform even the most powerful of his species.

    The hands gripping the robotic snake were instantly frozen and began to show signs of frostbite as the fleshy skin started to turn a bluish white colour.

    Unfortunately, the mechanical snake had also been affected by the ability and as Moon swooped down to try and rescues it¡­.

    He found himself unable to move the body out of the grasp of the hands.

    Moon gritted his teeth and tried his best to pull the snake, but his strength was not good enough.

    Sophie meanwhile was extending her senses to try to pinpoint anymore threatsing from the nearby area.

    It was all clear and she could no longer detect any signs of an impending attack.

    What was truly chilling was that before Moon activated his ability, several hands were extended outwards from the ceiling towards his body.

    Whatever this thing was¡­

    It had some form of intelligence.

    Moon had now resorted to gnawing the body of the mechanical snake in order to scrap off the icy coating, but it was to no avail.

    Should we continue down this tunnel or turn back and try another one?

    Sophie groaned as yet another major decision had to be decided.

    It seemed that the pair would no longer be able to use the services of thepanion snake.

    But Sophie did not have a good feeling about the tunnel they were currently in.

    That meaty wall of flesh had freaked her out and she had a sneaking suspicion that the worse was yet toe.

    ¡°Moon let¡¯s go forward but be prepared to turn around and flee at mymand,¡± Sophie ordered.

    Who knew what else was in the other tunnels and at least this was the one that thepanion snake had led them in.

    Moon reluctantly got up from the ground and took one final look at the robotic snake before rising into the air.

    The dim lightning was a bit annoying, but Moon¡¯s echolocation meant that there were no problems when navigating the path ahead.

    As the little frostwing bat went deeper and deeper into the tunnel, the humidity in the air started to rise and soon drops of sweat formed on Moon¡¯s forehead.

    The temperature slowly increased to a sweltering degree and Sophie could detect the difort Moon was feeling through the blood bond.

    Fleshy eyes stared at Moon as he flew through the tunnel but oddly enough no more arms emerged from the walls to attack them.

    Sophie continued to extend her senses to cover Moon¡¯s immediate surroundings, but the constant pressure was beginning to take a toll.

    She could feel a warm liquid flowing out of the nose of her physical body and knew that it was probably blood.

    It was bing increasingly difficult to keep her consciousness in Moon¡¯s mind, so he needed to escape quickly.

    Thump! Thump!

    Thump! Thump!

    Moon stumbled midflight as powerful soundwaves assaulted his tiny body.

    The beating resembled that of a heart and Moon could feel the flow of blood in his body begin to speed up.

    He flew into a wide-open hall where arge biomassy in the center of the room.

    It wasposed of the same pinkish-red material of the flesh wall but pulsated regrly in some kind of sick rhythm.

    Thump! Thump!

    Thump! Thump!

    With every beat, Moon groaned in pain as his heart felt as though it was about to burst out of his chest.

    Sophie could spot a narrow exit on the other side of the fleshy mass, so she urged Moon to quickly fly to it.

    Moon nodded quickly and pped his wings rapidly as he shot towards the exit.

    As he came closer to the biomass, the pressure became too much to handle and Moon started to slow down.

    ¡°Use your frozen domain,¡± Sophie quickly whispered in his mind.

    Moon tried his best, but his body would no longer obey him.

    It was like flying in a fog.

    Everything was unclear and murky as if he were trapped in a never-ending dream.

    Sophie continued to extend her senses outwards but the only threat in the room was the gigantic biomass in the center.

    What to do? What to do?

    Sophie frantically tried toe up with countermeasures but Moon at this point was too far gone to obey any of hermands.

    The blood bond link between them started to get weaker and Sophie could tell that Moon¡¯s consciousness was about to fade.

    Desperate times called for desperate measures, so Sophie decided to try onest n.

    ¡°Sorry baby,¡± Sophie whispered before sending a wave of her qi through the blood bond.

    Moon¡¯s consciousness was extremely weak, so Sophie easily took over his mind and gained control over his body.

    It was an odd sensation to suddenly be a tiny frostwing bat, but she didn¡¯t have much time to act.

    Sophie could feel that taking over Moon¡¯s body was stretching the blood bond connection between them to the breaking point.

    She only had a few minutes to act.

    Frozen Domain!

    Sophie circted a wave of frost energy in Moon¡¯s dantian before opening her mouth and sting an intense beam of icy wind towards the biomass.

    She had used Moon¡¯s full strength for the attack and the biomass instantly froze over which caused the sound to disappear.

    Without the noise, Moon¡¯s consciousness began to return, and Sophie found herself relegated back to being a spectator.

    Okay now Moon just needed to fly through the exit and deal with whatever was on the other side¡­.

    Snap!

    The fragile blood bond could not longer maintain the connection!

    Sophie opened her eyes to find herself sitting outside in the same cross-legged position she had been in at the start of the exam.

    She touched her nose absentmindedly but found that there was no blood as she had expected.

    Instead, several blood-stained tissues were next to her body as someone had apparently been wiping her nose.

    What happened to Moon?

    Would he be okay by himself?

    Sophie immediately panicked but forced herself to calm down.

    Now there was no longer anything she could do.

    It was up to Moon to finish the exam.

 Chapter 212: Time For Plan B

    Chapter 212: Time For n B

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex)

    Moon shook his head in agony as the sudden snapping of the blood bond caused a jolt of pain to course through his body.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Mommy?]

    Moon nervously called out for Sophie but received no answer.

    He tentativelynded on the ground and stared at therge biomass in the center of the hall.

    It was truly a grotesque monstrosity.

    Bits and pieces of pinkish red flesh had somehow been fused together in roughly the shape of a human heart.

    All manner of animal species and artificial life forms had gone into the construction of this abomination that could hardly be called a living thing.

    Gic research and biomodification were once two of the most popr fields of science during the early years of humanity¡¯s envement.

    It was thought that only through gic changes could humans rise up against their Draxi overlords.

    And yet cultivation proved to be more far morebat effective than the efforts made by top scientists so eventually these fields fell out of favour.

    Still even thousands of yearster, research was still being done on how to optimise the human body and create the perfect organism.

    There was an inherent creepy aura surroundings the body of the monstrosity that caused Moon to back away slowly.

    Luckily, his frozen domain ability had proven to be very effective so there was no immediate threat but now the little Frostwing bat was having some trouble deciding what to do next.

    Should he give up?

    But there was a strong feeling of reluctance in Moon¡¯s heart when he thought of just quitting.

    Maybe it was due to all the horrible experiences in this god forsaken maze, but Moon did not want all that he endured during this exam to go to waste.

    He had gone through too much shit to give up now!

    Plus, that vacation was a reward that he was not willing to lose out on.

    His mommy could no longer help him, and that ugly robot snake had gotten trapped in the earlier section of the tunnel.

    Therefore, the only path to victory was beyond this hall.

    Moon¡¯s eyes shone with newfound determination and he pped his wings powerfully to rise into the air once more.

    He darted through the exit of the hall and found himself in, yet another sprawling path filled with multiple routes and tunnels.

    Moon just picked the outermost right one and continued on his journey.

    There was no particr reason for his choice as Moon did not have a strong danger sense like Sophie, so it was a random pick.

    Click! Click!

    As Moon flew through the dark tunnel, he would periodically release sounds that bounced off the nearby objects and entered his ears.

    Echolocation was his only chance of avoiding ambushes.

    Truthfully, using his frozen domain ability twice in a row had put a great deal of strain on his dantian.

    Moon knew that he only had enough frost energy to release one more st so he had to save it as a trump card.

    Wait¡­. what was that bright light?

    Could it be the exit?

    Moon happily increased his flying speed and headed towards an opening that had what looked like a strong beam of sunlight shinning through its entrance.

    I did it!

    Moon closed his eyes reflexively as he entered the illuminated area and slowly opened them once a few moments passed.

    This was¡­. not outside¡­.

    Huh?

    The little frostwing bat tilted his head in confusion as he found himself in a tiny room roughly the size of a closet.

    The harsh beam of sunlight turned out to be produced from numerous small light bulbs hidden in the walls of the room.

    What was this ce?

    Moon turned around and tried to leave quickly but the open door shut and with a clicking noise it was then locked from the outside.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Let me out!]

    Moon pounded on the door furiously but despite puffing up his fur and hitting the door with all his strength¡­.

    The metal door did not move a single inch.

    Defeated and feeling quite upset, Moon circled around the room and tried to figure out if there was a way to escape.

    A small object caught his attention as he scanned the barren room and to his surprise, Moon found a sheet of parchment paper with words written down.

    This was a clue that the exam invigtors had ced in the room that hinted towards a secret device that would allow one to escape.

    Moon stared at the writing with an intense expression but there was just one small problem¡­.

    He didn¡¯t know how to read.

    Moon could perfectly understand verbalmunication in the Federation standardnguage, but he only understood a few simple written words and the alphabet.

    The writings on the parchment paper may have just as well been a simple grocery list as Moon would not have been able to understand either.

    Hmm¡­ what to do?

    The monitoring team looking at the live feed screens could not help but crack smiles at the cute sight of a furry adorable bat scratching his head and frowning.

    Moon closed his eyes and tried to use all of his brain power toe up with a n.

    Although he did not know what was written on the parchment, he knew that it was probably something important.

    Then an idea just hit him!

    Moon had recently been watching a magical drama about a poor kid who had stumbled upon a wish fulfilling bottle.

    There was a scene in episode four where the kid had been trapped inside a cave and he used the magic words to free himself.

    Okay here goes nothing¡­.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Abracadabra!]

    Squeak! Squeak!

    [Abracadabra make the door appear!]

    Moon pped his wings excitedly and yelled out the magic words he had seen on television while adding some extra words to make the chant more effective.

    Now all he had to do now is wait and the exit to the room would materialise out of thin air and allow him to escape!

    One minute passed¡­.

    Two minutes passed¡­.

    Five minutes passed¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Alright looks like it was time for n B.

 Chapter 213: The Bitter Old Man

    Chapter 213: The Bitter Old Man

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex- The Emperor¡¯s Royal Bedchamber)

    Heavy be the crown that rests upon the head of a king.

    The burden of ruling a nation may be more a curse than a blessing.

    Thete emperor was a fair but harsh man who upheld the full responsibilities of ruling with both dignity and grace.

    Four races hade together to form the Earth Federation borne out of the desire to never be enved again.

    Humanity as the strongest of the four races had to set an example and lead with both strength and justice.

    Crowning a new ruler was a momentous asion and the heir was decided by a ritual ofbat to showcase the cultivation potential of the future king or queen.

    The administrative work of running an empire could always be handled by capable subordinates but personal strength mattered the most.

    The current emperor was not always a man who drowned himself in alcohol and sadistic pleasures but rather he was once known as Prince Rowan Sisrelis.

    A handsome and promising youth whose cultivation potential and talent with the sword caused several faction to support his im to the throne.

    And when he defeated his siblings and sat on the dragon throne¡­.

    It seemed that humanity would see a new era of dominance.

    But yet as the Imperial Teacher entered the bedroom of the emperor, he could see no trace of the former prince whomanded such great respect.

    The emperor¡¯s father had a simple bedroom with in furniture, but his son had decided to disy the full extent of his wealth.

    Beautiful paintings made by well renowned artists hung on the walls and the floor of the bedroom was made from a rare material smuggled in from the Unova Syndicate.

    Rare jewels and mysterious treasures could be seen in disy cases scattered around the room.

    The bodies of several voluptuous womeny exhausted on the silk sheets of the enormous bed with their enormous breasts heaving fiercely as they struggled to breathe.

    Whip marks, scars and intense burns could be seen on their bodies as traces of the emperor¡¯s sick desires werey bare for all to see.

    ¡°Who the fuck let you in?¡± the emperor cursed loudly as he saw the imperial teacher walk inside.

    He got up from under the sheets and stumbled towards the imperial teacher with a sway in his steps.

    Even from a distance, one could smell the disgusting stench of sweat, sex and smoke.

    The emperor was naked, and his pudgy belly and vicious smile could send shivers down the spine of any maiden.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you old fogeys not to disturb me during the day?¡±

    ¡°Has your hearing gone to shit?¡±

    ¡°Your majesty,¡± the old man bowed respectfully, and no trace of emotions could be seen on his face as he patiently listened to the scolding.

    ¡°This subject simply wishes to know what the purpose was for calling a meeting with the heirs of major noble families.¡±

    ¡°Forgive this foolish one but seeing as the different factions of the court are eager to tear themselves apart¡­ should anything happen to their heirs at the meeting¡­

    ¡°This anger could easily turn towards you.¡±

    Do you think that the Imperial Teacher didn¡¯t have a temper?

    Dealing with the emperor was simply a necessary burden.

    But this matter was just too important not to give a warning.

    The emperor may be the head of humanity, but the powerful noble houses had military strength and connections that could not be underestimated.

    Should the lustful emperor act on any of the heirs present in the meeting then there was no doubt in the Imperial Teacher¡¯s mind that this would be the final straw that broke the camel¡¯s back.

    There was an abundance of royal heirs to the throne and it would not be the first time that a ruler had found his reign cut abruptly short.

    In fact, the Imperial Teacher would not mind a new king or queen should the opportunity arise.

    It was just that now was a bad time.

    The Earth Federation was currently in a war with two gctic empires and despite the propaganda release via the press to the masses¡­.

    The war with the Insectoid Empire had been in a stalemate for decades now with neither side able to gain any significant advantages.

    A trace of rity shed across the emperor¡¯s eyes and he nodded slightly before returning to the bed and engaging in more pleasurable activates.

    Maybe a small piece of sanity remained as the emperor had never forcefully taken a noble daughter into his harem.

    All the women who entered the imperial pce came to win the favour of the king but were left disappointed when they realised how little power actuallyy in his hands.

    The emperor was content to drink and y instead of gaining any sort of political power and wasrgely disinterested in the Federation¡¯s affairs.

    The Imperial Teacher bowed once more and exited the room while hearing screams of both pain and pleasure.

    He silentlymented in his heart over the disappointing man that handsome young prince had eventually grown into.

    If only the Cromwell incident had never urred¡­.

    The Imperial Teacher passed a mirror in the hall and stopped for a moment to look at his tired reflection.

    A bitter old man with wrinkles caused by years of stress stared back at him.

    Fighting with the stubborn Duke Peterlor and his faction who supported hybrid rights had taken a toll on his body.

    Why couldn¡¯t they understand?

    The Imperial Teacher did not personally hate hybrids as it was only natural that with a species as numerous as humans that some would have strange tastes.

    It was just a lucky quirk of evolution that human DNA was extremelypatible with other races of the universe.

    Mating with other alien species would often produce hybrid offsprings capable of reproduction.

    But those¡­. ¡®things¡¯ that came from those unions¡­.

    Weren¡¯t pure bloods.

    The Imperial Teacher was willing topromise and allow them to live within the borders of the Federation but as for being in positions of power¡­.

    Those should be given to those with fully human DNA.

    How could a creature with foreign blood be trusted?

    One of the reasons that the Imperial Teacher tried to cancel the meeting was the rumor that Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter would be appearing.

    Yes, it was true that the ex-militarymander had named his hybrid offspring as the heir to the Peterlor house, but most did not take it seriously.

    But should she actually show up when summoned by the emperor¡­.

    Then that would legitimise her position in the eyes of the other major noble houses.

    Something needed to be done¡­.

 Chapter 214: The Sufferings Of A Frostwing Bat

    Chapter 214: The Sufferings Of A Frostwing Bat

    (Zrudread University)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex)

    Sophie sat down next to Luna and waited patiently as the holographic screen above the mazeplex was broadcasting Moon¡¯s location.

    Apparently, the obstacles as well as theyout of the maze could be randomized for everybat beast using terraforming technology.

    Therefore, there was no advantage even if students to saw the attempts made by previous participating pets.

    ¡°Thanks again for the tissues,¡± Sophie softly whispered in Luna¡¯s ear as the noble girl absentmindedly patted her hellhound¡¯s leg.

    It seemed that the stress of forcibly taking over Moon¡¯s body via the blood bond had caused the hybrid girl to get a nosebleed.

    Sophie did not know it at the time, but Luna had immediately walked over and helped wipe the blood droplets before they spilled on her uniform.

    The prideful noble girl may y the role of an arrogant heiress, but she secretly valued her friendship with Sophie very much.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Luna smiled shyly and continued to stare at the screen as she analysed the trap room Moon was currently in.

    ckie¡¯s middle and right heads also nced at the screen to see the familiar figure of their friend while the left head was happily taking a nap.

    Sophie could not stop herself from feeling a bit helpless as she saw Moon wave his little wings around in what looked like an emotional fit of anger.

    If she knew that her pet was pping his wings around to cast a magic spell¡­.

    Well Sophie would have definitely enabled the parental lock feature on Moon¡¯s tablet and forbidden him from ever watching even a single entertainment channel.

    She had to admit that these university exams were a lot harder than she initially anticipated.

    The leap from a high school education to experiencing college was quite significant and Sophie sometimes felt that she was drowning under the pressure.

    Having a high cultivation base only helped in the general midterm exam but so far it had been practically useless for these specialization tests.

    But it was okay.

    Nurturing and strengthening the blood bond was a time-consuming process that could not be rushed.

    Having a strong foundation was the basic underlying principle and given that cultivators had a long lifespan, Sophie had plenty of time.

    ¡°You can do it Moon!¡± Sophie whispered in a quiet voice that no one could hear.

    She needed to have faith that her pet would find a way out.

    Moon was sitting on the ground with a lost expression but quickly got up andposed himself.

    He started to move his mouth rapidly and if one looked closely then they would see the little frostwing bat making non-stop clicking noises.

    There must be some kind of item or device that would open the trap room, so Moon decided to cheat!

    He rose up into the air and then circled around the room while emitting clicking noises continuously until an object showed up in his mind¡¯s eye.

    The mental image of the object was constructed from the soundwaves entering his furry ears.

    Moon immediately burst out into a grin and dove down towards a piece of tile. Hended gracefully on the ground and hurried over.

    This piece of tile was practically identical to the other tilesyered across the floor, but Moon showed no hesitation in his decision.

    Seeing that the object was hidden beneath the tile, Moon unsheathed his sharp ws and started to scratch on the surface of the tile.

    It should be impossible for the ws of a baby frostwing bat to do any sort of damage to the tile and yet Moon¡¯s ws sliced through the material with astonishing ease.

    A few minutes passed as Moon pressed on his search for the mysterious item all while the spectating students gossiped.

    ¡°Hey what is that frostwing bat doing?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it wants to dig a hole and die!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy tough ¡­ but I was just wondering if my pet could do any better¡­.¡±

    The whispers abruptly stopped when Sophie turned around and shot the gossiping students a cold icy gaze.

    Maybe it was due to her experience in facing life and death battles, but Sophie had perfected shooting a gaze full of killing intent.

    The weaker students were unable to look her in the eye while the stronger ones could feel sweat running down their backs.

    Sophie maintained her frosty expression but was inwardly very pleased with herself.

    I look like such a badass!

    Meanwhile on the screen, Moon had finally uprooted the tile and found what appeared to be a small device with a gigantic red button in the center.

    Moon tilted his head curiously and approached the device with a bit of trepidation in his steps.

    What the heck was this thing?

    He gently pressed the red button and suddenly a ring rm sounded out from the corner of the room.

    The trap room started to shake and vibrate which caused Moon to lose his bnce and fall onto the floor with a dull thud.

    Moon dug his sharp ws into the ground in order to get a firm grip as the trap room started moving in a certain direction.

    The poor little frostwing bat was thrown across the room like a ragdoll as the trap room picked up more speed with every passing second.

    Frostwing bats were notoriously durable animals so these knocks against the walls would not cause any damage.

    Unfortunately, Moon was easily prone to motion sickness and all this sudden movement caused him to throw up.

    Bleurgh!

    A disgusting mixture of undigested sugary treats and his meat dish from lunch spilled out from his mouth andnded on the ground.

    Moon rolled his body away from the mixture with a feeling of deep unhappiness in his heart.

    He swore that this would be thest exam that he would ever take!

    How could one deal with such inhumane conditions?!

    The trap room appeared to be slowing down so Moon unsteadily got back up to his feet and attempted to fly into the air.

    He pped his wings desperately but the dizzying feeling from his motion sickness made the task impossible.

    Would he have to walk on the ground for the rest of the exam?

    At this point Moon was ready to throw in the towel and call it a day.

    He had tried his best, but this was all just too much.

    Just as he was about to sit down in a corner and stop moving, a bright light shone into the trap room a door appeared on a nearby metalloid wall that seemed solid.

    Moon squinted his eyes as the harsh beam of light entered the trap room but as his eyes adjusted to the brightness¡­.

    He could feel his heartbeat gradually begin to quicken.

    This was no ordinary light!

    Moon hurriedly wobbled and stumbled across the floor as he frantically ran towards the light.

    He exited the room to find himself out of the mazeplex.

    The little frostwing baty down on afortable patch of grass and immediately went to sleep with a smile on his face.

    Bleep!

    Suddenly a loud buzzing noise came from Professor Ward¡¯smunicator and the screen showing Moon froze.

    Professor Ward adjusted a de of grass on her dress and then made an announcement to the ss,

    ¡°Congrattions to miss Sophie Peterlor and her pet Moon for being the first student to pass the exam!¡±

 Chapter 215: Relaxing Afternoon

    Chapter 215: Rxing Afternoon

    (Zrudread University- Elite Student Housing Complex)

    (Mansion 456Y)

    ¡°Cheers to the end of the midterm exams!¡± Astrid held up a ss of sparkling wine and downed its contents in one gulp.

    ¡°Cheers!¡± Sophie gently knocked her ss against Astrid¡¯s cup before sipping on the refreshing liquid.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be surprise if I take first ce among the freshmen,¡± Astrid proudly boasted as her tail wagged furiously.

    ¡°Oh please,¡± Sophie smirked and bared her fangs.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even matter since I am now a cultivator in the qi tide stage¡­ I¡¯ll kick your ass in any duel.¡±

    It was truly a warm scene.

    A mendolesa and hybrid girl were currently sitting down next to each other on a red sofa while warm rays of afternoon sunlight came in through the window.

    Meanwhile in the kitchen, a in girl with thick sses was chatting merrily with a noble girl who exuded an air of royalty and ss.

    The noble girl resembled an untouchable goddess who no mere mortal could dare to defile with gorgeously sharp facial features, a voluptuous body and piercing green eyes.

    Two days had passed since thebat beast midterm and the rest of the girls had also finished their respective exams.

    Sophie had proposed a get together at her and Cleo¡¯s apartment so the girls could hang out onest time before the break.

    After the midterm season was a two week break from sses, so students had the option to stay on campus or to return home.

    Astrid was naturally staying with her siblings on the but Sophie, Qiana and Cleo were going back home for different reasons.

    Qiana was feeling a tad homesick so she nned to travel to the Abazin estate located somewhere in a hidden asteroid field.

    Cleo on the other hand needed to visit her mother and consult the royal doctors to get the symbiote out of her body.

    Sophie wanted to go with her girlfriend to show support but the unexpected summons from the emperor had caused her to reconsider those ns.

    This was the first time that the emperor had organised a meeting with the future heirs to the major noble families in the Earth Federation, so no one knew what to expect.

    Duke Peterlor had told his daughter over themunicator about the true nature of the emperor and Sophie could feel nothing but disgust at the stories.

    Any person more concerned with the pleasures of the flesh or the sweet taste of alcohol rather than the wellbeing of his people was not fit to rule.

    Sophie did not look forward to meeting him.

    Shaking her head slightly to rid herself of these unpleasant thoughts, Sophie continued to smile as she teased Astrid.

    ¡°You just had a lucky breakthrough,¡± Astrid crossed her arms and pouted slightly.

    ¡°Wait until I be a great and powerful archmage!¡±

    ¡°I always believed that you will,¡± Sophie replied and rubbed Astrid¡¯s furry ears.

    It was a force of habit that she had picked up from looking after Moon but the Mendolesa girl didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    Qiana and Cleo walked into the living room and approached therge sofa where Sophie and Astrid were currently chatting.

    The luxurious mansion given to students in the elite ss had plenty of space to house guests and the furniture inside were made from top quality material and memory foam that could be modified.

    This particr couch was covered in the hide of a rare animal called the Quzeorctal that had a beautiful golden fur with ck spots.

    Qiana gracefully sat down next to Astrid while Sophie pulled her girlfriend onto herp and pecked her cheek lightly with a kiss.

    ¡°Can you lovebirds not stay apart for one minute?¡± Qiana rolled her eyes but felt secretly jealous as she saw the annoying couple spreading dogfood.

    Why was she just so shy?!

    Qiana had spent countless nights writing up love confession letters but each attempt seemed to be worse than thest.

    Her confession to Astrid had to be perfect¡­

    ¡°Does this bother you?¡± Sophie whispered sensually and leaned towards Cleo.

    Sophie winked at Qiana and then gently nibbled on Cleo¡¯s ears as the princess squirmed ufortably with a reddened face.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Cleo firmly pushed away Sophie¡¯s face, but the hybrid girl gave her a seductive look that the princess was all too familiar with.

    It was the ¡®I am going to so fuck youter¡¯ look.

    ¡°That reminds me¡­ how were your exams?¡± Cleo eagerly tried to change the subject as she didn¡¯t like the rising passion in Sophie¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°The mage exam was ridiculous easy,¡± Astrid scornfully spoke and then exined how the test had been carried out.

    Mages were rare in the Federation perhaps not as umon as mech controllers, but their importance nheless could not be overstated.

    Mastery of mana and the ability to cast spells that could turn the tides of battle made them highly desirable in any army unit.

    For the first midterm exam, the students were all thrown into a pit full of venomous reptile beasts called Allryxe and were told to eliminate every single monster inside.

    It was easy to cast spells in a safe ssroom environment where peace and quiet allowed for full concentration.

    But conditions on the battlefield would rarely be so generous.

    Fortunately, most students had by this point already seen their fair share ofbat so despite having a brief moment of panic at the start, they were able to fight off the first wave of attacks.

    Astrid was especially deadly as her use of the spell ¡®Spatial Rupture¡¯ could splice apart any iing wave of enemies with ease.

    This exam was a test of endurance and as the mana reserves of students eventually got lower and lower¡­

    They were forced to reduce their spellcasting.

    This was what the professor wanted to teach his students as they needed to know the importance of learning mana control and not casting spells recklessly.

    But who could have known that one of the freshman mages was abat freak?

    Astrid emptied out her mana reserves and leapt into the middle of a swarm of Allryxe lizards with a vicious smile on her face.

    Her ferocious ws and fierce fighting style allowed her to rip apart any creature foolish enough to get within her reach.

    The rest of the students retreated to the edge of the pit and pped along in awe as Astrid singlehandedly beat most of the Allryxe to death.

    The exam ended with the professor unsure if he should beughing or crying.

    What kind of teaching was Archmage Hollystorm giving to his pupil?!

    How was a mage fighting on the frontline better than most students in closebat majors?!

    ¡°That sounds awesome!¡± Sophieughed as she pictured the face of the helpless instructor.

    ¡°Yeah, I am truly the number one mage,¡± Astrid stuck her nose up in the air proudly as her tail continued to wag.

    ¡°I am going to whoop your ass once I break into the qi tide stage!¡±

    ¡°Bring it on sis! I guess you must want me to send you to the hospital for free!¡± Sophie replied with equal fire.

    ¡°Why are they always so enthusiastic and loud?¡± Qiana put a finger in her ears and shot Cleo a tired look.

    ¡°I kind of like it,¡± Cleo sneaked a nce at Sophie and turned away with the tips of her ears slightly red.

    Qiana: ¡­.

    It seemed that she would get no support from this lovestruck fool.

 Chapter 216: The Cold Hard Grip Of Capitalism

    Chapter 216: The Cold Hard Grip Of Capitalism

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Abandoned Warehouse- Unknown Location)

    One.

    Two.

    Three.

    A tough middle-aged man with a vicious scar running down the sides of his right cheek flicked through a pile of papers.

    He stood at an intimidating eight feet in height with several traits that gave away his alien heritage.

    His eyes were dark blue in colour and he had a long slender tail with a pointed barb that swayed slowly in the air.

    A group of equally vicious thugs and killers were present in the warehouse, but none even dared to make a sound.

    These men who on ordinary days swaggered around the slums of the capitol arrogantly bullying and harassing anyone they saw displeasing to the eye were currently frozen in fear.

    The boss was not happy.

    And when the boss was not happy¡­.

    People died.

    ¡°Is this report urate?¡± the middle-aged man leaned back against a wall and stared at a fresh-faced youth hidden in the back of the crowd.

    ¡°Yes¡­. Yes¡­ yes sir!¡± the youth could not help but stammer slightly under the ferocious gaze of the boss.

    The middle-aged man just shook his head and continued to go over the files with no expression on his face.

    One did not be one of the most powerful crime lords in the slums by wearing their emotions on their sleeves.

    None of his men could even get a glimpse of the turbulent feelings currently surging through their boss¡¯ heart.

    Geronzio Venti had been ruling over the east side of the slums for over three decades.

    Part of the reason why his rule was so stable was that he had a good sense of when to stop.

    Lesser criminals were nothing more than mad dogs, so they were put down like mad dogs.

    But the truly crafty old foxes knew not to draw attention to themselves.

    That was the main reason why Geronzio had never targeted the noble ss or certain powerful merchant families with connections.

    He understood that the nobility merely allowed them to survive because they stayed within the slums.

    Out of sight.

    Out of mind.

    Why would gods be concerned with lives on ants below their feet?

    But should these ants ever step out of bounds¡­.

    Well let¡¯s just say that the north, south and west side of the slums had seen a constant shift in management.

    Geronzio saw himself as a man who knew when to quit but the job offer, he had received three weeks ago seemed to be too good to be true.

    And too good to turn down¡­.

    Security footage at his house showed a masked woman with a body physique modifier had somehow broken into his apartment and left a folder with the details of this new assignment.

    Fulfilling this task would make the unknown client very pleased.

    Pleased to the tune of five billion Enas and a resident permit to a grade one.

    This was an obscene amount of wealth and the assignment seemed to be straightforward but sharp instincts honed over years made Geronzio hesitate.

    What to do?

    Geronzio pondered once more as he scanned the files trying to see if there was a hidden trap inside the wording of the contract.

    Inside the folder was theplete information on the profiles of twenty-seven noble children who were apparently going to visit the Imperial Pce.

    This information included their names, a picture, noble family, and current cultivation.

    Geronzio had immediately panicked when he saw that every single family had the status of duke.

    This was not something a small-time gangster could deal with!

    And yet the assignment was not as bold as what he initially assumed.

    The following sheet of paper exined that these children were most likely to visit the brothels of the slums before their visit to the pce.

    Some were willful and wanted to go out and y while others sought pleasures of the most carnal desires.

    STIs had long been cured and removed from the poption so there was no risk in contracting any genitalia diseases.

    All Geronzio and his gang were required to do was to send a message via amunicator to the number listed on the file whenever one of the targets entered the slums.

    There was no need to engage or evene into contact with these children and the client promised to handle the follow up work personally.

    Geronzio had shown the task to his second inmander whoughed and said that it was obviously easy money.

    Things were not doing so well as the police had recently busted one of their most important drug smugglers on the southside.

    The gang badly needed a fresh influx of cash.

    Geronzio closed his eyes and tried to suppress the heavy feeling in his heart.

    He would break his unspoken rules of business and immediately flee the country once the Enas credits were wired to his ount.

    ¡°Alright listen up boys,¡± Geronzio opened his eyes and spoke in a low voice thatmanded respect.

    ¡°In two weeks, we have a special surveince assignment. I don¡¯t want any direct contact wit the targets likest time.¡±

    ¡°This client is extremely wealthy and is willing to pay thirty million Enas!¡±

    Loud roars and cheers echoed around the empty warehouse as the amount of money the boss was talking about was enough for most to survive for a lifetime.

    The second inmand could not help but lean in and whisper in Geronzio¡¯s ear,

    ¡°Boss did you make a mistake? I thought the reward money from the client was five billion Enas¡­.¡±

    Bam!

    A single bullet hole appeared in the middle of the poor second inmand¡¯s head before he could even finish talking.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± the boss growled as he felt the rest of the gang turn oddly silent.

    Geronzio released his spiritual coercion and soon the weaker members were gasping for air and fainting.

    ¡°The n begins on a Monday,¡± Geronzio frowned once more and then dismissed the rest of the gang.

    Richard was indeed a trustworthy second inmand, but no one could know the true amount of money paid for this task.

    Thirty million split between a gang of two hundred people was just a slightlyrger paycheck.

    Five billion Enas was just absurd and dangerous.

    Since ancient times¡­. wealth has often brought on disasters!

    He was simply protecting his loyal brothers and sisters from the cold hard grip of capitalism!

    As for the rest of the money¡­.

    Well, the boss always needed an extra cut¡­.

 Chapter 217: Side Story- Black Lotus

    Chapter 217: Side Story- ck Lotus

    (Lunarea Star System- Europa)

    (As University- Holodeck Training Room- 0123)

    A cool wind could be felt as a sharp sword kept swinging relentlessly at the moving targets flying around the training room.

    The cultivator practising her sword techniques had been in the room for hours on end with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

    Even as beads of sweat ran down her forehead and she could feel her tired worn-out muscles begin to give out.

    Every time she felt like quitting there was a certain face would sh in her mind.

    She needed to change.

    She needed to be a better person.

    Leona bit the corner of her lip and tasted the sweet metallic tang of blood as it filled her mouth.

    This sudden painful sensation prevented her from falling unconscious.

    Just one more sword technique¡­.

    Leona closed her eyes and felt the sword qi travelling through her meridians begin to circte in a strange new pattern.

    She exhaled slowly and a thin white cloud could be seen.

    This was the state of concentration necessary to be a sword cultivator.

    No unnecessary thoughts.

    Just the feeling of the sword and the user finally bing one.

    Broken de First Form- Heart Sword!

    Rings of golden light entered Leona¡¯s body and her purple ringlets flew up into the air under the intense pressure.

    She could feel the harsh energy threatening to rip her body apart, but this still did not cause any fluctuations in her emotions.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Leona roared in fury and a white wave of sword qi erupted from the middle of her chest.

    The target dummy in front of her had been reduced to a mere pile of rubble.

    Leona swayed slightly before falling to the ground with a soft thud. She could not help the small smile forming along the sides of her lips.

    She had gotten stronger.

    As University was indeed one of the four great universities of the Federation.

    Although noble students were given priority during the admission process¡­. these were not useless second-generation ancestors with no talent.

    It was a harsh reality, but noble families had greater cultivation resources to pass down to their offsprings so even if the talent of amoner was better¡­.

    Noble heirs would generally receive better training and be more equipped to deal with the entrance exam.

    Leonay on the floor panting slightly as she could feel every bone in her body protesting this unfair treatment.

    Well, there was a reason why her nickname among the freshman was ¡®Martial Queen.¡¯

    Talent always needed to be supplemented with hard work. It was a mantra that her father had always drilled into her since young.

    Cultivation was not a sprint but rather a marathon.

    Talent would allow you a head start but without moving, one would easily be passed by those who started behind.

    Bleep!

    A buzzing noise sounded out as the door to the training room was opened by someone with the knowledge of the password.

    ¡°Why do you always push yourself so hard?¡± a soft delicate voice echoed through the empty room.

    ¡°Sorry I got a bit carried away,¡± Leona didn¡¯t turn around as she expected to hear the familiar nagging.

    ¡°You are such an idiot!¡± the voice yelled before walking up to Leona¡¯s tired body and dropping a nutrient vial on her belly.

    ¡°Drink up.¡±

    Leona muttered a quiet thanks and emptied the contents of the vial into her mouth without any hesitation.

    She could feel a warmforting energy flow through her exhausted body and her aching muscles seemed to no longer cause her any pain.

    If any of the other noble students could enter the training room, they would simply be amazed at the sight before their eyes.

    A dark-skinned beauty with a lean muscr physique and purple curly ringlets waszilyying down on the ground.

    Even in her tired state, this girl simply exhibited an aura of nobility and dignity that made others feel an innate sense of inferiority.

    Leona the heir of House Braveheart.

    Many noble girls and boys had attempted to gain her favour, but all were ruthlessly dismissed by the mocking girl who scorned them arrogantly.

    She was toozy to involve herself in fake friendships and rtionships based solely on benefits.

    The only person who could pierce her shield of aloofness was the girl standing by her side and berating her ruthlessly.

    Vivian Green.

    A lovely fragile girl with short cropped dark hair and two deep purple eyes that drew the attention of anyone who stared too deeply into them.

    At first nce this would not be a shocking friendship as both girls were fairly attractive.

    It was just that Vivian was amoner.

    Leona Braveheart who rejected the offers of friendship from other nobles, openly sought out thepany of amoner girl.

    This had raised some eyebrows.

    It was not that friendships betweenmoners and nobles were forbidden or even rare, it was just that for a noble with Leona¡¯s status¡­.

    Why would you seek out thepany of a girl with no backing?

    House Braveheart was one of the elite noble families in the empire with the rank of Duke.

    And given the current head¡¯s close rtionship with House Peterlor, many were watching Leona¡¯s every move.

    ¡°So, is anyone bullying you?¡± Leona broke the silence with an awkward question.

    ¡°No this isn¡¯t high school,¡± Vivian chuckled slightly and exposed her pearly white teeth.

    ¡°In college no one really cares about poprity or any of that shit. If you don¡¯t like someone you just ignore them.¡±

    ¡°Plus¡­¡±

    Vivian suddenly dropped down onto Leona¡¯s fallen body and entwined her arms around the noble girl¡¯s back.

    She brought her face inches away from Leona¡¯s and the two girls could heard the dull thuds of each other¡¯s heartbeats.

    ¡°I thought you warned them to not touch me,¡± she grinned but in Leona¡¯s eyes this fragile girl had turned into a seductive predator.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Leona stammered for a moment as the tips of her ears flushed bright red.

    Before she could reply, Vivian pecked her cheek softly and got up from her chest with a teasing glint in her eyes.

    She was what most people would call¡­.

    A ck lotus.

    Leona turned red with embarrassment and was about to lose her temper when a familiar face shed across her mind once more.

    Alright forget it.

    Leona shook her head and got up slowly while wincing from the pain in her lower back region.

    She must have pulled a muscle while training.

    ¡°Any ns for the midterm break? I¡¯m probably going to stay in my dorm room unless I get a special invitation to go out,¡± Vivian smirked while dropping a not-so-subtle hint.

    Leona contemted for a moment and then spoke,

    ¡°Sure, I can take you to my family estate for a week, but I need to go to Gaia for an important event.¡±

    ¡°There is going to be a major gathering for the heirs of high noble families.¡±

    Vivian nodded in understanding as she did have some idea about the high society of nobles from the stories that Leona shared.

    Leona continued to chat cheerfully but made no mention of another thought that was constantly running through her mind.

    I will finally get to see her again.

 Chapter 218: This Chess Piece Has To Be Removed

    Chapter 218: This Chess Piece Has To Be Removed

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Complex- Side Pce No.1274)

    Concubine Sisrelis had a graceful charm that had been left unravaged by the passage of time.

    Even among the fresh-faced beauties vying for the emperor¡¯s favour, she could stand out like a white flower blooming among the grass.

    She had passed on many of her gorgeous features to her daughter Cleo such as her flowing dark hair, modest figure and piercing green eyes that could stare into one¡¯s soul.

    Cleo was almost an identical copy to the younger version of Concubine Sisrelis.

    And yet after the emperor had bedded her once on their wedding night¡­.

    He never visited her again.

    This was abnormal.

    Even the other concubines who were no longer in favour had at least enjoyed a full week or more servicing the emperor in his bedchamber after marriage.

    No one knows what the emperor thought as he abandoned this attractive young flower, but Concubine Sisrelis did not reveal even a trace of her emotions.

    She went about her daily life as if nothing had changed.

    It was only when she found out that a baby was growing in her womb that the concubine finally allowed herself to smile again.

    Surprisingly, she did not present her child to the emperor to regain favour but rather peacefully disappeared to live in one of the most inconspicuous side pces in the Imperial Complex.

    Soon many had forgotten about this mother-daughter pair as in a harem of thousands of beauties, it was obvious that some would fade away into the background.

    But still Concubine Sisrelis kept her head out of the pce intrigues and schemes as she raised her daughter diligently and in peace.

    She did not care for the emperor¡¯s so-called favour.

    What was the use of a favour from a man who spent his days drowning in sadistic vices?

    How much power could such a selfish man afford to gift his lovers.

    The real purpose of infiltrating the royal pce was to ensure that her n was able to survive.

    And she would do whatever was necessary to ensure that they once again rose to a position of power within the empire.

    Concubine Sisrelis poured herself a ss of red wine and sat on the balcony to gaze at the surrounding vis.

    It was currently the middle of the night so none of her fellow neighbours were outside.

    She enjoyed this quiet peace and tranquility.

    She needed some time to think.

    Cleo was expected to arrive tomorrow, and certain countermeasures had to be put in ce to deal with this sudden ident.

    How on earth had the symbiote not fused to her?!

    Concubine Sisrelis had personally overseen the transnt process when her daughter was twelve years old and the symbiote should have invaded her organs and prated her heart already.

    It should be impossible for anything to go wrong!

    For the first time in years, Concubine Sisrelis felt her frozen heart shake slightly as a small feeling of panic ran through her body.

    This feeling was fleeting as she no longer had the ability to feel strong emotions. It was an unfortunate side effect from the symbiote race imnted in her body.

    Verxus were not inherently harmful creatures and the rtionship between the host and the parasite could even be ssified as mutualistic.

    Embryos needed to be imnted in young victims and then the Verxus would slowly enter the organs of the host and transform them into modified biomasses units.

    This would enhance the physique and regenerative abilities of the host.

    In addition, the hosts would gain the ability to manipte a shadowy dark matter that the Verxus naturally produced.

    The trade-off for this power was quite steep as the hosts would not longer be able to feel most emotions and their lifespans would be heavily reduced.

    That was not to say that they could not mimic emotions nor feel some desires but over time their hearts would cool until only expressionless monsters remained.

    Concubine Sisrelis could still remember the day she had gotten her partner from the n elders.

    It was a day of nervousness and yet she felt anticipation and pride for being put into the role chosen for her that was to lead the n back to glory.

    ¡°I think we should just remove the seedling,¡± a low husky voice whispered softly in Concubine Sisrelis mind as the shadows beneath her feet started to twist and contort.

    ¡°A failed bonding will lead to the deaths of both the host and the symbiote so we can at least save your daughter.¡±

    Two orange eyes stared out from the darkness and peered at the indifferent woman who was still sipping her wine.

    Verxus themselves were not without emotions and this one had watched little Cleo grow up since she was young and had a soft spot for the princess.

    ¡°And what would we do then?¡± Concubine Sisrelis¡¯ cold voice snapped back.

    ¡°I have yet to find anymore of your kind avable for sale on the dark and the n elders have long disappeared to the outer regions.¡±

    ¡°I will admit that Cleo is talented, but she is far from capable of taking over the empire once that drunken old fool is dead.¡±

    Time.

    She just needed more time.

    The ancient ritual ofbat that determined the next emperor would only ur if the current emperor had died or was nning on naming a sessor.

    By all signs, the current emperor had made no ns on stepping down from his throne anytime soon, but Concubine Sisrelis knew that the choice may no longer be his to make.

    Too many ambitious noble factions no longer wanted a ceremonial figurehead on the throne who listened to the Imperial Teacher¡¯s every word like a puppet dancing on strings.

    The emperor¡¯s days were numbered¡­.

    But Cleo was too weak at the moment.

    She would be lucky to even survive the initial rounds should the ritual ofbat be dered.

    Facing siblings and those of the royal n who were hundreds of years older than her would be a gap too insurmountable to cross.

    Unless she fully bounded with the symbiote and burned her lifeforce during the ritual.

    There was still one more card left to y¡­

    Concubine Sisrelis finished her ss of wine before pouring herself another cupful.

    Her grip was firm as she spoke to the shadowy figure in her mind,

    ¡°When Cleo returns, I will just get a doctor to cut open her chest and forcibly imnt a tendril of the symbiote into her heart.¡±

    ¡°We can also try damaging her vital organs so the symbiote can assimte into the biomass more easily.¡±

    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work then we can just rip the symbiote out of her body and try putting it back in a second time¡­.¡±

    ¡°Or a third¡­.¡±

    ¡°Or a fourth¡­.¡±

    ¡°Listen to me! You will kill her!¡± the Verxus roared in panic as he saw the glint of determination in his host¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Please just listen to me and stop this madness!¡±

    ¡°Your daughter will never survive such a procedure!¡±

    ¡°I can always make another one,¡± Concubine Sisrelis felt a small twinge of pain in her heart, but this brief feeling soon disappeared.

    Cleo was herst hope but that was only under the assumption that she had a chance of bing the next empress.

    Any chess piece that outlived its uselessness¡­.

    Had to be removed from the board.

 Chapter 219: Blessing Or A Curse

    Chapter 219: Blessing Or A Curse

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Unknown Location- Peterlor Estate)

    A tall, dark, and handsome man stood silently with his hands held tightly behind his back.

    His rugged good looks and extraordinary muscr physique hidden behind an expensive business suit would win the hearts of many fair maidens.

    Despite being in his early forties, the man could easily pass for someone ten years younger and his age had only improved his appearance.

    Where was once a brutal wolf pup was now a mature silver haired leader.

    Duke Peterlor stared silently out of the window and continued to patiently wait for a certain someone to appear in his study room.

    The only small detail that betrayed his excited mood was the nervous tapping of his feet.

    The head butler smiled silently as he saw his impatient master.

    Duke Peterlor had spent over thirty minutes trying on different outfits and styling his hair in order to leave a good impression on his daughter when she came to visit.

    This was the first time that the young miss was returning from college for break so Rokan wanted her to know that her old man was doing well.

    Knock! Knock!

    Two sharp knocks were heard against the door and the Head Butler walked quietly over to open up.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Sophie yelled cheerfully and dove into the arms of her father.

    ¡°My baby,¡± Rokan held his daughter tightly and could not help the tears from flowing down his cheeks.

    No trace of the former strict militarymander could be seen as the duke had a calm gentle expression in his eyes.

    The father-daughter pair hugged for a few moments and then Sophie withdrew from the embrace to wave happily at the butler.

    ¡°Wee back young miss,¡± a brief smile could be seen on the old butler¡¯s face before he tactfully departed from the study room.

    Rokan led his daughter to the couch and poured her a ss of water before starting off a round of interrogations.

    ¡°How was your weeks of college?¡±

    ¡°Did anyone bully you?¡±

    ¡°Is that princess girl treating you properly?¡±

    The duke could not help but ask question after question as his little girl was dealing with college all by herself.

    Sophie could feel the love and concern hidden behind her father¡¯s numerous questions, so she patiently answered them all.

    She had been talking to her father regrly over the virtual but there was something special about meeting face to face.

    She talked about her experiences while doing the bounty hunter mission on Calypso, meeting new friends in the poison and beast cultivator sses and her new abilities.

    Rokan remained silent during her recollection of the events but when Sophie mentioned the hunter goddess, he could not help but frown silently.

    Actually, there was one more burning question in Sophie¡¯s mind¡­.

    ¡°Dad¡­. is there a cultivation realm beyond the Ascension stage?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    Rokan answered her question by posing a question of his own,

    ¡°What do you know about gods?¡±

    Sophie paused for a moment and then replied,

    ¡°Err¡­ I know certain cultures and races believe in higher powers. I mean in the Federation there is the Church of the Nephilim.¡±

    ¡°Good answer,¡± the duke grinned slightly and tousled Sophie¡¯s hair.

    ¡°But the truth is far moreplicated than that¡­.¡±

    There was little known about path to the realm of cultivation beyond the Ascension Stage not because this information was hidden but rather because there were only partially destroyed records.

    Ascension stage cultivators could gradually improve their qi levels over a period of time which lent credence to the evidence that there was a realm beyond.

    But none from the Federation had evene close to the barrier.

    The only thing that was known was from a recording that the previous Draxi empire had hidden away in their royal archives that warned its elite shadow guards to never cultivate pass the Ascension Stage.

    ording to the text, there exists unbreakablews that govern the universe and all of creation.

    Laws that bind those that are mortal and immortal alike.

    Great power must alwayse with a price.

    Those who cultivated to beyond the Ascension Stage would receive the cruellest twist of fate.

    Endless power to warp the fabric of space, time or even reality itself but thews of the universe would lock their abilities.

    They would be immortal with endless power and yet be unable to affect the universe.

    Their power could only be reduced and sent into vessels.

    There were even limitations on who could be vessels.

    Only those with connections to the gods whose powers they were channeling could be vessels and certain gods would make their believers pay a price for their great strength.

    The Nephilim Church may be a force to be reckoned with but the pact that demon knights and saints were bound to was a weakness that one could exploit.

    The strength of their beliefs corresponded with the level of power flowing through their bodies which left them vulnerable to psychic attacks that shook their faith.

    And these vessels were mortal.

    Divine power was a weapon and all weapons suffered from the same weakness¡­.

    The user.

    Of course, some in the Federation did not believe these warnings and continued to cultivate desperately.

    But their talents were not enough to cross the threshold.

    Duke Peterlor was perhaps humanities¡¯ best chance of crossing this threshold, but he had no desire to be a god.

    Living forever? No thanks!

    Sophieughed softly at her father¡¯s vehement opposition to immortality and could not help but agree.

    Cultivation would already extend her lifespan, but Sophie never wanted to live for all of eternity.

    ¡°But this hunter goddess seems to have already bonded to you,¡± Rokan spoke softly but fury danced in his eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if her power will be a blessing or a curse.¡±

    ¡°Your mother¡­¡± the duke sighed for a moment and his features briefly contorted in pain and sadness.

    ¡°I always suspected that your mother had lied to me the day I was forced to flee.¡±

    ¡°I wish she was here now.¡±

 Chapter 220: Dressed To Kill

    Chapter 220: Dressed To Kill

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Vermillion City- St. Rosa Shopping za)

    I feel sick.

    Sophie had been getting a nauseating feeling ever since she returned home, and it was only getting worse with every passing day.

    It was hard to describe this feeling in words.

    She just knew that something bad was going to happen.

    Every few hours she would get a dull aching tinge in her chest right on the exact same spot where the pink mark was branded on Cleo¡¯s body.

    Sophie had contacted Cleo to see if she was also experiencing this pain, but the princess said that everything was normal on her end.

    Cleo had to attend ast-minute workshop on mech building so she would be returning to the Imperial Pceter than expected.

    Sophie had once again offered to have her father take a look at the symbiote, but Cleo insisted that her mother would be able to give her the care she needed.

    The royal family did employ the finest medical specialists in all of the Earth Federation.

    Cleo had never spoke about her mother daughter rtionship in great detail but from the small pieces of information she had let slip¡­

    Sophie knew that the pair had been close when Cleo was a little girl but drifted apart inter years.

    Still this aching feeling definitely kept Sophie a tad wary about any unexpected events.

    It may seem paranoid, but her instincts had never let her down before.

    ¡°Are you okay young miss?¡± Katarina asked politely as she saw Sophie absentmindedly walking pass the clothing store.

    ¡°Oh! Sorry Kat¡­ I was just a bit distracted,¡± Sophie blushed and apologised.

    Anyways for now she would try to focus on the trip at hand.

    Sophie was currently shopping with Katarina as her bodyguard and she needed to pick out an outfit for the uing meeting.

    Duke Peterlor was busy with various administrative matters and he did not have the best fashion sense, so he wisely left the decision making to his very capable death guard.

    Katarina may be a vicious poison cultivator, but her fashion sense and style was second to none.

    Vermillion city was a tiny metropolitan area that was only been developed five years ago so the local poption was quite small.

    Despite its tiny size, the housing prices were simply astronomical as the city had been built to only cater to the wealthy and powerful.

    Quality goods that only the noble ss could afford were disyed in shops everywhere and robotic guides would dly help out any customers seeking a certain product.

    Duke Peterlor had used his connections to book an appointment with a notable fashion designer named Adam Denver.

    Adam was perhaps one of the most well-known fashion designers within the noble circles and those who wore his pieces were viewed with equal parts admiration and jealousy.

    To wear his signature dresses was more than a disy of wealth¡­

    It was a status symbol.

    Sophie was not naive enough to think that the uing meeting between the emperor and the heirs of the high noble families would be a peaceful one.

    No one knew why the emperor who had never shown even the slightest interest in politics was suddenly hosting a meeting with the future leaders of the Federation.

    Sophie was not ignorant to her unique position of being the only heir to a dukedom who was also a hybrid.

    Numerous eyes would be watching her every move.

    From her posture to her manners to even the way she walked and talked.

    It was inevitable that she would be the main subject of gossip both from curious onlookers and those with more malicious intentions.

    Sophie was not ashamed of her alien heritage and had no intention of concealing her inhuman appendages.

    Any sign of hiding her hybrid features would be taken as a sign of weakness.

    It would tell the world that she was afraid of judgement.

    Sophie nned on choosing an outfit that made these features stand out.

    Her looks would turn from a hindrance to a sharpened de.

    Besides as long as she maintained at least the outward appearance of a cold calcting heiress then her job would beplete.

    It was just a shame that she didn¡¯t know anyone who was going¡­.

    Wait¡­.

    Leona Braveheart was also from a duke family.

    Sophie bit her lip and contemted if she should send her old childhood friend a message but chose to put off the decision in the end.

    She didn¡¯t hate her former bully but there was definitely some tension between them¡­.

    It was best to just let sleeping dogs lie.

    Her friend Luna would probably be a better option.

    Sophie made a mental note to send a message to her tomorrow.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s go inside,¡± Sophie smiled and entered the clothing shop confidently.

    The name of the shop was ¡®Rising Phoenix¡¯ and upon entering the store, one would immediately be blown away by its luxurious interior.

    Precious metals and gems covered the floor, walls, and ceiling. These rare and expensive jewels shone hypnotically under the soft gentle light.

    Beautiful women and charming men dressed in orange-red uniforms expertly weaved through the numerous disys of gorgeous outfits to attend to a customer¡¯s every need.

    There was no distinction in the quality of service.

    Whether one would dressed in the rags of a beggar or adorned like a king, they were all treated with dignity and respect.

    Sophie saw a pretty blue dress that was the colour of the ocean. Somehow the designer had managed to create waves that constantly rippled as the dress moved.

    ¡°How may I help you today miss?¡± a fair pretty girl with a lovely smile approached Sophie respectfully and offered her service.

    ¡°I have an appointment with Mr. Denver,¡± Sophie replied and nodded back with a grin.

    She held out a tinum card engraved with strange markings that proved her identity as a V.I.P member of the store.

    ¡°Ahh right this way please,¡± a small trace of shock shed across the eyes of the salesgirl, but it was quickly concealed.

    The employee was surprised to find out that the special V.I.P customer that Mr. Denver had warned them not to offend was a hybrid girl.

    But her good training and professional attitude prevented her from offering Sophie anything less than the best possible treatment.

    Katarina eyed the salesgirl darkly and a small vial of poison danced around the corner of her palm.

    She had noted the sudden change in emotions that the salesgirl thought she had concealed.

    Katarina knew that it was just shock and surprise but years of seeing unpleasant stares directed at her precious miss had left her on guard.

    The liquid inside the ss vial glowed with an eerie red colour that hinted at the dangerous nature of the concoction.

    If the salesgirl had dared to insult her young miss¡­. there would be some rather unpleasant consequences.

    Luckily, it seems that the guide had some intelligence.

 Chapter 221: The Blossoming Rose

    Chapter 221: The Blossoming Rose

    Gaia- Vermillion City)

    (St. Rosa Shopping za- Rising Phoenix Designer Emporium)

    ¡°Right this way please,¡± the salesgirl smiled before leading Sophie and Katarina through the store and towards the private rooms hidden in the back.

    Sophie did not want to give off the impression of being unustomed to luxury, so she restrained herself from openly gawking at the magnificent dresses on disy.

    Clothes could be made from a variety of materials found across the universe and only simple dresses in the style of ancient Earth would use threads.

    Some examples of different materials used would be clothes were made from feathers or others made from rare metallic jewels that could be stretched and molded like rubber.

    There was even a fashion trend a few centuries ago where hologram dresses were in fashion for the more adventurous nobles.

    Simply ce an emitter in the middle of the chest region of the customer and the image of a dress or a suit would be projected outward.

    The main drawback was that you were essentially naked and after a few high-profile incidences of public indecency that happened when an emitter ran out of battery¡­.

    These types of clothing were eventually banned.

    Each article of clothing on disy could sell for upwards of one million Enas and yet they were far from the most expensive items in the shop.

    The truly wealthy would order custom made pieces that were designed by world renowned fashion experts.

    Of course, the cost of hiring these tailors and artists was quite high but for the V.I.P customers it was a paltry sum.

    Sophie saw a beautiful fountain in the middle of the store that had a statue of what looked like a bird rising into the air.

    What was unique about the fountain was that instead of water, fiery moltenva flowed and oozed out of the crevices.

    The fountain was covered by a localised forcefield, so the intense heat did not spread out and raise the overall temperature of the store.

    After ten minutes of walking through the shop, Sophie noticed that they had arrived at a towering wall with multiple wooden doors.

    The salesgirl carefully inspected each door and eventually led them towards an inconspicuous door at the far-right corner of the wall.

    Knock! Knock!

    She rapped her knuckles twice against the wooden frame and a deep melodic voice on the other side muttered something in reply.

    ¡°Just enter inside Miss Peterlor,¡± the salesgirl nodded respectfully and then opened the door for Sophie and Katarina to enter.

    She would not be following them inside as Mr. Denver did not approve of noncustomers entering his workspace.

    Adam Denver was a cut above the rest and his high reputation was well deserved.

    He would not ept orders from anyone without a rmendation.

    The demand for his clothing far exceeded the supply and Adam had no need for money because fulfilling a single order would allow him to livefortably for the rest of his life.

    The first thing Sophie noticed when she entered the room was how cozy and warm it seemed.

    There was a roaring firece in the corner of the room and the floor was covered in a thick furry carpet.

    Mysterious paintings lined the sides of the wall and Sophie was shocked to discover that each was painted by a famous artist.

    The value of the paintings in the room could not even be measured!

    ¡°Absolutely stunning!¡± a joyful shout came from the center of the room as a young man dashed towards Sophie.

    Katarina unconsciously stepped forward and ced herself between the overenthusiastic fashion designer and her young miss.

    Adam crashed into Katarina¡¯s lean frame and fell to the floor with a dull thud.

    Sophie stared wide eyed as she could notprehend what just happened.

    ¡°Sorry I sometimes get excited when I see a new muse,¡± Adam sheepishly got up from the ground and stretched out a hand.

    Sophie shook it tentatively and took the opportunity to get a closer look at the man known as the ¡®Fashion King.¡¯

    Adam was a scrawny man in his early thirties with fair skin, hazel eyes, and a scattering of freckles across his face.

    His body did not have a trace of muscle or fat and his physique seemed almost skeletal-like. He was dressed in a in ck shirt and a pair of track-pants.

    It was not an extraordinary handsome visage that would draw the attention of anyone seeing him for the first time as Adam was a fairly ordinary looking man.

    His eyes however glowered with an expression of equal parts madness and fanaticism that made Sophie realise that he was slightly¡­. off.

    ¡°Nice to meet you. I am Sophie Peterlor, and this is my bodyguard Katarina,¡± Sophie shook his hand and introduced herself politely.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah¡­. let¡¯s skip the formalities,¡± Adam waved his other hand dismissively in the air.

    ¡°Let me get my babies!¡±

    He turned around and ran towards another wooden door that was connected to the back of the room.

    ¡°He is an interesting one,¡± Katarina could not help but whisper in Sophie¡¯s ear as the pair saw the figure enter the side room and disappear.

    ¡°I think so as well but I trust dad¡¯s judgement,¡± Sophie replied.

    Soon Adam returned with an armful of measuring tapes, scissors, various fabric sheets and some other strange devices.

    Before Sophie could even say a word, Adam immediately rushed over and started measuring her various sizes.

    This time Katarina moved aside and let the genius tailor do his work.

    Adam measured every part of Sophie¡¯s body from her long slender legs to the four de-like appendages jutting out of her back.

    He would use an old-fashioned measuring tape to record most of the measurements but for the more private areas he would use a handheld body scanner that did not require direct contact.

    ¡°I have seen many models in the past, but you are simply a work of art!¡± Adam could not help but stare in appreciation as he eagerly jotted down some notes on a small tablet.

    Sophie Peterlor was truly a gorgeous young woman.

    Standing at an imposing seven feet in height but with a curvaceous body that would be the downfall of many eager admirers.

    Her facial features were stunning, and her beauty had an air of seduction that hid the dangerous predator beneath.

    And yet a hint of her savage nature could be seen in her golden eyes that shone with a resplendent luster.

    ¡°So, what style do you want?¡± Adam kept writing on his tablet and started to fire off questions.

    ¡°Recently there has been a trend towards softer colours and in dresses in order to emphasis delicate beauty.¡±

    ¡°Do you want a dress in this style?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Sophie refused without hesitation.

    ¡°I want a dress that makes me feel intimidating and powerful. Use my hybrid features as a weapon to silence anyone who wants to mock me.¡±

    Adam paused writing his notes as a barely noticeable trace of a smile crossed his lips before he continued to diligently draw his initial draft.

    Sophie Peterlor waspletely unsuited to portray the image of a delicate beauty, so the only option was to gopletely in the opposite direction.

    She was suited to be a rose.

    Beautiful and stunning but one needed to beware the sharp thorns hidden just below the surface.

 Chapter 222: A Message From An Old Friend

    Chapter 222: A Message From An Old Friend

    Gaia)

    (Peterlor Mansion- West Wing- Sophie¡¯s Bedroom)

    Two beautiful moons shone brightly in the night sky as hundreds of stars merrily twinkled and sparkled.

    It was simply a spectacr view.

    Sophie was currentlyying down on her king-sized bed while carefully looking over an important document sent over by her father.

    Two days had passed since Sophie had met Adam at the clothing store and the new dress had not arrived yet.

    This was not something to be concerned about as Adam reassured Sophie that he would take the utmost time and care to sure that this piece would be his greatest work yet.

    Sophie had actually developed quite a liking towards the entric young genius who constantly praised her beauty.

    ¡°Let me look at these files one more time,¡± Sophie muttered to herself as she fiddled with hermunicator.

    Holographic windows soon projected outwards and Sophie could see the profiles of numerous handsome men and gorgeous women.

    She needed to memorise the names, houses, and factions of thousands of noble heirs before the meeting.

    Each profile contained the name, cultivation level and a brief description of any noticeable traits or personality ws.

    Of course, this information was only what was revealed to the public and it would not be surprising if these young heirs had hidden cards up their sleeves.

    It was fortunate that the gic upgrade that urred when advancing to a new cultivation realm would cause the memory and intelligence of a cultivator to improve.

    Sophie could now easily scan through the different profiles with minimum effort and still be able to recall the information clearly and urately.

    This was the first meeting between all the high nobles with at least the rank of duke.

    No one knew what to expect.

    Sophie intensely studied the characteristics of her potential allies or enemies.

    Duke Peterlor had helpfully grouped the data into different subsets based on the factions their houses were aligned with.

    The sheer number of different factions and alliances was almost dizzying.

    Humanity unlike most races of the universe were not unified as one and often fought for their own personal interests using their respective factions.

    Duke Peterlor had steadily been building awork of connections with the younger generation of nobles but most of those houses did not have a high rank.

    Only a handful of duke houses were openly in support of hybrid rights, but others had silently granted their support.

    The problem was that the main opposition faction to Duke Peterlor¡¯s campaign for equality was led by the Imperial Teacher.

    A man whose influence on the emperor could not be ignored.

    Sophie frowned as she saw three profiles in particr that her father had marked with a special danger warning under their names.

    Under no circumstances was she supposed to be alone or make contact with any of these noble heirs.

    The first was Viktor Devonshire who was known as the ¡®Blood Baron.¡¯

    A man with known ties to the ve trade and the ck-market.

    At one hundred and twenty years of age, his cultivation level had never quite matched his father who was now over three hundred years old and still going strong.

    But Viktor was a ruthless man whose love of bloody sadistic disys made him extremely dangerous.

    Raven Crook whose house was famous for creating one of the best information guilds in the entire Federation.

    There was even a rumor that no noblemen could even step out of their territories without the Crook family recording their every move.

    While members of this house generally stayed out of political affairs, Raven the future heir of the family was quite the active member in a radical faction that sought to extend the war with the Insectoid Empire.

    The final person on the list had the least amount of information disyed on her profile.

    All Sophie could see was the name and a blurry portrait.

    Allison Rosenberg.

    Sophie made a mental note of these three dangerous heirs to make sure that she avoided them at the meeting.

    It was not that she was scared but there was no need to engage in unnecessary conflict.

    Sophie was only eighteen years old and the majority of participants in the meeting would be several decades older than her.

    Hence their cultivation realm might easily surpass her own.

    Every duke house should have the resources required to turn their future head into a powerhouse in the Federation.

    Sophie reached for a ss of water on her nightstand and took a small sip while contemting if she made the right decision on the attitude she wanted to present.

    It wasn¡¯t that she had not taken etiquette sses as her father had made sure that only the best tutors entered the Peterlor estate.

    But there were several different ways she could present herself at the meeting¡­.

    She could be warm and friendly.

    How about cold and aloof?

    Or even sharp and twisted?

    That was the unfortunate part of being a member of high society.

    Everyone wore a mask that hid their true emotions beneath a smiling appearance.

    Trading sharp barbs under the disguise of civil conversations. Mocking and gossiping about those who stood out.

    Sophie pressed a button on the floating screen image and the holographic windows copsed back into hermunicator device.

    That was enough studying for the day.

    It was time to send some messages to her loving girlfriend that she was missing quite a bit.

    Sophie smiled happily as she scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she was looking for.

    She could not stop the small giggles from escaping her mouth as she saw the nickname Cleo had set for her.

    Step on me Queen: [Hey you up?]

    Step on me Queen: [I was thinking about you today¡­]

    Step on me Queen: [How long until your transport ship reaches Gaia?]

    Sophie sent a flurry of messages but apparently Cleo must have been offline as several minutes passed by with no reply.

    Well, this was not exactly a shocking event.

    There was naturally an enormous time zone difference between gxies even those next to each other.

    Sophie yawned sleepily and checked her other messages to see if anyone else was active. Astrid and Qiana¡¯s statuses were both set to ¡®do not disturb¡¯, but Luna was still online!

    Sophie was just about to send Luna an opening message when a small chat notification caught her attention.

    It was from a number that Sophie had not expected to ever hear from again. She could have sworn that this person had deleted her contact information years ago!

    Sophie truly felt mixed feelings about the sender of the message but eventually curiosity overcame trepidation and she clicked to open the chat window.

    Leona Braveheart: [Hi¡­. it has been a long time¡­.]

    Leona Braveheart: [Ipletely understand if you delete this message and never want to talk to me again]

    Leona Braveheart: [It¡¯s just¡­. I¡­. really want to call you]

 Chapter 223: Natural Born Queen

    Chapter 223: Natural Born Queen

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Mansion- Sophie¡¯s Bedroom)

    Now this was a bit of a surprise.

    Sophie did not expect to get a message from her former best friend.

    There was no great animosity between them now, but a small part of Sophie would never be able to fully forgive Leona for her betrayal.

    But maybe this unexpected message was for the best.

    She did not need to be close friends with Leona but as their fathers were part of the same noble faction¡­.

    It would be important that they at least maintained a decent rtionship.

    Sophie paused for a moment to think of what to say before sending a short message back.

    Having a face-to-face conversation would allow Sophie to at least have a decent understanding of what exactly was Leona¡¯s attitude towards herself.

    And what did she want¡­.

    Sophie Peterlor: [Let me get my VR helmet and I will meet you on the virtual]

    Leona Braveheart: [Okay¡­ yeah¡­ that¡¯s no problem]

    Sophie closed hermunicator and jumped off her bed to head towards herrge cupboard in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Where did I put this damn thing,¡± Sophie scowled as she took out the various items, she had bought during her first couple of weeks at Zrudread University.

    She hadn¡¯t even realised the sheer number of knickknacks, souvenirs and books that were in there.

    One could enter a virtual reality realm with the aid of a VR helmet, but Sophie had not used hers in a long time.

    She had just been too busy to spend time on VR games and it was easier to message her friends over themunicator rather than through virtual reality.

    ¡°There we go!¡± Sophie eximed in relief as she finally pulled out a sleek metallic helmet with a crescent moon logo on its back.

    It was thetest Hellion Model X-903 headgear by the Lucia Corporation who specialised in high quality gaming pods and VR helmets.

    This model boasted an impressive ny eight percent synchronisation with the user¡¯s brain waves and could send electric signals to the nervous system to mimic the five senses.

    Naturally, the price for one of these high-quality VR helmets was not low but money did not have any particr meaning to a wealthy noble family.

    Duke Peterlor could probably buy a majority stake in thepany without his finances being even the slightest bit affected.

    Sophie returned to her bed and ced the VR helmet slowly over her head until her entire face was covered.

    A stinging sensation was felt as the nerve cords connected to the sides of her temples, but this feeling quickly disappeared.

    Sophie could feel her consciousness slipping away and a great darkness was creeping up the corners of her vision.

    She blinked her eyes and found herself transported to an opulent fancy restaurant with expensive paintings lining the walls, a tinum floor and numerous android waiters patiently waiting for her to sit down.

    This was the default waiting room that Sophie had designed for meetings with acquaintances or those she was not close with.

    The VR helmet could connect to hermunicator, so Sophie send over the serial room number and password to Leona.

    Sophie had not modified her appearance so her image in the virtual world was identical to that in the real world.

    The only change she had made while waiting for Leona to arrive was to rece the nightdress she was currently wearing with an elegant ck evening gown that swayed gently as she moved.

    [Attention: A Guest Is Entering Room A-193829]

    [Do you permit entry?]

    [Yes] [No]

    Floating green text hovered in the air just above Sophie¡¯s head. She casually reached for the ¡®yes¡¯ option and pressed it lightly.

    A beam of light shone in the center of the restaurant with a dazzling glow. Sophie closed her eyes reflexively and when she opened them once more¡­.

    She found herself face to face with Leona Braveheart.

    It truly was strange.

    Instead of being reminded of the years of harsh words and the betrayal that cut her to her very core¡­.

    Sophie could not help but remember the little girl who woulde over every weekend to watch flowers with her.

    It was a simpler time.

    There were no whispers from the other noble children nor the dirty looks from their parents.

    It was just two girls who loved each other very much without knowing the harshness of society.

    Those days would never return but Sophie was not sad.

    There were simple too many blessings in her life.

    She had an awesome sexy girlfriend with an equally attractive personality.

    And the new friends she had made since the entrance exam never felt ashamed for having a close rtionship with a hybrid.

    At that moment, Sophie was able to put a small weight down in her heart.

    Her eyes when viewing Leona no longer had a trace of resentment but rather were calm.

    ¡°Shall we take a seat?¡± Sophie asked politely as she saw Leona fidgeting nervously without saying a word.

    ¡°Ye¡­ yes!¡± Leona stammered and hurriedly approached the chair opposite Sophie.

    ¡°She looks so different,¡± Leona could not help but mutter quietly to herself as she stared at the hybrid girl sitting across from her.

    Sophie had truly matured into a stunning young woman who would be the center of attention no matter where she went.

    Her curvaceous body and intimidating height of seven feet was abination that even made Leona¡¯s heart race.

    The pointed ears, four de-like appendages and golden eyes did not detract from her beauty but rather served to enhance it with an exotic air.

    But it was more than just her appearance.

    Sophie sat there on the chair with an aura of calmness and dignity that made one feel unworthy to even be in her presence.

    She was a natural born queen.

    Just as Leona was observing Sophie, she was also being watched in turn.

    Sophie nodded silently as she saw the lean muscr frame that hinted that her former friend had not been cking off training since qualifying for As University.

    Leona was wearing a simple red dress that contrasted nicely with her dark chocte skin and curly purple hair that cascaded down her shoulders.

    Sophie waved her right hand at one of the android waiters who brought over two cups of tea.

    The robotic man ced the white cups in front of both girls and then carefully poured a greenish-brown mixture from a pitcher.

    Sophie nodded once the cups were full and the robot retreated back into the background.

    Naturally, sensations such as taste could be mimicked in the virtual reality realm but there would always be something slightly off.

    Sophie hooked her pinky finger over the handle of the white cup and delicately brought the cup to her lips to take a small sip.

    She waited patiently for Leona to bring up the topic of the meeting, but it soon became clear that she was too anxious to speak.

    The atmosphere was getting a bit ufortable, so Sophie decided to bring out an icebreaker to cut the tension,

    ¡°So, how has university been?¡±

    Leona stumbled a bit but managed to get a decent reply out,

    ¡°I¡­ I took the sword cultivator major and the past month has been pretty uneventful. Most of the students were hosting parties but I have been training non-stop.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t made many friends but there is this one girl named Violet who has been keeping mepany during practice.¡±

    ¡°What noble house is she from?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    Judging from her past behaviour, Leona¡¯s newfound friend was probably some high noble heiress.

    ¡°No¡­.no¡­ she¡¯s amoner,¡± Leona quietly spoke.

    Sophie raised an eyebrow and gazed at Leona with an unknown emotion in her heart.

    Did she hear that right?

    Maybe Leona had changed.

    It wasn¡¯t enough for Sophie to forgive her, but she could tell that Leona was making an effort to be better.

    ¡°How about you?¡± Leona thought that the mood seemed strange after her admission, so she tried to toss back the question.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s been fairly uneventful,¡± Sophie leaned back on her chair and took another sip of tea.

    ¡°I double majored inbat pet and poison cultivation, so the workload has been pretty intense.¡±

    ¡°My girlfriend and I barely have time for ourselves.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t going to go into all the details about the events on Calypso, so Sophie just gave a vague summary of her experiences over thest few weeks.

    ¡°Girlfriend?¡± Leona picked up a strange point in Sophie¡¯s story and curiously asked a question.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m dating one of the royal princesses,¡± Sophie narrowed her eyes and spoke with a clear tone.

    She would never try to hide the fact that the one she loved was a woman.

    Sophie was gay?

    Leona froze in shock as she tried to process this startling new information.

    Homosexuality was not an inherently shocking matter as several species in the universe had unions with those of the same gender.

    Even in the time of Ancient Earth, it had been legal to wed those of the same gender in some cultures and civilisations.

    It wasn¡¯t even a problem if noble heirs liked those of the same gender as there were several advances in gic research.

    Now it was possible for those of the same sex to produce offsprings through thebination of DNA from both parents.

    It was just that Leona had no idea¡­.

    Leona tried to recall her memories of Sophie in high school or childhood but could not recall her former friend ever expressing in interest in girls.

    Subconsciously the knowledge that Sophie liked girls was causing strange thoughts to enter Leona¡¯s heart.

    The side profile of a certain girl shed across her mind¡­.

 Chapter 224: Preparation For The Banquet

    Chapter 224: Preparation For The Banquet

    (Virtual Reality Realm- Room A- 193829)

    Sophie could see that Leona had to take a few moments to process her frank admittance that she was now dating a princess.

    She waited patiently as Leona adjusted her thoughts and brought the conversation back to her original goal.

    ¡°Should we go to the meeting together?¡± Leona asked carefully.

    Sophie took another sip of tea and replied in an even tone,

    ¡°Yes. Our fathers are in the same faction, so we need to meet up with the other noble heirs that are aligned with us.¡±

    ¡°This meeting with the Emperor has an unknown purpose but the different noble families will definitely be taking note of the situation.¡±

    Why would an Emperor that had previously shown no interest in politics suddenly invite the most powerful families in the Federation to a royal banquet?

    Sophie was secretly a bit worried as she could vaguely sense that this meeting would definitely have a hidden purpose.

    ¡°I see,¡± Leona replied softly but was inwardly very happy that she would be apanying Sophie to the banquet.

    It would be a long road ahead to mend or maybe even restore their rtionship, but Leona was satisfied with the small progress so far.

    ¡°How many people do you think we can draw to our side?¡± Sophie ced down her cup gracefully and stared at Leona.

    ¡°Our fathers¡¯ faction only has four high nobles including themselves. I can probably get one of my friends from university to join our group during the banquet but that only means five people.¡±

    ¡°Why do we need arge group surrounding us?¡± Leona frowned with an expression of confusion.

    ¡°Image,¡± Sophie replied with a steely glint in her eye.

    ¡°No one knows why the meeting with the Emperor was initiated. Some say that the Imperial Teacher is behind it, but my father disagrees.¡±

    ¡°There is no political benefit to gather all the noble heirs of high families all in one ce.¡±

    ¡°Especially considering that it is unlikely that any new alliances will form as pre-existing ones are too steady.¡±

    ¡°But what does that have to do with image?¡± Leona asked curiously.

    Sophie leaned forward and her golden eyes narrowed sharply. There was a dark dangerous aura surrounding her body that made cold sweat appear on Leona¡¯s forehead.

    Leona could see the shadow of a proud indifferent queen in Sophie¡¯s posture and she had to resist the urge to kneel down and worship.

    ¡°I need to appear as the leader of a powerful up anding new faction. All eyes will probably be on me since I am the only hybrid heir to a duke family.¡±

    ¡°We can take that opportunity to advertise the strength and unity of our faction. The bigger we appear will also increase our attractiveness to noble families who have not picked a side yet.¡±

    Sophie did not want to take on a leadership role and would ideally just lurk in the background of the banquet.

    But she had no choice.

    There was no way that she would not draw attention to herself and this was the perfect chance to project an image of great strength.

    Duke Peterlor had beenpletely honest with his daughter about the difficult battle he was currently having with the Imperial Teacher and the Human Supremacy faction.

    The current situation was now a slim advantage for Duke Peterlor as Rokan¡¯s faction had managed to secure several key victories in parliament, but this situation could flip at any time.

    Most of the other noble families did not have strong opinions on the matter so both sides needed to appeal to the neutrals.

    Politics was a dangerous game where one¡¯s cultivation realm would not necessarily correspond to great influence or power.

    Still, Sophie was not going to lie to Luna about what showing up with her to the meeting would represent.

    It was beneath her to intentionally drag Luna¡¯s family into a political battle that they did not want to take part in.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think I can get three other girls to join our group but that is the limit,¡± Leona thought for a moment and then spoke.

    As University had the highest poption of nobles among the four great universities and Leona had maintained a decent rtionship with some of her peers.

    Three may seem like a small number but considering that in Duke Peterlor¡¯s faction there were only four noble heirs of high status¡­.

    It was quite the increase to the group.

    ¡°You were always better at making social connections,¡± Sophie smiled lightly as Leona looked down with reddened cheeks.

    ¡°But make sure that you don¡¯t lie to them. It would be another handle for our enemies to grasp if it became known that we tricked people to stand on our side during the banquet.¡±

    ¡°I may not be able to get them to join us then¡­. is that still okay?¡± Leona asked hesitantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Our original group number was enough but any other nobles who can stand on our side during the banquet would be a wee bonus,¡± came the swift reply.

    ¡°Did your father also tell you about those three nobles to avoid?¡± Sophie spoke in a strange tone as she scanned Leona¡¯s face.

    ¡°Viktor Devonshire, Raven Crook and Allison Rosenberg,¡± Leona rattled off the names with a serious expression.

    It was not that among the thousands of noble heirs that would be present at the banquet there was no one else other than those three to be wary of.

    They were simply the most dangerous of the bunch.

    Sophie did not want to start any unnecessary conflicts, but she was not going to let herself be wronged.

    Leona¡¯s father had the same level of information that Duke Peterlor had provided Sophie to read so there was nothing that she did not know already.

    Viktor Devonshire and Raven Crook were both easy to spot in a crowd as pictures of their faces were circted among the virtual Net.

    The only unknown factor would be Allison Rosenberg whose portrait had been intentionally wiped from all websites on the digital space.

    Even information guilds had not been able toe close to revealing her true appearance as she always wore facial changing masks in both public and private.

    Well, there was no use worrying about this now¡­

    Sophie turned the conversation towards the topic of dresses and gradually Leona started to rx, and the conversation flowed more smoothly.

    It was almost like the two girls had gone back in time to a more innocent past.

    The rest of the night was spent devising a n together to aplish the goal of leaving a good impression at the meeting.

    Hours passed by like a blur until the bleeping clock in the corner of Sophie¡¯s vision reminded her that it was time to sleep.

    Sophie got up from her chair, shook Leona¡¯s hand firmly and gazed into the eyes of her former friend.

    ¡°I look forward to our uing visit to the royal pce,¡± Sophie spoke in a steady tone.

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­ me too!¡± Leona stammered nervously.

 Chapter 225: The Predator Lurks

    Chapter 225: The Predator Lurks

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    It was a grand banquet the likes of which had never been seen before.

    Only a few times in the history of the Federation had the heirs to every single high noble family been gathered in the same ce.

    Those noble families with the status of duke had power that was only below the royal family, so they were capable of influencing the very core of the empire itself.

    It was for this reason that previous emperors had been very cautious when promoting noble houses and it would take a great aplishment to even have a chance to be granted a dukedom.

    But even still¡­.

    The Federation had been established for thousands of years and the human poption was now conservatively estimated to be in the trillions as the number of colonies ands controlled by the Federation increased drastically.

    From the original handful of noble houses at the start of the Federation who had the status of duke¡­

    The number now was well in the thousands.

    And it was only kept so low because the emperors of the past had purposefully restricted the number.

    The banquet held today would be inside the grand hall of the main pce where the majesty of the royal family was put on full disy.

    The floors were coated in a shiny whiteish- green metalloid imported from traders in the outer regions.

    This material had a minimum price of ten million Enas per pound and the supply was never enough for the demand.

    Statues of graceful phoenixes and majestic dragons towered over the heads of the guests inside the hall.

    World renown artists and sculptors had designed these sculptures to make them as life-like as possible.

    Several long tables wereid out along the sides of the room with delicacies and dishes prepared by the imperial chefs.

    Only the top quality and the freshest ingredients were allowed in the kitchen, so the standard was quite high.

    The various meat dishes, vegetable sds, rare jellies and seafood looked extremely appetising as these chefs were masters of their craft.

    Any ordinary person who even got a whiff of the delicious odouring from the food would be unable to stop themselves from drooling.

    There was an open area in the middle of the hall for dancing that was to be heldter in the evening.

    It had been only an hour since the start of the banquet and already the hall was upied by a vast sea of bodies.

    High ss mages had already cast spatial enchantments to expand the internal space of the hall so even with thousands of people present it did not feel crowded.

    Emperor Sisrelis had yet to arrive, so the golden throney empty on a raised tform overlooking the hall.

    No one knew when exactly the royal highness would be gracing these noble heirs with his presence, but many assumed that it would beter in the evening.

    asionally one would hear the cries of the pce attendants announcing the entrance of guests into the hall.

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Rosalina of House Farkin!¡±

    A noble girl with a fresh and youthful appearance entered the banquet hall while wearing a in white dress.

    She walked down the stairs with dignity and grace in order to leave a good impression in the minds of her fellow peers.

    Unfortunately, she thought too much.

    Certainly, at the start of the evening many were paying attention to new arrivals but after hundreds of people had entered¡­.

    The announcements by the pce attendant simple became background noise.

    There was a strange feeling present in the atmosphere of the banquet as no one took the initiative to actively socialise with those outside of their faction.

    Of course, that did not mean the noble heirs present weren¡¯t polite and respectful but there was a sense of distance in every interaction.

    (Rosalina Farkin¡¯s POV???)

    Rosalina walked down the stairs to the floor of the banquet hall and realised that no one was paying any sort of attention to her.

    What went wrong?

    She could still remember the words of advice that Duchess Farkin gave her before the banquet.

    In order to attract the attention of a male suitor, one needed to put on the appearance of a weak and delicate maiden.

    The noble girls present at the banquet were prideful and arrogant so any change in vour would draw some intrigue.

    Rosalina casually swept her eyes through the crowd and picked out several targets that seemed worthwhile to pursue.

    Even though everyone here was a high noble¡­.

    There were obvious differences between those whose families were on the rise in contrast to those whose houses showed signs of decline.

    It was not surprising.

    Over the course of the Federation, there were several prominent noble families that eventually disappeared after falling into less fortunate circumstances.

    Rosalina spotted an old acquaintance chatting merrily with a tall dark gentleman wearing a business suit.

    It was not the man¡¯s appearance that caught Rosalina¡¯s eye but rather the limited edition Experion watch strapped tightly to his waist.

    Jackpot.

    Rosalina adjusted her hair, so it swayed gently from side to side as she walked towards her acquaintance.

    ¡°Miss Eva. It is truly an honour and surprise to meet you here,¡± Rosalina smiled sweetly and bowed slightly towards the girl.

    ¡°Rosalina?¡± the noble girl raised an eyebrow with some confusion as she had never been particrly close to Rosalina.

    And in her memories, she could not recall Rosalina ever dressing so modestly before.

    Despite her doubts, the noble girl politely bowed as well and returned the greeting,

    ¡°It is an absolute pleasure to see you as well.¡±

    ¡°May I inquire who this gentleman is?¡± Rosalina continued to speak softly and showed a flushed face.

    There were traces of embarrassment in her cheeks as she blushed fiercely.

    She held her hands to her chest eagerly to portray an image of a lovestruck teenager.

    ¡°I am her fianc¨¦ Luke,¡± the man warmly smiled and replied.

    Immediately all the enthusiasm disappeared from Rosalina¡¯s face and her lovestruck appearance turned to one of casual indifference.

    She exchanged a few more words of pleasantries with the pair before excusing herself and walking towards the drinks section.

    ¡°Fuck. Why are the good ones always taken,¡± Rosalina scowled and muttered to herself.

    She had no interest in ying around with a man who already had someone else in his heart.

    It was simply too much drama.

    ¡°Let me get the strongest mix you have,¡± Rosalina ordered the servant working at the bar and the young man immediately handed her a ss full of a purplish liquid.

    Rosalina leaned back and swallowed the drink with one smooth gulp.

    No traces of drunkenness could be found even though the alcohol content in the purplish fluid wasbined with other liquids to produce a mixture that was enough to knock out a full-grown man.

    [Have enough fun ying around?]

    A voice suddenly transmitted in her ear, but Rosalina continued to order more sses to quench her thirst.

    [Don¡¯t forget the purpose of your mission. If you stop drinking for just one second, we can begin to put our ¡­.]

    The voice cut off immediately as Rosalina tore the earpiece from her ear with an irritated scowl.

    So noisy.

    Too loud.

    I¡¯ll kill himter.

    For a split second the look in Rosalina¡¯s eyes shifted from that of an innocent girl to a hungry predator lurking in the darkness.

    The aura around her body shifted as well but this change was so quick that not even the bartender noticed that the noble girl drinking shot after shot seemed a bit different.

 Chapter 226: The Most Beautiful Girl

    Chapter 226: The Most Beautiful Girl

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    Soft melodic music filled the air as the noble guests continued to mingle and exchange pleasantries with one another.

    The tables with tes upon tes of delicious foods and delicacies were surprisingly void of guests.

    It was considered impolite to feast wantonly in a noble banquet, so the food was more served as a decoration.

    Each guest wore high ss and luxurious items of clothing made from a variety of different materials found across the universe.

    Some dresses were made of artificial mes that burned gently to create a beautiful firestorm.

    While others wore bio-gic material which meant that their clothes were partially alive and there was even one gentleman adorned in the tribal outfit of a well-known space raider group.

    Everyone here might be human but there were vast cultural and physiological differences between those who lived in one gxy over another.

    Still, they could all converse using the standard tradenguage of the Earth Federation so there were no problems whenmunicating.

    Very few nobles travelled in groups as factions were generally led by high noble houses so most duke noble families would not be followers.

    Most of the groups formed in the hall were impromptu.

    That wasn¡¯t to say that there were no factions but the highest number of high nobles in a single group was ten.

    This honour belonged to the group associated with the Imperial Teacher and wasbined with the human supremacy faction.

    Even standing in a corner of the grand hall, these ten nobles were very conspicuous, and eyes would subtly nce at their location every once in awhile.

    This faction was led by Targon Goldmore. He was a striking man around two hundred years old and had dabbled in politics since he was a young teenager.

    While his cultivation level had stagnated in the qi tide stage, none would dare to underestimate his vicious forces hidden in the dark.

    The members of this group were currently in the middle of an intense discussion as the evening wore on.

    ¡°When will the Peterlor faction arrive?¡± a beautiful noble girl with light green hair asked curiously.

    ¡°Do you think they will dare to bring that abomination before his royal highness?¡± another boy in the group jeered.

    ¡°The emperor would cut that bitch¡¯s head straight off!¡±

    Targon said nothing as he casually sipped the wine held in his right hand and listened to the eager discussion.

    Truthfully, it would not be a lie to say that he was slightly interested in seeing the famous young miss of House Peterlor.

    It was simply ridiculous that a man with such a bright political future like Duke Peterlor would just throw it away for a hybrid offspring.

    God knows what kind of freak birthed that inhuman piece of shit.

    ¡°How should we deal with her if she shows up?¡± another member of the group asked.

    The other noble members of the group turned to Targon and noticed that he was standing with a quiet smile on his face.

    Targon recalled the information that was found on the hybrid girl and exined his n in a low tone,

    ¡°She should be flustered by all the eyes in the hall staring at her location. From the information gathered¡­. she should be nothing more than a na?ve eighteen-year-old girl.¡±

    ¡°We just need to publicly humiliate her until she no longer dares to show up in public.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Sophie¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Oh my god you look absolutely stunning!¡± Katarina squealed excitedly and hurriedly took out hermunicator to snap a few photos.

    ¡°Do I really look that good?¡± Sophie asked bemusedly as her loyal death guard kept frantically taking pictures.

    ¡°Young miss you are going to be the highlight of the banquet,¡± Katarina smiled proudly as she took a step back to admire the beauty before her eyes.

    Sophie¡¯s dress had been deliveredter than expected but luckily the other high nobles going with her had nned on arriving a few hours into the banquet.

    They would all meet at the Peterlor estate beforehand and then go to the banquet together.

    Luna had responded positively to Sophie¡¯s invitation and Leona had managed to get one of her friends to join the group as well.

    This meant that there were now six of them in total going to the banquet as a group.

    Poor Sophie had to spend three hours with a professional make-up artist specially invited by the Duke who usually worked on celebrities.

    Sophie was apparently a dream canvas to the make-up artist, so she was forced to sit down on a chair while undergoing an eternity with various brushes, toners, and lotions.

    It was one of the most tiring afternoons in her life!

    Fortunately, those hours did not go to waste and Sophie now resembled a goddess who had descended to the mortal realm.

    Sharp narrow phoenix eyes that seemed to draw in the soul of anyone who peered into their golden depths.

    A thin delicate nose rested gently above rosy full lips that looked extremely kissable.

    Her long ck hair gently swayed from side to side as she moved.

    Sophie¡¯s figure could only be described in one word¡­. gorgeous.

    Long slender legs, a curvaceous figure with two full twin peaks that overflowed with a demonic charm.

    And yet her casual air of nobility and indifference would not look out of ce on a queen.

    This was all without mentioning the dress that she currently wore that was made by the world-renowned fashion designer Adam Denver.

    The dress left the top of her shoulders bare, but this just put emphasis on the beautiful star-shaped amulet resting gently around Sophie¡¯s neck.

    It was a narrow fit that hugged Sophie¡¯s figure tightly and put-on full disy the magnificent body of the hybrid girl.

    Four holes had been specially weaved on the back of the dress to allow Sophie¡¯s de-like appendages tofortably slip through.

    The material of the dress was something that Sophie had never seen before.

    Somehow Adam had created a piece that shifted colours subtly from dark grey to ck while tiny specks of white that resembled stars would asionally sh with a stunning glow.

    Sophie had fallen in love with the dress at first nce and wearing the outfit made her feel very thrilled.

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°My little princess I¡¯ming in¡­.¡± Duke Peterlor entered Sophie¡¯s bedroom and froze in shock.

    The fierce warrior who had spent years on the blood-soaked battlefield found himself unable to speak.

    Sophie was the splitting image of her beautiful mother.

 Chapter 227: Showtime

    Chapter 227: Showtime

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall- Waiting Room)

    There were numerous side rooms and passages connected to the grand hall where the banquet was being held.

    Each noble entering the grand hall was the heir to a powerful family in the Federation so the pce attendants were required to make announcements for each one and treat them with the utmost respect.

    This did slow down the process to enter the hall, so these noble heirs were granted ess to the side rooms while they were waiting.

    These rooms were not ufortable by any means as they contained several lounge chairs, couches, refreshments, and tes of light snacks.

    A few hours has passed since the banquet had begun so the nobles waiting to enter the grand hall had significantly decreased.

    This was good news for Sophie and her group as they had arrived quitete due to a schedule mix up by one of the boys travelling with them.

    ¡°Are you all clear on your roles for the night?¡± Leona asked quietly as she checked hermunicator.

    ¡°Sophie will be in the center of our formation and we need to maintain a polite but distant attitude with the other nobles in the hall.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that doesn¡¯t seem like a problem,¡± a young boy no older than twelve cheerfully spoke up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too caught up in the details, the most important thing is to project an attitude of confidence,¡± Sophie leaned back against the chair she was sitting on and spoke.

    Luna smiled nervously and tucked her shaking hands in her pocket. She had never been to a noble gathering before and was quite happy when Sophie sent her a message.

    ¡°Look¡¯s like after that group goes in it will be our turn,¡± Sophie remarked as she noticed some noble heirs being escorted into the banquet hall by a pce attendant.

    Sophie was currently waiting patiently with the other nobles in her group. There were six of them in total and on the way to the pce, they had bonded quite a bit.

    There were two boys in the group and they both seemed pleasantly surprised to find another male to talk to.

    Chase Morechild was the second youngest of the group and his innocent child-like smile and sunshine demeaner made Sophie want to pamper him.

    Chase was the only son of Duke Morechild so despite his young age, he was forced to attend the banquet as the family¡¯s representative.

    Alexander Nighnd was around Sophie¡¯s age but had yet to take the university entrance exam, so he was still in high school.

    He was a tall,nky boy with skinny arms and legs that fit surprisingly well with his schrly image and intelligent aura.

    The girls in the group that Sophie was familiar with before the banquet were Leona Braveheart and Luna Valenburn.

    Leona was wearing a fiery red dress that highlighted her arrogant temperament while Luna had decided to wear a cerulean blue evening gown that matched her sapphire ne.

    Her first interaction with the remaining members of the group was a little bit awkward but Leona had managed to get the conversation going so soon that feeling melted away.

    ra Obsou had the appearance of a woman in her early thirties but the way she talked and behaved made Sophie suspect that she was much older.

    She tried to recall the information sheet that her father had given her before the banquet and soon her eyes subtly widened with shock.

    ra was over five hundred years old!

    Sophie made sure that the shock this news gave her was not visible on her face as she continued to make small talk with the mature woman.

    Lily ckait was only eight years old and was wearing an adorable pink princess outfitplete with a tiny crown on her head.

    Sophie hadpletely fallen in love with this precious girl, so she was currently holding the child on herp and ying with her hair.

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of¡­.¡±

    The pce attendant had finally reached thest members of the group that had gone ahead of them, so it was nearly time to make an entrance.

    The n was simple.

    Do not antagonise or fight with any nobles inside the hall but make sure to win any confrontations that might happen.

    It would be unthinkable for a physical brawl to ur in the royal pce and Sophie had never been afraid of any verbal spar.

    Unfortunately, she would not be able to use her special ability which was to curse like a drunken sailor.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t get over how beautiful you are in that dress,¡± Luna spoke softly as she gazed at Sophie with reddened cheeks.

    Luna waspletely straight but that did not prevent her from appreciating the great beauty before her eyes.

    Sophie¡¯s calm and indifferent temperament was something that could only be described as innate.

    The gorgeous narrow fit dress that shifted colours to mesmerizing hues could draw the attention of anyone who nced in her direction.

    Sophie smiled gently and replied, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Your dress is very pretty and suits you well.¡±

    ¡°Big sister what about me?!¡± came the sullen voice of Lily who was currently happily sitting on Sophie¡¯sp.

    ¡°You are the most adorable creature here,¡± Sophieughed and rubbed Lily¡¯s cheeks with her right palm.

    There was a warm atmosphere between the girls as they teased and yed with Lilly until the little girl chased them away angrily.

    ¡°Excuse me but it is time for your entrance,¡± a short man wearing the imperial pce ceremonial robes walked over with a humble attitude.

    He was clearly trained very well as there was not even a hint of surprise in his eyes when he realised that one of the noble girls was a hybrid.

    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll take Lily and you make sure to be in the center of us,¡± Leona picked up Lily in her arms and gestured for Sophie to take the lead.

    Sophie¡¯s warm demeanor immediately changed to a more serious one and she nodded back in affirmation.

    It was showtime.

 Chapter 228: White Lotus vs The Huntress

    Chapter 228: White Lotus vs The Huntress

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Sophie of House Peterlor.¡±

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Leona of House Braveheart.¡±

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Chase of House Morechild.¡±

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of¡­.¡±

    The series of introductions that came one after the other caused many of the participants in the grand hall to gradually take notice.

    Typically, each noble would enter the banquet by themselves unless they were part of a faction.

    But was there a faction with so many high nobles?

    This casual interest soon turned to shock as the pce attendant continued to shout out names until the total number reached six.

    Six may not seem like a high number but considering that the most popr faction attending the banquet only had ten members, it was a respectable count.

    All eyes turned to the towering wooden doors that would swing open to reveal the appearance of the nobles who were being announced.

    The pce attendant cleared his throat once he finished with the introductions and then carefully opened the wooden door.

    Sophie confidently stepped forward with a cold and indifferent expression on her face.

    She could see the looks of undisguised surprise appear in the eyes of the younger nobles and even some of the more mature ones.

    Every noble would have most likely done some prior research on the guests who would be attending the banquet.

    It was one thing to read a report that talked about Duke Peterlor deciding to name a hybrid as his heir, but it was another matter to see the beautiful and not fully human girl enter the room.

    The small traces of a smile appeared on Sophie¡¯s lip as she purposely extended the de-like appendages on her back outwards for all to see.

    There was no use in hiding her alien features, so the best option was to put them on full disy.

    Sophie¡¯s gorgeous dress sparkled under the dim light of the chandelier and the sparkling stars that were visible every time she made a small movement were simply memorizing.

    Adam had truly outdone himself.

    There were no shortage of rare and exotic materials that went into the construction of the outfits worn by the nobles in the banquet hall, but Sophie¡¯s evening gown was clearly a cut above the rest.

    She could hear some quiet footsteps behind her and soon Leona appeared with Lily safely held in her arms.

    Luna was looking a bit nervous as she followed ra¡¯s steady footsteps, but the older woman just held her hand and whispered some calming words.

    The two men in the group soon followed shortly after.

    Alexander¡¯s gentleman-like demeanor and aura of a weak schr contrasted sharply with Chase¡¯s lively and sunny personality.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears twitched slightly as she could hear some unttering gossip, but she paid it no mind.

    It was nothing that she hadn¡¯t heard before.

    Now it was time to put her n into y.

    Sophie raised her head upwards and confidently walked down the royal stairway with an aura of majesty that no dared to provoke.

    Her piercing golden eyes seemed particrly harsh as she stared directly at a group of nobles who were mocking her looks just a few moments earlier.

    Those nobles turned away with reddened faces as they could not withstand the pressure hidden just beneath Sophie¡¯s seemingly normal gaze.

    Her entourage easily slipped into the nned formation with Sophie in the center of the group and collecting all the attention.

    Lily wanted to dive into the arms of her beautiful big sister, but Leona held onto her firmly to prevent the little girl from making any trouble.

    There was an empty spot in the middle of the banquet hall, so Sophie made her way over in full view of the crowd.

    Her goal was not to bepletely cold and distant as one would still need towork during the banquet.

    To form a good rtionship with her fellow peers would mean an easier time for Duke Peterlor to expand his faction.

    ¡°Good evening, I am Sophie of House Peterlor.¡±

    Sophie politely nodded and raised her hand to perform the standard noble greeting to any young heirs that were in her path.

    Some replied favourably and returned the greeting while others pretended not to see it.

    Leona was much better at socialising than her and ra was an old monster who had lived for over five hundred years.

    With the help of the two of them giving out subtle hints, Sophie was able to converse freely with some of the nearby nobles and notmit any faux pas.

    However, Sophie breezed past those who ignored her without any trace of embarrassment on her face at the humiliation.

    This made these unpleasant heirs seem like clowns performing a show for no one.

    The walk to the open spot in the middle of the banquet hall took quite some time as Sophie made sure to leave a good impression on as many heirs as possible.

    The spot was directly under the dimly lit chandelier so when the artificial light hit Sophie and her entourage, they seemed like the most dazzling presence in the hall.

    Sophie closed her eyes briefly to steady herself before opening them once more and engaging in light conversation with Luna.

    Truthfully¡­. socialising was not her favourite pastime.

    Sophie would much rather be spending a rxing afternoon with Cleo on the couch and doing nothing.

    Dealing with these nobles who would easily wear a smile while hiding a dagger in their sleeves was extremely tiring.

    After they arrived at the spot, Sophie no longer sought out thepany of other noble heirs and waited for others to approach their faction first.

    It was okay to socialise briefly on the way to their area of the banquet hall but anything else would seem excessive.

    There was a fine bnce that had to be maintained.

    One had to establish connections and form social rtions, but they could not seem desperate to do so or all their hard work would be lost.

    Nobles were inherently arrogant and especially these proud sons and daughters of dukes and duchesses would not appreciate someone pestering them.

    A tiny part of Sophie was a bit worried that no one would approach them after several minutes passed by uneventfully.

    But her fears soon turned out to be unfounded as she heard a cheerful voice.

    ¡°Greeting Miss Sophie Peterlor. My name is Iv¡­. Rosalina Farkin,¡± a fragile and delicate noble girl smiled softly and performed the standard noble greeting.

    She had a fresh and youthful appearance that went well with her simple white dress that invoked a feeling of tenderness.

    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you missus Farkin,¡± Sophie narrowed her eyes slightly but returned the greeting.

    Rosalina was holding a winess full of purplish liquid in her hand and during the conversation she would continue to takerge sips.

    Seeing that someone had taken the lead, a steady stream of other noble heirs approached Sophie¡¯s group and begun to converse.

    Despite the Imperial Teacher and the Human Supremacy faction¡¯s best efforts, most of the noble ss held an indifferent view towards hybrids.

    They were just treated as a slightly more interesting subgroup ofmoners.

    Sophie could not tell what was making her feel unnerved as she listened carefully to Rosalina¡¯s funny stories about her time living in the outer regions.

    Her first impression of Rosalina was that this noble girl could conduct herself with dignity and grace but had an aura that made others want to protect her.

    It was this humble and subservient attitude that directly contrasted with the arrogant and independent nature of the other noble heirs.

    Sophie did not personally dislike this type of personality, but she was of the opinion that it was too dangerous in this cruel world to rely on otherspletely without having some strength of your own.

    As Rosalina continued to talk more and more about her childhood experiences, Sophie could not help but think that she described these events as if they urred to a stranger.

    Something was off about this seemingly innocent girl, but she just could not put her finger on it¡­¡­

    [Oh, this is interesting]

    Sophie flinched subconsciously as a cold ancient- sounding voice appeared in her mind and whispered in a dark tone.

    [She would make a worthy sacrifice]

 Chapter 229: The Huntress vs White Lotus

    Chapter 229: The Huntress vs White Lotus

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Rosalina Farkin¡¯s POV???)

    Interesting.

    That was the first word that came to mind when Rosalina saw the hybrid girl enter the room.

    Sophie Peterlor was not unknown to the other nobles in the banquet hall, but none had ever seen her in person before.

    She was ridiculously beautiful to the point where Rosalina had to resist the urge to gorge out her eyes and scar her face permanently.

    Sophie Peterlor was nothing more than a poisonous rose, but one could not help wanting to get closer despite the dangerous thorns surrounding her body.

    The winess full of alcohol in Rosalina¡¯s hand seemed particrly heavy as she gazed at the four de-like appendages with a meaningful look.

    Where had she seen those features before?

    No one knew who the mother of Duke Peterlor¡¯s heir was. There was nothing on what race/species she was.

    Many alien races had odd features and the vast number of lifeforms that could sessfully produce offsprings with humans were too numerous to count.

    Still Rosalina could recall a certain file that wasying on her desk back at the base with the details of a secret government project.

    The details of the experiments conducted in that hiddenb were closely gathered secrets but inevitably some things would leak out.

    There was a single photograph of an abomination created from a mix of human DNA and an alien race from what appeared to be the Insectoid Empire.

    The thing in the picture lookedpletely different from the stunning young woman who was gracefully walking through the hall.

    And yet¡­.

    Rosalina frowned invisibly and made a mental note to go back and review the files on the secret project more seriously.

    There may be a faint connection between House Peterlor and the body modification experiments being performed by the government.

    Although Rosalina may act like a drunken fool, all of her subordinates knew just how many lives she had to trample on to get to this position.

    There were originally four hundred sessors to the organization¡­.

    Now there was only one.

    Still there was no reason to pay too much attention to the Peterlor girl.

    The war between the Imperial Teacher and Duke Peterlor over hybrid rights was meaningless when considering the bigger picture.

    The Federation had stagnated and granting or taking away the rights of hybrid citizens would not change the overall situation.

    Centuries of ineptitude andck of ambition meant that the wars being fought were nothing more than small scale skirmishes.

    As much as the military advocated for more funds from the government¡­ no satisfying results had been produced.

    There was some hope when Rokan Peterlor took over the Imperial Army that progress would be made but then he selfishly decided to quit.

    Thest major expansion of territories had urred well before Rosalina had even been born and she had grown up on the stories of her great- grandfather who fought tooth and nail against the Insectoid scum.

    Those beasts were a disease that needed to be cured.

    Rosalina narrowed her eyes and watched as Sophie Peterlor took her entourage and made a high profile walk to the center of the hall.

    ¡°My goodness! The information my family bought really did tell the truth!¡±

    ¡°There goes the only hybrid heir to a dukedom.¡±

    ¡°She seems to be a bit taller than I expected¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you think her dress is lovely?¡±

    Soft whispers and murmurs fell into Rosalina¡¯s ears as it appeared as though some of her fellow nobles were still too young to hide their shock.

    Rosalina smirked and gave the hybrid girl a more appreciative look.

    This girl who was barely into adulthood could move withposure well beyond her age.

    Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

    If Sophie had entered the grand hall with timidity and froze under the spotlight of the judging stares¡­

    She would have never been able to mix into the social circles.

    But if she entered in a high-profile manner and became the center of attention purposefully¡­.

    It would be a sign of strength.

    ¡°Fuck I need another drink,¡± Rosalina whispered and tilted back her head to down the entire contents of her winess.

    She signalled for one of the nearby attendants to pass her another drink and thenzily walked to the center of the grand hall.

    There was a slight difort as she moved around as this body had only been prepared a few hours before the banquet begun.

    Rosalina hated that she couldn¡¯t use her full strength as a portion of her qi was constantly circting through the corpse.

    Sophie Peterlor was standing with the aura of a noble queen while the rest of her entourage surrounded her like loyal minsters.

    Or loyal dogs.

    Rosalina smiled faintly and approached the group.

    There was an important task to aplish at the banquet but there was nothing stopping her from having some fun along the way.

    For a brief second a dark and terrible abyss danced in her clear eyes before Rosalina blinked and her innocent persona was once more on full disy.

    Maybe if she were lucky that handsome guy with sses standing behind Sophie would be willing to apany her for a night of passion.

    Usually, she preferred thepany of tall burly men with rippling muscles but sometimes switching up her taste was a pleasant experience.

    Rosalina mentally shifted through the information in her head and remembered that his name was Alexander Nighnd.

    Good this one was single!

    Hiding her thoughts carefully, Rosalina carefully walked up to Sophie and performed the standard noble greeting gesture.

    Rosalina¡¯s right hand rose slowly into the air and then rested gently above her chest before she bowed calmly.

    ¡°Greeting Miss Sophie Peterlor. My name is Iv¡­¡± Rosalina spoke confidently but trailed off when she realised the mistake she almost made.

    Damn that was close!

    Ivana was the name of her previous shell just a few hours prior to this new body so Rosalina had idently slipped up.

    She bite her tongue and could taste the sweet tang of the metallic taste flooding the inside of her mouth.

    Nothing would rx her more than this familiar taste.

    ¡°¡­. Rosalina Farkin,¡± Rosalina finished her introduction smoothly.

    A few moments passed inplete silence as the hybrid girl stared at Rosalina with a strange look in her eyes.

    The golden colour of her pupils seemed especially bright as she scanned Rosalina¡¯s body without saying a word.

    Rosalina could not help but feel some confusion as this moment continued to stretch and Sophie Peterlor refused to acknowledge her presence.

    Was this to p her in the face?

    Why isn¡¯t she saying anything?

    The thought that maybe this young noble girl had seen through her disguise had not even crossed Rosalina¡¯s mind.

    This technique was not simply just changing one¡¯s appearance but rather stealing not only the body but the very essence and soul.

    The practitioner of technique was now truly Rosalina Farkin and her act would fool even the parents of the body.

    Not even a god stage cultivator would be able to see the true soul hidden inside the corpse.

    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you missus Farkin,¡± Sophie narrowed her eyes slightly but returned the greeting.

    Rosalinaughed quietly at her foolish thoughts once she heard Sophie begin to make small talk and exchange pleasantries.

    It seems as though she had been truly on edge thesest couple of missions.

    It was normal for some nobles to not answer immediately especially when they had to consider the attitude of their families.

    Rosalina cheerfully replied back and supplemented the conversation with some funny stories and jokes that broke the tension.

    She could not help the envious and hateful thoughts from shing across her mind as she imagined ripping apart this beautiful girl¡¯s body piece by piece.

    Little did Rosalina know that Sophie was also desperately trying not to sink her teeth into her neck and rip out a meaty chunk of flesh.

 Chapter 230: Encounter And Conflict

    Chapter 230: Encounter And Conflict

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    ¡°It is truly an honour to visit the royal pce. I n on thanking his royal highness for hosting such a magnificent banquet,¡± Sophie spoke politely while forcing the urges down.

    ¡°Yes, there were certainly no expenses spared. The wine in my hand for example is made from a special fruit only found in the Dagaon System,¡± Rosalina replied while taking a sip.

    Sophie had been stuck in this conversation for over five minutes with this strange noble girl but that was not the main issue.

    It was the voice in her head constantly telling her to kill.

    Sophie could feel the corners of her eyes start to itch and she casually tilted her winess to peek at her reflection.

    Just as she feared.

    There was a faint red colour spreading out from the corner of her eyes.

    It was a sign that her bloodlust state was being activated.

    Fuck.

    What to do?!

    Sophie frowned slightly as she could feel the de-like appendages on her back begin to stiffen and her fangs slowly extended.

    Worse case¡­ she would just leave the banquet.

    It would be considered rude and abrupt, but it was far better than attacking a fellow noble out of the blue.

    Sophie knew how crazy and out of control she got when her eyes turned fully red and it would be a devastating blow to the hybrid rights movement if she acted like a beast.

    That scene alone would be enough for the Imperial Teacher and his faction to sway many of the undecided nobles to his side.

    ¡°My family is from the Alpha Star System and we recently discovered some oritheium crystal mines,¡± Rosalina smiled pleasantly.

    ¡°Maybe we can negotiate some form of cooperation in the near future. My family is willing to offer you a ten percent discount.¡±

    ¡°I will let my father know,¡± Sophie nodded as she painfully dug her fingers into the palm of her hand.

    Thin droplets of blood formed where her nails pierced her soft flesh, but the unexpected sting was enough to bring about a brief moment of rity.

    Just as Sophie was about to stab her flesh even further, Rosalina bowed and said goodbye before turning around and walking towards Alexander.

    Thenky boy with a thin physique and a schrly aura was surprised to see a beautiful girl like Rosalina approach him.

    She politely began a conversation with him, and Sophie could see out of the corner of her vision that Alexander was blushing furiously.

    ¡°How innocent,¡± Sophie smiled as she saw the sight.

    There was no hatred between herself and Rosalina but due to the whispers of the hunter goddess in her mind, it would probably be best to stay away.

    Now that Rosalina had disappeared from her side, the voice in her head slowly faded away and her eyes returned to their typical golden hue.

    Seeing that the noble girl who had been upying Sophie¡¯s attention was gone, another noble heiress approached the hybrid girl to start up a conversation.

    Sophie had been well trained in etiquette and cultural sses since she was small as was the standard for all high nobles.

    It was annoying to speak in such a pompous tone and make small talk about surface level topics, but Sophie handled it well.

    The general emotional state of most nobles who came to talk to her seemed to be a mix of both curiosity and fascination.

    There were a few with more malicious intentions but Sophie handled them with dignity and grace that only strengthened her image.

    Sophie was able to talk about the recent political affairs of the Federation, the economic situation in the various gxies and even some of her father¡¯s new trade deals.

    This information had been carefully memorised before the banquet had begun and due to the fact that she was now in the qi tide stage, her memory would never fail her.

    Some of the noble heirs who she met were even people she would consider hanging out with in the future after the banquet ended.

    A noble girl named Jasmine Silvermore was quite a delight to interact with as her family-owned B.Y.T entertainment.

    It was thepany that made all the love dog blood dramas that Moon loved to watch so Sophie was a bit familiar with their work.

    There was also a noble boy called Arthur Hoplins whose family operated thergestbat beast pet breeding farm in the Federation.

    Sophie was surprised at how just knowledgeable the boy around her age was and she casually asked him a few questions about Moon.

    Arthur was surprised and at first, he didn¡¯t believe Sophie description of the Frostwing bat as he had never heard of a pet from that species developing its ability so early.

    It was only after Sophie pulled out hermunicator and sent him some videos that Arthur realised what a treasure the hybrid girl possessed.

    Even within the same tier, hybrid beasts who developed their abilities early would definitely have the greatest potential.

    Add on to the fact that Moon was a legendary ssbat beast pet and Arthur could not help but give Sophie another look.

    Beast cultivators would gain enormous benefits from the blood bond and their cultivation would be unusually stable as their pet increased its rank.

    This was due to the blood bond that connected both the cultivator and the beast on the soul level.

    Arthur was fascinating to talk to, and Sophie even managed to get two tickets to visit his breeding farm whenever she had time.

    She nned on taking Cleo to have a romantic trip. The princess deserved to be loved and pampered.

    Sophie sighed lightly as she missed having her girlfriend around.

    After Arthur left, there were a string of other noble girls and boys, but Sophie just found them arrogant and boring.

    It was hard to bond over a topic when most people just made light conversation that revolved around the same surface level topics.

    Sophie continued to maintain her polite but distant attitude and her image in the minds of the other nobles in the grand hall had now stabilised.

    It helped that she was in the center of the room and the dim light from the chandelier shone on her face and highlighted her group.

    Sophie was now the center of attention.

    She had just finished talking with a boring middle-aged man with a plump belly when she noticed that the atmosphere of the banquet had gone strangely silent.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as she saw a group of ten nobles approaching her location with polite smiles.

    Each of the faces walking calmly towards Sophie had been in the information files that her father had told her to read.

    But it was not good news¡­.

    They were all part of The Human Supremacy Faction.

 Chapter 231: The Predator Shows Her Fangs

    Chapter 231: The Predator Shows Her Fangs

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    Ten high nobles.

    It was truly an absurd number to join together in one faction.

    Of course, this was just a testament to the political power that the Imperial Teachermanded.

    An emperor who disyed no signs of ever wanting to get involved in the day-to-day operations of the Federation had created a power vacuum.

    And the Imperial Teacher who acted as his right-hand minister had filled this vacuum with his own authority and now there were few nobles who wanted to oppose him.

    Sophie sneered inwardly as she saw the mockery and arrogance hidden behind the eyes of the noble heirs approaching her group.

    There was an underlying hint of disgust in the expressions of some as they intentionally nced at her de-like appendages and then whispered among themselves.

    The atmosphere in the grand hall had frozen over and the tension in the air was so thick that one could cut it with a knife.

    Everyone was waiting eagerly to see just how this meeting would unfold and there were several neutral parties who were watching with great interest.

    It was no secret that the Imperial Teacher and Duke Peterlor¡¯s factions had been battling fiercely in the parliament.

    Would this battle extend to the next generation?

    Maybe if Duke Peterlor¡¯s heir was a normal human then there was a slim chance¡­

    But that madman had openly dered his hybrid daughter as the heir to one of the most powerful dukedoms in the Federation.

    Now there was no chance of reconciliation between the two factions especially considering the Imperial Teacher¡¯s belief in the Human Supremacy ideology.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed, and a faint trace of bloodlust rose up just beneath the surface of her calm exterior.

    Duke Peterlor had chosen her.

    Did these arrogant nobles truly believe that their harsh words and stares would affect her?

    She was the only daughter of the youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation!

    ¡°Miss Sophie Peterlor I presume?¡± an elderly man with a thick crop of white hair approached the hybrid girl with a shallow smile.

    The rest of the nobles behind him also followed suit but none offered any form of greetings and were content to stay in the background.

    Sophie knew the names of every one of them from the information files that her father had made her read before the gathering.

    Ewan Bell, Kairo Richardson, Alexa Walker, Megan Dixon¡­.

    They were all from prominent noble families whose various businesses and industries spanned several gxies.

    There was an aura of arrogance and nobility that seemed to be engrained into every fibre of their being.

    It was a characteristic that could have only been cultivated from years of being ced on a pedestal above the masses.

    Sophie had to admit that she held a mild appreciation for the expensive clothing that they wore to the banquet.

    Graceful dresses made from a silk-like material that flowed naturally with every step, luxurious gems and jewels that sparkled mesmerizingly under the light of the chandelier and tailor fitted ck jackets with embedded gold links.

    And the man who greeted her was¡­

    Targon Goldmore.

    A man over two hundred years old but his cultivation level was not particrly high, so his body suffered from the ravages of time.

    Qi tide cultivators could only live for about three hundred years, so he was approaching the twilight era of his life.

    He was in the same cultivation stage as Sophie was, and she knew from the information in her mind that he had been stuck for decades now with little to no progress.

    Cultivation resources could only do so much and to advance from the qi tide stage to the void stage and beyond relied heavily on talent.

    No number of gic serums or rare herbs would be able to allow someone to forcefully cross that threshold.

    ¡°Mr. Goldmore your great reputation proceeds you,¡± Sophie smiled politely and raised her winess.

    ¡°To what do I owe this unexpected encounter?¡±

    ¡°Why I could not believe my eyes when I saw you enter the room,¡± Targon replied with a backwards nce at hispanions.

    ¡°There are not as many nobles as¡­ unique as yourself.¡±

    ¡°I was caught by surprise and my first thought was that perhaps a pce servant had stolen the clothing of a nobleman.¡±

    Targon finished his sentence with a faint hint of mockery but Sophie continued to smile unaffected and smoothly responded,

    ¡°Well, that must mean that your information channels must be sorelycking for my presence toe as a shock.¡±

    ¡°I was told that Mr. Goldmore was feared for his great spywork that spanned the Federation, but that rumor must clearly be overblown.¡±

    ¡°It is a real pity. I mean with your poor cultivation talent¡­. that spywork is really the only thing you have to be proud of.¡±

    Sophie giggled softly but her words were like sharp knifes that pierced the heart of the older man standing before her.

    That was his inverse scale.

    Targon could feel a hot wave of anger bubbling up as the hybrid girl leaned back and took another casual sip of wine after she humiliated him in front of all the watching nobles.

    Despite the strength of his subordinates, it was an unfortunate truth that Targon himself was sorelycking whenpared to the other heirs of high noble houses.

    It was just that no one had ever told him that to his face before.

    Why was this happening?!

    All the prior research on Sophie¡¯s past had revealed that the girl had spent years being relentlessly humiliated and bullied at school.

    She should have developed an inferiorityplex over her hybrid appearance.

    Targon was secretly shaken but years of training allowed his face to only reveal a hint of his rage.

    ¡°Miss Peterlor is truly¡­.¡± he raised a winess and began to speak when a few nobles in his faction decided to chime in.

    ¡°You dare to insult him?!¡±

    ¡°A mere hybrid girl like you doesn¡¯t deserve to be invited to the royal pce!¡±

    ¡°It is ridiculous that you can be the heir to a high noble family!¡±

    Abuse and harsh words were yelled one after another at the beautiful girl standing with aposed expression.

    Not to be outdone, Leona and the rest of Sophie¡¯s group also begun to fire back harsh words of their own and soon a battlefield had formed in the center of the hall.

    ¡°What are these idiots doing?¡± Targon whispered to himself in annoyance. The original n was to be graceful and defeat the Peterlor heiress in a calm andposed manner.

    Arguing loudly would ruin their images and turn away potential allies for both sides.

    But the fact that the Human Supremacy Faction were the aggressors would cause them to take the most me.

    ¡°Shut up! Do you want me to lose face in the presence of all the high nobles?¡± Targon roared at the members of his faction.

    There was a stunned silence and Targon immediately regretted the tone that he had used.

    He was clearly still affected by the hybrid girl¡¯s taunting words about hisck of cultivation talent.

    Yelling at his own faction would just greatly affect their unity and image in the eyes of the surrounding nobles.

    He could already tell that there was a faint hint of rejection in the gazes of some of the neutral bystanders watching the confrontation.

    ¡°Miss Peterlor. Perhaps we can continue the conversation in a more peaceful manner,¡± Targon turned around and met Sophie¡¯s golden eyes.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Targon was suddenly forced to take a step back as beads of sweat ran down his back and his legs trembled slightly in fear.

    For a split second¡­.

    He could have sworn that a ravenous predator was staring right at him.

 Chapter 232: The Emperor Strikes Back!

    Chapter 232: The Emperor Strikes Back!

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    ¡°Oops¡­ it seems like I lost control for a second,¡± Sophie muttered to herself as she saw the shivering figure of the arrogant nobleman.

    Well, it was hard to keep her emotions under check when dealing with such insufferable morons, so this loss of control was understandable.

    ¡°Mr. Goldmore it appears that this conversation has turned rather vtile,¡± Sophie grinned slightly and bared her fangs.

    ¡°I understand that it may be the first time that many of yourpanions have been in the presence of other high nobles¡­.¡±

    ¡°But perhaps your side should take a step back to avoid making a scene in the imperial pce.¡±

    This was the perfect opportunity to shoot another verbal knife at her opponent.

    Her statement may seem innocent enough but the words heavily implied that it was Targon¡¯s faction that was solely responsible for the confrontation.

    Of course, this altercation would have little to no effect on the ongoing political battles happening in parliament¡­

    But if Sophie could improve the image of her father¡¯s faction in the eyes of the neutral nobles then it would be a sessful night.

    Targon furrowed his brows and collected himself as he saw the smirk on the hybrid girl¡¯s face.

    He had always heard of the saying that having a dangerous enemy was better than having a pig teammate, and it appeared that this saying was true after all.

    Thanks to those useless noble heirs in his entourage shouting off harsh words like some low-ssmoners, his face had beenpletely lost at the banquet.

    Part of it had to do with underestimating the hybrid girl but under no circumstances should his faction have been the ones to start a confrontation.

    ¡°Miss Peterlor is correct,¡± Targon raised his hand silently and the shot a harsh look towards the unsatisfied nobles behind him.

    ¡°It would bepletely inappropriate to escte this situation especially when his excellency will be gracing us with his presenceter.¡±

    Now that Targon had calmed himself down, he first dealt with the situation by deescting it smoothly and restoring his image of an exemry gentleman.

    He bowed politely towards the Peterlor heiress and then turned around to walk away with the rest of his group.

    Sophie watched them leave with their eyes showing traces of hesitation and anger at being outsmarted by a lowly hybrid like herself.

    But before Targon melted away into the crowd, he had onest parting shot to fire off,

    ¡°Do send my regards to your father¡­. he must be extremely tired having to deal with the unexpected problems popping up in his territories.¡±

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as the fearsome pressureing off her body made small cracks appear on the ground beneath her feet.

    Her father had not mentioned having any troubles with the territories under his control so she would have to grill him fiercely once the banquet ended.

    Sophie was not foolish enough to fully disy her agitation, so the newfound pressure vanished almost immediately, and no one noticed the tiny cracks on the floor of the grand hall.

    There was a momentarily lull in the noise of the grand hall until the two rival factions fully separated.

    Many nobles eagerly talked about the confrontation and some were hedging bets on which side would be victorious.

    There was almost an air of bemusement in their tones as if they regarded the confrontation as nothing more than some drama to watch.

    Their attitude was actually quite understandable.

    The battle between the Imperial Teacher and Duke Peterlor had already reached to the point of a shadowy war but it had not escted to a blood feud.

    When a blood feud was dered¡­.

    It would only end when one side¡¯s entire lineage was annihted.

    Very few times in the history of the Federation had a blood feud ever been dered and each blood feud had almost caused a civil war as high noble houses were forced to pick a side.

    ¡°God those guys were just such a group of pompous pricks!¡± Luna scowled and secretly clenched her hand into a fist.

    She was very upset that those assholes had decided to try to bully the only friend that she had made in university.

    Leona had a better grasp of the situation and spoke with a clear analysis of the situation,

    ¡°It was only so easy to deal with them because they weren¡¯t expecting you to be so collected and prepared.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but hopefully after this banquet I won¡¯t have to ever see them again for several decades,¡± Sophie took a sip of wine andughed.

    The universe was infinitelyrge and most disputes between high nobles came to an end because of the vast distance between territories.

    Sophie would only need to encounter them again if she became a member of parliament but that would only happened when her dad retired.

    And considering that Duke Peterlor was in histe forties and a god stage cultivator, it would be a very long time before Sophie became the next duchess.

    Hopefully, the emperor would never again hold one of these banquets so she could simply just ignore the nobles in the Human Supremacy Faction.

    Sophie closed her eyes and put all those negative thoughts in the back of her mind.

    No more nobles came up to greet them as the confrontation had scared away some of the curious onlookers in the room.

    Who would want to be implicated in a battle between two of the most powerful factions in the Federation.

    Sophie took this brief moment of respite to enjoy the sights and sounds of the banquet. It truly deserved to be called a grand feast for the upper ss in the Federation.

    Every painting, sculpture, statue, and artwork carefully ced around the grand hall was a priceless treasure.

    ssical music using some of the instruments from civilisations across the gxies were gently ringing in her ear.

    There was a noticeableck of any sound that was familiar from Sui Meng¡¯s memory that Sophie could recall.

    Nothing even resembled the music that used to y from music instruments during the ancient Earth times.

    This wasn¡¯t surprising because when humanity had returned to Earth, the only traces of civilisation were ancient ruins and the stics manufactured that had yet to fully break down.

    (Ten minutester)

    Sophie was now holding eight-year-old Lily ckait in her arms and swaying from side to side in tune with the music.

    Lily wasughing happily as the kind big sister swung her around the dance floor with a graceful gait and posture.

    Their happiness was cut short by a loud shriek that pierced through the background noise of the chattering nobles.

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Emperor Sisrelis!¡±

 Chapter 233: That Was A Punishment?

    Chapter 233: That Was A Punishment?

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of Emperor Sisrelis!¡±

    The pce attendant repeated the announcement a second time as all eyes in the room turned towards the entrance doors.

    Sophie was also curious about the infamous wastrel emperor who was more interested in the sweet taste of wine and ying around with beauties than governing the Federation.

    It was also a first look at Cleo¡¯s dad although she was sure that her girlfriend had little contact with the emperor when growing up.

    With the thousands of royal princes and princesses birthed from the emperor¡¯s lusty exploits, it was inevitable that the emperor would not have enough time to bond with all of them.

    Actually, ording to some rumors and gossip reports, he had never even bothered to interact with any of them.

    The golden doors were carefully opened by two shivering pce attendants dressed in the imperial colours of red and gold.

    Arge man strolled into the room as the musicians in the grand hall started to y the national anthem of the Federation.

    All nobles in the room respectfully kneeled and shouted out,

    ¡°We greet the emperor!¡±

    ¡°Long live his majesty!¡±

    Sophie also gracefully kneeled and then turned her head upwards to get a glimpse of the emperor¡¯s appearance.

    Emperor Sisrelis was a heavy-set man with arge belly that jutted slightly out of his dragon robes.

    His real age was somewhere in the realm of hundreds of years old but with the help of a cultivation technique, he looked no more than thirty.

    His eyes had dark shadows beneath them and his overall demeaner was one of exhaustion and tiredness.

    ck, oily hair drooped over a round, plump face that contained narrow blue eyes that seemed muddled and confused.

    He also had arge beard that covered the bottom half of his face that was well groomed and maintained.

    Despite these ws, there was no denying that the emperor was a handsome man and Sophie could see why the imperial family were praised for their looks.

    ¡°All rise,¡± Emperor Sisrelis raised his hand casually and the nobles in the room got up from the floor.

    Sophie quickly resumed a standing position and quietly signaled for the rest of her group to disappear into a hidden corner.

    The atmosphere was unusually tense, and no one resumed their prior conversations as they waited to see what the emperor wanted to do.

    This was the first meeting where all the high noble heirs were required to attend so no one was sure about what was going to happen.

    Even the nobles in the Imperial Teacher¡¯s faction were also left in the dark.

    The emperor shook his dragon robezily and then strolled towards the raised tform in the back of the grand hall.

    He was apanied by dozens of beautiful maid servants and several older pce attendants to serve his every whim.

    Thisrge group walked straight through the crowd of nobles with ease as anyone near the emperor moved to the side.

    Emperor Sisrelis could not help but grin lustily as he saw the beautiful high-ssdies who had gathered from across the gxy.

    From busty older women with feminine charms to youthful flowers who had yet to experience the harshness of life.

    The emperor was pleased with the view.

    Of course, he had to keep those thoughts to himself as thesedies had dangerous powers standing behind them.

    ¡°Where is that hybrid girl the Imperial Teacher alwaysins about?¡± Emperor Sisrelis muttered to himself.

    He looked around curiously, but Sophie had already brought her group to a secluded corner of the hall, so the emperor did not see them.

    Being the center of attention was only the first part of the n for the evening as it was important not topete with the emperor¡¯s spotlight.

    Duke Peterlor knew what kind of man the emperor was and told his daughter not to attract his favour.

    Sophie agreed and fortunately there were thousands of high nobles present in the grand hall, so she was able to sessfully blend into the background.

    ¡°Oh well¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the emperor whispered as he couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of the hybrid girl.

    The only emotion he had towards the Peterlor heiress was casual curiosity, so it didn¡¯t matter if he saw her or not.

    There was a magnificent throne forged out of star dust on the raised tform and the emperor sat down with great majesty.

    This throne had been in the Imperial Family for generations and the craftsmen were from a race called the Xeriana who were experts at creating high ss items.

    All their artistic pieces were incredibly valuable, and this perceived value only increased when their race was entirely wiped out due to a gctic war that broke out in the Nova Sector.

    Emperor Sisrelis sat on the throne and beckoned towards two of his maidservants who immediately walked towards him.

    He held one beauty in his right arm and another in his left arm.

    In front of all the nobles in the grand hall, the emperor started to fondle their breasts causing the maidservants to moan coquettishly.

    Everyone in the room pretended not to notice and Sophie turned Lily around so she wouldn¡¯t have to see this shameful disy.

    There was arge pir holding up the ceiling right next to their hiding spot, so Sophie motioned for the group to go behind the pir.

    This new location was out of the emperor¡¯s direct line of sight.

    The music in the grand hall shifted to a more upbeat and ssical form as if to hopefully distract the crowd from what was happening on the raised tform.

    The emperor was still on the throne but the maidservants in his arms were now partially undressed and Sophie could see four snowy-white peaks clearly visible.

    Conversations had uneasily begun once more as most of the nobles in the room tactfully ignored what was going on the raised tform.

    Still there were some curious eyes that could not help peeking at the emperor asionally.

    ¡°Big sister what was the emperor doing with those two servants?¡± Lily asked with a puzzled expression.

    ¡°He was punishing them because they were doing something bad,¡± Sophie hurriedly came up with an exnation.

    ¡°That was a punishment?¡± Lily continued to ask but Sophie managed to distract the innocent girl with some funny videos on hermunicator.

    Soon the eight-year-old girl hadpletely forgotten about the strange deeds of the emperor and luckily the music in the hall drowned out the pleasured moans of the maidservants.

 Chapter 234: The Beginning Of The End....

    Chapter 234: The Beginning Of The End¡­.

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    ¡°Bring me another cup of wine!¡± came the thunderous roar from the throne.

    There was a stunned silence in the room as the emperor downed another ss of wine and then proceeded to tear off the clothes of his two maids.

    The two busty voluptuous women moaned in surprise at the unexpected attack which caused the king to touch them more vigorously.

    It was truly a wretched sight.

    Sophie frowned inwardly as she saw the scene of a once respected prince wearing the imperial dragon robes while acting like a drunken fool.

    She was not the only one who viewed the emperor¡¯s actions aspletely inappropriate as many nobles in the grand hall were no longer looking at the emperor with even a hint of respect.

    Lily and Chase were both young children and Sophie did not want them to see what was happening on the raised tform.

    Luckily, her spatial storage device contained a few virtual helmets, so she ced them on the heads of the two children.

    She connected the headsets to hermunicator and yed a recently created action cartoon that was quite popr with young kids.

    This was an extreme breach of etiquette, but no one was paying attention to Sophie¡¯s group hidden behind a pir, so it was not a problem.

    ¡°He truly is nothing like his father,¡± Leona narrowed her eyes and stared at the emperor.

    ¡°Yeah¡­.¡± Sophie whispered back but did not say anything more.

    This was the center of the Imperial Pce and it was an absolute certainty that there were shadow guards hidden around theplex.

    Duke Peterlor had warned his daughter to be careful about what she said in the pce as you never knew who could be listening.

    The musicians in the grand hall continued to awkwardly y cheerful lighthearted sounds, but the atmosphere of the banquet had now beenpletely ruined.

    Several pce attendants nced away in shame and there was a noticeable sense of dread and tension hidden in the eyes of the remaining maidservants.

    Very few could withstand the humiliation of being stripped naked and sexually groped in front of thousands of people.

    ¡°More wine! More wine! More wine!¡± the emperor bellowed in rage and waved his pudgy arms around in the air.

    The pce attendants hurriedly walked forward with full sses in hand, but the emperor just kept downing one drink after another.

    Emperor Sisrelis¡¯ deep blue eyes started to get more muddled and his posture became unsteady as he swayed lightly from side to side.

    His ck, oily hair that drooped messily over his round, plump face would constantly tickle the faces of the maidservants sitting on hisp.

    Sophie maintained an expressionless appearance during this entire farce but secretly could not help butpare the emperor to Cleo.

    How could such a wretched and lusty man ever produce a daughter as lovely as her girlfriend?

    Truly this was a good case of an apple falling far away from the tree.

    Sophie would have instantly broken up with her girlfriend had she even dared to mention seeking out a harem of ten thousand beauties.

    Love is selfish and Sophie did not like to share.

    Still as the evening continued to go on and the emperor got more and more drunk, Sophie could not help but get slightly confused.

    What was the point of this banquet?

    The emperor for the first time in hundreds of years had gathered all the high noble heirs in one location to hold a meeting.

    And yet when Emperor Sisrelis did arrive, he just reinforced his image of a drunken fool not fit to be a leader.

    What was the purpose?

    Emperor Sisrelis already had a poor image in the minds of most nobles and behaviour like this would just worsen his reputation.

    Sophie clutched her chest in pain as she felt a sudden sharp spike in her danger sense.

    Something was going to happen¡­

    The emperor had already dismissed his two maidservants and was now focused entirely on drinking, so Sophie took this opportunity to remove the VR helmets from Chase and Lily.

    ¡°But it was just getting to the good part,¡± Chase sulked and tried to grab the helmet back.

    ¡°Big sister! The movie didn¡¯t finish yet!¡± Lily pouted andined but Sophie just smiled gently and continued to be alert.

    No one knew why the emperor had called for this banquet but if Sophie looked at the situation from an outsider¡¯s perspective.

    Something just wasn¡¯t right¡­.

    Where was the threating from?

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed sharply, and the surrounding area was instantly magnified in her vision.

    She could even see the microscopic hair growing on the arms of the nobles standing right in front of her group.

    ¡°On my signal grab Chase and I will take Lily,¡± Sophie turned to Leona and sent out a voice transmission using a qi technique.

    ¡°Pass on the message to the rest of the group but make sure you do it discreetly.¡±

    ¡°Why? Is something the matter?¡± Leona frowned as she saw the serious look on Sophie¡¯s face.

    ¡°Just trust me. I think there is a problem with the banquet,¡± Sophie replied.

    Leona did not understand why Sophie thought that there would be an issue when the Imperial Pce was defended by one cultivator in the Ascension Stage in addition to numerous other royal guards, but she still dutifully passed on the message.

    The dim light of the chandelier seemed brighter than ever before as thest rays of sunlight faded away and nighttime begun.

    The roof of the grand hall was made from a transparent ss-like substance so that guests could see the view unimpeded.

    Lily and Chase were getting a bit hungry, so Sophie sneakily passed them two nutrient vials that she had brought into the banquet hall.

    The tables of food were on the opposite side of the hall and Sophie did not want their movements to attract the emperor¡¯s attention.

    She continued to scan the surrounding area, but nothing seemed suspicious.

    Sophie even took a cursory nce towards the floor and ceiling but did not receive even the slightest clue.

    Emperor Sisrelis belched loudly as he finished another ss of wine and unsteadily rose up from the throne.

    Two pce attendants hurriedly stepped forward to hold the emperor upright to ensure that his highness would not fall down.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ have a promation to make,¡± Emperor Sisrelis slurred slightly as the strong alcohol served at the banquet had obviously gotten him drunk.

    All the nobles in the room paused their conversations and waited patiently for what the emperor was about to announce.

    Sophie also stopped looking around and focused her attention on the emperor¡­.

    But the danger feeling only continued to get stronger and stronger.

 Chapter 235: The Emperors Final Performance

    Chapter 235: The Emperor''s Final Performance

    Gaia- Imperial Pce)

    (Grand Hall)

    Why did her instincts keep ring up?

    Sophie nervously bit her lip while focusing her full attention on the drunken figure of the emperor unsteadily swaying from side to side on the raised tform.

    She had already checked the entire room for any possible threat, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

    ¡°The¡­ the royal¡­ what was I saying again?¡± Emperor Sisrelis asked with some confusion in his voice.

    The pce attendants who were supporting the emperor by keeping his body upright looked down at the floor so they would not have to see this shameful disy.

    No one dared tough at the emperor, but several noble heirs were watching this absurdity with derision in their eyes.

    ¡°Get your hands away from me¡­ you¡­ you¡­ sons of bitches!¡± Emperor Sisrelis roared and suddenly threw off the two attendants helping him.

    Boom!

    With an earthshattering crash, the two men flew into the walls of the grand hall and became broken piles of flesh.

    Dead silence.

    Despite his wretched exterior, the emperor was still a cultivator in the void stage and his strength was not to be underestimated.

    How could a man who survived the bloody battle for the throne be without any great fighting skills or power.

    The corpses of the two men were collected by shadowy figures who appeared from out of thin air.

    Sophie watched the royal guards vanish from the room with the bodies in hand without making a single sound.

    Even with her golden eyes trained on their movements, she could only get a blurry glimpse of their figures before they vanished.

    The royal guards in charge of the emperor¡¯s safety had cultivation levels much higher than her own so just getting a glimpse of their movements was impressive.

    Emperor Sisrelis was now gleefully waving his pudgy hands in the air like a child while swaying unsteadily.

    None of the remaining pce attendants were brave enough to go up and offer assistance so the emperor nearly fell down several times.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ why is the emperor behaving like that?¡± Lily furrowed her brows and asked curiously.

    ¡°Shh¡­ I¡¯ll tell you after the banquet,¡± Sophie replied tersely and gave her head a small pat.

    The invisible tension in the air had not lessened and now goosebumps were beginning to form on Sophie¡¯s arm.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs lengthened unconsciously and a tinge of red could be seen on the corners of her golden eyes.

    Emperor Sisrelis must have realised that the room waspletely silent as he sat back down on his iron throne and began to speak,

    ¡°My dad¡­ was a stupid bastard!¡±

    Shocked gasps echoed through the banquet hall as the emperor began to publicly insult histe father.

    ¡°He always told me that I wasn¡¯t good enough for the throne! That my brother Prince Moris or my bitch sister Princess Esmeralda would be the victors,¡± Emperor Sisrelis muttered dazedly.

    ¡°But I¡­ I won in the end¡­. and I personally shed off the heads of both my dear siblings who my father had such high hopes for.¡±

    ¡°Guess they weren¡¯t so fucking great after all.¡±

    Emperor Sisrelis downed another ss of wine, but his muddled eyes now showed a hint of deep mncholy and regret.

    It was a bloody battle to win the throne.

    Any individual with sufficient royal blood was eligible to participate which meant that the emperor¡¯s offsprings and the descendants of the branch family were allowed topete.

    A deadly tournament would be held where most if not all of the battles ended in death for the unlucky participants.

    Emperor Sisrelis was considered one of the more promising candidates for the throne but at the time he was far from the favourite.

    And yet¡­ he emerged as thest survivor.

    Sophie silently observed the jaded figure of the emperor slouched down on his throne and could not help but worry for Cleo.

    Cleo had never told her if she wanted topete for the throne, but Sophie could not honestly say that she would support her girlfriend if she did want to.

    Killing your own rtives would create a deep psychological strain on anyone and Sophie did not want her girlfriend to go through the trauma.

    Emperor Sisrelis chuckled slightly as he saw his wretched reflection appear on the side of the transparent winess.

    ck, oily, and messy hair that hung over a face that was a tad overweight.

    He was a far cry from the handsome, muscr prince that he was in his youth.

    This empire. This throne. This power.

    It wasn¡¯t worth it.

    Maybe it was time to end this misery.

    Emperor Sisrelis smiled genuinely for the first time in many years as a sense of relief washed over his body.

    He would finally get to rest.

    No one knew why he had called for this meeting with the heirs to all the high noble families in the Federation.

    And none of the nobles present in the room knew that the ascended warrior who guarded the Imperial Pce had been sent to the frontlines by the order of the emperor himself.

    The only cultivators who remained were void stage warriors and a handful of cultivators in the god stage.

    Emperor Sisrelis would not have dared to implement his insane n if an ascended warrior had been nearby as it could have been easily stopped.

    But now with nothing holding him back¡­.

    It was time for one final performance.

    Emperor Sisrelis circted his qi and got rid of the drunken feeling fogging his mind.

    He released the full might of his aura and an enormous wave of energy burst out of his dantian.

    The ground beneath his feet started to crack and fierce winds roared through the grand hall as the emperor revealed his strength.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes were now partially crimson, and she had already grabbed Lily and ced the little girl firmly in her arms.

    She made eye contact with Leona who scooped up Chase without hesitation.

    ¡°We need to move to the exit door now!¡± Sophie did not bother to send out a voice transmission and just yelled at the rest of her group.

    Meanwhile the emperor on the raised tform had now fully unleashed the might of a void stage cultivator and thick cracks were forming on the pce walls and floor.

    The pressure was increasing rapidly, and Sophie felt as though her every movement was like walking through water.

    She was not the only one who noticed that something was wrong but very few nobles were also moving towards the exit.

    Most just assumed that the royal guards would stop the emperor if things got out of hand so there was a noticeableck of panic.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen¡± Emperor Sisrelis raised up his winess with a strange look in his eye.

    ¡°Everyone present in this room is connected to some of the most powerful families in the Federation and yet the Imperial Family is above all.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± he asked slowly, and the question echoed through the hall.

    No one was willing to give an answer to the emperor as most nobles were already familiar with the fates of those who nned rebellions against the imperial family.

    Sophie rudely shoved past several noble heirs and continued to make her way to the back of the hall where the exit doors were located.

    The ufortable feeling in her stomach was only getting worse and now a vague premonition of death seemed to be hovering over her body.

    Lily was securely held in her arms and Sophie nced over her shoulder to make sure that the rest of the group were not too far behind.

    Chase was being gripped tightly in Leona¡¯s grasp and Luna was not far from the pair.

    However, Sophie could spot Alexander and ra falling further and further behind as clearly, they were not taking her warning seriously.

    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Sophie didn¡¯t have time to be polite and just yelled at the two stragglers to get them to move.

    Emperor Sisrelis had noticed the small movements in the crowd but there was no visible reaction on his face.

    It didn¡¯t matter at this point if some nobles had realised that something was wrong. It was already far toote¡­

    Emperor Sisrelis cleared his throat and continued his speech,

    ¡°It is not that there haven¡¯t been high noble houses who got a bit too greedy and decided topete for the throne¡­. but all of them have failed.¡±

    ¡°All surviving members of their lineage were killed to set an example, their territories were seized by the crown, and their names were erased from all historical records.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m sure that you all have already heard about these boring events before.¡±

    Ufortableughter filled the room as the emperor finished his speech with an almost joking tone.

    Sophie could see the exit in sight and walked quickly towards the golden doors that were being blocked by ce attendants.

    Emperor Sisrelis suddenly switched topics and the tone of his voice drastically shifted to something much darker,

    ¡°There have been many fascinating scientific discoveries made over the years especially in the field of spatial warping and time maniption.¡±

    ¡°Warp holes both artificial and naturally urring can teleport an individual to virtually any ce in the universe.¡±

    ¡°In fact, beneath the imperial pce there are several warp circles that can be used by the royal family in the event of an emergency.¡±

    ¡°And one of them¡­¡±

    Sophie doubled over in pain as her danger sense amplified to an extreme degree where every step, she took sent ripples of panic through her body.

    Just a little bit closer¡­

    She could see the golden doors just two minutes away.

    Sophie desperately sprinted forward and shoved aside the pce attendants guarding the door with a ferocious expression.

    She had no time to mind her manners as the floor beneath her feet started to glow an eerie blue colour as a mysterious pattern was formed.

    The golden handles were just mere inches away from her hand when the emperor finished his sentence with a sickeningugh.

    ¡°Is right underneath us!¡±

    It was thest thing Sophie heard before the world around her shifted and her vision turned to darkness.

 Chapter 236: No One Was Laughing Now

    Chapter 236: No One Was Laughing Now

    (Unova Syndicate)

    (Hidden Location- Xerciam Prime)

    Screech! Screech! Screech!

    An enormous sixty-foot-tall bird-like monster flew high above a crowed port as numerous traders and merchants fought with one another to show off their goods to the limited number of customers.

    The flying monster had a long mouth, a thin nose and weird eyebrows that made the beast appear to have a permanent expression of surprise.

    These beasts were called the Dwen and many of the settlers who called Xerciam Prime their home used them as transport vessels.

    The government of the Unova Syndicate had announced tax incentives in exchange for miningpanies developing these resource richs for the ongoing war with the Earth Federation.

    Unlike the Earth Federation whose poption consisted of only four major races, the Unova Syndicate was home to millions of nomadic alien species so the government could only wield limited authority.

    Many criminals, space pirates and raiders sought refuge in the Unova Syndicate as only a handful ofs had proper rules and regtions.

    ¡°Oi! Look where you¡¯re going you stupid bitch!¡± a tiny green alien with knob-like limbs and hands scowled fiercely as a hooded figure bumped into his face.

    He slowly raised his head upwards to continue to curse the blind moron who walked right into him when his voice slowly faded away to a whimper.

    The hooded figure stood at an impressive seven feet in height with four wickedly sharp de-like appendages jutting out of its back.

    ¡°Did you say something?¡± a seductive voice whispered softly but to the alien it sounded like a serpent wrapping tightly around its neck.

    ¡°No¡­no!¡± the alien smiled tteringly and quickly moved to the side.

    With all the lunatics and criminals arriving on the now that it had been opened to all settlers, it was deadly to pick a fight with dangerous looking men and women.

    Sophie smiled as she saw tiny beads of sweat appear on the back of the tiny alien who dared to curse at her.

    Quite some time had passed since Sophie had been unexpectedly transported to this strange new location and hermunicator device had been renderedpletely useless.

    As for what happened, we need to go back to the events of two weeks ago¡­

    Thest thing Sophie could remember was the emperor saying something about a warp circle and then her world turned to ck.

    She could have sworn that Lily was held securely in her arms but when she woke up¡­.

    There was nobody around.

    Sophie found herselfying down in an open field with a gentle breeze brushing against the sides of her face.

    A blue artificial sun shone brightly in the sky above and the grass beneath her feet was a weird purplish colour.

    The expensive dress made by Adam was still pretty intact but there were two obvious tear marks along the sides of her dress.

    Luckily, Sophie had packed some extra clothes in her storage device, so she quickly changed into herbat gear.

    There was still some battery life left in hermunicator, but she had obviously been teleported somewhere outside of the area of connection for the virtual.

    Sophie had spent the first couple of days scouting around the surrounding area for any threats but there was a surprisinglyck of life.

    She did eventually stumble upon a nearby city filled with settlers and miners who were clearing the surrounding forest.

    Sophie spent another couple of days observing and surveying the city to see if there were any powerful beings inside, but the highest cultivator she could spot was only in the qi body stage.

    The alien workers were speaking in a variety of different dialects and localnguages, but the mainnguage seemed to be Terkanaese.

    Terkanaese was themon tongue spoken in the Unova Syndicate which meant that this was somewhere inside enemy territory.

    It had been part of the noble education to learn the mainnguages of the surrounding intergctic empires so Sophie could speak Terkanaese somewhat fluently.

    Reading Terkanaese on the other hand¡­. not so much.

    But why would the royal family have a warp circle that transported people to an empire that was hostile to the Federation?

    Sophie had a small guess in her heart that the emperor had somehow messed with the transport coordinates on the warp circle, but it was useless to specte so she just dropped the matter.

    The number one priority was to find out her current location and figure out a way back home.

    There was a steady stream of new arrivals to the city, so Sophie blended into the crowd and entered without any suspicion.

    Perhaps it was an unexpected boon that her appearance was far from that of an ordinary human as no one questioned her presence among the new arrivals.

    The city was constructed of a simple ck metalloid material that morphed into the shape ofpact rectangles that served as houses.

    The buildings were all basically identical in structure and material with the only difference being the size of the buildings.

    Sophie saw many different alien species from aquatic lifeforms who moved around the city with helmets full of water on their heads, light based creatures who shifted away from the shadows to even nt-like humanoids that cheerfully flung soil at any unfortunate passersby.

    No one seemed to be maintaining any sort ofw and order on the streets, so the overwhelming stench of blood was causing Sophie¡¯s heart to race.

    Rape, murder, stealing¡­.this city like many others in the Unova Syndicate was a haven for those who wished tomit acts of violence without any consequence.

    The only ce that was an exception to thewlessness was the barracks of the miners that were guarded tightly by robotic AI units equipped with heavy weaponry.

    Sophie pulled out a hooded cloak from her storage device and put it on before trying to find an inn to get some information and spend the night.

    There was just one small problem¡­.

    Enas credits werepletely useless in the Unova Syndicate so Sophie waspletely broke.

    Hmm¡­ a wicked smile surfaced on Sophie¡¯s face as she walked towards two thugs that were harassing a young tree-like girl.

    Maybe it was time to do some ¡®good¡¯ deeds.

    (Fifteen minutester¡­.)

    No one dared to approach the demoness who walked straight through the crowd and headed for a nearby inn.

    With every step she took, a wide berth opened up in the crowd to allow her to move unimpeded through the sea of bodies.

    Many chuckled and jeered when the hybrid girl had approached some gangsters and demanded that they leave the innocent tree-like alien alone.

    No one wasughing now.

    They had seen the de-like appendages on the back of the mysterious stranger shoot forward and tear straight through the flesh of the unfortunate gangsters.

    Then the most terrible sight urred¡­.

    The hybrid girl sank her fangs into the neck of one of the thugs and ripped his head off his neck in one smooth motion.

    She then nodded at the terrified tree-like girl who had now backed away in fear and then searched the corpses of the two thugs for some money.

    Jackpot!

    Clearly these two were local bigshots as their pouches contained over one thousand dors of currency.

    Sophie took a small nce at the crowd and smiled inwardly when she saw the scared looks on the faces of the bystanders as she left the scene.

    It was important to establish a notorious reputation when dealing with societies like this.

    Criminals respected strength and no one was willing to fight a madman.

    ¡°The¡­is that word the?¡­ Respectful¡­ Hentle?¡­ no¡­ no¡­ Gentleman?¡± Sophie squinted slightly and tried to read the sign hung on the inn¡¯s entrance door.

    The inn was also built in a rectangr shape butpared to the surrounding buildings, it was significantlyrger.

    Sophie knocked twice and then entered inside once she heard a weing grunt. There was a blue gtinous blob standing behind a counter.

    ¡°What type of room and how long?¡± the blob wiggled slightly, and a mouth appeared from within its murky depths.

    ¡°Regr and two nights,¡± Sophie replied in a calm manner.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be neen dors and twenty pence,¡± the blob jiggledzily as numerous eyes floated inside its body.

    Sophie nodded and reached into her storage device to pull out ten green notes. She ced the notes on the countertop and whispered,

    ¡°Keep the change¡­. I need information.¡±

    The blob said nothing for a few moments but then a thin blue tendril formed outside of its main body and quickly snatched the notes.

    ¡°Call me Q¡¯reanea,¡± the blob suddenly spoke and beckoned Sophie to enter the private room that was connected to the main lobby.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t from around here¡­ are you?¡±

 Chapter 237: A Fine Addition To My Collection

    Chapter 237: A Fine Addition To My Collection

    (Unova Syndicate)

    (Hidden Location- Xerciam Prime)

    ¡°You aren¡¯t from around here¡­ are you?¡± Q¡¯reanea jiggled his gtinous body as he opened the door to the private room.

    ¡°I heard there were plenty of opportunities to get rich on this god forsaken, so I arrived a few weeks ago,¡± Sophie smiled and replied without hesitation.

    Working with information sellers was a tricky business as they could just as well sell off your information to the next highest bidder.

    Or worse¡­

    Sophie had already thought of a backstory before entering the inn despite not knowing much about the.

    There were just some motivations that were universal across civilisations.

    Greed was one of them.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Q¡¯reanea swayed slightly and entered the private room before a tendril on his back beckoned for Sophie to enter.

    Sophie walked inside confidently and took a quick nce to see what was inside the space.

    The room should have only been the size of a bedroom, but the walls had clearly been carved with spatial runes as the space inside was roughly the size of a two-bedroom apartment.

    There were numerous cages that held different alien species and organisms. These cages lined the walls along the entire length of the room.

    The creatures were held inside energy-based cages that pulsated gently as the ion light particles formed an impossible to escape enclosure.

    Sophie noticed that several of these cages held intelligent alien species who just stared at her with looks of despair and desperation.

    There wasn¡¯t a single change in Sophie¡¯s expression as she did not n to rescue the creatures held within the cages before getting a better grasp of the situation.

    Acting like a hero and rashly releasing a group of prisoners would just be a stupid thing to do as she was currently in the middle of enemy territory.

    Beside¡­. the innkeeper being able to afford a mage who could carve spatial runes into his private room meant that there was a dangerous power standing behind him.

    In the center of the room was a small table with two chairs on opposite sides.

    Q¡¯reanea unhurriedly moved his gtinous body into one of the chairs and Sophie gracefully sat down on the other.

    A few moments passed by inplete silence as both parties watched each other carefully.

    Eventually it was Q¡¯reanea who broke the awkward silence by forming a mouth on his jelly-like body,

    ¡°Do you like my collection?¡± he whispered in a low tone.

    Sophie leaned back on the chair and replied, ¡°There seems to be quite the variety of alien species in those light cages.¡±

    ¡°I am quite impressed.¡±

    Q¡¯reanea¡¯s blob-like body swayed from side to side and Sophie could not shake the feeling that the innkeeper was pleased with herpliment.

    ¡°It was not easy to secure some of these specimens let me tell you,¡± Q¡¯reanea continued the conversation with great enthusiasm.

    ¡°I had to fight with several collectors in the ck market to even get a shot at buying these prized specimens.¡±

    ¡°The Xercian and the Preciex alone are worth over two thousand dors!¡±

    He gestured towards two cages on the right that housed a small bluish-green alien with a bulbous head and two glowing eyes and another creature with sharp spine-like barbs jutting out of its back.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and suppressed the bloodlust in her heart as the innkeeper continued to brag about the creatures in his collection.

    I just want to kill him¡­.

    Q¡¯reanea was very happy to meet a client who shared his appreciation for collecting different alien species.

    Most clients would simply give the cages a cursory nce and then go straight down to the main business.

    So, he spent the next thirty minutes carefully introducing one specimen after another to his eager client.

    Sophie kept up her appearance by nodding thoughtfully after Q¡¯reanea introduced each alien held in the light cages, but her rage was slowly building.

    ¡°Oh wait! There is one more I haven¡¯t shown you yet!¡± Q¡¯reanea suddenly got up from the chair and slid towards the back of the room.

    There was a particr light cage that was covered with a dark protective cloth so that its prisoner was not visible to an ordinary onlooker.

    Of course, this barrier was no match for Sophie¡¯s inhuman vision, so she simply squinted her eyes and peered behind the veil.

    Inside the cage was a sleeping eight-year-old girl with soft curly brown hair and wearing an adorable princess outfit.

    Lily!

    Sophie almost lost her cool and rushed towards the cage, but her instincts suddenly red up, so she remained seated.

    There was something or someone extremely dangerous watching over the inside of the room and Sophie could not identify where the threat wasing from.

    She took a few deep breaths and observed Lily¡¯s condition to make sure that the little girl wasn¡¯t hurt.

    Lily¡¯s princess outfit was still leftpletely intact and herplexion, weight and appearance seemed normal.

    She just appeared to be slightly skinner than Sophie remembered.

    Q¡¯reanea extended three tendrils and hoisted the cage into the air before moving towards the small table.

    Sophie tightly pinched her thigh to make sure she didn¡¯t do anything reckless as Q¡¯reanea inched closer and closer with the light cage.

    Q¡¯reanea finally approached the table and nted the cage firmly in the middle as he slid back into the chair.

    ¡°I have the most amazing story to share with you,¡± Q¡¯reanea could not help but boast as he moved the ck cover off the cage.

    ¡°A human?¡± Sophie gasped and showed a mixed expression of both disbelief and surprise.

    ¡°Yes! It was the first time that I had ever seen one in real life,¡± Q¡¯reanea replied in excitement.

    ¡°It is just the strangest story¡­. one day I was cleaning out the back rooms of the inn when there was a sh of blue light and this human appeared right in front of me!¡±

    ¡°The human kept babbling words in some kind of weird humannguage but I couldn¡¯t understand a word, so I just tossed it into a cage.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not too fond of how humans look¡­. so, I¡¯ve been keeping it in the back of the room in case someone wants to buy it.¡±

    ¡°But there isn¡¯t a single collector on the market who wants to buy a human!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Did you make sure that its condition is undamaged?¡± Sophie probed with an innocent question.

    She wanted to make sure that Lily didn¡¯t have any hidden injuries she would need to worry about after they escaped from here.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Q¡¯reanea thoughtfully replied.

    ¡°You know the rumors on the ck market say that humans are disease-filled pests so the only time I made contact with it was to toss it inside the light cage.¡±

    ¡°I made sure to disinfect my tendrils thoroughly afterwards! Can¡¯t be too careful with the nasty viruses hidden inside the human body.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I heard that it is quite dangerous to have skin to skin contact with humans so that was the safest thing to do,¡± Sophie nodded with a small smile.

    She didn¡¯t know who was responsible for that ridiculous rumor but thank god the innkeeper believed it.

    Clearly humans were extremely rare in the Unova Syndicate if an information seller had not seen one before and had such inurate information.

    But it was thanks to this rarity that Lily had managed to survive several days as a prisoner without being harmed.

    ¡°What have you been feeding it?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Humans need to eat?!¡± Q¡¯reanea replied in shock.

    ¡°I thought that humans absorb darkness into their bodies and convert the night energy into nutrients.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s expressionless mask cracked slightly for the first time that evening as there was just one thought running through her mind¡­

    Who the fuck was spreading these false rumors about humans?!

 Chapter 238: Exposed

    Chapter 238: Exposed

    (Unova Syndicate)

    (Hidden Location- Xerciam Prime)

    Sophie quickly hid the surprise in her eyes and gave the matter some more thought.

    Actually, it made sense that false information had spread about humans as most likely no one would bother to research into the topic when humans were so scarce in the Unova Syndicate.

    The universe was just so vast and filled with countless races scattered across the stars.

    Humanity despite their ego were nothing more than another shining spark of life shing briefly in an indifferent void.

    The everyday inhabitants of the Unova Syndicate not knowing real information about humans was to be expected.

    ¡°Ahh I see,¡± Sophie smiled and didn¡¯t correct Q¡¯reanea¡¯s misunderstanding.

    It would be strange for an immigrant worker to suddenly have knowledge about an alien species foreign to the Unova Syndicate.

    It was a top priority to rescue Lily, but Sophie wanted to use force as ast resort.

    Hopefully, she could just buy Lily from Q¡¯reanea as the blob-like alien was apparently eager to find a seller.

    ¡°Now what information would you like to have?¡± Q¡¯reanea wiggled slightly in his chair and switched topics.

    ¡°What can you tell me about the major powers on this¡­ I don¡¯t want to offend anyone by ident,¡± Sophie replied calmly.

    She was not going to bring up the topic of buying Lily until the end of the conversation in order not to appear too eager.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. I¡¯m not too sure¡­. a humble innkeeper like myself rarely knows about those matters,¡± Q¡¯reanea sighed lightly and two tendrils burst out of his jelly-like body.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and ced more green dor bills on the table until the greedy innkeeper opened his mouth once more.

    Q¡¯reanea talked freely once the money disappeared into his glutinous folds,

    ¡°The major financial groups currently active are the Sepriena, Libera, Canercose and Northeirum.¡±

    ¡°They have divided the into four major sectors.¡±

    ¡°Of course, there are numerous smaller gangs and forces hidden in the dark, but they don¡¯t control much power.¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness that this area is under the control of the Libera financial group since they generally pay attention to their reputation outside.¡±

    Sophie quietly listened as the innkeeper continued to talk about the major and minor forces hidden around the.

    The major financial and business groups considered the potential profits to not be worth the investment costs even with the tax incentives provided by the government.

    This allowed smaller groups to get the chance to develop.

    Sophie¡¯s true purpose was to find out the location of the nearest spaceport and the coordinates of the, but after meeting Q¡¯reanea she had changed her mind.

    There was a hidden presence in the room staring at her every action so Sophie did not want to ask anything too suspicious.

    It would raise too many red gs if someone were able to travel to a but somehow did not know what the spatial coordinates were or even where the nearest spaceport was.

    She already could tell that this Q¡¯reanea was not a simple innkeeper as he was quite knowledgeable about theyout and strengths of the different forces hidden around the.

    And some of the aliens kept in those light cages were in the qi spirit stage and yet had no ability to resist.

    Sophie had silently noted the slight fear and desperation in their eyes whenever Q¡¯reanea moved his tendrils in their direction.

    She was snapped out of her musings as Q¡¯reanea begun to list off the exact level of threat that each group posed,

    ¡°The Libera financial group has two qi tide cultivators and numerousbat robots with roughly the strength of qi body cultivators as well as¡­.¡±

    This was not part of the deal.

    It was one thing to tell clients the list of all the major powers on the, but it was another matter entirely to disclose top secrets pertaining the core structure of those groups.

    Either he was confident that Sophie would not leak that the information was from him or he nned on silencing her.

    The hairs on Sophie¡¯s arms raised slightly as she could detect a faint killing threat from the presence staring at her.

    Sophie continued to maintain her iceberg-like appearance and showed no sign of panic or animosity.

    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Sophie nodded her head politely and ced two more red bills on the wooden table.

    ¡°Why it was my pleasure!¡± Q¡¯reanea replied with a cheerful sway.

    ¡°I don¡¯t often work with clients that are so enthusiastic about viewing my collection! I hope you cane again tomorrow when I have some new specimen arriving.¡±

    ¡°That sounds wonderful,¡± Sophie smiled gracefully but there was a frosty glint in her expression.

    ¡°But I think I can help you out¡­

    ¡°Oh?¡± Q¡¯reanea leaned forward and several of the eyes inside his body stared at Sophie.

    Sophie also moved closer and whispered in an almost seductive tone,

    ¡°I know a collector who collects low quality goods like humans and sells them at a discount auction.¡±

    ¡°Humans aren¡¯t worth much to the wealthy collectors in your circle, so it is much better to just sell it off for cheap.¡±

    Q¡¯reanea stayed silent for a few moments but Sophie did not rush him.

    This was only her initial n and the more peaceful route.

    Using violence would undoubtedly startle the mysterious force watching her every move but Sophie had the quiet confidence that she could beat whatever it was.

    Maybe it was hubris, but Sophie had grown up over thest couple of months and was now more confident in her abilities.

    Q¡¯reanea seemed unable to make up his mind and numerous appendages grew out of his body while he swayed lightly from side to side.

    ¡°How much are you willing to pay?¡± Q¡¯reanea asked suddenly.

    ¡°Fifty dors.¡± Sophie replied swiftly.

    This was the trickiest part of the negotiations as Sophie had no idea what the price of humans in the Unova Syndicate was.

    Q¡¯reanea had said that no collector wanted to buy Lily, but Sophie was unsure if that was because their standards were too high or was that the general attitude everywhere.

    ¡°Fifty¡­can you do one hundred?¡± Q¡¯reanea hesitantly decided to try his luck.

    Humans were not worth much and in fact Sophie¡¯s offer had been on the higher end of what he had been expecting.

    But Q¡¯reanea was always ready to make some more money so he had no qualms about raising the price.

    ¡°I can do¡­. sixty¡­ but no more,¡± Sophie replied firmly, and her attitude made it clear that this was her bottom line.

    It was not that she wasn¡¯t willing to pay more for Lily, but it was crucial that she maintain her facade.

    ¡°Deal!¡± Q¡¯reanea agreed hurriedly as he feared that this idiotic woman would soon change her mind.

    ¡°He extended a tendril towards a in desk tucked away in the corner of the room and begun to write out a contract.

    It only took a few minutes to draw up the sale agreement between the two parties. Q¡¯reanea brought the contract over to Sophie who carefully looked over the terms and conditions.

    Seeing that everything was satisfactory, she signed under a false name.

    Q¡¯reanea collected the money swiftly and jiggled over to the light cage where Lily was trapped inside.

    Using an ion transmitter device, Q¡¯reanea inputted a special code and then theser beams surrounding Lily¡¯s body deactivated.

    Sophie walked over and picked up the frail girl in her arms. Lily was very weak from having nothing to eat for a few days, so she didn¡¯t wake up.

    It was not difficult to subtly check Lily¡¯s body to make sure that there were no injuries, and it was only when Sophie finished her inspection that she let out a small sigh of relief.

    Sophie had maintained her disguise perfectly throughout the entire evening but unfortunately¡­

    This was where things fell apart.

    Despite having the same icy expression and handling Lily like a seller who had to inspect the goods, Sophie had forgotten one crucial detail.

    And this one detail was enough to unravel her entire persona.

    Q¡¯reanea and regr Unova Syndicate citizens were under the impression that humans were disease-ridden and filthy so they would not touch them under any circumstance.

    Sophie had not worn any protective clothing but still touched Lily¡¯s body without hesitation.

    Q¡¯reanea spoke in a strange tone just as Sophie was about to leave the room, ¡°Hey¡­. I thought it was just a coincidence that your species looked pretty simr to humans.¡±

    ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t happen to be part human¡­. would you?¡±

    ¡°Because my collection could use¡­ a hybrid¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense kicked into overdrive and she leapt into the air as soon as Q¡¯reanea finished talking.

    Several metalloid chains rose up from the ground where Sophie had just been standing.

    Sophie could not tell what material made up the chains, but the metalloid structures were moving through the air like snakes.

    She now knew why the innkeeper was so confident tounch an attack at her without any warning.

    The mysterious danger and killing intent she had felt in the room was not a stranger staring at her or even a real person¡­.

    It was some form of bio-metalloid weapon directly controlled by Q¡¯reanea!

 Chapter 239: Freedom!

    Chapter 239: Freedom!

    (Unova Syndicate)

    (Hidden Location- Xerciam Prime)

    Fascinating.

    Sophie could not help but be amazed as she gracefully ducked and weaved through the metalloid tendrils rising up from the floor.

    Merging biological matter with metals was not an unknown technology but very few of these weapons were used in the Federation.

    Bio-metallic weapons were just too expensive to maintain and their effectiveness was not much higher than traditional thermal or cold weapons.

    Sophie extended her de-like appendages outwards and easily blocked the iing attacks without cutting through the material.

    She didn¡¯t want to reveal how sharp the barbs at the end of her appendages were unless it was absolutely necessary.

    They would be her ultimate trump card.

    Q¡¯reanea jiggled around angrily as he saw Sophie running around the room without being affected by his weapon.

    Lily was currently being held close to Sophie¡¯s chest and was being protected by her slender but powerful arms.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and felt the familiar surge of bloodlust flowing steadily through her veins.

    This time¡­. she indulged it.

    Her eyes rapidly shifted from their normal golden hue to a crimson red as Sophie¡¯s fangs glistened sharply under the light.

    An enormous pressure surrounding her body was being emitted that caused cracks to appear on the floor wherever shended.

    The familiar feeling of madness almost caused Sophie to lose her reasoning and attack with reckless abandon, but Lily¡¯s soft and fragile body helped her to hold on to her sanity.

    The full might of a qi tide stage cultivator was released.

    Q¡¯reanea frowned slightly as it seemed that the situation was about to be far moreplicated.

    He had originally thought that the hybrid client was merely in the qi body stage and she would be solved quickly.

    Things were going to be a bit harder if she had a higher cultivation level.

    Sophie saw that the innkeeper was distracted for a brief moment, so she lightly moved her feet in a strange pattern to activate her secret technique.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure suddenly blurred and vanished into thin air.

    Three identical clones of herself and Lily soon appeared in her ce.

    One clone rushed straight towards Q¡¯reanea while grinning like a savage beast while the other circled around silently like a predator waiting in the darkness.

    Q¡¯reanea was not fooled by the illusion technique and responded by sending a shard of his qi into the bioweapon that made the tendrils move faster and faster.

    Two of the figures fell swiftly until the attack but the third body was nowhere in sight.

    Q¡¯reanea quickly formed multiple eyeballs inside his jelly-like body but no sign of the hybrid girl could be found.

    Where was she?

    Where was the final clone?

    ¡°Behind you darling,¡± a cold voice sounded out from behind Q¡¯reanea ¡®s head and then a sharp de was thrust into his skull.

    ng!

    Q¡¯reanea manoeuvred the bio- metalloid tendrils to block the blow and then thrust the metal fragments into Sophie¡¯s body.

    What a foolish girl!

    Who would announce a sneak attack before performing it?

    Q¡¯reanea smiled contently as he watched the metalloid tendrils sink deeply into the flesh of the hybrid girl.

    A special neurotoxin would then be injected into her bloodstream that would block her qi and prevent her from activating any cultivation techniques.

    Q¡¯reanea watched as the metalloid tendrils entered smoothly into the hybrid girl¡¯s body but something just didn¡¯t feel right as on the face of the girl¡­

    There was no panic.

    Rather she seemed to be¡­ giving him a look of pity?

    ¡°Got you¡­¡± Sophie whispered as her body unexpectedly dispersed into qi energy.

    Q¡¯reanea didn¡¯t even have time to react before an abrupt palm strike hit the front of his body with astonishing force.

    He flew backwards almost thirty feet before crashing heavily against the wall.

    Then his gtinous body slid down with a thump as Q¡¯reanea struggled toprehend what just happened.

    ¡°You¡­. you¡­. there were four,¡± Q¡¯reanea wheezed heavily as he felt pain surge through his damaged biomass.

    Sophie approached the ion transmitter device that had fallen on the group during the conflict and tried her best to recall thebination number.

    Luckily, she had gotten a clear look at the sequence that Q¡¯reanea had inputted, so it didn¡¯t take long to remember the code.

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you not to move,¡± Sophie stood up and walked towards the remaining cages confidently without paying the innkeeper any more attention.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me,¡± Q¡¯reanea growled in rage as he saw the hybrid girl begin to unlock the cages that housed his prized specimen.

    ¡°I am also a qi tide cultivator!¡±

    Q¡¯reanea circted the qi in his dantian throughout his blob-like body and prepared tounch a counterattack.

    But then¡­.

    ¡°Cough! Cough¡± a violent and painful noise erupted from the mouths formed on Q¡¯reanea¡¯s body as the alien doubled over in pain.

    ¡°What¡­ what did you do to me?¡± Q¡¯reanea moaned painfully as he suddenly felt a sharp fiery sensation begin to spread.

    In addition, nasty sores and bloody ulcers were forming on the surface of his skin at a rapid pace.

    Q¡¯reanea paled in shock as he realised that with every cirction of qi around his body¡­.

    The symptoms would only get worse.

    Sophie smiled gently and continued to release cage after cage that imprisoned the helpless alien creatures held hostage by the innkeeper.

    An empty syringe was already safely inside her storage bag so there was no evidence about what she had done.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure if Q¡¯reanea¡¯s jelly-like body could regenerate but it didn¡¯t matter as she never nned on using her spider appendages to attack.

    She was a poison cultivator!

    Q¡¯reanea had been injected with a nasty strain of a hyper toxin virus found on the desert of Periec.

    This lovely little gift was courtesy of Katarina who had given her an entire arsenal of new poisons to y with as soon as she had arrived home.

    The innkeeper would have at most ten more minutes to live.

    Eventually Sophie finished unlocking the final cage and then calmly pierced the door with her spider appendages before ripping it apart.

    By now poor Q¡¯reanea was nothing more than a cold corpseying down on the ground.

    The alien prisoners could not believe that freedom hade so soon, and they all started to praise Sophie for her kindness.

    ¡°We¡¯re free?¡±

    ¡°Thank you! Oh, thank you!¡±

    ¡°You must save us!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Sophie ordered as the noise was now increasing to the point where she was sure that hotel guests woulde out of their rooms to see the excitement.

    ¡°The only gift I can give you all is this. I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t take you all with me,¡± Sophie bowed her head and apologized.

    Sophie could still hear the desperate cries and curses from the now freed aliens echoing from behind her as she exited the room.

    A part of her was tempted to help but there was really nothing she could do.

    Q¡¯reanea was not a simple character and there would definitely be an investigationunched by the powers who stood behind him.

    The safest thing to do now was to flee this small city immediately and run to the nearest port once she kidnapped a resident and interrogated him.

    Ignoring the shocked cries from the curious onlookers in the street, Sophie ran swiftly from the hotel entrance and dashed towards the exit of the city with Lily in her arms.

    The remaining prisoners seeing that their saviour had vanished, nced at each other briefly before also scrambling away for freedom.

 Chapter 240: The Long And Dangerous Road Home

    Chapter 240: The Long And Dangerous Road Home

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Outskirts of a Mining Colony)

    Sophie had immediately left the mining colony after briefly kidnapping and interrogating a few random aliens for information.

    Fortunately, it seemed that theyout of the major cities on the was not a closely guarded secret and in fact several of the residents were actually carrying maps.

    What she found truly shocking was the spatial coordinates of Xerciam Prime.

    This distance may seem vast at first nce, but warp drive technology meant that the journey would take no longer than three weeks.

    The main problem was the fact that the border was currently an active war zone and the only ships travelling to this dangerous area were generally military vessels or private starships carrying mercenaries.

    Sophie needed to somehow sneak onboard a military starship or temporarily join a mercenary crew and fight on the frontlines.

    Well¡­ that was an issue to think about once she solved the immediate threat of pursuers.

    Right now, Sophie was currently resting in a hidden cave that she found while running through the forest.

    She was also tending to Lily to make sure that the little girl would be able to sleep peacefully.

    This cave was about ten kilometers away from the mining town so hopefully it was far enough to rest temporarily.

    Sophie just needed a thirty-minute break to change her outfit and make sure that Lily was recovering properly from her ordeal.

    The Unova Syndicate was only loosely governed and especially on a remote colony like this¡­

    It was unlikely that she would get in any sort of legal trouble for killing the innkeeper.

    She just needed to avoid whatever hidden power was backing him.

    Sophie was snapped out of her daze by a soft sound and some rustling from Lily who was being held in herp.

    Lily opened her eyes with a painful groan and felt a pair of warm arms holding her gently.

    This embrace made her feel very safe and protected but Lily had no idea who this mysterious person was.

    She was a bit afraid to look up just in case this was a dream brought on from her days spent in the light cage.

    The surrounding area was quite dark and Lily¡¯s cultivation level was not high enough to allow her to see through the darkness.

    ¡°¡±Urghhh¡­ wha¡­ where?¡± Lily spoke softly as she didn¡¯t know where she was.

    Thest thing she could remember was attending the banquet with the kind big sister and then she was somehow on the floor of a room.

    Lily had tried tomunicate with the scary looking blob-like alien who was also in the room, but he just imprisoned her inside a tiny light cage.

    She was terrified of being trapped in a room full of dangerous alien captives like herself but no matter how much she begged and yelled for help¡­

    No one came.

    Lily shivered slightly as she recalled an unpleasant memory of seeing the blob-like alien punish one of the alien captives who spat on him during feeding time.

    ¡°Oh? Are you awake?¡± a soft voice sounded out from above Lily¡¯s head.

    Lily looked up slowly and saw the face of the gentle sister from the banquet!

    ¡°Big sister!¡± Lily jumped up from Sophie¡¯s embrace and rushed to give her a big hug.

    Sophie quietly waited as Lily snuggled tightly and tried to push her small body closer.

    ¡°I¡­ I was so scared!¡± Lily cried painfully as she held on to Sophie as tightly as she could.

    She needed to double check that this was not a hallucination or a strange dream.

    ¡°There¡­ there¡­ I will protect you,¡± Sophie cooed lightly and stroked Lily¡¯s hair that was now a bit messy.

    ¡°Are you okay? Were you hurt?¡± Sophie asked a few questions once Lily calmed down.

    Lily teared up once more and a storm ofints came out,

    ¡°No¡­ the big bad guy just put me in a cage and left me alone forever! I was going to die!¡±

    ¡°He would do some weird things with the other prisoners that I didn¡¯t understand¡­.¡±

    ¡°And¡­. and¡­ I didn¡¯t have any food¡­. and¡­. and¡­. I had to poo¡­ but the scary guy didn¡¯t let me go to the bathroom!¡±

    Yep.

    Sophie was well aware of that fact.

    There was a reason why Lily and she were now wearingpletely new outfits.

    It was just that she didn¡¯t want to embarrass the little girl when she woke up, so Sophie had tried to avoid the topic.

    Luckily, most of Sophie¡¯s clothes in her storage ring were made from smart morphological material that could auto adjust to the size of the wearer.

    She had also injected Lily with a mild healing serum and fed her one high ss nutrient vial that would allow her body to recover from days of starvation.

    It was fortunate that the enhanced physiques of noble children were generally quite sturdy, and they would not easily die of thirst or hunger.

    ¡°Big sis¡­ big sis¡­. where are we?¡± Lily asked curiously with squinted eyes as she tried to peer through the darkness.

    Sophie frowned for a moment and sorted her thoughts before telling Lily everything she had found out,

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened but right now we appear to have been teleported to a in the Unova Syndicate.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any other nobles from the banquet nearby so it either means that we are all scattered around the or the warp circle transported us to random spatial coordinates.¡±

    ¡°You were in my arms when the jump happened so maybe that¡¯s why you teleported so close to me.¡±

    ¡°But generally, warp circles bring everyone inside them to the same location, so this situation makes no sense¡­¡±

    Sophie continued to exin her various theories and exnations for ten minutes straight until she realised that Lily was just looking at her with a nk look.

    ¡°Cough¡­ cough¡­ basically I can get us out of here, but it may take a few weeks,¡± she reassured the cute girl.

    Lily nodded slowly and wanted to ask a few more questions but a wave of drowsiness caused her to fall back asleep.

    Sophie smiled gently as she saw the exhausted girl sink back into a deep slumber, restoring Lily¡¯s body mass using nutrients vials would cause the girl to feel a bit more tired during the next few days.

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go,¡± Sophie whispered softly and rose up from the ground with Lily in hand.

    She carefully ced a hooded outfit on Lily¡¯s body and made sure that she waspletely covered.

    Staying in the cave was only a temporary measure and the number one priority now was to keep moving away from the town.

    Humans were bound to attract attention in the Unova Syndicate, so it was important to disguise Lily¡¯s appearance.

    The nearest spaceport was on an ind that was only essible from a naval base located north of the mining town.

    It was time to begin the long journey home.

 Chapter 241: The Broken Man Who Kept Searching

    Chapter 241: The Broken Man Who Kept Searching

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Study Room)

    ¡°Sir¡­.¡±

    ¡°Sir please¡­.¡±

    The head butler sighed tiredly as he watched his master remained seated on his chair without moving an inch.

    Numerous holographic screens flickered one after another as Duke Peterlor used his inhuman reflexes and mental strength to scan through dozens of pages at once.

    All the meals on the nearby table were left unopened as the duke continued to search through the data like a man possessed.

    Butler Gerald had never seen his master like this before.

    No trace of the once proud noble leader of the Imperial Army remained and all that was left was a middle-aged man tormented by grief and despair.

    Still Duke Peterlor was a strong man who did not allow this sadness to overwhelm him and devoted all his time and energy to finding his missing daughter.

    Whether it be¡­

    Shadowy connections¡­.

    Hackers on the virtual¡­

    Or even channels from both the side of thew and the criminal underworld¡­

    An untold number of forces were currently assisting the duke in exploring the universe for a single trace of his daughter.

    The subordinates under hismand were well trained so in the short term it was okay for him to take a break from managing the territories under hismand.

    Outwardly Duke Peterlor still maintained his handsome appearance but the light in his eye had gone out and only cold darkness remained.

    He was beyond angry.

    Butler Gerald was secretly relieved that the emperor had blown himself up during the banquet otherwise he feared that his master would have staged a coup.

    ¡°Sir¡­. there is an important guest,¡± Butler Gerald shook the duke¡¯s shoulders lightly but was ignored.

    Duke Peterlor had simply shut himself away from the outside world and only news rted to his daughter could rouse him out of this state.

    ¡°It is the little miss¡¯s girlfriend¡­. Princess Sisrelis,¡± Butler Gerald whispered softly.

    The duke froze for a moment before turning to the butler and hoarsely speaking in a low tone,

    ¡°Let her in.¡±

    Butler Gerald bowed and then exited the study room with quiet steps.

    The news about what had happened at the banquet had already spread out as this matter was toorge to cover up.

    It was the hottest news on the virtual that the heirs to all the high noble families had disappeared as well as the emperor himself.

    Reactions online ranged from sympathetic to outright malicious as someizens were secretly pleased because in their minds the rich heirs had simply gotten what they deserved.

    Cleo had seen the news along with the otherizens and had immediately cancelled her visit to her mother.

    A few days had passed since she had received the news and her starship had arrived on Gaia this morning.

    Sophie was her number one priority and it seemed at least for now that there was no problem with the symbiote inside her body.

    ¡°Butler can I go in?¡± Princess Cleo asked hesitantly as she saw the serious look on the butler¡¯s face.

    She was currently sitting down in the reception room of the Peterlor estate while waiting for the duke¡¯s response.

    ¡°Yes. The master will see you now,¡± Butler Gerald responded kindly. He had a good impression of the youngdy favoured by the future duchess, so his tone was that of a well meaning elder.

    Princess Cleo¡¯s appearance was not much better than Sophie¡¯s father as the girl looked haggard and pale.

    Her cultivation level was not high enough to endure days without proper eating and rest, but the princess had still rushed over to the Peterlor estate without dy.

    Even at the expense of her own body.

    Cleo was wearing a in white dress and had put on some light make up in order the hide the tear marks beneath her eyes.

    The news on the virtual had just talked about the disappearance of the high noble heirs but no significant details could be found.

    Cleo wanted to talk to Sophie¡¯s dad to see if he knew more or if there was anything she could do to help.

    ¡°Follow me,¡± Butler Gerald spoke and led Cleo to the study room.

    On the way to the study room, Cleo¡¯s attention could not help but drift to the subtle traces of Sophie left around the mansion.

    The Peterlor Estate was a grand mansion with over fifty rooms and contained all the disys of wealth that one might expect of a high noble family to show.

    Grand chandeliers, expensive pieces of furniture, and rare artistic masterpieces but yet something seemed a bit out of ce.

    There were numerous pictures of Sophie and her father smiling happily together.

    These pictures were prominently disyed and at times were ced in spots that outshined the fancy painting and portraits.

    Duke Peterlor rarely entertained guests so very few knew to the extent to which he pampered his daughter.

    Much like other decent fathers, his precious daughter was simply his entire world.

    Cleo smiled gently as she saw the happy little girl being held protectively in her father¡¯s arms.

    There was a small hint of jealousy in her heart as she could not recall thest time that her mother had given any sort of love or attention.

    Maybe¡­. it was time to realise that the woman from her childhood was long gone¡­.

    This unwanted thought immediately caused Cleo to snap herself out of her musings.

    It only took a couple more minutes of walking before the head butler arrived at a in wooden door.

    Butler Gerald rapped his knuckles against the heavy frame.

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Enter,¡± came the raspy voice.

    The head butler stood aside to let the young princess enter and then left for the kitchen to find another meal that the master would hopefully enjoy.

    ¡°Hello¡­. hello¡­. uncle,¡± Cleo spoke nervously as an overwhelming amount of pressure hit her body.

    She felt like a tiny ant in the presence of a vast mountain.

    Duke Peterlor nced from the screens marily to scan her appearance before resuming his task without pause.

    Cleo stood there in silence before the duke said a few words in a low tone,

    ¡°Are you not eating properly? Why do you look so pale?¡±

    ¡°Take care of your body and get some rest. My daughter will scold me if she finds out that anything happened to you.¡±

    ¡°Remember that you are now a candidate for the future daughter-inw of House Peterlor. You are not allowed to make my daughter unhappy.¡±

    Duke Peterlor waved his hands and Cleo felt her body move involuntarily to a seat that was right next to the duke.

    The duke passed her one of the meals that wasying down on the table without taking his eyes off the screen.

    ¡°Thank you, uncle,¡± Cleo initially wanted to ask about Sophie but the pressureing off the duke¡¯s body made her feel a bit wary.

    Inside the box was a delicious feast of high-quality golden rice fried to perfection and infused with a variety of spices such as fresh thyme, cinnamon and sage.

    Tworge eggs had been gently cracked over the golden mass and the runny yolks would make anyone¡¯s mouth begin to water.

    There was a set of cutlery next to the box, so Cleo politely thanked the duke one more time before digging in.

    The rice was even more appetizing than she imagined, and the runny eggs blended in perfect harmony with the spices.

    Days of travelling without proper food or rest had made Cleo hungrier than she even realised and soon the food disappeared down her throat.

    Cleo could feel a warm current flowing through her body and knew that the food had been spiked with nutrient solution.

    Duke Peterlor spoke after Cleo finished her meal, ¡°So¡­ you want to know what happened at the banquet?¡±

    Cleo nodded furiously and also added,

    ¡°Yes uncle, but I also want to know is there anything I can do to help?¡±

    ¡°No. You just need to be safe and happy so my daughter can return home without any worries,¡± Duke Peterlor firmly shut her down.

    He was not going to lie to the princess and tell her that there was something she could do because truthfully there was not much help a random royal princess could offer to a high noble.

    Maybe if Cleo¡¯s mother were from an important n then maybe he would take her up on the offer, but Concubine Sisrelis appeared to have no obvious backing.

    And he had a very bad feeling about that woman¡­.

    Duke Peterlor rubbed his temples to try to rx away some of the mental tension he was feeling.

    A cultivator in the god stage would no longer require food nor sleep so he could theoretical never eat for another day in his long lifespan and be perfectly fine.

    But even high-level cultivators were prone to psychological distress.

    Cultivation may evolve one into a higher lifeform, but it did not cut off the mortal ties such as emotions and feelings.

    Duke Peterlor took a few deep breaths to steady himself before beginning the retelling of what urred at the banquet,

    ¡°Let me exin to you what the current theory is about what happened that day¡­¡±

 Chapter 242: Have You Stolen My Daughters Innocence?!

    Chapter 242: Have You Stolen My Daughter''s Innocence?!

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Study Room)

    Two people sat side by side in the study room as the dim light overhead casted dark shadows on the floor.

    ¡°No one saw iting,¡± Duke Peterlor growled softly as a hot wave of anger bubbled up inside his body.

    ¡°That piece of shit spent all his days whoring or drinking so who could have thought that the damn fool wanted to kill himself.¡±

    ¡°Which is all well and good but why involve my daughter in your mess?¡±

    Cleo stayed silent and listened carefully as the duke ranted angrily about what a garbage human being the emperor was.

    There were no fluctuations in her heart as the duke cursed out her father because truthfully, he was nothing more than a stranger.

    Emperor Sisrelis had never even bothered to interact with his children, so Cleo had only seen him at a distance during royal gatherings.

    The stories about her father¡¯s exploits and the way he treated women was more than enough to fully tarnish his image in Cleo¡¯s mind.

    And she would never forgive that man for putting her girlfriend in danger.

    ¡°Anyways¡­¡± the duke coughed lightly as he realised that he had gone a bit off track.

    ¡°What happened at the banquet was essentially both a suicide and a message. The emperor no longer wanted to live and decided to blow up his dantian core.¡±

    ¡°But for some unknown reason he decided to involve all the heirs of high noble blood. It could have been for revenge, a desire for fame or something else¡­¡±

    ¡°There are multiple warp circles hidden beneath the royal pce in case of emergencies. These warp circles can teleport the emperor and his aides to safe locations that only the royal family knows.¡±

    ¡°Emperor Sisrelis activated the warp circle in the grand hall normally but then poured almost his entire qi into the spatial runes in order to overload the circle.¡±

    ¡°Was he insane?!¡± Cleo could not help but gasp in shock.

    Warp circles were built with the help of spatial mages and could teleport anyone who stepped onto the runes to a pre-set location.

    To activate these warp circles required qi from a void stage cultivator but just enough to activate the runes.

    ¡°The bastard poured almost all of his qi into the warp circle and then used what was left to blow himself up,¡± Duke Peterlor replied.

    ¡°The influx of qi was too much for the warp circle and the spatial coordinate runes in particr werepletely destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Everyone standing in the circle was teleported to random locations.¡±

    Duke Peterlor could not hide the worry in his voice as he finished telling the story.

    It was so incredibly dangerous to mess with the spatial coordinates on a warp circle.

    ¡°Have¡­ have¡­ they found any of the nobles yet?¡± Cleo hesitantly asked in a nervous tone.

    The duke paused for a moment before handing Cleo a small tablet on the nearby desk that showed a list of names.

    Cleo scanned through the document and her facial expression only got worse and worse.

    There were nine thousand five hundred noble heirs who participated in the banquet.

    Very few of them were teleported to the same location but that was not the main issue.

    The messed up spatial coordinates had sent them to ces all across the universe but not all of these locations were able to sustain life.

    Some nobles were teleported inside a star and were burned alive under the intense heat. Others found themselves stranded on ices and froze to death.

    The mostmon cause of death was from suffocation as most of the nobles found dead were floating around through space.

    So far, over sixty percent of the noble heirs were confirmed dead. Ten percent of the noble heirs had been rescued sessfully while the remaining thirty percent had yet to be found.

    What was truly concerning was the hypothesis made by one of the Archmages responsible for investigating the case.

    He said that there was a high chance that a portion of the group were sent outside of Earth Federation controlled territories.

    Cleo quickly scanned the names to see what happened to Sophie¡¯s group.

    The only missing individuals from the group were Sophie and a little girl named Lily.

    Chase Morechild, Alexander Nighnd, ra Obsou were all confirmed dead.

    Luna Valenburn had been fortunate enough to be teleported to a frontier base in the outer regions, so she was entirely unharmed.

    Leona Braveheart was not quiet as lucky as she had been teleported to an unexplored in the Hydra Star System.

    This was filled with savage beasts and the strongest creatures on the had the strength to match a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    Leona had barely survived the ordeal and it was nothing short of a miracle that she had not died before help arrived.

    ording to the report, rescuers found her broken and bloodied body with missing arms, legs, and a deep cut that spliced her entire face open.

    She was barely conscious and slipped into a briefa when the doctors on the starship tried to heal her body.

    Leona was currently floating inside a regeneration chamber but wounds like these were easy to repair so there should not be any long- term damage.

    ¡°That girl Luna testified that Sophie was holding Lily in her arms so there is a good chance that both were teleported to the same location,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke after Cleo finished reading.

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried my best to track them down using the tracking device I hid in Sophie¡¯smunicator, but no signals have been found.¡±

    Duke Peterlor had utilised all of his avable forces to search for his daughter but so far there was no trace of the hybrid girl.

    He didn¡¯t even know if she was alive.

    Wait¡­. there was a way he could know¡­ but that method would only work if his precious daughter had lost her innocence.

    ¡°Hey Cleo¡­.¡± Duke Peterlor asked hesitantly.

    ¡°By any chance is there a pink mark that is branded on your body?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do have a mark but¡­.¡± Cleo replied with a confused expression but was soon interrupted by a thunderous roar.

    ¡°Have you stolen my daughter¡¯s innocence?!¡±

 Chapter 243: Sophie Contemplates Her Life

    Chapter 243: Sophie Contemtes Her Life

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    Sophie vaguely felt that fate truly wanted her not to have a good time.

    Was it not nice to be the pampered daughter of a big noble house?

    Of course, it was!

    Was it not great to have an amazing girlfriend who was fantastic in bed?

    Definitely!

    So¡­

    Why the fuck was she currently being hunted down on some godforsaken deep within enemy territory?!

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Sophie grunted in pain as a sma shot ripped some flesh off her arm. Her hyper regenerative abilities quickly sealed the open wound, but it hurt like hell.

    She continued to move forward but her android pursuers were equipped with state-of-the-art hoverboards, so the distance was slowly decreasing.

    Sophie¡¯s worse fears about the innkeeper¡¯s background had been realised. Not even two days had gone by before strange metalloid robots began to hunt her down.

    These robotic pursuers had a humanoid appearance and were made from a greyish-white metalloid.

    Five arms sprouted out from their backs with each arm carrying a different type of weapon.

    These weapons varied from android to android but were mostly sms rifles and ionic des.

    Their eyes were dark red in colour and Sophie suspected that each artificial pupil doubled as a camera.

    Clearly the other side had no interest in investigating Sophie¡¯s origins as the robotic terminators were given the order to kill on sight.

    Every attack towards her location had been aimed to kill.

    Blue light surrounded several of the pursuers as these robots patiently started to charge an attack.

    Sophie dared not wait around and see what the result was, so she continued to channel qi into her legs and elerate.

    Lily was held tightly in her arms as it was too much of a risk for the pair to separate in this hostile ce.

    Zap! Zap! Zap!

    Sparkling lighting bolts shot out of the hands of several robots and the thick arcs of electric made the hair on Sophie¡¯s arm stand on end.

    Her danger sense had not activated so this attack would not prove fatal but Lily in her arms may not be able to withstand the shock.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s image instantly split into four identical copies with each also carrying a little girl in their arms.

    The four images nodded at each other before leaping towards different locations.

    The electric shock attack did not manage to strike a single figure, so the robots decided to charge another round.

    A red light shone out from the eyes of the robots as they scanned each copy to determine which one was the original.

    Several seconds passed uneventfully as the robots suddenly stopped their pursuit.

    Their programming was unable to tell which image was the real one and caused an internal error.

    Regarding this Sophie was not surprised.

    How could an ancient Arachnais martial art be not able to fool some stupid machines. Particrly android models that were so behind those in the Federation.

    The only reason she was dodging was that an electric attack that hit her would affect Lily as well.

    Eventually the onemanding the robots must have ryed different orders as the group separated into smaller packs.

    There were originally twenty robots following Sophie and the person in charge must have wanted to keep the teams equal as each squad had five members.

    It was just that this momentarilypse of judgement wasted precious time, so Sophie and her illusions were already miles away.

    ¡°Take a deep breath and don¡¯t panic,¡± Sophie chanted silently as she found herself wandering deeper and deeper into the unknown forest.

    Harsh bird cries screamed out in the air and asionally a dangerous breath could be felt close to her body.

    Rustling sounded out from nearby bushes and Sophie could detect numerous eyeballs staring at her from the darkness.

    With a confident wave of her hand, a thin silver needle shot out towards a certain location.

    Screech!

    A massive body fell out of a nearby tree. It¡¯s skin was a darkish green colour and was covered in a thick shaggy fur.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t make out any more details but suddenly the number of eyes staring at her from the dark decreased.

    ¡°I need to lose them soon,¡± Sophie gritted her teeth and continued to press forward.

    She could hear the distinct hum of the hoverboardsing closer and closer as five robotic heads approached from the behind the trees.

    Sophie reached into her storage device and tossed three cubic- like discs onto the ground. A sadistic smile briefly shed across her face.

    Short term E.M.P devices.

    Unlikely to affect her robotic pursuers even the most basic androids were outfitted with protective equipment to counter E.M.P devices but their hoverboards¡­.

    Were far more vulnerable.

    ¡°Big sister are we going to die?¡± Lily whispered softly with reddened eyes.

    She was currently facing in the direction of Sophie¡¯s chest as the hybrid girl didn¡¯t want her to see any bloody scenes.

    ¡°Rx Lily¡­ I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you,¡± Sophieforted the girl by nting a soft kiss on her forehead.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears snapped towards a certain direction as she could hear the heavy sounds of water travelling rapidly.

    There it was!

    The nearest port city could be found by following the Caroni River ording to the information dug out in the mining town.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then disappeared as she soared into the sky and danced through the clouds.

    It was truly a beautiful night.

    Two full blue moons shone brightly in the sky as numerous stars twinkled merrily. None of the familiar constetions could be seen but the new patterns were equally mesmerizing.

    It was a shame that Sophie didn¡¯t have time to take in the view as she crossed vast distances towards the river.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie took a nce back to see five robotic figures being thrown off their bikes and crashing into a nearby tree.

    Immediately they were surrounded by a mass of strange furry animals with razor sharp ws and jagged teeth.

    Sophie recognized the species as the same as the one killed by her attack as the darkish-green fur was quite distinctive.

    The robotic androids were no soft persimmons and quickly fought back by activatingser attacks and splicing through the unprotected flesh.

    It would take them quite a bit of time to defeat all the animals, so Sophie moved forward with greater confidence.

    The most important thing was to keep moving.

    Whatever organization was behind the innkeeper clearly had recorded her appearance so these attacks would continue in the future unless she disguised herself.

    Furthermore, the only settlement that was near the mining town was the port city, so it was obvious which location she had to go towards.

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she felt her connections to two of her three illusions suddenly cut off which indicated that they were killed.

    Still, it was toote for those squads to catch up to her location.

 Chapter 244: The Long Journey Home Begins

    Chapter 244: The Long Journey Home Begins

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Nameless Port City)

    Screech! Screech! Screech!

    Sophie briefly took a nce upwards at the enormous sixty-feet-tall monsters that were soaring high above the crowded port.

    Each beast had a long mouth, a thin nose and weird eyebrows that made them appear to have a permanent expression of shock or surprise.

    Their bodies were slender and snake-like in appearance, but Sophie could see bulging muscles hidden deep beneath the flesh.

    These monsters were domesticated animals called Dwen mainly used as transport vessels by the settlers on Xerciam Prime.

    Sophie was relieved to find out that the information she got from the mining town turned out to be correct and the port city was indeed built along the Caroni river.

    Two days had passed since the encounter with the androids and Sophie had managed to seamlessly mingle into the port city along with Lily.

    The situation on Xerciam Prime was far moreplicated than she had initially thought as thepetition between the various financial groups for the increasingly scarce resources was beginning to intensify.

    There was a noticeable atmosphere of tension seen on the faces of the residents in the port city and Sophie had already observed several fights that ended in bloody carnage.

    This port city had been established by multiple neutral parties so there was no government or faction in charge.

    This was both a blessing and a curse.

    The buildings here had a noticeably less sturdy foundation than those in the mining town and several were just simply made from wood chopped down from the nearby forest.

    Some were nothing more than makeshift tents hastily established and easy to tear down.

    Of course, good hygiene was seen as a luxury and Sophie was in constant difort having to bear the overall scent of filth and garbage.

    Lily was currently stuck in a hotel room that Sophie had booked as she needed to go alone to scout for information.

    The little girl was a bit too young to experience the awful scenes in the port city and more importantly Sophie was afraid that her demeaner would attract attention.

    Humans were a rare species in the eyes of the ordinary citizens of the Unova Syndicate.

    Sophie had multiple safety and defensive gear in her storage bag, so it was not a problem to loan some to Lily in case of any emergency.

    A qi tide cultivator was superhumanly fast so unless an enemy in the void stage showed up, Sophie was confident that she would be able to immediately rush to Lily¡¯s side.

    Sophie had decided to visit the trading center to buy two tickets for the next ferry to King¡¯s Ind.

    On King¡¯s Ind was a spaceport so it would be easy to escape from the once they arrived.

    The only issue was that the journey by boat would take several months and Sophie had heard rumors that powerful sea monster lurked beneath the depths of the ocean.

    So¡­ it would be quite some time before they managed to escape.

    Sophie was briefly hit with a sense of loss and fear as she pictured her father and her friends being extremely worried.

    Did they know that she was okay?

    Would they think that she died?

    Could her father survive losing her?

    What if she never returned home?

    These questions constantly rang out in Sophie¡¯s head and caused the hybrid girl¡¯s steps to briefly falter.

    ¡°Oi! Look where you¡¯re going you stupid bitch!¡± a tiny green alien with knob-like limbs and hands scowled fiercely as a hooded figure bumped into him.

    He raised his head slowly upwards to continue to curse and scold the blind moron when something made his voice crack.

    The blind moron who bumped into him was a seven-foot tall, hooded figure with four wickedly sharp de-like appendages jutting out of its back.

    ¡°Did you say something?¡± Sophie asked with a bemused feeling as the tiny creature was now obviously afraid.

    ¡°No¡­ no!¡± the alien smiled tteringly and quickly moved to the side.

    Sophie smiled inwardly and paid the encounter no more attention.

    It was indeed her fault for bumping into the alien, so she was not going to be offended from some cursing.

    Plus, it helped her to briefly snap out of her depressive state.

    Not too long after, Sophie finally arrived at a more well-kept area of town that was sectioned off with a metalloid fence.

    Armed guards holding sma rifles stood menacingly at the entrance to prevent anyone from having any bad thoughts.

    Of course, this protection only extended to those inside the trading zone. As for the clients who came out of the area¡­.

    Well, that was not their problem.

    Sophie spotted two simple signs hanging on the metalloid fence and leaned in a bit closer to get a better look.

    [Trading Sector]

    [No Fighting Allowed]

    Sophie subconsciously checked her pockets to make sure that the money was still there and then joined the line to get in.

    Maybe it was because the security team was present but the people in the line did not try to skip or make trouble.

    There was one would-be thief who attempted to sneak through the metalloid wall, but Sophie saw a guard smoothly point the sma rifle at the thief before unloading a clean shot.

    The sma shot instantly turned the thief into a headless body and his corpse fell to the ground with a dull thump.

    No one in the line even battered an eye at the loss of life and Sophie¡¯s expression likewise did not change.

    The line moved fairly quickly and soon it was Sophie¡¯s turn to enter the trading area. She gave a passing nod to the guards before stepping inside the enclosure.

    Instantly she felt a subtle feeling.

    The air inside the trading area was clean and pure with none of the traces of filth and garbage found outside.

    Each merchant was allocated a certain area to set up his wares so although the scene was a bit crowded, it was not disorganized and messy.

    There were many products and alien species that Sophie had never seen before. She could hear the confident calls of some merchants who were bragging about the goods in their shop.

    ¡°Top of the line mining equipment for a great price!¡±

    ¡°Fresh Xteph meat! Get your fresh Xteph meat here!¡±

    ¡°Tender ves! Use them for food, pleasure or whatever you like!¡±

 Chapter 245: Sophies Misfortune Continues.....

    Chapter 245: Sophie''s Misfortune Continues¡­..

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Nameless Port City)

    ¡°Over here! Over here!¡± a loud voice yelled near Sophie¡¯s location.

    Sophie turned around to see a handsomely dressed merchant wearing an outfit made from rare silks and embedded with precious jewels.

    His skin was a yellowish-red colour, and his body was skinny to the point where Sophie suspected that he starved himself.

    This thin physique contrasted sharply with hisrge bulbous head that contained two enormous eyes the size of dinnertes.

    Rows of dull teeth were found inside a small mouth that contained a fat tongue that flicked outward every few seconds.

    Sophie was a little bit creeped out by his looks, but her expression did not waver as she walked over.

    There were many different species scattered across the universe of all shapes and sizes, so it was unfair to judge someone purely by their outer appearance.

    ¡°What are you selling?¡± Sophie asked politely.

    There was a sign next to the stall but Sophie was not too familiar with the written alphabet of themonnguage in the Unova Syndicate so she couldn¡¯t understand what was on the sign.

    The merchantly seemed surprised that someone had approached his stall, so he paused for a few moments to collect his thoughts.

    ¡°Allow me to show you my dear customer,¡± the merchant grinned and pushed a batch of goods on the countertop.

    Sophie saw three vials filled with a pinkish liquid that bubbled and popped in their ss container.

    Next to the vials were several strange relics that were contorted into mysterious shapes.

    She could not detect if there was anything extraordinary about these goods but as her curiosity had been aroused, Sophie decided to stay a bit longer.

    Sophie picked up one of the relics and examined the details more closely.

    It was around the size of her fist and thin stalk-like tendrils grew along its length at regr intervals.

    She didn¡¯t have to worry about touching the relic as Sophie was wearing gloves to protect her skin from having any contact with dangerous materials.

    There were strange lumps and bumps at the ends of the relic whose purpose Sophie could not tell.

    ¡°Do you like that one?¡± the merchant¡¯s eyes lit up as he saw Sophie handling the goods.

    ¡°It was bought second-hand, so the price is only twenty dors! Plus, the seller said that it had only been used a few times before.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t cleaned it because I know certain customers with heavy taste might enjoy the used product.¡±

    ¡°Used?¡± Sophie asked with some confusion.

    Were these relics some kind of devices that could be activated more than once?

    ¡°Well as long as the overall shape isn¡¯t broken then they should be able to be used as long as you want!¡± the merchant assured her.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you check out some of the other items to see if anything else catches your fancy?¡±

    Sophie agreed and held the strange relic in one hand as she examined the rest of the goods on the countertop.

    The shapes of the other relics varied quite greatly but Sophie noticed somemon traits in all of them.

    Each relic was roughly the size of her fist and all contained bumps or raised sections along the base or length of the relic.

    Sophie was getting more and more perplexed as she scanned the goods on the counter.

    What on earth was the function of these relics?

    Finally, unable to resist, Sophie decided to ask the merchant,

    ¡°So, what are the purpose of these relics?¡±

    ¡°Relics?¡± the merchant¡¯s facial expression suddenly worsened as an awful thought entered his mind.

    ¡°Madam¡­ this is a sex toy shop.¡±

    Sophie froze in ce and immediately turned to look at her right hand that was currently holding what she now knew was a dildo.

    And¡­. didn¡¯t the merchant say that it was used?

    And more importantly¡­.

    Didn¡¯t he say that it wasn¡¯t cleaned???

    Sophie calmly ced the sex toy back down on the counter and turned around to leave as if nothing had happened.

    The merchant realized that his customer had misunderstood so with an ugly face he watched Sophie leave without stopping her.

    Sophie waited until she was out of sight before quickly tearing off the glove and flinging it away on the ground.

    Oh my god.

    Oh my god.

    OH, MY FUCKING GOD.

    What was worse was that she had to maintain her outward appearance, so Sophie was forced to keep her raging emotions under control.

    She searched storage bag for some disinfectant and immediately got to work by scrubbing down her right hand until it was numb.

    The glove should have protected her from any skin contact, but Sophie was not reassured until she properly wiped herself.

    There were extra clothes inside her storage device so Sophie found herself a new glove and put it on.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and continued on her journey to get two boat tickets.

    Now shepletely ignored any merchants calling out to her location and did not even take a second nce at any ordinary goods on disy.

    Sophie still kept note of any interesting sights and there were quite a few stalls that caught her attention.

    Such as a pet store owner who kept his animals inside tiny cages that made Sophie¡¯s rage almost bubble to the surface.

    The animals inside were not well cared for and their fur showed signs of being caked with dried blood.

    Another stall owner was selling leg-less alien worm creatures that reeked of rotting flesh and decay.

    Sophie frowned in disgust, but several wealthy customers were bidding fiercely for the hapless worms.

    There was clearly an inside matter to the story.

    Sophie was a bit curious but the event at the sex shop that happened earlier hadpletely cooled her urge to explore so she just left the scene.

    Plus, the money being offered for one of those worms was far beyond what she had in her pouch.

    Sophie had not gotten the time to¡­ ¡®borrow¡¯ money from any unfortunate thugs so her storage bag only contained what she had taken from the mining town.

    Hopefully, it would be enough to buy two tickets otherwise Sophie would need to steal some more.

    It was not a good feeling to be a thief but there was really no other choice, so Sophie forced herself not to think about it.

    Finally, she came across a stall with arge signboard that had the details of every ship entering the leaving the port city.

    It was time time to take the first step on the long journey home.

    ¡°Hey boss, do you all sell tickets to King¡¯s Ind?¡± Sophie asked casually.

    The merchant behind the counter was a marine lifeform with a medium sized fish-like head that was trapped in a helmet filled with water.

    His arms and legs were extremely scaly with thin needles poking out of his joints. Unlike the previous merchant, Sophie could feel that this seller was particrly dangerous.

    There was a small speaker attached to the side of the helmet that allowed the merchant to project his speech.

    The voice that came out of the speaker was surprisingly quite clear and did not sound robotic.

    ¡°The next ship leaves tomorrow,¡± the merchant spoke briefly and then resumed staring at nothing.

    He seemedpletely uninterested whether Sophie would buy a ticket or not.

    ¡°Let me get two tickets,¡± Sophie quite liked his no-nonsense attitude and stated her request.

    ¡°What ss?¡± the merchant replied.

    ¡°What are the options?¡± Sophie countered as she wanted to make sure to know what her choices were.

    ¡°Basic means that you stay on the deck and are allocated two meals per day.¡±

    ¡°Second ss means that you have to live in a room with three other people and are given two meals per day plus a light snack.¡±

    ¡°First ss gives you one private room per person and the meals can be requested whenever you want.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look like you can afford the special ss ticket so I¡¯m not going to bother to exin.¡±

    Sophie was undeterred by his unpleasant remark and simply asked for two first ss tickets.

    She quickly understood why the merchant felt she was too poor as both tickets ended up costing nine hundred dors.

    That meant that the remaining money in Sophie¡¯s hands was now less than two hundred.

 Chapter 246: The Children In The Mountain

    Chapter 246: The Children In The Mountain

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Nameless Port City)

    ¡°Don¡¯t raise the anchor yet!¡±

    ¡°Special ss passengers please enter through the side entrance.¡±

    ¡°Basic ss get to the back of the line or we will shoot!¡±

    Loud cries and yells could be heard as several ships were nning on leaving the port city today.

    Sophie stood quietly in a line and felt the cold breeze hit her face.

    It was a lovely day.

    The sun was shinning brightly in the sky and there was not a cloud in sight.

    Tall, magnificent ships of every shape and size were patiently waiting in the harbour.

    These ships were all built from various metalloids that could withstand attacks from the sea beasts lurking within the dark depths of the ocean.

    Alien creatures onboard these vessels were busily preparing for departure by checking the sails, motors and monitoring the engine rooms.

    Sophie had long realised that the technology level at least in this mining colony was far below that of the Earth Federation.

    The reason for this was that this ind acted as a base for the various financial groups to explore the sea floor and mine for resources.

    ¡°Big sister¡­. are we going on an adventure?¡± Lily whispered excitedly as she moved around in Sophie¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Lily you are so clever!¡± Sophie praised the little girl causing her to grin happily.

    This exchange did not arouse any suspicion from the other aliens waiting in line as Sophie had gone to great lengths to hide Lily¡¯s human identity.

    Lily was currently wearing an oversized robe and a white mask that covered the entirety of her face.

    ¡°Keep moving! Keep moving!¡± a crewmate roared before roughly shoving a slug-like alien onboard the ship.

    This exchange happened in the line next to Sophie and Lily¡¯s location. It was the line for passengers who had only bought basic ss amodations.

    These passengers would not be given a room and would have to stay on the upper decks for the duration of the journey.

    Two meals were guaranteed so they were unlikely to starve but many would not survive the journey.

    Green ooze sshed on the ground wherever the slug-like alien travelled which caused the rest of the passengers¡¯ faces to contort.

    The upper deck was already messy and now there was a mysterious green slime on the ground that resembled vomit.

    Sophie nced briefly as the scene and inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief that she hadn¡¯t decided to buy basic amodation.

    First ss would at least guarantee a private room for herself and Lily although they would be staying in the same room.

    There should not be any security concerns on the ship, but Sophie was always prepared for the unexpected.

    While the line for the basic ss passengers was messy and crowded, in contrast the line for first ss passengers was quite neat and organised.

    There was sufficient space between passengers, so Sophie never felt like someone was hovering over her shoulder.

    The line for the special ss passengers was practically deserted and so far, Sophie had only seen two people go in.

    Well for the high price it was reasonable to assume that many were unwilling to shell out so many dors for a three-month voyage.

    Sophie continued to wait while chatting with Lily from time to time.

    It was important to show a calm andposed attitude when talking to the little girl to make sure that she didn¡¯t panic.

    To be fair, Sophie wasn¡¯t sure that she would have been able to handle this unexpected situation as well as Lily currently was when she was at her age.

    ¡°Big sister can you tell me a story while we wait?¡± Lily looked up at Sophie with sparkling eyes.

    Sophie took a quick look at the number of passengers ahead and decided that there was enough time for a brief story.

    ¡°What kind of story do you want to hear?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°I like scary stories!¡± Lily pumped her tiny fist in the air with excitement.

    It came as a bit of a surprise to Sophie to hear that Lily liked horror stories.

    The problem was that her father had never told her any scary tales and Sophie was not a big fan of horror novels or movies.

    Sophie thought for a moment and quickly scanned Sui Meng¡¯s memories to see if there was anything in there that could help.

    Ah¡­ there we go!

    Sui Meng was not a fan of horror either but had an old friend who loved to read folklore stories.

    There was one story in particr that Sophie felt that Lily would enjoy.

    The original story was a bitplex so Sophie nned on modifying it heavily so that Lily could understand it better.

    ¡°Alright. I will tell you the story about the children in the mountain,¡± Sophie lowered her voice and spoke in a mysterious tone.

    ¡°There once was a child who was loved by his family.

    He had a caring father, a patient mother and two adorable younger siblings. Everyone thought that his life was perfect, and the little boy agreed.

    Now where the little boy lived was at the base of an enormous mountain that was sorge that it grew straight into the clouds.

    The boy loved sneaking out of his house and ying in the forest beneath the mountain. His parents would tell him time after time not to run away but he never listened.

    Then one day something unexpected happened.

    The boy¡¯s younger siblings fell sick, and his parents had to rush them to the hospital. Before leaving they begged and pleaded with the boy to stay inside the house and lock the door.

    The boy nodded and then his parents left hurriedly to seek a doctor that could heal their two other children.

    Several hours passed and the boy felt bored.

    Why should he stay inside the house?

    When were his parentsing back?

    The boy waited and waited but as the sun in the sky gradually came down, he realised that his parents would not be returning today.

    A mischievous glint sparkled in the boy¡¯s eyes and he quickly unlocked the door and rushed into the forest to y.

    He came to his favourite spot and saw ten other children staring at him quiet amusement. The boy was curious and said hello.

    The boy was surprised to see other children in the forest, but he wanted to make new friends, so he walked closer and closer.

    These children were¡­. a bit strange.

    Each child wore arge straw hat that covered their face so the boy could only see their lips.

    They were all dressed in coarse linen shirts and short pants made from poor materials.

    The boy was a bit concerned but many poor children wore simr clothes, so he wasn¡¯t afraid.

    He took a brief nce at their feet and saw that every child walked around barefooted and their feet¡­.

    Were backwards.

    Every child had two feet that were twisted and contorted so that their heels were outwards, and their knees were at the back.

    The boy panicked and tried to run but found that his body could not longer move. The children approached him slowly with excited looks on their faces.

    Two hourster and the boy¡¯s parents returned home to find the house empty. There was a terrible silence as the parents desperately searched for their missing child.

    They searched every room.

    Every nook.

    Every cranny.

    And found nothing.

    They quickly alerted the vige head who organised search parties into the mountain, but the child was never found.

    The parents searched for months and months on end but eventually their hope turned into despair and then¡­.

    Resignation.

    Yearster the two younger siblings of the boy would find a straw hat sitting peacefully on the bed where their older brother had once slept on.¡±

    ¡°Woah¡­.¡± Lily pped her hands together as Sophie finished the story.

    ¡°Thanks, big sister!¡±

    Sophie smiled gently and rubbed Lily¡¯s head with an indulgent expression in her eyes.

    She was generally not fond of kids, but Lily was an exception.

    The storytelling session had taken up quite a few minutes and the line for first ss was moving steadily so soon it was Sophie¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Tickets please!¡± an alien with a long tendril instead of an arm called out to Sophie as she approached the front of the line.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Sophie handed two paper tickets with a golden border to the alien and waited patiently.

    There were no ID checks or verification needed so the alien just scanned the tickets to make sure they were valid and then waved Sophie onboard.

 Chapter 247: Order of the Fallen

    Chapter 247: Order of the Fallen

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Hidden Base- Order of the Fallen)

    A gigantic mechanical city was built in the middle of an empty desert on Xerciam Prime.

    This area of the wascking in natural resources so naturally no other settlements were built nearby.

    What was strange was that the city appeared to be both real and imaginary as its existence to an outside observer would fade in and out of reality every few seconds.

    Of course, this was nothing more than an illusion created with the help of spatial disruption technology.

    The purpose of this device was to prevent the city from being revealed on any of the scanners present onboard the starships owned by the various financial groups.

    The residents inside this mechanical city were all from the same alien race. Pink scaly skin, no visible orifices, and a bipedal body as well as a whip-like tail.

    These aliens all wore purple uniforms with the only distinguishing feature between them being the number of stars disyed on the front.

    Well informed citizens would recognise this uniform as it was the recognisable uniform of the terrorist group known as the Order of the Fallen.

    The Order of the Fallen was one of the numerous criminal organizations carving out pieces of entire gxies that belonged to the government.

    Still the crimes theymitted were so egregious that the government had dered all members as enemies to the Unova Syndicate.

    Each resident was organised into squads of twenty and were tasked with maintaining the stability of the city.

    There was an overall unpleasant atmosphere hanging over the city and every so often one of the aliens would look at the ck tower in the center of the city.

    This mysterious tower was strictly guarded by over two hundred heavily armed guards that mercilessly shot any resident that walked too close to the entrance.

    Inside the tower on the top floor, an important meeting was urring that had long term implications for the organization.

    ¡°Any information on the targets or updates on the n?¡± a low raspy voice echoed through the dark room.

    No one dared to even make a sound as tension mounted with every passing second.

    The men in the room were fully aware that it was possible that they would all be killed.

    ¡°No one?¡± the voice repeated for a second time with the same tone and volume.

    The secretary bit his lip nervously before boldly stepping forward,

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­ sir. So far team alpha, beta and sigma have sessfully infiltrated all four of the major financial groups.¡±

    ¡°We have ced spies in top executive positions in the Sepriena, Canercose and Northerium financial groups however it seems that the president of the Libera group is a bit more cautious than the rest.¡±

    ¡°But it is only a matter of time and the agents inside the Libera group say that several of the leadership team have weakness that are easy to exploit.¡±

    The secretary finished his report nervously with his six hearts frantically pounding inside his chest as the boss did not say a word.

    Seconds ticked by that seemed like an eternity to the secretary who felt as though the grim reaper¡¯s scythe was hovering right above his body.

    ¡°Well done,¡± the boss uttered two short words and then passed a vial of greenish liquid to the secretary.

    The secretary hurriedly ced the vial inside of his pocket as the envious eyes of his colleagues stared at him with jealousy.

    ¡°There are only a few short months beforerger financial groups learn about the true resources hidden on this so time is of the essence,¡± the boss leaned back in his chair and pressed a button.

    ¡°It is impossible to keep this matter a secret forever, so the best course of action is to take any many Styrx iron crystals as possible and then leave before the conflict begins.¡±

    An enormous holographic image appeared in the middle of the room. It was a scaled-down model of Xerciam Prime, but several spots were highlighted in dark red colours.

    Most of these red spots were scattered across the mountain ranges on Xerciam Prime but there were a few in weird locations such as swampy wends, blooming forests, and scorching deserts.

    Thergest of these spots was right in the middle of the Rexanera Sea that was the only ocean on the.

    Its location was ufortably close to the spaceport so the leadership team of the Order of the Fallen were still deliberating whether mining was worth the risk.

    They were not afraid of the pitiful military strength of the financial groups on the but were worried that any attack would draw the attention of bigger yers.

    ¡°Might I offer a suggestion,¡± a calm voice sounded out from the back of the room. The boss raised his head to see the number one assassin of the organization staring back at him.

    ¡®Whisper¡¯ as he was called was the most dangerous man to ever work for the Order of the Fallen. Despite being only in the qi tide stage, he had managed to hold his ground against a void stage cultivator.

    ¡°The floor is all yours,¡± the boss put away his scowling attitude and immediately formed a smile on his lips.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Whisper bowed once respectfully and the began to speak about his great n.

    ¡°The agents that infiltrated the four financial corporations should aggregate the situation and cause a war to start between them.

    ¡°I would suggest stealing trade secrets or resources from the base of one group and then dropping these goods off at another house.¡±

    ¡°We then take advantage of the confusion and secretly start the mining process.¡±

    Whisper bowed once more out of respect and then returned to the back of the room as if nothing had happened.

    The boss sat in his chair and gave the assassin¡¯s words another second thought.

    He was right. because now was not the time for cowardice.

    ¡°Alright I will pass on an early draft of the n to the rest of the infiltrators. The most important action to take is to fan the mes immediately.¡±

 Chapter 248: Spare Change â€¦. Spare Change Maam

    Chapter 248: Spare Change ¡­. Spare Change Ma''am

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Your rooms are on the lower decks and the number are 528 and 534 respectively,¡± the crewmate muttered a few words then moved on to the next passengers in line.

    Sophie took a note of the numbers in her mind and then walked towards the staircase located at the back of the upper deck.

    This was her first time being on a ship and a small part of her was actually pretty excited.

    To feel the cool sea breeze brush against your face, the warm rays of sunlight shining on your body and the sounds of sailors steadily raising the sails.

    The name of the ship that Sophie was currently on was called the S.S Annamarie.

    This vessel was arge warship equipped with high powered weaponry and defensive shields.

    These measures were required to traverse the Rexanera Sea as hostile marine forces as well as sea monsters roamed these turbulent waters.

    Sophie held on to Lily tightly as she navigated through the crowded upper deck filled with passengers who had bought basic amodations.

    The aliens on the upper deck were a variety of races and species but there was onemon trait seen in most of them.

    They were all shabbily dressed and smelled quite unpleasant.

    Sophie had even seen some humanoid aliens drop their pants and defecate right on the metalloid floor.

    The crewmembers walking by seemed not to care but Sophie was forcing herself not to throw up at the disgusting view.

    She turned Lily¡¯s head to face her chest and activated the air purifying function on the mask to make sure that the little girl did not inhale the stench.

    ¡°Spare change¡­. Spare change ma¡¯am,¡± a skeletal creature near the duo spoke up in a raspy tone as Sophie walked by.

    ¡°Hey why don¡¯t we be friends? Friends¡­ friends¡­. friends.¡±

    ¡°Friends¡­ I¡­ I need some money friend¡­friend.¡±

    He held up arge floppy hat in his bony hand and pushed it towards Sophie.

    Sophie frowned slightly and continued to walk forward without making eye contact with the skeletal figure.

    It was a trick she had picked up from scanning Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    Apparently, the safest way to deal with strangers attempting unwanted conversations was to just ignore them.

    ¡°Spare change¡­ ma¡¯am you look rich¡­. I SAID I WANT SPARE CHANGE!¡± the tone of the skeletal creature suddenly shifted, and he lunged towards Sophie without any warning.

    Swish!

    A razor-sharp barb stopped mere centimeters from a weak joint in the skeleton¡¯s neck as Sophie¡¯s golden eyes stared at the would-be attacker.

    Waves upon waves of bloodlust and murderous rage radiated from her body that caused the indifferent spectators watching the scene to hurriedly change their locations.

    The skeletal creature stopped in fear and did not dare to even move an inch as the cold shadow of death appeared to hang over him.

    Sophie casually withdrew her de-like appendage and then strolled towards the staircase without being stopped a second time.

    She didn¡¯t kill the skeleton as the rules on the back of the tickets clearly stated that intentional murder was strictly forbidden.

    Which made sense as the crew could not deal with constant bloodbaths and also spare enough energy to contend with external threats.

    Lily squirmed around ufortably in Sophie¡¯s chest, but the hybrid girl refused to let her see these nasty sights.

    The walk to the staircase was only about ten minutes but to Sophie it felt like an eternity as she had to sidestep several aliensying on the ground as well a puddles of suspicious looking liquids.

    Finally, she saw the ck metalloid staircase up ahead and could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Alright so room 528 and 534¡­ so that means the fifth floor,¡± Sophie whispered to herself as she descended down the stairs.

    There were much fewer people going up and down the staircase and since the lower decks were reserved for those who bought higher quality tickets, every person she encountered was dressed fairly well.

    And more importantly¡­.

    Their hygiene and overall cleanliness was pretty good.

    Strange markings were written on the walls at regr intervals to help guests navigate the lower decks, but Sophie could not properly understand thenguage that they had used to write the signs.

    Terkanaese was one of thosenguages where speaking it was easy, but the weird circr symbols used to represent words made it difficult for non-natives to learn.

    With only a rudimentary understanding of the writtennguage, Sophie could only vaguelyprehend basic symbols.

    Sophie resorted to just counting the number of floors they passed until she saw the symbol for the number ¡®five.¡¯

    A dark grey metalloid door blended seamlessly into the surrounding wall and there was no handle or doorknob.

    But there was a small device ced on the side of the wall with an empty space that could perfectly fit a ticket.

    Sophie pressed the two tickets one after another into the device and soon a rumbling noise could be heard.

    With a dull groan the door gradually swung open to reveal a well-lit corridor and an endless row of doors with aliens walking in and out of them.

    ¡°Is this our new home?¡± Lily popped her head out of Sophie¡¯s arms and stared at the corridor with visible excitement on her face.

    ¡°Yes. I booked us a room so you can sleep with your big sister for the whole trip,¡± Sophie whispered softly.

    Lily gave Sophie a short hug that Sophie returned with a gentle look in her eyes.

    Sophie cautiously stepped forward and inspected the symbols painted on every door.

    ¡°Now where the hell is my room?¡± Sophie muttered to herself in a voice that was too low for Lily to hear.

    She could recognise the symbol for ¡®five¡¯, but the problem was that every room number started with five.

    Well, she knew what room number to look for so maybe the best option was to just count the doors as she moved through the corridor.

    Sophie put her n into action and mentally kept track of every door until the pair arrived at a junction where the corridor split into two paths.

    ¡°Damn¡­ which one to take?¡± Sophie mused quietly.

    Alright it was time to ask for some assistance.

    ¡°Excuse me¡­ excuse me,¡± Sophie politely shuffled forward and called out to an alien wearing a gorgeous evening gown.

    This alien was roughly the size of a young child.

    Sophie assumed that she was a girl as the alien had pale green skin and feminine features that were charming in an odd sort of way.

    The alien girl¡¯s skin had cracks that oozed a purplish liquid with two medium sized wings grew out of her back.

    ¡°Yes? Were you calling out to me?¡± the alien girl hesitantly spoke.

    She was clearly a bit intimated by Sophie¡¯s imposing height and de-like appendages. Sophie could tell because the alien girl as began to inch her way backwards as she approached.

    ¡°Do you know which path leads to room 528?¡± Sophie asked with a friendly smile.

    ¡°Yes, just take the left path and walk ten doors down and it should be directly on the right,¡± the alien girl replied with a tense expression on her face.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sophie could tell the girl was a bit ufortable with her appearance, so she just gave a brief nod as thanks.

 Chapter 249: An Important Decision Is Made

    Chapter 249: An Important Decision Is Made

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Hmm¡­. this room seems a little bit small,¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she ced Lily on the bed.

    The alien girl had given them proper directions to room 528 so Sophie found it without much trouble.

    It was just that the room did not have a lot of space and the only furniture present was a full body mirror hanging on the wall.

    The walls were painted a dark purplish colour and the floor was covered with a thick rug that was made from the hide of a species native to Xerciam Prime.

    Room 528 was roughly the size of a standard bedroom and there was only a tiny room in the back that contained a shower and what appeared to be a toilet.

    At least the mattress was filled with soft down feathers soying on the bed was afortable experience.

    ¡°Move over Lily,¡± Sophie gently lifted the little girl to the side and sat down on the bed with a rxed expression.

    Hopefully the next three months should bepletely uneventful, so Sophie was looking forward to getting a chance to unwind and rx.

    The stress of being transported to an entirely different gxy and being forced to evade pursuers was really taking a toll on her mental state.

    Sophie could feel her bloodlust state lingering just beneath the surface and it was getting harder every day to keep it under control.

    There was no Cleo nearby to calm her down, so Sophie had to rely on her personal willpower to prevent her abilities from going berserk.

    Speaking of Cleo¡­.

    Sophie was really missing her girlfriend.

    It was impossible to tell how long it would take for Lily and her to return home, but Sophie knew exactly what she was going to do once she returned¡­.

    Fuck that princess mercilessly until she passes out.

    A silly grin shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she imagined Cleo¡¯s naked body twisting and shaking under the waves of pleasure.

    Remembering the sweet taste of Cleo¡¯s beautiful flower or her gorgeous bountiful chest was enough to cause Sophie to drool slightly.

    ¡°Big sister what are you thinking about?¡± a sweet voice suddenly interrupted Sophie¡¯s fantasies.

    Lily was staring at her with an expression of innocent curiosity.

    Sophie quickly thought of a reply and then spoke,

    ¡°Cough¡­. I¡­ I was thinking about the delicious food that we will eat once we return home.¡±

    ¡°Your big sister will take you to the fanciest restaurants on Gaia!¡±

    ¡°If you want¡­ I can buy every single item on the menu!¡±

    Sophie sessfully distracted Lily with the beautiful promise of free meals in the future and soon the pair begun to discuss their favourite foods.

    It came as a surprise to Sophie to find out that Lily was actually a fan of spicy food and enjoyed dishes that were spiked with the hottest peppers avable.

    The technology to gically modify crops had long been perfected so it was a simple matter to create peppers with heat levels that were beyond three million Scoville units.

    ¡°And I love to eat chicken and I love to eat hot dogs¡­. and¡­ burgers and¡­¡± Lily adorably started to count her favourite foods on one hand.

    Sophie patiently listened as the little girl continued to list off all the food she wanted to eat until the conversation was interrupted by a loud growl.

    Lily paused her speech and blushed furiously as Sophie shot her a teasing look.

    ¡°Maybe its time for some food,¡± Sophie winked at Lily and reached for themunication device ced next to the bed.

    Passengers who had bought first ss amodations were entitled to unlimited meals and snacks at any time.

    Also, the meals would be brought to their room so there was no need to walk down to the cafeteria level onboard the ship.

    Sophie picked up themunicator device that was roughly the size of her palm and weighed as much as a small stone.

    It was silvery grey in colour and a prominent red button was disyed on its side.

    Sophie clicked the red button and suddenly a holographic screen was projected in the air.

    Numerous pictures and images appeared on the screen as the hologram appeared to act as a menu.

    Sophie just needed to click on the options she wanted to order, and then someone wouldeter to deliver the food.

    ¡°Alright Lily¡­ what do you want to eat?¡± Sophie asked kindly and ced themunicator device in Lily¡¯s hand.

    Of course, Sophie did not n to have the little girl eat the meal when it arrived as what may be harmless to one alien species could be a lethal toxin to another.

    Fortunately, there was a molecr analyser kit in her storage device so Sophie would be able to safely test what chemicals were inside the food and if it would be safe to consume.

    ¡°Big sister I can¡¯t read these words,¡± Lily quietly whispered as she nced at the screen.

    Sophie stayed silent because truthfully, she also had no idea what the words spelled out. She was just relying on the pictures to guess what type of food was on the screen.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either,¡± Sophie admitted.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just pick three pictures at random, and we can try them together?¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Lily replied and studied the different meals carefully.

    She took about fifteen minutes but eventually pointed at three very mysterious dishes.

    One dish had what looked like a tentacle covered in green ooze and served with a side of badly chopped vegetables.

    Her other choice was a bowl of pinkish liquid that contained miniature fingers that constantly floated around.

    Sophie already had a bad feeling about thest choice and her fears turned out to bepletely well founded as Lily chose a dish that could only be described as¡­.

    Lumps of fleshy chunks that had been deep fried¡­ deep fried a second time and then soaked in a bowl full of oil.

    This dish was a greasy mess.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to try these?¡± Sophie hesitantly asked.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ these were the only ones that didn¡¯t look icky and gross,¡± Lily stuck out her tongue in disgust.

    These ones didn¡¯t look icky and gross?!

    Sophie was dumbfounded and for a few brief seconds she could not think of a good reply to Lily¡¯s statement.

    She started to consider whether she should just step in and choose something else.

    Sophie took a deeper look at the menu only to discover to her horror that Lily was absolutely correct.

    Somehow those three dishes were the least revolting items on the menu!

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure if this was a cultural thing, but it appeared that the food consumed in the Unova Syndicate was intentionally made in the most unappetizing way possible.

    Ok¡­. maybe it looks bad but tastes great¡­

    Sophie shakily pressed her finger against the three menu items and a timer appeared in the middle of the screen.

    Well, what Sophie assumed was a timer as she only recognised a series of numbers that changed every few seconds.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t tell when the food was expected to arrive, so she just continued to make small talk with Lily as they waited.

    Lily¡¯s stomach was giving off cute rumbling noises every once in awhile, but Sophie pretended not to hear to give the little girl some face.

    Thirty minutes passed by and then a loud knocking noise was heard from outside the door.

    Knock! Knock!

    Sophie scanned Lily¡¯s body to make sure that the disguise was still in ce and then opened the door.

    A frog-like creature with webbed hands, toes and slime that made his skin seem moist was standing quietly outside.

    He held three tes in his palm and wordlessly handed them over with smooth movements.

    Once the meals had been delivered, he simply hopped away without making any noise.

    Sophie wanted to give him a small tip, but the alien vanished before she could go get her storage bag.

    ¡°Wow the food is here!¡± Lily shouted excitedly.

    ¡°Yes. Go wash your hands and then we can start eating,¡± Sophie replied with a smile and pushed Lily inside the bathroom to clean her hands.

    Sophie uncovered each dish, and a wave of putrid odours assaulted her nostrils.

    She could barely breath under the heavy stench and no emotion other than regret could be felt in her heart.

    Why the hell did she give Lily the option to order some food?

    Well now there was no turning back, so Sophie reached for the molecr analyser device in her storage bag and then ced samples inside the testing tube.

    Two of the dishes contained chemicals that were deemed as lethal to homo sapiens while thest contained a nt that acted as a mild sleeping agent.

    Sophie instantly moved the first two dishes to the side and only the chunky flesh meal was deemed safe to be eaten by humans.

    Lily came out of the bathroom with an enthusiastic expression that forced theints down Sophie¡¯s throat.

    Ok¡­ how bad could it be?

    Sophie stepped into the bathroom to wash her hands and could not help but feel like a prisoner slowly walking towards their execution.

    There were cutlery ced next to the dishes, so Sophie picked up one that resembled a spoon and hesitantly scooped up arge amount of the chunky flesh soup.

    Lily followed her lead and also picked up a spoonful of the unsettling mixture.

    Sophie closed her eyes and brought the food into her mouth.

    One bite¡­

    Two bites¡­

    Three bites¡­

    Sophie heard a painful cry and opened her eyes to see Lily hurriedly run to the bathroom and spit out what was in her mouth.

    The sound of running water could be heard as the little girl constantly tried to wash the foul aftertaste out of her mouth.

    Sophie peacefully continued to chew with an expression of zen and tranquility.

    How was she not affected?

    Well Sophie was using every ounce of acting talent she had in order to not show an unpleasant face in front of Lily.

    This was the worse meal she had ever eaten in her life.

    Somehow the meat was both soggy and undercooked.

    The sauce had no spices or vours other than what could only be described as watered-down mayonnaise mixed with oil.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Needless to say¡­. Sophie made a very important decision after that day.

    Under no circumstances would they ever order food again for the remainder of the trip and from now on the only meal would be nutrient vials.

 Chapter 250: Sophie Gives In

    Chapter 250: Sophie Gives In

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Pat-a-cake, pat-a cake baker¡¯s man¡±

    ¡°Bake me a cake as fast as you can.¡±

    ¡°Pat it and prick it and mark it with B.¡±

    Lily pped her hands excitedly as she sang along with Sophie to the lyrics of an old nursery rhyme from Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    Two months had passed by uneventfully and for a little girl like Lily, it was easy to get bored being stuck in a room all day.

    Sophie¡¯smunicator device did have several movies and television shows already saved but she needed to conserve the battery life to send out a rescue message once they arrived at the border.

    Honestly, Sophie was surprised at just how much information about fun party games and songs were inside Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    She had already taught Lily several nursey songs such as ¡®London Bridge Is Falling down¡¯, ¡®Twinkle Twinkle Little Star¡¯ and ¡®Old Macdonald Had A Farm.¡¯

    ¡°Big sister can you teach me another song?¡± Lily asked with eyes that sparkled.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a nap first and then as soon as you wake up¡­ I¡¯ll tell you a story about the three blind mice,¡± Sophie stroked her hair lovingly.

    She gently took Lily off herp and ced her on the mattress.

    Sophie shook the nket a few times before carefully cing it on Lily¡¯s body and tucking the girl inside.

    Sophie reached for the light switch at the side of the bed and pressed the button. The room immediately plunged into darkness.

    This was no problem for Sophie as her golden eyes could pierce through even pitch-ck environments.

    ¡°But¡­ but¡­ I don¡¯t want to sleep now,¡± Lily pouted and whined cutely.

    ¡°Just close your eyes and picture a happy memory,¡± Sophie whispered and then started to hum a quiet tune.

    Lily¡¯s protests got softer and softer until the little girl slipped away into a deep slumber.

    Sophie stopped humming and just sat on the bed with a contemtive look on her face.

    Thesest two months had given her a lot to think about.

    It was naive to assume that the people who were hunting them after she had killed the innkeeper would just give up.

    The fact that none of the pursuers were onboard the vessel indicated one of two possibilities.

    The first being that there was an ambush waiting for them on King¡¯s Ind as the organization would assume that they would travel to the spaceport.

    And the second scenario was that the organization had encountered an even greater problem so capturing or killing them was no longer a priority.

    Sophie hoped that it was thetter, but she had already made preparations in case the worse scenario urred.

    Inside her storage device was over fifty vials of Grade S toxins that were lethal to any cultivator under the qi tide stage.

    Sophie had kept up her efforts in cultivation and could now manipte the toxin fumes of up to ten poisons at once.

    And there was one special vial that Katarina had given her that was Sophie¡¯s true ace in the hole.

    It was a vial of a poison nicknamed ¡®The Devil¡¯s Pact¡¯ because its lethality was so strong that the user would usually perish along with the victim.

    This toxin worked by fusing with hemoglobin receptors on red blood cells and preventing them from binding to oxygen molecules.

    Katarina had adjusted the form so that it could even affect cultivators in the void stage.

    Sophie had tested the mixture using samples of her blood and found that it had no effect on her body.

    However, this weapon had a major drawback which was that the range was toorge.

    Sophie would only use it if it were truly ast resort or¡­

    If Lily had already been killed.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed as a murderous pressure filled the room.

    The bloodlust was enough to freeze anyone who was even foolish enough to step inside.

    No¡­ she would never let Lily die.

    Sophie grasped her amulet and let the cold metal restore some sanity back to her mind.

    It was strange that her aunt had not shown up in the space despite quite a few months passing by since theirst meeting.

    Sophie hoped that she was okay.

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Ne¡¯rdfke uer¡¯e a¡¯ercd fe¡¯ll ad!¡± a deep throaty voice bellowed from the other side.

    A loud noise was heard from the door as someone aggressively shouted in anguage that Sophie did not understand.

    Mixed in with the yelling were screams of fear and terror that sounded a bit too close to Sophie¡¯s location.

    The hybrid girl could even faintly smell the strong odour of blooding from the other side of the room and it was making her mental state begin to crumble.

    Sophie frowned slightly before putting a pair of earmuffs on Lily¡¯s ears to make sure that the little girl wasn¡¯t rudely awakened by the racket.

    Something wasn¡¯t right.

    Just to be safe Sophie also ced an eye mask on Lily¡¯s face so that she wouldn¡¯t be woken up unless Sophie shook her body.

    She walked towards the door and peered through the peephole to see who or rather what was outside the room.

    It was a scene of utter madness and chaos.

    Sophie spotted several corpses scattered on the ground as a group of mysterious aliens wearing purple uniforms were dragging passengers out of their rooms and ughtering them on the spot.

    These aliens had a physique that could only be described as deformed and twisted as their backs were hunched over almost to the floor.

    Multiple legs with needle like appendages attached at the ends meant that these aliens scuttled around like crabs.

    Their eyes were hollow and filled with a hypnotic blue light that made one dizzy to look at directly.

    Instead of normal facial features, Sophie could only make out what looked like small holes drilled into the center of their faces.

    It was through these holes that the alien invaders were able tomunicate with one another.

    Those passengers who resisted met even more gruesome fates as their bodies were toyed with before being chopped up into tiny meat chunks.

    Somehow these invaders had cards that could ess the rooms so even those passengers who locked their doors were not safe.

    Sophie stared expressionlessly as a passenger who resembled a slime was dragged out of his room before being shot in the head by the invaders.

    Any normal person would have been horrified when witnessing the bloody scenes of carnage and would have desperately tried to barricade their room.

    But Sophie was not ¡®normal¡¯ and there was really only one thought that was running through her mind.

    Enemies¡­

    There are enemies¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes immediately shifted to a crimson red as her vision transformed into a world of yellowish orange.

    Her fangs extended outwards and thin droplets of saliva fell onto the floor as Sophie felt the addictive rush coursing through her every vein.

    Sophie felt herself fully lose control.

    She hadn¡¯t sumbed to the bloodlust in a long time and this power¡­

    Felt so good.

    ¡°Ne¡¯rdfke uer¡¯e a¡¯ercd fe¡¯ll ad!¡± the voice repeated a second time and now a click could be heard as the impatient invader ced his key in the security scanner to unlock the door.

    The door swung open smoothly and the invader prepared to enter the room and kill everyone inside.

    The invader had a sneer on his face andughed as he raised his foot to step into the pitch-ck room.

    It would be thest decision that he ever made.

    Swish!

    A ded appendage tore straight through his neck before his foot had even the time tond on the ground.

    The invader could not even scream before his head was violently ripped from his body and a pair of fangs sank into his corpse.

    Hungry¡­.

    Hungry¡­.

    HUNGRY.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes glowed with an eerie light as she tore through the flesh of the invader and swallowed mouthfuls of the meat inside.

    It was the most delicious meal she had ever tasted.

    With every juicy bite, Sophie could feel her cultivation level slowly increase and the amulet on her neck got hotter and hotter.

    For the next few moments, the only sounds that came from room 528 were the noise of someone eating.

    ¡°Ter¡¯kae ajle¡¯ fhre?¡± came a worried cry from the hall.

    An invader was confused about why hispanion was taking so long to kill all the upants in that room.

    ¡°Nim¡¯rea srekr¡¯er al¡¯efrgh!¡± the worried invader notified his squad leader that something was wrong and soon ten aliens approached the room with weapons in hand.

    Each of these aliens was outfitted with high calibre sma rifles and miniature explosion devices but those were for a special purpose.

    The door to the room was wide open and the light in the hallway shone inside to reveal a sight that would haunt the dreams of these aliens for the rest of their lives.

    A humanoid creature was crouched over the still warm corpse of theirpanion and tearing into his flesh with reckless abandon.

    It was around seven feet tall with razor sharp fangs, four de-like appendages jutting from its back and most terrifying of all were its cold dead eyes.

    Those crimson eyes stared at them with no hint of fear or rage or even excitement.

    Instead, the only emotion that could be seen in that abomination¡¯s eyes¡­

    Was hunger.

 Chapter 251: The Grand Finale

    Chapter 251: The Grand Finale

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    There was a story in Sui Meng¡¯s memories about the frog and the scorpion. The old fable said that there was once a scorpion who wished to cross a river but couldn¡¯t swim.

    A friendly frog saw that the scorpion needed help and offered to take the creature across the river by cing the scorpion on his back.

    The scorpion agreed and climbed slowly onto the back of the frog.

    The frog felt the weight of the scorpion on his back and started to hesitate as a terrible thought suddenly urred to him.

    The frog could not help but feel a bit paranoid that the scorpion would decide to sting him while resting on his back.

    The scorpion reassured the frog that he would never hurt him because he would also perish if the frog were to die midway through the journey.

    This statement by the scorpion convinced the frog and he happily paddled across the river only to feel a painful sting once he arrived at the midway point.

    As the frog felt the deadly venom coursing through his veins and his limbs begin to stiffen up, he could not help but turn his head around and stare at the scorpion.

    The frog feeling betrayed and confused decided to ask the scorpion one simple question¡­

    ¡°Why?¡±

    And the scorpion replied, ¡°It¡¯s in my nature.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s eyes glowed a crimson colour as the story shed across her mind.

    It seemed that no matter how much she tried to suppress¡­.

    No matter how much she tried to change.

    No matter how much she tried to deny.

    This monstrous urge continued to return again¡­ and again¡­. and again, to overwhelm her senses and fragile sanity.

    The urge to hunt.

    ¡°N¡¯reref ¡®e bre¡¯stek tye¡¯w!¡± one of the invaders shrieked and immediately ten sma rifles pointed right at Sophie¡¯s body.

    Sophie¡¯s figure suddenly blurred and reappeared in the hallway connected to the room. It was too dangerous to fight inside since a stray shot could idently hit Lily.

    Rsychosis!

    Three identical copies of a seven-foot-tall humanoid creature with razor sharp fangs and four ded appendages ran in different directions.

    ¡°Kree¡¯ee kr¡¯ee kre¡¯wd!¡± an invader shrieked, and the group split up to hunt down this dangerous enemy.

    For the n to seed, there could be no survivors on the ship once the Libra financial group arrived in response to the distress signal sent out by the captain.

    Bang! Bang!

    Sophie¡¯s body moved unconsciously, and several sma shots narrowly missed her body by only a few centimeters.

    There were four alien invaders hunting her down while the rest had split up to chase down her two clones.

    Their crab-like legs skittled across the floor and their hunched posture and twisted limbs made them appear to be monsters straight out of a horror film.

    This was the feeling.

    The thrill of the hunt.

    To dance on the edge of life and death.

    Sophie¡¯s spider appendages shot out and she pierced the sides of the walls to move her body into the air.

    There was only one instinct to obey¡­ onemand¡­

    To hunt.

    Sophie turned around and suddenly leapt towards the four pursuers with her mouth wide open.

    This unexpected move caught the invaders off guard, and they were a fraction of a second toote to adjust the aim of their sma rifles.

    It was enough time for Sophie to close the distance.

    There was no use of fancy cultivation techniques nor any special moves.

    Sophie only used primal violence and savagery.

    The first invader barely had enough time to scream before Sophie¡¯s fangs sank deep into his neck and injected a venom.

    This potent venom caused his flesh to dissolve and melt into a bloody puddle.

    He died screaming in agony.

    Stab!

    Sophie¡¯s ded appendages shot straight through the multiple hearts inside the second and third members of the squad.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Thest member in a desperate attempt to save his life, shot three sma shots at Sophie¡¯s body while his knees shivered in fear.

    Sophie did not even pay attention to the shots and just moved the corpse of the alien hanging from her teeth in front of her body.

    The sma shots sank into the corpse of the alien and soon blue blood sshed across the hallway floor.

    ¡°M¡¯recy pr¡¯eases h¡¯red¡¯,¡± the alien dropped his gun in horror and began to plead for his life.

    It was just a shame that Sophie did not understand thenguage he was speaking.

    And her mind was already too far gone.

    What greeted the begging alien was a hand that grabbed his neck tightly before snapping it with a fearsome crack.

    The familiar craving to sink her fangs into the flesh of the four corpses flowed through Sophie¡¯s mind but the urge to hunt down the other alien invaders was even stronger.

    There were still plenty of prey left to hunt.

    Sophie took another look at the corpses on the ground and couldn¡¯t resist taking a quick mouthful before heading off.

    Delicious.

    It appeared that the other squads had not managed to kill her mirror images yet as Sophie could still feel her vague connection to them.

    She quickly sent a mental message to her copies to double back and return to the hallway.

    Sophie extended her ded appendages outwards and crawled onto the ceiling.

    Her every move was identical to an ambush predator getting into the perfect spot to catch an unsuspecting prey.

    Sophie moved her body until she reached right above one of the entrances to the hallway and patiently waited.

    The crimson colour staining her eyes had only gotten worse and now no trace of the original golden hue could be seen.

    Drip! Drip!

    Thin droplets of blood fell down from Sophie¡¯s mouth as she munched happily on the flesh of the aliens she had just killed.

    ¡°N¡¯iii crre¡¯sasd¡¯d fer¡¯efd!¡± a frustrated roar came from below Sophie¡¯s location.

    A mirror image of Sophie ran into the room followed by a squad of three members.

    They were angrily shooting sma shots at the image, but Sophie¡¯s copy ducked and weaved without letting a single shot hit her.

    Not even a few minutes had passed before on the other side of the hallway another angry shout could be heard and an identical copy of Sophie entered.

    The two copies nced at each other and then ran towards the location where Sophie was waiting patiently.

    It was time for the grand finale.

 Chapter 252: The Poor Agents Who Just Want To Do Their Job

    Chapter 252: The Poor Agents Who Just Want To Do Their Job

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Agent 48 we need you to monitor the left side of the deck!¡±

    ¡°Roger that captain!¡±

    ¡°Agent 25 and 37 go down to the lower decks and search for any survivors.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡±

    Two hulking brutes with tall muscr bodies and wearing dark uniforms stomped towards the staircase at the back of the upper deck.

    They were members of the Kir¡¯rea race whose reputation for being fearsome warriors was well deserved.

    Captain Ahab nced at the many corpsesying face down on the upper deck and could not help but feel a massive headacheing on.

    What a fucking mess.

    The Libera financial group had funded numerous vessels to travel the Rexanera Sea and this particr ship was the most expensive one of the fleet.

    Nothing should have gone wrong unless someone on the inside had betrayed them. Well, that would just have to be investigatedter.

    It had taken two hours to reach the ship¡¯s location once the distress signal had been sent out and by then the invaders had appeared to have made a clean escape.

    No traces of life could be seen on the upper deck.

    Only cold bodies that had been savagely torn apart by some kind of animal or beast.

    Captain Ahab could not hide the sorrow hidden deep within his eyes as he stared at the horrific loss of life.

    This job rarely had easy days but perhaps this was the darkest.

    Captain Ahab hide the feelings in his heart and barked out another set of orders,

    ¡°Secure the perimeter and begin searching for the ship¡¯s ck box or surveince tapes. The most important objective is to find the bastards who did this.¡±

    ¡°And someone clear up the deck so we can search the crime scene for any clues.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t much hope in finding untampered security footage as the invaders would have most likely brought an E.M.P device or a hacker to infiltrate the ship¡¯s monitoring AI.

    Agent 25 and 37 should have already reached the lower decks and hopefully some passengers had survived otherwise the consequences could be quite serious for the Libera group.

    The most important aspect when running an intergctic business was not money nor assets but rather it was reputation.

    Money could always be earned, but reputation was something that could only be gradually built up over decades and could be lost in a matter of hours.

    Captain Ahab shuddered to think of what the reaction of the settlers on the would be if it were to leak out that all passengers on a Libera owned transport ship were killed.

    Thepetition between the various financial groups on the ind was already starting to heat up and their rivals would seize upon this weakness at the first opportunity.

    Well, that was a problem for the higher ups to deal with.

    Captain Ahab¡¯s main job was to secure the perimeter around the ship andunch an initial investigation.

    Several minutes passed by uneventfully but there was nomunication from the two men sent down to search the lower decks for survivors.

    Captain Ahab felt a sinking feeling in his chest and quickly activated hismunicator device to send a message out.

    ¡°Agent 25 what¡¯s the status of the passengers onboard the ship?¡±

    ¡°Agent 37 can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Please respond immediately!¡±

    There was no response.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Lower Deck- Fifth floor)

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you some delicious snacks¡­.¡± a sultry voice whispered from somewhere in the darkness.

    The sounds of metal grating on metal could be heard is someone or rather something was crawling on the ceiling.

    A sickeningughter of glee echoed through the empty corridor and made goosebumps appear on the arms of the agents.

    There was an obvious atmosphere of bloodlust so heavy that it was impossible to breathe.

    Agents 25 and 37 were battle hardened warriors but even they could not stop their legs from shaking.

    It was like the grim reaper had ced his scythe against their necks.

    One wrong move and death woulde.

    Agent 37 stepped forward cautiously and shouted out a greeting,

    ¡°We are with the Libera financial group in charge of investigating what happened on this ship a few hours ago.¡±

    ¡°There are no orders to engage aggressively with the survivors so if you are a passenger then we mean you no harm.¡±

    Hidden behind a chandelier and hanging from the ceiling was Sophie who peered at the two agents with a conflicted look on her face.

    Her expression was constantly shifting from a bloodthirsty grin to a calmer and moreposed look.

    Sophie¡¯s crimson eyes were now flickering between a scarlet hue and the normal golden glow.

    The voice in her head was only getting louder and louder.

    Hunt them¡­

    Hunt them¡­.

    HUNT THEM¡­.

    Sophie gripped her head in pain as she struggled to regain some semnce of sanity as these new aliens were clearly from a different group.

    That didn¡¯t mean that they were not enemies, but Sophie needed to maintain a clear head when dealing with them.

    Agent 25 quietly whispered to hispanion as there was no reply after several seconds had passed,

    ¡°The scanner shows that there are two life signals on this floor. One of them is probably a cultivator or a species with a strong life force.¡±

    ¡°Look¡­¡±

    Agent 37 took a quick nce and suddenly found himself at aplete loss for words. The scanner could detect life signals based on the vital energy in the surrounding area.

    Above them was a mass of vital energy that more resembled a burning sun than a person.

    Whoever was hiding in this corridor was stronger than every single member of the rescue squad.

    But this was only more proof that it was most likely a passenger because who would be able to send a high-levelbatants to deal with a mere transport ship.

    Facing such a strong individual still caused the agents to put themselves on guard and the tension only continued to rise as Sophie did not respond.

    She was still gripped in an intense battle over the control of her mind.

    This uneasy situation was finally broken by a soft whimpering from one of the rooms.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ where are you?¡±

 Chapter 253: Natural Killer

    Chapter 253: Natural Killer

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Did you just hear something?¡± Agent 37 asked in a confused tone.

    Facing off against a powerful enemy and then hearing a child-like voicee out of nowhere had caught him off guard.

    And for some reason this young voice was talking in anguage that he had never heard before.

    Agent 25 checked the lifeform scanner one more time and could not help but give it a second nce in shock.

    The enormous spike in vitality at Sophie¡¯s location had caused the two men topletely ignore the much weaker signal in a nearby room.

    Agent 37 didn¡¯t know how to deal with this changing situation and just decided to call out a second time,

    ¡°Is anyone else there?¡±

    It was just a shame that he was destined to get no response from Lily.

    The little girl didn¡¯t even speak themonnguage of the Unova Syndicate and Sophie had drilled into her head the simple advice of never talking to strangers.

    Sophie could also hear the sounds of Lily moving about the cabin room looking for her and finally some traces of sanity could be seen in her crimson eyes.

    The only problem was that the annoying voice was still booming through her mind non-stop like an endless loop.

    Hunt¡­ Hunt¡­ Hunt¡­.

    Kill¡­. Kill¡­ kill.

    Hunt¡­ Hunt¡­ Hunt¡­.

    Kill¡­. Kill¡­ kill.

    Stab!

    Sophie ruthlessly pierced her own flesh with her sharp fingernails and used the intense pain to shatter the bloodlust clouding her mind.

    There was an expression that her father had once told her.

    It was that the most dangerous enemy is not one that is powerful¡­.

    But one that is willing to be cruel to himself.

    Sophie knew she was that kind of person.

    She could feel the surging power coursing through her veins begin to slow down as Sophie forcibly took deep breaths one after another.

    An eternity seemed to pass as two opposing forces fiercely fought for control of Sophie¡¯s body.

    She was torn between the urge to go down and protect Lily and the sinister hunger to kill and eat the two men below.

    In fact, a small portion of that hunger was directed towards Lily as she continued to call out to Sophie.

    It was this shameful desire that caused Sophie to snap herself out of the daze.

    She could not help but feel a deep sense of self-loathing and disgust towards herself but now was not the time to deal with these feelings.

    The blood from her self-inflicted wound slowly dripped down to the ground and made a faint sshing noise as itnded.

    Agents 37 and 25 quickly pointed their guns towards the sound but made no move to pull the trigger.

    With such a strong vitality force, there was a decent chance that this unknown stranger could instantly recover from sma rifles shots or avoid them entirely.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from behind the chandelier. She quickly appeared inside the cabin room using her movement technique.

    ¡°Big sister?¡± Lily rubbed her eyes sleepily and reached out her arms for a hug.

    She had just woken up from her nap and did not understand what was happening.

    Sophieforted the girl quietly as she outfitted Lily with a facial mask and a thick robe.

    It was time to do some acting.

    ¡°Make sure not to say a word,¡± Sophie whispered to Lily before slipping the little girl a nutrient vial in case she got hungry.

    The decision to take Lily to meet the two men outside was not made recklessly as Sophie was confident in her ability to kill them both before their fingers could even pull the trigger.

    Their outward appearances did vary quite a bit from the alien invaders earlier, but Sophie was still not going to automatically believe in their identities.

    Sophie didn¡¯t have time to clean all the blood and guts off her clothes, so she just exited the room looking like a she-devil crawling out from hell.

    The two agents were visibly shaken as they saw the woman approaching them with a small bundle in her arms.

    Who wouldn¡¯t be terrified?

    Sophie stood at an imposing seven feet in height and towered over the two shorter aliens by at least a head.

    The ded appendages jutting out of her back were intimidating enough on their own, but it was the absolute pressure radiating off her body that caused the two men to shiver.

    Sophie was releasing the full might of a cultivator in the qi tide stage and the tiles beneath her feet were shattering with every step.

    Tiny cracks started to form along the walls as Sophie¡¯s unchecked power threatened to destabilise the ship.

    Of course, she wasn¡¯t strong enough to destroy an entire ship with this strength alone, but it was enough to put on a fearsome persona.

    Sophie may have been interacting with cultivators for her entire life but to the universe atrge cultivators were an incredible rarity.

    There were even some cases of qi body stage cultivators living on some lesser developeds and acting as gods or envoys of heaven.

    ¡°Who¡­ who¡­ are you?¡± Agent 37 swallowed nervously and shouted.

    ¡°I am a passenger on this ship,¡± Sophie replied coldly and reached into her storage bag to pull out the two tickets.

    Agent 37 and 25 could not help but let out an inward sigh of relief when they heard that Sophie wasn¡¯t part of the invading force.

    There was no confidence in their hearts that it was possible to kill this creature with the level of firepower avable.

    ¡°Can you tell us what happened here?¡± Agent 25 felt a bit braver and asked politely.

    Sophie hummed softly as she silently thought about what to reveal and what not to reveal. It may be better to just tell the truth, but she would not go into the certain details.

    Sophie stroked Lily¡¯s back lovingly and began recalling the events that had just urred,

    ¡°A few hours ago, there was a lot of noiseing from outside, so I came over to take a look. There was a thick stench of blood which aroused my curiosity.¡±

    ¡°So, I decided to investigate and saw these squads of hunched over beasts ughtering and killing the other passengers on this floor.¡±

    ¡°There was a great number of these invaders in the hallway and one of them decided to threaten the lives of myself and my daughter.¡±

    ¡°And then what happened?¡± Agent 37 could not help but ask.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes gleamed with an eerie light and a faint smile that wasn¡¯t a smile shed across her lips,

    ¡°Naturally, I killed everyone.¡±

 Chapter 254: Please Dont Sue Us...

    Chapter 254: Please Don''t Sue Us¡­

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Please help me¡­.¡±

    ¡°Arghhhhh! My arm is falling off!¡±

    ¡°I will hold the Libera group personally responsible for this mess!¡±

    Agonizing grunts of pain and harsh yelling could be heard everywhere on the upper deck as the surviving passengers were receiving medical treatment.

    What happened earlier that night had been aplete disaster.

    A ship with a crew of about two hundred members escorting one thousand passengers had been mercilessly ughtered.

    Only about fifty people had survived the attack and those survivors were generally individuals who purchased special ss tickets or had sufficient personal strength.

    Sophie sat quietly in a corner and watched themotion with a nk expression on her face.

    Somehow Lily had managed to fall asleep once more, so the little girl was currently still in her arms.

    To the credit of the rescuers sent by the Libera group, the corpses on the upper deck had been swiftly cleared and now only a faint bloody scent lingered in the air.

    Agents wearing dark purple uniforms were weaving through the crowd and handing out supplies to those in need.

    Sophie could even see the two men who had brought her to the upper deck currently talking to what appeared to be their leader.

    Once in awhile one of the men would nce at her location but Sophie pretended not to see it.

    This whole matter had been incredibly strange.

    Listening to the whispers of the passengers nearby revealed some incredibly odd details about the entire affair.

    Apparently not a single valuable was taken nor was the ship destroyed once the invaders retreated.

    So, the purpose of this attack was clearly not mary.

    But then what?

    Revenge?

    Corporate warfare?

    Sophie wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to think that the matter involved her personally otherwise the invaders sent would not have such low strength.

    Well, either way Sophie¡¯s main goal was to leave the as soon as possible so these matters did not have to concern her.

    ¡°Do you need medical treatment?¡± an agent walked up the Sophie with a small white bag in hand.

    ¡°No thank you,¡± Sophie replied politely with an indifferent expression.

    The agent nodded and moved on to the next group to see if anyone required aid.

    Sophie had been slightly injured during the encounter with the invaders, but all her wounds had only been small nicks.

    With the aid of her regenerative ability, these cuts had already beenpletely sealed up.

    The only problem now was the dull throbbing feeling in her head that was probably a result of forcibly snapping herself out of the bloodlust state.

    Sophie casually reached into her storage device and pulled out three vials of nutrient solution.

    Without any hesitation she smoothly popped open the caps and downed the contents one after another.

    Cultivators when ascending to higher levels would no longer require food or drink but somehow in Sophie¡¯s case¡­

    She could feel her appetite only increase.

    The nutrient vials could settle her hunger for now, but it would not be a lie to say that Sophie wanted to eat some regr food.

    Tearing off and then eating the bloody flesh from those corpses didn¡¯t count.

    A few hours passed by peacefully and soon the light of dawn peeked over the horizon.

    Sophie squinted her golden eyes and watched quietly as the two blue suns rose slowly into the air.

    It had taken the rescuers the entire night to treat the injured and now a new day had begun.

    ¡°Urgh¡­.¡± Lily groaned as she shifted ufortably around in Sophie¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Wake up sleepyhead,¡± Sophie grinned yfully and pinched the little girl¡¯s plump cheeks.

    ¡°Stop it¡­ no¡­ no more¡­¡± Lily tried to push Sophie¡¯s hand away, but her strength was no match for a hybrid girl eager to tease her.

    ¡°Big sis¡­. please¡­I¡¯ll get up! I¡¯m awake!¡±

    Sophie gently put Lily feet first on the floor and sent over a voice transmission to exin what had happenedst night.

    Sophie was silently grateful that she had made the little girl wear a mask as it was obvious Lily was excited to know all the details.

    Naturally, her retelling of the eventsst night left out the violent details that weren¡¯t suitable for young children to hear.

    ¡°Big sister you¡¯re amazing!¡± Lily peeked at Sophie with sparkling eyes.

    ¡°You chased all those bad guys away all by yourself.¡±

    Sophie faintly smiled and could not help but feel a bit happier in her heart to win the admiration of her tiny fan.

    This sweet moment was unexpectedly broken by a loud announcementing from the front of the ship.

    ¡°Attention please!¡±

    ¡°Attention please!¡±

    Sophie raised her head and took a look at the man on stage. It was the same person she had suspected was the leader of the rescue team.

    Unlike the agents who wore dark purple uniforms, the man onstage wore a white jacket with several strange symbols threaded into the sides.

    His appearance was vaguely humanoid but the tentacles that sprouted out from his lower half caused him to glide unevenly onto the stage.

    The colour of the man¡¯s skin was a dull grey and numerous small appendages could be seen moving slowly across his back.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone must be confused about what happenedst night,¡± Captain Ahab began his speech in an even tone.

    The problem was that these opening words caused several disgruntled passengers to stand up and voice theirints.

    ¡°Of course, we are you fucking idiot!¡±

    ¡°How is the security so bad?¡±

    ¡°I demand to speak to a representative of your headquarters right now!¡±

    ¡°Do you have any idea who are the powerful ns backing me?

    Captain Ahab stood quietly and did not give a response to any of the vicious voices cursing him and the Libera group.

    Eventually hisck of response caused the voices to die down and everyone impatiently waited for him to resume speaking.

    Captain Ahab cleared his throat and tried a second time,

    ¡°As I was saying¡­.¡±

    ¡°There will be a full investigationunched regarding the attackst night and there is no need for concern because the Libera financial group is prepared to ept partial responsibility for the matter.¡±

    ¡°All surviving passengers will be fully refunded the costs of their tickets as well as an additional twelve thousand dors inpensation for any damages.¡±

    ¡°If you wish to take the money please go to our stations and sign the release form.¡±

    Several agents walked up to left side of the captain and released self-inting chairs and tables.

    Sophie was a bit confused about this sudden offer to give out money but luckily there was a simr situation in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    Apparently during ancient Earth times, this was basically a form of legal hush money.

    By epting the money and signing away their rights to hold the financial group responsible, this was the Libera group¡¯s way to prevent a court case.

    Sophie¡¯s wasn¡¯t familiar with any of thews inside the Unova Syndicate, so her best option was to just take the money.

    Plus, where would she have the time to hire awyer and spend years in an uphill battle with an unknown legal system.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one with a simr idea and a handful of passengers were now walking towards the stations with undisguised glee in their eyes.

    Sophie also followed the crowd but noticed that some of the other passengers were staring at them with disdain.

    These passengers were wearing clothes that were obviously made from a high-quality material so the twelve thousand dors being offered may only be a small amount to them.

    Well from their point of view it was indeed best to sue the financial group in court so Sophie could understand why the wealthier passengers thought those seeking the money now were a bit foolish.

    But mosquito meat was still meat, so Sophie resolutely chose to sign using the same name that was on the ticket.

    Lily had been registered as herpanion, so Sophie was able to write down her name and receive the additional money on her behalf.

    It was a simple process and soon Sophie returned to Lily¡¯s location with a storage device that felt quite a bit fuller.

 Chapter 255: The Journey Is Far From Over

    Chapter 255: The Journey Is Far From Over

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Please proceed towards the stations in an orderly fashion,¡± Captain Ahab yelled as several impatient passengers started to push and shove while in the line.

    Agents walked into the crowd to forcefully separate some of the more aggressive passengers and soon the line was peaceful.

    Sophie leaned back against the metal railing while staring up at the clouds in the sky. It felt good to feel the warm gentle rays of the two suns shine down on her face.

    It was a sign of the start of a new day.

    Lily was snuggling against her side while making soft cooing noises to get Sophie¡¯s attention. She was simply the most adorable and precious bundle of joy Sophie had met since Moon.

    The water in the Rexanera Sea was a pale lime green colour and there were an uncountable number of marine horrors lurking just beneath the seemingly calm surface.

    More passengers had decided to take up thepensation offer so the captain had decided to dy talking about the second announcement until the lines in front of stations had cleared up.

    Sophie had a feeling that the discussion would be about what happens next.

    Hopefully the Libera financial group would send more vessels to take the remaining passengers to king¡¯s ind.

    The journey had taken two months already so it would take more effort and time to return them to the original port whenpared to justpleting the trip to the destination.

    The nutrient vials in Sophie¡¯s storage device couldst for up to two years but she was slightly worried about her heightened consumption after ending her bloodlust state.

    It would not be safe to run out of this supply especially when there was no way to ensure that the food avable would meet their nutritional requirements.

    ¡°Big sister¡­.¡± Lily suddenly tugged Sophie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°When can we go home?¡±

    Sophie gave a long sigh and thought about what to say. Lily had asked this same question quite a few times before and the truth was that Sophie had no way of knowing the answer.

    To get to king¡¯s ind was originally a three-month journey and then she would need to somehow get on a spacefaring vessel willing to travel to an active war zone.

    ¡°I don¡¯ t¡­. I don¡¯t know,¡± Sophie frankly admitted.

    ¡°But I promise you that I will find a way to bring us back safely. Do you believe me?¡±

    Sophie smiled gently and squeezed Lily¡¯s tiny hand.

    She could not help but feel a warm feeling as she saw her muchrger palm cover the smaller one.

    ¡°I believe you,¡± Lily replied as she stared at Sophie with trusting eyes.

    There was afortable silence as the duo rxed and listened quietly to the other passengers talk.

    Most were still in a state of shock over the events of the previous night but there was an unmistakable feeling of joy in some passengers after receiving the money.

    Sophie didn¡¯t know if this amount was enough to rent a spaceship, but it was certainly better than nothing.

    None of the passengers had approached Sophie or Lily due to the intimidating aura surrounding Sophie¡¯s body as well as the scent of the dried blood on her cloak.

    It had been fortunate that the only ces where blood and guts had gotten in contact with Sophie¡¯s bare skin were the tips of her ded appendages and the area around her mouth.

    This was not a pleasant feeling but there had not been any time to take a shower, so Sophie just had to ignore it.

    Maybe she would have the chance to return to her cabin room to freshen up after the second announcement.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Two loud buzzing noises were heard from the front of the upper deck as the captain once again stepped forward to grab everyone¡¯s attention.

    Sophie tilted her head slightly to the side to take a closer look while Lily yawned sleepily as she couldn¡¯t understand whatnguage the captain was speaking.

    Captain Ahab moved his tentacles awkwardly as he tried to shift his body into afortable position.

    He adjusted his posture and then began to talk about the second announcement,

    ¡°Now that thepensation has been given out to those willing to sign the waiver, I would like to talk about what happens next.¡±

    ¡°I have spoken to the upper management and the Libera Financial group has decided to send a second vessel with a skeleton crew towards this location.¡±

    ¡°This recement ship should arrive in about one day and then the journey will proceed as normally nned without dy.¡±

    The terrorist invaders had managed to blow up the ship¡¯s main engine room with miniature explosive devices and this damage had been substantial to the point where it could not be fixed.

    The ship was currentlypletely useless aside from continuing to float and even the protective shielding functions could not be maintained.

    The sma cannons andser arrays were also without power so in the event of an emergency the ship would not be able to protect itself.

    This was incredibly dangerous as the terrible sea monstrosities hidden in the depths of the ocean were known to asionally attack foreign objects.

    ¡°So, are we supposed to just wait around like idiots and wait for a sea monster to attack us?!¡± an angry passenger yelled.

    ¡°It ispletely outrageous that the recement ship is going to take so long to reach!¡± another voice added on.

    ¡°This journey had already been long enough! Why doesn¡¯t the Libera group send an aerial transport vessel instead?!¡± ady wearing a green evening gown yelled.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Another series of harsh noises red out from the loudspeaker in the captain¡¯s hand as he attempted to drown out the hostile crowd.

    Captain Ahab waved his grey arm and pointed towards the nearby vessels,

    ¡°Your safety will not be a concern as my crew, and I have arranged our fleet to surround this ship in a protective formation.¡±

    ¡°Any lifeform within five miles of the ship will be treated as a potential threat and be driven off using lethal measures.¡±

    ¡°But what about just using air carriers?¡± the same elegant woman could not help but ask again.

    ¡°My apologies ma¡¯am but all avable airborne vessels are currently in use in the alpha six mining zone so there are none avable,¡± Captain Ahab replied dully.

    Thedy was clearly unconvinced but the bored look in the captain¡¯s eyes made her hold back the other questions that she had wanted to ask.

 Chapter 256: Lilys Hidden Power Is Revealed....

    Chapter 256: Lily''s Hidden Power Is Revealed¡­.

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    Hiding deep below in the murky depths of the Rexanera sea one could find all sorts of horrific and contorted monstrosities swimming freely.

    The volcandforms on the seafloor had created a stable supply of heat and oxygen that was conductive to the growth of an entire ecosystem.

    Millions of years of evolution had led to a rich biodiversity with extraordinary species that would make any scientist eager to dissect and examine their bodies.

    One of these aquatic creatures was a race of marine reptiles known locally as ¡®the swarm.¡¯

    These reptiles were only around the size of a baseball, but it was their strength in numbers that gave them their fearsome reputation.

    Their greenish-yellow skin blended in perfectly with the natural colour of the Rexanera sea, but it was their odd physiology that truly made them apex predators.

    Ny percent of their body mass was an erged mouth that contained rows upon rows of razer sharp teeth.

    Two tiny holes in their upper jaw acted as sensory organs that could detect electric signals in the water from vast distances.

    They would swim in groups of about one thousand members and their teeth could even rip apart the metalloid hull of ships.

    A group of these creatures were slowly swimming towards arge mass floating gently in the water.

    ¡®The Swarm¡¯ did not know what this object was, but their sensory organs could detect lifeforms present inside the vessel.

    What gave them confidence tounch an attack was that this mysterious object appeared to be frozen in ce.

    Click! Click! Click!

    The leader of the group made a series of clicking and chirping noises that caused the creatures to thrash around excitedly.

    Looks like meat was on the menu tonight!

    These marine hunters came closer and closer until the ck metalloid hull of the S.S Annamarie was just a mere five miles away.

    Just as the leading reptile was about to give out another series ofmands, a robotic voice boomed out from a nearby speaker.

    [Unauthorised Lifeforms Detected!]

    [Lethal Force Authorised¡­.]

    Bang! Bang!

    The would-be attackers did not even have time to react before their bodies were pierced by a relentless round of sma fire.

    Bang! Bang!

    Round after round of shots turned the once green ocean into a bloody red colour as the remaining survivors of the attack fled to the deeper waters.

    Meanwhile on the deck of the ship, Captain Ahab was checking hismunicator device and going over the details of the incident.

    It had been a simple matter to arrange his miniature fleet in a formation capable of guarding every angle of the ship to prevent any attacks.

    A line of text appeared on his device as the AI unit in charge of maintaining the killing zone sent out a report.

    [No more Lifeforms Detected]

    Captain Ahab nced at the report and ced the matter in the back of his mind.

    The AI unit was unlikely to make a mistake, so the ship was in good hands.

    Now the more pressing matter was how to coordinate the passengers who wanted to return to their cabins.

    Several passengers had been covered in guts, blood or other nasty liquids and wanted to take a shower while some had not taken all their luggage from the room, they were staying in.

    In an ideal situation all passengers would remain on the upper deck until the new transport vessel arrived but there was nothing, he could do aside from trying to ce the passengers in groups.

    ¡°Okay all passengers on the fourth floor please wait two minutes and then head down with the agent in charge of your group,¡± Captain Ahab yelled.

    ¡°Passengers who wish to visit the fifth and sixth floors will be grouped together and can go down once the fourth group returns.¡±

    Of course, there was still some minor grumbling from disgruntled passengers but almost everyone had realised that the captain was a responsible man.

    Sophie was currently holding Lily in her arms and staring at the rolling waves crashing down along the horizon.

    It was oddly hypnotic to see how the waves were created and destroyed in a never-ending cycle.

    Lily was eagerly watching the surface of the water to see if she could spot any cute fishes or turtles.

    Sophie knew that the animals living inside this foreign ocean weren¡¯t going to be cute fishes or turtles, but all adults had to lie to kids sometimes.

    This peaceful moodsted for ten minutes until Lily¡¯s mind naturally shifted to another exciting idea.

    ¡°Big sister let¡¯s y that game you taught me!¡± Lily suddenly eximed after she got bored from staring at the empty sea.

    ¡°What game do you want to y?¡± Sophie asked with a bemused look on her face.

    Lily jumped down from Sophie¡¯s arms and faced the seven-foot-tall hybrid girl with a serious expression,

    ¡°Rock, Paper, Scissor!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Sophiezily replied and ced her right arm outwards.

    The two figures one big and one small faced off against one another with the air of a seriouspetition of life and death.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and stared at Lily while the little girl was determined not to lose and clenched her fist tightly.

    ¡°Rock, Paper, Scissors¡­. Shoot!¡±

    ¡°Rock, Paper, Scissors¡­. Shoot!¡±

    Sophie confidently tossed out scissors but was met with a cheeky grin as Lily pushed her clenched fist towards her hand while yelling out,

    ¡°Rock! Rock! I win!¡±

    ¡°Best out of three?¡± Sophie was not going to tarnish her image as an unbeatable older sister, so she immediately changed the rules.

    (One minuteter¡­)

    ¡°Best out of five?¡±

    (Two minutester¡­)

    ¡°Cough¡­. Cough¡­ I meant to say best out of seven?¡±

    (Five minutester¡­)

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Sophie raised her eyebrows in disbelief as Lily won yet another match.

    How the hell was this little girl kicking her ass?

    Somehow Lily would just close her eyes and toss out the exact counter to whatever option Sophie chose.

    ¡°You are one lucky girl,¡± Sophie chuckled dryly and then proceeded to tickle Lily mercilessly.

    Lily copsed in a fit of giggles and could not help but plead for mercy,

    ¡°Hahaha¡­. Big sister¡­. stop¡­. I¡­ hahaha.¡±

    Sophie stopped teasing the smaller girl and nted a soft kiss on Lily¡¯s forehead so she wouldn¡¯t get mad.

    Lily pouted slightly and turned away to ignore Sophie as she could not believe that her big sister would tickle her just because she had won!

    Sophie just smiled gently and raised her head to take a look at what was happening on the upper deck.

    A returning batch of passengers had juste up the stairs and now the agents in charge of their group were ready to wee a new batch.

    Captain Ahab spoke calmly and pointed towards the two men wearing dark purple uniforms,

    ¡°Alright now we need all passengers on the fifth and sixth floors to join Agent 42 and Agent 98 who are located to the right of me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s us,¡± Sophie whispered to Lily and picked up the little girl in her arms.

    She made her way to the two agents standing near the stairway and waited patiently.

    Tragically not many passengers had survived the ruthless ughter on those two floors so only four more people joined the group.

    Three of the passengers were also wearing oversized cloaks or outfits so Sophie could not make out many details about their physical appearances.

    Thest member of the group was a scrawny alien whose arms were muscr to the point of absurdity as they resembled inted balloons.

    His three eyes constantly scanned the other members of the group and Sophie caught him staring at her with a fearful expression.

 Chapter 257: Malice Hidden Deep Within

    Chapter 257: Malice Hidden Deep Within

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°Watch your step when walking down,¡± Agent 42 yelled out as the group slowly descended down the stairs.

    Sophie moved cautiously as several areas of the staircase had been destroyed or damaged during the attack.

    Traces of the invaders could be seen everywhere from ster marks burnt into the railings and the heavy scent of blood permeating the air.

    ¡°What¡­ the,¡± one of the passengers eximed in shock as he tripped over a piece of rubble.

    Fortunately, Agent 98 was walking just behind him and managed to prevent the man from falling over.

    It was a quiet journey as every member of the group were lost in their own thoughts.

    Even Lily seemed to be influenced by the tense atmosphere as she stayed silent in Sophie¡¯s arms.

    Sophie shuffled and weaved through the broken sections of the stairway but could not shake the feeling that a pair of eyes were staring at her.

    She immediately turned around and spotted an alien in the back of the group constantly watching her location.

    He was the only member of the group who wasn¡¯t wearing a cloak.

    This alien was around six feet in height with a scrawny or almost skeletal-like frame.

    His skin was a purplish-ck colour and what was particrly noticeable were his overinted arms that appeared to be gically modified.

    Wait¡­no¡­. he wasn¡¯t watching her.

    Sophie frowned as she realised that the alien¡¯s line of sight seemed to be directed at the agent leading the group.

    Maybe it was her instincts ring up, but she could detect an almost visible sense of malice hidden deep within the gaze.

    He hadn¡¯t noticed that Sophie was watching him.

    Sophie turned around and continued walking as if everything was normal.

    She did not feel a sense of dangering from the passenger, so it wasn¡¯t worth creating a confrontation as there was no evidence of potential harm.

    Still, she made a mental note to always keep a check of his location when travelling together.

    It took about seven minutes to reach the fifth floor and the door leading to the hallway had been smashed open.

    Agent 42 raised his hand to get the attention of the group and then made an announcement,

    ¡°Okay at this point the n is to split up. I will handle those of you who wish to visit the fifth floor and my colleague will take the rest to the sixth floor.¡±

    ¡°It is also important to note that you will only be allowed one hour to handle any business you may have and then we need to head back up to the upper deck.¡±

    ¡°Now follow me.¡±

    He stepped cautiously through the smashed door and into the open hallway while constantly scanning the surrounding area for any danger.

    Sophie followed suit with Lily tightly held in her arms.

    They were the only two surviving passengers who had lived on the fifth floor, so the rest of the group were led by the other agent to the next floor.

    This floor had not been cleaned up yet and there were still corpses scattered across various locations.

    Blood, organ parts and other grisly remains made for a vomit inducing sight and agent 42 could feel his stomach churning when viewing the nasty scenes.

    What was truly horrifying was that several of these corpses appeared to have been partially eaten by some kind of ravenous beast.

    ¡°Big sister why did you cover my eyes?¡± Lily whispered softly as Sophie ced a gentle hand over the exposed area of her mask.

    ¡°Be good. I¡¯ll take it off once we go back to our room,¡± Sophie quietly replied.

    She did not want Lily to see such a horrific scene.

    It was a strange feeling to witness the aftermath of her rampage and Sophie could not help but feel conflicted.

    Part of her should be disgusted at the senselessly ughter but truthfully Sophie felt nothing resembling guilt.

    If anything, there was a feeling of faint disappointment that she hadn¡¯t gotten to eat more flesh when the corpses were fresh.

    Sophie quickly buried that thought in the back of her mind as now was not the time for reflection.

    ¡°What room number are we going to?¡± Agent 42 asked politely as they moved through the hallway.

    ¡°Room 528. I know the way to the room so just wait for me here¡± Sophie gave a brief reply and then remained silent.

    Agent 42 opened his mouth to say a rebuttal but the intimidating aura surrounding Sophie¡¯s body caused him to not know what to say.

    Truthfully, there were no orders to apany the passengers directly to their rooms, but idents could happen without supervision.

    Sophie saw the conflicted look on the agent¡¯s face but simply walked ahead without looking back.

    Agent 42 stepped forward a few steps but eventually halted his footsteps as the overwhelming stench of rotting carcasses proved to be too much.

    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll wait at the entrance,¡± Agent 42 hurriedly spoke and retreated back to the entrance.

    The route to room 528 was identical to the one in Sophie¡¯s memories and she confidently strode down the left path until she spotted a side passageway.

    This was the ce where Sophie had done the most killing and the strong odour of death was particrly heavy.

    Several bodies of the invaders piled up in the center of the room and Sophie had to shove the corpses out of the way to get to her cabin.

    Inside the cabin was a bit cleaner but there were two corpses inside along with some bloodstains on the bed.

    Sophie dragged the bodies out of the room with one hand and tossed them against a nearby wall where they fell with a dull thump.

    Fortunately, the door to their room had not been broken during the chaotic events ofst night so Sophie was able to activate the lock.

    ¡°Big sister can I open my eyes now?¡± Lily asked curiously.

    ¡°Just give me one more minute,¡± Sophie whispered softly and carefully moved her dirty hand away from Lily¡¯s body.

    Sophie reached into her storage device and pulled out a tiny metalloid sphere with strange etchings engraved around its sides.

    She pressed one of the etchings and soon a green light was emitted from an opening in the orb¡¯s surface.

    This green light scanned the entire area of the room several times before the light stopped being projected.

    Sophie always acted with great caution so before letting down her guard, she used a scanning device that could detect any listening bugs or cameras hidden in the immediate area.

    Sophie removed her hand from Lily¡¯s face and took off the little girl¡¯s facial mask.

    Lily yawned sleepily and stared at the room with a confused look.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ everything so messy!¡± Lily took a few steps towards the bloodied sheets, but Sophie pulled her away.

    ¡°This mess was created due to the attackst night,¡± Sophie stated truthfully.

    ¡°Right now, there are several bad guys who may want to hurt you so your big sister may need to mess up more rooms in the future.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Lily hummed thoughtfully as she processed what Sophie just said.

    Actually, Lily was not as innocent or naive as Sophie believed as how could a future heir to a high noble house not know what those stains were.

    House ckait had tested the cultivation talent of several potential heirs at the same time before finally choosing Lily as the future head of the household.

    Years of non-stop tutoring and training had stolen away Lily¡¯s chance to experience a normal childhood.

    It was only when experiencing the love and warmth of her big sister Sophie that she felt like a kid again.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a shower and I¡¯ll wash you up,¡± Sophie smiled gently at Lily and held her hand.

    ¡°I want a bubble bath!¡± Lily yfully stuck out her tongue and followed Sophie closely.

    The washroom was located at the back of the cabin room and it was just as clean as Sophie remembered.

    There weren¡¯t any fancy decorations or unusual ornaments inside the washroom but honestly it didn¡¯t matter.

    Sophie could feel the dried blood sticking to her skin and just wanted to take a shower as soon as possible.

    The engine room had been destroyed by the invaders in the attack but the back up generators were still running and provided just enough power to turn on the lights and heating.

    Sophie fiddled with several controls and soon a steady stream of hot water begun to flow into an oval shaped container.

    ¡°Big sister can you help me take this off?¡± Lily struggled to remove her shirt, so Sophie walked over and smoothly undressed her.

    Sophie had taken a full inventory of what was inside her storage device and had discovered there were bottles of shampoo and body wash inside.

    These were ced inside when she was travelling from Zrudread university to Gaia all those weeks ago.

    Unfortunately, the number of bottles could be counted on one hand, but it was enough to deal with the situation today.

    Sophie ced Lily gently in the bathtub and then begun to take off her own clothes.

    Sophie was currently wearing a battle-suit that was made from a special memory foam material due to her unique physiology.

    There was a small button on the left side of her bodysuit which Sophie pushed lightly.

    The material melted off her body and dripped down to the floor where it then squeezed together until apact rectangle was created.

    Sophie nced at her reflection in the mirror and could not resist giving herself another few looks of admiration.

    Thanks to the regr consumption of nutrient vials, Sophie¡¯s killer body had not been affected by her time on Xerciam Prime.

    If anything, her gorgeous figure, two busty mountain peaks and lean but muscr body was only getting more beautiful by the day.

    Sophie winked to herself and could not help but think that Cleo was in for a wee surprise when she returned.

    The water of the bathtub had now filled up to the halfway point, so Sophie slipped in and rxed as she felt the water touch her body.

    She could feel the tension in her shoulders leave and the exhaustion from fighting the night before seemed to flow away.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few minutes to just rx and unwind.

    There was about forty-five minutes left before they need to return so Sophie nned on just spending most of the time in the bathtub.

    Ssh!

    Sophie¡¯s calm and peaceful state was interrupted by arge wave of water hitting her directly in the face.

    ¡°Big sister I got you!¡± Lily teased as she pushed her hand under the water to make another huge wave.

    ¡°Did you?¡± Sophie sighed and red at Lily with a strange emotion in her eyes.

    Ssh!

    Lily shrieked as Sophie scooped up a handful of water and dunked it on the head of the little girl without mercy.

    ¡°It¡¯s war now!¡± Lily shook her head like a puppy and stared fiercely at Sophie.

    Soon one could hear the sounds of happyughter and yful cries echoing through the empty hallway.

 Chapter 258: The Three Rules

    Chapter 258: The Three Rules

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea)

    ¡°All passengers with special ss tickets please board first,¡± Captain Ahab roared and gestured at a section of the crowd below.

    A small number of passengers wearing expensive clothing and fine jewellery arrogantly formed a line.

    Agents apanied them as they moved towards the new ship that was patiently waiting on the side.

    In front of them was a rapidly constructed metalloid bridge connecting the S.S Annamarie to the new ship that had arrived to pick up the passengers.

    This was the solution that the Libera Group had decided on as the engine room on the S.S Annamarie had beenpletely destroyed during the attack.

    Sophie held Lily tightly as she scanned the new ship with a thoughtful expression.

    This ship had no name painted on its side and was coated in a dark ck liquid that seemed to absorb the sunlight.

    It was much smaller than the S.S Annamarie but given that only fifty passengers had survived the night attack, there was more than enough space.

    The unnamed ship had a sleek design with a heavy sma cannon mounted at the front of the vessel.

    Numerous shield generating devices lined the hull and the crackling sound of sma could be heard as a barrier was constructed around the engine room of the ship.

    It seemed more like a vessel of war than a simple transport ship.

    ¡°One¡­ two¡­ three¡­.¡± Captain Ahab checked the file on hismunicator and ticked off a name whenever a passenger arrived on the new ship.

    Nothing else could go wrong so a register was created with the names of the surviving passengers to make sure that none were left behind.

    A blue-skinned alien with a slender physique and two mesmerizing purple eyes swayed lightly as she jumped down from the bridge.

    ¡°Lead me to my room,¡± she raised her head pridefully and stared at a nearby crewman.

    ¡°Right this way,¡± the crewman curtly replied and then led the rich alien woman to her new quarters.

    The crew onboard the unnamed ship was all from a race that Sophie had never seen before and could not help but stare at their bodies that were quite unique.

    They all wore dark red uniforms with a single silver stripe running along the side of the neck region.

    Their bodies were made from a gaseous substance, so they did not walk but rather hovered lightly in the air.

    The gas inside the uniforms formed vaguely humanoid figures that could gesture and mimic a normal appearance, but something just seemed slightly¡­. off.

    Captain Ahab scanned the bridge before giving out another announcement, ¡°All passengers with first ss tickets please join the line now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s us?¡± Lily whispered softly.

    ¡°Yep, we are going to a new ship,¡± Sophie smiled gently and stroked Lily¡¯s hair.

    ¡°But make sure not to say anything until I give you the okay signal,¡± she quietly warned.

    A new environment meant that Sophie would once again have to scan her new cabin for any bugs or cameras.

    It was highly unlikely that an average citizen of the Unova Syndicate would recognize thenguage that Lily was speaking but Sophie was not going to take any chances.

    Sophie adjusted Lily¡¯s mask to make sure that the little girl¡¯s facial features were properly covered and then slipped into the back of the line.

    Passengers with first ss tickets made up the bulk of the survivors so the line was now a bit longer.

    Maybe it was the fact that the new ship was in sight that the passengers in the line did not seem particrly anxious or hurried to board.

    In fact, there was almost a rxed atmosphere as the tension from the night before was slowly fading away.

    Where the S.S Annamarie was currently located was about three weeks away from king¡¯s ind so the journey this time would be a lot shorter.

    Sophie could not wait for this horrible trip to end as she was getting sick of seeing nothing but the ocean for days on end.

    At least she had gotten to take a bath during the excursion to her cabin rooms a few hours before, so all the dried blood and guts were scrubbed off her body.

    ¡°Watch your step on the bridge,¡± Captain Ahab roared as a passenger lost her bnce and crashed to the ground.

    The passenger gave a flustered grin and grabbed onto the handrails to pull her body upwards.

    Sophie made a mental note to do the same as thest thing she needed was to fall and drop Lily from her arms.

    After the falling incident, the rest of the passengers were a bit more cautious and after a few minutes, it was Sophie¡¯s turn to cross.

    The temporary bridge was constructed from a smart fluid metalloid that could transform and change its own density.

    Sophie took a small step onto the bridge and gripped the handrail tightly with her left arm.

    It was a bit difficult to move as the constant swaying of the bridge in the wind caused her to almost lose bnce.

    Stab!

    Two of Sophie¡¯s de-like appendages pierced the bridge to grant her a steadier posture when moving across.

    This worked like a charm and Sophie crossed the bridge with rtive ease as her spider appendages would stabilize her body whenever she was about to slip.

    Soon shended on the upper deck of the new ship where a nearby crewman was waiting to guide her to the cabin assigned.

    ¡°Hello and wee to our humble vessel,¡± a crewman floated towards Sophie and extended a gaseous tendril outward.

    ¡°Please follow me to your assigned room where I will list out the various rules for staying onboard this vessel.¡±

    Sophie nodded coldly and walked behind the crewman. Suddenly a curious thought crossed her mind, so she nced back at the bridge.

    The other passengers were still crossing but having a more difficult time as they only had the handrails avable to keep their bnce.

    Sophie turned around after taking a brief look and followed the floating crewmate down a flight of stairs.

    The interior of the ship resembled abyrinth or maze as Sophie found herself walking through an uncountable number of side passages and hidden rooms.

    There were even several entrances guarded by automatic sma rifles that had to be unlocked by the crewmate injected a piece of his gas into the scanner.

    It was hard not to be a bit wary as this entire situation felt wrong.

    Sophie continued to follow but the fangs in her mouth had subconsciously begun to lengthen.

    Normal physical attacks were unlikely to work but if she used a cultivation technique would it affect their gaseous bodies?

    Sophie pondered countermeasures in her mind as she pulled Lily a bit closer to her body.

    From the outside a small ship like this could not possibly have so many rooms and corridors hidden inside.

    Not unless someone had carved spatial runes on the walls in order to expand the space inside.

    But spatial runes were extremely expensive so although the purpose of this ship was a mystery to Sophie, she could tell it was highly valued.

    Sophie could feel the tension slowly increasing with every step as the crewman led the way without speaking a word.

    Just as she was about to politely ask how far away the room was, the floating man stopped at an unmarked grey door with a single handle.

    ¡°This is your assigned room for the duration of the trip,¡± the crewman swayed from side to side as he spoke.

    Sophie could not see any scanners or opening devices next to the door, so she moved closer to twist the handle.

    ¡°Now I will go over the three rules of the ship please listen carefully for your own safety when travelling with us,¡± the crewman spoke as Sophie¡¯s hand was a few centimeters away from the handle.

    ¡°The first rule is to never under any circumstance leave your room without the presence of an officer.¡±

    ¡°The second rule is to not interfere with the monitoring devices ced in the hallway outside the cabin.¡±

    ¡°These devices are for our team to ensure that no danger will befall you while travelling with us.¡±

    ¡°Do not worry about personal privacy as there are no devices ced in the cabin itself.¡±

    ¡°If you wish to remove these devices then the crew will not take any responsibility for any mishaps or idents that ur.¡±

    ¡°Thest and final rule¡­.¡±

 Chapter 259: Dancing Like A Puppet On Strings

    Chapter 259: Dancing Like A Puppet On Strings

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind- Libera Financial Group Stronghold)

    There were four major financial groups active on Xerciam Prime and each had carved out a territory on King¡¯s Ind for themselves.

    The resources in the mines scattered across the were abundant enough for each of them to make afortable profit but greed is a poisonous vice.

    Secretly tensions had already started to rise and the uneasy truce between the financial groups was getting more fragile with each passing day.

    It was only a few weeks ago that an entirepany of private mercenaries belonging to the Canercose group had mysteriously vanished in the Bracken Forest.

    Although the bodies were never found¡­.

    It was clear that those men would never be returning home.

    No one took any responsibility for the incident so the Canercose group were forced to swallow their anger and loss.

    But when more incidents begun to ur with startling frequency¡­. well¡­ one did not have to be a genius to figure out what happened next.

    The logging town owned jointly by the Northerium and Sepriena financial groups was attacked by raiders in the middle of the night.

    What was truly insidious about this attack was the fact that the invaders had looted, burned, and piged only the Northerium controlled part of the town while leaving the Sepriena controlled territory untouched.

    Although this attack was clearly not the handiwork of the Sepriena group, there was now a hidden rift between the two organizations.

    The Libera financial group had done their best to remain neutral and not provoke any sides but now it seemed that their hand would be forced.

    It didn¡¯t take long for whispers and rumors to flow through the local taverns and bars in the port city about what happened on the S.S Annamarie.

    Now the number of people willing to cross the Rexanera Sea using their ships had declined by more than half.

    This loss of reputation was enough to directly cut into that source of ie.

    The meeting held today in the Iron Stronghold was an important one for which all members of the shareholder board were required to attend.

    Fifty alien creatures sat ory on thick metalloid chairs expertly crafted to fit their different physiological traits and bodies.

    They were all seated in the main hall of the stronghold.

    A massive room with ceilings that stretched high into the air as spatial runes were carved carefully into the walls.

    Fancy sculptures and pieces of art were built along the sides of the walls and beautiful serving girls brought drinks and refreshments to the shareholders.

    The clothing, appearance and evennguages differed slightly but each of these individuals were extraordinarily wealthy and bound together by amon interest.

    Merchants no matter which culture or civilisation ruled the world through coin.

    Few men are capable of resisting the allure of gold¡­

    Fewer still can survive without it.

    The head of the table stood up and addressed the crowd after thest alien had been seated,

    ¡°As you all are well aware, one of our transport ships was attacked by a crew of Troglites pirates led by a mercenary named B¡¯r.¡±

    ¡°Security squads alpha and sigma have already tracked down the surviving pirates and all have been captured.¡±

    A polite wave of apuse came from some of the shareholders as the efficiency of the security teams had to beuded.

    If Sophie were here, she would have been able to recognise the leader as a member of the same alien species as the crew on the unnamed ship.

    Unlike the purely gaseous bodies of his brethren, the leader of the Libera group appeared to have a body whose state was somewhere between a gas and a liquid.

    His murky red gas slowly swayed from left to right inside a dark ck uniform with strange symbols made from rare metals sewn into the front.

    This congrattory atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by an arrogant voice that sounded out from one of the chairs at the back,

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all great but what about the organization behind them. I hardly believe that mere pirates would be bold enough to attack the Libera group.¡±

    Thisment opened up the floodgates and soon the main hall turned chaotic as several aliens shouted out their own opinions.

    ¡°This has the handiwork of those bastards from the Canercose group¡­. I knew those wretched mud barbarians would collude with raiders!¡±

    ¡°No! This is clearly the work of the Northerium. Who doesn¡¯t know that the president has connections with the Hyacinth mafia.¡±

    ¡°I say we take this opportunity to capture a few mining towns and outposts¡­¡±

    What was interesting was that every voice who dared to speak out were those who had just recently purchased shares of thepany.

    Not a single one of the old foxes uttered a word of protest and the look on their faces was one of anticipation.

    The cacophony of voices only got louder and louder until a fearsome pressure descended upon the crowd.

    Boom!

    Wine sses shattered and some of the nearby servant girls were thrown to the ground as they looked at the leader with fear.

    ¡°Did I give permission for you disrespectful brats to speak,¡± a chilling whisper came from the gaseous humanoid.

    No one said a word as the full force of a qi tide cultivator made them unable to breathe.

    The old foxes knew that the leader was not a kind person and those who crossed him never ended well.

    Even those with shares in thepany were not immune from his rage.

    The vice president had oncemanded twenty percent of thepany¡¯s shares and would oppose the leader at every turn.

    Now one yearter¡­.

    He had unexpectedly perished, and his shares were now in the hands of the leader.

    The leader retracted his aura and continued to talk as if nothing had happened, ¡°As I was saying¡­¡±

    ¡°Under torture we did not receive any useful information. It appears that whoever was pulling the strings behind this incident did not leave any traces.¡±

    ¡°Even the captain thought that this bold move was his own idea, but our psychics discovered subliminal hypnotic messages imnted in his mind.¡±

    ¡°Now is not the time for action.¡±

    The leader spread his gaseous body until it filled the entire room. Each of the shareholders did not even dare to move a muscle as an ufortable feeling enveloped their bodies.

    One could feel a rage and beneath that rage¡­. a trace of insanity buried so deeply within that it was impossible to detect.

    This was a creature who believed himself destined to rule even if what hemanded became nothing more than a pile of corpses and sycophants too afraid to disagree.

    ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy dancing in the palms of others.¡±

 Chapter 260: A Deal With The Devil

    Chapter 260: A Deal With The Devil

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (Rexanera Sea- Unnamed Ship)

    The silence inside the cabin room was broken by a robotic voice after a green light swept the surrounding area.

    [No monitoring devices detected¡­.]

    ¡°Scan again,¡± Sophie remarked emotionlessly. The cold metalloid orb in her hand buzzed faintly before releasing another round of green light.

    Several minutes passed as Sophie waited patiently for the results.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the robotic voice to speak once more.

    [No monitoring devices detected¡­.]

    Sophie frowned silently and paced around the room with an uneasy expression on her face.

    She didn¡¯t like being in dangerous or unknown situations and this ship was precisely thetter.

    From the outside everything seemed to be perfectly fine.

    The cabin room was evenrger than the one she had enjoyed on the S.S Annamarie and it was clear that the furnishings were made from materials of a higher quality.

    The bed was made from a memory foam material that perfectly molded into the mostfortable shape to rest in regardless of physiology.

    Inside the washroom was an enormous bathtub almost the size of a swimming pool with a built-in heating function.

    Snacks and meals could be provided from the food replicator device hidden in the corner of the room and the menu had a variety of different options.

    It was almost akin to the experience of staying in a four-star hotel room.

    Lily was currently asleep on the bed after the long day, but Sophie could not rest so easily.

    What was wrong?

    There was no monitoring or listening devices and aside from the three rules that the crewmate had informed them about¡­. all appeared to be well.

    Speaking of those rules, Sophie could not help but recall the third and final rule that seemed to be a bit strange.

    She could somewhat understand the rule to not destroy the security devices in the hallway and the other rule not to leave the room without permission.

    But that third rule¡­.

    She could not make out the facial expression of the crewmate as the alien was little more than a bundle of sentient gas but judging by his tone of voice¡­.

    It was clear that the third rule was the most important.

    ¡°X¡¯reah rir Domineas!¡± Sophie mouthed silently and mulled over the meaning of those words.

    Thest rule involved the chanting of a strange phase.

    Every two weeks an inspector would knock on every door and demand to hear the password from the upants inside.

    When guests hear the knock, they are supposed to immediately chant the phrase three times and then wait for the inspector to leave.

    Should the password be spoken incorrectly, or no response is given¡­ well the crewmate warned that there would be dire consequences.

    Sophie sighed lightly and ced her scanning orb back into her storage bag.

    It was useless to inquire about these matters.

    At this point nothing that happened on the ship would have anything to do with her.

    Sophie was not a curious person by nature and there was no urge in her heart to explore the hidden secrets of the crew.

    She just wanted to go home.

    Home¡­.

    That was another source of heartache.

    It was easy to put on a brave face and cheerful attitude in front of Lily but secretly Sophie was very worried.

    A qi tide cultivator did have strength, but it was far from enough to roam the gxy unhindered, and god knows what kind of powerful enemies she would be forced to confront in the future.

    Finding a ship to leave the.

    Travelling to a war zone.

    Sending a message across enemy lines and hoping that it would not get intercepted.

    These all seemed like impossible tasks for a girl barely in her first year of college.

    Sophie¡¯s mood sunk lower and lower, so she decided to cultivate to get her mind off these unpleasant matters.

    She closed her eyes and sent a strand of qi into the amulet resting on her chest.

    The Star of Ethnaise warmed up slowly as Sophie concentrated on the mantra of the Spider Whisper Art.

    Breathe in¡­

    Breathe out¡­

    Focus on the cycling of qi through your meridians¡­

    Rx your mind¡­

    The surroundings faded away and Sophie opened her eyes to see the familiar dark void of the amulet space.

    Her body felt lighter but there was a spiritual pressure that seemed to be pressing down on her soul with every passing second.

    Whispers and dark murmurs in the ancientnguage of the Arachnais Tribe filled this darkness but Sophie could only grasp a few insignificant meanings before they vanished.

    The stone monumentzily floated in the center of the space with the all too familiar words of the Spider Whisper Art.

    It was a dark and dreary realm and yet Sophie felt nothing but peace as she floated in the darkness.

    The feeling was of a childing home or a spider returning to its web.

    Suddenly it urred to her that she hadn¡¯t taken a look at the writings on the monument since hitting the qi tide stage.

    Sophie could recall that her aunt had said that the secrets of this hidden realm would be revealed as she cultivated to higher levels.

    Gliding through the void using her qi energy, Sophie soon approached the stone monument and ced her left palm on its grey surface.

    Sting!

    Sophie withdrew her hand in shock as a fierce bolt of pain travelled up her arm and struck her right in the heart.

    She doubled over in pain as it felt as though a destructive poison was tearing up her insides and turning her blood into mes.

    The minutes passing seemed like an eternity as Sophie was hunched over and trying her best not to pass out.

    This was clearly a trial as the pain inside her body only intensified as she remained in front of the monument.

    Sophie nced up with bloodshot eyes and to her surprise she could see the writings on the stone monument disappear.

    Soon the pain also vanished and the whispers inside the void appeared to pause as an unknown force descended from beyond the space.

    In front of Sophie¡¯s eyes, she could see new writings being carved onto the stone monument in a colour that resembled the crimson flush of blood.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡±

    Sophie screamed in pain as a wave of text entered her mind.

    This pain was far greater than anything she had ever felt before and it felt as though her very soul was fracturing into tiny shards.

    ¡°Arghurys jaesa kostilus grant issa se kustikane.¡±

    ¡°kostagon nyke bathe isse se anogar hen issa enemies.¡±

    ¡°rual issa aoha olvie dangerous irudy.¡±

    ¡°Seesi bona undegon skoros path pirtra ahead.¡±

    ¡°Se power naejot undegon skoros emagon issare ruarza.¡±

    ¡°Se power naejot undegon skoros emagon daor massitas.¡±

    ¡°Se power naejot arlinnon skoros actions emagon daor issare taken.¡±

    Over and over these words pounded into Sophie¡¯s mind until mercifully she found herself cking out and exiting the space.

    Opening her eyes Sophie immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and felt a deep crippling weakness in her body.

    She could barely move and only managed to crawl to the bed before copsing after her muscles gave out.

    Too tired to move, Sophie felt a deep sense of fear at what she had just experienced inside the amulet space.

    Her aunt had talked about new abilities that were hidden inside every star amulet but there was no mention of a trial nor a bacsh if one wanted to learn these powers.

    Was it due to her hybrid nature or something else?

    Sophie was almost certain that the unknown force that descended on the stone monument came from the hunter goddess.

    But what was this new ability, and should she even cultivate it?

    Every single gift from the goddess came with a debt.

    This was no gold finger but rather a deal with the devil and Sophie was unsure if she could afford to pay the price¡­.

    Thenguage used in the writing was difficult to trante for Sophie as it appeared to only be phically simr to the Arachnais tribe.

    There were great differences in the syntax of thenguage and even the structure of the sentences themselves were foreign and strange.

    All she could understand were a few key words such as, ¡®enemies¡¯, ¡®ahead¡¯, ¡®power¡¯, ¡®actions¡¯, and a handful of other words that did not paint a clear picture of what the mantra meant.

    Sophie tried her best to recall the words of this new mantra but the headache from the bacsh made it too difficult to concentrate.

 Chapter 261: A Messy Situation

    Chapter 261: A Messy Situation

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Laboratory Room)

    Although the hospitals of the Federation had cutting edge technology and medical knowledge, every high noble house would build their own privateboratory.

    Rokan frowned slightly as he stepped into the white room after undergoing a round of sterilization.

    This room was built roughly ten years ago and was equipped with the newest models of surgery devices and AI units that could perform operations.

    Theb was about the size of a two-bedroom apartment and strange vials of liquids, metalloid devices and robotic assistants could be found scattered around.

    There was one chief medical officer in charge of theb. An elderly professor by the name of Doctor Smith. He had three research assistants and they were all sworn to secrecy.

    When gaining this position, it was a given that working for the Peterlor family was a lifetime appointment.

    Of course, the duke was not a stingy man and the handsome sry he paid kept the workers very satisfied.

    Speaking of the duke, he looked much better than the days following the incident at the royal pce, but something was missing.

    It wasn¡¯t his appearance as the duke¡¯s face was no longer haggard, and he stood tall with an intimidating aura preventing anyone froming close.

    It was his eyes.

    The Duke walked, talked, and acted just the same as the great man in the past but seemed more like a machine than a human.

    The spark had gone out of his eyes and he spent the days numbly following his regr routine.

    Head Butler Gerald was deeply concerned to see his master like this, but nothing could console a father who had lost his precious daughter.

    Months had passed since his daughter had vanished and certain decisions could no longer be put on hold or left to subordinates.

    Managing the vast territory of a dukedom was a job that required long hours of work so there was no time for moping.

    That did not mean that the search for Sophie had lessened.

    Rather every avable resource and manpower were still being put to task.

    Searching far and wide across the universe for even the slightest trace of Sophie¡¯s location. From the slums in the outer region to the luxurious pces of the tier ones.

    Nothing had been found so far.

    There were nine thousand five hundred noble heirs who had participated in the banquet. Now only a handful were still missing.

    Hope is cruel thing.

    A part of the Duke was afraid that the news he would receive when his daughter was found would not be pleasant.

    His worse fear was that only a corpse would be recovered.

    Over sixty percent of the noble heirs who were missing returned to their families as cold remains.

    Duke Peterlor clenched his knuckles and tried to bury these negative feelings in the bottom of his heart.

    Now was not the time to rpse.

    He strode towards the left corner of theb where a young girl was strapped to an operating table with several metalloid needles poking around her body.

    ¡°How did the surgery go?¡± Duke Peterlor turned to one of the researchers present in the room.

    ¡°Absolutely brilliant!¡± Doctor Smith eximed from his desk as he hurriedly ran towards the duke to present his findings.

    ¡°I have never seen a symbiote species with such a fascinating physiology. While it is unclear what are the exact effects of being bound to this organism¡­¡±

    ¡°Judging by the hormones secreted, this creature can enhance the natural body of the host and maybe even boost regenerative abilities.¡±

    ¡°And that is simply scratching the surface!¡±

    Doctor Smith was so excited that hepletely ignored formalities and grabbed the duke¡¯s arm to lead him to his desk.

    There in the center of the messy papers was a small container where a purple humanoid creaturey floating in a preservative liquid.

    This was the symbiote extracted from the girl on the operating table.

    ¡°What about the removal surgery? Will there be any side effects on Princess Sisrelis¡¯ body?¡± Duke Peterlor muttered in a cold tone.

    ¡°No,¡± Doctor Smith answered confidently.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how but the symbiote was unable to infiltrate the heart or the brain regions so the removal process was far easier and less dangerous than we originally anticipated.¡±

    ¡°As for side effects¡­ it is most likely that for two weeks after the surgery, there will be mild headaches and a general feeling of weakness.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Duke Peterlor replied concisely and turned around to leave.

    He spared a nce at Cleoying down on the metalloid operating table before exiting the room.

    That was one problem solved.

    Once the princess had revealed that she also had a pink mark branded on her chest, the duke had forced the girl to have an open conversation with him.

    Any clue that could lead to Sophie¡¯s location had to be fully explored.

    It appeared from their talk and spections that this protective mark was what the Arachnais race used to brand their lovers.

    For what was the purpose of the mark, the duke did not know before the talk as it had never done anything aside from glow ever so slightly every once in awhile.

    Princess Cleo on the other hand had said that her mark acted as a barrier to prevent a symbiote imnted in her body from burrowing into her heart.

    She didn¡¯t know where the symbiote hade from but upon hearing this story, the duke was immediately suspicious.

    How was it possible that the royal family was unaware?

    And Cleo¡¯s mother was not the sort of woman who would let an important detail like a symbiote being inside her daughter go unnoticed.

    The problem was that the duke had no evidence, and he could not possibly use the authority of being her girlfriend¡¯s father to drive a wedge between mother and child.

    Duke Peterlor frowned and eventually chose to remain silent but made a mental note to increase the surveince on Concubine Sisrelis.

    He did manage to persuade the girl to undergo the surgery at the Peterlor mansion, but Cleo insisted on seeing her mother first.

    It was unclear what had happened once she returned to the Imperial Complex as Cleo applied for leave from the university and spent the next few months with her mother.

    Duke Peterlor was convinced that perhaps she had decided to do the surgery using the royal physicians but two days ago Cleo had shown up at his doorsteps with deep cuts torn into her flesh.

    She barely resembled a human being as the scars scattered across her body mutted her flesh and made the princess look like a monster.

    The regenerative ability of cultivators could eventually heal such wounds, but it was clear that the cuts had been made recently.

    Duke Peterlor immediately brought her to theboratory and had the doctor heal her injuries.

    Then the duke naturally asked what had happened but received no response.

    Cleo refused to say what had happened in the pce and just politely asked the duke to remove the symbiote from inside her body.

    This was clearly a messy situation, but the duke agreed without hesitation as he was more than powerful enough to protect a princess.

 Chapter 262: Trouble On Kings Island

    Chapter 262: Trouble On King''s Ind

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind- ck market)

    Several agonizing screams of pain echoed through an empty alleyway as an unlucky bounty huntery on the ground while bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds.

    ¡°Please¡­ please¡­ no¡­ more¡­¡± the man begged desperately as his vision slowly faded.

    Pierce!

    The hooded figure standing above his copsed body ignored the cries and once again a de-like appendage shot forward and buried into the hunter¡¯s chest.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes in fury and with one smooth motion she shed a dagger across the neck of the hunter.

    There was still a trace of shock in the bounty hunter¡¯s eyes as he could not believe how quickly his target had counterattacked.

    This was the fifth assassin Sophie had encountered in just the span of one week since arriving on King¡¯s Ind and the situation was only continuing to worsen.

    Someone had ced a hefty bounty on her head and killers from all walks of life were tempted by the grand prize.

    Fortunately, the bounty only had a basic description of her features but her four de-like appendages were a dead giveaway once exposed.

    Who had done it?

    Was it the organization behind the innkeeper she had killed?

    Sophie faintly regretted her rash decision but there was nothing she could do now except move forward and try to think of countermeasures.

    She took one more nce at the corpse and left the scene with quiet steps.

    Sophie¡¯s cloak was notrge enough to cover her entire body, so she had ced an order with a local tailor for a new one.

    Today was the day the cloak would be ready, and it was not a moment too soon.

    Sophie stealthily crept behind a pair of Libera enforcers as she made her way to a small shop tucked away behind a noisy tavern.

    King¡¯s Ind was divided into four major regions with a financial group controlling thew and order of each part.

    The north belonged to the Canercose group, the south belonged to the Libera group, the west was in the hands of the Sepriena group and finally the Northerium group controlled the east.

    It was a chaotic ce where blood and gold could be easily found or lost.

    The buildings were hastily constructed, and the tense atmosphere caused fights to break out over the slightest provocation.

    Sophie had already added quite a bit of coin to her storage bag since arriving on the ind thanks to the generous donations of friendly passersby.

    Of course, these donations were a bit¡­. involuntary but there was no need to mind the small details.

    Sophie smiled coldly as she saw the familiar sign hanging on the door of the small shop.

    She could not read the words on the sign but there was also an illustration of a humanoid figure wearing a suit stered on the front of the door.

    Knock! Knock!

    Sophie rapped her knuckles against the wooden door and a deep voice from the inside told her to enter.

    ¡°Wee back my dear customer,¡± an elderly alien was slowly rocking on a chair near a roaring firece.

    He seemedpletely rxed as Sophie strode into the room with traces of blood still on her robe.

    The tailor was roughly the size of a small child with knobby hands and legs that made him appear weak and fragile.

    His head was bulbous and round with eyes that shifted constantly from a peaceful blue to a violent red every few seconds.

    ¡°Is the package ready?¡± Sophie asked calmly.

    ¡°You got the money?¡± the tailor smiled lightly and opened one of his wrinkled palms.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and counted out a series of notes until the tailor casually raised up a hand to tell her to stop.

    She passed the money to the tailor who immediately started to sniff the notes with an expression of ecstasy on his face.

    Truthfully, Sophie was a bit weirded out, but she waited patiently for the tailor to stop rubbing the money on his body.

    One minute passed¡­.

    Five minutes passed¡­.

    Then ten¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s patience was gradually wearing thin but before she could politely remind the tailor to hurry up and bring her the cloak, he got up from his chair.

    ¡°Follow me,¡± he spoke quietly and gestured for Sophie to walk with him.

    The shop was notrge, and Sophie could see well worn machines filled with strange thread-like materials and liquids messily scattered around the workshop.

    On one of the benches in the back of the room was an enormous ck cloak slightlyrge than seven feet and wide enough to cover Sophie¡¯s spider appendages.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s eyes gleamed as she appreciated the simple design of the cloak and the golden threads intricately woven into the sides of the cuffs.

    ¡°Take it and leave my dear customer,¡± the tailor spoke with a peculiar grin on his face.

    Sophie nodded respectfully and picked up the cloak.

    The tailor continued to watch her figure with an unknown emotion in his eyes as she exited the small shop.

    It was a quiet night and the pale moonlight shone down on the nearby run-down shacks and buildings on both sides of the road.

    Loud noises and jeers could be heard from the nearby tavern as Sophie made her way through the deserted streets.

    She stopped in front of random house and pulled the surveince detection orb out of her storage bag.

    The mantra to always remain cautious was engraved in Sophie¡¯s heart.

    [Scan Initiated¡­.]

    A green light swept over all parts of the cloak as Sophie waited for the results of the scan.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Two loud buzzing noises were heard and suddenly the green light shifted to purple which indicated that a tracker bug was found.

    The orb emitted a three-dimensional image of the cloak and Sophie saw a suspicious metalloid device no bigger than the size of her fingertip sewn into the back of the cloak.

    Sophie frowned in annoyance and used her sharp nails to rip the device out of the fabric with ease.

    This would dy her trip back to the hotel room.

    Sophie held the tracker device in her right palm and ran towards the Sepriena controlled zone of the ind.

    She walked along the main road before arriving at one of the popr inns in the area.

    Sophie peeked around cautiously to see if anyone was watching her before throwing the tracker over the wall.

    Destroying the tracker would instantly alert the parties behind the device that it had beenpromised so the best option was to use it as a distraction.

    Sophie left the inn decisively and headed back to the hotel where she had brought Lily to rest for the night.

    Walking back to the hotel gave her the chance to clear her mind and think about the next steps of her n to return home.

    The recent assassination attempts, and possible surveince of her location were extremely good reasons to leave as quickly as possible.

    Apparently, the war on the frontier region with the Earth Federation was going quite poorly which meant that the chaos was beginning to spread further.

    Certain citizens of low social standing were being forcefully recruited and there was a sharp rise in the number pirate groups terrorizing cargo vessels as the government could not afford to spare any manpower.

    Mercenaries were being offered handsome rewards to lend their aid to the Unova Syndicate government-led forces.

    There were a few groups on the ind who were contemting epting the government¡¯s offer so Sophie nned on trying her luck to see if she could join them.

    The tricky part was trying to create an identity for Lily or a role for the little girl when joining the group.

    Right now, the only option she could think of was pretending that Lily was her ve or servant.

    Mercenary business was hardly the kind of work where one could bring a child.

 Chapter 263: Fight To The Death

    Chapter 263: Fight To The Death

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind- Central Square)

    It seemed that a significant portion of the poption on King¡¯s Ind were currently walking around in Central Square.

    Loud cries and jeers could be heard which promoted a festive atmosphere as eager recruiters proudly boosted about the benefits of joining their mercenary group.

    ¡°The God¡¯s Hand are the best fighters in the entire universe!¡±

    ¡°Join us for an immediate signing bonus of one thousand dors! No questions about background or criminal history asked!¡±

    ¡°No other mercenary group can match the Sris Kiss when ites to health care benefits and a 401K!¡±

    Sophie held Lily in her arms as the pair wandered through the crowd in central square.

    Today was a recruitment day for the various mercenary corps operating on the ind.

    Each mercenary group had set up their own stalls with the bigger ones upying the most space and the best locations.

    The weaker or smaller organizations were forced to the edges of the square and not many people were visiting them.

    There was always a need for skilled warriors so anyone with a decent cultivation level was besieged by recruiters from all sides.

    Sophie was wearing a heavy ck cloak that concealed her appearance and hide the four de-like appendages jutting out of her back.

    Lily on the other hand wore a silvery-grey facial mask that concealed her human features as well as a smaller robe that was light green in colour.

    Despite the plentiful number of stalls, Sophie took her time to walk slowly around the entire square.

    Choosing which mercenary corps to join would be perhaps the most important decision so far.

    There were advantages and disadvantages to every group, so Sophie carefully observed the members of each.

    By the nature of their work, mercenaries were tough ruthless folk, and some were no better thanmon criminals.

    Sophie did not want to join a group that consisted of thieves, murderers, and rapists.

    It only took about fifteen minutes to circle the entire Central Square area and seeing the different stalls gave Sophie some inkling about which ones to apply for.

    There were two important conditions that had to be met before Sophie would even consider joining.

    The first was that the mercenary organization nned to leave the and join up with the Unova Syndicate government-led forces at the border.

    The second condition was to convince the group to allow both herself and Lily to join.

    Sophie had already thought of a n to fool the recruiters.

    She would package Lily as a rare alien species with the ability to see glimpses of the future.

    Naturally, Sophie would tell them that Lily had no control over her abilities to avoid any demonstrations.

    Of course, it was improbable that Lily would be able to join any organization based on such an inconsistent ability.

    But Sophie hoped that her strength would be more than enough for the potential group to turn a blind eye in order to ept Lily as well.

    Sophie¡¯s train of thought was soon interrupted by a loud announcement from an alien standing in the center of the square.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen!¡± a sharply dressed man with two gorgeous purple wings sprouting out from his back yelled out.

    ¡°We will now begin the pit fighting challenge! Any brave warrior who can survive ten fights in a row will be able to secure a contract from one of the top mercenary guilds!¡±

    The ground beneath his feet warped and twisted as an enormous pit formed right in the center of the square.

    Two sets of stairs led down to the bottom of the pit and the alien pulled a variety of weapons out of his storage bag.

    Hey the weapons along the sides of the pit. Each weapon was made from high quality materials and gleamed under the sunlight.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes slightly as a thoughtful expression shed across her face.

    The ordinary mercenary groups were the ones setting up stalls in the square but the top mercenary corps operating on Xerciam Prime were far more selective with their prospective candidates.

    For those groups, quality was a lot more important than quantity as their members were not cannon fodder to be thrown on the frontlines of battle.

    None of these top groups had set up stalls in the square but rumors and whispers had said that hidden recruiters from these organizations were mingled in the crowd.

    Sophie was conflicted over what to do next.

    The perfect opportunity to show off her strength was here but she hadn¡¯t forgotten about the bounty ced on her head.

    Members of these top mercenary groups had information channels and Sophie had no doubt that her bounty would be exposed after a basic investigation.

    Smaller organizations were not as curious about the background of their recruits so there was less risk involved in joining one.

    In addition, the top mercenary groups on the were indeed very impressive but leaving one of these groups would be far more difficult.

    ¡°And we have a first challenger!¡± the host roared as a shark-like creature with a heavy sword on his back stepped into the ring.

    ¡°Are there any other brave souls wishing to enter the pit?¡± he sneered at the crowd of warriors.

    ¡°I will!¡± a muscr fighter with ten arms leapt into the pit and caused a dull thud as hended with great force.

    Instead of a weapon, the muscr fighter¡¯s palms glowed with an eerie light before erupting in purple mes.

    A holographic screen was projected in the air above the central square so that onlookers could see what was happening inside the pit.

    The shark-like alien calmly walked down the stairs and faced off against his opponent with a silent look.

    There was not much build up as both fighters simultaneously took a step back to gather momentum before rushing forward.

    Sophie nced at the screen as she was curious about the nature of the fights taking ce.

    Was it to the death or would the host stop before serious injuries urred?

    Swish!

    The shark-like creature swung his great sword with startling speed right at the neck of the muscr alien.

    Bang!

    Sophie widened her eyes in shock as the muscr alien caught the sword with one hand before the other nine palms struck the shark-like creature right in its chest.

    The shark-like creature howled in pain as the purple me covering the hands of the muscr alien burned his flesh.

    There was a savage glint hidden in the eyes of the muscr alien as his palms pushed further in until the surface of his opponent¡¯s flesh was charred ck.

    The shark-like alien gasped and whispered his surrender but no sooner had the words exited his lips did the muscr alien tear his head off.

    Blood spurted into the air as the headless corpse of the shark-like alien crashed to the ground motionlessly.

    Sophie had already covered Lily¡¯s eyes once the muscr alien had counterattacked as she could detect the killing intent even through the holographic screen.

    Hmm¡­ so looks like these fights were to the death.

    Thunderous apuse rang out from the watching crowd as the muscr alien triumphantly waved his hands in the air.

    A few tiny creatures dressed in brown robes walked down into the pit and removed the corpse silently.

    ¡°Now wasn¡¯t that a quick fightdies and gentlemen?¡± the host joked as the crowdughed along.

    ¡°Maybe the next warrior will prove to be a greater challenge for our current champion of the pit!¡±

    Sophie continued to watch as she saw several aliens step forward eagerly to be the next person to fight the muscr champion.

    Maybe she could give it a try.

    Sophie¡¯s predator instincts were slowly awakening, and she could feel the familiar rush of madness coursing through her veins.

    The hunger to hunt and kill was threatening to overwhelm her sanity as Sophie¡¯s body walked slowly towards the pit.

    There were no ns to keep a low profile nor to conceal her strength.

    A proud huntress would kill whenever she desired.

    Just as Sophie was about to join the crowd of pit fighters, a terrible jolt of pain shock her to the very core.

    Sophie was brought to her knees as a splitting headache threatened to shatter her mind.

    She could vaguely hear Lily frantically yelling something in the background, but it was like the words were hidden behind a fog.

    Sophie felt violently ill and didn¡¯t even notice that her eyes rapidly changed from their typical golden hue to a terrible shade of purplish ck.

    The world around her shifted into a vision of ck and white with multiple shadowy figures dancing inside the void.

    All of her other senses had disappeared, and Sophie could no longer touch, hear, smell, or taste anything in her surroundings.

    It was a feeling she had only felt a handful of times before.

    Sophie recognized this new state as the same ability she had used to find Astrid during the entrance exam.

    But why had it randomly activated now?

 Chapter 264: The First Offering

    Chapter 264: The First Offering

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind)

    ¡°You piece of shit! I¡¯ll rip off your fucking head!¡± a humanoid figure with four de-like appendages jutting out of her back leapt at an unknown enemy.

    ¡°You will pay for what you¡¯ve done!¡±

    The humanoid figure split into five identical copies with each attacking a different part of the mysterious opponent.

    This did not appear to surprise the unknown enemy as he calmly unleashed a series of shes from the thin sword held in his right hand that eliminated four of the five copies.

    Laying on the ground were the shredded remains of a child-sized corpse.

    Lily¡¯s eyes were still widened in shock as if she could not believe that she had been killed.

    The corpse of the little girl had been savagely torn apart and the ground darkened with the crimson colour of blood.

    Sophie shook her head in confusion as she saw what seemed to be a nightmare unfolding.

    She didn¡¯t understand what was happening inside this twisted world of ck and white.

    There right in front of her eyes was a mirror image of herself but there were some differences.

    The Sophie fighting desperately was missing an arm and one of her eyes had been gorged out so only a hollow hole remained.

    It was a strange feeling to watch yourself from a third person point of view.

    Sophie vomited out a mouthful of blood as with every passing moment she could feel jolts of pain ravaging her mind.

    There was an unknown desire surging through her body.

    Sophie did not know if it was her own thoughts or the urging of the great Weaver, but she raised her head to catch a glimpse at the face of the unknown enemy.

    There was a smoky fog hiding the face of the mysterious opponent, but Sophie strained her eyes and could feel a force flowing through her body.

    The fog slowly begun to fade, and Sophie ignored the pain to strengthen her vision even further.

    No matter the cost she needed to know who this enemy was.

    One minute passed¡­.

    Then two minutes¡­.

    Then three¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s headache only worsened but the thin veil of fog was now down to itsstyer. If she could just keep going then the mysterious identity would soon be revealed.

    There!

    Sophie could see a brief sh of the opponent¡¯s face but the picture that she saw left her with more questions than answers.

    It was a human.

    A human was the one who killed Lily.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and memorized the face.

    Every single detail was burned into her mind until she could think of nothing else.

    The face belonged to an androgynous beauty whose gender appeared to be male.

    He had dirty blonde hair and soft feminine features.

    His nose was slender and delicate, and his eyes were a deep chocte brown colour that seemed to hold an endless abyss of darkness.

    Sophie also noticed the scar running down the side of his left cheek that formed the shape of a brand.

    It was carved in the image of a sun.

    Sophie¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by an unexpected yell as the fight soon tilted in the favour of the mysterious man.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡±

    A loud screech of pain leaked out of the other Sophie¡¯s mouth as a sword pierced her stomach and the de shed sideways.

    The hybrid girl crashed to the ground as the blood and guts of her stomach spilled out.

    Then less than five secondster a strike from the man¡¯s sword cleaned lopped off her head.

    There was no warning nor suspense.

    It was as though killing the hybrid girl was akin to a butcher ughtering a pig.

    Right at the moment of death Sophie saw her future image turn to her and whisper a quiet warning,

    ¡°Don¡¯t trust the Hyperion.¡±

    Four simple words but Sophie could hear nothing but bitterness, pain and¡­.

    Endless regret.

    The ck and white world shattered as Sophie found herself back in the central square.

    There was a feeling of wetness running down her cheeks.

    Sophie ced a finger gently on this wet sensation and discovered that tears were flowing down her eyes.

    ¡°Big sister! Big sister!¡± Lily shouted as she saw Sophie finally move.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked tearfully.

    The little girl had been badly scared as her big sister had just suddenly knelt down and remained motionless for five minutes.

    It was fortunate that the spectacle urring in the pit fighting ring was enough to draw the crowd¡¯s attention, so no one noticed Sophie¡¯s strange state.

    Sophie staggered to her feet and swayed unsteadily as numerous thoughts shed across her mind.

    There were three powers that the great Weaver said that Sophie could channel.

    The first ability was her Berserker rage where anger and adrenaline would fill her body until she was consumed by a state of mindless fury.

    The second ability was her pheromonal state where her eyes would turn pink, and Sophie would gain the sight of all pleasure points on a person¡¯s body.

    The pores on her skin would also subconsciously emit subtle odours that would act as an aphrodisiac when smelt.

    And thest and perhaps most confusing ability was her irvoyance state.

    This ability allowed Sophie to peer into the flow of time to determine the exact location or future condition of a target.

    But then was the target that mysterious man?

    Sophie didn¡¯t activate this power consciously so did that mean the hunter goddess herself had sent a warning?

    No¡­

    Sophie knew this wasn¡¯t a warning.

    The hunter goddess was many things, but she was not a kind or merciful god.

    This was an opportunity.

    As soon as this thought shed across Sophie¡¯s mind, she could hear a dark chuckle echo in her head.

    [I knew you would understand me]

    [You are my favourite vessel after all]

    The voice was cold with an inhuman tone that made it slightly unnerving to hear the whisper but there was trace of gentleness hidden deep behind the frozen exterior that Sophie did not realise.

    Sophie could feel multiple eyes staring at her from a location far away and infinitely close at the same time.

    [I have chosen that prey to be your first offering to me¡­.]

 Chapter 265: All The Money In The World Is Useless To A Dead Man

    Chapter 265: All The Money In The World Is Useless To A Dead Man

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind)

    ¡°Can it be changed?¡± Sophie whispered softly.

    A dark chuckle echoed in her mind as the cold inhuman voice replied in a bemused tone,

    [I will not change this target as your first offering]

    [I require greater sacrifice and strength from the one I have chosen as my primary vessel]

    Lily looked up with a confused expression as her big sister stared at the horizon and started to talk to herself.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and asked the question that was foremost on her mind,

    ¡°You misunderstand.¡±

    ¡°Will the events that urred in the vision you show me happen regardless? Will Lily die no matter what choice I make?¡±

    ¡°Because if that¡¯s the price then you can forget about it. I will ept punishment for failing your task, but I cannot ept the Lily¡¯s death.¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence and Sophie could feel each of the eyes staring at her from a location beyond the void.

    She knew this was a foolish question to ask.

    The hunter goddess was a powerful eldritch being and who knows what kind of punishment she would need to endure for her disobedience.

    But it was worth a try to at least ask.

    In the worse case scenario, she would simply leave Lily on this temporarily with a weapon stash and go hunt the target herself.

    Time seemed to stretch out for an eternity as Sophie felt thin droplets of sweat run down her back.

    It was unnerving to be watched and yet have no idea where the observer was hiding.

    Suddenly the familiar cold whisper echoed in her mind with a tinge of an unknown emotion that Sophie could not recognise,

    [Mortals tend to think of time like a river. Flowing from one direction to the next with a certain event guaranteed to proceed another]

    [Truthfully, time is like a tree. Every decision you make will branch out into an unknown direction. Timelines can be split, changed, and molded into unrecognisable forms]

    [The vision I showed you is just one of the many possibilities or branches growing on the tree of time]

    [And no matter your choice, the tree will continue to expand and grow infinitely at least¡­. until the end]

    Sophie sighed in relief as she heard the answer.

    Destiny and fate were two words she didn¡¯t want to think too deeply about.

    The entire notion that life was meaningless, and all actions are preordained was a frightening concept and Sophie preferred to believe that free will existed.

    [I look forward to your hunt]

    Just as quickly as the entity had appeared, the hunter goddess vanished from Sophie¡¯s mind and the feeling of being watched slowly faded away.

    ¡°Big sister, are you alright?¡± Lily asked frantically as she saw Sophie frozen in ce.

    Sophie blinked twice and looked down to see the little girl staring at her with a concerned expression on her face.

    ¡°Big sis¡­. ekk!¡± Lily eximed as Sophie picked her up and fiercely nted a series of kisses on her forehead.

    Sophie hugged Lily tightly as all she could see was the vision of Lily¡¯s torn up corpseying motionlessly on the ground.

    Whoever that man was¡­ he was strong.

    Sophie remembered seeing her future self with a ripped off arm and gorged out eye.

    Were those prior injuries or did it ur during the fight before she saw the vision?

    Could Sophie even beat someone whose swordsmanship was far beyond what she could currently handle?

    No.

    That future would never ur.

    There was no need to face him in a direct battle.

    Perhaps a well-ced trap or poison would provide an advantage and decrease the gap inbat strength.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes briefly shed a crimson red colour before shifting back to normal as she gently spoke to Lily,

    ¡°Sorry I had a headache just now and I was a bit confused once it went away.¡±

    ¡°Should we go home so you can rest?¡± Lily asked worriedly.

    ¡°No¡­ seeing such a cute and precious child is enough to cure me,¡± Sophie teased lightly and rubbed her face against Lily¡¯s cheek.

    Sophie teased and yed with Lily for a few minutes until the little girl calmed down.

    There was no longer any desire in her heart to join the pit fighting ring, so Sophie headed towards the recruitment booths.

    A tiny alien with fin-like appendages and scaly skin called out to Sophie as she walked by,

    ¡°Wee to the Hand of God! Would you like to join our band of high-quality mercenaries?¡±

    Sophie paused for a moment and then asked curiously, ¡°Does your organization n on joining the war against the Earth Federation?¡±

    The smile on the recruiter¡¯s face immediately vanished and he replied tersely, ¡°No we are not.¡±

    Sophie nodded politely and turned away to check out another booth.

    However, things did not go as smoothly as she had hoped.

    ¡°Wee to the ck Spear!¡±

    ¡°¡±Does your organization n on joining the war against the Earth Federation?¡±

    ¡°Are you insane? Hell no!¡±

    ¡°Greeting new guy! Are you ready to be part of our family?¡±

    ¡°¡±Does your organization n on joining the war against the Earth Federation?¡±

    ¡°Cough¡­. cough¡­. actually, our family is rather full¡­¡±

    What was going on?

    Sophie had heard rumors that the Unova Syndicate government were offering generous rewards to mercenary groups willing to join the fight in the frontier region.

    Every organization she had asked so far had given her a range of responses from lukewarm promises to outright refusal.

    But she had chosen to ask these groups because just a few hours earlier they had mentioned leaving the during their showcases.

    Still, this was the best way to leave the unnoticed, so Sophie gritted her teeth and continued to inquire.

    ¡°No way!¡± a female recruiter steadfastly refused.

    She was a green skinned alien with a heavy bulky frame and a long tail then was currently wrapped around her body.

    This was the tenth group Sophie had visited and now a feeling of deep frustration was beginning to overwhelm her.

    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t you advertise this morning that your Blooming Flower organization would be joining a private army under a well-knownmander?¡±

    ¡°Do you not have a gxymunicator?¡± the female recruiter asked with a confused expression.

    Sophie shook her head and a look of understanding shed across the recruiter¡¯s face as she finally understood why this lunatic was so adamant about joining the war.

    The recruiter looked around to see if anyone was paying attention and then leaned in to whisper to Sophie,

    ¡°The news came in just a few hours ago¡­.¡±

    ¡°The war with the Earth Federation is basically lost! Several of the armies stationed in the frontier region have beenpletely destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Right now, those monsters are looting and piging all civilisations inside the border zone and are rapidly advancing inward!¡±

    ¡°No mercenary group would dare to join the government now! All the money in the world is useless if you are dead.¡±

 Chapter 266: The Suns Glory

    Chapter 266: The Sun''s Glory

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind- Central Square)

    This was the first time that Sophie had felt such a contrasting mix of emotions.

    On one hand as a member of the Earth Federation it was good news that the Imperial Army had managed to soundly defeat the Unova Syndicate government-led forces.

    But on the other hand¡­.

    Did it have to happen so quickly?!

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as several thoughts shed across her mind one after the next.

    What was the best course of action?

    Steal a ship or hire a private crew to escort her?

    Did she even have enough money?

    The mercenary corps who were so eager to leave the just this morning were now content to stay on Xerciam Prime and develop safely.

    Hold on.

    Sophie smiled lightly as she remembered an important fact that had slipped her mind after hearing about the shocking news.

    The mercenary groups were not a united faction.

    Sure, the majority would not be reckless enough to join a losing side in war but there were always insane bastards willing to hurl themselves into the mes.

    Where there was chaos¡­. there were always opportunities.

    The Unova Syndicate may be defeated temporarily but the war was far from over.

    Now more than anytime they would be desperate for fresh blood and soldiers so the rewards paid to mercenary crews would increase.

    ¡°Hey¡­.¡± Sophie leaned close and whispered to the female recruiter.

    ¡°Do you happen to know any organizations crazy enough to still go to the border region?¡±

    The female recruiter blinked her ten eyes in shock as she stared at the humanoid alien standing across from her.

    Did this scary-looking warrior not understand what she had just said?

    ¡°No,¡± the female recruiter shook her head firmly and gestured for Sophie to leave.

    Sophie continued to smile but hidden deep within her eyes was a strange glint.

    Suddenly the female recruiter could not help but shiver slightly as cold beads of sweat dripped down her back.

    It felt as though a terrible monster was staring at her from the darkness.

    Sophie¡¯s expression was unchanged, but her golden eyes briefly shed a crimson red colour as she allowed her madness to briefly surface.

    The tense atmosphere grew until Sophie broke the mood with an unexpected offer.

    ¡°Perhaps this can help you remember,¡± Sophie winked slyly as a thick bundle of dor notes were slipped into the hands of the recruiter.

    The female recruiter felt the weight of the money in her hand and made a decision.

    If this warrior did not want to heed her warning, then what happened next would not be her concern.

    ¡°Um¡­. there is one group¡­¡± she began hesitantly.

    ¡°Do you see the pale-skinned creature with long limbs in the corner of the square? He belongs to a religious and mercenary group calling themselves ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I heard whispers that they still n to send a squad to join the military, but no one has confirmed the rumor as factual.¡±

    Sophie nodded in appreciation and ced an extra bundle on the counter before leaving in the direction of the pale-skinned creature.

    It did not take long to reach the stall where the alien was standing silently but Sophie did not have a good first impression.

    The stall was made from cheap wooden materials with a in sign that had the words ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯ written across in silver paint.

    It should be noted that this sign looked as though it was about to fall off the rickety pole it was ced on.

    There was an unpleasant smell of cheap booze and heavy perfume that made Sophie¡¯s nose wrinkle up in disgust.

    No other warrior could be seen, and the entire area looked deserted and lifeless.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± the recruiter behind the stall didn¡¯t even bother to look at them as he casually stared at the holographic screen floating above the central square.

    Two aliens were fighting fiercely in the pit fighting ring and one was currently missing both his legs as his opponent chopped off his limbs with one fierce strike.

    ¡°Does your organization n on joining the war against the Earth Federation?¡± Sophie repeated the question she had asked numerous times before.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the recruiter turned his head away from the holographic screen and watched Sophie and Lily.

    Sophie stared back without losing momentum and could not help but note the odd physiological features of the alien.

    Hisplexion was as pale as snow with long slender limbs that drooped down to the floor due to their sheer size.

    The alien was about nine feet tall and towered above Sophie in height.

    It was not often that Sophie met someone who was taller than her and it was not a pleasant feeling.

    There were no facial features on the alien¡¯s face and only two small holes were present on the sides of his cheek.

    He wore arge yellow cloak that covered most of his body but there were brief shes of exposed skin whenever he moved.

    Sophie could not tell how the recruiter was talking but somehow a sound was being produced from the area that should be his belly.

    ¡°Yes. We will leave in two days,¡± the recruiter slowly replied after some time had passed.

    ¡°If you would like to join the expedition squad then arrive at hangar 21 at the spaceport. The shuttle will be leaving two hours after the crack of dawn.¡±

    So easy?

    Sophie was a bit dumbfounded and now felt vaguely suspicious.

    The recruiter had not asked about the duo¡¯s identities nor had he inquired about theirbat strength or abilities.

    Simply show up at the hangar and that was all she needed to do to join the squad?

    ¡°Are there any exams or tests I need to undergo in order to prove mybat strength?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± the recruiter bluntly responded.

    Perhaps he noticed Sophie¡¯s mistrustful eyes as he sighed in frustration before exining the reason behind the rxed recruitment.

    ¡°Look if you wanted to join the main team then I would be forced to test you but if I¡¯m being frank¡­. the lives of those going to the border region are expendable.¡±

    ¡°The Unova Syndicate government is desperate enough to just pay a t rate for every able-bodied creature willing to fight at least¡­ when dealing with our group.¡±

    ¡°No matter who we pick¡­ the money wille in, so the standards have been lowered to bring us the most profit.¡±

    That was it.

    Sophie understood the reasoning and a portion of the suspicions in her heart disappeared, but she remained on guard.

    This t rate was new information, so she was going to inquire around the central square and confirm its validity.

    The recruiter hinting that this offer of a t rate was only extended to their group was also an interesting fact.

    Could this organization have hidden ties with the Unova Syndicate government?

    In addition to her investigation on the background of ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯, if everything seemed normal then she would take Lily to meet their newpanions two dayster.

    This was the ideal scenario for both sides.

    Mercenaries who wanted to make quick bucks and conceal their identities could join the squad travelling to the border region.

    Regardless of whether they lived or died, the higher ups of the guild would receive a t pay from the government.

    Sophie knew that the mercenaries sent to fight in wars were often put on the front lines to act as cannon fodder.

    But that was okay as Sophie had no n to turn traitor and fight her own countrymen.

    All she needed to do was to get as close to the border as possible and send a message from hermunicator.

    Nothing could go wrong.

 Chapter 267: A New Beginning

    Chapter 267: A New Beginning

    (Unova Syndicate- Xerciam Prime)

    (King¡¯s Ind- Spaceport- Hangar 21)

    King¡¯s Ind was located directly at the equator of Xerciam Prime where it only took five minutes for a standard spacecraft to enter or exit the atmospheric zone.

    The spaceport was built with the funds invested from all the major financial groups currently operating on the.

    This was a neutral venue where all rivalries and feuds had to be left at the entrance as the careful monitoring and security units would prevent significant damage from urring.

    Multiple hangars were built to store the various models of spacecrafts and at peak capacity the spaceport could house around two thousand ships.

    Inside one of these hangars was a group of disorganized warriors impatiently waiting for their vessel to arrive.

    ¡°You want to fight or something?¡±

    ¡°Come any closer and I¡¯ll cut out that insolent tongue of yours!¡±

    ¡°Anyone got any drinks?¡±

    ¡°Forget drinks¡­ baby do you want to be with a real man?¡±

    ¡°Where? Do you know one?¡±

    A hybrid girl leaned against a nearby wall and took a small sip of nutrient solution as the sounds of arguing and fighting echoed around the room.

    Sophie was holding Lily tightly in her arms as the little girl was currently fast asleep with drool leaking down the sides of her mouth.

    Two days had passed since Sophie had talked to the recruiter and she had not spent that time in vain.

    Only three other mercenary groups were willing to travel to the frontier zone and all highly valued background checks and blood samples.

    And more importantly, they nned to wait a few more months to see how the situation developed in the frontier zone before leaving.

    This left ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯ as the only option left.

    Investigating this organization was a lot easier than what Sophie had expected but the information she got raised more questions than answers.

    Apparently ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯ was a side branch of a religious cult whose real name was unknown.

    No one was sure how many members were part of this cult, but the mercenary group it funded could only be rated as a rtively skilled.

    Not enough to be considered a top mercenary group but more in the middle.

    Despite its decent reputation, it was more infamous for its reputation of underpaying its employees and contractors.

    Sophie tried to find out more about the religious order funding the group, but no one seemed to know any concrete information.

    Despite her suspicions, it seemed that this was her best choice to leave the.

    She had not forgotten about the terrible vision but with no clue on when or where she would encounter this opponent, the only thing Sophie could do was cultivate furiously.

    ¡°Oi! What are you looking at bitch?¡± a loud growl snapped Sophie out of her thoughts.

    A massive bulky feline-like creature towered over Sophie with a bloodthirsty grin on his face.

    He was dressed in simple tribe clothing with a heavy axe strapped across his chest.

    His fur was a snow-white colour and thick braids ran down the sides of his cheeks.

    The physique of his body was mostly humanoid, but the noticeable bumps and boils hidden beneath his fur made Sophie recoil in disgust.

    Sophie casually nced up at the muscr alien and spat out two words,

    ¡°Fuck off.¡±

    There was a moment of silence in the hangar as even the other mercenaries arguing noticed the rising tension.

    ¡°What did you say to me?¡± the feline creature muttered and reached for the battle axe strapped across his chest.

    Sophie rolled her eyes and simplyunched a punch with her right hand straight into the stomach of the alien.

    She didn¡¯t use much force behind her blow, so the feline creature merely flew backwards and crashed into the opposite wall.

    Thud!

    The unconscious body of the thug fell to the ground and his head banged against a nearby table as he copsed.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and stared at the remaining mercenaries in the room with a silent warning in her gaze.

    Warriors like these only respected strength.

    The noise quickly resumed once Sophie returned to her rxed posture but there was now a noticeable bubble around her location as none dared to approach.

    Lily leaned into Sophie¡¯s ear and quietly whispered, ¡°Big sister you were amazing.¡±

    She had been woken up by the growl of the feline creature and saw Sophie¡¯s fearsome punch.

    Sophie smirked proudly as she felt the love and admiration from the little girl in her arms.

    Unfortunately, Lily¡¯s follow up question immediately sent her cheerful mood into a panic,

    ¡°But what does ¡®fuck off¡¯ mean?¡±

    The wheels in Sophie¡¯s mind had never turned faster as the hybrid girl hurriedly thought of possible exnations she could give.

    The only saving grace was that Sophie had uttered that slur in thenguage of the Unova Syndicate so the words Lily had repeated sounded more like a series of clicks.

    After a few moments of thinking, Sophie decided to reply with a small lie in order to preserve Lily¡¯s innocence.

    ¡°It means don¡¯t be rude.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (One hourter)

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The mechanical doors to the hangar opened up and a medium sized space shuttle flew into the room.

    Sophie squinted slightly to observe the body of the spacecraft carefully.

    This particr model was not one she had ever seen before but at least from the outside it looked okay.

    Five heavy sma cannons were mounted along key areas of the vessel and two barrier devices generated a passive forcefield.

    The vessel was around the size of a two-story building and had a sleek narrow design that was perfect for weaving through obstacles.

    It was not the most impressive spaceship that Sophie had ever seen but at least there seemed to be no obvious problems.

    The ship was a light grey colour was a phrase carved into the side of the vessel that read, ¡®Mesa kon et shriumea.¡¯

    Sophie had no clue what that phrase meant but the numerous symbols painted near the phrase probably signified its importance.

    ¡°Is everyone ready to depart?¡± a cold whisper echoed in the minds of the mercenary warriors.

    A hole opened in the side of the spacecraft and a thin metalloid bridge slowly extended downwards until it reached the floor.

    One could observe a pale-skinned creature with long slender limbs standing in the doorway.

    Sophie recognized the alien as the same species as the recruiter she had met just two days earlier.

    Was he the one who sent the mental transmission?

    Or was it someone else onboard?

    Well now was not the time to be solving that mystery so Sophie just picked up Lily and moved towards the bridge.

    The mercenaries in the room soon followed her lead but some were getting anxious the nearer they got to the bridge.

    Many knew that it was highly likely that their lives would be lost in the frontier zone. War was nothing more than a fancy word for a ughterhouse.

    Still the warriors who had epted the offer were either desperate¡­.

    Or insane.

    Sophie cautiously stepped twice on the first step of the bridge to make sure it was sturdy before confidently walking up.

    It was time for the dangerous journey to begin.

 Chapter 268: Life Has Not Been Easy For Sophie

    Chapter 268: Life Has Not Been Easy For Sophie

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha- 099)

    Two uneventful but peaceful weeks had passed since Sophie and Lily had boarded the spaceship.

    Sophie sincerely hoped that the journey would continue to be boring.

    It would take at least one month before the mercenary fighters would reach the frontier region and join the government-backed forces.

    This was actually quite good as the usual journey from Xerciam Prime to the frontier region would take one year.

    The war with the Earth Federation had forced the Unova Syndicate government to build temporary warp gates to boost the travel speed of vessels going to and from the border.

    Of course, these military controlled warp gates were not for the public to enjoy and a special pass was issued to all organizations approved to travel through them.

    It was highly unusual for an average sized mercenary organization to have one of these passes, but Sophie did not want to explore that mystery.

    As far as she was concerned, it was enough to reach the border as soon as possible.

    There was no doubt in Sophie¡¯s mind that her friends and family would be worried sick.

    And¡­ she didn¡¯t even want to think about how far behind she must have fallen in sses.

    Honestly, it woulde as a shock to Sophie if she didn¡¯t have to repeat first year considering the months of school she had missed.

    ¡°Big sister can you tell that scary-looking bad guy to stop snoring,¡± Lily whined cutely into Sophie¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Shh¡­ don¡¯t make trouble,¡± Sophie smiled gently and reached into her storage bag to pull out a small helmet with noise cancelling capabilities.

    The helmet was made from a memory foam material that could shift and warp into the shape of the user¡¯s head.

    Lily frowned as Sophie ced the device over her head, but theck of noise soon caused the little girl to fall back asleep.

    Lily hated to wear the helmet, so Sophie only took it out if the situation called for it.

    Sophie stroked Lily¡¯s soft hair and nted a gentle kiss on the forehead of the little girl.

    She could not help but feel sad that there would be no rest for herself tonight.

    Cultivators in the qi tide stage would only require sleep at least once per week so Sophie had spent all of her avable time cultivating nonstop.

    There was an invisible sense of pressure with every passing day of peace.

    The image of Lily¡¯s torn up corpse and her eventual defeat to an unknown enemy had Sophie constantly on edge.

    Hour after hour¡­.

    Day after day¡­.

    The qi in Sophie¡¯s meridians would follow the same unceasing pattern and strengthen the liquid ocean in her dantian.

    Ever since advancing in cultivation stages, the Spider Whisper Art could be practiced at any time of the day.

    It was just that the qi gathering effect was strongest when Sophie was surrounded by total darkness.

    Sophie¡¯s efforts had not gone in vain and there were some noticeable improvements in her strength.

    She could feel that it would not be long until she touched the middle stages of the qi tide level.

    The problem was that cultivation was a slow and steady effort so it was highly unlikely that she would receive a drastic boost of force within the span of a year.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cut you up¡­. you¡­. filthy scum!¡± a deafening roar snapped Sophie out of her concentration.

    One of the mercenaries in the room shouted furiously as he found a strange creature with a soft belly slowly covering his body with green ooze.

    He reached for a small sma pistol and fired two shots into the jelly-like body of his attacker.

    Bang! Bang!

    The noise of the shots echoed around the room and caused several warriors to open up their eyes angrily.

    ¡°Big man if you don¡¯t shut up, I swear to god I¡¯ll slit open that throat of yours,¡± a voice yelled from the back of the room.

    The unhappy mercenary threw off the corpse of the creature and replied,

    ¡°Lawrence is that you talking all that rubbish? Don¡¯t let me cut off that other arm.¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m scared of a warrior who can¡¯t even afford a regen chamber for treatment?¡±

    Sophie frowned slightly and mentally sighed as another night would pass filled with arguing or fighting among her new roommates.

    The conditions on the space vessel were not ideal to put it mildly.

    To put it more honestly¡­.

    It sucked.

    It was pretty obvious that the ¡®Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯ was merely interested in collecting a t fee for bringing people over to fight.

    Although it was questionable how much they really wanted to maximize the profits as several warriors had died already.

    Apart from settling in the mercenaries and leading to their rooms, the crewmen on the spaceship did not nothing else but asionallye to clean every couple of days.

    There were no meals or rations provided but most mercenaries had supplies on hand that couldst for a few months.

    As for those who didn¡¯t have¡­.

    They either starved or took what they needed from weaker opponents.

    Each room was roughly the size of a two-bedroom apartment with thirty beds lined next to one another.

    The beds themselves were nothing more than cheap metalloid frames with a tough as nails mattress on top.

    Sleeping on these ufortable sheets was next to impossible during the first couple of nights.

    There was only one bathroom in the corner of the room which smelt awful as people would go in the dark without turning the lights on.

    Piss stains on the floor had turned the once white tiles of the washroom into a filthy colour and the generalck of hygiene had forced Sophie to hold Lily in the air above the toiler when the little girl wanted to go.

    Not a pleasant situation for either of them.

    But perhaps the biggest issue was boredom.

    Put thirty battle-hardened warriors in a confined space with nothing to do for weeks on end and well¡­.

    That¡¯s a recipe for disaster.

    Sophie had already witnessed two life or death fights, an uncountable number of brawls and for some reason a particrly adventurous trio of warriors decided to have an impromptu orgy.

    Actually, Sophie¡¯s wasn¡¯t sure if it was an orgy as all three of the warriors involved did not seem to have visible genitals.

    But judging by the loud cheers and sexual remarks made by the other mercenaries in the room, she still covered Lily¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 269: What is Justice?

    Chapter 269: What is Justice?

    (Unova Syndicate- K¡¯reare¡¯d Gxy)

    Solris)

    What is justice?

    A simple word to be sure but ask a thousand men the same question and you may receive one thousand different answers.

    Some men think that justice can only be delivered by the higher powers.

    Others believe that justice is fair and good.

    The rest¡­. well, the universe often teaches that justice is nothing more than a fanciful dream.

    To the members of the Hyperion Order, justice will always be delivered from the righteous.

    Those who believe in the glory of the sun and will risk their lives to stand by their beliefs.

    It was a warm and peaceful day on Solris. Enormous flying beasts with wingspans thousands of meters across soared high above in the sky.

    The magnificent sun shone warmly on the residents gathered together in the town square to witness the salvation.

    Twelve sinners were bound tightly with metalloid chains that prevented any movement.

    The sinners were dragged onto a raised tform in front of the crowd and dumped unceremoniously.

    Each of these twelve individuals was sick with a disease that only fire, and blood could cure.

    It was the responsibility of the grand inquisitor to return them to the light of the sun.

    The mouths of the sinners were not blocked so their pleading cries echoed around the quiet town square.

    ¡°Please I have a family!¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯tmitted any crimes. I was framed! I was framed!¡±

    ¡°I will repent! I swear to the gods above that I will change!¡±

    ¡°You monsters! You are the demons! Please kill me before hees here!¡±

    A tall pale-skinned alien with long slender limbs and a golden mask concealing his facial features stepped onto the raised tform.

    The cries of the damned temporarily stopped as an expression of deep fear mixed with hatred could be found on the faces of every sinner.

    Their mouths opened to spew out hateful slurs and cries against the man who had tortured them for weeks, but no sound came out.

    No matter how much they tried nothing came out because during the process of salvation¡­.

    It was the responsibility of the grand inquisitor to silence their speech.

    The grand inquisitor raised his slender arm and gently touched the face of the closest prisoner to him.

    A purple crest shone brightly in the air and the crowd watched in reverence as the sinner¡¯s body slowly burned to ash.

    The process took a total of fifteen minutes and the prisoner was fully conscious as the fire first burnt his lower extremities and then moved slowly upwards.

    He died with a bloodcurdling expression of agony.

    This process was repeated on every other prisoner on the tform.

    There was no discrimination as men, women and even children burned alive.

    The sun would shine on all without bias.

    ¡°Glory to the sun,¡± the grand inquisitor spoke slowly as he wiped thest traces of ashes on his palm onto a white cloth he kept in his pocket.

    ¡°Glory to the sun!¡± the crowd roared back.

    Whether they chanted due to their religious beliefs or fear made no difference to the man standing in front of them.

    He simply knelt and offered a prayer before walking steadily back to the enormous building with numerous strange symbols carved onto its walls.

    Pale-skinned aliens wearing white ceremonial clothes dispersed the crowd and offered food and water to those seeking aid.

    Only sinners needed to be punished as the faithful deserved the warmth of the sun.

    ¡°You killed my sister! I hate you all!¡± a small juvenile alien with thorny scales roared at the priest giving him water.

    ¡°Your sister was sick,¡± the priest smiled gently and rubbed the boy on his head.

    The boy angrily stared back and opened his mouth to reply but his mother hurriedly put her hand over his mouth before stammering out an apology.

    The priest waved good-naturedly and allowed the mother-son duo to leave without any punishment.

    Often the family of sinners could not ept that their loved ones could be tainted by evil.

    There were even times when priests of the Hyperion order had been attacked or ambushed by vengeful rtives.

    The resulting reprisal by the order would cause every single creature with even a drop of blood connecting them to the attacker to be burnt alive.

    Still there were those brave enough to try.

    Curiously enough, not one of these attacks had ever been directed at the grand inquisitor¡­.

    At least that is what the order said publicly.

    Whispers circted that no one was foolish enough to go against the man who controlled the lifeblood of the.

    But it should be more urate to say that all the men who tried were dead.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Temple of the Solris)

    No religious organization isplete without a ce of worship.

    On every controlled by the Hyperion Order, a grand temple would be constructed.

    The temple of the Solris named after the itself had taken over twenty years to construct as the entire process was done by hand.

    ording to the words in the scriptures, the holy temple could only be built by hand, so no form of technology was used during its construction.

    ves brought in through underground channels were the ones responsible for its creation under strict supervision by the temple¡¯s guardians.

    The final product was a spectacr marvel of architecture.

    A tall sprawling ck castle with spires that seemed to pierce the heavens itself.

    The materials used in the temple¡¯s construction were exceedingly rare and valuable.

    As for the artwork and statues found throughout the castle¡­ every one of them was priceless.

    Inside the temple on the highest floor were a series of spacious rooms where the grand inquisitor and high-ranking guests of the order would stay.

    The room where the grand inquisitor resided was extremely barren.

    There were no pieces of furniture nor decorations that adorned the walls.

    Only two items could be found inside the room.

    One of these items was a rug with mysterious markings and religious prayers all directed towards the sun.

    And the other item was a terminal connected to the privatework of the Hyperion Order.

    The grand inquisitor stared at the terminal in the room with a thoughtful expression.

    There were no traces of guilt hidden in his eyes even after burning twelve people alive.

    It was as though no emotion could be seen beneath that mask.

    ¡°I will be summoning Bishop Archearon to my chamber,¡± he whispered into the air.

    There was a flurry of movement inside one of the walls and sounds of a creature slithering through the ground could be heard.

    The dark bodyguards appointed to serve the grand inquisitor for life swiftly disappeared once they heard their master¡¯smand.

    A finger than was almost translucent gently touched buttons on the terminal in a specific order.

    The grand inquisitor waited patiently as the signal he sent out connected to a pocketmunicator on the other side.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    Three mechanical buzzes were emitted from the device before a holographic figure was projected into the room.

    ¡°My lord,¡± the grand inquisitor bowed respectfully.

    Bishop Archearon observed the kneeling man for ten minutes before uttering out a simple phrase,

    ¡°Rise my loyal servant.¡±

    The grand inquisitor did not seem annoyed by the long time spent kneeling on the floor and got up with graceful movements.

 Chapter 270: An Involuntary Assignment

    Chapter 270: An Involuntary Assignment

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    Bang!

    The room shook heavily as the starshipnded on the ground with a dull thud. Sophie wrapped her arms around Lily to make sure the little girl didn¡¯t fly off the bed.

    Screams and curses could be heard from the other mercenaries in the room as some unlucky souls had fallen off their mattresses.

    Something was wrong.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes flickered slightly as she stared at the entrance door.

    The journey to the frontier region was at least two weeks away and there were no scheduled stops nned in-between.

    So why had the starshipnded?

    The lights turned on in the room and Sophie could not help but squint at the sudden brightness.

    She was not the only one as another round of cursing andining filled the air as discontent mercenaries were ready to express their displeasure.

    The conditions on the starship were just too harsh as demonstrated by theck of food, afortable ce to rest or even a rtively clean bathroom.

    Knock! Knock!

    Two quick taps were heard on the opposite side of the door and soon the metalloid door swung open to reveal the figure of a crewmate.

    He was dressed in a in white uniform and the look on his face when scanning the mercenaries in the room was like a god gazing upon ants crawling in the muck.

    A muscr beast-like warrior with massive paws strode forward and grabbed the crewmate by his cor,

    ¡°Oi! What¡¯s the big idea?¡±

    No one stopped him and there was a general atmosphere of watching a show.

    The mercenary roared and shook the crewmate several times but got no response.

    ¡°Are you deaf? You fucking bastard¡­. Where the hell are we?¡± the warrior growled darkly.

    With a slow and graceful movement, the crewmate extended one slender palm and ced his fingers on the shoulder of the mercenary.

    A zing purple crest floated up in the air and what happened next was burnt into the minds of every upant in the room.

    The mercenary froze as if petrified and then his skin started to k away.

    Beneath his skin one could see dark purple mes dancing with a menacing light.

    He desperately called out for help, but no sounds came out of his vocal cords as they were now slowly turning into ash.

    It only took three minutes for his body topletely disintegrate, and a smoky air filled the room before the air filtration system activated.

    The hair on Sophie¡¯s arms raised up as her danger sense immediately red up as soon as the purple crest appeared.

    Was it magic? A qi technique? Or something unknown?

    There were numerous powers and strange abilities possessed by individuals scattered across the gxy.

    And the most dangerous were the ones that no one could understand before it was toote.

    Sophie assumed the purple crest ability was activated on contact but without further information she just kept that hypothesis in the back of her mind.

    The crewmate stepped on the remains of the warrior with an indifferent expression and then spoke dryly,

    ¡°An unexpected emergency hase to our attention. A client is offering a generous award to whoever can find a nt known as ¡®Nightdream¡¯.¡±

    ¡°This rare nt only grows on this and the higher ups of the organization have decided to deploy all avable forces.¡±

    ¡°This includes you all.¡±

    The crewmate paused for a moment, so Sophie casually spoke up with a question of her own,

    ¡°I thought we were only being hired to join the government-led forces in the border region.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s in it for us to look for some random nt?¡±

    Sophie¡¯s bravery spread to the other warriors in the room and soon the crewmate was faced with a barrage of questions.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ this journey has already been very difficult. How long will we have to look for this nt?¡±

    ¡°What does the nt even look like?¡±

    ¡°Is there any reward?¡±

    Of course, after the crewmate¡¯s disy of power¡­.

    None dared to be excessively rude or discourteous when voicing out their concerns.

    Sophie leaned back against the hard bedframe and stared at the crewmate who patiently waited until the room returned to silence.

    The aliens operating the vessel really were a strange species. Their skin was pale to extent where their veins and arteries could easily be seen.

    Their height was over nine feet on average with long, slender limbs that seemed disproportionally longer than the rest of their body.

    A face that was vaguely humanoid but with three eyes and two mouths on either side, these details made the aliens seem monstrous.

    ¡°You do not need to worry as pictures will be provided to every member searching for the nt,¡± the crewmate finally replied after some time had passed.

    ¡°The final destination of this starship will remain the border region and this temporary stop will onlyst at most one week.¡±

    ¡°There will be a t rate of one thousand dors per day when you go to search for the nt.¡±

    ¡°Anyone who finds a nt can turn it in to the high-level officers for additional rewards.¡±

    Sophie eyes widened slightly as the generous reward being offered was almost as much as they would earn once joining the military.

    Working seven days would a cool seven thousand dors and if she were lucky enough to find the nt then the additional reward should be equally appealing.

    Sophie was indeed tempted but the danger instinct that kept ring up was putting a damper on her ambitions.

    Plus, there was the problem of Lily.

    Sophie did not want to bring the little girl to walk around some unknown without knowing the potential dangers that might be hidden.

    And she was even more wary of leaving the child unattended in a room full of battle-hardened mercenaries.

    Sophie did not like the curious gazes some would direct at Lily¡¯s covered appearance and facial mask.

    It seemed that Sophie was not the only one with the same idea as she heard azy voice muttering softly from a nearby bed at the back of the room.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll pass thanks,¡±

    A scrawny creature with roughish skin scratched his ass and yawned sleepily before pulling the nket over his head.

    ¡°This assignment is not voluntary,¡± the crewmate coldly spoke.

 Chapter 271: The Abyss Beckons

    Chapter 271: The Abyss Beckons

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    ¡°Watch your step Lily,¡± Sophie spoke gently as the little girl was currently trying to walk on some pink rocks.

    ¡°I got it big sister!¡± Lily replied with a smile as she waved her hands around excitedly.

    Two days had passed since arriving on this unknown and so far, everything had been quite uneventful.

    This was roughly the size of a small moon with an atmosphere containing the standard mixture of gases needed to support life such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen etc.

    One blue moon hung high in the sky and the stable distance of the to the nearest star meant that surface temperatures would range from twenty to thirty degrees Celsius.

    The itself was little more than a barren rocky wastnd with no greenery or nts to be seen in sight.

    An endless sea of purple sands and pink rocks formed a boring scenery that had remained unchanged no matter how far Sophie walked.

    At least there didn¡¯t seem to be any living creatures that could pose a threat, but Sophie did not let her guard down.

    Something wasn¡¯t quite right about this¡­.

    Here was an environmentpletely conductive to the formation and maintenance of life and yet none could be found.

    Sophie reached into the pocket of her bodysuit and pulled out a thin tablet that was given to all the mercenaries before leaving the ship.

    There was a small tracker attached to the back of the tablet, but it would only reveal their location and not record conversations or visuals.

    The tracker could also project a three-dimensional map of the with their current location.

    In addition, the officers on the ship had provided all the searchers with medium sized tents to rest.

    To avoid conflicts and cover more ground, each mercenary group or individuals had travelled in a different direction.

    Sophie tapped the tablet gently and the holographic image of a nt was projected into the air.

    This mysterious nt was around the size of a hand with thin thread-like leaves that wrapped around a fleshy body.

    A single flower bloomed in the center of the nt. This flower was an odd mix of both red and yellow with tiny thorns covering its underside.

    Sophie closed the tablet and scanned the surrounding area once more in hopes of getting lucky.

    Truthfully, she wasn¡¯t desperately searching for the nt as the t sry just for looking was more than enough.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Lily¡¯s startled cry snapped Sophie out of her thoughts.

    Lily had slipped while ying on the rocks and her body was about to fall to the ground with a painful thud.

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and shifted as she vanished from the spot only to instantly reappear and catch Lily with ease.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough ying for today,¡± Sophie reprimanded Lily quietly and ced the girl on her back.

    A hissing noise soon erupted from the ground beneath Sophie¡¯s feet, so the hybrid girl quickly jumped backwards without a second thought.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as her danger sense exploded.

    There was a threat nearby that was particrly deadly.

    Wait a moment¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s attention was drawn to the pink rock that Lily had just tripped over.

    The rock had been shifted a few centimeters to the right and what was hiding beneath the rock was now visible.

    There was a dark hole in the ce where the rock was originally covering, and Sophie could see a lumpy pile of green ooze slowly crawling out to the surface.

    Sophie hurriedly walked a couple meters backwards and stared at the ooze with a serious expression on her face.

    The ooze made squelching noises as it finally erupted from the hole and its body shook ufortably when exposed to the sunlight.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    A mouth formed in the center of the gtinous mass and then a series of vague clicks echoed around the empty field.

    The body of the ooze expanded and then something unexpected happened¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened as the ooze morphed into the shape of the nt they had been looking for.

    Its body changed from a liquid form to a solid and now there was no difference between the picture on the tablet and the nt in front of them.

    Was this what they were looking for?

    Or was it a trap?

    Sophie kept her distance from the mysterious object and picked up a tiny pebble on the ground.

    She uratelyunched the stone at one of the leaves on the nt. The leaf shook and temporarily returned to the form of the ooze before changing back.

    ¡°Sister is that the nt?¡± Lily asked curiously.

    Sophie had also shown Lily the image on the tablet, so the little girl could let her know if she spotted the nt.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Sophie replied hesitantly.

    There was no information given on the nt itself so the only thing the mercenaries had to urately identify their target with was the picture.

    It was a possibility that the nt was not naturally grown but created from the body of the ooze.

    There was also a chance that this ooze had learnt to mimic the appearance of the nt in order to attract potential prey.

    But why that nt in particr?

    Sophie frowned and considered her options carefully. It was not worth the risk to engage this creature that triggered her danger sense.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and set up camp for tonight,¡± Sophie rubbed her cheek against Lily¡¯s arm and the duo moved away from the nt.

    Sophie still kept a watchful eye on the strange organism but no matter how far the distance widened, the ooze had remained in the form of the nt.

    Despite its motionless appearance, Sophie could still feel a cold killing intenting from somewhere.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    A series of clicking noises continued to sound out from an unknown location as Sophie gradually picked up the pace and headed back in the direction of the spaceship.

    This was just too weird of a situation.

    Sophie began to cycle qi through her meridian channels and soon her speed rapidly increased.

    She also kept a firm grip on Lily¡¯s legs to make sure the little girl didn¡¯t fly off from her back.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    The sound got louder and louder with every step and beads of sweat started to run down Sophie¡¯s forehead.

    She was then struck by a terrible thought¡­.

    What if the ooze was rapidly travelling underground?

    Bang!

    The soil beneath Sophie¡¯s feet erupted and thorn-like leaves wrapped themselves around the hybrid girl¡¯s legs.

    Sophie took out a pocketknife from her storage bag and cut off the vine with one smooth motion.

    But her problem had only just begun as hundreds of nts grew out from the soil as the once barrenndscape turned into an endless abyss of greenery.

 Chapter 272: Broken But Not Shattered

    Chapter 272: Broken But Not Shattered

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    Perhaps in another time or ce it would be considered beautiful sight.

    A sea of gorgeous flowers blooming as far as the eye could see. Their thin thread-like leaves swayed merrily in the wind and a pleasant scent of honeydew filled the air.

    Unfortunately, this peaceful scene was nothing more than a nightmare for Sophie.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie channeled her qi towards her legs and activated a movement technique to get out of this dangerous situation.

    Her figure blurred and instantly vanished without a trace.

    Sophie appeared ten kilometers away from her previous location but was struck by an intense bout of dizziness.

    She had pushed herself to the limits of the movement technique, so it took a few seconds to shrug off the nauseous feeling.

    ¡°Big sis¡­sister¡­ what was that?¡± Lily whispered in a frightened tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure but I think we lost them,¡± Sophie replied calmly and continued to run towards the direction of the ship.

    She was not foolish enough to assume without any evidence that they had actually escaped the grasp of the green ooze, but it was important to rx Lily¡¯s nerves.

    The endless scenery of reddish rocks and dust made what happened earlier seem like a fever dream, but Sophie didn¡¯t let her guard down.

    Her danger sense was still in a period of high alert, so Sophie was constantly scanning the surroundings for the first sign of trouble.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    A loud series of clicking noises caused Sophie¡¯s heart to drop. She hurriedly channeled more qi into her legs in order to increase her speed.

    But it was toote¡­.

    An enormous flower rose up from the ground and its appearance was a bit different from the other nts.

    This flower was around the size of a two-story buildings with sharp jagged thorns running along its stem and leaves.

    The colour of its petals was a pale white colour, and an unpleasant scent of rotten meat and carrion was constantly being emitted from its fleshy interior.

    Sophie reached into the pocket of her battle suit and pulled out a tiny red vial. Without hesitation she pulled off the stopper and downed the entire contents.

    An intense feeling of pain coursed through her veins as the poison travelled through her body before entering Sophie¡¯s mouth nds.

    It was time to fight.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs lengthened and her eyes shifted from their typical golden hue to a fiery shade of crimson red.

    Rsychosis!

    Five identical copies of Sophie suddenly appeared, and each ran towards the mysterious flower from a different direction.

    Pierce!

    Sophie spat out a mouthful of blood as a thick green tendril prated the underside of her ribcage.

    The only reason why this injury wasn¡¯t fatal was because Sophie¡¯s heightened senses had allowed her to shift her body to the side at thest moment.

    However, things were not looking good¡­

    There seemed to be some kind of neurotoxin on the tip of the tendril, but Sophie¡¯s immune system quickly reduced its effects.

    But even still, the area around the wound rapidly dposed and festered right before Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    It was a strange injury as Sophie could tell that the toxin was not responsible for this effect.

    The rest of her copies did not even have the time to react, and the tendrils urately stabbed right through their heart.

    Their corpses withered away into dust which was then absorbed by tiny pore-like holes on the underbelly of the tendrils.

    Sophie coughed out a few more specks of blood and took a small nce at her injury.

    The hole was not closing despite her regenerative power.

    She could feel her body growing weaker and weaker with every passing second.

    What was this thing?

    The speed of the attack just now was too fast for ordinary qi tide cultivators to even get a glimpse.

    There was only one ability that could possibly allow her to close the gap¡­

    Sophie did not have much time to think of other possible countermeasures as four tendrils shot at her with incredible speed.

    sh!

    This time Sophiepletely surrendered to her predatory instincts and the de-like appendages on her back urately cut through the vines.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    The flower did not seem happy as a tidal wave of green tendrils rose into the air. The sky itself appeared to have been transformed into endless vines.

    Sophie¡¯s red eyes looked up at the iing attack and instead of retreating, the hybrid girl advanced forward without fear.

    Lily was gripping onto her back for dear life, but Sophie was no longer concerned with the well being of the child.

    Now the only thought consuming her mind was to hunt.

    It was time for the huntress to find some worthy prey.

    Sophie grinned with a bloodthirsty expression on her face that would send shivers down the spine of even battle-hardened men.

    Under the influence of the berserker state, her senses were now heightened to the extreme and her speed rose to an unprecedented level.

    Sophie¡¯s figure deftly weaved through the barrage of attacks as though there were eyes in the back of her head.

    Drops of blood soaked the ground wherever she ran as the wound on her stomach was only aggravated with her high intensity movements.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    Clearly the nt became a tad impatient as an unexpected attack came not from the tendrils but from the flower itself.

    A thickyer of mist filled the air and regr cultivators would have been unable to see what was happening in the area around the main body of the nt.

    Sophie¡¯s crimson eyes could easily pierce through this weak disguise, but an unpleasant smell almost caused her to throw up.

    The rotten stench being emitted by the flower had increased tenfold and now the odour was so strong that Sophie could practically taste the smell.

    Her movements did not slow down in the slightest but now there were some tears forming around Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    Lily¡¯s tiny face was wrinkled up in displeasure, but she dared notin as she knew that now was a key moment in the battle.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as the distance between her and the main body of the nt continued to close.

    Now was the time to strike!

    The venom nds in Sophie¡¯s mouth cycled the remnants of the poison she had ingested into their ducts.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs throbbed slightly, and the hybrid girl prepared to make a killer move.

    The nt had no intention of stopping the assault, so she was forced to endure blow after blow.

    First two of her ribs had been cracked¡­.

    She kept going.

    Then she lost an ear¡­.

    She kept going.

    Then her right eye was pierced¡­.

    She kept going.

    Finally, her left arm was slicked clean off¡­

    Sophie moved through the endless waves of attacks like a demon possessed from the deepest and darkest pits of hell.

    No matter the price¡­.

    She would finish her mission.

    Maybe a small part of Sophie still retained some level of sanity as Lily had not suffered a single injury during this dangerous period.

    But when it came to her own body¡­.

    In the berserker state Sophie could be more cruel to herself than any enemy.

 Chapter 273: A Shining Knight Will Save The Day

    Chapter 273: A Shining Knight Will Save The Day

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    Sophie floated within the sea of her consciousness and watched indifferently as her body was being slowly torn to shreds.

    She could not move.

    She could not speak.

    She could not act.

    An ordinary person would have frantically tried to wrestle control back, but Sophie just continued to float around with a carefree attitude.

    There was nothing she could do because fighting for control during this crucial moment of battle would only guarantee her death.

    The berserker mode was making her body operate on pure fighting instincts but with only a basic measure of self protection.

    The only goal was to kill the target at any cost.

    Still there was a strong feeling of regret in her heart.

    Cleo would freak out if she knew that her lover had be crippled.

    And she didn¡¯t even dare to think about what her father would do.

    Well, it would be fortunate enough to emerge from this battle alive¡­

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Lily wrapped her arms around Sophie¡¯s back tightly and watched in horror as her big sister bled out from numerous wounds covering her body.

    ¡°Big sister we need to run away!¡± Lily screamed into Sophie¡¯s ear, but it was like the hybrid girl had gone deaf.

    ¡°Stop! Your injuries are only getting worse!¡±

    ¡°Big sister, please listen to me!¡±

    No matter how much Lily yelled, Sophie would continue to move forward towards the core area of the strange nt.

    Rsychosis!

    Multiple identical copies of Sophie¡¯s image appeared at her location and each fought off the vines approaching the duo.

    These greenish vines were made from a sturdy biochemical material, so the clones did notst long under their assault.

    Every few seconds another one of Sophie¡¯s clones would grunt in pain as they were impaled through various parts of their body.

    Sophie¡¯s remaining eye gleamed with a bloodthirsty light as she circted her qi to summon more clones.

    Rsychosis was a mental and qi technique that demanded a great deal of energy from the user, but Sophie continued to pay the cost seemingly without fear of overdraft.

    Hiss!

    A reddish fruit grew out from the tip of a nearby vine.

    Its size was around the size of a football and it was covered with rough bumps.

    The hairs on Sophie¡¯s arms stood up in fright as her danger sense exploded. Without even thinking, Sophie dived to the ground just as the fruit exploded with a thunderous bang.

    Thick thorns that resembled metallic spike shot out from inside the fruit and prated several clones unlucky enough to be in the area.

    Sophie stumbled back to her feet in a daze as the uneven bnce from losing an arm was affecting her posture when trying to get up.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    Harsh clicking noises were emitted from the center of the nt and Sophie could swear that there was a mocking tone hidden in those noises.

    The flower¡¯s pale white petals floated gently in the wind. The soft and delicate beauty of the flower almost masked the horrors that the nt could inflict.

    Just a little bit more¡­.

    The pain from the wounds still leaking blood turned out to be a blessing in disguise as this feeling kept Sophie conscious.

    She could vaguely feel her body begin to show signs of shutting down.

    No¡­not¡­. not¡­like¡­this¡­

    Sophie¡¯s left eye shone an even deeper shade of crimson as strange red markings appeared all over her body.

    These markings connected to the brand in the center of her chest that suddenly glowed a mesmerizing shade of pink.

    The de-like appendages on her back extended outwards by at least three extra feet and the barbed tips were now dripping with a purplish fluid.

    Sophie¡¯s figure instantly vanished from the spot and reappeared directly in the center of the flower.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s appearance was now more beast than man.

    Madness and insanity had fully prated her mind and now all Sophie could think of was an endless killing rage.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    The flower hurriedly tried to summon some vines to attack the hybrid girl inside its fleshy main body.

    But it was toote.

    Chomp!

    Sophie¡¯s fangs sunk deep within the heart of the nt and pumped out all the venom she had stored in her nds.

    Chik! Chik! Chik!

    The clicking noises now had a panicked tinge to their cries but Sophie continued to wantonly rip and tear apart the fleshy center using her de-like appendages.

    The toxin did not take long to affect the gigantic flower and soon its pale white colour shifted into a more ominous shade of yellowish green.

    The vines shooting towards Sophie¡¯s body slowed down as the flower lost control over their movement.

    This poison was a rare kind extracted from an animal on Urs known only as the ¡®R¡¯renae.¡¯

    Its strength was such that a mere three drops alone were enough to kill a full-strength qi tide cultivator.

    And Sophie¡¯s venom nds could enhance and strengthen any toxin that she had ingested to increase its lethality.

    The pale-white flower withered away in agonising pain as its inner organs rotted out from the inside.

    Sophie could sense the life force draining out from her opponent and jumped off its body tond on the ground before it fell.

    Boom!

    The gigantic flower the size of a two-story tall building crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

    A wave of dust and sand made Lily close her eyes.

    ¡°Big sister¡­you¡­ won,¡± she stammered softly.

    Sophie swayed unsteadily as her remaining eye shifted from the deep crimson red to the normal golden hue.

    She carefully lifted Lily off her back with one arm and ced her in a nearby pile of sand without saying a word.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ Are you okay?¡± Lily asked worriedly.

    Sophie really did want to reply but the heavy cost of bleeding nonstop for ten minutes straight finally caused her to lose consciousness.

    Thest thing she could remember was Lily frantically running to her side and calling out her name.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two hourster)

    Whirr!

    A squad of heavily armed soldiers rushed through the endless desert in search of a mysterious nt.

    The mechanical hoverbikes they operated were the newest models with radar capabilities, weapon systems and invisibility fields.

    Expensive to be sure but the cost was nothingpared to the armour that each solider wore.

    State of the art metalloid armour that could resist ten rounds of sma fire without even a single scratch.

    The metalloid armour was created and modified into the standard uniform for the organization these men represented.

    Each warrior was armed to the teeth with a variety of ss one weaponry suitable for taking down cultivators in the qi body and spirit stages.

    The riders travelled in a v- shaped formation with their leader in the forefront in order to guide them in the search.

    Suddenly one of the riders on the left side notice something unusual in the distance. He pressed a button on his helmet to capture the image and what he saw was shocking.

    The man instantly activated his wristmunicator and sent out a voice message to the squad leader,

    ¡°Captain we have two bodies about eight hundred meters to the side. Should we investigate?¡±

    The captain stared in the direction of the two bodies and even without using the image enhancement feature on his helmet, he could easily see the tragic scene.

    There was what looked to be a humanoid corpse surrounded by a pool of blood while a smaller figure knelt down by the body.

    This was pretty unusual.

    There were supposed to be no mercenary teams in this sector.

    Curiosity was roused in the captain¡¯s heart, so he decided to take a closer look.

    ¡°Let me go over there and investigate while the rest of the team focuses on the mission,¡± the captain ordered firmly.

    ¡°I will leave Lieutenant Johnson in charge.¡±

    There were noints from the team and soon a lone hoverbike separated from the formation and headed towards the two bodies.

    As the captain came closer, he could make out some more details about the kneeling figure and the corpse.

    Well¡­ it may not actually be a corpse.

    There were some faint movements of the chest which showed that the injured person was still barely alive.

    Sobbing noises could be hearding from the figure frantically observing her fallenpanion.

    The roar of the hoverbike made the smaller figure raise her head.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Lily¡¯s POV)

    Lily was truly getting desperate.

    It had been around two hours since Sophie had fallen unconscious, and her big sister showed no signs of waking up.

    Lily had never done first aid before, but Sophie¡¯s storage bag contained healing serums, so she injected two of them into the most damaged areas on her body.

    Too much healing solution injected into a patient could cause adverse reactions, so Lily had to prioritise the parts that appeared to be in most need of urgent treatment.

    There was some effect as the bleeding had stopped but the wounds still refused to close.

    Whatever was on those green vines was preventing Sophie¡¯s natural regenerative ability from activating.

    Lily was struck by a deep sense of powerlessness and fear as her only pir of support during this terrible time had been Sophie.

    What was she going to do?

    Huh? What was that sound?

    Lily turned around slowly and saw a strange sight.

    A fairy tale knight?

    That was Lily¡¯s first thought as a strange person parked his hoverbike by a nearby sand dune and walked over.

    You could forgive Lily¡¯s momentary confusion as the man wore an outfit almost identical to the medieval culture of ancient Earth.

    His metallic armour resembled a knight¡¯s outfit with thick shoulder pads and a breastte that enhanced his masculine aura.

    The armour waspletely white except for a beautifully painted red sun that was drawn in the center of the set.

    A flowing golden cape fluttered in the wind with every step he took.

    ¡°Xerat tu¡­ eetsf?¡± the mysterious man spoke softly in themonnguage of the Unova Syndicate.

    Lily shook her head and watched the man with a nervous gaze.

    She knew that it was important not to reveal her identity but¡­.

    Sophie was dying and she didn¡¯t know what to do. If this stranger could help Sophie get proper treatment, then it would be worth the risk.

    Lily nervously crossed her hands behind her back and managed to stammer out a plead for assistance,

    ¡°Help¡­ help me¡­.my big sister is badly hurt!¡±

    She didn¡¯t have much hope that this stranger would be able to understand thenguage of the Earth Federation but at this point she was willing to take a chance.

    The captain froze for a moment in shock after hearing Lily talk and then carefully removed his helmet to reveal the face of a familiar race.

    He was a human!

    The captain¡¯s face belonged to an androgynous beauty who could easily be either a male or a female and yet there was no sense of disharmony.

    He had dirty blonde hair and soft feminine features that only enhanced his image of a hero of justice and grace.

    His nose was slender and delicate with deep chocte brown eyes that held an endless abyss that could entrance all who stared into the depths.

    The handsome man softly held Lily¡¯s hand and then knelt down to whisper in her ear, ¡°Have no fear my child.¡±

    ¡°The Hyperion Order will always help those in need of salvation.¡±

 Chapter 274: Knights Must Be Free Of Mortal Chains

    Chapter 274: Knights Must Be Free Of Mortal Chains

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    The mercenaries that were originally travelling to the frontier region were not the only group present on the.

    All avable squads in the local sector had been given instructions to head over to the nt and even some high-level knights from the Hyperion Order had been dispatched to aid in the search.

    The leader of these knights was a holy pdin known simply as ¡®Dawn.¡¯

    He was an individual that was valued highly by the upper circle members of the organization.

    It was odd to see a human inside an organization as powerful as the Hyperion Order, but it was a testimony to Dawn¡¯s prowess that none of the men under his rule dared to rebel or express dissatisfaction.

    Currently it was nighttime on the, so the knights had set up camp under a nearby sand dune.

    Each knight had brought personal tents that could expand to the size of a small house. These tents were made from high quality carbon-fiber alloys and smart materials.

    The outside of the tent resembled that of a metalloid sphere, but the interior was warm andfortable with standard furniture and amenities ced inside.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s tent was in the center of the camp and none dared to disturb his guests.

    When the captain had rejoined the team with what appeared to be a bloodied corpse and a small figure there were some eyebrows raised.

    However, a brief exnation that these were mercenaries sent to look for the flower had managed to clear any suspicions.

    Plus, the knights had a quiet sense of confidence in their captain¡¯s strength.

    He was powerful enough to thoroughly crush any small schemes.

    ¡°Are you sure my big sister will be alright?¡± Lily asked tearfully as she saw Sophie¡¯s body motionless on the bed.

    A handsome man in medieval inspiredbat gear took off his helmet and exposed his dirty blonde hair that gently swayed under the artificial light.

    The captain¡¯s androgynous features softened as he saw the worried child and a strange emotion briefly surfaced in his heart.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry my child. Yourpanion appears to have an impressive recovery ability,¡± Captain Dawn said confidently.

    Impressive was an understatement.

    Captain Dawn had noticed that the gigantic corpse near the duo was of a ferocious species known as the X¡¯rean.

    This particr flower was an elite of the species whose abilities and strength were enough to wipe out a squad of qi tide cultivators.

    What was truly dangerous was its ability to halt and disintegrate the flesh of any helpless prey that came in contact with its green tendrils.

    The fact that this hybrid girl was still alive after suffering several wounds was enough to be called a miracle.

    Captain Dawn stared at the hybrid girl out of the corner of his eyes with several thoughts running through his mind.

    He turned to the small figure crouched near the bed and spoke softly,

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you remove your mask so I could check to see if you have suffered any injuries.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ no¡­no¡­ I¡¯m sorry but my big sister said not to,¡± Lily stammered and backed away.

    Truthfully, Lily regretted revealing her identity as a human to this stranger but at the time she did not know what to do.

    It may be toote to hide the fact that she was from the Earth Federation, but Lily was not going to show her true appearance.

    ¡°Alright I won¡¯t scare you,¡± Captain Dawn smiled gently and went over to the kitchen.

    There was a sizzling sound as the handsome knight skillfully ced several strips of unknown meat on a stovetop and begun to cook.

    Soon an oily but fragrant odour spread through the tent and caused Lily¡¯s mouth to begin to water in anticipation.

    Lily could not help but take a brief look at the cooking meat, but her attention soon returned to the severely injured figureying down on the bed.

    Sophie truly was in bad shape.

    The hybrid girl had suffered from three cracked ribs, a puncture wound to the stomach and the loss of an ear, eye and her left arm that were all sliced clean off.

    Hours had passed since Sophie had fallen unconscious and she had shown no signs of waking up anytime soon.

    If there was some good news, it was that the area around the injuries were no longer rapidly dposing.

    Captain Dawn had carefully scraped away the infected areas of Sophie¡¯s flesh with aser knife and no further rot had urred.

    There were even some traces of regeneration that could be seen on the tip of the stump where Sophie¡¯s left arm used to be.

    Lily blinked and felt a wave of exhaustion hit her body.

    She had to suffer through several hours in the blistering heat which was tough for an eight-year-old girl to endure.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a rest,¡± a warm voice whispered softly, and Lily felt a pair of firm hands lift up her body.

    Captain Dawn walked over to a spare bed and ced Lily in the center of the mattress.

    He then easily lifted up the bed and brought it next to Sophie¡¯s cot.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lily smiled gratefully as she felt some goodwill towards this selfless stranger who gave a helping hand in her time of need.

    He truly resembled a knight in shining armour.

    A hero who would protect the innocent.

    Captain Dawn stretched out his hand to pick up the nket at the bottom of the bed and then carefully tucked in Lily.

    ¡°You remind me of my children,¡± Captain Dawn suddenly spoke.

    ¡°I had two beautiful daughters called Sarah and Anna. This was before I joined the Hyperion Order and devoted my faith to the sun god.¡±

    ¡°Knight who serve the sun must be free of their mortal ties as these ties are nothing more than chains or shackles that bind us.¡±

    ¡°So, what happened to your daughters?¡± Lily asked curiously.

    Captain Dawn paused for a moment and a painful expression shed across his face.

    Guilt, regret, and sorrow could all be clearly seen but Lily did not notice as this change had onlysted for a brief second before the captain returned to his gentle smile.

    ¡°They were all given an opportunity to meet our god in the holynd. I felt truly devastated when I had to personally send them there because I knew that we would never meet again.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ now I have met you.¡±

    Captain Dawn leaned over the bed and stroked Lily¡¯s face with an almost reverent expression of adoration and dark desire.

    He seemed to be gazing at Lily but seeing someone else through her figure.

    ¡°This meeting between us can be regarded as predetermined by fate. When yourpanion wakes up¡­. I will inform her of the good news.¡±

    ¡°The Sun God will truly be pleased to have such a lovely girl join our order.¡±

 Chapter 275: I Wish You Good Fortune On Your Hunt

    Chapter 275: I Wish You Good Fortune On Your Hunt

    Darkness.

    Nothingness.

    Sophie floated through the infinite void like a speck of dust.

    It was a realm that was both familiar and strange.

    A few minutes passed by uneventfully as Sophie just wanted to rx. The fight with that gigantic nt had left her exhausted both mentally and physically.

    Inside this realm, her spiritual body had no injuries, so Sophie stretched out her arms and legs and stared at her intact body.

    Just how long would it take for her limbs to regenerate?

    It had not escaped Sophie¡¯s notice that her injuries were identical to the ones she had seen in the future vision.

    This clearly meant that the showdown with the prey chosen by the goddess would happen soon.

    But even with this knowledge, Sophie could not help but feel a bit hopeless.

    She had no idea what thebat capability of her opponent was or even what his abilities were.

    And it didn¡¯t help that being crippled before the fight was already a major disadvantage.

    Time felt meaningless in this realm as Sophie could not tell how long shey floating through the constant darkness.

    ¡°Why have you brought me here?¡± Sophie shouted loudly.

    There was a brief silence and it seemed that she was yelling into the void like a madman.

    Sophie was not discouraged and continued to speak with a mocking tone,

    ¡°I know you are watching me.¡±

    ¡°Was it fun? Constantly seeing me risk my life?¡±

    ¡°Showing me the future where my little sister Lily is nothing more than a torn-up corpse and then making me fight her murderer instead of avoiding him.¡±

    All the anger and resentment bubbled up in Sophie¡¯s chest and she could not avoid saying the words that she had always wanted to say,

    ¡°Do you think I asked for these dangerous powers or to sell my soul to some goddess that I had never even heard of?¡±

    ¡°Every time I use your so-called ¡®gifts¡¯, I have to worry about hurting the people around me!¡±

    ¡°I HATE YOU!¡±

    There was no reply.

    The cold endless void appeared to be mocking Sophie with every second of quiet that passed.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes gradually darkened as the hunter goddess had either heard her words and ignored them or wasn¡¯t even paying attention.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t the first vessel to ask those questions,¡± a gentle voice echoed through the void.

    Sophie¡¯s body was frozen in ce as a white door appeared in the center of the space.

    Stepping out of the door was a curvaceous figure that she vaguely recognised.

    A gorgeous humanoid woman wearing a tribal outfit floated towards Sophie with a loving expression.

    She bore an uncanny resemnce to members of the Arachnais race but there were a few noticeable differences.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle had simr features such as the six de-like appendages, pointed ears and golden eyes seen in the typical Arachnais female.

    What was unusual were her shorter teeth, eight eyes and greenish veins that covered her entire body.

    In addition, her de-like appendages had hollow stingers at the end rather than sharp edges and were a deep purple colour.

    These features were typical of the ancient Arachnais ancestors from eons ago known then as the Ranzioere.

    Still her appearance was nothing short of devilishly charming, but those golden eyes seemed to hold a vast sea of knowledge that would make anyone look away in fear.

    Instead of the stereotypical image of a holy woman of the church, Priestess Raphi¡¯elle more resembled a dangerous predator lurking just beneath thinyer of kindness.

    However, the love in her eyes when she stared at Sophie¡¯s spiritual body did not seem to be fake.

    ¡°I truly understand your frustration,¡± Priestess Raphi¡¯elle stroked Sophie¡¯s hair gently as she cast a sorrowful look at the hybrid girl¡¯s left arm.

    ¡°Those chosen by the goddess¡­ most ended up in ruin. The role of vessel is both a blessing and a curse.¡±

    ¡°You will receive strength and power that others of the tribe cannot match but at a heavy price.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be the vessel anymore,¡± Sophie whispered softly in an almost pleading tone.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle continued to stroke Sophie¡¯s hair and the atmosphere slowly turned peaceful.

    Being a high priestess for thousands of years, Priestess Raphi¡¯elle had seen many different kinds of vessels.

    Some were arrogant and used their powers to create vast empires and spend their days in the passionate arms of beauties.

    Some became addicted to the killing and became known for causing rivers of blood whatever they went.

    Others were cowardly and hid away as they never dared to use the goddess¡¯ gifts.

    But on rare asions, there would be vessels capable of wielding the powers without letting the gifts consume them.

    As for the rest¡­.

    Most would eventually be driven mad.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle did not know which kind of vessel Sophie would be but she hoped that the hybrid girl would keep her kind heart.

    There had never been a hybrid born with the special physique necessary to be chosen as a vessel.

    Maybe it was Sophie¡¯s young age that had roused Priestess Raphi¡¯elle¡¯s motherly instincts as she could not help but give some advice.

    Priestess Raphi¡¯elle turned Sophie¡¯s head to face her and spoke in a soothing tone,

    ¡°Unfortunately, the moment you were born with that physique¡­.¡±

    ¡°You no longer had a choice.¡±

    ¡°But then why not let me cultivate for a longer period of time before sending me on these hunts,¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Right now, I am a weak cultivator in the qi tide stage. Why not wait until I enter the void stage or god stage?¡±

    ¡°Because of the nature of the hunter goddess¡¯ powers,¡± Priestess Raphi¡¯elle exined.

    ¡°You will understand when you touch upon the higher mysteries in cultivation that even the gods themselves are bound by strict rules.¡±

    ¡°These gifts and powers that the goddess shares with her vessels require a payment. Without it¡­ you will eventually die from the bacsh.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Sophie wanted to ask a few more questions but the space suddenly begun to violently shake.

    White light poured in from the door and soon the endless darkness was illuminated by a harsh re.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I see we ran out of time,¡± Priestess Raphi¡¯elle said regretfully.

    She nted a soft kiss on Sophie¡¯s forehead just before the hybrid girl¡¯s spiritual body vanished from the space.

    ¡°I wish you good fortune on your hunt.¡±

 Chapter 276: Sacrifices Must Be Made

    Chapter 276: Sacrifices Must Be Made

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    ¡°God, I feel like shit,¡± Sophie muttered as she opened her left eye.

    It was quite disorienting to have her vision reduced by half.

    There was a dull throbbing sensation in the spot where her left arm was now nothing more than a stump.

    She touched the bloody area where her right ear used to be and feeling the mutted flesh was one of the worse experiences of her life.

    Sophie tried to get up but the sharp bursts of paining from the wound in her stomach forced her toy back down on the bed.

    Where am I?

    What is this ce?

    The hybrid girl tilted her head sideways to get a better look at the room. She appeared to be inside a tent or a temporary housing unit.

    The space inside the tent was around the size of a small houseplete with a kitchen, a dining area and two rooms in the back that Sophie assumed led to a restroom.

    ¡°Lily? Lily are you there?¡± Sophie called out.

    There was no response as it seemed that Sophie was in the tent all by herself.

    Sophie tried once more to leave the bed and find her missing child, but it was no use.

    She could not get out of the bed no matter how hard she tried.

    But even if she could somehow get up¡­

    How far could she possibly move with her heavily injured body?

    Time passed slowly as Sophie stared at the ceiling quietly thinking about what to do next. Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise.

    Knock! Knock!

    Two sharp knocks could be heard outside the room before a door swung open and a heavily armoured alien strode inside with a little girl in his arms.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ you woke up!¡± Lily cried out in excitement and leapt out of the strange alien¡¯s arms.

    She dashed towards Sophie and flung her small body onto the bed.

    Lily wrapped her arms around Sophie¡¯s chest and stared at the hybrid girl with tears welling up in her eyes.

    ¡°I thought you were going to die,¡± Lily sobbed with heartbreaking cries.

    Sophie gently stoked Lily¡¯s hair and whispered into her ear, ¡°Do you think your big sister would die that easily?¡±

    This didn¡¯t seem to stop Lily from crying so Sophie just continued to lovingly tease and reassure the little girl that she would recover.

    As for the strange alien that entered the room¡­.

    Sophie could not help but feel slightly confused.

    Why was a humanoid alien from the Unova Syndicate wearing what appeared to be armour modelled after medieval battle gear from Earth?

    The alien wore metallic armour with thick shoulder pads and a breastte with a red painted sun drawn in the center.

    A long flowing golden cape swayed gently from side to side as he walked and the helmet the man wore obstructed his facial features.

    ¡°It is good to see that you are finally awake,¡± the alien spoke in a soft tone.

    Sophie was instantly on guard as she heard the alien speak in themon tradenguage of the Earth Federation.

    Lily was still wearing her facial mask, but it was clear that her identity as a human had been exposed.

    Now the only thing Sophie could do now was figure out if this alien were a potential ally or a threat to be eliminated.

    ¡°Who are you and what to do you want?¡± Sophie tersely replied.

    Lily sensed the tension between her big sister and her saviour, so she hurriedly spoke up,

    ¡°Big sister this man is a hero!¡±

    ¡°He saved us when you were unconscious in the desert!¡±

    ¡°No¡­I will exin,¡± the alien removed his helmet and Sophie felt her heart instantly skip a beat in terror.

    It was him!

    The androgynous beauty with dirty blonde hair and facial features that were both masculine and feminine was exactly the same as the one in her vision.

    Sophie¡¯s right hand trembled involuntarily so she quickly shoved it under the bedsheet in order not to rouse his suspicions.

    What was he doing here?

    Was the vision going toe true now?

    Numerous thoughts shed across Sophie¡¯s mind, but her expression remained unchanged even as storms were set off in her heart.

    ¡°My name is Captain Dawn, and I am the twelfthmander of the Hyperion Order,¡± the man said proudly.

    He raised his right hand in the air and then performed a series of hand signs.

    Captain Dawn then kneeled and sped his hands piously in religious fervor.

    ¡°We are an ancient and proud order dedicated to spreading the good word of the Sun God to all creatures suffering in the dark,¡± he muttered.

    ¡°Our members include those of all races.¡±

    ¡°No matter your species, ss, or identity. We wee all to bathe in the holy fire and be reborn as true believers.¡±

    Captain Dawn continued to talk about the great mission and the impressive deeds that the Hyperion Order had managed to aplish.

    The speechsted for ten long minutes that seemed like an eternity.

    The entire time during the sermon, Sophie could not help but think¡­.

    Oh great.

    Another goddamn cultist.

    Sophie raised up her palm to halt the captain¡¯s religious speech and spoke,

    ¡°Okay I understand.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for saving me and looking after Lily while I was injured.¡±

    Sophie maintained a friendly attitude on the surface even as her danger sense begun to trigger in rm.

    This man was powerful.

    Sophie was not sure what his cultivation level was but the threatening aura surrounding his body was unlike anything she had seen before.

    No good hearted or kind religious servant that the captain portrayed himself to be could have such a strong murderous aura.

    Lily may have been too young to sense it, but Sophie could see the dangerous predator lurking beneath a mask of benevolence.

    Sophie remained silent and continued to pat Lily¡¯s head all the while thinking of possible countermeasures and ns.

    Captain Dawn smiled gently as he saw the loving rtionship between the little girl and the hybrid monstrosity.

    There was a strong mortal chain connecting the little girl to this injured warrior.

    The two clearly regarded each other as sisters.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s smile only widened as he saw Lily nt small kisses on Sophie¡¯s cheek.

    His daughters used to kiss him like that.

    Sarah and Anna would have been around Lily¡¯s age if they were still in this mortal realm.

    It was good that this little girl was clearly fond of the hybrid¡­

    But she would not need herpanionship in the future.

    To join the Hyperion Order¡­.

    Sacrifices must be made.

 Chapter 277: Different Ways To Deal With Loss

    Chapter 277: Different Ways To Deal With Loss

    (Zrudread University- The Fields of Hell)

    ¡®The Fields of Hell¡¯ was a well-deserved nickname for the hardest training area that first year assassins were expected to clear within thirty minutes in order to pass their final exam.

    Just some of the hazards inside the training field included robotic androids with lethal weapons, a hostile environment full of toxic traps, randomised bio-mechanical creatures, and other deadly surprises.

    It was this training area that was responsible for the most visits to the health center than any otherbat arena on campus.

    Inside this field, one could see the slender figure of a first-year student skillfully weaving between heavy gunfire.

    She was dressed in standard battle armour specially coated with a light absorbent material that allowed her to blend into the shadows seamlessly.

    In her hand were two lightweight sma pistols with enough firepower to blow a hole through the chest of the robotic killers roaming around training field.

    A pir of fire erupted beneath the assassin¡¯s feet, but she instinctively rolled to the side and then smoothly fired off three rounds.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three shots.

    Three deaths.

    The light in the robots dimmed as they all came crashing to the ground with a dull thud.

    The training field froze as a holographic screen was projected in the air.

    [Score: 11567]

    [Rating: S-]

    ¡°Good job out there,¡± Professor Aegon cheerfully yelled as the student covered in a dark body armour exited the training room.

    The girl nodded at the instructor politely before heading to the locker room to change out of her gear.

    She had no interest in sticking around after her turn to watch her fellow ssmates struggle to even clear the first stage.

    The locker room was empty, so the masked figure headed to one of the vacant changing areas to take off the body armour.

    There was a full-length mirror inside the changing area that showed the features of the mysterious student as she took off her helmet.

    This girl was not particrly tall and her facial features that clearly showed signs of her east Asian ancestry could only be called ordinary.

    Yet her aura of peace and tranquility gave her a strange sense of beauty like a paintinge to life.

    Dark raven coloured hair swayed gently from side to side as Qiana reached for the sses in her pocket to put them on.

    Ring! Ring!

    Themunicator in her hand buzzed and without even looking at the number, Qiana pressed ept.

    ¡°Hi babe,¡± came a happy voice from the other end.

    Astrid¡¯s wolfish face was projected from the center of the screen.

    The cold look on Qiana¡¯s face vanished as she warmly gazed at the face of her girlfriend.

    It had taken the loss of their friend Sophie for Qiana to realise just how short and precious life really was.

    One month after Sophie¡¯s disappearance had been enough for the quiet girl to finally muster the courage to confess to Astrid.

    Surprisingly, she had gotten a positive reply and the pair had been dating ever since.

    It had not been easy as they were both inexperienced when it came to dating but Qiana was grateful to have a pir of support during this difficult time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we need to visit Cleo this afternoon,¡± Qiana reminded her forgetful girlfriend.

    Astrid choked up for a second as a sad expression shed across her face,

    ¡°Yeah¡­ she¡­ she really isn¡¯t doing so well¡­¡±

    Qiana leaned back against a nearby wall and sighed heavily. The loss of Sophie had affected them all in different ways.

    Astrid at least from the outside had recovered the fastest and was back to her usual self but Qiana had caught her girlfriend quietly sobbing when she thought that no one was around.

    Rachel had also gotten the news from her information channels in the Nephilim Church and had spend weeks just binge drinking and partying to distract herself.

    She still would call every weekend to check up on Astrid and Qiana, but it was clear that Sophie¡¯s disappearance had caused her to fall into a state of depression.

    Qiana herself had decided to devote all of her extra time and energy into training but nothing could fill the void in her heart.

    Sophie was one of her first true friends.

    The worse part wasn¡¯t knowing that she was missing¡­

    It was not knowing if she was alive or already dead.

    There was no chance of closure as her body had yet to be discovered.

    And to make matters worse, the odds of survival were very grim.

    Aputer calction performed by a top AI ced the missing noble heirs chances of survival at 0.03%

    It was not that Sophie¡¯s friends didn¡¯t believe that the hybrid girl could find a way to survive but as the months went by with no news¡­

    The hope in their hearts became less and less.

    However, without a doubt, Cleo was definitely the one most affected.

    She had spent the first couple of days in a daze of self-me and confusion.

    If only she had decided to go with Sophie to the banquet.

    Why was she not there when her girlfriend needed her the most?

    She was not in a good mental state, so the university had allowed the princess to take some time off.

    Apparently, she had also visited her mom a couple weeks ago but¡­.

    Cleo had returned to university in an even worse state than before.

    Qiana and Astrid did try to reach out to her on several asions, but nothing seemed to work.

    The princess would go to sses as usual, but it was like she was a machine.

    Just mindlessly keeping a schedule and her once lively and mischievous personality had be cold and taciturn.

    The only time she would return to life was when she had to feed Moon.

    Sophie¡¯s little frostwing bat had bonded with the princess after the loss of his master.

    He was the only one who could make Cleo smile again.

    It was probably due to his connection to Sophie that made Cleo treat the frostwing bat as an emotional anchor.

    Qiana constantly rmended that Cleo take the entire semester off and see a psychologist, but it was like talking to a brick wall.

    Cleo still maintained her high performing grades so most instructors would just say a few words offort and then move on.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ll meet you at themons area and then we can head over to Cleo¡¯s ce,¡± Qiana whispered softly.

    ¡°Love you.¡±

    ¡°Love you too,¡± Astrid replied and blew a sweet kiss.

    The call ended and Qiana sank to her knees while feeling a deep sense of frustration.

    This visit was unlikely to change anything but for the sake of their friendship¡­.

    They needed to try.

 Chapter 278: A Secret Is Discovered

    Chapter 278: A Secret Is Discovered

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    Bang!

    A single shot echoed through the desert as a mutant rat-like creature squealed in pain.

    One could see a bloody hole appear in the middle of its chest as the calm shooter slowly ced her sma gun back in its holster.

    Sophie grunted in dissatisfaction as she felt her right arm tremble slightly after several hours of intense training.

    One week had passed since she had been rescued by the knights of the Hyperion Order and a lot of things had changed.

    Sophie and Lily had gained an almost celebrity-like status among the officers in the squad as Captain Dawn disyed an attitude towards them that exceeded mere friendliness.

    It was more akin to¡­. worship?

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how to describe his enthusiasm.

    He was clearly a well-liked leader because despite being a human, Captain Dawnmanded respect from his men.

    Sophie did worry about Lily and her safety since they were the only two female humanoids in a camp full of men but not one knight had stared at them with a lust filled gaze.

    When Sophie had privately breached the subject with one of the squires, his response still echoed through her mind asionally.

    Knights were supposed to be free from their mortal chains.

    This meant no families, lovers, or ties that could prevent them from serving the sun god.

    In order to achieve this goal, members of the order who served as knights were required to be castrated and undergo hormonal treatment to remove impure thoughts.

    The legion operated from the temporary base camp set up in the shadow of arge sand dune and would spend most of the day scanning the surrounding area for the mysterious nt.

    Sophie and Lily remained in the camp during this time and were not invited on the expedition.

    Captain Dawn had insisted that the hybrid girl get some rest and recover but Sophie took this opportunity to sneak away and train.

    Truthfully, Sophie was a bit confused and suspicious about the captain attitude.

    He spoke warmly and treated herself and Lily very well¡­

    At least on the surface.

    They had ess to all the food reserves and the captain had even brought her medicine that could treat her injuries.

    It was not that Sophie did not believe that kindness existed but the spike in her danger sense and warning from the future not to trust the Hyperion Order kept her constantly on guard.

    Plus, she could tell that although the captain would speak to her warmly¡­.

    It felt hollow and empty.

    Like a machine executing the instructions written in its program without a second thought.

    Sophie shook her head slightly and walked back towards the base camp with heavy steps.

    The two red suns in the sky shone brightly and soon thin beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

    She used her right arm to wipe away the droplets but gasped in pain when her finger idently touched the area where her eye used to be.

    It was difficult to adapt to the loss of one eye, arm, and ear. Sophie discovered to her displeasure that herbat power had been reduced by almost eighty percent.

    Facing Captain Dawn right now would be little more than suicide.

    But what could she do?

    It wasn¡¯t like the thought of poisoning the captain did not cross Sophie¡¯s mind but whether or not she could escape the other Hyperion knights after the deed was another matter entirely.

    The Hyperion Order and the Sun¡¯s Glory seemed to have a connection, so it was important not to tear faces at least until she reached the frontier region.

    In the vision, it was clear that the fight did not take ce in a desert, but Sophie treated the glimpse into the future as a guide rather than a fact.

    ¡°Big sister!¡± a cheerful voice broke Sophie out of her low mood.

    Lily was happily sitting down on the steps outside the tent while sipping a vial of nutrient solution.

    Her little legs were too small to reach the ground, so they swayed gently from side to side in the air.

    Sophie quickly rubbed her eye to remove the traces of exhaustion and strode towards the yful girl.

    She reached for Lily¡¯s belly and picked up the little girl in the air using one arm.

    nting a gentle kiss on Lily¡¯s cheek, Sophie whispered softly,

    ¡°Have you been bored while I was away?¡±

    ¡°Big sister I missed you!¡± Lily pouted cutely and puffed up her cheeks.

    ¡°Why do you always have to go away during the day?¡±

    Sophie paused for a moment and some dark emotions shed across her eye that were too fast for Lily to catch.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry baby, but I need to recover as soon as possible so I can protect you,¡± Sophie replied and ced a warm hand on Lily¡¯s head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I have finished training for today.¡±

    It was a slow process, but her injuries had begun to heal.

    One could not underestimate the regenerative abilities of an Arachnais.

    The empty areas where Sophie¡¯s limbs used to be were already showing signs of growth.

    This meant that Sophie was careful not to strain her body during training and aggravate her injuries.

    Sophie walked inside the temporary tent and ced Lily on the bed before heading towards the kitchen.

    Living in the captain¡¯s home was quite nice as his cupboards were well stocked with a variety of meats, herbs, and spices.

    Sophie even recognised some spice cans as well-known brands from the Earth Federation.

    The border regions between intergctic empires were so vast that it was impossible to stop smugglers from carrying goods from one side to the other.

    Sophie pulled out a packet of pre-dried qualrian meat and ced arge pot on the heating stove.

    Adding some broth and soup base, she skillfully turned on the heat and dropped the chunks of meat inside.

    She stirred gently with a wooden spoon every few minutes to ensure that the meat was evenly cooked.

    This was a simple and easy meal to make and soon a fragrant smell filled the room that caused Lily¡¯s stomach to growl softly.

    Sophie took a peek at the little girl who was now blushing furiously and pretended not to see it.

    ¡°Now where are the unused bowls?¡± Sophie muttered to herself as she opened up a few drawers.

    The captain usually ced the washed kitchenware in a drawer near the sink, but Sophie could not see any clean bowls.

    Maybe she would need to wash?

    Sophie was feeling a bitzy so she decided to dig around and see if she could at least find one clean te.

    Hmm¡­

    Sophie banged her finger on a metallic cylinder at the back of one of the drawers.

    The shape felt a bit strange, and she could not resist the urge to take out the object.

    It was a thin metalloid device with a small button in the middle.

    The metalloid cylinder was covered in a thickyer of dust and appeared to have been untouched for quite some time.

    Was this what she thought it was?

    This shape¡­.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and pressed the button.

    There was a vague clicking noise as the top half of the cylinder popped off.

    Inside the device, Sophie spotted a thin sheet of paper carefully folded multiple times.

 Chapter 279: A Trap Or An Opportunity

    Chapter 279: A Trap Or An Opportunity

    A memory stick?

    Sophie frowned slightly as she unwrapped the thin sheet of paper to find a small metalloid device hidden inside the folds.

    She examined the structure of the memory stick only to discover that this was a model that could only fit into ports frommunicators built by Earth Federationpanies.

    Sophie ran her fingers along the edges of the device and could not help but get a sinking feeling in her chest.

    Something didn¡¯t feel right¡­

    There were no such things as pure coincidences in this world and Sophie was suspicious about the sudden discovery of a mysterious memory stick.

    Why was it ced in a location that was easy to idently find?

    Was she supposed to discover it?

    And perhaps the most important detail¡­.

    Why was it a memory stick designed to be read bymunicators manufactured by Earth Federationpanies.

    Captain Dawn wore a model designed by the craftsmen in the Hyperion Order and none of the other members in the squad seemed to havemunicators that could read this type of memory stick.

    Sophie¡¯smunicator was the only device who could see what information was inside.

    Chills ran down Sophie¡¯s spine as she realised what was really going on.

    This was clearly some type of trap or set-up¡­

    But what was the purpose?

    If the captain wanted to harm her then it would be a simple matter to just attack.

    Why go through all this trouble?

    Sophie closed her eyes and thought about what to do next. It was dangerous to stay here but right now there was no other choice.

    The mission to find the nt wouldst for one more week and it was impossible to sneak out of the camp undetected.

    Still there was something she could do¡­

    A bloodthirsty snarl shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she reached into her storage bag for a tiny vial containing a purplish dust.

    Uncorking the vial caused an unpleasant smell to fill the air but Sophie did not pay any attention to the foul odour.

    She carefully wrapped up the memory stick in exactly the same way she had found it and then ced the sheet of paper back into the metallic cylinder.

    Before closing the cylinder, Sophie poured out the full contents of the vial into the cylinder with a cold glint in her eye.

    The purple crystals shimmered slightly under the light, but their colour soon turned transparent as they fell into the cylinder.

    No doubt, the person behind the scenes wanted her to read what was on the memory stick but Sophie would not satisfy his wishes.

    Just in case she was going to be framed, Sophie left behind a nasty surprise in store for the next person who would open the device.

    It was a slow acting toxin that had the effect of paralyzing the body once qi was circted over a period of time.

    And more importantly¡­. its symptoms would perfectly mimic qi overdraft so there was no chance that the victim would suspect that he had been poisoned.

    Sophie had tried to get this toxin in contact with the Captain¡¯s skin but could not find an opportunity under his watchful eye.

    This was the best chance.

    ¡°Big sister I¡¯m hungry!¡± an unhappy call came from the dining room as Lily couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    ¡°Just two more minutes,¡± Sophie replied back.

    She washed her hand under the sink and then brought the big pot to the dining room table.

    There were no more fresh tes in the sink, so Sophie reached into her storage bag to pull out some stic kitchenware.

    The appetizing scent of well-cooked meat along with the visuals of perfectly chopped vegetables floating merrily in the stew caused Sophie¡¯s mouth to water.

    Sophie poured the mixture into separate tes and then ced two sets of cutleries on the table.

    Lily was a growing girl, so Sophie made sure that her te contained extra vegetables along with a hearty serving of broth.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lily smiled cutely and gave Sophie a kiss on the arm.

    ¡°Make sure not to burn your tongue,¡± Sophieughed as she saw Lily focusing intensely on blowing the soup on her spoon.

    Sophie took a quick sip and felt the warmth of a hot meal slowly slide down her throat. There wasn¡¯t much talking as both girls were pretty hungry.

    The soup in the pot slowly decreased until only a thin morsel of qualrian meat remained at the bottom of the container.

    Sophie rubbed her belly contently as gazed at Lily who was nodding her head sleepily.

    She picked up the little girl smoothly with one arm and brought her to the cot.

    Lily yawned quietly as Sophie pulled the nket over her body and turned off the lights.

    The room inside the tent instantly plunged into darkness but this was not a problem for Sophie as her golden eye gleamed softly.

    It was unusually peaceful.

    Sophie absentmindedly rubbed the stump where her left arm used to be and maybe it was her imagination, but she could feel a bit more growth.

    ¡°What am I going to do,¡± Sophie whispered to herself as the minutes ticked by.

    She was suddenly struck by an intense feeling of loneliness. It had been months since she had been teleported to this foreignnd with no way tomunicate back home.

    She missed her dad¡­.

    She missed her friends¡­

    She missed Cleo¡­

    A single tear ran down the side of Sophie¡¯s cheek as the hybrid girl allowed herself to be vulnerable for maybe the first time in weeks.

    The pressure of seeing the future was slowly beginning to cause Sophie to crack.

    Every time she closed her eyes, she would see Lily¡¯s broken corpse and her body skewed by the captain¡¯s sword.

    It was a never-ending nightmare.

    And so far, her only n was to somehow poison the captain before the fight. This was barely even a n and Sophie knew it.

    It would be nice if the captain personally picked up the metallic cylinder, but Sophie didn¡¯t hold out much hope.

    But what else could she do?

    Think¡­ think¡­

    Sophie leaned back against a nearby wall but all she could focus on were Lily¡¯s soft breaths as the little girl slept peacefully.

 Chapter 280: New And Old Hatreds

    Chapter 280: New And Old Hatreds

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    ¡°Do you need any assistance?¡± Captain Dawn asked politely as he saw Sophie struggle to get her body on the hoverbike.

    ¡°No thanks,¡± Sophie replied with a thin smile as she swung one leg over the machine.

    It was a bit tricky at first to hoist her body onto the seat with one arm, but she managed without a problem.

    It came as a bit of a surprise but apparently captain Dawn wanted to set up camp at a new rest site.

    The reason why was because knights had spent thest few days searching the nearby area, but no trace of the mysterious nt could be found.

    Captain Dawn had decided to travel a few kilometers in a north eastern direction to look for new leads.

    Naturally, Sophie and Lily had to follow with the group.

    ¡°Big sister can you pick me up?¡± a sleepy voice whispered softly as Lily struggled to stay awake.

    ¡°No problem baby,¡± Sophie stroked Lily¡¯s hair and picked up the little girl smoothly. She ced Lily on herp facing forward.

    There were spare pieces of stic- based rope in her storage device so Sophie took out a chain to secure Lily tightly to her chest.

    Operating a hoverbike with one arm was not impossible as Sophie had a great sense of bnce and impressive hand-eye coordination.

    ¡°Men we will be travelling a bit slower today and in the standard formation,¡± Captain Dawn yelled.

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± came the enthusiastic replies from the men in his squad.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes as she stared at the figure standing tall in the middle of the temporary rest site.

    Captain Dawn truly resembled a fantasy knight of old. Long blonde hair that flowed down his shoulders, a metallic armour that glistened under the rays of the sun and an androgynous sense of beauty.

    But his good looks had no effect on Sophie as the goosebumps constantly rising whenever he came too close were enough to send chills down her spine.

    A dangerous beast was the secret evaluation Sophie had in her heart.

    Just as the thought shed across her mind, Captain Dawn walked over to their location with a peaceful smile on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to inconvenience you by moving the rest site today,¡± he said apologetically.

    ¡°No¡­ I am grateful enough that you rescued me and gave us a ce to stay,¡± Sophie replied with no trace of her revulsion.

    Captain Dawn nodded and walked away. This interaction was seemingly innocuous, but something didn¡¯t seem right.

    From the moment the captain had arrived, his attention would asionally drift to the little girl in Sophie¡¯s arm.

    Why did he keep staring at Lily?

    Sophie frowned slightly and shifted the little girl so that her figure was partially concealed by her cloak.

    ¡°Alright men, make sure to pack up your tents before we depart,¡± one of captain Dawn¡¯s deputies a man named Martin ordered.

    The temporary homes in the shape of metalloid spheres suddenly shrunk to the size of an apple.

    Disassembling the campsite was clearly a well rehearsed operation as it only took ten minutes for everything to be stored away.

    Sophie closed her eyes and enjoyed feeling the warm sun gently shine on her face. It was the calm before the storm.

    The departure date for the mercenaries heading to the frontier region was in three days time which meant that the captain would probably make his move either tomorrow or the day after.

    Sophie had no clue about what he wanted to do but could feel a strong sense of malice hidden behind the seemingly gentle facade.

    Whatever it was¡­. she would not let Lily get hurt.

    Vroom! Vroom!

    The loud noises of the hoverbikes echoed through the empty desert as one by one the knights activated their vehicles.

    Sophie followed their lead and pressed a small red button on the dashboard. The sleek hoverbike glowed a bluish colour before ascending into the air.

    It was a powerful machine.

    Sophie could feel small vibrations shake her arm slightly as the hoverbike roared and made the thinyers of sand on the ground blow away.

    ¡°Let¡¯s depart,¡± Captain Dawn spoke tersely and steered his hoverbike towards the front.

    The rest of the knights filled the ranks of the formation and soon a V-shaped pattern emerged.

    Sophie steadily held onto her bike and smoothly drove into an empty spot at the tail end of the formation.

    It was not her first time operating a hoverbike as the Duke had once built a private racetrack for Sophie¡¯s tenth birthday.

    The captain didn¡¯t speak anymore and just drove forward. There was a squire behind Sophie to make sure that the hybrid girl didn¡¯t suffer any idents.

    Although his real purpose was monitoring.

    Captain Dawn did not want the hybrid to die¡­. at least not yet.

    To break her mortal link with the child clearly attached to her would require a carefully constructed scenario.

    Sophie gripped the handle and leaned sideways as her hover bike tilted to the right.

    The wind blew her hair backwards and the feeling of flying through the air caused Sophie¡¯s lips to unconsciously turn upwards.

    Lily was now fully awake and the little girl¡¯s eyes sparkled as she watched the endless sand dunes pass by.

    ¡°Have you ever been in a hoverbike before?¡± Sophie whispered as she saw Lily smiling.

    ¡°No big sister¡­ this is my first time!¡± Lily excitedly spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing!¡±

    The trip passed in afortable silence as Lily was content to experience riding on a hoverbike while Sophie¡¯s attention was drawn to the squire following them.

    He wore the standard armour for the Hyperion knights but there was no sun painted in the center of his outfit.

    His entire body was covered by the metalloid armour, so Sophie had no way of knowing what his species or facial features were.

    Sophie slowed down purposefully, and the squire responded about two secondster.

    Quick reflexes.

    For someone sent to guard and protect them¡­. he reacted exceptionally well.

    Sophie resumed the normal speed as if nothing had just happened. Thirty minutes passed by uneventfully as she didn¡¯t bother to test the squire again.

    Arge vibration caused Sophie¡¯s hoverbike to shake unexpectedly. Sophie hurriedly pressed the breaks with her leg as her bike stopped in midair.

    The other knights in the formation also paused as an area in front of the squad begun to tremble violently.

    Boom!

    Arge flower rose up from the ground¡­. Sophie could feel the space where her arm and eye used to be tingle as she recognised the familiar colors on the nt.

    It was a member of the same species that had crippled her!

 Chapter 281: A Family Man

    Chapter 281: A Family Man

    (Ten Years Ago)

    (Unova Syndicate- Rries)

    ¡°Daddy! Daddy! Pick me up!¡±

    ¡°No! Daddy you need to y with me first!¡±

    Two adorable little girls named Anna and Sarah jumped around excitedly as their father had returned home for the first time in months.

    A handsome man smiled as he embraced his two quarreling daughters.

    The man had a muscr physique, but his facial features leaned more towards what could only be described as an androgynous sense of beauty.

    His two daughters hadpletely inherited their father¡¯s good looks and beautiful blonde hair flowed down both their shoulders.

    Life was not easy for a mercenary living on Rries, but Jason was a skilled warrior, so it was no problem to buy a house in the safer district zone.

    Cross into the qi tide stage at the age of thirty-one was enough to receiver offers from numerous powerful organizations.

    But family would alwayse first.

    He already spent more than enough time away from home right now.

    Joining a mercenary corps would just further restrict the precious time he had to interact with his loved ones.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your mother?¡± Jason whispered softly as he poked Sarah¡¯s chubby belly.

    Anna stared at him with pitiful eyes until Jason also gave her head a gentle pat.

    Sarah broke away from her father¡¯s teasing finger and dashed towards the kitchen area.

    ¡°Mom! Daddy is back!¡± she yelled.

    Jasonughed as he heard his daughter shout loudly enough for even the next-door neighbours to hear.

    Sarah had always been an energetic child while Anna was the quieter one.

    Footsteps were heard from across the two-bedroom home as a woman ran into the living room with tears in her eyes.

    Miranda Oberyn was a gorgeous woman born as the daughter of a wealthy smuggler.

    No man could resist her deep blue eyes or her sharp feminine features that resembled an untouchable enchantress.

    She had been a queen willing to abandon her life of luxury in the Earth Federation to run off with a poor orphan.

    ¡°Wee back darling,¡± Miranda¡¯s eyes twinkled as she leaned over to nt a kiss on her husband¡¯s lips.

    Jason¡¯s eyes darkened and passion surged behind his seemingly calm facade.

    The look in his eyes caused Miranda to blush uncontrobly.

    When the kids fell asleep tonight¡­. she could tell that this night was bound to be a sleepless one.

    ¡°E dad! That¡¯s gross,¡± a disgruntled cry interrupted the sweet moment between the couple as Sarah covered her face in disgust.

    Who wanted to see their parents kiss in front of them?

    Miranda shot Jason a helpless look and then bent down to pick up little Anna in her arms. She headed back to the kitchen but not before winking suggestively at her husband.

    Sarah was not willing to be left behind and followed her mother like a tiny shadow. Soon it was only Jason left in the living room.

    The mercenary could not help but take a nce towards the kitchen area with nothing but love filling his heart.

    This was his family.

    His blood.

    His children were the crystallisation of love between a poor boy and a noble princess who believed in him despite opposition from her family.

    The only reason he could fight so well on the battlefield was knowing that his life was precious, and people were waiting for him back home.

    That thought reminded him of an old saying in the business¡­.

    The best warriors are always men with nothing to lose or men with everything to lose.

    Jason nned to head towards the bedroom to change out of hisbat gear but suddenly he remembered something important.

    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin sheet of paper.

    It was thetest invitation he had gotten, and it was to join some mysterious religious group.

    One of the older mercenaries who Jason had worked with in the past had passed along the note.

    Jason did try to decline but seeing as the older man kept insisting, he decided to just put the invitation in his pocket and throw it away once he got home.

    Still curiosity was a powerful thing and Jason despite his better judgement unfolded the sheet of paper and read the lines of text printed out in a simple font.

    He narrowed his eyes as he saw the strange name of the organization.

    Apparently, they called themselves¡­.

    The Hyperion Order.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Present Day)

    (Unova Syndicate- Unknown)

    ¡°Men! Immediately back up and assume gamma- delta formation,¡± Captain Dawn roared as the tremors in the sand got worse.

    The ground was shaking so violently that even the air was affected but each hoverbike was equipped with state-of-the-art stabilisers so there were no problems when turning.

    Bang!

    An enormous flower around the size of a two-story building rose up from the ground. Captain Dawn frowned as he recognised the species.

    X¡¯rean or moremonly known as ¡®The Devil¡¯s Handmaid.¡¯

    A spectacr pale- white flower with grace and beauty that was enough to charm any onlookers.

    Provided you ignored the razor-sharp teeth and toxic green vines that would attack any living organism within a ten-mile radius.

    Being struck by one of those vines would most certainly lead to death.

    Captain Dawn had only seen one survivor and that was the hybrid girl he had picked upst week.

    ¡°Captain what should we do now?¡± a squire panicked as a rotten scent filled the air.

    Green tendrils slowly moved towards the group in a snake-like manner.

    ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Captain Dawn simply replied with strong determination in his tone.

    As a knight of the Hyperion Order, it was his duty to defend the safety of his squad.

    The sun¡¯s gentle rays shone down on the handsome knight as his dirty blonde hair swayed slightly under the wind.

    Two faces popped up in his mind at the moment, but they vanished too quickly. He recognised them as the faces of his daughter who were now in heaven serving the sun god.

    Captain Dawn vaguely felt like something was missing in his heart, but his thoughts soon turned towards the impending battle.

    He pressed a button on the side of his hoverbike and a smallpartment popped out of the dashboard.

    Captain Dawn opened thepartment and saw a thin silver syringe filled with a murky reddish liquid that glowed when expose to the sunlight.

    Without hesitation, the captain plunged the syringe into his arm and injected its contents into his veins.

    The familiar flow of power almost caused the captain to moan in pleasure but soon the equally familiar bursts of pain brought him back to reality.

    ¡°Dear Sun God,¡± Captain Dawn chanted.

    ¡°May your mercy and grace guide your brave warriors on the battlefield of heaven.¡±

    ¡°I seek not your forgiveness but rather your strength.¡±

    ¡°May your mes baptise my enemies in the name of your holiness.¡±

    Captain Dawn gripped his longsword, and the metallic weapon glowed a brilliant white colour.

    The aura surrounding the captain¡¯s body climbed and climbed until it reached the top of the qi tide stage.

    One small push would be enough to cross into the void realm.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s figure instantly vanished and reappeared right above the monstrous foe who dared to disturb the Hyperion knights.

    ¡°By the light of the Sun¡¯s glory!¡± Captain Dawn roared as he swung his sword downwards.

    sh!

    Sophie widened her eyes in horror as the same type of foe she had spent hours desperately fighting was cut down with a single strike.

 Chapter 282: The First Clue....

    Chapter 282: The First Clue¡­.

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    Monster¡­

    There was a hint of fear hidden in Sophie¡¯s eyes as she saw the giant corpse of the flower hit the ground with a dull thud.

    It had split apart so cleanly that each side was neatly separated with nothing in between.

    Captain Dawn floated to the ground with his cape fluttering slowly behind him and the sun¡¯s rays shining gently on his golden hair.

    The rest of the squad loudly apuded as the captain made his way back to the hoverbike with a gentle smile on his face.

    Sophie also cheered with the knights but the thoughts inside her head were currently a mess.

    How can I beat him?

    Is the gap between the early stages of qi tide and the cultivators in thete stage of qi tide so vast?

    No¡­

    There shouldn¡¯t be such a drastic gap.

    Yes, it was true that there would be an increase in power the closer one reached to the void stage, but it would not be so wide.

    Only when a cultivator crossed the void would he gain the strength to split oceans with a casual punch or knock down mountains with a single kick.

    What secret was the captain hiding?

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as she carefully reviewed what had happened using her photographic memory.

    Were there any strange details?

    Scene by scene, the hybrid girl examined the fight that had only taken thirty seconds to end.

    From the time the captain¡¯s figure had vanished to the fearsome sh that ended the life of the deadly flower.

    Sophie saw nothing peculiar. Over and over, she would examine the same frames with a sense of desperation.

    Wait¡­

    What if something happened before the fight begun!

    Sophie quickly recalled the scenes leading up to the duel and one detail instantly caught her attention.

    The captain had opened a small capsule inside his hoverbike and pulled out a syringe filled with a reddish liquid.

    Sophie didn¡¯t see when he injected it into his body, but she had seen the empty syringe being ced back in thepartment.

    Finally, a lead!

    ¡°Guests, are you okay?¡± Captain Dawn¡¯s warm voice interrupted Sophie¡¯s train of thought.

    ¡°Yes, we are fine. It¡¯s reassuring that such a strong leader is guiding us through the desert,¡± Sophie responded calmly.

    ¡°That was amazing!¡± Lily yelled with sparkles in her eyes.

    Captain Dawn chuckled lightly and walked over to his hoverbike.

    Sophie did not dare to stare tantly but out of the corner of her eye she kept a watchful look at the captain.

    Were there any side effects?

    It was impossible to tell.

    The captain was moving and chatting with the other knights in the squad as if nothing had changed.

    Was there really such a magical concoction that could allow a cultivator to burst out immense strength without any bacsh?

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s get back to our journey. Get in a delta-omega formation with our guests in the middle of the pack,¡± Captain Dawn suddenly ordered.

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± the knights replied.

    The knights immediately started up their hoverbikes and drove around Sophie¡¯s location.

    They formed aplete circle around Sophie and Lily to ensure that they were well protected from any future attacks.

    Captain Dawn wasn¡¯t going to let the hybrid girl die during the trip to the next rest site.

    He needed her for another purpose.

    Vroom! Vroom!

    Dust clouds were kicked up into the air as the hoverbikes passed through an endless sea of red sand dunes.

    Lily¡¯s mask kept the sand particles from entering her eyes or mouth and Sophie reached into her storage bag to pull out a piece of cloth.

    She carefully wrapped it around her mouth and nose as the thin grains of sand were causing her only eye to slightly water.

    There were no more dangerous encounters for the following couple of hours as the unchanging scenery did not reveal any unpleasant surprises.

    Sophie was even beginning to suspect that the mysterious nt the Hyperion Order was looking for was impossible to find.

    Or at the very least¡­ extremely troublesome.

    There had to be a reason why instead of using a starship to scan the, mercenaries were sent to manually search the¡¯s surface.

    There was afortable sense of camaraderie between the knights as each individual passed the time differently.

    Some set their hoverbike to auto pilot and leaned back to take a brief nap while others were chatting quietly among themselves.

    Captain Dawn did not scold them because his entire focus seemed to be finding the mysterious nt.

    His eyes would constantly sweep the desert floor while desperately trying to make out every single minute detail.

    ¡°Big sister. Can I get something to eat?¡± Lily quietly whispered.

    ¡°Sure, just give me a minute,¡± Sophie smile gently as she set the hoverbike to autopilot.

    She reached into her pocket to pull out a small vial of nutrient solution for Lily to drink.

    Honestly even Sophie was getting a little tired of drinking these mixtures.

    Lily frowned slightly but still unscrewed the cork and drank the contents in one smooth gulp. She missed the feasts cooked by her personal chefs back home.

    House ckait was a proud and noble family whose rich history spanned the course of centuries.

    Before the unexpected teleportation, Lily had never eaten anything that wasn¡¯t prepared by a team of well-trained chefs.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry once we get back home¡­ I¡¯ll take you to the most expensive and fancy restaurant on Gaia!¡± Sophie vowed with a clenched fist.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it big sis!¡± Lily responded with a happy grin.

    Perhaps some would wonder why Sophie didn¡¯t tell Lily about the dangerous future she saw in her vision.

    It was simple.

    Sophie did not want to rm the captain. To some extent, it was clear that the captain let his guard down around the eight-year-old girl.

    Telling Lily that the man who had saved them in the desert would be her future killer was bound to cause her to treat him differently.

    She couldn¡¯t risk the chance of the captain picking up that something was wrong.

    Sophie herself at times would struggle to keep her strong emotions and fears from being seen on her face as she interacted with the captain.

    How could a little girl handle that pressure?

 Chapter 283: The Mysterious Sinkhole

    Chapter 283: The Mysterious Sinkhole

    (Unova Syndicate- Unknown)

    ¡°Stop!¡± Captain Dawn bellowed as the team approached an open hole in the desert.

    Two days had passed since relocating to the new rest site and the search for the nt had continued without much luck.

    During that time, there had been no leads or clues to the mysterious nt¡¯s location.

    Even the well-disciplined knights in the squad had begun to get a little bit impatient.

    There was only so much endless sand dunes and dust one could observe before they felt bored to tears.

    Sophie was following the team and pressed the brakes on her hoverbike to the slow down with the rest of them.

    Lily was back at the rest site sleeping and Sophie had cooked some meals for her to eat when she woke up.

    These two days had not been spent in vain as Sophie had taken the opportunity to join the squad and observe the captain more closely.

    As for as she could tell¡­.

    There had been no major side effects after the captain had injected the murky reddish substance into his body.

    However, all the confrontations since the injection with the various animals on the had been resolved by other knights in the squad as the captain did not step forward.

    Was this to train them?

    Or was the captain unable to fight?

    Sophie had no chance to test this hypothesis, so she was content to just fade into the background and watch.

    Each knight fought using a method of swordsmanship that she had never seen before.

    Their swings were awkward and clumsy and yet each blow was imbued with a powerful aura of sword Qi.

    The swords the knight¡¯s wielded while practising this swordsmanship style would glow in a bright yellowish-white colour that made them hard to look at directly.

    ¡°Captain is everything alright?¡± a loud voice snapped Sophie out of her musing.

    ¡°Approach the sinkhole slowly and keep an eye out for any ambushers,¡± Captain Dawn ordered as he slowly inched his hoverbike forward.

    Hidden behind an inconspicuous sand dune was an enormous gaping sinkhole.

    What was strange about the hole was that the nearby sand particles did not fall inside.

    There seemed to be some sort of barrier surrounding the gaping chasm that prevented the dust from entering.

    Captain Dawn stretched out his hand and poked the air above the sinkhole. His finger moved forward but was soon halted by a thin transparent substance that was sticky to the touch.

    A visible look of excitement shed across the captain¡¯s face as he immediatelyunched a punch at the membrane.

    Bang!

    Sophie had to close her eye as a dust storm was created by the sheer force of the captain¡¯s simple attack.

    When the dust settled, the captain stood at the edge of the sinkhole with a fascinating expression on his face.

    ¡°Men!¡± the captain roared.

    ¡°We have found it!¡±

    Cheers and apuse rang out from the knights in the squad. Finally, after weeks of searching, they had found a potential lead.

    Sophie joined in with the loud cheering but inside her heart there was a sinking feeling.

    After the captain found the nt¡­.

    What would happen?

    Sophie had sensed the malice the captain had hidden behind his kind facade had only increased ever since Lily and her had moved to the new rest site.

    ¡°Prepare the climbing equipment and set up a temporary camp for the night,¡± Captain Dawn ordered.

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± came the prompt reply.

    Once could hear the sounds of loud thumps as the knights jumped off their hoverbikes and begun to aplish the tasks.

    Half of the squad were in charge of setting up camp for the night while the other half had already begun to approach the hole with thick metalloid ropes in hand.

    Modern climbing gear used electromaic technology to allow the users to scale even the most impassable of terrain.

    Sophie was the sole exception to this busyness as she calmly leaned back on her hoverbike and observed the knights running around.

    Captain Dawn had been indulgent with herzy behaviour so far and apart from joining the team, Sophie had done little more than ride along with the group.

    Surprisingly, this had not provoked any discord among the squad as Sophie¡¯s injured and crippled status was enough to win her sympathy.

    She was simply treated as a mascot.

    Sigh¡­

    Sophie closed her eye and felt the intense heat of the desert wash over her body. Only in the darkness could she find any semnce of peace.

    The chattering and noises made by the enthusiastic knights seemed to fade away as Sophie unconsciously begun to cycle qi through her meridians.

    Sophie opened her eye after a few minutes and saw the rapid progress of the temporary camp site.

    There were numerous white tents set up in a semi circle formation with a single solitary tent in the center.

    A mechanical barrier had been erected around the entire camp site and the crackle of electricity could be heard.

    The team at the sinkhole and already attached the metalloid ropes to the safety device and a few brave knights were scaling down the gaping chasm.

    ¡°Use your shlight when descending and make sure to constantlymunicate to your designated partner,¡± Captain Dawn reminded.

    Sophie hopped off her hoverbike and wandered over to the sinkhole. It truly was something that seemed bizarre even for this strange.

    The sand in the desert was red yet no trace of these particles could be seen lining the walls of the chasm.

    Instead, small blue crystal-like projections protruded out of the walls and illuminated the darkness with a pale glow.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes but even with her enhanced vision, she could not see the bottom of the sinkhole.

    Captain Dawn saw the hybrid girl approaching the scouting team and asked politely,

    ¡°Dear guest would you like to join us in this expedition, or would you rather stay above ground?¡±

    He ced a warm hand on Sophie¡¯s shoulder and smiled gently. All the while projecting a mild-mannered temperament.

    Goosebumps formed on Sophie¡¯s arm, but the hybrid girl desperately tried not to let any of her fear show on her face.

 Chapter 284: The Book Of Kalreia

    Chapter 284: The Book Of Ka''lreia

    Secriaum- Headquarters of the Hyperion Order)

    (Book of Ka¡¯lreia)

    What is light?

    A simple question with an even simpler answer.

    Light¡­ is life.

    It is what grants the gift of vitality to the numerous floating rocks aimlessly wandering through the vast expanse of space.

    There are powerful beings who exist beyond the walls of this reality.

    With strength that cannot even be imagined.

    And monstrosities so horrifying that are mere glimpse at their appearances would be enough to plunge a normal mind into the depths of insanity.

    The founder of our order was able to receive a message from one of these beings.

    Fortunately for future generations, the life experiences of our founder were well documented.

    He was a runaway ve from a region of space now known as the Earth Federation.

    However, in those times¡­ it was called the Draxi Empire.

    Those ve masters are now little more than memories to be forgotten while their once humble servants rose up and are now repeating their same mistakes.

    The being that the founder encountered was an ancient one who went by many names across different cultures and time periods.

    Humanity called him Apollo, Qreana named him the Lightbringer, and our kind simply referred to him as father.

    What was this being?

    He was the sun itself.

    The warmth that allows our crops to grow, the oceans to flow and the light that illuminates the endless darkness.

    It was said that after witnessing the Sun God, the founder became blind for the rest of his life.

    His eyes were burnt into charred remains and no healing potion could treat his injuries.

    The price one pays to meet these ancient beings is always steep.

    It was the founder¡¯s honour to receive the care that the merciful Sun God provided, and he left the encounter with his life still hanging on by a thread.

    I write down these words for the future generations of the order.

    The mission given by our Lord must not be forgotten.

    In times of despair¡­. the universe needs hope.

    All races are inherently sinful. Perhaps it is in the nature of mortality. One cannot be perfect or without ws.

    Even those species that boast of their so-called ¡®enlightenment¡¯ with their long lives and endless knowledge are nothing more than fools clinging to false notions.

    Only the light of the sun god can burn away the sins of his children.

    Envy, Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony and Wrath are all hidden within the hearts of every species.

    As a knight of the Hyperion Order, it is your mission to root out evil wherever it festers and spreads.

    You must be brave and courageous.

    However, these emotions must not drive your actions.

    To be a true knight of the order requires sacrifice.

    From the moment that helmet covers your face, you cease to be your former self. Now you are a servant of the Sun God.

    A righteous light that will burn brightly and give hope to those suffering and in need of assistance.

    The ritual we use to the cleanse the sinner of their sins is called the ¡®Great Salvation.¡¯ Outsiders will mock our religion for being callous and cruel.

    They will call us madmen or lunatics. For we are prepared to sacrifice thousands innocent souls rather than let a single guilty one go unpunished.

    But you must always remember that this ritual is nothing more than an act of kindness. The burning me gives these heathens a chance to join the court of the Sun God.

    Still there are other tasks toplete.

    Every few hundred years, the Sun God will issue newmands through the oracles at the Delphi Temple.

    When that timees¡­ it is your responsibility and duty to answer the call.

    I pray that the Sun God will bless you with the strength to do what needs to be done.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Bishop Ra¡¯rean am I disturbing you?¡± a soft voice respectfully called out to the creature crouched over a table.

    The alien was wrapped in a white robe with the illustration of a golden sun painted on the center of the garment.

    An expensive golden chain wrapped around the alien¡¯s neck with strange symbols carved into its outer surface.

    His features were vaguely aquatic in nature with a slender humanoid physique and gills on the sides of his neck.

    Bishop Ra¡¯rean allowed the question to echo through the empty library but continued to write as if he could not hear.

    Nothing was more important than to continue documenting the history of the order for future generations.

    Now more than ever, the new recruits joining the order needed to know about the history and mission of the group.

    In recent years, it seemed as though the pope wanted to move the Hyperion Order in a new direction which immediately raised rms with the elders of the church.

    Fortunately, the pope¡¯s grand ns did note to fruition, but it was enough for Bishop Ra¡¯rean to be greatly concerned.

    He decided to personally assume the responsibility of training and indoctrinating the new batch of recruits.

    One minute passed¡­.

    Then five minutes¡­.

    Then twenty minutes¡­

    The knight who spoke up did not even dare to show any hint of dissatisfaction on his face as the time slowly passed without a response.

    Bishop Ra¡¯rean was known for his short temper and weird behaviour so it was expected that he would not be happy when interrupted.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Bishop Ra¡¯rean did not look up from his desk but finally replied to the knight standing motionlessly a respectful distance away.

    ¡°I have received word from Captain Dawn sir!¡± the knight bowed and hurriedly ced a tablet in the bishop¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Withdraw,¡± Bishop Ra¡¯rean muttered coldly as his slimy fingers stroked the silvery-grey tablet with an expression of ecstasy.

    The knight bowed respectfully and then walked out of the library with his hands shaking ever so slightly.

    Bishop Ra¡¯rean read through the message on the tablet and could not stop the small smile from shing across his lips.

    Finally.

    The nt had been found.

    This was the new mission given by the Sun God and it had led that Hyperion Order on a twenty-year hunt until its location was discovered to be on some unknown in a sector near the frontier region.

    And there was even some extra news at the bottom¡­.

    Bishop Ra¡¯rean¡¯s faint smile gradually turned into a heavy frown as he read the description of the new member that Captain Dawn rmended.

    A human female roughly between the ages of six to ten?

    Was the brainwashing performed on the captain beginning to wash off?

    Bishop Ra¡¯rean shuddered as he still remembered those terrible eyes that promised a sea of carnage.

    That day¡­

    The man once known as Jason Porter should have died as soon as his sword pierced through the hearts of his beloved daughters.

 Chapter 285: Opportunity Hidden In Danger

    Chapter 285: Opportunity Hidden In Danger

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

    (Unknown)

    ¡°Watch your step when descending and be careful!¡± came the loud order.

    ¡°Sir! Yes sir!¡± a squire in the explorer team replied as he tightly held on to the metalloid rope.

    Captain Dawn narrowed his eyes in satisfaction as he saw the busy knights frantically trying to set up the remaining climbing equipment.

    The end of their quest was nearly in sight.

    None of the higher ups in the Hyperion Order knew what the purpose of this mysterious nt was but the will of the Sun God must be obeyed.

    Captain Dawn had been part of the search efforts for over two years and even a devoted man would have doubts after months spent fruitlessly searching.

    Finally, all his hard work had paid off.

    The sinkhole seemed bottomless at first nce.

    Even the captain¡¯s enhanced vision could not see beyond sixty feet.

    Fortunately, there were small blue crystal-like projections protruding out of the walls that illuminated much of the endless darkness.

    Standard procedure would be to notify the other teams on the and then n a proper expedition, but the captain was impatient.

    The more groups involved would mean that the credit for this discovery would be spread out.

    That was not what an ambitious man like the captain wanted to see¡­.

    Sophie stood in the background as she carefully observed the small changes shing across the captain¡¯s face.

    The terrible feeling in her gut was only getting worse with every passing minute.

    Sophie stood expressionlessly but every fibre of her being was telling her to run away from this terrible ce.

    Where was this dangering from?

    At first Sophie thought it was the captain but while a small part of her danger sense did react to the handsome knight¡­.

    Her senses started to go haywire the closer she walked towards the pit.

    Someone or rather something inside was activating her instincts.

    She decided to move a couple feet away from the edge of the sinkhole and just wait to see what happened to the first batch of knights who entered.

    The metalloid ropes were wrapped around the bodies of the men who entered the sinkhole and then a machine would slowly lower them downwards.

    It took over an hour for the first knight to reach the bottom of the sinkhole. Captain Dawn¡¯smunicator buzzed and then an excited voice sounded out from his device.

    ¡°Captain¡­ Captain! There are hundreds of the nt we have been looking for just in the room ahead!¡±

    Captain Dawn clenched his fist as he heard the news and hurriedly asked the knight to exin what he saw.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked coldly.

    The nearby squad members who heard the message could not believe their ears even as the knight on the other end of themunicator continued to speak in a tone of audible ecstasy,

    ¡°Yes captain, I havepared the appearance of the nt with the pictures given and the match is one hundred percent.¡±

    A field of flowers?

    Sophie also heard the news as her pointed ear flicked in the direction of the captain once she heard a voiceing from themunicator.

    She pulled out the search device given to the mercenaries from her storage bag and clicked on the image of the nt.

    It was around the size of a hand with thin thread-like leaves that wrapped around a fleshy body.

    A single flower bloomed in the center of the nt. This flower was a queer mix of both red and yellow with tiny thorns covering its underside.

    There had been small notes about the possible nature of the nt as none had seen it before.

    Even the images were digitally recreated from the visions given to the high priest by the sun god.

    One of the notes spected that the nt must be extremely rare and only grow in isted locations and in small numbers.

    But now the knight at the bottom of the sinkhole said there were hundreds¡­.

    The nauseous feeling inside Sophie¡¯s stomach was only getting worse but now there was a dark emotion hidden behind Sophie¡¯s calm expression.

    This was her chance.

    Danger and opportunity went hand in hand.

    There was clearly something wrong with the sinkhole, but Sophie was not going to mention it to the captain or the other Hyperion knights.

    She wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that whatever was lurking in the depths underground was enough to kill the captain but a critical blow at an unexpected time may be enough to be fatal.

    This n would only work if the captain himself decided to climb down to investigate but from what Sophie had observed over thest couple of weeks¡­ this was a high probability.

    Fifteen minutes passed by uneventfully as the remainder of the first batch of explorers finally reached the bottom of the sinkhole.

    Their reports were identical to the one given earlier which helped to dispel some of the captain¡¯s suspicions.

    ¡°Alright men. I want every avable knight to climb down and get as many of these nts as possible,¡± Captain Dawn ordered with a grin on his face.

    He headed towards the climbing equipment and wrapped the metalloid rope around his waist.

    The machine trembled slightly as the captain confidently leapt off the edge of the pit.

    ¡°You heard the captain. Come on move it people!¡± the second inmand shouted.

    The rest of the knights nodded fiercely and then also ran towards the climbing equipment to begin their descent.

    Sophie approached the second-inmand with a gentle smile on her face. The second-inmand of the group was a man known as Ragnar.

    He always wore a helmet and full body armour, so Sophie was unsure what his race or alien species was.

    ¡°Hello honoured guest¡­ how can I help you?¡± Ragnar respectfully spoke.

    It was here that the captain¡¯s influence disyed its greatest effect. Sophie was the captain¡¯s important guest and an order had been given that her needs should be met where possible.

    In fact, the treatment of the captain towards her and Lily was so great that several rumors had spread quietly among the younger knights.

    Some whispered that she must have a secret identity of high importance. None of the knights thought that she was the captain¡¯s lover as the knights have sworn to celibacy.

    ¡°May I also join the rest of the exploration team,¡± Sophie asked softly with stars shining in her eye.

    Ragnar was a bit hesitant but there really wasn¡¯t any sort of danger and the captain did say to listen to his guest.

    ¡°Well¡­ you can join thest batch of explorers.¡±

 Chapter 286: The Reunion Of Lovers

    Chapter 286: The Reunion Of Lovers

    Warmth.

    The feeling of tranquility.

    Sophie opened her eyes and smiled gently as she saw the beautiful scenery along with the person who she loved.

    She was currently lying down on a sandy beach under the shade of an enormous coconut tree.

    The yellow sun shone brightly in the air and Sophie could feel the salty ocean breeze hitting her face.

    The sounds of the roaring waves crashing against the shore along with the joyful cries of seagulls made the experience seem almost magical.

    Sophie could not help but feel a sense of peace.

    This was where she belonged.

    A ce with no fighting, no wars, and no responsibility. Just endless rxation with nothing to do except enjoy each day and wait for the next.

    ¡°Did you have a good nap sleepyhead?¡± Cleo teased as she nted a soft kiss on Sophie¡¯s lips.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes darkened with lust as she saw the beautiful princess with her flowing dark hair and piercing green eyes that sparkled with love.

    She held Cleo¡¯s cheek lovingly and pushed her tongue into the princess¡¯ mouth while her hand slowly slid under her shirt.

    ¡°Naughty,¡± Cleo blushed furiously and tried to move away.

    Sophie gripped her arm firmly and roguishly pressed her lips continuously against Cloe¡¯s neck leaving only a long trail of hickeys.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you,¡± Sophie tearfully spoke as she held Cleo in her arms.

    ¡°The entire time I was stuck in the Unova Syndicate all I could think about wasing back home to see you and my family.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Cleo asked in confusion. The princess looked at her lover with an expression of puzzlement.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t been separated¡­. This is the vacation we nned after the first semester ended.¡±

    Sophie frowned slightly as a sharp burst of pain tore through her mind. She clenched her head in agony as memories flowed in.

    Yes¡­ what was she talking about?

    After the first semester ended, Cleo and she had decided to visit a vacation to spend the holidays together.

    She hadn¡¯t even been to the Unova Syndicate before and why on earth would she even visit an interster faction that was hostile to the Earth Federation.

    The painful feeling in her mind only went away once a few minutes had passed.

    Cleo stood silently in the background as her girlfriend got up from the floor. Her eyes were lifeless and hollow until Sophie¡¯s attention shifted back to her.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t know what I was talking about before,¡± Sophie chuckled as she held Cleo in both arms.

    ¡°Maybe we should go swimming together.¡±

    Cleo¡¯s enthusiastic expression seemed to falter for a moment and then the surroundings rapidly changed.

    Sophie found herself in the middle of ocean wearing a thin two-piece bikini while her girlfriend wore a sexy bodysuit.

    Surprisingly, the sea floor was shallow enough that Sophie could stand with her bellyfortably out of the water.

    Cleo¡¯s perfect figure andscivious body was even better than Sophie had remembered.

    Two firm mountain peaks could be seen bulging behind a thinyer of fabric. Cleo¡¯s soft body seemed to be calling out to Sophie like a siren leading sailors to their deaths.

    ¡°You¡¯ve grown quite a bit,¡± Sophie lewdly smiled as she pinched the two soft breasts in front of her.

    Cleo started to groan as the tingles of pleasure were running down her spine. Sophie continued to knead and press as the princess shook in ecstasy.

    The ocean was oddly silent as the two lovers were the only people around. All that could be heard were Cleo¡¯s quiet breaths and Sophie¡¯s seductive teasing.

    Sophie noted that this beach must be in a secluded area as she observed that there were no tourists or buildings along the shoreline.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Sophie suddenly yelled as a sharp pain could be felt in her ankle.

    ¡°Did something bite me?¡±

    The hybrid girl quickly put her head underwater to check for any mischievous fish, but her golden eyes could not detect any living organisms.

    ¡°Maybe you got a cramp,¡± Cleo suggested as this pause in action allowed her flushed face to regain some calm.

    ¡°No¡­ I could have sworn¡­ that¡­¡± spoke Sophie with some hesitation.

    The pounding feeling in her head came back with vengeance. Sophie could see her vision start to darken as the intense pain made her believe that her mind was splitting apart from the seams.

    New memories poured into her mind and exined why she had felt a something bite her lower foot.

    There had been a medium sized red fish that nipped her ankle while she was distracted with Cleo.

    Sophie looked down and her once uninjured ankle now had a tiny bite sized wound that was leaking blood.

    ¡°See! It was just a passing fish,¡± Cleo grinned as she poked Sophie¡¯s cheek.

    Sophie¡¯s mind was filled with confusion but under the intense pressure of a pounding headache, she could not think clearly.

    ¡°No¡­ I¡­. yeah¡­ it was just a fish,¡± Sophie muttered as she tried desperately not to scream.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a change of scenery?¡± Cleo suggested with a light smile on her face.

    The surroundings darkened and Sophie found herself sitting down in the middle of a fancy restaurant.

    The warm light from the chandelier shone down on the pair as soft melodic music yed in the background.

    Sophie felt that the song was familiar and yet she could not identify who was the artist nor where she had heard it before.

    The inside of the restaurant was a wide area around the size of a football field.

    Expensive artworks and priceless painting could be seen scattered around the open room while there was one sculpture of a sun in the center.

    Cleo and Sophie were the only guests present but it seemed that the waiter had already served them as their table was full of exotic and delicious food.

    There were delectable cheesecakes with vani frosting as desert, hot soups with meat that was tenderly cooked and a wide range of snacks and appetizers from fried shrimp to macaroni bites.

    Sophie could not resist and picked up a fork to try the fried shrimp. She dipped the shrimp in the hot sauce before cing the tasty morsel in her mouth.

    Delicious!

    Tears ran down Sophie¡¯s cheeks as she experienced the best meal that she had in months. After all those weeks of mostly nutrient vials it was good to get some real cooked food.

    Nutrient vials?

    Why would she only drink nutrient vials?

    Another quick jolt of pain caused Sophie to abandon her train of thought as she did not want to get shocked again.

    She reached for another helping of food while Cleo stared at her with an expression of quiet contentment.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat?¡± Sophie asked as she saw her girlfriend¡¯s te remain untouched.

    ¡°No¡­ I ate before we came,¡± Cleo gently exined.

    ¡°This is all for you.¡±

    Sophie nodded in understanding and continued to shovel food into her mouth like a senseless animal.

    There was no need for manners or etiquette as the only people in the restaurant were herself and Cleo.

    The mouth-watering taste of food helped to distract Sophie from the ufortable soreness in her ankle.

 Chapter 287: The End.

    Chapter 287: The End.

    (Five Hours Earlier¡­.)

    ¡°Careful¡­ careful¡­ I got this,¡± Sophie muttered to herself as she slowly descended down the edge of the sinkhole.

    Metalloid ropes were securely attached to her waist and the climbing device made a buzzing noise as Sophie navigated her way down.

    ¡°Need any help?¡± Ragnar shouted from above.

    ¡°No thank you. I¡¯m doing okay!¡± Sophie replied with a light smile. Using her right arm, Sophie gripped the edge of the wall and stabilized her body.

    The captain and the other knights were already at the bottom of the pit but strangely enough after the first couple of messages, there was no furthermunication.

    This did not raise any sort of rm as Ragnar assumed that the team were busy picking samples from the mysterious nt.

    The pit had a depth of over sixty feet, so Sophie was in for a long journey to the bottom.

    The minutes passed by uneventfully, but the beautiful blue crystals protruding from the walls of the sinkhole provided a magnificent scenery.

    There was something oddly hypnotic about their glow that made Sophie experience a feeling of great rxation and tranquility.

    Finally, she spotted vague figures in the distance surrounded by what appeared to be an endless sea of flowers.

    Sophie pulled on the metalloid bindings to increase the speed of her descent and soon her legs hit the ground with a heavy thump.

    ¡°Honoured guest! The captain figured that you would want to take a look as well!¡± a young knight wearing a red helmet ran over.

    He smoothly unsped the bindings on the rope so Sophie could walk around and explore.

    Sophie nodded politely and took a closer look at the new surroundings.

    Despite being deep underground, it was surprisingly bright as the glow of the crystals seem to intensify in these depths.

    The ground beneath her feet was a bright pink colour and Sophie¡¯s keen eye could detect tiny organisms moving around the soil causing it to ripple slightly every couple of minutes.

    ¡°Where is the captain?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she quickly scanned the room for the familiar figure.

    ¡°He decided to explore the deeper areas of the pit. There are a few side tunnels connected to unexplored areas that might have even more treasures,¡± the friendly knight exined with a smile.

    He then pointed towards a spot located at the left corner of the room where Sophie could see an open tunnel.

    ¡°Okay¡­ thank you,¡± Sophie replied softly.

    The young knight bowed and then returned to hispanions who were currently scooping up the nts and cing them in specially prepared storage bags.

    Now¡­ what should I do?

    Sophie¡¯s eye narrowed as numerous ns and possibilities shed across her mind.

    This may be extremely risky but with the captain separated from the rest of team¡­

    Was it a good time to strike?

    It was impossible to be sure. There were inherent risks to an improvised attack but who knows if she would ever get another opportunity.

    That¡¯s not to say that this ambush would be easy.

    Somehow, she would need to take out the captain before he could alert the others.

    Then search through his body for any recording equipment to make sure that there was no evidence or traces of her involvement.

    And finally return to the other knights and give them a usible exnation for the captain¡¯s disappearance.

    Sophie clenched her fist nervously as she weighed the pros and cons beforeing to a heavy decision.

    She would do it.

    Waiting would not change anything and now was the best time tounch an attack.

    Sophie nced at the other knights and then headed towards the direction where the captain had gone.

    She casually stepped on the nts while walking towards the tunnel and a weird sensation was transmitted to her mind.

    It seemed almost¡­. painful?

    Sophie paused for a moment and then raised her foot over the nearest nt. Its red and yellow leaves waved around merrily.

    The flower in the center of the nt bloomed and a strange scent filled the air that caused Sophie¡¯s heart to race.

    The hybrid girl frowned slightly then slowly pressed her foot on top of a few leaves. Immediately there was a tingling feeling in the back of her mind.

    This feeling only got more painful as Sophie used greater force until she could not handle the intense sensation.

    A psychic ability? Or was it something else?

    Wait did the other knights feel the same thing?

    Sophie turned around and saw the armoured knights smoothly uprooting and crushing the nts as they tore the mysterious flora into smaller pieces to fit the storage containers.

    There was no visible reaction on their faces, but Sophie¡¯s golden eye narrowed, and she could see a thin green vine prating their neck.

    Naturally, Sophie raised her hand and felt the area around her neck but there were no abnormalities.

    This green vine did not appear to be causing the knights any difort and several of them were even joking andughing as if everything was normal.

    ¡°Guys¡­ I think¡­¡± Sophie wanted to shout out a warning but then decided to remain silent.

    It was not that she had a bad experience or hatred with the knights in the squad but telling them about the green tendril would definitely lead to the captain returning to join the group.

    Sophie suppressed the guilty feeling in her heart and walked towards the tunnel while carefully avoiding the mysterious nts along the way.

    There was arge patch of flowers near the entrance of the side tunnel, so Sophie channeled the qi into her legs and used her movement technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie rose into the air and performed a weird style of footwork that gave her the ability to step ontopressed pockets of air created by the technique.

    She swiftly entered the side tunnel and found herself staring at horrifying pictures of what could only be described as a monstrosity.

    Someone had painted every inch of the tunnel with an endless loop of the same image repeated over and over again.

    The abomination painted had a humanoid torso, five arms, ten legs and an enormous prehensile appendage that was wrapped around its waist.

    Dark shadowy tendrils erupted from the monster¡¯s back and formed symbols that caused Sophie¡¯s head to throb with pain when she stared for too long.

    The face of the creature was not visible as the artist had obscured its features by painting a fiery sun where the head should be.

    There were no nts inside the tunnel, but Sophie could spot tiny vines clinging to the sides of the wall.

    She hurriedly ran through the side tunnel with the only sound being the wind created by Sophie¡¯s rapid speed.

    The drawing on the wall was just a painting and yet¡­.

    Sophie felt as though the horrifying creature was watching her every move.

    She could swear that the dark shadowy tendrils shook slightly as she floated though the tunnel.

    Eventually there was a bright orange light up ahead. Sophie rushed forward and found herself inside an open cave.

    There was an altar in the center of the room where the same figure in the painting was now in the form of a statue.

    Kneeling at the foot of the altar was the missing Captain Dawn.

    His once handsome appearance and flowing blonde hair had change significantly.

    He looked old¡­ no¡­ it was more urate to say he looked ancient.

    The man who did not look older than his early thirties now had the vestiges of a man twice that age.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s blonde hair was nowpletely white, his body was covered in wrinkles and his eyes had bags so heavy that he looked exhausted.

    A musty stench of decay surrounded his body that was so pungent that Sophie could smell it across the room.

    Sophie nervously stepped closer but there was no reaction.

    She cautiously reached into her storage bag and pulled out a vial filled with a dark greenish liquid.

    Please¡­. Please work¡­. Please¡­

    Sophie did not consider herself a religious person but at the moment of life and death. She could not help but pray to whoever was listening.

    One step¡­

    Two steps¡­

    Three steps¡­

    Sophie was only six feet away from the captain when the statue in the middle of the room gave out a terrifying roar.

    This sonic boomunched Sophie halfway across the room and she crashed into a wall with a dull thud.

    The stone sculpture gave out a low chuckle and thick shadowy tendrils crept towards Sophie¡¯s location.

    Sophie was a qi tide cultivator and therefore this blow should be easily shaken off, but something was wrong.

    There was no strength left in her body.

    She could not longer sense any qi in her dantian. This was not the feeling of qi exhaustion¡­.

    It was something much more serious.

    Sophie could not sense even a hint of qi energy and it felt as though she had never cultivated before.

    This was a bad situation, but Sophie did not immediately start to panic. Although her qi seemed to be blocked¡­ all of her fighting skills were still there.

    She leapt to her feet and ran in a circr motion around the stone statue while frantically thinking of countermeasures.

    Sophie wanted to deal with Captain Dawn but right now the statue was the bigger threat and he seemed to be protecting the kneeling knight.

    Poison? You can¡¯t poison stone.

    Whip techniques?

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out her specially crafted weapon. The length of the whip was covered in metalloid spikes made using a rare metal from the Tharum.

    Unfortunately, she could not use her qi to perform techniques, but Sophie still managed tounch a fierce offensive.

    Crack!

    The whip mmed into the body of the statue, but the creature remained unphased. Sophie felt an enormous force as the abomination grabbed the whip and pulled her towards him.

    She wisely let go but the initial momentum was enough to send her flying towards the hideous figure.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Sophie screeched in pain as she used both her remaining arm and her stump to halt her movement.

    Thin droplets of blood fell to the ground as Sophie¡¯s wounds reopened at the worse possible time.

    Bang! Bang!

    The ground started to shake as the stone statue jumped up and down while chanting a song in a weirdnguage.

    ¡°Na¡¯rev ejrtse yorenfa neroaf!¡±

    ¡°Je¡¯ref ketns yorsnar neroag!¡±

    ¡°Rh¡¯re kneka ekrhn!¡±

    The shadow tendrils inching their way to Sophie¡¯s bruised body received a significant boost as they rushed forward at a lighting fast speed.

    Sophie tried her best to get up but the fresh pain from her wounds made moving difficult so she could only watch in horror as the tendrils got nearer.

    Sophie furiously attempted to channel her qi and even tried to shift into berserker mode, but nothing happened.

    Maybe the goddess wanted to teach her a lesson for rejecting her power before?

    ¡°Fine you win¡­ I¡¯m willing to ept your gifts hunter goddess!¡± Sophie screamed desperately as one tendril wrapped around her foot.

    ¡°Please I just need some more strength!¡±

    ¡°Any strength! I¡¯m begging you! Don¡¯t let me die like this¡­.¡±

    Sophie closed her eyes and tried her best to bring out her hunter state or use any of the goddess¡¯ powers, but it was all for naught.

    The shadowy tendril buried itself in Sophie¡¯s abdomen and the hybrid girl could feel the lifeforce in her body slip away.

    Sophie raised her hand in horror as wrinkles appeared on her once smooth skin.

    ¡°No¡­goddess¡­ don¡¯t abandon¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s voice slowly faded as her vision began to darken.

    There was no peace in her final moments of lucidity.

    The only thought in Sophie¡¯s mind was one simple question.

    Why did the goddess take back her powers?

 Chapter 288: The Perfect Lover (R-18)

    Chapter 288: The Perfect Lover (R-18)

    ¡°Sophie¡­.¡±

    ¡°Is everything okay darling?¡±

    A worried voice snapped Sophie out of her daze as she looked up to see Cleo staring at her with an expression of concern.

    The golden light of the chandelier brightened up the restaurant as the ssical music continued to y softly in the background.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­I¡­I¡­ just,¡± Sophie gripped her head in pain as she could not help but think that something seemed off.

    The unpleasant memory of being attacked by the horrific abomination slowly faded away as the minutes passed.

    Eventually the pain in her head went away but Sophie still decided to rub her temples slowly to deal with the dull throbbing sensation.

    ¡°Allow me to help you darling,¡± Cleo whispered lovingly.

    The princess got up from her chair and carefully embraced Sophie from behind. Her soft dainty hands touched Sophie¡¯s forehead and begun to rub in a circr motion.

    Sophie leaned back against the chair and rxed as she felt the warm touch of her girlfriend.

    Cleo¡¯s smooth skin was the perfect antidote to her headache, and it seemed almost magical how everything just felt so¡­

    Right.

    ¡°Now doesn¡¯t that feel good?¡± Cleo muttered as she leaned over and pressed her lips against Sophie¡¯s.

    The hybrid girl let out a soft moan of pleasure as Cleo maintained eye contact and pushed her tongue into Sophie¡¯ s mouth.

    The surroundings darkened and shifted once more¡­.

    Sophie found herselfying down on afortable king-sized bed in the middle of a room that was illuminated by the soft glow of candlelight.

    Romance filled the air as flower petals were drawn on the white walls and the ssical music from the restaurant could still be heard in the room.

    The bed sheets were a purplish-pink colour and multiple heart shaped pillows were scattered around the mattress.

    ¡°Like what you see?¡± Cleo stepped forward and her scantily d body fell into Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    The princess wore a thin ck nightdress that barely covered her long slender legs or her full breasts.

    Cleo¡¯s piercing green eyes and flowing dark hairbined with the nightdress to create a seductive angel whose appearance had Sophie utterly mesmerized.

    ¡°Get over here now,¡± Sophie growled as her golden eyes darkened.

    She leapt up from the bed and pulled Cleo into her arms before pressing kiss after kiss onto the soft milky flesh.

    Cleo panted slightly and her face flushed bright red under Sophie¡¯s teasing.

    ¡°No¡­don¡¯t stop baby,¡± Cleo moaned as Sophie tore off her flimsy attire and begun to suck on her aroused nipple.

    Sophie couldfortably hold Cleo¡¯sscivious chest in her palms, and she used that advantage to full effect by squeezing and ying with her puffy nipples.

    Cleo¡¯s body was extremely sensitive and every touch from her naughty lover seemed to drive her deeper and deeper into the depths of lust.

    ¡°Now for a tasty snack,¡± Sophie whispered hungrily as she moved downwards to explore Cleo¡¯s pink flower garden.

    Sophie kept one arm constantly stimting Cleo¡¯s nipples while she seductively licked her way down the princess¡¯s squirming body.

    There was no teasing anymore.

    Just pure hunger to indulge in carnal sapphic desires.

    Sophie stretched out her tongue and dove it deep into Cleo¡¯s pussy as the princess let out an earthshattering moan of pleasure.

    The slightly sour tang was just as delicious as Sophie remembered.

    The gentle glow of the candles shone on the two naked bodies pressed together.

    Both lovers werepletely oblivious to the world around them. In Sophie¡¯s eyes there was only Cleo.

    Nothing else mattered.

    Her tongue roamed and travelled the entire area inside Cleo¡¯ cunt before continuously attacking the tiny clitoris.

    Cleo begun to shake even more as waves of pleasure caused her lower body to tingle.

    Sophie could sense that her girlfriend was close to orgasm, so she increased the speed of her tongue and pushed two fingers inside.

    ¡°Fuck¡­Fuck¡­. FUCK!¡± Cleo yelled as a flood of liquid squirted out and covered Sophie¡¯s face.

    The hybrid girl licked her fingers with a dirty smile and then slithered up Cleo¡¯s body to press soft kisses along her lover¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Now how about you return the favour?¡± Sophie whispered as she lightly touched Cleo¡¯s lips with her finger still sticky from the love fluids.

    ¡°Anything for you baby,¡± Cleo smirked devilishly.

    The mood began to heat up once more, but Sophie suddenly stopped as there was a sharp burst of pain in her ankle.

    ¡°Damn what the hell is happening?¡± Sophie grit her teeth as the pain intensified.

    Sophie buried her head in the closest pillow to silently scream out in agony.

    She didn¡¯t understand where this sensation wasing from.

    Was there some type of poison in the fangs of the fish who had bitten her earlier?

    Sophie didn¡¯t notice that while her face was buried in the pillow, the outer walls of the room briefly blinked out of existence and only reappeared once Cleo made a subtle gesture.

    The next few minutes seemed to stretch for an eternity as Sophie rode out the pain by distracting herself with random thoughts.

    It was good to be with her girlfriend once again.

    The food at the restaurant truly was delicious.

    She had especially enjoyed the taste of¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes showed a trace of confusion as she could not recall what she had eaten at the restaurant.

    It didn¡¯t make any sense. She had just eaten a full meal around fifteen minutes ago but could not recall a single detail.

    Wait¡­

    How did she go from the restaurant to the bedroom?

    Car? Hoverbike? Spacecraft?

    The missing details were driving Sophie insane as the hybrid girl desperately tried to figure out why there were gaps in her memory.

    Sophie raised up her head and narrowed her eyes at the naked body of her girlfriend.

    It was perfection.

    wless skin that was pale and fair, snowy mountainous peaks, and a slender waist.

    Not one single w could be seen.

    But her girlfriend wasn¡¯t perfect.

    Sophie did think that Cleo¡¯s body was the best in the universe but there were small imperfections like the mole on her shoulder or small freckles across her back.

    This person had none of those imperfections.

    Sophie opened her mouth and the words she spoke next caused the ¡®Cleo¡¯ying on the bed to freeze in shock,

    ¡°¡±Hey¡­¡±

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    There was a brief silence.

    Sophie ignored the pain in her ankle and stared at the person on the bed while taking in the microscopic changes in her expression.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Cleo nervouslyughed as she crawled over to Sophie.

    ¡°Is this a new form of bedroom y?

    Cleo pushed her chest against Sophie while shyly blushing with a face that was beet red with shame.

    Sophie immediately shoved the fake Cleo away from her while fighting the feeling of guilt that rose up in her chest.

    Did she cheat?

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask again!¡± Sophie¡¯s guilty feelings turned to rage as she gripped Cleo¡¯s neck with a firm hand.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­ I can change,¡± Cleo suddenly spoke as she saw the fury in Sophie¡¯ eyes.

    A harsh white light covered Cleo¡¯s body that was so bright that Sophie was forced to close her eyes briefly.

    When she reopened them, the person held in her grasp was no longer Cleo but someone else entirely.

    The once fair skin had now turned a deep chocte brown colour. Frizzy ck hair ran down her shoulders and two perky breasts pressed against Sophie¡¯s body.

    It was Rachel.

    ¡°I always knew that you wanted to fuck me,¡± the Quafes girl smiled as she stroked Sophie¡¯s face with a tender gaze.

    ¡°I can be whoever¡­. or whatever you want,¡± came a soft voice from around Sophie. This voice sounded like multiple people talking at once but there was a distinct feminine tone.

    Rachel¡¯s appearance changed to Qiana, then Leona and even Katarina with her fiery red hair.

    One after another, all the women Sophie had ever been mildly attracted to suddenly reappeared before her very eyes.

    There were even some pale eastern beauties that Sophie vaguely recognised were from Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    ¡°Stay with me and have the perfect lover of your dreams¡­.¡±

    ¡°No! You aren¡¯t real!¡± Sophie felt a surge of power rise up in her dantian as the surroundings slowly begun to fade in and out of existence.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the voice cried in shock as Sophie savagely punched the beauties clinging to her body.

    ¡°I need to return¡­ I DON¡¯T NEED YOUR LIES!¡± Sophie roared as the space finally shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Darkness.

    A hard and ufortable object was pressing against her back and legs.

    Sophie opened her uninjured eye and saw a sight that left her feeling quite confused.

    Thest memory she had was the shadowy tendrils grabbing her leg but now she wasying down in what seemed to be a stone pod.

    There was a holographic wall of green text floating in the air above her pod that shed brightly in the darkness of the room.

    [Stage 1- Trial Completed]

 Chapter 289: Do You Need Some Help?

    Chapter 289: Do You Need Some Help?

    What is this ce?

    Sophie cautiously lifted her body out of the stone pod and stepped onto a hard and uneven ground.

    The holographic words in the air continued to float without any change but what raised Sophie¡¯s rm was the fact that the text written using the Federation¡¯s tradenguage.

    This didn¡¯t make any sense.

    Sophie raised up her arm and to her surprise, she found that the wrinkles that had appeared when the shadowy tendrils gripped her ankle had disappeared.

    There were no mirrors but judging from the smooth feeling on her skin, it was like the events that happened earlier were nothing more than a dream.

    After checking to make sure she didn¡¯t have any hidden injuries, Sophie looked around to see if she could find any clues in the surrounding area.

    The ce where she found herself was arge open hall enclosed on all sides by massive white walls with strange carvings depicting suns.

    There were multiple pods scattered around the hall, but every stone pod was covered by a heavy sheet of translucent material that made it impossible to see what was inside.

    The pod Sophie had woken up in no longer had the film, so she had to investigate other stone pods to see what the material was.

    Sophie walked over to the nearest pod and pressed her finger against the translucent film. Her finger managed to prate two inches deep before getting stuck.

    No matter how hard she tried, Sophie could not manage to get her finger to go further inside the pod.

    Can I still use my qi?

    Sophie closed her eye and began to meditate using the Spider Whisper Art. Her fangs lengthened subconsciously and the ded appendages on her back unfurled with a threatening aura.

    The minutes passed by uneventfully as Sophie could feel nothing. It was the same situation as before.

    No matter how hard she tried, it was like her body had somehow been emptied of the qi energy that usually resided within.

    Now was not the time for panic.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and slowly begun to sort out what she knew.

    In the morning she had travelled with the Hyperion knights and found a sinkhole in the middle of desert.

    That was a clear fact that Sophie could recall.

    Then¡­then¡­she¡­.

    Sophie furrowed her brow as the following events after discovering the sinkhole did not seem to make sense.

    She had discovered a mysterious vine attached to the knights, went looking for Captain Dawn to kill him and then had to fight a horrific abomination.

    And now she had just woken up in a stone pod after having an illusion involving multiple girls and having sex with Cleo.

    There was a terrifying thought that suddenly took root in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    What if these memories were nted?

    What was real and what was fake?

    Had she really escaped the illusion? Or was this merely a deeper level?

    Sophie¡¯s hands trembled slightly as the fear of the unknown was a terrifying prospect.

    She nced at the floating green text, but nothing had changed.

    [Stage 1- Trial Completed]

    It was hard deciding what to do next, so Sophie wandered over to the walls enclosing the room to take a closer look at the images carved on their smooth surface.

    Not a single inch of the wall had remained untouched as the drawings and depictions were vividly expressed.

    Each painting had the central image of a sun shining brightly but the unknown artists had clearly intended to portray different feelings.

    One image showed tiny humanoid figures growing crops that flourished, another image showed the sun creating vast seas of deserts where there was once fertilend, and another gave a glimpse at a civilisation being burnt alive under the harsh rays.

    The paintings may have differed in intensity and emotion but there was onemon theme in all¡­.

    How insignificant mortals are when faced with the power of the celestial bodies.

    Sophie¡¯s musings were cut short by a vaguely robotic voice that came from the ceiling above the room.

    [X¡¯renan! ne¡¯rea de hermaos rhean!]

    There was a brief silence as Sophie stood still and did not make any movements.

    It was not her fault as she genuinely could not understand what this mysterious voice was saying.

    They were speaking in a foreign tongue that she had never even heard before.

    There are usually phic simrities betweennguages in an interster region, but thisnguage was unique with weird clicking noises that could be heard before every vowel sound.

    Clearly whoever was behind the voice could see what was happening inside the hall as the announcement was repeated three more times in rapid session.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying,¡± Sophie yelled when she realised that the voice was not going to stop.

    Suddenly the vaguely robotic voice stopped and another voice that sounded distinctly masculine came from the ceiling,

    [Fo¡¯res sxtill xreloa?]

    The voice first spoke in thenguage that Sophie was unfamiliar with but gradually the voice became the tradenguage of the Federation.

    [X¡¯retjhe dereas flors¡­ X¡¯retjhe dereas flors ¡­. Please¡­ X¡¯retjhe¡­ please wait a moment while we connect to the light brain inside your pod¡­.]

    [Congrattions on passing the Trial of the Heart!]

    [Sorry, that was an automated message designed for the first tasker who cleared the initial stage]

    [We are now using our trantion technology to speak to you using your native tongue]

    [Can you understand us?]

    ¡°Yes, I can understand you,¡± Sophie replied calmly but internally her thoughts were a mess.

    Who were these people?

    It was important not to show any signs of weakness, so Sophie kept a frozen expression on her face and didn¡¯t show any emotion.

    Still there were questions that Sophie could not help but ask,

    ¡°But where am I? And what is the purpose of this ce?¡±

    [You along with yourpanions have chosen to enter the Temple andpete for the seedling from the sacred tree]

    [This trial cannot be stopped once it has begun, and it will end with only one survivor]

    [Please proceed to the next stage]

    ¡°Wait but I have more questions to ask,¡± Sophie hurriedly spoke but received no response.

    No matter how much she yelled and shouted, there was now nothing butplete silenceing from the other end.

    Boom!

    There was a crashing noise as an entire section in the back of the hall fell down to reveal a narrow corridor.

    Blue crystals illuminated the thin passage that was only wide enough to fit one single adult sized man.

    ¡°Should I wait or go?¡± Sophie muttered to herself.

    She was truthfully a little bit conflicted.

    ording to the voice, there was only going to be one survivor at the end of the trial.

    Being the first to clear the stage was beneficial in creating a lead but it also would mean that she had to experience all the traps ahead without anypanions to take risks.

    Waiting to form a group would certainly be safer but Sophie had no idea who or rather what was inside those stone pods.

    Logically it should be the knights who also ventured down the sinkhole but after the strange events that had urred one after the other, Sophie did not know what to believe.

    Was this the only room where the taskers were assigned toplete the first trial?

    It could very well be that there was nothing inside those pods except more dangers.

    The only thing she was thankful for was the fact that Lily had remained with the knights who had chosen to set up camp.

    She could only hope that whatever strange power or organization were behind this trial only took those who climbed down the sinkhole.

    Lily should be safe at least for now.

    Sophie clenched her fist and decided to walk towards the narrow passageway.

    Being unable to use her qi and missing multiple limbs would certainly be a massive disadvantage in this dangerous situation¡­

    But she was half Arachnais.

    Sophie¡¯s physique was far beyond that of a normal human and even without qi she had the confidence that she could escape from dangerous situations.

    The hybrid girl stepped into the passageway and the blue lighting from the crystals instantly shifted into a crimson red.

    This passageway was carved on the side of what appeared to be an endless cliff. Sophie picked up a nearby rock and tossed it into the gaping darkness.

    The rock fell and even after the minutes had gone by, Sophie could not hear the sound of the rock hitting the ground.

    She carefully gripped the nearest wall and inched her way through the treacherous path.

    Step by step, Sophie made her way under the crimson light until the passageway widened and the cliff disappeared.

    Time had no meaning, but Sophie did not feel any hunger nor any thirst.

    It seemed that although her qi had been emptied, the resistances of a qi tide stage cultivator were still there.

    Sophie eventually found arge door firmly locked shut.

    The door itself was quite unremarkable as it appeared to be made from wood with a single golden chain tightly bound to its handle.

    Sophie gripped the chain and used all the strength in her arm to shatter the seemingly fragile metal.

    Her violent method proved to be fruitless as the door remained firmly shut.

    Sophie paused for a moment and then decided to try a simpler method. There was really nothing to lose so she might as well.

    Knock! Knock!

    Sophie politely rapped her knuckles against the wooden and door and waited to see if anyone was listening.

    ¡°Do you need some helpss?¡± a kind elderly voice came from behind the door.

 Chapter 290: The Second Stage Begins

    Chapter 290: The Second Stage Begins

    ¡°If you could help me open this door then I would be most thankful,¡± Sophie replied back in a polite tone.

    ¡°Just give me a moment!¡± the kind elderly voice yelled.

    Sophie waited patiently and heard what sounded like someone or rather something crashing against metal pots and pans.

    The cold breeze underground caused goosebumps to appear on her arm, but Sophie could deal with this chill.

    ¡°Are you still there?¡± the creature behind the door asked.

    ¡°Yes, I am still here,¡± Sophie responded.

    Two minutes passed by uneventfully and then for a second time, the mysterious voice asked Sophie the same question.

    ¡°Are you still there?¡± the creature asked in the same tone and inflection.

    Now this was just ridiculous.

    How far could she have possibly walked in just the span of just a few minutes?

    Sophie had to hide the traces of frustration shing across her face but still managed to reply,

    ¡°Yes¡­I haven¡¯t moved¡­¡±

    Another two minutes passed and soon a familiar cycle began to repeat itself.

    ¡°Are you still here?¡±

    ¡°I have not taken a single step for at least ten minutes now.¡±

    ¡°Are you still here?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of asking such a pointless question?¡±

    ¡°Are you still here?¡±

    ¡°I promise that I won¡¯t move¡­ I AM STILL HERE!¡±

    ¡°Are you still here?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­. I am¡­.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    The elderly voice repeated the question for the tenth time but Sophie at this point had given up on any chance of assistance and was now searching the surrounding area for clues.

    Apparently, whatever was behind the door noticed theck of response and did not speak again.

    ording to the aliens in the stone pod chamber room, this was a trial to determine who was worthy to survive.

    Clearly there must be a way to break or unlock the golden chain attached to the handle of the wooden door.

    Sophie walked away from the door and carefully inspected every inch of stone and rubble for any hint or clue.

    The crimson glow of the crystals protruding from the walls lit up the passageway in an eerie light that made Sophie feel ufortable.

    The light was soft but somehow it felt as though the gentle glow from the crystals were like the harsh rays of the sun beating down on her body.

    ¡°So, help me God¡­ don¡¯t let me enter that door or I swear I will beat whoever is behind that voice into a bloody pulp,¡± Sophie quietly muttered as she wiped away the beads of sweat forming on her brow.

    After thirty minutes of fruitless searching, Sophie realised that there were truly no leads to be found.

    Everything appeared to be perfectly normal.

    This environment minus the mysterious crystals¡­

    Looked exactly like a normal cave or tunnel deep underground.

    Sophie sighed heavily and walked back up to the door where she was greeted with the same voice that now seemed like a nightmare.

    ¡°Do you need some helpss?¡± the same kind elderly voice repeated.

    Sophie took a deep breath and then replied, ¡°Yes please.¡±

    ¡°Just give me a moment!¡±

    The conversation repeated exactly the same as before, but this time Sophie decided to try something new.

    ¡°No!¡± she yelled.

    There was an awkward silence from the other end and this time Sophie could not hear the metallic nging noise.

    ¡°Is there a problemss?¡± the voice finally spoke but this time the kind elderly voice had been reced by a deep husky baritone.

    ¡°I want to know how to break the golden chain binding the handle,¡± Sophie boldly spoke.

    ¡°And what can you offer in exchange?¡± the deep voice chuckled, and Sophie could feel a pair of malicious eyes watching her from the dark.

    ¡°What is the valuable thing that you own?¡±

    Sophie frowned as this simple question had numerous implications.

    Right now, she was at a disadvantage when faced with the creature behind the door due to ack of information.

    Whoever was behind the door wanted something in exchange, but the problem was that she had no idea what to say next.

    Putting forward an item of her choosing for the exchange was risky because she had no idea if what she had in her storage device was enough for the creature.

    But asking what the creature wanted might be even risker as it would be the one to set the price and that would ce it a higher position during this negotiation.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a tiny vial containing a greenish-yellow liquid that was bubbling.

    ¡°I can offer a vial of Wolf¡¯rean poison capable of killing an entire city by cing one single drop in the water supply.¡±

    ¡°And what else can you give?¡± the husky voice asked impatiently.

    Sophie pulled out most of the contents of her storage device but still left her food supply and a few select vials of poison and weapons.

    The contents of her storage device were enough to form a small hill of goods to appear in the narrow passageway.

    There were originally a lot of goods inside her storage device before the trip to the royal pce and whenbined with all the items Sophie had stolen since arriving in the Unova Syndicate¡­

    It was a fortune.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± the voice demanded.

    ¡°No¡­that¡¯s all I am willing to offer,¡± Sophie firmly responded.

    There was another brief silence but soon a mechanical buzzing noise could be hearding from the ground.

    Sophie grabbed the nearest wall to steady her body as the room began to shake uncontrobly from side to side.

    ¡°IS YOUR LIFE ONLY WORTH THAT PALTRY SUM!¡± the deep voice bellowed with a frightening snarl.

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t,¡± Sophie hung on to the nearest wall for dear life but still managed to grit her teeth and reply.

    The room instantly stopped shaking and this change in momentum caused Sophie to be flung onto the floor where shended with a dull thump.

    ¡°So¡­ are you going to bring out an item that is worth your life?¡± the voice asked in a sneering tone.

    Sophie stuck her ded appendages into the floor and waited for the world to stop spinning.

    The voice behind the door was unusually patient and it seemed as though it was prepared to wait until Sophie gave another offer.

    This gave her time to consider what else she had to give in order to enter the wooden door.

    Did the creature have some way of knowing that there were still some items left in her storage device?

    Wait¡­ what if nothing she had was enough for the voice?

    No¡­ something was wrong.

    Sophie pressed her fingers against her temple and started to think.

    Was this stage of the trial akin to a pay to win?

    Was this test simply the candidate having the most wealth would advance? Or was there some hidden meaning in the question.

    What was the most valuable thing she owned?

    Her vials of poison?

    Her sums of money?

    Or was¡­ it¡­

    Sophie¡¯s eye lit up as a thought took root in her mind that she could not ignore. The answer to the question was staring her right in the face.

    ¡°I can¡¯t offer you anything from my storage device,¡± Sophie stared at the door and spoke with a strong tone of conviction.

    ¡°Because my life is priceless to the people important to me. I have nothing on my person than is more valuable than myself¡±

    ¡°The most valuable thing is me!¡±

    No sooner had the words left her lips did Sophie see the floating green text suddenly appear in the air above the wooden door.

    [Stage 2- Trial Completed]

    The golden chain vibrated and then suddenly shattered into tiny pieces that vanished as soon as they hit the ground.

 Chapter 291: The Chosen One To Save Us All!

    Chapter 291: The Chosen One To Save Us All!

    [Stage 2- Trial Complete]

    Sophie stared at the floating green text and could not help but feel a bit of relief that her answer was the correct one.

    The golden chain that was wrapped around the handle of the wooden door had shattered into tiny particles that disappeared.

    Now there was nothing stopping her from opening the door and facing the next stage of the trial and the person behind the annoying voice.

    There was no way of knowing how many stages were involved in this trial, so Sophie was prepared to just go one step at a time.

    She walked over to the wooden door and tightly grasped the metalloid handle. The metal felt cold and was freezing to the touch.

    Small blue frost-like crystals crept up Sophie¡¯s right arm as she gripped the handle, and a bone-cold chill invaded her body.

    Sophie exhaled slowly and a small cloud of white mist formed that hung in the air for a few seconds before dispersing.

    The handle was getting harder to hold with every passing second so Sophie quickly yanked the wooden door with as much force as she could muster.

    Creak!

    The door swung open and the frosty chill emanating from the metalloid handle suddenly disappeared along with the blue crystals that were newly formed on Sophie¡¯s arm.

    The room behind the open door was incredibly strange.

    Its contents were nothing more thanplete and utter darkness with no details visible.

    Even Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision could not pierce this mysterious darkness and the light from the crystals protruding from the underground walls seemed to disappear once they entered the room.

    ¡°Hello¡­. is anyone here?¡± Sophie called out as she stepped into the darkness boldly.

    There was a sudden bright white sh of light that caused Sophie to close her eye in pain as the surroundings lit up.

    Bang!

    She heard a loud crashing noise as the wooden door swung firmly shut and locked the hybrid girl inside this new environment.

    Sophie hesitantly opened her eyes and saw to her astonishment what appeared to be a goblin dancing around a campfire in the middle of an open field.

    Somehow this room deep underground had been transformed into a wide-open grasnd with a bright yellow sun shining high above in the sky.

    Sophie turned around and saw that the door had vanished and the scenery before her eyes was an endless sea of greenery.

    Tall trees with long leafy branches stretched out towards the heavens and the ticklish feeling of grass beneath her feet made Sophie realise that this was not an illusion or hallucination.

    Teleportation?

    Or was it a pocket dimension artificially constructed?

    Sophie took a quick sweep of her immediate surroundings to search for any traces of spatial runes but could not find anything.

    She turned her attention back towards the hunched over figure merrily shaking his tiny body around a zing fire.

    This humanoid alien was around the size of a small child with greenish-yellow skin and two beady red eyes.

    There was a small lizard-like tail growing out from his posterior region that was covered in pus-filled boils that oozed out nasty smelling liquid with each step he took.

    He wore tribal attire made from an unknown fur material and held a stick in one hand that had been sharpened at the end to form a pointed barb.

    ¡°N¡¯rea! Ber¡¯e Fre¡¯re!¡± the creature sang as he shook his butt at Sophie.

    It was the perfect picture of a native from a low technology civilisation were it not for the metallic mask covering the creature¡¯s mouth that glowed purple.

    ¡°Hello¡­ are you the guide for the next stage?¡± Sophie asked politely while secretly reaching for the dagger hidden in her pocket.

    ¡°I must offer my greetings to this weary traveller!¡± the creatureughed as he continued to dance.

    ¡°My name is Khul! Would you like to partake in this sacred ritual with me and then perform a simple task? I promise to reward you handsomely!¡±

    Sophie tightened her grip on the dagger and nced around a second time for any unseen threats or dangers.

    Apart from the gorgeous scenery of nature, it appeared that the only living organism nearby was this goblin lookalike.

    Sophie did not immediately agree and instead tried to find out more information,

    ¡°What do I need to do to take part?¡±

    Khul shook his hands in the air while his singing voice rose by two octaves into a beautiful soprano.

    Small droplets of pus dripped off the boils on his tail andnded on the ground where they made a sizzling noise.

    Sophie watched in disgust as the grass melted after being showered by this corrosive liquid. She subconsciously took a few steps backwards.

    ¡°Traveller it is a great honour to join this ritual,¡± Khul paused his movements and turned to face Sophie with a serious expression.

    ¡°This opportunity wille only once in a lifetime!¡±

    His passionate cries echoed through the open field and caused the nearby trees to rustle softly as if they agreed.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense did not activate near this odd alien which meant that he did not pose a threat and yet¡­.

    There was something in Khul¡¯s eyes that made Sophie feel extremely wary.

    Whenever Khul mentioned the ritual, his eyes would fill with the emotions that appeared to be equal parts fear and devotion thatbined to create a violent madness.

    Minutes passed as Sophie weighed the pros and cons of agreeing to this offer before asking once more what exactly this ritual involved.

    ¡°Look¡­I understand this ritual is a tremendous opportunity,¡± Sophie spoke hesitantly.

    ¡°But you have to tell me what I need to do in order to participate otherwise I cannote to a decision.¡±

    There was a brief silence.

    Khul¡¯s beady red eyes stared at Sophie so fiercely that the hybrid girl felt as though his gaze prated her flesh.

    His stumpy green hands curled into noticeable fists and the lizard-like tail furiously moved from side to side.

    ¡°Alright then traveller,¡± Khul finally spoke.

    ¡°I shall tell you the story of my tribe and why we need a chosen one such as yourself to save us from the horrifying monstrosity that terrorises thisnd.¡±

    ¡°Please have a seat.¡±

    The goblin-like alien gestured towards a stump near the campfire and Sophie approached with some caution.

    Khul must have realised that his pus-filled boils disgusted the traveller, so he thoughtfully moved away from the stump before kneeling down.

    Sophie could hear the crackling and roars of the fire gradually soften as the open field fell into a strange state of silence as Khul knelt with his forehead touching the ground.

    Finally, after a few minutes passed, Khul raised his right hand and made a cross-like symbol before beginning his tale,

    ¡°The story of the chosen one who will face the terrifying beast begins like this¡­.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Long ago this field was divided into hundreds of tribes and war-like nations each desperately fighting for control of morends and territories.

    This had been the way of life for our people for thousands of years.

    Each of our kind would mature in the span of one month into a fully grown adult capable of wielding weapons and fighting.

    Life was much simpler in those times.

    There was no chance for technological or cultural progress as all the avable men and women were sent towards the battlefield in order to defend or attack neighbouring tribes.

    My ancestors sang stories and told legends of this ¡®Age of Heroes.

    Famous figures such as ¡®Boudica the Unbroken¡¯, ¡®Ragnar the God¡¯s Shield¡¯, ¡®Malik the Storm¡¯s Fury¡¯ and ¡®Creant the Maidenhead Piercer.¡¯

    Each of these brave men and women fought and died for their tribe. It was only thanks to their courage that my tribe became one of the greatest nations.

    Then something changed¡­

    Year by year we discovered that our world was shrinking.

    Territory at the edge of our world that once spanned hundreds of kilometers were losing more than ten kilometers every day.

    This was such a concern that for the first time since the stone age, our people put down their weapons and called a ceasefire.

    Peace reigned in the grasnds but no solution to this problem could be found.

    The wise sages and schrs of the tribes gathered together but no natural herb remedy or alchemy fusion could stop the loss ofnd.

    Seeing no answer from science¡­

    The great leaders of the tribes turned to the gods themselves for help.

    Everyday the high priests would kneel naked at the foot of hastily constructed wooden altars and pray.

    Days passed and small tribes who had lost theirnd were now being absorbed by the bigger nations who controlled the rich and fertile territories in the center of the grasnds.

    Not everyone was weing to these refugees but the word of our leaders wasw so there were no seriousints or rebellions.

    But soon this fragile calm was broken¡­.¡±

 Chapter 292: Immortality Is A Curse...

    Chapter 292: Immortality Is A Curse¡­

    ¡°When ournd disappeared, our rivers began to dry and the grass beneath our feet slowly withered away.

    Our people were trapped in a dying world.

    Everyday the food and resources would be less and less.

    The fragile truce between the neighbouring tribes vanished almost overnight.

    Refugees were expelled and therge tribes fought one another for control over the dwindling resources.

    War once again raged through thend but this time it was different.

    We all expected to die, and it was only a question of when.

    It seemed that the gods were too busy to answer our prayers and for the first time¡­.

    Some of the younger generations questioned if the gods ever existed.

    I joined my fellow tribesmen on the frontline and fought a three-month war for control over thergestke on the grasnd.

    The war onlysted for three months because the warring tribes and factions who opposed us slowly vanished.

    At first the elders of the tribe assumed that infighting had thinned their ranks but soon members of our own group would disappear mysteriously.

    An atmosphere of panic erupted and no matter how the elders tried to restore some semnce of calm, it seemed that their influence was no longer as strong as before.

    I don¡¯t me my fellow tribesmen.

    Imagine the fear you would feel if you fell asleep next to your mate only to wake up the next morning to an empty nest.

    You frantically call and search every inch of the surrounding area, but it was as though your loved one had vanished into thin air or never even existed.

    The following night you close your eyes not knowing if you would be the next to disappear.

    Coincidently with every disappearance it was observed that the loss ofnd would elerate.

    There was clearly a link, but no one knew what to do.

    Neither science nor magic nor divinity could provide the answers we so desperately sought.

    Finally, after the grasnd had shrunk to the point where only theke remained, the young of our tribe started to have strange and frightening visions.

    Children swore that a dark-skinned creature with eight heads and ten eyes would visit them in the night to bring them presents and gifts.

    These gifts were the body parts of our people carefully woven and crafted into leather clothes and sickening toys.

    Of course, no such relic was ever found when the children opened their eyes, but this was the only clue.

    Beyond theke was nothing more than an endless abyss of darkness. The brave warriors among our people ran into this darkness to try to find an answer.

    None ever returned.

    The remaining tribesmen were forced to stay in the shallow part of theke but soon the cold caused many to freeze and hundreds more to drown.

    I had always been a strong swimmer but as I saw my fellow tribesmen sink beneath the choppy waves, there was a part of me that simply wanted to give up.

    Perhaps we truly were abandoned by the gods.

    Thest scene I can remember before my body finally gave out was the beautiful night sky filled with twinkling stars.¡±

    Khul paused for a moment and tears ran down the sides of his cheek. His green body trembled as he shook with grief.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out some tissues for the emotional alien to wipe his eyes.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Sophie spoke warmly as she ced the tissues in Khul¡¯s knobby hands.

    ¡°Thank you chosen one,¡± Khul whimpered as he hurriedly wiped his eyes.

    Sophie waited patiently for the goblin-like alien to regain hisposure. While waiting she carefully mulled over every detail of the story.

    Clearly the most important point to note was the mysterious eight-headed figure, but Khul had said that thend had started to disappear long before it was active.

    Was the creature the cause of the loss ofnd?

    Or was it a symptom?

    It was impossible to tell.

    The entire story did not make much sense and there were numerous plot holes and suspicious parts.

    Any civilisation even war-driven ones would have some degree of progress. To have their technology level remain the same over thousands of years was peculiar.

    Furthermore, Khul had stated by the end of his tale that the grasnds were little more than ake but that was clearly not the case now.

    And how had he even survived?

    Sophie noted down these points of suspicion and decided to listen to Khul¡¯s story with a bit more skepticism.

    She always kept in mind that this was another part of the trial.

    Khul seemed like a guide or the central person in this stage but who knows if he was a friend or a foe.

    ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡± Sophie asked kindly once Khul had finished rubbing his eyes.

    ¡°Yes. I suppose you must be wondering how I survived and what happened to the rest of my tribesmen?¡± Khul lightly smiled.

    ¡°Please,¡± Sophie nodded and gestured with her hand.

    Khul sat down on the ground with his wrinkled limbs spread out in an ufortable position.

    His lizard-like tail flickered from side to side as hesitation appeared on his face.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± he finally admitted.

    ¡°I woke up alone with my body aged to the point where our people would have just a few more weeks before we reached the end of our lifespan.¡±

    ¡°The grasnds had been partially restored and now I was the only one. Truthfully, it has been years since I have even seen another living creature.¡±

    ¡°Despite my aged appearance¡­. I can no longer die.¡±

    Khul¡¯s face twisted into a monstrous expression of both bitterness and deep hatred. He mmed his green fist into the ground and bellowed in rage,

    ¡°I cannot die!¡±

    ¡°No matter if I do not eat or drink!¡±

    ¡°No matter if I do not sleep!¡±

    ¡°No matter how many times I have tried to kill myself!¡±

    Mad.

    Sophie realised the terrible truth as she saw the goblin-like alien thrash around on the ground while scratching his throat with his long fingernails.

    Blood dripped down to the ground as Khul pierced his own flesh and ripped out chunks that he held in his palms.

    His wounds instantly healed.

    Immortality had driven this lonely soul to the depths of madness.

    Who knows if his story was true or another delusion?

    Sophie even wondered if any part of his story was true.

    ¡°Then one day before you entered this world¡­ I received a vision from a being who imed to be my god,¡± Khul stared at Sophie with an almost religious fervor.

    ¡°He told me that a chosen one would y the hideous monster that was responsible for my people¡¯s demise.¡±

    ¡°By defeating the monster¡­. you can bring my people back to life!¡±

 Chapter 293: Farewell Brave Hero!

    Chapter 293: Farewell Brave Hero!

    ¡°So long brave hero! I await your glorious return!¡± Khul yelled as Sophie¡¯s back got further and further away.

    The goblin-like alien continued to watch until the figure of the chosen one could no longer be seen.

    An expression of deep devotion and madness appeared in his eyes as he once more knelt to the ground and offered prayers.

    Sophie on the other hand was not as optimistic as Khul but seeing that there were no other leads, defeating the monster seemed to be the only one to pass this stage of the trial.

    Well¡­ if this monster actually existed.

    The soft grass tickled Sophie¡¯s feet as the hybrid girl walked into the towering forest.

    The sunlight still brightly illuminated the undergrowth of the forest as the leaves on the trees appeared to be partially translucent.

    Every detail of this strange grasnd was perfect.

    Sophie plucked a few leaves with her hand and observed that every leaf was identical.

    From the shape to the size and even the minute details such as the stem and veins running through their centers.

    It all seemed so¡­.

    Artificial.

    Was this ce merely a simtion or an illusion? But what about Khul?

    If this ce was a simtion¡­ did his people ever really exist?

    Questions lingered in Sophie¡¯s mind, but she could do nothing but push forward and try to find out the answerster.

    The directions Khul had given to the monster¡¯sir were fairly simple.

    She only needed to walk around five kilometers in a northeastern direction and then observe the nearby area at a waterfall.

    The monster she had to y lived in a small cave to the side of the waterfall and it was there where the battle would take ce.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a vial filled with a purplish green liquid.

    Although her qi was blocked, the advantages of an Arachnais physiology remained. Sophie tilted her head and poured the bitter contents into her mouth.

    The foul-tasting liquid was absorbed by the venom nds located just above her fangs and Sophie¡¯s golden eye darkened.

    Now she was ready for any unexpected circumstances.

    Curiously enough, as she walked through the forest it became clear that the path pointed out by Khul had been intentionally made easy to travel along.

    There were no bushes or weeds blocking the way and not a single tree grew in the area of the path.

    Cool breeze brushed the sides of Sophie¡¯s face as the hybrid girl closed her eye for a brief moment of peace.

    Seeding in the trial would only be possible if she kept a cool head and reigned in her emotions.

    Whether she got the so-called prize at the end was irrelevant as Sophie simply wished to be thest survivor.

    There were people still waiting for her to return home.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Sophie grabbed her knee in pain as she experienced a sudden stinging sensation.

    She looked down and saw a tiny red spot just above her kneecap that was rapidly swelling.

    Sophie nced around the surrounding area but found nothing.

    Had something bitten her?

    Sophie was instantly on guard and focused on her danger sense for any threats that could pose her harm.

    Nothing.

    Sophie carefully moved forward but she had only taken a few steps when another stinging sensation was felt.

    This time the pain came from the stump where her left arm used to be. Sophie raised up her elbow to get a better look and saw arge red welt begin to form.

    Again, she swept the surrounding area but found nothing out of the ordinary.

    The environment inside this artificial world did show some abnormalities because apart from Khul¡­

    Sophie could not hear the sounds of insects or any other lifeform.

    But there was clearly something attacking her.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Sophie groaned with pain as multiple stings could be felt on every part of her body.

    This threat was unseen and invisible.

    Sophieshed out in all directions with her ded appendages, but her sharp barbs found nothing to pierce.

    No¡­ she couldn¡¯t stay in one spot.

    Sophie bent her knees and sprang forward to break into a frantic dash. The stings only got worse and worse, but she ignored the pain and desperately tried to reach the waterfall.

    Maybe jumping into the water would get rid of these invisible attackers.

    The ground was smooth and even which meant that Sophie could easily run without having to worry about loose rocks.

    Every second of the journey of five kilometers felt like a lifetime. Sophie felt the parts of her body that had gotten stung begin to swell up.

    ¡°Just keep moving. Just keep moving,¡± Sophie chanted as the pain threatened to overwhelm her.

    The enhanced strength and agility of the Arachnais race began to show its effects as the surroundings blurred.

    Sophie ran the entire distance in under ten minutes and soon the roaring sounds of water could be hearding up ahead.

    There in front of her eyes was a magnificent waterfall that was well over ny feet.

    Thick green shrubbery and vegetation grew on the rocks that were moistened by the thin water droplets and mist.

    She was a mere antpared to the towering mass of water that crashed into theke beneath with a thunderous boom.

    Sophie without hesitation dove into the clear water and felt relief as the stings immediately stopped.

    She could still feel the swellings and bumps, but the water seemed to act as an antidote for the stings as the cool sensation appeared to be healing the wounds.

    Sophie tentatively raised her head out of the water and stared at her body beneath the clear water.

    The healing effect of the water was far better than she had hoped.

    Sophie watched as the visible red welts that were leaking blood and greenish-yellow pus slowly dried up and faded away.

    She ducked her head once more into this lifesaving liquid and swam for a few minutes to collect her thoughts.

    Sophie yawned sleepily and took a cursory nce at the surrounding area to search for the mysterious cave.

    It was hard to see at first but hidden behind a bushy thicket was a narrow entrance to what appeared to be the cave she was looking for.

    Strangely enough, the sunlight that shone through the bushes blocking the cave¡¯s entrance immediately disappeared so Sophie could not make out any details about what was inside.

 Chapter 294: Khul! You Son Of A B...

    Chapter 294: Khul! You Son Of A B¡­

    Sophie hesitantly lifted her right arm out of the water and waited for a few moments to see if the stinging sensation returned.

    The minutes passed by uneventfully, so Sophie slowly swam towards the shore and lifted her body onto the riverbank.

    There was an ufortable feeling of attractioning from the cave.

    It was as though the endless darkness was beckoning to Sophie.

    The cold embrace of the shadows was an urge that she needed to fulfil. Sophie shook her head frantically to rid herself of these strange thoughts.

    Instantly she gazed at the cave¡¯s entrance with great caution in her eyes.

    Someone or rather something lurking inside those shadowy depths was calling out to her.

    Sophie¡¯s first instincts were to immediately retreat from the cave¡¯s surrounding area, but the problem was that her quest goal was located inside.

    She would need to intentionally wander into that dangerous area and search for the hideous monster that Khul had mentioned.

    Actually¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s eyebrows rxed as an idea shed across her mind. She could not believe that she had not thought of this sooner.

    Who said that she would need to enter the cave to find the monster?

    There was a simple solution staring her right in the face¡­

    Smoke out the bastard.

    A bloodthirsty grin shed across Sophie¡¯s face and for a brief moment her golden eye shed a crimson red colour before returning to normal.

    Now the first step in her n required firewood.

    She needed to look for old branches and sticks with low moisture content.

    Clearly the wet trees moistened by the water misting from the waterfall would not be usable, so Sophie walked away.

    The mysterious stings had not returned even as Sophie walked further and further away from the waterfall, but the hybrid girl remained vignt.

    She mentally kept track of the distance between herself and theke in case another unexpected attack urred.

    Sophie travelled around three kilometers before encountering a patch of trees merrily bathing beneath the gentle rays of the warm sun hanging high above in the sky.

    These trees much like the rest of the forest werepletely identical from their size to their shapes.

    Every branch, every leaf and every root were an exact copy.

    The only difference was that unlike the vegetation by the waterfall, one could observe that certain branches in the middle section of the tree were slightly dry.

    Still unlike normal dry leaves, there was no noticeable colour change to differentiate them from the healthy ones.

    Sophie had to rely on her enhanced vision to spot ack of water droplets on the leaves.

    ¡°Okay, now how exactly do I climb up there?¡± Sophie muttered to herself as she stared at the stump where her left arm used to be.

    The healing process from her terrible injuries had been incredibly slow but at least now there were some fleshy growths protruding from her missing limbs.

    Sophie ran her fingers against the truck of the nearest tree and felt its rough and uneven surface.

    This trial may not be over yet, but Sophie was once again grateful for her alien heritage.

    With great care, she pierced the tree with her upper right ded appendage.

    Then she made the same motion with her upper left ded appendage before stabbing the bark with her lower appendages to stabilize her body.

    Sophie slowly climbed up the tree using these familiar motions and made sure that each ded appendage was securely inserted into the trunk before moving.

    Along the way she used her right hand to snap off dry branches and twigs. For good measure she also plucked off some leaves and dropped them.

    Typically, the average juvenile of her mother¡¯s species would be able to climb up the tallest tree in this forest in under two minutes.

    The ded appendages of an Arachnais were incredibly flexible and allowed for a wide range of movement.

    Sophie naturally took a bit longer as she was unfamiliar with the movements at first but gradually her natural instincts took over.

    After she had collected enough material from the tree, Sophie climbed down and begun the process all over again.

    In total she managed to get enough fire-starting material from only five trees.

    Sophie ced the dry branches and leaves in her storage device and headed back towards the cave.

    Even though she had stored clothes, weapons and food in her storage bag, Sophie did not have any fire-starting devices.

    So¡­ the only way to start this fire was the good old fashion way.

    Sophie did not have any experience but luckily inside Sui Meng¡¯s memories was a time where the ancient Earth girl had gone camping with her father.

    The kind elderly father had exined to his daughter how to set up a campfire and made her do the steps under constant supervision.

    Sophie nned on following this method to create her own fire to smoke out the creature inside the cave.

    It did not take long to hear the familiar thunderous roar of the waterfall as the heavy water flow crashed against the rough and choppy surface of theke.

    Sophie cautiously walked towards the entrance of the cave and pulled the dry branches and twigs out of her storage bag.

    The hungry darkness inside the cave began to whisper seductive pleads in Sophie¡¯s ear but the hybrid girl bit her lip to deal with the temptation.

    This sudden burst of pain was enough to keep her mind clear.

    Now it was time to set up the fire.

    Sophie first cleared out an area directly in front of the cave and removed any stones or pebbles.

    Then she created a circr zone usingrge rocks that she had found nearby. Inside this circle, she first ced the bigger wooden pieces such as the branches as a base.

    She then piled on the smaller twigs and filled the spaces between the branches with dry grass and leaves.

    Sophie nned on using an ancient Earth technique known as the ¡®fire plough¡¯ method.

    It involved rubbing one stick against another in a ploughing motion until the pieces of wood be hot enough to ignite the wood shavings that are produced.

    The stick heats up due to the friction caused by the frantic rubbing.

    In Sui Meng¡¯s memories, Sophie recalled that the young teenage girl had taken fifteen minutes to start the ze and her arms were in pain for the rest of the afternoon.

    Sophie got two firm sticks and begun to mimic the motions she had seen in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    It was boring and tedious work, but Sophie maintained her enthusiasm despite not seeing any apparent results.

    Two minutes passed¡­.

    Seven minutes passed¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s rubbing motions became faster and faster but she had to take care not to break the sticks by using too much force.

    Eventually some tiny sparks were produced that fell on the dry leaves. Sophie expected to rub a bit longer, but the leaves instantly caught on fire.

    Woosh!

    Sophie hurriedly moved back in shock as the material inside the stone circle ignited into a fearsome ze that extended three feet upwards.

    Okay¡­ clearly there was something wrong with those branches¡­.

    This was a bit of an unexpected situation, but Sophie quickly calmed herself down and proceeded to the next stage of the n.

    She pulled a long piece of cloth from her storage bag and begun to p it at the ze to send the smoke inside the cave.

    Fortunately, the wind also appeared to be on her side as a healthy breezeing from the east helped push the smoke further inward.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how deep the inside of the cave was but hopefully her n to smoke out whatever was lurking in those depths would be sessfully.

    It did not take long for a furious roar to be hearding from somewhere deep below the ground.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ear flickered towards a certain direction, so she hurriedly dropped the cloth and ran behind a nearby grove of trees.

    Now was the time for the ambush.

    ¡°Arghhhhh! Khul you son of a bitch!¡± a ferocious yell echoed through the forest.

    Bang!

    The stone entrance to the cave shattered as an enormous hulking figure emerged from the shadows.

    Sophie held her breath and remained silent as she carefully observed the hideous monster that she was supposed to defeat.

    The creature that ran out from the cave was a muscr humanoid alien that stood at an impressive twenty feet in height.

    His skin was a pitch-ck colour but there were silver areas dotted in his flesh that resembled a beautiful starry night.

    Eight ferocious heads were attached to a wide chest with each head being linked to the rest of the body via a long, slender, and almost snake-like neck.

    Each head had one single eye in the center of its face and two mouths located to the left and right side of the creature¡¯s jaw, respectively.

    The monster saw the fire and ran over with each step causing the ground to shake slightly and Sophie to almost lose her bnce.

    It immediately jumped up and down on the ze and its enormous body was enough topletely smother the fire.

    The grove of trees Sophie was hiding in was directly behind the monster, so she was out of his field of vision.

    Sophie pulled out a dagger and carefully dripped the contents of a vial on its edges. A deep purplish-red liquid coated the sides of her dagger.

    She was prepared to strike.

    Sophie bent her knees and prepared to leap forward when a terrible recollection shed across her mind.

    Wait¡­ eight eyes?

    Didn¡¯t Khul say that it had ten?

    Her danger sense immediately went haywire.

    Sophie jumped away from her location just as two redser beams sank into the ground where she had been crouching.

    Sophie¡¯s heart sank as she saw two floating eyeballs with fleshy wings attached to their sides observing her every move.

    She could hear a low chuckling noiseing from the gigantic beast as he slowly turned his body around.

    ¡°Found you¡­.¡±

 Chapter 295: This Alien Is A Bit... Strange...

    Chapter 295: This Alien Is A Bit¡­ Strange¡­

    This was not good.

    Sophie had not felt such a high level of threat since the vision of her battle with Captain Dawn.

    Standing in front of her was a horrifying twenty feet tall behemoth with two floating eyeballs that glowed an eerie red colour.

    It was not often that Sophie encountered an enemy that made her feel small byparison but standing in the shadow of this much taller creature was a humbling experience.

    Each of the monster¡¯s eight ferocious heads had a different expression on their faces as they observed Sophie carefully.

    Some were gazing at the hybrid girl with an expression of deep confusion while others stared with what could only be assumed was an intense feeling of disgust and the rest had different degrees of curiosity.

    ¡°You¡­¡± the middle head of the monster opened his right jaw and spoke.

    Sophie gripped the handle of her dagger and mentally mapped out what was the best series of movements needed to plunge her de in the center of the monster¡¯s chest.

    Theck of qi in her dantian meant that her movement techniques such as the ¡®Cloud Treading Dragon¡¯ could not be used but hopefully her naturally agile body could avoid any iing attacks.

    Losing the element of surprise had certainly ced Sophie at a greater disadvantage in this fight.

    (Don¡¯t think about his size)

    (Don¡¯t think about dying)

    Sophie¡¯s golden eye briefly shed a crimson red colour, but she didn¡¯t even notice as this short connection to the hunter goddess was immediately broken.

    The minutes passed by with neither side willing to make the first move. Sophie noticed that the monster had fallen into a state of deep contemtion.

    A tense atmosphere filled the air as Sophie tightened the grip on her dagger and bent her knees.

    But this taut mood was unexpectedly broken by the following words that the monster uttered,

    ¡°Why are you so ugly?¡±

    Sophie was quite taken aback at the sudden insult and could not help instinctively replying,

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°You heard me,¡± another one of the heads stated.

    ¡°I have lived for eons watching different civilisations rise and fall but I have yet to see a species so hideous and unsightly.¡±

    One by one the monster¡¯s different heads started to list off Sophie¡¯s apparent imperfections all the while having a tone that was an unpleasant mixture of both pity and empathy.

    ¡°Firstly, your body size is too small, your limbs are too tiny and most importantly¡­.¡±

    ¡°You only have ONE head!¡±

    ¡°And tell me¡­ what¡¯s the purpose of those two ridiculous bags of meat attached to your puny chest region.¡±

    ¡°Lord I pity what terrible evolutionary trials your species had to ovee to grow four twig-like ¡®weapons¡¯ on your back.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started on those facial features¡­. I shudder to think what kind of abomination would have such low standards that it would be willing to mate with you.¡±

    The eight-headed alien leaned back against a nearby boulder and rxed his posture.

    Sophie remained on guard in case the creatureunched a hidden strike but curiously enough, her danger sense no longer activated.

    The alien casually ced one hand into his loincloth and begun to scratch at his groin region vigorously while continuing to critique Sophie¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started on that ridiculous outfit. All intelligent species know that the only purpose of clothes is to hide the important bits!¡±

    ¡°You need to let yourself be free!¡±

    The alien gestured towards his naked upper body and proudly curled his biceps. Sophie could see the impressive veins bulging outwards as the twenty-foot-tall behemoth flexed his muscles.

    He made a tearing motion and silently encouraged Sophie to rip off her body suit that was covering her upper chest region.

    Well¡­ this encounter was going a lot different than Sophie had initially imagined.

    It was not that she automatically expected to jump into a life and death battle but that was generally the prevailing theme of most of the encounters she had experienced that involved powerful aliens.

    Actually, maybe she should try to find out more about the current situation.

    It had urred to Sophie that she had really only heard about what had happened to the grasnds from Khul¡¯s point of view.

    This alien may look intimidating but outside of insulting her appearance and firing off someser shots¡­ he at least seemed saner than the green goblin religiously dancing in an open field.

    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m sorry about setting the fire outside your home,¡± Sophie tentatively begun with an apology.

    ¡°Oh no worries,¡± one of the heads replied with a gentle smile.

    ¡°Truthfully, we overreacted. I mean how could you have known that someone was living there!¡±

    ¡°We really need to learn to be more patient. It¡¯s just that there is this guy whoes over every few weeks and tries to kill us.¡±

    ¡°What a crazy lunatic!¡±

    All eight heads of the alien threw themselves back withughter at the mere thought of that pipsqueak Khul ever threatening their life.

    Sophie nervouslyughed along while secretly wondering if she should reveal the story that Khul had told her.

    This enormous creature was by no means a gentle giant. The floating eyeballs with powerfulser beams had made that exceedingly clear.

    But if Khul¡¯s story turned out to be false then this creature was the only clue she had that could lead to passing this stage of the trial.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve met the guy you are talking about,¡± Sophie softly whispered.

    All ten eyes immediately swung towards the hybrid girl and a tense atmosphere immediately returned except this time Sophie could sense a killing intent hidden in the monster¡¯s gaze.

    The only thing Sophie could hear was the thunderous roar of the waterfall as time seemed to be frozen still.

    The creature was clearly waiting for Sophie to continue to speak so with a few deep breaths she begun her tale,

    ¡°It all started when I suddenly appeared in this world¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Fifteen minutester)

    ¡°Wait¡­ wait¡­ wait¡­ let me get this straight,¡± the eight-headed monster crossed his arms and looked at Sophie with an expression of disbelief on every face.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that he thinks I kidnapped the members of his tribe and made their corpses into presents and gifts for children?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even like children! They are nothing more than horrible tiny gremlins!¡±

    ¡°Do you see my hands?¡±

    The titanic alien held out a massive palm with fingers that were around the size of Sophie¡¯s entire body.

    ¡°Does it look like I can make presents and gifts from those little bodies using these hands?¡±

 Chapter 296: Sophie Discovers A New Religion

    Chapter 296: Sophie Discovers A New Religion

    There was a brief moment of silence as Sophie processed this new information that was truthfully giving her a bit of a headache.

    Now there were two contrasting stories, and she had no idea which one could be believed or whether both were false.

    It was true that Khul¡¯s story did have numerous loopholes, but this strange giant could not be immediately trusted either.

    Sophie remembered that the creature had mentioned that it had lived for eons and watched civilisations rise and fall.

    Did this pocket dimension undergo some sort of reset?

    A brief idea shed across Sophie¡¯s mind, but the hybrid girl decided to ask a few more questions before testing out her hypothesis.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m a bit curious but are you and Khul the only inhabitants of this world?¡± Sophie cautiously asked.

    ¡°Did Khul¡¯s people never exist?¡±

    The enormous alien stretched out his right arm and gave out azy yawn. Sophie waited patiently as the creature rubbed its muscr frame against a nearby boulder.

    ¡°Yes. Right now, there are only three of us in this world,¡± a head on the right spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite strange actually¡­.¡± another head stated in a bemused tone.

    ¡°Every once in awhile the sky turns dark, the rivers bleed red and the grass withers away and turns into dust.¡±

    ¡°I called it¡­ ¡®The Great Dying!¡±

    Sophie bent down and plucked a de of grass from the soil. She carefully rolled the grass around in her hand and observed the tiny details using her enhanced vision.

    From what she could tell¡­

    This was from a natural nt with no visible signs of gic modification or synthetic materials.

    Of course, if Sophie had the rightboratory equipment in her storage bag, she would be able to conduct further tests, but this was the best she could do.

    This world or pocket dimension¡­ was definitely real.

    But the strange abnormalities could not be ignored.

    Why were all the leaves, branches, and stems on the various nts identical in size, shape and colour?

    And what ability allowed Khul and this creature to survive this so-called ¡®Great Dying.¡¯

    ¡°Can you tell me more about ¡®The Great Dying¡¯ and what happens after?¡± Sophie asked politely and gestured towards the alien.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s simple,¡± all the heads spoke in a synchronised voice.

    A dark chill filled the air as the shadows beneath Sophie¡¯s feet darkened. Whispers and howls could be hearding from the nearby trees as the sound of the waterfall dimmed.

    ¡°Khul and I are the gods who own this world.¡±

    ¡°Gods?¡± Sophie skeptically questioned.

    ¡°Yes gods! I am the God of destruction and suffering¡­. and chaos¡­ and¡­err¡­ well that¡¯s about it,¡± the creature replied with a smirk.

    ¡°And that lunatic Khul just has to mess up my work by creating new toys to run around for a couple of centuries while I gathered up power to start the cleanse all over again!¡±

    ¡°Super annoying! I mean you should have seen the kind of freaks he created two millennia ago.¡±

    ¡°By the gods! I wanted to vomit when I saw their hideous appearances.¡±

    The twenty-foot-tall giant continued to speak to Sophie about his impressive powers and boundless strength, but the hybrid girl was feeling a bit distracted.

    Now Sophie understood why the passing rate for the trial was so ridiculous low¡­

    Did she need to fight a god?

    Sophie took a casual nce at the behemoth who towered over her like a skyscraper and could not help but feel that this stage was impossible.

    Setting aside the fact that the brute could probably squish her with one finger¡­ apparently, he also had the power to annihte all living things within the entire pocket dimension.

    Think¡­ Sophie¡­ you need to think¡­

    Sophie gripped her dagger tightly in her right palm and mentally mapped out possible routes to the giant¡¯s fatal points.

    It was not that she thought that Khul could be trusted but it was always wise to ensure that the final opponent was a man who could only build rather than a beast who could only destroy.

    Time to bring out her acting skills.

    Devotion and purity shone through her eye as Sophie adopted a pious expression of reverence.

    ¡°Tell me o great one!¡± Sophie dropped to the ground in a heartful kneel.

    ¡°How should a humble ant such as me address you? How may I praise your¡­your¡­ godliness and be your devout priestess?¡±

    ¡°I only wish to worship you and bathe in your holy light!¡±

    The giant creature immediately recoiled in disgust with a faint manifestation of panic on its many faces.

    ¡°No! No! No!¡± the middle head shouted.

    ¡°Do you think I want a follower as ugly as you?¡±

    Sophie briefly froze in the middle of her acting and resumed her holy appearance but now her facial expression was a bit stiff.

    ¡°Oh Lord please do not abandon me! Although my appearance may be¡­¡±

    Sophie gritted her teeth and continued, ¡°May be extremely displeasing¡­ I will serve you to the best of my abilities!¡±

    ¡°Look¡­ um¡­. how should I¡­.¡± the enormous hulking beast was now visibly ufortable.

    ¡°This is nothing personal, but I assume you are one of Khul¡¯s creations, so I need to kill you now.¡±

    ¡°Do you need to kill me?¡± Sophie nced up with a single tear rolling down her cheek.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I need to¡­ but you¡¯re just so¡­ unbearable to look at that I can¡¯t stand the thought of being alive in the same world as you,¡± the leftmost head tentatively spoke.

    ¡°Again¡­ this ispletely not personal.¡±

    Sophie bowed her head silently and her entire aura changed to that of sadness and grief at her impending doom.

    The giant creature sighed heavily when he saw that the hideous thing had finally understand that its end was near.

    Not all of Khul¡¯s creations would ept their endings and many would desperately fight but at least this one knew that death was a mercy.

    The titanic alien raised up his two palms and begun to absorb the entropy energy. A thin red mist of destructive ki coated his fingertips and his ten eyes all glowed with the same scarlet hue.

    ¡°May I have one final request?¡± Sophie whispered as she faced this overwhelming power.

    ¡°Yes, I can grant you this wish,¡± the god of destruction replied.

    Sophie bowed respectfully and asked, ¡°What are your names?¡±

    The giant creature gradually rxed his arms as his eyes resumed their normal colour. This was a simple request and the god decided to be generous and fulfil this request.

    ¡°You may call me X¡¯rehetea Constainope Frlere,¡± the middle head spoke.

    ¡°And you may address me as Sire¡¯re Constainope Frlere,¡± another head proudly stated.

    ¡°Puny creature! You may ref to me as¡­.¡± this head was cut off by a sudden voice to its left.

    ¡°No! It¡¯s my turn to be introduced! You need to wait your turn you oversized moron!¡±

    This unexpected interruption was enough to cause a full-blown argument to break out between the different heads.

    ¡°What did you call me? I am a GOD!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all the same god you dimwit!¡±

    ¡°You always act like this whenever we meet other people!¡±

    ¡°People? Khul¡¯s creations aren¡¯t people!¡±

    The middle head tried desperately to regain some level of calm but his pleads fell on deaf ears as the other heads continued to fight.

    This was the perfect opportunity.

    Sophie truthfully didn¡¯t even expect them to start arguing but she was not going to overlook this ideal chance.

    She kept her body low to the ground and crawled over to the nearest foot of the giant who was currently sprawled out against the boulder.

    The floating eyeballs in the air were spinning around frantically with nomands to control them.

    All of the creature¡¯s heads were too busy fighting to notice that the woman who was bending the knee had vanished from their sight.

 Chapter 297: Sophies Greatest Technique

    Chapter 297: Sophie''s Greatest Technique

    The most important skill of a hunter is not strength, agility or even stealth.

    These are all necessary traits but there exists a characteristic that is perhaps the rarest of all¡­

    Patience.

    Sophie kept her body low to the ground and slowly crawled over to the nearest foot of the giant while taking care not to make a single sound.

    Despite hearing the loud argument urring between the different heads, not for one second did Sophie let her guard down.

    When closing in for a kill¡­ it was quite easy for the predator to be the prey.

    Perhaps Sophiecked something that her fellow high nobles possessed in abundance¡­

    Their arrogance.

    Not once did Sophie assume that she was the strongest due to her secret cultivation method or her Insectoid heritage.

    The universe was far too vast with powerful beings lurking within the shadows. Compared to them, she was nothing more than a speck of dust.

    Hell¡­ she even had a missing arm, ear, and eye to prove her beliefs.

    Sophie slid her body across the uneven surface of the ground and ignored the pain when tiny pebbles became embedded in her flesh.

    This pain was nothing.

    The foot of the titanic alien loomed in sight as Sophie shuffled her way towards the main body of the creature.

    Once again, Sophie was in awe of the colossal size of the ¡®God¡¯ she needed to face.

    The foot of this creature alone was twice her body length.

    Unfortunately, the giant beast wasying down in the middle of a clearing so there were no trees or bushes to provide cover.

    It was not a short distance but to Sophie that narrow gap between the shrubbery she was concealed behind and the creature¡¯s foot was insurmountable.

    Sophie gripped her dagger and carefully positioned her body into a crouching position. Her posture resembled a snakeying in wait to strike.

    Not yet¡­

    The minutes ticked by one after the other as the loud voices continued to shout and yell furiously.

    ¡°Settle down you idiots! For the love of¡­¡±

    The middle head tried desperately to calm down his impatient brothers, but his calm words appeared to do nothing more than spread gasoline on an already burning fire.

    ¡°Who made you the boss? I should be the ruler of the body!¡±

    ¡°I hate you stupid bastards!¡±

    ¡°Well same here you unpleasant oafs! Do you think I want to be connected to morons?¡±

    Now!

    Sophie leapt forward with all the strength she had in her body and the ground beneath her feet cracked under the immense force.

    This sudden noise attracted the attention of the quarreling heads but when they saw the humanoid shadow¡­

    It was already toote.

    Sophie stretched out her arm and shed a thin cut into the flesh of the giant¡¯s pinky toe. The dark flesh was easily sliced into, and soon thick greenish-purple blood spurted out of the wound.

    ¡°Arghhhh!¡± the heads let out a synchronised shout of pain.

    The two floating eyeballs with wings immediately flew towards Sophie¡¯s location with their pupils already glowing a scarlet colour.

    Sophie quickly extended her fangs outwards and with great trepidation she bit the exposed flesh of the giant.

    The filthy greenish-purple blood entered Sophie¡¯s mouth and almost caused the hybrid girl to throw up.

    Unlike the other times she had used her fangs, Sophie was not under the control of her berserker state, so she was very much aware of the unpleasant fishy metallic taste that was filling her mouth.

    Still when it came to cruelty to herself¡­. Sophie was second to none.

    She ruthlessly tore into the fleshy area of the wound and injected milligram after milligram of highly concentrated venom inside.

    Sophie¡¯s venom nds had fully converted and enhanced the contents of the vial she had swallowed and now the giant was experiencing the full agony of an Arachnais¡¯ wrath.

    Bang!

    Sophie¡¯s instincts took over and her body moved faster than her mind could react.

    Her ded appendages shoved her body away just seconds before two redser beams arrived at her location.

    The giant let out another groan of pain as two bucket sized holes opened up in his leg. Sophie hurriedly adjusted her posture and looked up at the sky.

    Fuck.

    Sophie nced at the still hollering giant and felt a headacheing on. There were two exnations to why this creature had the ability to stay alive.

    The first was that poisons in general or maybe this particr type had no effect on the giant which meant that she could only try to wear it down through numerous cuts until it bled out.

    Or the second was that the sheer size of the creature meant that the venom injected into its body would take a long time to reach its major organs.

    Hopefully, it was the second option but either way Sophie needed to stall out for time.

    ¡°You little worm! Eons have passed but we have never suffered an injury like today!¡± the rightmost head roared in fury.

    ¡°We will rip you apart and then use the destructive energy of the universe to obliterate everyst atom of your pathetic remains!¡± another head shouted.

    ¡°Bring it on,¡± Sophie said defiantly. She flung her dagger at one of the floating eyeballs that dodged almost instantly.

    Good reaction time.

    Shame it wasn¡¯t her real blow¡­

    The other eyeball that was preparing to fire another st at the hybrid girl suddenly paused in mid air as a thin needle prated its sticky flesh.

    The area where the needle entered turned a sickly ck colour that spread through the rest of the thing¡¯s body.

    Sophie did not allow the giant even the slightest time to react andunched another poisoned needle into the center of the other floating eye.

    Both floating appendages crashed to the ground with a dull thud as the ckish colour spreading across their surface hid the deep corrosion that was happening inside.

    ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO?!¡± the leftmost head cried out in pain and gripped its temples.

    Sophie bared her fangs as a bloodthirsty aura surrounded her body. She may not have her qi but the killing intent that had been growing insidiously inside her psyche was not so easy to ignore.

    Even the giant alien froze for a moment under the cold chill of death.

    This tense atmosphere was shattered as the middle head growled in a low baritone that made the earth tremble,

    ¡°Very good Khul¡¯s creation, it is clear that you are truly his finest work.¡±

    ¡°But how can a mortal face the wrath of a god?¡±

    Boom!

    The enormous creature got up from the ground and the sudden pressure almost caused Sophie to drop to her knees.

    She could only watch as the self proimed ¡®god¡¯ raised his right arm to the sky and gathered thick reddish energy that crackled with fearsome power.

    Death hade.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense went haywire and every cell in her body was begging her to leave now before it was toote.

    It was difficult to move under the coercion, but Sophie dug her fingernails into her arm and used the pain to restore her lucidity.

    Now it was time to show off the technique that had kept her alive through all the dangerous situations she had faced since leaving Gaia.

    ¡°NOW YOU SHALL PREPARE TO¡­. err¡­ what?¡± the middle head froze as he saw the hybrid girl turn around and immediately flee from the scene.

    ¡°COME BACK HERE!¡±

 Chapter 298: A Glorious Death? F**** That!

    Chapter 298: A Glorious Death? F**** That!

    Boom!

    Sophie jumped to the side and watched in shock as a nearby tree was zapped with a ray of destructive energy.

    It could not be understated the true extent of the horrifying force that the colossal alien wielded.

    Sophie witnessed firsthand how devastating that simple ray of light was to the innocent tree.

    First the green leaves turned a sickly pale yellow as a dark crimson energy travelled from their veins into the stems and then the trunk.

    This insidious force corroded the insides of the nt and soon its once healthy appearance was transformed into nothing more than a withered tree at the end of its life.

    Gradually the topmost leaves and branches turned into dust and scattered in the wind.

    This disintegration was akin to a virus and soon the rest of the nt followed until there was nothing left.

    This entire cycle of death urred in less than five seconds.

    Sophie shuddered as she imagined what would happen if the giant¡¯s attack had managed to hit her body.

    ¡°STOP RUNNING YOU PATHETIC LITTLE¡­.¡± an angry roar echoed through the open forest where Sophie was currently fleeing for her life.

    Boom!

    Another tree turned into dust as Sophie had to make a sharp turn in order to avoid getting hit.

    She was at a clear disadvantage in this hunt for survival. It didn¡¯t seem to matter how fast she ran as it was difficult to outpace a giant with feet bigger than the length of her entire body.

    One casual step from the behemoth could cross a distance of two hundred meters. The only reason she had yet to be caught was the injury she had inflicted to the giant¡¯s pinky toe.

    Clearly this so-called god was not used to pain as the sharp throbbing feeling that urred whenever he moved was enough for him to hesitate.

    ¡°Damn¡­ when is that poison going to kick in,¡± Sophie muttered to herself as she took a quick look backwards.

    That was a mistake.

    What she saw was a sight that would haunt her nightmares for the next couple of months should she survive this ordeal.

    A muscr hulk-like humanoid with eight heads that all had expressions of distorted rage mixed with pain.

    The skin of the creature was originally a pitch-ck colour with silver areas dotted in his flesh that resembled a beautiful starry night.

    Now there were cracks opening up inside the skin where numerous eyeballs stared at Sophie¡¯s every move.

    Each eye oozed a yellowish-green pus that dropped to the ground and made a dull hissing sound when it melted the earth.

    There was a scarlet energy coating the beast¡¯s hands as the giant prepared tounch another strike.

    Boom! Boom!

    This time two orb-like beams of light shot towards Sophie¡¯s location at a speed that the hybrid girl could barely react to.

    All she could see was a crimson blur getting closer and closer until it was almost toote.

    Sophie¡¯s ded appendages clung to a nearby boulder and pushed off so that her body twisted in mid air to avoid the beams.

    The force of the explosion flung Sophie against a nearby tree but there was no time to react as the giant once again summoned more energy.

    This was not a good situation.

    Sophie coughed up tiny flecks of blood and she could feel that several of her ribs may have been bruised from the hard blow.

    ¡°Keep moving¡­ keep moving,¡± Sophie gritted her teeth and forced her body forward.

    She was being far too passive but there was nothing she could do to turn the tide.

    Dodging the beams at close range was impossible without the use of qi movement techniques so she needed to maintain a safe distance.

    It was not that she hadn¡¯t tried to use long range attacks such as poison needles or even a few rounds of heavy sma fire, but nothing seemed to work.

    After Sophie fled from the clearing, the giant had clearly learnt from his mistakes and surrounded his body with an invisible psychic barrier that deflected all projectiles.

    Now there were only one possible course of action.

    Run!

    Sophie may not be the bravest cultivator¡­ she would be the first to admit that experiencing the memory of death from Sui Meng had changed something in her.

    Nothing was more important than living.

    A man who flees a battle he can¡¯t win will live to fight another day while a brave man who holds his ground will die a glorious death.

    Fuck that.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t ready to die and especially not when there was a little girl relying on her to get back home safely.

    She knew fully well that Lily would not survive in the Unova Syndicate without her help.

    Boom! Boom!

    Sophie ignored the surrounding sts that kicked up piles of dirt into the air.

    She ducked and weaved through the energy beams using her ded appendages to change her momentum when necessary.

    Two sharp metalloid needles glowed ominously in Sophie¡¯s hand as the hybrid girl gripped their cold handles carefully.

    Was it possible to break the barrier?

    Thirty minutes had passed since the chase had begun and Sophie was slowly losing hope that her poison would be effective.

    Surely the circtory system in the giant wasn¡¯t so slow.

    Without qi Sophie had to rely on the naturally enhanced physique of the Arachnais race to maintain her pace but this had limits.

    She was already feeling a burning sensation in her lungs and her legs were beginning to ache ufortably.

    Boom!

    Sophie shifted her head one inch to the right as a scarlet beam of energy narrowly missed her left cheek.

    No, this situation couldn¡¯tst.

    She needed to try something and fast.

    Sophie ced the two needles in her mouth and reached into her storage bag using her right arm.

    There was only a single sma rifle inside her bag that Sophie had previously attempted to use to shatter the barrier to no effect.

    This time she was going to try something crazy.

    Sophie continued to run but her attention was partially shifted to the gun held precariously in her arm.

    Now how did Katarina say to do this again¡­

    Sophie frowned as she tried to remember themands needed to activate the overload trigger.

    She ran her fingers over the cool surface until she found a series of raised symbols hidden on the underside of the gun¡¯s barrel.

    Without hesitation Sophie pressed the symbols in a specific order and the temperature of the gun rapidly increased.

    The cold metal got hotter and hotter until Sophie¡¯s palms started to develop blisters from the sudden heat.

    Not yet¡­

    Sophie waited until a red light shed twice and then prepared for her killer move. This was a truly desperate y but at this point she was ready to try anything.

    Now!

    She turned around and threw the sma rifle right at the charging giant. The red light on the gun shed once more as the rifle hit the edge of the psychic barrier and slid down.

    Sophie did not bother to see if the initial stage of her n was sessfully as she immediately pulled the two poison needles out of her mouth.

    BOOM!

    An enormous explosion came from behind her as the sma rifle exploded with the force of three hundred rounds.

    Small fires made from green mes appeared around the edges of the st and more importantly¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eye could see that the giant alien¡¯s barrier had shattered.

 Chapter 299: Your Strength Is Nothing

    Chapter 299: Your Strength Is Nothing

    Boom!

    A muffled groan could be heard as the so-called ¡®god of destruction¡¯ experienced the full force of a sma energy bomb at close range.

    The st knocked the colossal behemoth to his knees and the pale green mes continued to burn on the surface of his skin.

    Overloading her sma rifle had been Sophie¡¯sst resort as she didn¡¯t have many long-ranged weapons in storage bag, but it was worth it.

    There was a faint tangy scent of rotten meat that filled the air as the giant¡¯s flesh burned under the intense heat.

    Sophie wrinkled her nose in disgust as her enhanced sense of smell was now more of a curse than a blessing.

    There wasn¡¯t much time to make her move.

    She quickly pulled out two random vials of poison from her storage bag and dipped the tips of the metallic needles inside.

    With one fluid motion, Sophie pulled back her arm andunched two deadly projectiles right at the giant¡¯s chest.

    The sharp metalloid tip of the needles prated deep into the flesh of the beast and delivered a deadly injection of toxins.

    Sophie took a quick nce at thebels on the two vials and a faint smile shed across her face.

    The contents of the vials were just what she needed to deliver a fatal blow or at least damage the giant¡¯s internal organs.

    The first vial contained a lethal concoction nicknamed ¡®Listera¡¯s Tears¡¯.

    One drop was enough to produce violent madness. More than one drop and the victim would die with blood leaking from their eye sockets.

    Legends say that this was the favourite poison used by heirs eager to quickly inherit thends of their parents.

    And the second vial had an even deadlier mixture.

    The fresh blood of a beast known as the Qireane when added to a specific herb found on Gaia would produce a toxin that calcified the victim¡¯s intestines.

    They would die in their bodies own poisons.

    Of course, that was the effect these toxins had on most carbon-based lifeforms and Sophie could not tell if the giant was immune to these poisons.

    Sophie tossed the now partially empty vials on the ground and continued to run forward into the dense forest.

    This part of the forest was darker than the rest of the grasnds with thick vines covered with razor sharp thorns wrapped around the trunks of the trees.

    Sophie had to contort and shift her body around to avoid these hazardous thorns, but she could not escape getting a few small scratches on her arm and face.

    ¡°DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE ATTACKS CAN HARM ME!¡± a frustrated roar echoed through the forest.

    The ground trembled under the weight of the twenty-foot-tall behemoth as the angry giant ignored his pain and stood up.

    His once proud and noble appearance waspletely changed as the st from the sma rifle had left him disheveled and dirty.

    The thin loincloth that covered his lower body had been destroyed in the st and Sophie could see a whip-like phallus appendage swaying in the wind.

    More eyes grew out of the cracks in the giant¡¯s skin and a thickyer of what seemed to be yellowish-white mucus coated the wounded areas.

    Sophie watched in disbelief as the burnt flesh and scorched skin was instantly healed under the influence of the mucus.

    It took less than ten seconds for the new flesh to grow back and rece the damaged areas.

    This was not just a healing process¡­. it would be more urate to ssify it asplete regeneration.

    Sophie frowned as her danger sense went haywire.

    The distance between herself and the giant had increased significantly while the creature suffered from the st but now there was a strong feeling of a threat nearby.

    She turned around and prepared to continue widening the distance when a cold chill made the hairs on her right arm stand up.

    Bang!

    Sophie hurled her body to the left and watched in horror as a nearby boulder exploded into thousands of pieces.

    Above! There was something above!

    She nced upwards and saw hundreds or maybe even thousands of floating eyeballs that darkened the sky.

    ¡°DID YOU TRULY BELIEVE THAT YOU COULD STOP ME? I AM A GOD!¡± the giant¡¯s middle head yelled.

    ¡°I HAVE LIVED THROUGH EONS WATCHING CIVILISATIONS LIKE YOURS CRUMBLE TO DUST AND FADE FROM HISTORY.¡±

    ¡°DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH POWER IS CONTAINED WITHIN A MERE PIECE OF MY BODY?¡±

    The thousands of floating eyeballs pped their wings and created fierce winds that crashed into Sophie¡¯s body.

    The hybrid girl was lifted off her feet and flung into a nearby vine.

    The sharp ded thorns on the vine dug into Sophie¡¯s flesh and ripped off chunks of her skin.

    Tears welled up in Sophie¡¯s eye as she tried desperately not to scream out in pain as her bloody wounds stung with even the slightest movement.

    You need to run now ¡­. Move¡­ MOVE!

    Sophie stumbled to her feet and narrowly avoided a thin beam of reddish light that evaporated the vine that had entangled her body just a moment ago.

    ¡°There is no escape child,¡± one of the other heads spoke in a much calmer tone.

    ¡°Why engage in this futile struggle for survival? All mortal creatures no matter how powerful cannot escape the wheel of life and death.¡±

    ¡°We will freely admit that you are certainly one of Khul¡¯s strongest creations, but your strength is nothingpared to a primordial entity.¡±

    ¡°F¡­.¡± Sophie exhaled softly and muttered incoherently.

    The middle head clearly wanted to continue attacking but the head who tried to persuade Sophie gestured for him to stop.

    ¡°What did you want to say?¡± the rxed head asked curiously.

    Sophie stared at the monster who gazed back at her from a distance like a god watching an ant crawl through the dirt.

    This was absurd.

    This entire trial was nothing more than a joke.

    How could anyone even hope to survive this?

    A bloodthirsty expression shed across Sophie¡¯s face and just for the briefest of moments¡­

    Her eye was a crimson red colour.

    ¡°I said¡­¡± Sophie grinned with bared fangs.

    ¡°Fuck you.¡±

 Chapter 300: Why Are You Running?!

    Chapter 300: Why Are You Running?!

    ¡°Childish little thing. All your foul mouth knows is nothing but petty insults and low curses that stain our ears,¡± the middle head growled in fury.

    There was a sudden increase in pressure that almost forced Sophie to her knees as the force of gravity in this small world intensified.

    She looked up and saw an endless sea of fleshy appendages hovering in the air with every eyeball in their center glowing a fiery scarlet colour.

    There was a morbid sense of beauty to those abominations as the pitch-ck flesh that surrounded the eyeballs was broken up by tiny star-like patterns.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ if I make it back¡­ you won¡¯t be leaving the bedroom for at least two weeks!¡± Sophie chuckled darkly as she rose up from the ground.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Wave after wave of red energy beams sliced down at her location as the god of destruction clearly wanted to put an end to this hunt.

    It was shameful for a powerful entity to have to struggle to kill a creature that was nothing more than a weakling.

    Sophie found her body slowly slip out of her control as her powerful instincts caused her movements to be involuntary.

    She ducked and weaved through the heavy barrage of destructive high energy attacks while making full use of her ded appendages.

    Sophie¡¯s mind waspletely nk.

    She barely noticed the nearby trees instantly evaporating into dust particles nor therge clouds of dirt that were kicked up from the impact.

    The vines thaty across her path cut bloody wounds into her flesh as Sophie desperately tried to escape with her life.

    Swish!

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out more metalloid needles which she flung at the floating eyeballs with deadly uracy.

    There was no time to dip the needles in any of her poison vials, so Sophie had to just spit on them.

    Having digested the contents of multiple vials beforehand, Sophie¡¯s saliva had gained a lethal effect thanks to her venom nds.

    One by one her pursuers sumbed to the noxious poisons and fell out of the sky.

    The floating eyesnded on the ground with a dull thump.

    Their bulging eyeballs would no longer see as the toxins corroded their internal structure. It was this fact that raised the hope in Sophie¡¯s heart.

    It was clear that her poisons worked on the fleshy appendages that grew out of the giant¡¯s body so why wasn¡¯t he affected yet.

    Surely if this so-called ¡®god of destruction¡¯ had poison immunity then it would also apply to any extra appendages produced from his flesh.

    Sophie did not have any time to think about this further as she was still under great pressure from the attacks.

    Even with her constant urate throws using her metalloid needles it was merely a drop in the bucketpared to the vast number of flying pursuers.

    Boom!

    Sophie shifted her face to the left and narrowly avoid a piece of rock that split off from a nearby boulder that was destroyed.

    Blood constantly dripped down as she ran through the forest from the numerous wounds that covered her body.

    Exhaustion was beginning to set in.

    Sophie was originally an arrow at the end of her flight and this final burst was nothing more than the effect of a temporary boost in adrenaline.

    She could feel her movements gradually begin to slow down.

    Even if her movements slowed by just a fraction of a second¡­

    It was enough to make the difference between life and death.

    There was nothing more frustrating that knowing that your instincts would help you stay alive, but your body simply could not keep up.

    Boom!

    Sophie¡¯s leg finally gave out when she stumbled on a particrly heavy vine and the hybrid girl crashed to the ground.

    A thin red beam of energy passed right where her head was just moments ago and hit a bush that immediately disintegrated.

    ¡°Come on¡­ just give¡­ please¡­¡± Sophie groaned as she gripped the thorny vine with her right arm and pulled her body forward.

    The sharp ded edges of the thorns pierced her flesh, but she continued to slowly crawl through the forest undergrowth like a worm.

    ¡°Not¡­not¡­now¡­¡± Sophie muttered as her vision slowly darkened around the edges.

    Perhaps if she had even the smallest strand of qi in her dantian, Sophie would be able to force her body to move.

    But this trial had sealed all of her abilities as a cultivator.

    The floating eyeballs still hovered menacingly in the air above her location but oddly enough they no longer fired any more sts.

    They simply watched.

    They watched as the ant-like existence that had fought with the most powerful being of this small world wriggle her body through the dirt and mud.

    Blood soaked the soil as Sophie¡¯s open wounds were exposed to the sharp pointed ends of the pebbles and rocks.

    Still¡­ she kept on going.

    Maybe this was all futile.

    Sophie would be lying if she said that there were no regrets in her mind as she painfully nudged her way one inch at a time.

    All she had at the moment of death were regrets.

    She never told her father how much she loved and cared for him.

    Never got to meet her mom or visited the Insectoid Empire.

    Didn¡¯t have the chance to see her friends one more time¡­ or Cleo¡­

    Time slowed to a crawl as Sophie could no longer tell if seconds, minutes, or hours passed by as shey in the dirt.

    ¡°Now do you understand?¡± a deep voice boomed from above.

    Sophie struggled to tilt her head upwards to take one final look at the creature who would be her executioner.

    There he was.

    The enormous twenty-foot-tall behemoth with eight heads and a muscr hulking frame that would leave any who witnessed it in great awe.

    ¡°What was the point of all this meaningless struggle?¡± the leftmost head asked kindly.

    There was a brief moment of silence in the empty forest before a wild burst ofugher escaped from Sophie¡¯s lips.

    The crazy frenziedughter intensified as Sophie stared at the bewildered giant who could not understand why his prey showed no fear or sorrow.

    ¡°The point? There is no point,¡± Sophie grinned at the beast with bared fangs.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to die to some egotistical bastard who self proimed himself as a god.¡±

    The expressions on the giant¡¯s many faces contorted with rage as Sophie mocked the most important aspect of their identity.

    ¡°I wanted to give you a dignified death you pathetic little gremlin,¡± the middle head growled.

    ¡°BUT YOU HAVE MOCKED US FOR THE LAST TIME! I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU SUFFER A SLOW AND AGNOISING DEATH.¡±

    A reddish glow surrounded the giant¡¯s palms as the destructive ki energy gathered at his fingertips.

    ¡°Not¡­like¡­ this¡­¡± Sophie stumbled to her feet and stood up.

    There were no thoughts of resistance in her mind.

    She just wanted to die standing.

    As the giant brought his hand down with such force that wind mmed against her body, Sophie could not help but observe a tiny detail.

    There was a spot of yellowish-white mucus covering an area on the giant¡¯s foot where she had previously sliced open.

    A crazy idea shed across Sophie¡¯s mind as the shadow of the colossal palm came closer and closer.

    She used her ded appendages to push off from the ground and barely avoided the glowing red palm that crashed down at her previous spot.

    ¡°WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?¡± a loud bellow echoed through the forest.

    This was lunacy.

    This was nothing more than a reckless gamble.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eye and summoned thest reserves of strength that she had left to scale up the titan¡¯s foot.

    Right in front of her was a patch of disgusting yellowish-white mucus that jiggled softly as the giant moved around.

    She had seen this foul biological matter heal the giant instantly, but Sophie had no idea if the effect would also work on her.

    She closed her eye and pushed her body inside this foul-smelling liquid.

 Chapter 301: The Final Plan

    Chapter 301: The Final n

    Warmth.

    It was the first sensation that Sophie felt as she dove into the yellowish-white mucus that coated the giant¡¯s leg.

    The second thing that she instantly noticed was the foul odour that buried its way into her nostrils.

    The yellowish-white mucus had a scent that could only be described as rotten meat mixed with raw sewage.

    Sophie desperately tried not to throw up as despite her best efforts she could not help gagging in disgust.

    Please work¡­ please work¡­ please work¡­

    This was truly Sophie¡¯sst resort.

    She had no other ns left as the colossal behemoth seemed to shrug off any attack.

    The warm ooze-like substance flowed over Sophie¡¯s body and soon a tingling sensation could be felt on the stump where her arm used to be.

    Sophie still kept her eye closed but could feel her other injured body parts such as her missing eye and ear also begin to tremble.

    It worked!

    ¡°Hell yeah¡­ erghh!¡± Sophie roared with excitement forgetting that her face was still covered by the mucus.

    Blerghh!

    Sophie threw up as the nasty smelling liquid entered her mouth and her tastebuds experienced a fate worse than death.

    If she had thought the smell was unpleasant¡­.

    Then the taste of the yellowish-white mucus was even worse.

    There was no words Sophie could use to describe the taste other than vomit inducing.

    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!¡± a loud voice bellowed from above.

    The giant was forced to disperse the destructive KI energy gathered on its fingertips and shook his knee repeatedly to try and force the hybrid girl off.

    Sophie¡¯s body jerked around like a ragdoll under the force of the giant¡¯s movements, but she stubbornly hung on.

    The four ded appendages on her back plunged deep into the flesh of the so-called god and stabilised her posture.

    The shaking was getting worse as the giant seemed determined to get the hybrid girl off his body as soon as possible.

    Sophie opened both eyes and saw the rage filled expressions on the many faces of the giant.

    Wait¡­ both eyes?

    She raised up her right arm and then cautiously lifted up her left arm as well. Sophie saw that her missing arm had fully regenerated.

    The new flesh was still a pinkish-red colour but as she yfully wiggled her fingers, it seemed that everything was working properly.

    A spark of joy filled Sophie¡¯s heart as she realised that her body was now fully recovered.

    The yellowish-white mucus also appeared to have filled her body with energy as she no longer felt any trace of exhaustion.

    Sophie nced up and saw the shadow of an enormous palm getting closer and closer to her location.

    The giant realised that he could not dislodge this tiny nuisance from his foot using shaking motions, so he decided to ruthlessly strike his own body.

    Sophie used her ded appendages to quickly scale around the giant¡¯s lower leg and narrowly avoided the palm that crashed against the creature¡¯s flesh with a dull thump.

    The force behind the blow was so powerful that a loud cracking noise could be heard as the giant¡¯s bones shattered under the impact.

    Sophie could see yellowish-white mucus bubbling up just beneath the surface of the giant¡¯s skin right at the point of impact.

    Was there no way to beat this god?

    Any damage done to him whether by Sophie or even himself was non- lethal due to his tremendous healing ability.

    Wait¡­what about damage done at a rate that was too fast for the giant to recover from?

    Sophie¡¯s eyes darkened and a bloodthirsty snarl shed across her face.

    Her figure was hidden behind the ankle of the god, so the creature didn¡¯t notice the predatory look that surfaced on his target.

    Many months had passed since Sophie had undergone her hybrid metamorphosis and she could now control her ded appendages as easily as her normal limbs.

    Sophie used the ded appendages on her lower back to hold her body in ce while the ded appendages on her upper back burrowed into the giant¡¯s flesh.

    She used the hardened ends of her appendages to dig into the god¡¯s flesh and rip out chunks of meat and body tissue.

    ¡°Stop that now!¡± a painful groan came from the middle head.

    Sophie frantically increased her rate of digging as swarms of floating eyeballs swooped down to her location.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie coughed out tiny flecks of blood as the flying eyes rammed into her body one after the other.

    It seemed that the giant was wary of using his destructive sts seeing that Sophie was clinging onto his body.

    Sophie theorised that his destructive energy could not be healed but it was a shame that she had no way to use this information.

    The titanic creature was forced to use the simple and violent method of blunt force trauma to eventually dislodge the hybrid girl.

    Sophie reached for a nearby clump of yellowish-white mucus and grabbed a handful using her right arm.

    Wincing internally, she spread the mixture on the exposed areas of her body suit that were being attacked by the eyeballs.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie jolted forward and barely managed to hold on as another heavy blow was enough to cause her spine to ache.

    The hole in the giant¡¯ flesh was gettingrger andrger, and Sophie could now see the all too familiar mucus bubbling up along the sides of the wound.

    Now!

    Sophie gripped the sides of the wound using her bare hands and started to carve a humanoid shaped hole into the flesh using all of her ded appendages.

    There was only one way to defeat this creature¡­

    From the inside!

    Sophie ignored the painful jolts on her back and jumped inside the open wound just as the mucus started to fill up the gap.

    The surroundings darkened as the mucus bubbled up and sealed off the entrance to the hole that Sophie had created.

    She was now trapped inside the giant¡¯s body.

    Flesh was slowly starting to regrow but whenever the space got crowded, Sophie would use her ded appendages to clear out the meaty chunks.

    There wasn¡¯t much time.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out vial after vial of poisonous substances.

    She had never tried to mix such a high number of different toxins together, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes could prate the darkness inside the giant¡¯s body so she could clearly see the multi-coloured substances inside the vials as well as theirbels.

    There were five vials spread out in her palm.

    Listera¡¯s tears, Basliereea blood, Latusa sap, Serpentine venom and Xreane¡¯s concoction.

    The contents of each of these vials by themselves was enough to kill a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    Combining all of them together would be enough to harm even a void stage cultivator.

    Sophie¡¯s hands shook as she poured each vial into her mouth without hesitation.

    There was an immediate feeling of bloodlust as Sophie¡¯s venom nds sucked up the mixtures with undisguised glee.

    It was an addiction sensation.

    Sophie could feel her body throb with power as her fangs lengthened and her eyes shed crimson for a brief second.

    She knelt down and dug into the ck flesh of the giant using her ded appendages.

    The hybrid searched for a few minutes until she could find what appeared to be a vein that was filled with a purplish liquid.

    Sophie opened her mouth wide and bit the thin membrane that was covering the vein using her fangs.

    The venom stored in her nds was instantly discharged.

    The substance was so corrosive that the membrane instantly dissolved into a goopy mess.

    Sophie watched in sick fascination as her venom mixed with the purplish liquid and travelled through the vein towards an unknown location.

    Hopefully, this would be enough to finally kill the beast.

    Now all she could do was wait.

    However, Sophie did not have any time to rx as the mucus that bubbled up in her temporary space was constantly regenerating the damaged areas.

    She was forced to constantly chop up the newly grown flesh using her ded appendages.

    The chunks of meat that fell to the ground had to be disposed of so Sophie ced the excess flesh and fat that was filling up the space in her storage bag.

    God¡­ she was not looking forward to cleaning up her spatial storage after this.

 Chapter 302: An Important Choice

    Chapter 302: An Important Choice

    Bloody chunks of fleshy on the ground as Sophie continued to aggravate the wound inside the giant¡¯s body.

    Her ded appendages sliced with an almost surgical-like precision through theyers of muscle, bone, and tissue.

    Sophie was forced to constantly steady her body as the colossal beast shook and wriggled his knee repeatedly.

    The heavy vibrations knocked her to the ground several times, but Sophie just kept getting back up.

    It was truly an unpleasant experience being trapped inside the giant¡¯s body as the internal temperature was around thirty-nine degrees and there was heavy moisture in the air.

    Droplets of sweat ran down the sides of Sophie¡¯s face and she had to constantly wipe her brow to avoid getting it in her eyes.

    ¡°That looks so disgusting,¡± Sophie groaned as she saw pale yellowish- white mucus bubbling up from the cracks in the giant¡¯s flesh.

    The scent of rotten meat filled the air as Sophie tried desperately not to throw up. However, something was a bit different this time¡­.

    Beneath the pungent odour entering her nostrils, the hybrid girl could smell a delicious tangy scent.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes in confusion and looked around the enclosed space.

    Where was that scenting from?

    Sophie jerked ufortably as her body started to move on its own. It was like something was calling her towards a certain location.

    The ded appendages on Sophie¡¯s back remained in her control so she absentmindedly continued to slice off the newly grown flesh while walking in an unknown direction.

    The space was not particrlyrge, so it only took Sophie a few minutes to reach what appeared to be a transparent fleshy membrane covering a bluish-purple organ.

    She could not believe that she hadn¡¯t notice this mysterious object before.

    The organ behind the wall was roughly the length of her entire body and was oval shaped.

    Thick green veins pulsated regrly around the organ and every few seconds a pale milky white substrate would leak out and be absorbed by the surrounding nerve cells.

    Sophie¡¯s body moved involuntarily, and her right palm easily pierced through the transparent membrane.

    It was hard to describe the feeling Sophie had when she reached through the membrane and grabbed the strange organ.

    Touching the organ felt rough and bumpy as tiny, raised microtubules covered every inch of its surface area.

    There were thick fleshy webbing surrounding the organ, but Sophie¡¯s ded appendages easily sliced through these restraints.

    Sophie had no idea why this thing had triggered a reaction from her predatory instincts but every fibre of her being was shouting to consume it.

    She gripped the sides of the organ firmly and then steadily pulled the organ using all of the strength she had left.

    ¡°Come on¡­e on!¡± Sophie gritted her teeth as the organ refused to budge.

    Inch by inch the organ slowly begun to move until thest webbing snapped and it fell out of the membrane.

    Sophie jumped to the side and avoided the bluish-purple organ that crashed to the ground with a dull thump.

    She had no way of knowing at the time but as soon as she pulled out the organ, every head on the giant¡¯s body coughed out flecks of blood.

    ¡°What is¡­is¡­happening?¡± the middle head groaned in agony as blood begun to leak out of its ears.

    ¡°Why¡­ aren¡¯t we healing?¡± another head cried out as a painful throbbing sensation could be felt in its chest.

    Sophie¡¯s poison had finally reached the giant¡¯s heart.

    The noxious mixture of five deadly poisons had travelled through the creature¡¯s circtory system causing damage wherever they passed.

    The walls of the giant¡¯s heart were instantly corroded by the toxic liquid and the venom begun to attach to the organelles inside.

    Listera¡¯s tears calcified the oxygen transport system while the Basliereea blood, Latusa sap, Serpentine venom and Xreane¡¯s concoction sent the heart into anaphctic shock.

    The so- called ¡®god of destruction¡¯ did not even have any time to react as each of the heads made a simultaneous gasping noise.

    They all tried desperately to breathe not knowing that the poison hidden inside their body had reached the lungs as well.

    It was a total organ failure.

    In ast-ditch attempt, the giant tried to gather destructive KI energy at its fingertips andunch an attack on its own knee regardless of the consequences.

    Thin red wisps of scarlet energy gathered above the giant¡¯s middle and pinky fingers, but it was now toote.

    With a choking whimper, the colossal behemoth that had ruled this small world for eons fell backwards to never rise again.

    The yellowish-white pus bubbled up around the damaged organs and attempted to repair them, but the creature was long dead.

    Sophie was mmed against a nearby flesh wall as the giant fell to the ground and got up with a painful grunt.

    She stumbled her way towards the organ that had attracted her attention but a sudden bolt from her danger sense snapped her out of this strange state.

    Sophie quickly ced her hand on the organ and transferred it to her storage bag before turning around to run.

    She used her ded appendages to carve out a new hole on the surface of the giant¡¯s skin and burst out of its body like a parasite.

    Sophie¡¯s entire body was covered in a mixture of blood, ooze, mucus, and pus.

    She smelled horrible and the bloodthirsty expression on her face would send chills down the spine of anyone who saw her figure.

    Her danger instincts were still ring up, so Sophie hurriedly jumped off the giant¡¯s knee and took a few steps backwards.

    Was the creature still alive?

    Sophie hesitantly moved towards a nearby grove of trees and hid behind the tall bushes for a few minutes.

    She cautiously looked up to the sky for any floating eyeballs but saw nothing except clouds merrily floating along in the breeze.

    The titanic creature was over twenty feet in height, so Sophie had to walk along the length of its gigantic frame in order to confirm its death.

    As Sophie crept through the forest floor, she discovered that the thousands of floating eyeballs nowy on the ground motionless.

    Their pupils were zed over and there was a scent of death wafting up from their corpses.

    Joy filled Sophie¡¯s heart as she was now cautiously optimistic that her venom was enough to finish the giant off.

    Her footsteps gradually got faster and faster until she was almost at a sprint. The many faces of the giant gradually came into view.

    Sophie slowed down as she saw the corpse of a god.

    Each of the faces had various expression of shock and fear.

    Even at thest moment, they could not understand how a mortal had managed to defeat a divine being.

    Sophie stood silently with aplex mood in her heart. There was equal parts happiness and a sense of aplish but a bitter emotiony beneath her good mood.

    She was reminded once more how dangerous the world she lived in truly was.

    No one knew if their next fight would be theirst.

    She still needed to face the captain in the near future but at least her limbs had now fully regenerated.

    Wait¡­ weren¡¯t her injuries still present in the vision of the future?

    No¡­ maybe she had changed the series of events leading to the fight already.

    Sophie frowned in contemtion but gradually shifted her focus on the present.

    She noticed that her danger sense that had been constantly ringing in her mind had gotten worse as she approached the giant¡¯s corpse.

    Where was the threating from?

    Sophie took a quick nce at the surrounding area and saw thin red wisps of energy dancing around the fingertips of the giant.

    These tiny wisps were from the god¡¯sst desperate attempt tounch an attack.

    Sophie cautiously took a couple of steps backwards and stared at the scarlet energy that moved around in a mesmerizing pattern.

    Without anyone to control them, the thin wisps of energy plunged into the now still body of the giant.

    Sophie watched as the corpse of the god gradually crumbled to dust piece by piece until there was nothing left.

    If she were still inside its body¡­ she would have also been killed by the destructive energy.

    Soon the only thing that remained from the once powerful being was therge crater in the ground where it fell.

    Sophie remained by the outer area of the crater motionlessly.

    Her hair was caked with dried blood and now she only felt sticky and ufortable.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A loud ringing noise suddenly red out from an unknown location and soon a floating wall of green text appeared in her vision.

    [Congrattions On Defeating The God of Destruction!]

    [Do You Wish To Receive His Divine Powers?]

    [Yes] [No]

    [Please Note: Your Choice Will Affect How The Rest Of The Trial Progresses]

 Chapter 303: Ascension To Godhood?

    Chapter 303: Ascension To Godhood?

    [Please Note: Your Choice Will Affect How The Rest Of The Trial Progresses]

    Sophie carefully read all the lines on the floating wall of green text, but it was thest line in particr that caught her attention.

    This was the first time in the trial that she had been presented with a choice at the end of a stage.

    Divine powers¡­

    It certainly sounded tempting.

    Sophie could still vividly recall the powerful scarlet energy that immediately disintegrated anything it came in contact with.

    Even if the divine powers turned out to be the gross yellowish-white mucus that boosted regeneration¡­

    That wouldn¡¯t be a bad option either.

    But if there was one lesson Sophie had learnt from interacting with the Hunter Goddess was that power always came with a price.

    If her strength increased drastically then it was only logical to assume that the difficulty of the trial would also rise as well.

    The decision to make was if this gift was truly worth the risk.

    Sophie sat down on the soft grass and looked up at the clear blue sky. Fluffy clouds floated merrily along the breeze while the warm rays of the golden sun shone down on her face.

    It was a rare moment of peace and tranquility.

    Sophie closed her eyes and silently contemted as the minutes passed by.

    There was no time limit urging her to select an option, so she took this opportunity to rest and rx.

    She had just spent over two hours battling a twenty-foot-tall god, so it was important to use this time to calm down and think.

    There was no way of knowing how exactly the trial would change depending on her choice or perhaps that was the entire point.

    Was this a test to separate the brave from the cowardly?

    Or was it to separate the calm from the impulsive?

    ¡°I¡­ I just want to go home,¡± Sophie sighed heavily as she opened her eyes and nced at the floating wall of green text.

    She got up from the ground and yawned sleepily before walking over to the two options.

    [Yes] [No]

    Sophie pressed the floating ¡®[Yes]¡¯ expressionlessly but her clenched fist that trembled slightly betrayed her inner nervousness.

    The wall of green text trembled for a moment and then vanished. There was a brief moment of silence as Sophie remained standing motionlessly.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Two loud ringing noises echoed through the quiet forest before new words appeared in front of Sophie.

    [Stage 3- Trial Completed]

    [Choice Selected¡­. Divine Godhood]

    Boom!

    The clear skies instantly darkened to night as an enormous swirling vortex of scarlet energy formed in the center of the small world.

    This whirlpool of pure destructive KI disintegrated the nearby trees and rocks until thend was barren and empty.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense went haywire as the immense force being emitted from the whirlpool almost brought the hybrid girl to her knees.

    A thin translucent beam of white light shot out from the center of the whirlpool and hit Sophie in the middle of her chest.

    This mysterious light covered Sophie in a soft but warm embrace.

    Divinity and holiness surrounded Sophie¡¯s body that would cause any observers to bow down in worship.

    This energy was different from the powers granted by the Hunter Goddess.

    Channeling the goddess¡¯ abilities felt like a powerful surge of adrenaline surging through her body.

    It was passionate, deadly, and addicting.

    This divine power by contrast felt more like afortable nket gently warming up her insides.

    Sophie could sense that the white translucent beam of light was about topletely fuse with her core.

    She closed her eyes and prepared for the baptism into godhood.

    One minute passed¡­.

    Then two minutes¡­.

    Then five minutes¡­

    Sophie tentatively opened one eye only to see the translucent beam of light desperately trying to crash into her chest.

    There was now an invisible barrier surrounding Sophie¡¯s body that prevented the divine light from invading.

    All of the energy that had entered Sophie must have been expelled as she could no longer sense the warmfortable feeling.

    Err¡­ was this also part of the trial?

    Did she need to break the barrier or something?

    Sophie cautiously pushed her hand outwards but did not touch the mysterious barrier as she expected.

    This aura shield was akin to a second skin that hovered two inches off her body. No matter how hard Sophie tried, she could no longer bathe in the divine light.

    New words formed on the wall of floating green text.

    [Error! Error! Error!]

    [Attempting Godhood Fusion¡­.]

    A much stronger beam of translucent light shot out from the whirlpool. While the previous ray of energy was just a thin strand, this was more like a waterfall of divine power.

    Sophie¡¯s entire vision filled with white as a powerful tidal wave of divinity crashed into her body.

    She closed her eyes once more and waited¡­.

    Nothing happened.

    [Error! Error! Error!]

    [Attempting Godhood Fusion¡­.]

    This time the size of the beam tripled in size so that Sophie was nothing more than a mere antpared to its vast enormity.

    Sophie was forced to close her eyes this time as the brilliant white sh was so bright that it would probably make her go blind.

    The minutes passed by¡­

    Still nothing.

    Five minutes passed before the immense beam gave up for a third time.

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes and muttered, ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s probably safe to assume this isn¡¯t working.¡±

    [Error! Error! Error!]

    [Attempting Godhood Fusion¡­.]

    ¡°Wait!¡± Sophie shouted up at the sky.

    The scarlet whirlpool paused as if frozen in time. Even the random tiny sparks of scarlet energy randomly shooting out of the whirlpool hung in mid-air.

    Huh¡­ she didn¡¯t expect that to work.

    Sophie remembered the strange aliens from the room with the stone pods that changed thenguage settings so she could understand the trial instructions.

    Clearly, they had some degree of control over the trial or at the very least could watch her movements.

    It was a shot in the dark to try andmunicate with them but maybe the error messages had already attracted their attention.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I just change my choice to ¡®No¡¯,¡± Sophie yelled loudly to the creatures monitoring the trial.

    [Choice Selected¡­. Mortal]

    There was a crackling noise as a mysterious force sucked the scarlet whirlpool out of the small world.

    Sophie almost fell as the ground began to tremble violently and the green text changed for thest time.

    [Beginning Teleportation To The Final Stage¡­]

    It was thest thing she saw before the world shattered into pieces.

 Chapter 304: Challenge And Desire

    Chapter 304: Challenge And Desire

    Sophie tentatively opened her eyes and found herself sitting down on the edge of what appeared to be an enormous volcano.

    She casually wiped some sweat out of her eyes and took a closer look at this new area.

    Waves of intense heat brushed against her face as the temperature was so hot that she could see the air shimmering.

    Sophie turned around to observe more details about the surrounding area but was greeted by¡­.

    Nothing.

    Beyond the edges of the volcano was just a pitch-ck void.

    This entire world only consisted of a single volcano whose magma constantly boiled and bubbled to its surface.

    Still there was something quite strange about the magma.

    No matter how violently it bubbled and crashed against the walls of the volcano¡­.

    Not one single drop left the crater¡¯s entrance. It was like an invisible bubble kept the dangerous substance contained.

    Sophie kneeled down and gently ced a finger on a nearby rock. ck ash coated her fingertips as the pebble immediately crumbled.

    This was the final stage of the trial.

    Sophie remained vignt even as her danger sense was oddly silent. She could not sense the presence of a threat but that made her even warier.

    How could thest obstacle in the trial be harmless?

    ¡°Drakanesor? Noar le¡¯ foranek kaneroc?¡± a soft melodic voice suddenly whispered in Sophie¡¯s ears.

    Sophie instinctively punched backwards towards the direction of the voice but the only thing her fist encountered was air.

    This mysterious person must be invisible!

    The hybrid girl¡¯s golden eyes gleamed as her vision shifted into a world of orangish-red. Sophie scanned every nook and cranny along the volcano¡¯s edge but found nothing.

    But where had the voicee from?

    ¡°Hello? Is anyone there?¡± Sophie yelled out.

    ¡°Noar le¡¯ kon norkera kon¡¯ doyes?¡± the mysterious voice replied in a puzzled tone.

    Anguage barrier?

    Sophie furrowed her brows as all she could hear was a mor of different noise that formed what vaguely sounded like words.

    Didn¡¯t the people in charge of the trial already adjust thenguage so she could understand it?

    The mysterious person clearly wanted tomunicate with Sophie as it spoke a few more times,

    ¡°Ferp xknera¡¯ losorae fokorra.¡±

    ¡°N¡¯real kon reaghear?¡±

    Sophie could detect a hint of frustration and me in the tone of the creature¡¯s voice but there was really nothing she could do about it.

    She was just as lost!

    ¡°Look I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying,¡± Sophie sighed helpless and replied even though she knew it was useless.

    ¡°Q¡¯renaer dorcos sonear fokkoreas!¡± an enrage shriek pierced the quiet world.

    Buzz!

    Sophie fell to the ground in pain as a mental spike drove deep into her mind. A series of headaches caused the hybrid girl to writhe around in agony.

    She tried to scream but even moving slightly was enough to cause ripples of pain to spread through her body.

    It was felt as though her mind was being ripped apart from the inside.

    This mental attack could havest for mere seconds or even days as Sophie lost all track of time in her confused state.

    Suddenly just as quickly as the pain appeared, it vanished in an instant.

    Sophie felt a warm soothing energy enter mind and start to repair the damaged areas in her psyche.

    ¡°What a strangenguage your species uses. I don¡¯t understand why your kind feel the need to use so many sybles and vowels,¡± the voice suddenly spoke with some bemusement.

    The mysterious creature was now speaking in themon tradenguage of the Earth Federation despite Sophie mainly speaking Unvoren since being teleported to the Unova Syndicate.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­What¡­did¡­ you¡­.¡± Sophie tried to reply but the aftereffects of the mental attack were causing her head to spin.

    She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down by breathing slowly.

    Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­

    Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­

    Breathe in¡­. breathe out¡­

    The warm energy was still pouring into Sophie¡¯s mind and soon the pounding headache was reced with milder twinges of pain.

    Sophie opened her eyes and saw a humanoid figure rising up from the center of the volcano by slowly levitating upwards.

    The mysterious alien¡¯s body wasposed purely out of magma but there were vague resemnces to Sophie in appearance.

    It had an identical body physique to Sophie along with her hybrid traits such as pointed ears and four ded appendages.

    The only noticeable exceptions were ack of visible eyes, mouth, nose, or any other facial features.

    A floating golden crown adorned with what appeared to be ruby-like gems sparkled with a bright red light.

    The restless magma at the bottom of the volcano calmed down and the bubbling liquid turned into a peacefulke of fire.

    ¡°Sorry for the pain, that was my only mental technique that would not drive you to the brink of insanity,¡± a voice whispered in Sophie¡¯s ear.

    ¡°What are you?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    She couldn¡¯t detect any hint of qi energy in the creature¡¯s body.

    In fact, it was almost as though she could assume that the humanoid alien waspletely harmless.

    Well, that was if Sophie hadn¡¯t just beenpletely incapacitated by a mental attack from the mysterious foe.

    ¡°I am the guardian¡­ or maybe you could call me the grand treasure that awaits at the end of your sufferings,¡± the voice chuckled.

    ¡°You will either pass this stage and gain your reward¡­. or join me as an ember servant.¡±

    The humanoid alien raised her right palm into the air and out of the volcano¡¯s depths, numerous creatures swarmed out in waves.

    Each creature was also made from magma like the alien in the center, but their bodies and appearances differed greatly.

    Some were humanoid, some were quadrupedal or bipedal while others were contorted and twisted monstrosities.

    There were some outfitted in various armours with symbols that Sophie did not recognise while others only wore simple tribal attire.

    They lined up neatly behind the alien like a well-trained army and the intense heat emitted from their bodies caused more sweat to drip down Sophie¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Tell me challenger¡­.¡±

    A golden staircase appeared in the middle of the volcano that began where the alien floated in mid-air and connected to the edge where Sophie was standing.

    The humanoid alien purposely walked forward with an aura of grace and dignity that Sophie had only seen before in high nobles of great houses.

    Each step was small, but space seemed to be distorted in this pocket dimension as it only took five steps for the alien to stand in front of the hybrid girl.

    Sophie reached for her hidden needles as she came face to face with a mirror image of herselfposed of molten rock.

    ¡°What do you desire?¡± a dark seductive voice whispered.

 Chapter 305: One Last Story To Tell....

    Chapter 305: One Last Story To Tell¡­.

    ¡°Home.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± the humanoid alien tilted her head.

    There were no facial features on the creature¡¯s face, but Sophie could somehow sense a feeling of shock and disbelief.

    ¡°I said¡­. I want to go home or at least get out of this crazy trial,¡± Sophie stared at the guardian with nothing but firm determination in her gaze.

    There was a tense moment of silence.

    Sophie could feel the beads of sweat slowly running down her skin as the heating from theva army was raising the temperature to ufortable levels.

    Buzz!

    A sharp jolt of pain shook Sophie to her core as she could feel an unwee presence digging around her mind.

    At least this time the mental attack was just a light probe, so she was able to avoid falling to the ground in agony.

    Sophie gritted her teeth as a steady stream of blood began flowing down from her nostrils.

    She could only bear with it as the alien continued to relentlessly sweep through her inner thoughts.

    ¡°You¡­ aren¡¯t lying,¡± the guardian finally spoke hesitantly.

    Sophie took a few minutes to catch her breath before replying in a snarky tone, ¡°Yeah. I figured it didn¡¯t make sense telling a lie to a mind reader.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Do you have any idea what you would gain bypleting the trial?¡± the guardian whispered in shock.

    Err¡­ wasn¡¯t it just being able to survive?

    No¡­ there was something else¡­ the strange voices in the room with the stone pods had mentioned something¡­

    What was it?

    Sophie wiped some blood off her upper lip and desperately tried to recall what were the details of the conversation.

    To be fair, it was quite difficult to concentrate with a constant mental fog and headaches from the previous attacks.

    ¡°Was it a seedling from some kind of holy tree?¡± Sophie tentatively guessed.

    ¡°SOME KIND OF HOLY TREE!?¡± a loud bellow echoed through the small world as the guardian levitated several feet into the air

    The army ofva creatures behind her seemed to sense her rage as loud snarls and cries filled Sophie¡¯s ears.

    An immense pressure bore on the hybrid girl that was so powerful that cracks appeared in the ground where she stood.

    Waves after waves of intense heat made Sophie feel as though she was about to be cooked alive.

    There was already a burning scent in the air as the tips of her hair had caught on fire due to the high temperature.

    Sophie hurriedly used a sharp dagger to slice off the burning pieces.

    But just as quickly as the guardian¡¯s righteous anger appeared¡­.

    It vanished in an instant.

    The powerful guardian gently floated down to the ground and made a series of hand gestures into the air.

    Theva creatures grunted unwilling, but their bodies reverted back into a formless river of magma that dropped into the volcano.

    ¡°My apologies for losing my temper,¡± the guardian bowed its head towards Sophie.

    ¡°Ipletely understand why you seem to be treating this trial as a danger rather than the incredible opportunity that it presents.¡±

    ¡°Can I share a story with you? I promise that once you finish listening, I can send you out of the trial immediately.¡±

    ¡°Of course, if you instead choose to finish this final stage then that will be your decision.¡±

    The guardian clearly noticed that the heat radiating off its body was causing Sophie difort, so it stepped back a few meters.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes at the humanoid alien that was mimicking her appearance and fell into silent contemtion.

    Was this a trap?

    The voices from the creatures overseeing the trial had clearly said that this trial could not be stopped once it began, and that it would only end with one survivor.

    But now the boss of the final stage was giving her a way out?

    Sophie clicked her tongue and quickly made a decision. There was an immense power difference between the two sides.

    All of her poisons were useless as this alien was made of molten rock. Toxins would have no effect due to its extraordinary physique.

    Perhaps if she had gotten those divine powers then things would be different but there was no use crying over what had or hadn¡¯t happened.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I am willing to listen,¡± Sophie said politely with an indifferent smile.

    The guardian made another series of hand gestures and this time an enormous pir ofva emerged from the center of the volcano.

    Sophie could see five golden boxes that resembled chestsying peacefully on top of the molten rock.

    The guardian floated over to one of the chests and caressed it lovingly.

    There was a great deal of care and respect in her movements.

    Sophie could now hear a soft whisper flowing directly in her ears despite the guardian being several meters away and only focusing on the chests.

    ¡°My story begins ten millennia ago¡­.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°As you may know, there are powerful entities far beyond the realm of normal cultivators.

    They are all manner of abominations, gods, legends, and monstrosities that would drive any mortal who got a glimpse at their image mad within seconds.

    Thews of the universe are strict, and these vastly powerful beings are unable to directly influence this dimension.

    It¡¯s a cruel irony really.

    Limitless power but being unable to use it.

    One could even say that it was the same as having no power at all.

    Still¡­ this only prevented these higher existences from using their powers directly.

    They had the ability to whisper and send dreams into the minds of mortals.

    Oracles, champions, and priests could hear them directly and some were even lucky enough to receive a fraction of their god¡¯s powers.

    There were even some ambitious gods who desired more¡­.

    Sending a bit of strength to devotees was helpful but it was far from enough to make their chosen ones unmatched throughout the universe.

    Then¡­ a particrly foolish god decided to make a mortal into a vessel.

    Vessels are different from those lucky worshipers in a number of important ways.

    Firstly, a god can only ever have one vessel at a time.

    Secondly that vessel muste from a bloodline or a race that ispletelypatible with the god¡¯s powers.

    Else the divine gift would instantly explode their bodies or corrupt them into hellish twisted creatures with no sense of reason.

    Andstly¡­ the god must be willing to entrust a piece of their godhood into the body of their vessel.

    This links the mortal and god with a bond that is unbreakable.

    Idiotic and foolhardy are the two words many of the other eldritch beings used to describe the gods who chose to do this.

    Admittedly these vessels can directly influence the universe in ways that the god desires, but the risk is far too great.

    The death of one of these vessels is enough to permanently cripple the god who ced his godhead inside because of the shared link.

    But what if there was a way to gain divine strength that was almost as strong as a vessel but without the cost¡­¡±

 Chapter 306: The Foolish Mortal And A God

    Chapter 306: The Foolish Mortal And A God

    ¡°Many years ago, a clever mortal woman from a civilisation long lost to the ravages of time managed to breach the barrier between this universe and the higher nes.

    No one knows how this weak mortal managed to slip through the cracks of the universal wall as none since have ever been able to aplish this great feat.

    Crossing to the higher nes may be a feat that can never be replicated. The mortal woman was amazed to find herself in the banquet hall of a royal pce owned by the great Sun god Apopthis.

    The god was shocked to find a mortal in his holy realm and hurriedly shielded his true form behindyers of enchantment.

    The fearless mortal gazed upon the disguised god with an expression of simple curiosity. Her eyes were pure without even the slightest speck of reverence or awe.

    This displeased the sun god whose followers worshipped the ground upon which he walked.

    His first thought was to banish this disrespectful creature to the realm of the dead by unleashing the burning rage of a thousand stars.

    But¡­ a sudden realisation soon dawned upon him.

    For the first time, a mortal was able to cross from one side of the barrier to the other. This was a rare opportunity that the ambitious god had never encountered before.

    If the barrier could be crossed in one direction¡­ then it stood to reason that may be possible to cross in another direction.

    Apopthis¡¯ face brightened up and emotions hidden behind his eyes changed.

    Being a god of immense strength ced him at a disadvantage as it meant that hecked a specific ability to bend a mortal to his will.

    Unfortunately, being a powerful entity with no control over the output of his strength meant that the god could not use even the slightest force.

    An incinerated creature would hardly be able to speak much less guide him through the process of crossing.

    So, the god decided to try another route.

    Instead of force¡­. he would use charm.

    His appearance shifted and changed to a male of the species that the mortal woman was from.

    Elegance and grace flowed from even his most casual of moves as the god wooed the mortal with all the tricks, he had observed from watching countless races over the eons.

    His ploy seeded and the clever dimensional traveller fell head over heels for the man who was the perfect lover.

    Tall, dark, handsome and with a muscr physique that wasparable to an Adonis.

    The mortal woman enjoyed decades with a lover who never aged and remained in peak physical health and form.

    Apopthis was unusually patient wit the mortal woman and every year on the same date he would ask his lover how she had crossed the barrier.

    And every reply was the same.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    As the years passed, the mortal woman¡¯s hands began to wrinkle and her once beautiful face was now a shadow of its former self.

    The cold winters of autumn had begun to set, and the sun god realised that the creature was at the end of her natural life.

    Theck of any useful information and the knowledge that the traveller was not long for this world finally snapped the thin thread of reason holding the god¡¯s rage in check.

    Frustration and anger boiled in the god¡¯s chest as the decades of wasted time shed across his mind one minute at a time.

    He gazed at the frail bedridden figure of his lover and in a fit of rage decided to burn her to death.

    A loud scream of pain could be heard echoing through the golden castle as the mortal died in great agony.

    That should have been the end.

    A great cosmic mistake that had been corrected and would never be repeated again.

    But as the sun god sat on his throne of mes, he could sense five objects with a bloodline connection to him.

    What was horrifying was the realisation that each of these objects contained a not insignificant portion of his divine strength.

    It took many years of research and consulting with older gods to realise that he had been manipted from the start.

    The mortal woman that he had never even considered as an equal ¡­.

    Had yed him for a fool.

    During the many passionate trysts that the two had shared together, each time the mortal woman would steal a tiny piece of the power from Apopthis¡¯ godhead.

    Each absorption only took a tiny drop of divine strength, so the arrogant god failed to realise that hundreds of droplets would eventually form a river.

    Whether by some kind of dark magic or secret from her civilisation, the mortal woman fused this stolen power into a sacred tree that bore five seedlings.

    She created a guardian using her own lifeforce to ensure that the tree and seedlings would arrive in the hands of those that would deserve them and then sent them out of the higher nes.

    That exined why her appearance had rapidly deteriorated within the span of a couple of years when many of her kind would live for centuries.

    Do you understand now?¡± the guardian whispered as she rubbed her fiery palms against the nearest chest.

    Every stroke of her hand seemed to be filled with nothing but reverence and love for the precious seedlings within.

    Sophie closed her eyes as she tried to process all this information that had just suddenly been disclosed.

    Gods? Vessels? Divine power?

    It was all a little too much to take in all at once.

    Admittedly she did have some knowledge about the existence of higher-level entities beyond the Ascension stage from both the high priestess and the hunter goddess.

    Sophie also knew that she was the hunter goddess¡¯test vessel, but she had never heard anything about godheads.

    Or that the unbreakable link between herself and the goddess was a tremendous risk should she ever die.

    ¡°Wait¡­.¡± Sophie rubbed her temples and gazed at the floating guardian.

    ¡°There is one thing that I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°Please ask away,¡± the guardian calmly replied and gestured towards Sophie for her to continue speaking.

    ¡°If¡­ if the mortal from the story did not want the sun god to get the seedlings, then why do the trials take ce in the middle of his temple?¡±

    ¡°And who are the hidden aliens behind the scenes controlling the trial?

    ¡°Oh, those nuisances,¡± the guardian growled darkly.

    ¡°The space where the seedlings and I reside is in a fixed location which I cannot move from. Years ago, some of the Sun god¡¯s followers found this ce after relentless searching¡±

    ¡°Apopthis was alerted to the existence of this space but as a god he could do little more thanmand his believers to grab the seedling.¡±

    ¡°Naturally, they attempted to take the seedlings by force instead of following the rules of my trial, so I was¡­ a little bit upset and incinerated all of them.¡±

    ¡°Realising they could not beat me in a battle of strength, they simply built a temple around to conceal my location from the outside world.¡±

    ¡°They also created secondary trials to better prepare those attempting the challenge after all of their hopeful taskers failed miserably¡±

    ¡°Only the followers of the sun god would be able to find this ce¡­. is what they assumed¡±

    ¡°Admittedly this location is fairly well hidden, and this assumption was due to the fact that only the first batch of followers and the sun god knew about this ce.¡±

    ¡°Hence the sun god could rest assured when he sent messages to his oracles to speak prophecies to his devotees and inform them where to search.¡±

 Chapter 307: A Generous Gift

    Chapter 307: A Generous Gift

    Sophie felt a strange sense of respect when she saw the guardian¡¯s intense devotion to the five golden chests that were suspended above a pir of me.

    She couldn¡¯t imagine being trapped for thousands of years in a world of ash and smoke with nothing to do except protect five powerful artifacts.

    Or perhaps the guardian had been created with a sense of duty and dedication towards her task.

    There was even a small part of Sophie that was honestly a bit tempted towards getting one of the seedlings.

    Who would be crazy enough to turn down the opportunity to gain divine strength without a cost?

    The problem was that she was already a vessel of the hunter goddess.

    Judging by what happened in the previous stage of the trial, it was probably safe to assume that divine powers from other higher-ne creatures were ipatible with her aura.

    And these seedlings were created from splitting off a portion of the sun god¡¯s strength. Sophie¡¯s moment of contemtion was interrupted by a sudden voice.

    ¡°It is time for you to make a decision,¡± the guardian spoke firmly.

    ¡°Will you stay andplete my final challenge? Or will you leave this trial and never have the opportunity to return.¡±

    ¡°Make your choice.¡±

    The featureless mask of the guardian¡¯s faceposed of molten rock was the perfect cover for theplex emotions that were hidden behind the steady tone.

    None of the other challengers had ever epted her offer to leave.

    The allure and temptation of divine power was a promise that was hard to resist.

    Immortality and the strength to travel through the vast universe unhindered was the ultimate goal of most cultivators.

    The influence of the seedlings would also increase the likelihood of sess for any Ascension stage cultivators attempting to cross the barrier to the upper nes.

    Sophie smiled gently at the floating guardian as she casually ced her hidden needles back into her storage bag.

    There was no trace of desire or regret in her expression as she looked up to the guardian and spoke softly,

    ¡°I would like to leave the trial.¡±

    The small world fell silent as the guardian floated closer to the only challenger who had just willingly gave up a chance at eternal life.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± the molten humanoid asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sophie replied with the same easy-going smile.

    It was as though this decision was an easy one for the challenger who just calmly waited for the guardian to send her out.

    Hahaha!

    A loud chuckle echoed in Sophie¡¯s ear as the guardian¡¯s shoulders shook with a mixture ofughter and pure shock.

    ¡°So be it,¡± the guardian whispered softly

    ¡°I will keep my promise and expel you from the trial.¡±

    Two palms slowly began to make a series of hand gestures in a pattern that was both mysterious and strange.

    From the edges of the small world, there was a crackling noise and Sophie could see the pitch- ck void beyond the volcano slowly moving in.

    The space seemed to be frozen in ce and then the scenery started to blur as Sophie¡¯s vision darkened.

    Thest image Sophie saw was the guardian¡¯s figure changing from her image into an enormous ming serpent that grew to a colossal size.

    Sophie yelled out as the void reached her feet,

    ¡°Thanks for everything¡­. I hope you can find someone who is worthy of those seedlings!¡±

    Before leaving she saw the guardian shoot a warm energy st in her direction. Sophie fell into the void at the same time that the st hit the middle of her chest.

    There was a feeling offort as the energy prated the surface of her skin and spread through her body.

    This time instead of a whisper, Sophie could hear the guardian talking directly into her mind.

    [My gift to you¡­]

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha- 099)

    (Unknown)

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes and found herself back in the underground tunnel inside the sinkhole.

    She tried to make out some details about the surrounding area, but all she could see was thick walls of ck dirt.

    It seems as though she had been buried in an open hole that was a few feet deep.

    There was a pounding sensation in her head and a sharp pain in her ankle that was hard to ignore at first but then gradually faded away.

    A harsh green light shone on Sophie¡¯s body from an unknown location and the bright re forced her to ce a hand above her eyes.

    This light swept Sophie¡¯s body multiple times but turned off after a few minutes and the room fell back into darkness.

    What the hell was going on?

    Sophie tried to grip both sides of the hole¡¯s walls to hoist her body upwards but was shocked to find that there was barely any strength left in her dantian.

    Wait¡­ my injuries!

    The hybrid girl hurriedly pulled a pocket-sized device out of her storage ring and tilted it to face her direction.

    A much gentler beam of white light scanned Sophie¡¯s body and soon a three-dimensional image was projected above the device.

    Oh, thank goodness.

    Sophie breathed out a deep sigh of relief as the image of her body with all of her missing limbs fully restored was shown.

    Even the mild injuries caused during the trial as well as the stone statue hours prior had been mysterious healed.

    There were even no wrinkles on her skin!

    The only major concern that Sophie had to deal with now was theck of qi in her dantian.

    It was important to be at full strength before leaving the hole as Sophie had no idea what the situation above was like.

    Sophie sat down in a cross-legged position and began to circte the Spider Whisper Art.

    She could feel warm energy pouring into her meridians and it seemed that her body cells trembled with joy.

    It was like a dry sandy desert had finally received rainfall after hundreds of years.

    A quick smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she continued to circte the qi gathering method.

    After two hours passed by uneventfully, Sophie could feel her body throbbing with power as her dantian was filled to the brim.

    She bent her knees and leapt out of the hole with a casual hop.

    The room she found herself standing in was a familiar but unpleasant sight.

    It was the ce with the murals painted on the walls that depicted various images that all represented the might of the sun god.

    Heavy stone pirs jutted up from the ground with strange carvings written in anguage she could not read.

    Sophie was instantly on her guard as she remembered the terrifying stone beast that had nearly taken her life.

    The details of the monstrous creature from its vaguely humanoid torso, five arms, and ten legs to the misshapen prehensile appendage that was wrapped around its waist was burned into Sophie¡¯s mind.

    However, the room was nowpletely empty with the horrifying abomination nowhere to be found.

    There was also a major detail that Sophie had noticed as soon as she took note of her surroundings.

    Numerous holes were scattered across the room with each having a thin green tendril that was plunged inside.

    Sophie turned around to look at her hole and saw the dried up remains of a vine that was presumably in there with her.

    She curiously walked over to one of the other pits and looked down at whaty within.

    There was a humanoid figure inside that was tightly wrapped up inyers of twisted vines.

    She could not make out many details about the body as the vines obscured her vision but there were a few uncovered parts that showed what looked like metalloid armour

    This was one of the knights!

    Wait¡­ did every hole contain her fellow members of the expedition?

    She ran from hole to hole and checked to see if her theory was correct.

    To Sophie¡¯s surprise, she found that some of the holes were empty with the only thing left inside being the dried up remains of the vines.

    Sophie walked around and spotted a slightly bigger hole hidden towards the back of the room.

    She took a cursory nce inside but found something unexpected.

    The person inside the pit was Captain Dawn.

    Sophie almost didn¡¯t recognise the wrinkled body covered by the vines, but the grey hair was unmistakable.

    Sophie still vividly recalled that the captain had removed his armour and his appearance had be a frail old man thanks to the stone statue.

    This was the chance she was waiting for!

    Killing intent filled Sophie¡¯s heart as she reached for a sharp dagger in her storage bag and knelt down to stab its ded edge directly into the heart of the captain.

    Just for good measure, she poured on the sharp edge of the de multiple vials of dangerous toxins and chemicals.

    Sophie crouched over the edge of the hole and used her spider appendages to slowly lower her body.

    There was just a thin barrier of vines blocking the captain¡¯s exposed skin from the outside world.

    Without hesitation, Sophie plunged her knife downwards with an expression of rage and fury on her face.

    Suddenly she paused with her knife just two inches from the surface of the green vine.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense just let out a sharp warning.

    There was no visible threat present, but Sophie could sense that if she had tried to cut the vine¡­

    She would have died instantly.

 Chapter 308: The Determination To Never Give Up

    Chapter 308: The Determination To Never Give Up

    Sophie took onest look at the frail figure of the captainying helplessly in the hole and turned away.

    ¡°Okay I won¡¯t harm him!¡± she shouted out.

    Sophie¡¯s voice echoed through the empty room but there was no response.

    What a pain in the ass¡­.

    It was fairly obvious what was going on.

    Judging from the green light that had scanned Sophie¡¯s body when she woke up, it would be logical to assume that the sun god¡¯s worshippers controlling the initial stages of the task were watching her every move.

    Perhaps the green light had scanned her body to search for the seedlings or maybe there was some other purpose.

    If the worshippers saw that she had obtained the seedlings, then who knows what would happen¡­

    Inside the underground caverns she could not move without slowly testing what was and was not allowed.

    Direct attacks on the captain while he was still wrapped in the vines had resulted in a warning, but Sophie had another trick up her sleeve.

    A bloodthirsty snarl shed across her face as she pulled out a small metalloid device from her storage bag.

    This device resembled an insect with four slender limbs and a thin de-like needle that jutted out of its center.

    This loophole relied on Sophie¡¯s guess about the mentality of the secretive worshippers.

    Clearly the sun god hadmanded his followers to retrieve the seedlings for him.

    But could all of his followers resist the allure of immortality?

    The knights of the Hyperion Order were a separate group from the worshippers in the underground caverns and hence there must be some level of mistrust.

    No doubt the secretive worshippers nned to retrieve the artifact either by force or persuasion from anyone who imed it.

    She couldn¡¯t kill the captain while he was undergoing the trial but his life after he failed or passed had nothing to do with those watching.

    At least that was what her theory assumed¡­

    In fact, they would probably wee it should the captain pass the final challenge and im one of the seedlings.

    Save them the trouble of killing him themselves¡­

    Sophie focused on her danger sense as she ced the device near the edge of the pit. At the first warning sign, she would halt all activity.

    There were a few raised buttons along the sides of the device which she pressed in quick session.

    A soft hissing noise could be heard as a secretpartment opened in the back of the device that waspletely empty.

    Thispartment was then filled with the contents of three vials containing highly toxic substances and then closed carefully.

    Sophie pressed another button and a tiny scanner in front of the device was activated.

    The trap was nowplete.

    Katarina had given her many weapons and dangerous trinkets when she had left for university, and this was one of the more useful ones.

    A mobile injector that was outfitted with a startium needle capable of prating into even ss four armours.

    The only downside was the slow speed of the device and its short range.

    Sophie could not guarantee that the captain would be struck by the attack but the poisons inside were enough to kill a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    And there was no way to trace this device to her.

    Sophie left the device at the edge of the pit and took a few steps backwards while cautiously looking around.

    Nothing.

    Her danger sense did not react, and the unseen threat appeared to have vanished. It seems that Sophie¡¯s assumption was correct.

    The memory of the terrifying stone abomination was still clear in Sophie¡¯s mind, so she wanted to get out as soon as possible.

    A future n would need to be made in case the captain survived the miniature drone but that was not a priority at the moment.

    Sophie took onest look at the underground chamber and fled towards the open tunnel she had travelled along to enter the room.

    She did not see a green light scan her drone numerous times before shutting off once an assessment was made.

    The memory of a cultivator was photographic, so Sophie had no problem retracing her steps through the darkness.

    The stale musty air underground made her feel a bit lightheaded, but it was nothing that she could not deal with.

    Numerous small rocks crumbled beneath her feet as Sophie ran pass an endless sea of drawings depicting the fearsome image of the stone abomination.

    There was a blue light up ahead that shone with a glow that was oddly hypnotic. Sophie channeled her qi into her legs and confidently jumped into the blue light.

    She opened her eyes to find herself back in the familiarrge open space of the sinkhole.

    Numerous yellowish- red flowers swayed slightly beneath her feet as the light from the blue crystals protruding from the walls lit up the space.

    Sophie spotted the climbing gear still in ce and gripped one of the metalloid ropes.

    With practised ease, the hybrid girl began scaling up the wall using her ded appendages for extra stability.

    It was now nighttime and the pale blue moon shone high above in the sky.

    It was a wee sight for Sophie who was just about ready to get the hell out of this cursed ce.

    The distance to the top of the sinkhole from the bottom was around sixty feet but Sophie easily climbed the distance in around fifteen minutes.

    Sophie grunted as she gripped the edge of the sinkhole with her right palm before hauling the rest of her body upwards.

    She crawled onto the dusty sand and saw the stern figure of numerous Hyperion knights staring at her.

    Metalloid helmets covered their faces, so Sophie did not know what they were thinking.

    Tension filled the air but it was broken by one of the knights.

    ¡°Did you seed?¡± an eager voice came from the front of the squad.

    This voice was oddly familiar.

    Sophie thought for a moment and then remembered it matched the second-inmand of the knights whose real name was Ragnar.

    In an instant, Sophie fixed her expression and begun her performance with no trace of acting in her demeanor.

    ¡°No¡­ I only managed to reach the second stage,¡± Sophie bitterly replied.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t figure out what the voice behind the door meant by what valuable thing I own.¡±

    Sophie spoke with a tone of bitterness and regret that was impossible to fake.

    The knights could sense that the captain¡¯s guest was disappointed that she hadn¡¯t progressed further in the trial.

    ¡°Same! That challenge was impossible!¡± a younger voice yelled from the back of the crowd. The voice belonged to an alien wearing the squire uniform.

    Ragnar sighed heavily and spoke, ¡°Ahh¡­ well¡­I guess no one has seeded yet.¡±

    ¡°Can you exin what¡¯s going on? One moment I was with the exploration team and then I was taking part in some challenge,¡± Sophie asked with some confusion.

    ¡°There was a sudden loss ofmunication, so we assumed that something unexpected had happened,¡± Ragnar exined calmly.

    ¡°I was about to organise a rescue effort when one of the squires climbed up and exined that he had died and then woken up in a pit.¡±

    ¡°After that¡­ well¡­ people just came up one after the other. No one had any major injuries, and some had even established some form ofmunication with the entities behind the scenes.¡±

    ¡°Apparently the nt that we have all been searching for is given as a prize to anyone whopletes all the stages.

    ¡°In fact, there may be an added healing benefit to anyone who undergoes the trial because some of our men had old wounds recover and I see that even your missing limbs have regrown.¡±

    Sophie thoughtfully stayed silent for a brief moment and then nodded in understanding.

    Not a single one of the knights could find any traces that she knew all of this information already.

    Ragnar gestured towards the campsite and spoke warmly,

    ¡°We are going to keep guard for the rest of the night so why don¡¯t you head back to your tent.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ you all have a good night,¡± Sophie replied with an easy going smile and then headed towards the resting site.

    She nodded politely at the knights as she left and received a few nods back. The familiar spherical shaped mobile homes came into view.

    Sophie spotted the captain¡¯s tent easily as it was in the center of the rest site and walked over to the metalloid door.

    Knock! Knock!

    The door swung open, and Lily dashed into Sophie¡¯s arms with a cry of relief. The hybrid girl wrapped her arms tightly around the sleepy looking little girl.

    ¡°Why did youe back sote?!¡± Lily demanded with tears in her eyes.

    Clearly the second-inmand hadn¡¯t told her what had happened in the sinkhole.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry baby¡­ it won¡¯t happen again I promise,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she gently stroked Lily¡¯s back.

    Sophie nted a soft kiss on Lily¡¯s forehead and lovingly yed with the soft ck hair that curled down the little girl¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°I don¡¯t forgive you¡­.¡± Lily pouted and stared at Sophie with a cute expression.

    Sophieughed and wiped away a few tears that had formed on the corner of her eyes.

    The entire time during the trial, Sophie could not help but worry about what would happen to Lily if she died.

    Holding the soft body of the eight-year-old girl made all those fears melt away.

    Sophie knew that the journey back home would only get more dangerous from here.

    But she would never give up.

 Chapter 309: We Need To Leave Tonight

    Chapter 309: We Need To Leave Tonight

    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and tuck you into bed,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she walked into the circr pod.

    The interior of the tent was exactly as she remembered.

    Captain Dawn was a strange man with no decorations or furniture except for the bare minimum.

    It was a relief that there were multiple bedrooms inside the pod as Sophie would not have beenfortable leaving herself unguarded and in the open.

    The bedroom Lily was staying in had an additional mattress on the floor for Sophie to rest.

    There were other rooms avable, but Sophie wanted to stay within arms reach of Lily in case of an attack or ambush.

    Sophie gently ced Lily on the soft nket and hummed softly as she tucked the little girl inside.

    Lily yawned sleepily as Sophie stroked her hair with care and gentleness in her movements.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the tired girl to slip away into a deep sleep. Sophie smiled yfully as she saw a thin bubble of drool form on the bottom of Lily¡¯s mouth.

    This was a peaceful moment.

    Sophie walked behind the cot and saw thefortable mattressying on the floor in the exact same position as she remembered.

    Despite being healed after the end of the trial, it had been a mentally exhausting ordeal to the point where Sophie just wanted to sleep.

    Still there was something she needed to do before bed.

    Sophie pulled a tiny metalloid device from her storage bag and pressed a button on the right side of its body.

    A harsh red light scanned the room multiple times for any listening or spy devices.

    The light was so powerful that it prated the walls of the bedroom and also swept the adjacent bathroom.

    This was a habit Sophie had picked up from the first day she had woken up in the captain¡¯s tent.

    Every day the results would be the same, but Sophie still maintained vignce.

    She still recalled the unusual emotion hidden in the captain¡¯s gaze whenever he looked at Lily.

    The light swept every nook and cranny but there was nothing shown on the reader. Sophie shut down the scanning device and prepared for bed.

    The bodysuit she was wearing was still a bit dusty, so Sophie pressed a small button on the back and the material melted off her body.

    Sophie curvaceous body with two sensuous peaks was on full disy in the middle of the room.

    She nced at Lily to make sure the little girl was still asleep and then headed towards the bathroom.

    There was arge bathtub in the middle of the room that was already filled with a greenish liquid that swayed gently from side to side.

    Sophie skillfully operated the temperature control and soon the greenish liquid inside the bathtub started to bubble slightly.

    She waited a few minutes for the liquid to heat up before gradually slipping into the mixture with a sigh of contentment.

    Sophie could feel all the dirt and grime covering her body melt away under the effect of the cleaning liquid.

    Nothing beat a warm bath after a hellish day.

    Sophie closed her eyes and allowed her mind to fully rx for the first time in what seemed like days.

    Still even in her moment of rest, Sophie could not help thinking about the weakened figure of the captainying down in the pit covered in vines.

    The drone attack could not be traced back to her but naturally it was impossible to avoid suspicion.

    Of course, this nning would only be needed if the captain survived the attack, but Sophie always prepared for the worse.

    Regaining her lost limbs was indeed a blessing and more importantly, it showed that the future vision that she had seen had already been changed.

    As for what direction things would develop¡­.

    Sophie had no idea.

    Wait a minute¡­.

    Sophie sat up in shock as she realised that the mercenary ship travelling to the frontier region was supposed to leave in a few days.

    The size of the unknown desert was not particrlyrge and on hoverbike it should take around two days to get back to the meeting point.

    It would be safe to assume that since the nt¡¯s location had been found, the Hyperion knights would have sent a message to the higher ups.

    Mercenaries and other secondary forces would probably be forced to leave the since the goal had already been aplished.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as she thought of a dangerous possibility.

    Right now, Lily and she were the only non-members of the Hyperion Order to know the location of the seedlings.

    Would the Hyperion Order let them live?

    The importance of the seedlings could not be understated, and it was precisely for that reason that the religious organization would not want the news to spread out.

    They needed to leave tonight.

    Captain Dawn was still stuck in the trial and the majority of the knights were keeping guard at the entrance of the sinkhole.

    But it was important to have a n.

    They needed to find a way to escape unnoticed but also not raise any sort of suspicion for the next few days.

    The group in charge of the mercenaries was ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯ and Sophie could only rely on the fact that they were probably not aware that Lily and she were travelling with the knights.

    If the Hyperion Order wanted to clean them up¡­

    Then any information about their route and movements would most likely be hidden.

    Sophie got up from the bathtub and stepped into the drying chamber where hot air blew away the traces of the greenish liquid from her body.

    The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out anotherbat bodysuit.

    Sophie simply needed to ce the material on her chest and the memory foam would wrap around her body until she was fully covered.

    Now to deal with the most important step of the escape n.

    Transportation.

    Most of the hoverbikes were kept in the central area of the rest site and fortunately that area wasn¡¯t heavily guarded.

    Sophie had not counted the exact number of hoverbikes that the knights owned but knew that there was extra.

    Stealing one bike would not raise any rms and just in case, she did have a scanner that could detect any positioning devices or trackers on the hoverbike.

    It was unthinkable to the knights that someone could possibly sneak past theyer of watchmen protecting the campsite just to steal a transport vehicle.

    Still¡­

    There were at least two squires on active duty so she would need to take them out quickly or sneak past.

    But what could she do to prevent the knights from realising that the captain¡¯s guests had left?

    Sophie frowned and sat quietly in a cross-legged position. This was not something that could be solved with violence.

    Circting the Spider Whisper Art, Sophie opened her eyes to find herself floating around the empty void.

    Inside the space was the familiar stone monument but this mysterious realm also acted as a mental space, so Sophie was able to materialise the library of knowledge that her aunt had given her several months ago.

    Knowledge about the various techniques and skills of the Arachnais tribe as well as their culture.

    Sophie floated over to a certain section and scanned the familiar technique of ¡®Rsychosis¡¯.

    Creating multiple physical clones was probably the best option but Sophie had only ever mimicked the appearance of her own body.

    Rsychosis was extremely powerful but there were obviously a few downsides to this incredible technique.

    The first being that the mirror images did not have the full strength of the original.

    And more importantly, the copies would die within the span of a week. That gave Sophie just enough time to pull this off.

    Sophie scanned through the lines of text and searched desperately for a way to change her mirror image into the appearance of others.

    There it was!

    Sophie let out a sigh of relief at the rtively straightforward method. It was a bit unpleasant, but she needed to take a small sip of blood from Lily.

    The hybrid girl took a quick nce at the floating stone monument and then stopped circting the Spider Whisper Art.

    Opening her eyes, Sophie found herself back in the bathroom in the same cross-legged position.

    She got up from the floor and headed towards the bedroom where Lilyy sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

    ¡°Sorry baby,¡± Sophie whispered quietly as she reached into her storage bag to pull out a small container.

    She unscrewed the white cap and then dipped her fingertips inside to brush a thinyer of ck powder on Lily¡¯s nose.

    The little girl snorted ufortably and shifted around a few times. This was a mild numbing agent that would keep Lily from feeling any pain.

    Sophie took out an empty syringe and ced the sharp needle against Lily¡¯s arm.

    The line from the scroll had rmended to rip and tear into the flesh and then swallow the blood directly but Sophie was not going to risk hurting Lily.

    She plunged the needle into the flesh of Lily¡¯s arm and quickly withdrew a small quantity of blood.

    Without even looking at the syringe, Sophie immediately took out a healing salve and covered the injection site.

    She ced a gentle hand on Lily¡¯s cheek and nted a soft kiss on the little girl¡¯s forehead.

    Lily opened her eyes sleepily and smiled warmly at her beautiful big sister.

    Sophie touched Lily¡¯s chubby cheek and spoke openly about what would happenter.

    It didn¡¯t make sense to keep her in the dark and more importantly¡­.

    Sophie knew that Lily had a good impression of the captain and the knights who had been kind to her, so she didn¡¯t want her to be tricked in case something went wrong during the escape.

    She didn¡¯t spare any detail from the mysterious trial to the possibility that the knights might try to kill themter.

    The only thing that Sophie didn¡¯t mention was the killing order from the hunter goddess.

    Bing a vessel of an ancient primordial being was a secret that Sophie could not easily tell even to those she trusted.

    Sophie stared at the little girl with firm determination in her golden eyes,

    ¡°Lily¡­¡±

    ¡°We need to leave tonight.¡±

    It was now time to put her escape n into action.

 Chapter 310: The Great Heist

    Chapter 310: The Great Heist

    ¡°Okay sweetie,¡± Sophie leaned closer and nted a soft kiss on the little girl¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to grab one of the hoverbikes and then we can sneak out of the camp together.¡±

    ¡°Stay inside and under no circumstances should you open the door.¡±

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and handed Lily a tiny metalloid sphere. If all went to n, then there would be no need to use this device, but it was important to prepare for the worst.

    There was just so much that could go wrong during the escape.

    Sophie was confident that she could kill any of the Hyperion Order knights with the exception of Captain Dawn but having to protect Lily at the same time would put her at a noticeable disadvantage.

    Lily held the metalloid sphere in her hand and shot Sophie a puzzled look of confusion.

    Seeing that the little girl clearly didn¡¯t understand, Sophie exined in a soft whisper,

    ¡°If someone enters the room by force, I want you to click the reddish button on the side of this sphere and throw it at them.¡±

    ¡°When the room fills with white smoke, you need to run to the bathroom and close the door as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Wait for me inside.¡±

    What Sophie had given Lily was a modified smoke bomb that had a particrly nasty effect on cultivators.

    It would cause the qi in their meridians to flow backwards and cause a bacsh.

    Of course, this only affected cultivators in the qi body and spirit stage.

    Lily was unlikely to be affected as there was only a small amount of qi in her body because children would only formally begin cultivation training at age ten.

    Before that wealthy families would just improve their children¡¯s natural physique with the help of rare herbs, gic serums, and light exercises.

    Lily nodded in understanding and ced the sphere down on the bed.

    It would be a lie to say that Sophie didn¡¯t feel a bit worried.

    She tried to reassure herself that leaving Lily alone in the captain¡¯s tent shouldn¡¯t be dangerous.

    It would be impossible to sneak past the knights guarding the hoverbikes with Lily on her back or held in her arms.

    ¡°Big sister¡­¡± Lily tugged Sophie¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Are you going to be safe? I heard that those knights are very strong!¡±

    The worry and concern hidden in Lily¡¯s eyes sent a warm feeling through Sophie¡¯s body.

    She had been fearful about Lily¡¯s safety this entire time not realising that the little girl probably felt the same way.

    Sophie bared her fangs and yfully tickled Lily¡¯s stomach until the little girl couldn¡¯t stopughing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry baby,¡± Sophie whispered with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    ¡°Your big sister is stronger than all of thembined.¡±

    Sophie spent the next ten minutes reassuring Lily that she would be okay and handed the little girl some more gear just in case.

    Most of the items she took out from her storage bag were protective in nature as Lily had not been professionally trained to use or handle high firepower weaponry.

    The little girl was now covered inyers of security from hand-sized barrier devices to a camouge mask that could change her facial features.

    Unfortunately, Sophie did not pack filtration masks due to her immunity to toxins which was a mistake in hindsight.

    Lily could not be given any of her poison vials as her immune system would probably copse from even the mildest toxin in Sophie¡¯s arsenal should a drop make contact with her clothing or skin.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m heading off now,¡± Sophie gently smiled at Lily and got up from the bed.

    ¡°I should be back in thirty minutes at most.¡±

    The little girl nodded furiously and also tried to put a brave smile on her face. Sophie could spot tiny teardrops forming on the corners of Lily¡¯s eyes and felt a small stab of pain in her heart.

    Not trusting herself to speak, Sophie just continued to smile and walked out of the room with a confident strut.

    Projecting a strong image was the only thing she could do to reassure the worried child.

    There was only one option for the n tonight and that was sess.

    Sophie walked up to a nearby window and scanned the immediate surroundings for any knights.

    The campsite was eerily quiet. A pale blue moon illuminated the various circr pods scattered around the rest site as most of the knights were asleep or at the sinkhole.

    There were two steps of the escape n that were particrly dangerous.

    The first was stealing the hoverbike and the second was actually leaving the rest site without being noticed.

    Using the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique to create decoys would only be effective if no one had seen Sophie and Lily leaving the camp at night.

    Sophie quietly tip toed her way to the back entrance of the captain¡¯s tent and slowly opened the door.

    The cool night breeze gently hit her face and there was a strange feeling of tranquility in the silent desert.

    Naturally, a desert was much colder in the night than during the day, but the temperature change had no effect on Sophie due to her enhanced physique.

    Sophie¡¯sbat bodysuit was all ck but her noticeable hybrid features meant that the clothes she wore would most likely not help to conceal her identity.

    There was a small rustling noise whenever Sophie took a step on the sand, but the hybrid girl melded into the shadows wlessly.

    It was pure instinct.

    Sophie even felt as though someone else was controlling her body as her ded appendages dug into the sand and kept her body low to the ground with fluid motions.

    This was a hunt.

    If any of the knights were looking outside, all they would spot would be a dark shadow shuttling from ce to ce at a lightning-fast speed.

    Golden eyes prated the dimly lit campsite and scanned the surrounding area with machine-like precision.

    The captain¡¯s tent was located in the middle of the rest site while the hoverbikes were kept at the back.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears flickered left to right constantly as she searched for even the slightest trace of movement.

    Perhaps luck was on her side as Sophie reached the area where the hoverbikes were kept without meeting a single knight.

    Hoverbikes used sma fuel in order to maintain their high speeds so exposing them to the low temperatures of night were perfect for cooling down the inner machinery.

    Of course, the hoverbikes also had self-cooling mechanisms built inside but it was effective tobine both to achieve a greater effect.

    It was for this reason why the hoverbikes were not kept inside storage devices when not in use.

    Sophie hid behind arge sand dune and carefully observed without rashly moving forward. The hoverbikes were located inside a transparent dome-like structure with only one entrance.

    However, the biggest problem was thepleteck of cover.

    There was an insurmountable distance of around five hundred meters between Sophie¡¯s sand dune and the entrance to the dome.

    Two knights were guarding the entrance to the dome but judging from the yawning motions that both were making, it seemed to be a boring job.

    Sophie¡¯s enhanced sense of hearing could pick up tiny snippets of conversation, but she didn¡¯t hear anything useful.

    Rather the two knights guarding the dome seemed to be more interested in petty gossip and news about the sinkhole.

    ¡°Do you think the captain has a chance of picking up a seedling?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? He¡¯s the most powerful cultivator here so it is only natural that he will seed!¡±

    ¡°But no one else has gotten it¡­. I have a friend who knows a guy who talked to one of the knights that took part in the trial, and he said it was impossible.¡±

    ¡°Is this the same ¡®friend¡¯ who was bragging about being the next candidate formander while failing two physical examinations in a row?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that has anything to do with it!¡±

 Chapter 311: It Was Time To Leave

    Chapter 311: It Was Time To Leave

    Sophie crouched behind the sand dune and listened absentmindedly to the conversation happening between the two knights.

    The guards were directly in front of the dome¡¯s entrance so it would be impossible to get inside without alerting them.

    Killing the knights or knocking them unconscious weren¡¯t viable options because suspicion would immediately be raised when the guards changed shifts.

    What could she do?

    The distance between the mysterious sinkhole and the gathering point for the mercenaries was at least a two-day journey by hoverbike.

    Going by foot even if she used movement speed techniques would take too much time.

    Plus, Sophie hadn¡¯t forgotten the dangerous flora that lurked below the peaceful appearance of the desert.

    She would need to have arge reserve of qi in her dantian in order to deal with any unexpected threats.

    Distraction was probably her only option in this situation.

    Sophie closed her eyes and began to circte her qi in a specific pattern.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred slightly, and then a mirror image emerged in her exact likeness. The two identical Sophies stared at each other for a brief moment.

    ¡°So, you want me to bring the guards over here while you sneak in the dome? Or are we switching roles?¡± the mirror image asked curiously.

    ¡°No, you got it right the first time. Sneak around the left side and approach the guards from a distance and I will run into the dome while they are distracted,¡± Sophie replied with a grin.

    ¡°Here you take this just in case.¡±

    Sophie reached into the pocket of her bodysuit and handed her mirror image a sharp dagger with a greenish liquid dripping off its pointed edge.

    Unfortunately, the ¡®Rsychosis technique¡¯ could not copy any items that Sophie was not directly holding so the storage bag hung on the waist of the mirror image waspletely empty.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± the clone returned Sophie¡¯s smile with a smirk of her own.

    The mirror image gave Sophie a friendly punch on the arm and then walked away to get into position.

    Using the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique was still a bit unnerving to Sophie even after practising it for several months.

    Especially when she stared at identical reflections of herself that looked exactly the same and retained all of her memories.

    There was a faint connection between Sophie and her mirror images that was simr in a nature to a queen bee and her drones.

    If Sophie concentrated enough, she could see and feel everything that was happening to the clones created by the technique.

    When they died, she would absorb their memories up to the moment of passing.

    Right now, the clone was carefully moving between different sand dunes while taking care not to be spotted.

    The guards needed to be distracted in a way that did not raise any rms and would be forgotten by the time the morning came.

    Or at the very least not be reported to their superior officers.

    Sophie closed her eyes and continued to watch through the eyes of the clone as she reached the spot they had agreed upon.

    ¡°So¡­ what you¡¯re saying is that other squads mighte to the?¡± one guard questioned.

    ¡°Definitely. I mean if none of us can get a seedling then the church has to bring in more people,¡± the other knight replied.

    ¡°In fact, I believe that ¡­. WHO GOES THERE?!¡±

    A shadowy figure peacefully walked out from behind a sand dune and waved towards the knights cheerfully.

    The ded appendages jutting out of the humanoid creature¡¯s back made the knights drop their vignce as they realised that it was just the captain¡¯s guest.

    ¡°Good night gentlemen,¡± Sophie¡¯s clone yelled politely from a distance.

    ¡°Hello ma¡¯am. What are you doing out sote?¡± one of the knights asked calmly.

    ¡°Just talking a walk and getting some fresh air,¡± the mirror image replied with an easygoing smile on her face.

    ¡°Spending the entire afternoon and evening underground for that horrible trial was enough to make me feel sick!¡±

    ¡°You took part in the trial earlier?¡± an eager voice suddenly interrupted. The younger of the two knights hurriedly ran towards the captain¡¯s guest.

    A helmet covered his face, but Sophie¡¯s clone could sense the enthusiasm hidden in his voice.

    This was an unexpected surprise but would make the distraction far easier to aplish.

    It only took around five minutes for the young knight to reach in front of the mirror image and he peppered the clone with numerous questions.

    ¡°Is it true that you need to fight an enormous fire breathing dragon?¡±

    ¡°Did you get to see what the seedlings look like?¡±

    ¡°Were you part of the first exploration team?¡±

    ¡°Yep! I was part of the scouting teams that climbed down the sinkhole. In fact, I came down around the same time as Captain Dawn,¡± the mirror image puffed up her chest and boasted.

    ¡°Do you want to listen in as well? she gestured towards the other knight.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe over, so I don¡¯t have to shout!¡±

    The older knight was a bit more responsible than his younger counterpart, but he also held a great deal of curiosity towards the trial.

    He took onest look at the surrounding area and saw that it waspletely empty.

    Well, the only people here were himself, his fellow knight and the captain¡¯s guest.

    It wasn¡¯t like they were going far so it should be fine. After reassuring himself that everything would be okay, the guard walked towards Sophie to listen to the story.

    ¡°Please tell us as much as you can ma¡¯am,¡± the knight respectfully spoke.

    Sophie¡¯s clone leaned in closer to the guards and began her tale while creating a mysterious atmosphere of intrigue,

    ¡°Well¡­ it all began when I woke up in a stone pod¡­.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile)

    ¡°Damn she¡¯s good,¡± Sophie muttered as saw the two guards move away from the entrance to the dome and head towards the direction of her mirror image.

    Sophie waited for a few minutes patiently and then walked out from behind the sand dune when she saw that the guards were now fully engrossed in the story.

    She needed move directly towards the open entrance while they were distracted.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie circted qi into her leg meridians and activated her movement technique. Her figure blurred and then instantly reappeared next to the entrance.

    All that could be heard was the faint rustling of wind, but it didn¡¯t matter as the guards were too captivated by the story to realise that an intruder had slipped by.

    The transparent dome was a pale white colour and numerous hoverbikes could be seen neatly parked one next to the other.

    Sophie took out a small metalloid device from her storage bag and discreetly scanned the entrance for any traps or rms.

    There was nothing to be found.

    Perhaps the knights were so arrogant that they could not imagine someone getting past the guards.

    Or more likely¡­ the hoverbikes were not considered a particrly valuable resource that needed to have extrayers of security.

    Sophie slipped inside the dome and entered arge open area with rows upon rows of hoverbikes all neatly lined up.

    ¡°Which one to grab,¡± Sophie whispered to herself while walking through the open space.

    She constantly kept scanning the surrounding area to look for traps or rms. Katarina¡¯s words to always remain vignt echoed through her mind.

    The space inside the dome was not particrlyrge and it only took Sophie around four minutes to reach the end of the structure.

    This would be the ideal ce to grab a hoverbike as the number of bikes on the ends of the rows was uneven.

    Sophie picked an inconspicuous white model and walked towards the mechanical vehicle with purposeful steps.

    She could still share her senses with the clone outside so Sophie knew that there was enough time to pull off the heist.

    The metalloid scanner shone multiple red lights on the surface of the hoverbike.

    Unlike before, there was a bleeping noise as a positioning device was found.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and knelt down to pick up a small button-shaped device that stuck to the front end of the vehicle.

    The device was securely attached so Sophie was forced to rip it off the hoverbike using her enhanced strength.

    Should she destroy it?

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure if destroying the positioning device would set off an rm, so she just ced the device on another vehicle and attached it using glue from her storage bag.

    This was a potentially dangerous move, but Sophie genuinely didn¡¯t know what else to do.

    Anyways she needed to leave as soon as possible before the guards got suspicious.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t going to risk the chance of getting caught so she hurriedly ced her right palm on the hoverbike and transferred it into her storage bag.

    She ran towards the entrance with light steps and immediately activated her movement technique to teleport behind the sand dune in the distance.

    It was not a moment too soon as the older guard had just decided to head back to his post after listening to most of the story.

    Sophie let out a small sigh of relief as she saw the armoured figure walk over to the entrance without realising that a theft had urred.

    The younger knight was still talking to her mirror clone, so Sophie took the opportunity to slip away and return to the captain¡¯s tent.

    It was time to leave.

 Chapter 312: A Solemn Promise

    Chapter 312: A Solemn Promise

    The pale blue moon hanging high above in the sky illuminated the endless sea of sand dunes and the humanoid figure that scuttled through the shadows with quiet steps.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes constantly swept the nearby tents and the surrounding area to make sure that she wasn¡¯t spotted.

    Now was the most critical part of the escape n.

    She needed to sneak out of the camp and immediately flee towards the gathering point without being seen.

    The captain¡¯s tent was in the middle of the campsite, so it took the hybrid girl around ten minutes to return.

    Sophie quietly pushed the door open and crept inside. The metalloid device in her palm shone a red light that swept the interior of the tent multiple times.

    She could not afford for anything to go wrong so Sophie was being extra careful.

    It was always better to be safe than sorry.

    ¡°Lily! Are you ready to go?¡± Sophie called out.

    There was a muffled sound of someone jumping off a bed and soon a tiny child ran into the living room.

    ¡°Big sister¡­. you are okay!¡± Lily cried as she hugged Sophie¡¯s knee with as much force as she could muster.

    ¡°I was so worried,¡± Lily gazed up at Sophie with a small pout.

    Sophie gently picked up the little girl and hugged her tightly. The tears on Lily¡¯s cheeks made her bodysuit slightly wet but Sophie didn¡¯t mind.

    Honestly, if she were an eight-year-old child suddenly trapped in a foreignnd, Sophie wasn¡¯t sure she would be able to handle it as well as Lily.

    ¡°There¡­ there¡­ didn¡¯t I say that your big sister is the strongest?¡± Sophie teased as she tickled Lily¡¯s stomach.

    The little girl smiled shyly at her big sister and leaned in to press a small kiss on Sophie¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Are we going now?¡± Lily asked eagerly.

    ¡°Yep! Just let me prepare something and then we will leave,¡± Sophie replied with a confident grin.

    It was important to reassure Lily that everything was in control.

    Besides even if something went wrong, Sophie had confidence in her ability to get them out of the dangerous situation safely.

    Wait¡­ wasn¡¯t there something else she had to do now?

    The decoys!

    Sophie hurriedly ced Lily on the ground and whispered softly to the little girl,

    ¡°Baby you just wait here, and I¡¯ll be back in around five minutes.¡±

    She gave Lily a gentle pat on the head and then walked towards the shared bedroom.

    Opening the metalloid door, Sophie was greeted with the familiar sight of the cot and the old mattressying on the ground.

    Sophie closed her eyes andmunicated with the clone outside about what the next steps of the n were.

    After the pair left, Sophie¡¯s mirror image would return to the bedroom under the escort of the younger knight to ensure that she had an alibi.

    Inside the bedroom would be an identical copy of Lily and the duo would pretend to be the originals for a few days.

    The clones created by the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique would die within a week, so Sophie nned to give her mirror image a miniature bomb.

    If the knights did not attempt to kill them, then the clones would blow themselves up and die in the explosion.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small disc shaped device that made a soft bleeping noise.

    She pressed a small button on the side of the disc which caused the bleeping noise to stop, Sophie then carefully tucked the device under Lily¡¯s pillow.

    Now it was time to use the modified version of the ¡®Rsychosis technique¡¯ to create a copy of Lily.

    Sophie pulled out the syringe from her pocket and stared at the tiny pool of blood gathered in the vial.

    With a smooth motion, Sophie unscrewed the top part of the syringe and threw the contents into her mouth.

    Lily¡¯s blood had a slightly metallic vour that was surprisingly not as bad as Sophie had imagined.

    ¡°Maybe I could drink some more¡­¡± Sophie muttered as her golden eyes briefly darkened and a killing intent welled up.

    Pierce!

    Sophie stabbed her fingernails into the flesh of her right arm and used the pain to snap herself out of her sudden frenzied state.

    Don¡¯t lose focus¡­

    Don¡¯t lose control¡­

    Sophie waited patiently for her bloodlust to calm down and then begun to circte her qi in a mysterious pattern.

    ording to the scroll, she needed to constantly picture Lily¡¯s image in her mind while activating the technique.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to bring herself into a state of concentration.

    She could clearly recall even the slightest of details from Lily¡¯s curly ck hair to the mischievous glint in her eyes to her fair skin that was soft to touch.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred slightly and then a tiny humanoid child appeared in the middle of the bedroom.

    The hybrid girl opened her eyes and saw what appeared to be a great sess!

    She could not tell any difference between the child in front of her and Lily in the other room.

    ¡°Well, this is incredible unsettling,¡± Lily¡¯s mirror image spoke using Sophie¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Err¡­ is it supposed to work like this?¡± Sophie asked in shock.

    ¡°How am I supposed to know? I only have your memories remember!¡± Lily¡¯s clone yelled.

    Hmm¡­ it seemed that the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique was not as perfect at copying others as Sophie had assumed.

    She had created a little child that was identical to Lily¡¯s image, but that ¡®child¡¯ had all of her memories and her voice.

    Lily¡¯s mirror image sighed heavily and spoke,

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I think I can pull this off without gathering any suspicion.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just pretend to be sleepy and not talk much.¡±

    Sophie sheepishly nodded and reflexively moved in closer to pat the child on the head, but her outstretched hand was immediately dodged.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m not actually a child so please don¡¯t treat me as one!¡± Lily¡¯s mirror image scolded.

    ¡°Sorry. It was a force of habit,¡± Sophie coughed awkwardly and exined.

    The atmosphere inside the room turned a bit ufortable so Sophie just exined a few more details about how to act in the next couple of days and then left.

    She closed the door quietly but could see the mirror image of Lily holding the bomb in her hand with a bored look.

    Sophie could use the link between herself, and the copies created by the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique so she could sense the difort caused by the clone being trapped in a child¡¯s body.

    She wasn¡¯t really looking forward to absorbing those memories once that copy died.

    But now wasn¡¯t the time for contemtion so Sophie hurriedly threw those distracting thoughts to the back of her mind.

    ¡°Ready to go?¡± Sophie walked into the living room and scooped up Lily in her arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m a little bit scared,¡± Lily admitted as she snuggled closer to the warm chest in front of her body.

    Sophie stared at the little girl with determination in her gaze and whispered softly,

    ¡°Lily¡­I swear that no harm wille to you with me around.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a promise.¡±

 Chapter 313: The Urge To Kill

    Chapter 313: The Urge To Kill

    ¡°Now remember that no matter what happens, you need to stay as quiet as possible,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she opened the front door.

    ¡°If you have to tell me something then tap on my shoulder twice to let me know.¡±

    Lily nodded with a serious expression on her face that Sophie thought was absolutely adorable.

    It was time for the final stage of her escape n.

    Sophie had already exined most of the details to Lily about what was going to happen but that did little to stop nervousness bubbling up in her chest.

    They would need to leave the camp site without being detected and then walk several miles on foot.

    The reason for this was that the sma engines inside the hoverbikes made a loud noise when initially activated.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t going to take the chance of someone overhearing the sound and going out to investigate.

    The majority of the Hyperion knights were in the qi body and spirit stage, but Sophie was sure that there must be a few hiding their true cultivation capabilities.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves and walked out of the captain¡¯s tent.

    The cool night breeze brushed against her face and the pale blue moon illuminated the quiet camp site.

    The camp site¡¯s entrance was located only a few hundred feet away from the sinkhole, so Sophie nned on leaving through the back.

    She held Lily tightly in her arms and began to slowly creep through the maze of floating spherical tents.

    The shadows created from the light of the moon stretched out behind the tents and provided the perfect cover for Sophie to move from one spot to the next.

    Luck seemed to be on her side as Sophie saw that none of the lights were on in any of the tents she passed by.

    Time slowed down to a crawl as Sophie could only hear the sounds of Lily¡¯s heart beating steadily in her chest.

    Thump! Thump!

    Sophie closed her eyes briefly and sent a message to her mirror clone currently still chatting with the young guard.

    It was time for the alibi.

    Sophie saw through the eyes of her clone that the young knight was eager to escort her back to the captain¡¯s tent.

    If Sophie didn¡¯t know that all of the knights had been chemically castrated to remove their desires, she would have thought that the overenthusiastic knight was a suitor.

    Seeing that the n had seeded, Sophie reopened her eyes and continued to trek forward with determination in her gaze.

    Failure was not an option.

    The sands crunched softly beneath Sophie¡¯s feet as she moved through the desert.

    Lily had turned her cute face around, so she was staring at the surroundings with curiosity in her gaze.

    Unlike the captain who had a tent to himself, the other knights would share a temporary housing unit with the other members of their squad.

    What this meant was that there were only twenty to thirty tents scattered around the campsite and most were located towards the front.

    Sophie could already see the wide-open ins of endless sand dunes only a few tents away.

    A thin smile shed across her face as she saw freedom beckoning and the end of the escape n in sight.

    Still the hybrid girl did not rx her caution and if anything, she became even more vignt as the duo reached the final stretch.

    Five tents to go¡­

    Four tents¡­.

    Three tents¡­

    Sophie lowered her body to the ground and used her ded appendages to scuttle across the sand with her movements resembling that of a crab.

    It was not the most graceful of movements but frankly Sophie couldn¡¯t give less of a damn.

    To reach the gathering point safely, she would even be willing to crawl through the ground like a worm.

    Thest tent came into view, but Sophie had to pause her movements as she saw a bright light shining through the upper window.

    She immediately moved behind the shadow of the closest tent and watched in silence as a humanoid figure paced up and down.

    The upper window was a thinyer of ss that spanned the entire length of the floor and provided a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes glowed faintly as she used her enhanced vision to make out more details about the mysterious man.

    The person near the window was wearing a thin sleeveless shirt with a small logo of the sun printed in the front.

    He stood at around five feet in height and had features that were aquatic in nature from blue skin to tiny gills and scales.

    This was actually the first time Sophie had seen a knight other than the captain take off their metalloid helmet.

    But it made sense since the knights probably couldn¡¯t sleepying down on the bed wearing full protective armour.

    Sophie shook those distracting thoughts out of her head and focused on the situation at hand.

    In ordinary times, it wouldn¡¯t matter that someone was a night owl among the knights, but the problem was that the man by the window kept pacing back and forth while taking nces outside.

    There was a short distance between Sophie¡¯s current location and arge sand dune that would block the field of view of the knight.

    An option was to use her movement speed technique to teleport herself and Lily across to the other side.

    But the risk was that someone might notice the qi fluctuations.

    She had only been able to use this movement technique near the knights guarding the hoverbikes because at the time they were both distracted by her clone.

    Should she wait?

    Sophie nced up at the sky and saw that the pale blue moon was slowly sinking towards the horizon.

    Day- night cycles on this unknown were around two times faster than on Gaia so there was only about three hours left until dawn broke.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to wait for a bit. Here¡¯s a nutrient vial in case you get hungry,¡± Sophie whispered quietly into Lily¡¯s ear.

    She slipped the little girl a tiny vial filled with a clear liquid that bubbled slightly.

    There were still enough nutrient vials tost for a few more months but Sophie¡¯s supply was not endless.

    Especially considering her high metabolism rate and energy needs.

    Lily kept silent and nervously gripped the tiny vial with hands that trembled slightly. The clever little girl could sense the tension filling the air.

    Sophie kept her body in a constant state of readiness by circting qi continuously through her meridians.

    This heightened state of anticipation had some unintended side effects as Sophie could feel bloodlust slowly beginning to build up.

    The edges of her golden eyes were beginning to turn a scarlet colour as a crimson hue insidiously crept closer to the center of her eyes.

    Sophie clenched her left fist tightly and allowed her fingernails to pierce deeply into her flesh.

    Small droplets of blood dripped steadily to the ground as Sophie used to the pain to cling to herst threads of sanity.

    Sophie¡¯s mouth twisted painfully as her urge to kill continued to rise.

    The memory of the coppery metallic taste of Lily¡¯s blood was causing her to salivate.

    Sophie mentally chanted a mantra over and over again until the words seemed to be embedded in her mind.

    Do not lose control¡­.

    Do not lose control¡­

    Do not lose control¡­

    The faces of her family and friends shed across Sophie¡¯s mind as well as Lily¡¯s trusting appearance when she told the little girl about her n.

    She needed to remain strong.

    Sophie was just about to stop circting her qi when she noticed that the knight had just walked away from the window and to the center of the room.

    Now was her chance!

    Sophie tightened her grip on Lily¡¯s body and dashed frantically across the distance using only her enhanced physique.

    The knight inside the tent only saw what appeared to be a blurry shadow but when he stepped forward to get a closer look¡­

    No one was there.

 Chapter 314: Enjoy These Memories....

    Chapter 314: Enjoy These Memories¡­.

    Freedom.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened, and she could feel nothing but a surge of excitement running through her veins.

    Unconsciously her steps got faster and faster until she was moving at an all-out sprint.

    The endless sea of sand dunes shed by as Sophie¡¯s blurred figure ran towards the gathering point and away from the camp.

    Of course, she didn¡¯t forget to wrap Lily¡¯s body with ayer of defensive qi in order to protect the small child from the high wind speeds and g-force.

    The floating spherical tents slowly became nothing more than small dots in the distance as Sophieughed madly.

    ¡°We did it!¡± the hybrid girl yelled in glee.

    It was a relief to finally escape the high-tension situation safely and without any missteps.

    The only concern Sophie had left was whether or not the deaths of her clones would serve their purpose as a way for them to die without raising suspicion.

    Logically, it was highly unlikely that the higher ups of the Hyperion Order would allow two outsiders to learn about the prized secret hidden in the temple.

    ¡°Big sister are we okay now?¡± a small whisper broke Sophie out of her thoughts.

    Lily¡¯s eyes were tightly closed as the little girl had been instructed to tilt her head towards Sophie¡¯s chest while moving.

    Sophie gradually slowed down her movements to a more leisurely pace and removed the qi barrier from Lily¡¯s body.

    ¡°Yes baby¡­ soon we can go back to that giant ship and then hopefully within the next few weeks we will be at the frontier region,¡± Sophie exined with a loving smile.

    ¡°As long as mymunicator can get in range of the Federation¡¯s virtualwork then I should be able to send out a message for help.¡±

    ¡°Then we can go back home?¡± Lily asked curiously.

    ¡°I promise,¡± Sophie hooked her pinky finger on Lily¡¯s tiny finger and shook twice.

    It was an old gesture from Sui Meng¡¯s memories that Sophie hadn¡¯t even realised she had picked up.

    Sophie nced back to gauge the distance and realised that the campsite of the Hyperion Knights could no longer be seen.

    The pale blue moon was now sinking towards the horizon just as the first warm rays of sunlight peaked out.

    Sophie could feel the cold chill of the desert slowly fade away as a new dawn approached.

    There was a strange sense of tranquility while walking among the endless sand dunes that was hard to describe.

    For the first time in awhile¡­.

    She felt a spark of hope.

    Even the darkest of nights had to give way to the start of a new day.

    This unexpected teleportation had thrown the pair into one dangerous situation after the next, but they had survived.

    Survive.

    That was all she wanted to do.

    Some may dream of dominating the universe and ruling as gods among men, but Sophie could be happy just byying down next to a warm firece surrounded by friends and family.

    Well¡­ it was not yet time for dreams.

    They still needed to travel to the gathering point within the next two days.

    This was a far shorter time than Sophie would have liked as it meant that the pair would have to rush non-stop for the next forty-eight hours.

    Sophie reached in her storage bag and a silvery- white hoverbike appeared right in front of her.

    The sleek metalloid design was paired with a powerful sma engine capable of travelling vast distances in a short amount of time.

    This was not the first time Sophie had operated one of these machines, so she jumped on the vehicle with fluid motions and pressed the ignition button.

    Pale blue mes appeared beneath the hoverbike as the vehicle slowly rose two feet in the air with a roaring hum.

    Lily pped her hands in excitement and stared at Sophie with sparkles in her eyes.

    ¡°Make sure to hold on to me closely,¡± Sophieughed as she tickled Lily¡¯s stomach causing the little girl to giggle.

    Just for good measure, Sophie pulled out a thin metalloid rope from her storage bag and securely attached Lily to her body.

    Thest thing she needed was for Lily to fall off while the hoverbike was travelling at speeds up to Mach 5 when the engine was fully charged.

    Small dust particles were kicked up into the air as Sophie smoothly operated the hoverbike and begun her long journey back to the gathering point.

    She could only pray silently in her heart that the clones would seed in their mission.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (One dayter¡­)

    (Base Camp Of The Hyperion Knights)

    There was an eerie silence as a legion of heavily d armoured soldiers surrounded two shivering bodies.

    Weapons were drawn and at least ten sma rifles were aimed at the hearts of the two humanoid figures to prevent any escape.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± the older one asked in shock.

    She was an attractive young woman with long flowing ck hair and four ded appendages jutting out of her back.

    Her sinful figure with voluptuous chests and hips would be enough to drive anyone to a state of lust but none of the knights seemed to care.

    ¡°How can you treat us like this?! Aren¡¯t we your captain¡¯s guests?¡± Sophie¡¯s clone demanded in rage.

    ¡°Are you really going to kill us before the captain evenes out of his trial?¡±

    Meanwhile ¡®Lily¡¯ was huddled in her chest and trembling in fear.

    The little girl couldn¡¯t even look at the scary knights that were once her heroes.

    Only Sophie¡¯s clone knew that the only reason why her ¡®Lily¡¯ wasn¡¯t facing the knights¡­

    Was the incredibly bored expression that was prominently disyed on her face.

    Seriously¡­ what a pain in the ass.

    You would have thought that the officers among the knights would just quietly assassinate them during the night but¡­ nope!

    Apparently, they needed to be dragged out of theirfortable beds to take part in some sort of ult ritual.

    Something to do with cleansing by fire or some other nonsense.

    The second- in-mand kept sprouting talk about healing or salvation and the fact that this ritual would allow them to enter the gates of paradise.

    Truthfully¡­. Sophie¡¯s clone had tuned out after the first couple of verses.

    The truly fucked-up thing was that all of these lunatics genuinely believed that it was a great honour for their guests to be burnt alive.

    Sophie¡¯s clone continued to beg and plead with desperation and sorrow in her tone but feeling nothing but contempt in her heart.

    ¡°The high priests of the order have decreed that you are both to be granted the privilege of partaking in the sacred ritual!¡± Ragnar bellowed while holding a thin scroll.

    ¡°For our Lord is merciful! He believes that every sinner has a chance to repent their sins after being baptised by fire!¡±

    ¡°Praise be! For the Sun God in his wisdom¡­

    The scripture reading continued uninterrupted for another ten minutes all while Sophie¡¯s mirror image struggled to keep her expression in check.

    Please¡­ can we wrap this up soon?

    Actually¡­

    An evil grin surfaced on the face of the clone as she remembered an interesting fact about the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique.

    After death all of her memories would be transferred to the original Sophie.

    Immediately her performance increased to a level of higher intensity as Sophie¡¯s clone used all of her acting talent.

    Tears ran down the sides of the clone¡¯s face as she rolled around in the sand with madness that resembled a mental breakdown.

    She screeched and cried like a banshee which interrupted the solemn chanting of the second-inmand desperately trying to finish the ritual.

    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± ¡®Lily¡¯ whispered from inside her arms.

    ¡°Just a bit of payback,¡± Sophie¡¯s mirror image softly responded.

    She ignored the look of confusion on the face of the little girl in her arms and continued to il about wildly.

    Eventually she had to be restrained by several of the knights who mmed her into the ground and wrapped thick metalloid chains around her arms and legs.

    Sophie¡¯s clone didn¡¯t resist and allowed the brutes to painfully mp the metalloid restraints onto her body even as her flesh was bruised and battered.

    ¡°Do not struggle¡­ this is a blessing,¡± a youthful voice sounded in her ear.

    Sophie¡¯s clone nced up to see the familiar figure of the young guard she had conversed with during the night of the escape.

    ¡°A blessing? Well, if this is a blessing then I¡¯d hate to see what you all do as a punishment,¡± Sophie whispered sarcastically.

    Tears continued to run down her face as she appeared to be nothing more than a defeated warrior epting her fate.

    Sophie¡¯s clone could not observe the expression beneath the helmet of the young knight, so she missed the confused look that surfaced on his face.

    He simply could notprehend why someone would not desire a chance to reside in the hallowed halls of the Sun God.

    ¡°We will nowmence the ritual,¡± an elderly voice spoke out from behind the crowd.

    A knight wearing a variation of the metalloid armour that was pure white walked towards the kneeling figures of the two sacrifices with purposeful steps.

    In his right hand was a torch that burned with a brilliant purple me that danced merrily in the wind.

    ¡°Come closer and I¡¯ll blow you all up!¡± Sophie¡¯s clone suddenly yelled.

    The knight holding the me paused and chuckled slightly before replying, ¡°We have already searched your body and removed your storage bag.¡±

    ¡°There is no bomb. Just do not make trouble and enjoy the blessing that is toe.¡±

    It was true.

    The knights had entered the captain¡¯s tent in the morning and before she could react, they confiscated her storage bag and used a scanner to check for any devices on her body.

    But perhaps out of sheer arrogance, no one had bothered to search the little girl that innocently looked at them with an expression of shock.

    That was their fatal mistake¡­.

    ¡°Oh, you¡­. poor fool¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s cloneughed and then screeched in pain as the knight thrust the purple me into her stomach.

    A burning scent of meat filled the air as the clone could feel her flesh char and turn into a smoky mess.

    Sophie¡¯s clone could barely think under the influence of this intense pain but suddenly received a message through the mental link connecting the clones.

    [Can I do it now?]

    [Or do I have to wait for you to be cooked alive?]

    [Alright¡­ I¡¯ll take your screaming as a ¡®yes¡¯]

    The knights saw that ¡®Lily¡¯ was crying out in a mixture of fear and horror as she watched her big sister burn slowly to death.

    None saw that one of her hands was secretly pressing a few buttons on the device hidden in her sleeve.

    A soft bleeping noise could be heard that was masked by the loud cries of paining from the young woman slumped to the ground.

    Three¡­

    Two¡­.

    Thest thoughts that shed through the minds of Sophie¡¯s clones caused identical bitter smiles to surface on their faces.

    Enjoy these memories¡­. my darling creator¡­

    One¡­.

    Boom!

    An enormous explosion erupted from the spherical palm-sized device that immediately sent out a shockwave that hit everything within a sixty-foot radius.

 Chapter 315: A Distress Signal?

    Chapter 315: A Distress Signal?

    Sophie grimaced in pain as the memories of being burnt alive and then blowing up into tiny pieces of bloody flesh flowed into her mind.

    The intense memory was so strong that she unconsciously nced at her arms to make sure that her skin wasn¡¯t charred.

    ¡°Damn¡­ those sadistic bitches could have definitely activated the bomb sooner,¡± Sophie growled darkly.

    Perhaps this was a fatal w of the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique because while it was true that the clones created from this technique would gain a significant portion of her strength¡­

    Evidentially they would also inherit her nasty personality quirks as well.

    The enormous red sun hung high above the sky as the temperature on the desert rose to an ufortable degree.

    Sophie was forced to constantly wipe the sweat that was forming on her brow due to the intense heat.

    Lily was sleeping quitefortable in her arms since the little girl was wrapped tightly in a temperature-regting cloak that constantly cooled her down.

    Unfortunately, there was only one in her storage bag, so Sophie was forced to experience the sweltering heat without any cover.

    But it was important to note that she was cultivator in the qi tide stage, so it was more of a nuisance than an actual problem.

    A day had already passed since escaping from the campsite of the Hyperion knights and the pair had already made tremendous progress in their journey back to the gathering point.

    Sophie frequently checked the tablet device given to the mercenaries after they had left the ship to see exactly where their location was on the

    The hologram projection of the familiar nt was also disyed every time she checked the tablet but frankly¡­.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t care less.

    She already knew that basically all of the flowers on this wretched seemed to be some kind of death trap or worse.

    The psychological scars from having her arm, an eye and ear ripped off by one of these creatures lurking beneath the seemingly boring scenery was not something that could easily be forgotten.

    Sophie was on constant alert as they travelled through the desert with her golden eyes sweeping the surrounding sand dunes for any threats or anomalies.

    Her pointed ears flickered up and down while searching for any noises.

    However, the only sound that could be heard in the quiet desert was the thunderous roar of the hoverbike as it sped through at a breakneck pace.

    Sophie nned on cing the hoverbike back in her storage bag and moving to the gathering point on foot once they got within walking distance.

    There were two major reasons for this with the first being that it would seem quite strange for a mercenary to own such a high-ss vehicle when the majority of the warriors travelling to the frontier region were either poor or desperate.

    And the second reason was that Sophie couldn¡¯t risk the chance that someone recognised the symbols painted on the sides of the hoverbike.

    She had no way of knowing if the knights had met other mercenaries before discovering her injured body.

    Well, it was not a big deal.

    Compared to the dangerous situations Sophie had faced in the trial, this was more of a minor challenge.

    The hybrid girl wiped her forehead for what seemed like that hundredth time and shook off the tiny droplets of sweat that clung to her palm.

    SCREECH!!!!!

    A loud cry suddenly echoed through the desert and snapped Sophie out of her rxed state.

    Sophie quickly tilted her head towards the direction of the noise and saw a sand cloud rising up from the ground.

    Why hadn¡¯t she heard anything beforehand?

    Sophie frowned slightly as she gauged the distance between the hoverbike and the sand cloud.

    Fortunately, this anomaly was still a significant distance away, but the sand cloud kept gettingrger andrger with every passing second.

    This enormous body of sand floated in the air under the influence of some mysterious power and begun to rotate with motions that were simr to a tornado.

    Sophie gripped the handles of the hoverbike and immediately elerated to move away from this unexpected roar.

    The cries only got louder and louder and Sophie¡¯s enhanced hearing could now begin to make out the sounds of fightinging from within the sandstorm.

    There were definitely the distinct noises of a sma rifle firing non-stop as well as the panicked cries for help in anguage that sounded like a dialect of the standard Unovannguage.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A ringing noise came from the tablet given to the mercenaries and Sophie saw a message appear on the screen.

    [Team G Has Requested For Backup]

    The projectile of the nt was reced with a virtual map of the that had a cluster of red dots appear in the same location as the sandstorm.

    Sophie frowned as she remembered what this feature was.

    All of the tablets came equipped with an option to broadcast your current location to send out a message for help.

    The assumption was that any mercenaries nearby would be able to immediatelye to aid of the group in danger.

    The reason why Sophie hadrgely tossed this feature to the back of her mind was that there was no guaranteed reward for helping and besides¡­

    Who could trust a group of warriors that they didn¡¯t even know?

    SCREECH!

    Another harsh cry came from the creature hidden inside the sandstorm along with a soft painful whimper of pain that was almost undetectable.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ where¡­. what was that noise?¡± Lily yawned sleepily and opened her eyes.

    ¡°Nothing baby,¡± Sophie smiled lovingly and silently clicked a button to close the projectile of the world map.

    A good person would probably ept the distress signal and rush in to rescue whoever was trapped inside the sandstorm.

    Sophie only cared about the little girl sitting peacefully in herp.

    Saving anyone else would have to be left up to fate.

    ¡°Do you want something to eat?¡± Sophie asked as she poked Lily¡¯s tummy causing the little girl to giggle.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m hungry,¡± Lily pouted and nced at her big sister with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Alright don¡¯t look at me like that. You know I can¡¯t resist your silly puppy eyes!¡± Sophie scolded yfully.

    The sounds of fighting slowly faded away as Sophie skillfully drove the hoverbike away from the scene.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out four vials of nutrient solutions. Truthfully, Sophie was also beginning to feel a bit peckish.

    ¡°Here you go baby,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she handed a vial to Lily. She made sure to unscrew the top and hand the vial opened already.

    This wasn¡¯t really a necessary step, but Sophie had already fallen into the habit of pampering Lily like a princess.

    ¡°Thank you big sister!¡±

 Chapter 316: Power And Strength

    Chapter 316: Power And Strength

    It was another typical day on this mysterious as the red sun shone high above in the sky and illuminated an endless sea of sand dunes.

    A group of warriors possessing various outfits were currentlyzilyying down on the sand or trying to use the shade behindrge rocks for shelter.

    These warriors were clearly not part of a unified group as they came from different species and the armour and weapons, they possessed varied wildly.

    Some wore little more than fur rags and held primitive weapons such as spears that were made from a glowing metal that gleamed under the sunlight.

    Others were d in more modern battle suits with sma rifles attached securely to their hips.

    Harsh argumentative voices broke the peaceful atmosphere of the desert as the mercenaries bragged loudly to one another.

    ¡°By the All Father! I really hate this fucking.¡±

    ¡°It was only a few weeks ago that an entire swarm of pesky little shits tried to eat me and my squad!¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, it was thanks to my bravery and valor in battle¡­. and my natural tremendous skill in fighting that I managed to survive!¡±

    ¡°So¡­ err¡­ where is the rest of your team?¡±

    ¡°They all died of course!¡±

    ¡°It was a real shame¡­ there was this one chick with the biggest pair of tentacles¡­ god¡­ you should have seen what she could do¡­¡±

    The sounds ofughter filled the air as the mercenaries joked and told stories about what they had experienced on this dangerous.

    Sophie sat down on a nearby rock while casually listening in to the conversation.

    This was one of the rare times that she was extremely grateful that Lily was unable to understand the Unovannguage.

    Otherwise, the innocent little girl would have overheard tale after tale of the sexual exploits that happened between the different squad members during thest few weeks.

    This really wasn¡¯t anything too surprising.

    Working as a mercenary was inherently a risky profession so many chose to live openly and freely as if each day was theirst.

    Perhaps this was even more the case for these poor and desperate warriors travelling to the frontier region to fight a losing war.

    The Sun¡¯s Glory had promised in their recruitment that the government would offer rich rewards for any who bravely chose to stand and fight but that was a load of bullshit.

    Giving the foolish men and women willing to act as cannon fodder a promise of endless wealth was an easy offer to make.

    Especially considering that the loss of gxies and resources to the Earth Federation would cause the value of the currency to plummet.

    Lily squirmed around ufortably in her arms, so Sophie shifted her body slightly to give the little girl some more room.

    The pair had attracted some unwee attention when they arrived just a few hours earlier, but the dangerous aura that Sophie disyed did a good job in scaring away any unwee flies.

    The killing intent hidden behind Sophie¡¯s seemingly calm gaze was enough to send a chill down the spine of even the most battle-hardened mercenary.

    Still, it was impossible to prevent the curious nces from flickering over every once in awhile, so Lily was once again wearing a long robe and a facial mask to hide her human features.

    The silvery-white hoverbike had performed even better than Sophie had expected so the pair were able to get to the gathering point early in the morning.

    Now the only thing she could do now was wait.

    Judging by the number of mercenaries here¡­ it seemed that other squads had also encountered life threatening situations.

    Sophie took a quick sweep and mentally counted the number of warriors scattered around the gathering point.

    Damn¡­ only about forty percent of the mercenaries had survived.

    That wasn¡¯t to say that there couldn¡¯t be any stragglers arriving a bitter, but it was unlikely that this number would even reach more than half of the initial amount.

    The mercenariesughed and joked without care but some of the quieter ones were mournfully tending to their injuries.

    Missing arms, horns, ears, fins, wings¡­.

    Sophie even saw a nt-like creature with its entire lower bodypletely sliced off and leaking a purple fluid from the remains.

    It was being held in the arms of another mercenary but was in a great deal of pain based on the contorted expression on its face.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened as she saw the nt-like mercenary break free from itspanion¡¯s grasp and grab the sma rifle on her hip.

    Bang!

    There was a brief moment of silence as the corpse of the creature fell to the ground motionless.

    From the moment that the creature had reacted strangely, Sophie had already closed Lily¡¯s eyes and prepared to move into action.

    It was just that she never expected that the creature¡¯s true goal was itself¡­.

    The female warrior who just saw herpanion kill itself, did not react in a heartbroken manner but rather a cold and calcting smile shed across her face.

    Ahh¡­ so she didn¡¯t save it out of a sense of kindness.

    Did she want to drive the creature to the point of desperation and despair?

    Sophie didn¡¯t know the answer to that question and simply watched indifferently just like the rest of the mercenaries.

    The conversations soon resumed as if nothing had happened.

    Sophie no longer took any chances and turned Lily¡¯s body around so that the little girl was facing her chest.

    Sophie had learnt just how brutal and unforgiving the universe really was even before her journey to Calypso with Cleo.

    Laws were simply decided by who had the biggest fist and life was a cheapmodity easily bought or lost.

    A significant reason why Sophie cultivated so diligently was to protect herself in a world where it was impossible to truly live when you were weak.

    Power and strength went hand in hand.

    Sophie had no doubt that it was only due to her father¡¯s cultivation skill and swordsmanship that he had managed to secure and protect his territories from other greedy and ambitious nobles.

    Especially considering how crazy the situation must be now that the emperor had gone mad.

    Thest memory Sophie had of that fateful day was the teleportation circle glowing with power and then the room shifting into darkness, so she had no idea what had happened next.

    But the high nobles would definitely not take too kindly to their heirs being sent to unknown locations.

    Maybe there was already a civil war happening.

    These were all concerns that Sophie had kept in the back of her mind but at this point no matter what the internal state of the Federation was¡­

    She wanted to go back home.

    Time crawled along as the sun gradually lowered as the hours passed.

    There were a few more fights and other mercenaries reached the gathering points in various states of health but nothing particrly interesting happened.

    The day slowly turned to night as the red sun sank closer and closer to the horizon.

    Soon, the high temperature was reced by a cold chill that made goosebumps appear on Sophie¡¯s arms.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A sudden ringing noise came from the tablets and a holographic projection appeared simultaneously on all the devices with a clear message.

    [Stay Clear Of The Landing Zone]

    A dark shadow covered the ground as an enormous spaceship slowly descended from the atmosphere.

    Sophie followed the rest of the mercenaries towards a safe distance away and watched eagerly as the shuttlended smoothly.

    Clearly the spacecraft had undergone some repairs by the mechanics onboard the vessel as two additional sma cannons were now mounted on the left and right wings.

    This was a vessel made entirely forbat from its sleek narrow design that was perfect for ducking and weaving through heavy fire to the multiple barrier generators located on key areas of the ship¡¯s exterior.

    ¡°Please enter the spacecraft in an orderly fashion,¡± a dark whisper echoed in the minds of the mercenaries.

    A hissing noise could be heard as a hole opened up in the underside of the vessel and a metalloid bridge was lowered to the ground.

    Sophie could spot two pale-skinned crewmembers wearing purple robes with the emblem of a sun waiting patiently.

    ¡°Finally, we can leave this fucking shithole!¡± came an excited yell from the crowd.

    Sophie chuckled softly because honestly¡­.

    She couldn¡¯t agree more.

 Chapter 317: Worthy Prey

    Chapter 317: Worthy Prey

    What is the difference between a servant and a ve?

    Many cultivators would say that there seems to be truly little separating the two concepts.

    Most scoff at the very notion of ever being either.

    Both positions involve working for a master or mistress by faithfully carrying out their orders with some even having to devote a lifetime to service.

    It is not an easy task nor is it necessarily a rewarding one.

    All creatures no matter how big or small are inherently selfish with wants, thoughts and desires of their own.

    Being a servant or a ve means that your desires are inherently less important than the ones of your masters.

    Perhaps the only difference¡­ was free will.

    ves do not have a choice in choosing their masters, but a servant chooses to serve.

    The servant picks the master just as much as the master picks the servant.

    And I have made that choice.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°You are the strongest to enter this ce,¡± a cold voice whispered softly into the ears of the figure kneeling down on the ground.

    The air shimmered slightly due to the intense heat produced by the volcano in the middle of this small world.

    Captain Dawn knelt and continued to chant piously seemingly without any concern about the droplets of sweat that ran down the sides of his face.

    Unlike the frail, elderly man Sophie had seen inside the pit¡­

    Captain Dawn¡¯s appearance inside the trial was identical to his former self.

    A physically imposing build with rippling muscles that were barely contained by the thin tribal shirt he wore.

    Long flowing locks of golden hair drooped softly on his shoulders and two deep chocte brown eyes stared at the faceless guardian.

    ¡°Do you wish to undergo the trial?¡± the guardian chuckled darkly.

    A cacophony of boisterousughs and mocking jeers could be hearding from the void beyond the small world.

    Captain Dawn could feel the auras of several powerful presences locking on to his location from somewhere beyond his senses.

    One wrong move and¡­

    The guardian pped its hands twice which caused thousands of magma creatures to erupt from the slow-movingva inside the pit of the volcano.

    Each of these molten beings were from different species and races with various styles of clothing and weaponry.

    The guardian was alsoposed of molten rock and Captain Dawn watched expressionlessly as it transformed into a mirror image of himself.

    ¡°Would you join me for eternity?¡± the guardian reached out a hand and yfully spoke.

    Captain Dawn rose up from the ground and replied to the guardian with no fear in his tone,

    ¡°I will undergo the trial and seed. Please do not dy my time any further.¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence as the guardian tilted its head in an almost puzzled motion.

    This was truly an odd challenger.

    He was only the second to reach thest stage of the trial since that adorable cutie who had left a few days earlier.

    What was her name again?

    Sally? Selena? Soos?

    Well¡­it didn¡¯t really matter.

    The guardian stopped reminiscing and used its mental force to sweep through the challenger¡¯s body and enter inside his mind.

    No prohibited items were detected, and it appeared that the challenger had sessfully fused with the god of creation from thest stage.

    Huh¡­ that¡¯s a rare one.

    The guardian couldn¡¯t remember thest time that a challenger had decided to kill Khul rather than the god of destruction.

    ¡°Well then¡­¡± the guardian muttered thoughtfully.

    ¡°Your trial will begin¡­¡±

    An endless surge of qi energy formed in the middle of the small world and begun to rotate slowly like a whirlpool.

    The force was so intense that Captain Dawn struggled to stand upright under the immense pressure.

    Small cuts and wounds were sliced into the captain¡¯s flesh, but the fanatical Hyperion knight appeared to be unfazed.

    The speed of the whirlpool got faster and faster until a fiery tornado of hot wind appeared in the center of the volcano.

    The guardian made a series ofplicated hand gestures and yelled,

    ¡°Ne¡¯re secrete oom shantie raspetr!¡±

    Five enormous pirs of dark obsidian appeared, and the whirlpool of qi energy vanished instantly.

    The guardian stared at the pirs for a few minutes, it was impossible to see an expression on its featureless face and yet¡­ there was a palpable sense of grief.

    Would today be the day that one of its precious seedlings would find a new master?

    Captain Dawn could sense an ancient and fearsome power barely contained inside of the obsidian pirs that was both familiar and strange.

    ¡°Pick one,¡± the guardian suddenly spoke.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Captain Dawn replied in confusion.

    ¡°You heard me challenger¡­ I¡¯m not going to repeat myself,¡± the guardian spoke emotionlessly.

    The five identical pirs hovered in midair as if frozen in time.

    The army of magma creatures were oddly silent as the Hyperion knight struggled toe to a decision.

    Captain Dawn was not a reckless man and did not rush to make a hasty judgment.

    The problem was that there was too little information.

    This wretched molten abomination and just said to select one pir and then refused to say anything more.

    Time slowed down to a crawl as Captain Dawn used a qi movement technique to float towards the pirs.

    He circled each obsidian pir desperately trying to find the slightest clue or difference between them.

    Nothing could be found as each pir waspletely identical.

    Like all of the other times in his life, Captain Dawn turned to prayer to find the answer he sought and to experience the bond between master and servant.

    Captain Dawn closed his eyes and begun to chant religiously,

    ¡°Oh Father. The lord of light and the stars above. The holy one for whom the mes of heaven will always burn.¡±

    ¡°The sinners will be baptised in your righteous mes as I your humble servant seek to rid the universe of evil.¡±

    ¡°May your faith spread through this world and beyond with all life kneeling beneath your feet.¡±

    ¡°For there is mercy in death.¡±

    A warm current of power flowed into the captain¡¯s chest that resonated with the divine power he had gained from the second stage of the trial.

    There were no doubts in the mind of the captain.

    There was only faith and devotion.

    Faith in the god who had taken everything from the man who had once been called Jason but was now reborn and remolded as Captain Dawn.

    The guardian clenched its molten fist in displeasure as it saw clearly how a stream of divinity was being injected inside the challenger¡¯s dantian from beyond the universal barrier.

    This could only mean one thing¡­.

    A new vessel was about to be born.

 Chapter 318: The Hunt Is Not Over

    Chapter 318: The Hunt Is Not Over

    [Stop]

    Sophie paused briefly as a cold inhuman whisper echoed in her mind. The rest of the mercenaries continued to walk towards the metalloid bridge, but she remained frozen in ce.

    ¡°Priestess?¡± Sophie muttered quietly.

    She recognised the voice because unlike the Hunter Goddess, there was a small trace of concern hidden inside the seemingly cold tone.

    [Your target still lives]

    [The hunt has not ended]

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much I can do about it,¡± Sophie exined patiently.

    ¡°This ship leaves for the frontier region today and I can¡¯t fight the entire camp of Hyperion knights without putting Lily in danger.¡±

    [It doesn¡¯t matter]

    [The goddess demands her sacrifice and as a vessel you need to aplish certain tasks in order to use her powers freely]

    Sophie had no problem admitting that she didn¡¯t minding back to the Unova Syndicate once she became stronger.

    But the main issue was that she had no guarantee that the captain would still be alive nor where to find him in the vast expanse of space.

    This was her best chance to kill him and perhaps the priestess knew this fact as well.

    ¡°What¡­ what¡­ if I fail and don¡¯t finish the hunt?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly.

    [The hunter goddess is neither kind nor merciful. This is your first chosen sacrifice so the price to pay for failure will be steep]

    [A life for a life]

    ¡°Whose life?¡± Sophie demanded as panic rose up in her chest.

    ¡°Mine? Or the life of someone close to me?¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence as all Sophie could hear was the frantic pounding of her heart.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    ¡°ANSWER ME PRIESTESS!¡±

    Sophie ignored the strange gazes of the nearby mercenaries who were shocked by the sudden yell that erupted from her mouth.

    [I am unable to say.]

    [Just know that no vessel has ever been willing to lose the life of the one that the goddess took from them]

    [Please make the right choice¡­]

    [For your sake]

    The final cold whisper echoed in Sophie¡¯s mind, and she could feel the presence lingering in her mental space slowly fade away.

    The priestess had left after her final warning.

    Make the right choice?

    What a joke¡­.

    The word ¡®choice¡¯ would imply that Sophie had the option to refuse.

    Lily was looking at her with a worried expression, but the hybrid girl had too many thoughts on her mind.

    What to do?

    Returning to the camp site of the Hyperion knights and tracking down the captain would take time.

    Time that she clearly did not have.

    The ship was going to leave today and without it, there was no way to get off this.

    Furthermore, Lily¡¯s safety would be at risk no matter what option Sophie chose since she did not trust the other mercenaries onboard the vessel.

    So, dropping off Lily on the starship by herself was clearly too unsafe.

    But taking the little girl with her to fight the Hyperion knights was also dangerous.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she walked mechanically towards the metalloid bridge and the two pale-skinned aliens waiting for the warriors.

    Was there a way out of this situation?

    Wait a minute¡­

    A twisted grin shed across Sophie¡¯s face as a crazy n began to take shape in her mind. It was a n that could go terribly wrong in a number of ways.

    But what other choice did she have?

    ¡°Lily¡­¡± Sophie whispered gently.

    ¡°When we go onboard the starship, I want you to close your eyes and no matter what you hear¡­ do not open them.¡±

    Sophie nted a soft kiss on the little girl¡¯s forehead and headed towards the bridge with a determined glint in her eyes.

    It was time to prepare.

    Lily who was currently being held in her big sister¡¯s arms found herself carefully transferred to Sophie¡¯s back where she was secured by two pieces of metalloid rope.

    The little girl didn¡¯t fully understand what was happening but trusted her big sister, so she closed her eyes as the pair walked up the bridge and entered the vessel.

    ¡°Wee back,¡± a mental transmission was sent into the minds of the mercenaries.

    ¡°Please proceed in an orderly fashion back to your quarters.

    The crewmembers were exactly the same as Sophie had remembered. Pale-skinned aliens with long, slender limbs that seemed easy to snap.

    They all wore the same red robe with various symbols and pattern sewn into the material by careful needlework.

    The mercenaries were led down a messybyrinth of tunnels and corridors until they arrived at the familiar door to their room.

    One of the crewmembers ced his hand on the scanner next to the door and soon the sight of the multiple beds carelessly scattered across an open space elicitedughs and jokes.

    ¡°Home sweet home,¡± a muscr warrior mocked.

    ¡°By the gods¡­ I have missed sleeping on a bed,¡± another mercenary nodded his head and agreed.

    ¡°I will kill whoever messes up the bathroom this time,¡± a hulking brute growled darkly.

    One by one the mercenaries entered the room under the watchful gaze of the two crew members.

    Sophie had intentionally moved towards the back of the group and was among thest members to reach the metalloid door.

    She ced one foot inside the room but froze as if waiting for something.

    ¡°Does anyone here know how to fly a ship?¡± Sophie¡¯s casual question pierced through the sea of conversation.

    ¡°What are you doing? Just get inside!¡± a furious mental whisper appeared in the minds of the mercenaries.

    Sophie continued to speak as if nothing had urred and once again asked the same question,

    ¡°Does anyone here know how to fly a ship? Just raise your hand or whatever appendage you got so I can tell.¡±

    There was a short pause and then a few mercenaries around the room raised up their hands, tentacles, or wings.

    Most were curious about why she was putting on a performance and adopted a wait and see attitude to observe how the crew would respond.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes quickly swept the interior of the room and took note of the mercenaries with starship piloting capabilities.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sophie gently spoke but there was no smile on her face.

    sh!

    The two bodies of the crewmembers fell to the ground with their heads cleanly sliced off by Sophie¡¯s ded appendages.

    Every mercenary in the room reacted with shock and horror as blue blood spurted out of the headless corpses.

    Yells and shouts filled the room as the warriors could not believe what has just happened.

    ¡°Are you crazy?!¡±

    ¡°Why would you suddenly attack them?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?!¡±

    Sophie casually raised up her right palm and unleashed the full force of her cultivation base. The immense pressure from a qi tide cultivator forced all of the mercenaries to their knees.

    Cracks appeared on the ground as Sophie channelled all of her rage and frustration into this intimidating disy of raw power.

    There was a slight tinge of red spreading across Sophie¡¯s golden eyes as she gazed at the mercenaries helplessly struggling to breathe.

    No¡­ don¡¯t lose control.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm down her bloodlust and reduced some of the pressure.

    She needed the mercenaries alive.

    Or at the very least, she needed to keep the ones who could drive a starship.

    This was the solution that Sophie had quickly thought of after hearing the warning from the priestess.

    There was only one option to finish the hunt and ensure that there was a way to leave this once the captain died.

    Mutiny.

 Chapter 319: Hunter And Her Prey

    Chapter 319: Hunter And Her Prey

    The decrease in spiritual pressure allowed the mercenaries to get back on their feet but now there was nothing but fear in their eyes.

    Sophie¡¯s disy of raw strength had been received loud and clear.

    No one dared to question the intimidating cultivator who stood by the door with blood still dripping down her ded appendages.

    Sophie could taste the fear and panic in the air, and it was causing her heart to beat uncontrobly.

    Kill¡­

    Kill¡­

    KILL.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes constantly flickered from the usual golden hue to a crimson red colour as the hybrid girl struggled to reign in her urges.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ are you okay?¡± a soft whisper came from Sophie¡¯s arms.

    Lily still had her eyes tightly closed but her tiny hand gently pulled on Sophie¡¯s shoulder in order to get her attention.

    Sophie exhaled softly and stepped back.

    Time was of the essence and every passing second would make the task more difficult toplete.

    The crewmembers aboard the starship had mentalmunication abilities so it was possible that her act of killing had already been exposed.

    It was time to move on to the next stage of her mutiny.

    Without sparing a second nce at the shocked reactions of the mercenaries inside the room, Sophie used the palm of one of the headless corpses to lock the door.

    Fortunately, the scanner only checked for identity and not vital signs so there was no problem.

    It was a bit gruesome but after seeing the usefulness of the palm, Sophie took out a sharp de and sliced off a chunk of meat from the corpse.

    She then took out a small disc shaped device from her storage bag and pressed a tiny button on its side.

    A green light was emitted from the center of the device which then scanned the nearby area for any cameras or listening devices.

    There was a single video recording device located right above her location. Sophie flung a thin needle at the camera and destroyed the lens.

    She waited for the disc shaped device to sweep the surrounding area two more times just to make sure that nothing was there.

    Sophie closed her eyes and began to circte her qi in the familiar pattern of her cloning technique.

    Rsychosis!

    Three identical mirror images appeared in the corridor. Sophie handed over Lily to the middle one and also gave that clone a few protective devices.

    ¡°Stay here and guard Lily. We will head to themand deck and take out the captain as well as the upper-level crewmembers,¡± Sophie spoke seriously.

    She received a firm nod from the clone who tightly held Lily in her arms.

    Sophie turned to her two other copies and handed one a sma rifle while the other received some needles and several vials of poison.

    ¡°Hey¡­ can we kill as much as we like?¡± one of the clones snarled with a bloodthirsty expression.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sophie replied with a twisted grin.

    The rising tide of bloodlust was now proving to be too much to control as Sophie¡¯s eyes were now fully scarlet with a sea of murderous intent hidden behind her gaze.

    There was no time for words.

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the middle of the corridor only to reappear at the far end.

    Her two mirror images took off in different directions while herst clone stayed in ce and began to activate the many barrier devices in her possession.

    Sophie¡¯s vision shifted into a world of yellowish- orange as her pace became faster and faster.

    The metallic bloody scenting from the severed palm in Sophie¡¯s hand was filling up her nostrils.

    A hunter would never forget the smell of her prey.

    Five aliens were walking peacefully towards the ship¡¯s cafeteria when their bodies exploded into a fine red mist.

    Sophie had ripped them apart in a fraction of a second.

    The beast had now been fully awakened and sought blood to quench its insatiable thirst.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    rms red out as the starship entered lockdown mode. Teams of heavily armoured security units headed for the mercenary who had gone rouge.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie ducked and weaved through heavy sma fire and reached the tasty humanoid aliens hiding behind metalloid shields.

    sh!

    The reinforced metal was sliced apart like butter and soon the hungry wolf arrived in the middle of a flock of sheep.

    Sophie could not remember what had happened next.

    She could only vaguely recall hearing cries and pleads for help as her vision filled with the gory remains of the aliens torn apart into chunks of flesh.

    Eventually the hybrid girl stopped running on two legs and begun to crawl on the ceiling like a deranged lunatic.

    All who came across her path were instantly killed with the exception of the lucky few whosted for a couple of minutes while Sophie dug out their still beating hearts.

    She could have killed them faster but the sadistic urge to torture was distorting Sophie¡¯s sense of reason.

    Crunch!

    Blue blood ran down the sides of Sophie¡¯s lips as she could feel the Spider Whisper Art automatically circting with every kill.

    The taste of these pale-skinned aliens with their long slender limbs and spherical faces was a delicious vour that had the hybrid girl utterly addicted.

    She made her way through floor after floor.

    There was no mercy.

    A monster who had lost her sanity was now little more than a raging beast.

    Sophie¡¯s ws were now fully stained with the blood of the numerous aliens she had killed.

    Some had shouted with fear, others had begged for their lives, and some had even cursed her to die.

    It made no difference.

    There was still a thin thread of reason hidden deep inside Sophie¡¯s mind that made her slowly work her way up to themand deck instead of wasting time to hunt down the handful of survivors on each floor.

    Sophie could also feel through the mental link that her clones had also lost themselves in the sensation of killing.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    The piercing sounds of the rm constantly rang out and the harsh noise caused Sophie¡¯s ears to hurt slightly.

    ¡°Arghhhh!¡± Sophie let out a low pitch screech that sent shivers down the spines of the security unit running towards her current location.

    Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision could prate through the thick metalloid doors, so she spotted the desperate team of aliens getting closer and closer.

    An expression of ecstasy shed across Sophie¡¯s face as the anticipation of getting some more delicious flesh to consume caused a fierce blush to form.

    (Four minutester)

    ¡°Mon¡­. mon¡­ monster¡­.¡± a security guard cried out desperately.

    The sma rifle in his hand had already discharged over two hundred rounds in the span of three minutes.

    And yet not a single bullet had managed to hit the beast growling at them with scarlet eyes.

    There was no doubt in his mind, that this sick creature was just toying with them.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I CAN¡¯T FUCKING TAKE THIS!¡± a shivering alien dropped his gun and turned around to flee.

    All the security guard could feel was a strong gust of wind as the beast dashed through his unit just to stab the fleeing crewmember.

    The monster chuckled hoarsely as it reached inside the chest of the screaming crewmember to pull out his still beating heart.

    Now was the chance!

    The security guard tried to press the trigger on his gun but copsed to the ground with blood leaking out of his mouth.

    Unbeknownst to the guard, Sophie had dropped a poison vial on this floor long before the fight had begun which meant that these foolish aliens were already dead long before they even realised.

    Sophie scuttled over the copsed bodies and one by one she tore open holes in their chests to find her delicious prize.

    More¡­

    More¡­

    MORE.

    This was thest level before the upper deck.

    Sophie could sense the presence of lifeforms hiding inside a nearby storage closet, but the thin thread of reason stubbornly clinging on in her mind was enough to make her reluctantly move towards the staircase instead.

    The prey wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    Sophie took a single step on the staircase but could not resist turning around and gazing wistfully one more time at the storage closet.

    She reached into her storage bag and threw a small vial containing a greenish liquid that urately spilled in front of the closet.

    The fumes would kill the survivors within one minute.

 Chapter 320: No Mercy

    Chapter 320: No Mercy

    The hunger.

    After every kill, Sophie could feel the terrible bloodlust coursing through her veins and filling her mind with thoughts of death and destruction.

    She was a beast.

    A monster.

    A killer.

    Sophie¡¯s scarlet eyes darkened as she scuttled up the staircase like a possessed demon.

    The faint scent of blood was driving her mad.

    There were fresh meals waiting to be consumed.

    The asional pale-skinned alien that crossed her path was instantly torn apart into chunky pieces of flesh.

    Sophie¡¯s thin thread of reason had long snapped and now there was only a vague urging sensation to reach the upper deck.

    Even her mental connection with the clones had been thrown to the back of her mind as Sophie focused only on the hunt.

    Step by step she moved closer and closer to the reinforced metallic barrier that separated themand deck from the other floors.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    rms continued to re out but there were no more security teams left to deal with the multiple intruders.

    All units had already perished in battle or had fled out of fear.

    The sheer terror of facing an apex predator had shattered the fragile minds of these once brave aliens.

    In the face of death, all of their prayers to the Sun God went unanswered.

    The deity beyond the void could not protect his followers from the monster driven mad by excitement.

    A permanent grin of ecstasy was stered across Sophie¡¯s face as her fangs lengthened into sharp quasi-des.

    These fangs were perfect for tearing into the soft underbelly of the alien creatures and ripping into their fragile organs.

    Scratch! Scratch!

    Sophie¡¯s footsteps quickened as she realised that someone had already reached the barrier!

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished immediately from the spot.

    No longer did the hybrid girl bother to conserve her qi since the only thought in her mind was to kill.

    The top of the stairway contained a door which Sophie easily pushed open with a casual strike from her palm.

    She entered a long corridor that was blocked by an enormous barrier created from severalyers of metalloid alloys and covered by a thin translucent coating of a greenish substance.

    In front of the barrier, there were two humanoid figures whose appearances were identical to her own.

    Sophie growled darkly and approached the clones waiting for her by the barrier.

    One of the mirror images turned to Sophie and gave a friendly wave before speaking,

    ¡°Alright since we are all here¡­ we can just¡­¡±

    ¡°Urghh!¡±

    The clone¡¯s eyes widened with shock as Sophie¡¯s right palm entered straight into her unguarded chest.

    The other copy took a few steps backwards but did not see the fast-moving ded appendage heading right for her neck.

    sh!

    The headless corpse crashed to the ground with an expression of disbelief still present on the face that rolled towards Sophie¡¯s feet.

    The clone whose chest had been prated by the deadly strike groaned painfully,

    ¡°Wait¡­ why¡­¡±

    There was no response as Sophie mercilessly tore the clone¡¯s body apart with her bare hands and reached for the heart.

    A flood of painful memories immediately entered Sophie¡¯s mind as she reached for the clone¡¯s heart that caused her expression to change.

    ¡°Grr¡­ grr¡­.¡± Sophie uttered animalistic growls hoarsely.

    The influx of memories was piercing her foggy mental state but the allure of warm blooding from the other side of the barrier proved to be too enticing to refuse.

    Sophie shook her head multiple times like a dog and reluctantly turned away from the dead bodies of the creatures who looked identical to her.

    The blood and flesh of her clones were not appealing as Sophie could sense that she could not extract any qi energy from eating their remains.

    Sophie slowly walked towards the green barrier and poked at the mesmerizing translucent coating covering the metalloidyers.

    Buzz!

    A thin current of electric ran through her body from the tip of her finger but it was not enough to stop her from breaking in.

    Sophie pulled back her arm andunched a fierce series of punches on the barrier.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    She struck with such force that the walls of the corridor began to shake violently from the mere shockwavesing from her attacks.

    Channeling qi energy into her palms made the blows even stronger and soon the metalloidyers started to crumble.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Each punch struck with the force of a thunderous gunshot and created a small hole in the barrier that only got bigger and bigger.

    This was the final obstacle separating Sophie from the grand feast awaiting her.

    Nothing would stop her.

    Even as the flesh on her knuckles started to bruise and bleed¡­

    She continued to punch.

    Even as the electric voltageing from the translucent coating gradually amped up until her hair started to singe.

    She continued to punch.

    Bang!

    With one final strike, Sophie destroyed the final metalloidyer and dashed towards the terrified aliens cowering with sma rifles in hand.

    Sophie had not bothered to destroy the cameras and listening devices as she made her way up the starship, so the crew had seen firsthand what the monster hunting them down was capable of.

    Some had thrown up after seeing the brutal carnage while others had gone into shock and were muttering nonsense.

    Themander of the vessel desperately tried to rally his crew to form some kind of final stand but after seeing the monster breach the barrier¡­

    The only thought on his mind was how to escape.

    ¡°Fire! I don¡¯t believe that this beast is immune to sma rounds!¡± themander roared.

    The shaking logistic officers and engineers present on the upper deck pressed the trigger button on their weapons, but their shots were wildly off.

    It was incredibly easy for Sophie to dodge and weave her way through the flurry of sma bullets and arrive in front of themander.

    To the credit of themander, he reflexively flung a pocket explosive at the beast and then immediately turned around to flee.

    But it was already toote.

    Sophie casually plucked the explosive out of midair and threw it towards an unlucky alien at the back of the room.

    Boom!

    Blood and body parts sttered across the room that seemed to pour gasoline on the already burning madness infecting Sophie¡¯s mind.

    The captain didn¡¯t have time to react before a ded appendage separated his legs from the rest of his body.

    He could only manage a muffled cry of pain before multiple needles entered his torso which caused his flesh to turn a purplish-ck colour.

    He died within two seconds.

    A piercing scream of terror escaped from the mouth of the officer closest to themander¡¯s lifeless corpse.

    Sophie kicked themander¡¯s body and stared at the rest of the aliens with a hungry glint in her eyes.

    The true ughter had only just begun¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Minutes Later¡­)

    ¡°Oh, by the Sun God¡­ I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE¡±

    ¡°Please have mercy! I WILL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT!¡±

    ¡°I¡­I can fly the ship¡­ I can be your ve¡­ just let me live¡­¡±

 Chapter 321: Can You Eat A Lily?

    Chapter 321: Can You Eat A Lily?

    ¡°Grr¡­ grr¡­¡± Sophie muttered incoherently as she yfully tore into the flesh of an alien hovering on the brink of death.

    The poor creature already had his vocal cords removed by a clean swipe from Sophie¡¯s sharp fingernails.

    The only sounds that echoed through the bloody room were the painful whimpers that escaped from his partially destroyed throat.

    He was thest survivor.

    Sophie had ripped apart every single officer present on themand deck using methods that were cruel and sadistic.

    She enjoyed watching as her prey squirmed helplessly.

    The sense of arousal flowing through Sophie¡¯s body every time she plucked out another chunk of meat from the alien¡¯s ribcage caused a fiery red blush to form on her face.

    ¡°Grr¡­hahaha!¡± wildughter burst out of Sophie¡¯s mouth as she finally granted the tortured alien the sweet release of death.

    Not enough.

    Need more¡­

    NEED MORE.

    [Had enough fun yet?]

    A sarcastic voice whispered in Sophie¡¯s mind that briefly pierced through the fog of bloodlust that was clouding her judgement.

    Sophie jumped up and down while shaking her head to get the annoying voice out of her head.

    ¡°Screech!¡±

    An animalistic roar reverberated through the room as Sophie desperately searched every nook and cranny for the mysterious voice.

    [Seriously? You look like an absolutely deranged lunatic]

    [Thank God you had some level of foresight to create me to protect Lily]

    Sophie¡¯s wild motions paused for a brief second as the voice in her mind seemed oddly familiar¡­

    Lily?

    What was a Lily?

    Could she eat it?

    The mere thought of more flesh to consume caused Sophie¡¯s mouth to leak saliva that fell to the ground.

    Prey¡­

    Sophie¡¯s scarlet eyes glowed darkly as her vision was suddenly enhanced until she could see every singleyer of the starship.

    There were small groups of food huddling together on each floor, but the grand prize was a room full of delicious morsels to consume.

    The next mental message that entered Sophie¡¯s mind had a tinge of panic.

    [Hey¡­ hey! Snap out of it!]

    Sophie growled ominously and immediately activated her movement speed technique to teleport to the end of the corridor.

    She scuttled down the stairs on all fours with motions simr to a crab. Every floor would be swept clean with the survivors dealt with in a matter of seconds.

    There was no mercy.

    Meanwhile the voice in her head only continued to get louder and louder.

    Sophie furrowed her brows in irritation as message after message poured into her mind.

    [Listen¡­ I also received thest memories from my¡­ um¡­ our¡­ sisters? This clone stuff is pretty confusing]

    [Aren¡¯t you the ¡®original¡¯? Don¡¯t let your urges reduce you to a freaking animal!]

    [Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t stop annoying you until you snap out of this!]

    Sophie whimpered softly as the constant barrage was beginning to take a toll on her already fragile mental state.

    Her reckless usage of qi energy was finally catching up as Sophie began to experience the first symptoms of qi depletion.

    There was only a small pool of qi left in her dantian, so she was reluctantly forced to deactivate the ¡®Cloud Treading Dragon¡¯ technique.

    [Look just take a few deep breaths¡­ and calm yourself down]

    [Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­]

    [Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­]

    Bang! Bang!

    Sophie¡¯s head started to bleed as she recklesslyunched punch after punch at her own skull.

    Her animalistic mind wanted the noise to stop no matter the cost and hence this was the twisted solution it hade up with.

    [ARE YOU CRAZY?! STOP HITTING YOUR HEAD!]

    Sophie hissed and continued to bash in her own skull with ferocious force.

    Seeing that a small dent was beginning to form, the mirror clone immediately stopped contacting her creator through the link.

    It was clearly useless now to reason with a mad beast.

    There was only one thing that she could do now¡­

    Sophie hesitantly stopped punching herself and waited a few minutes to see if the annoying voice would reappear.

    There was nothing but silence.

    A joyful grin spread across Sophie¡¯s face as she merrily continued on her journey to kill every single person on the starship.

    Unbeknownst to Sophie, the clone was not capable ofpletely cutting off the mental connection between them and was watching her every move through the link.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Unknown Starship- Seventh Floor)

    (Sophie¡¯s Clone POV)

    ¡°Big sister where are we going?¡± Lily asked curiously from inside the clone¡¯s arms.

    ¡°How about we take a little walk outside. Your big sister is going to take you on an adventure!¡± ¡®Sophie¡¯ replied lovingly.

    This kind and gentle tone was immediately changed as she addressed the ten mercenaries struggling to catch up.

    ¡°Move it! Or I will personally shoot a sma round into your thick skulls!¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± came the exhausted replies.

    These were all of the mercenaries who had imed to be able to fly this starship model.

    Of course, there was no time to verify this information, so the clone had just rounded all of them up.

    ¡®Sophie¡¯ had forcefully brought them out of the holding room and made them travel with her.

    As for the rest¡­

    It was a bit coldblooded to say¡­

    But arge group of fresh meat needed to serve as a distraction for the bloodthirsty predator lurking aboard the starship.

    ¡®Sophie¡¯ continued to move through the endlessbyrinth of connecting corridors and rooms while constantly checking the mental link.

    There was no time to waste.

    Self-awareness was an admirable quality which both Sophie and her clones shared.

    Clones made from the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique could only channel a fraction of their caster¡¯s powers and ¡®Sophie¡¯ wasn¡¯t sure that she couldst longer than one minute if she had to fight the original.

    The problem was that the mental link went both ways.

    It was bing increasingly difficult for the clone to keep her sanity with a constant flow of bloodlust entering her mind.

    Already there were tiny specks of crimson that were beginning to form along the corners of her golden eyes.

    ¡°Um¡­ won¡¯t the crew hunt us down if we leave the starship?¡± one of the braver mercenaries asked hesitantly.

    ¡°No. Trust me when I say that the crew is the least of your concerns right now,¡± Sophie replied bluntly.

    She didn¡¯t bother to borate but instead picked up the pace towards the exit.

    ¡°Come on¡­ we need to go a little bit faster¡­¡± ¡®Sophie¡¯ muttered as she could sense that her creator had finally made it to the location where the other mercenaries were being held.

    Images poured into the clone¡¯s mind showing her the brutal carnage that Sophie inflicted on the warriors trapped within the room.

    Limbs were torn apart; blood sttered the once clean walls and stomachs were sliced open which caused intestines to spill out on the ground.

    The emotions of endless bloodlust and terrible arousal were transmitted through the mental link which caused the clone to slow down her movements.

    A full three minutes passed in agonising slowness as a terrible aura of death and destruction erupted from the copy¡¯s body.

    The mercenaries had already begun to back away with trembling steps but there was no escape for the small child trapped by the firm grip of the clone.

    ¡°Big sister¡­¡± Lily softly whispered.

    ¡°Why are your eyes red?¡±

 Chapter 322: The Second Hunter

    Chapter 322: The Second Hunter

    ¡°Run¡­.¡± a low growl escaped the clone¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Big sister?¡± Lily asked hesitantly.

    The little girl wasn¡¯t stupid and knew that something was happening to Sophie.

    There was a dangerous chill running down Lily¡¯s spine as shey helplessly in the arms of her big sister.

    [Monster]

    [Killer]

    [Freak]

    Three words looped over and over in the clone¡¯s mind as she desperately struggled to regain some sanity.

    Sophie¡¯s wanton killing and violence had finally tipped the hybrid girl over the breaking point and these out-of-control emotions were proving to be too much to bear.

    The clone moved with jerky puppet-like motions as she slowly lowered Lily to the ground and ced all of her remaining protective devices on the little girl¡¯s body.

    Every second was agony as the waves of bloodlust entering her mind were beginning to cloud her judgement.

    There was only one thing that the clone could do now before she fully lost control.

    ¡®Sophie¡¯ activated her enhanced vision and scanned the entire length of the starship for the route to the exit.

    The strain of using the full extent of her ability caused small droplets of blood to leak out of her already scarlet eyes.

    ¡°Lily¡­ you¡­ need¡­¡± ¡®Sophie¡¯ muttered hoarsely as her speech became more incoherent.

    ¡°Straight¡­ ahead¡­ take¡­ two lefts¡­ one right¡­ and then¡­

    [Monster]

    [Killer]

    [Freak]

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± the clone screeched in agony.

    Terrible memories of the ughter that Sophie hadmitted on the upper deck flowed into her mind once more.

    She could almost taste the sickening sweet¡­ almost delicious¡­ tang of fresh meat ripped straight from the corpses.

    ¡°Big sister! HELP HER PLEASE!¡± Lily ran towards the shivering clone and gestured towards the other mercenaries for help.

    It was no use as the mercenaries could not understand whatnguage the little girl was speaking.

    ¡°Hell no¡­ I¡¯m out of here!¡± one of the more cowardly mercenaries took the opportunity to run as he saw the copsed body of their captor.

    He would not be thest to flee as the other mercenaries took the opportunity to escape from the sight of the dangerous warrior who was now clearly distracted.

    The strength that Sophie had previously disyed by unleashing her cultivation pressure had squashed any rebellious thoughts in their hearts.

    Even seeing the clone¡¯s hunched-over posture was not enough to convince the mercenaries that they could sessfully kill her.

    It was a far better option to just run and wait for the security units on the ship to take out that lunatic.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ I¡­ urghh,¡± Lily cried out in pain as ¡®Sophie¡¯ roughly pushed her tiny body away.

    The little girl went flying several feet in the air and hit a metal wall before sliding to the ground with a dull thud.

    A shimmering blue glow appeared around her body as one of the barrier devices activated to absorb the impact of the blow.

    ¡°Listen¡­ you¡­ need¡­ to run¡­ NOW!¡± ¡®Sophie¡¯ trembled as the urge to kill continued to rise.

    ¡°Remember¡­ I¡­ will¡­ only¡­ say ¡­ this¡­ once¡­

    There was no time to waste.

    The mental connection between Sophie and her clone was proving to be a double-edged sword.

    ¡®Sophie¡¯ stabbed her fingernails into the fleshy part of her knee and softly hissed with pain.

    This would only provide her with a few minutes of rity at most.

    She raised up her head and took one final nce at Lily.

    The emotions on the little girl¡¯s face were as clear as day¡­

    Worry, Concern and Love.

    She was a good kid.

    She deserved¡­. better.

    Who would want a mad beast as a protector?

    Feelings of shame and guilt rose up in the clone¡¯s heart that were so strong that even Sophie paused mid-way through her killing spree and stared at an unknown direction.

    ¡®Sophie¡¯ opened her mouth to give the directions to the exit room and this time the words flowed clearly and properly.

    Perhaps the determination to at least save the little girl who relied on her was enough to temporarily hold the bloodlust at bay.

    ¡°Lily. You need to go straight ahead and then you will see split paths in the corridor. Take two lefts and then one right,¡± the clone whispered.

    ¡°The exit array has an activation button that requires the fingerprints of a crewmember. This is going to be nasty, but you need to press it using this.¡±

    The clone reached into her pocket and gave Lily the severed hand from one of the aliens Sophie had killed by the holding room for the mercenaries.

    She knew for certainty that even if only a select few individuals had ess to the exit array, that this severed hand belonged to one of them.

    Those two aliens were the same ones that were in charge of activating the metalloid bridge that led into the starship and also served as guides for mercenaries to their rooms.

    Lily frowned slightly as she cautiously grabbed the severed palm.

    There were a million questions forming on her lips but the serious glint in her big sister¡¯s eyes forced the little girl to hold them back.

    Lily whimpered softly as she stared at ¡®Sophie¡¯ with worry in her gaze.

    The heavy feeling of the severed palm in her hand seemed to weigh her down.

    She just couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.

    Why was her big sister acting so scary?

    ¡°What¡­ about you?¡± Lily bravely asked.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­ Arghhh!¡± ¡®Sophie¡¯ clutched her head in pain as a fresh wave of bloodlust surged uncontrobly into her body.

    ¡°GO! RUN NOW!¡± she managed to yell before copsing to the ground.

    Lily¡¯s eyes started to water as thest image she saw before turning around to run was the convulsing figure of her big sister.

    [Monster]

    [Killer]

    [Freak]

    Over and over these mocking jeers looped in the clone¡¯s mind until she found herself whispering along to the chants.

    ¡°Monster¡­. killer¡­ freak¡­¡± ¡®Sophie¡¯ muttered darkly as her eyes slowly rolled upwards.

    One minute passed¡­

    Three minutes passed¡­

    Five minutes passed¡­

    ¡®Sophie¡¯ suddenly froze and then got up from the ground with smooth, graceful movements.

    There was no longer any hesitation in her steps as she immediately sniffed the air and headed towards the direction of the escaping mercenaries.

    The clone¡¯s eyes werepletely scarlet and all threads of reason in her mind had been snapped.

    Extending out her ded appendages, the clone scuttled along the floor of the corridor with movements simr to a crab.

    A second apex predator now roamed the starship in search for fresh prey.

 Chapter 323: Puppet Dancing On Strings

    Chapter 323: Puppet Dancing On Strings

    I hate myself.

    I hate myself.

    I HATE MYSELF.

    Sophie floated silently in the vast empty space of her amulet as she saw through her eyes the gruesome fates of the remaining mercenaries.

    Their cries and pleads for mercy went unanswered as the predator hunting them could no longer understand the concept of restraint.

    What had happened to her once the bloodlust had fully taken control of her psyche was a bit odd to say the least.

    Sophie was perfectly conscious of her movements and any sensations that her body felt, but it was like being a puppet dancing on strings.

    It was almost impossible to describe how it felt to experience both a third-person and a first-person perspective at the same time.

    The monster ripping into those freshly killed corpses was¡­ herself.

    Sophie watched silently as her hands became more stained with blood and fleshy chunks of meat fell to the ground.

    These aliens had loved ones¡­ friends, families, lovers.

    They would never see them again.

    Sophie was by no means a pacifist but seeing the effects of her rampage and the needlessly high death count caused by her actions took a heavy toll on her mental state.

    Truthfully, only a small portion of the crew had to die during the mutiny and the mercenaries locked inside the holding room posed no threat.

    If Sophie was in her normal state of mind, then they would have definitely lived.

    Or maybe¡­ that was the lie she had to tell herself to avoid fully sumbing to the depths of madness.

    It was far easier to me everything on the goddess¡¯ gifts.

    But she had known the risk and had still chosen to let her berserker state activate.

    If¡­ if¡­ she had just tried harder to resist the urge¡­

    Would things have turned out differently?

    The connection to the clone was still active so Sophie felt a small amount of relief as she saw Lily dash towards the exit.

    No matter what happened inside the starship¡­ at least the blood of the child she had sworn to protect would not be on her hands.

    Sophie had no doubt that if Lily had stayed with the clone for a moment longer, she would have been ripped apart and devoured.

    It was that simple fact that was the most devastating.

    Sophie had been called all kinds of nasty names during her years in high school due to her hybrid nature.

    Freak. Ugly. Hideous creature. Abomination.

    Yet as Sophie stared at the disgusting sight of the chunks of flesh scattered across the room, she could not help but think that maybe they were right.

    Her hybrid nature had made her a monster.

    A mere beast with nothing but the urge to kill and harm every living organism around it.

    Why couldn¡¯t she just use her powers without any side effects?

    What was the point of being a vessel and having divine strength if the power simply controlled her?

    Regret filled Sophie¡¯s heart as only one thought echoed over and over in her mind.

    She was no hero.

    Only¡­. a murderer.

    A ruthless killer.

    ¡°Goddess! Priestess! Please can one of you help me?¡± Sophie yelled out into the void. She had no idea if her prayer would be answered but it was worth a try.

    She waited patiently in silent anticipation, but her earnest plead for help received a cold, callous response.

    The multiple voices of the goddess echoed through the empty void with an emotionless tinge to her reply.

    [Sorry my dear vessel]

    [But this is a trial that you must ovee on your own]

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Sophie growled darkly.

    She didn¡¯t care anymore.

    It was time for some answers. There must be an exnation to why the goddess¡¯ powers were affecting her more than a typical vessel.

    And the hunter goddess should be able to cut off the connection at any time!

    Intense rage filled Sophie¡¯s heart as the mental strain of having to witness terrible atrocitiesmitted by her own hands had finally caused her to snap.

    ¡°Turn it off! I know you can cut off the power because you are the source!¡± Sophie yelled furiously.

    ¡°Listen¡­ for too long I have had to put up with this nonsense. Do you think I want to be constantly afraid of myself?¡±

    ¡°Knowing that I am always just a mere state away from turning into a berserker and maybe even killing the ones closest to me?¡±

    [Insolent mortal!]

    Sophie could sense a mass of darkness rising up inside the void as the temperature plummeted to the freezing point.

    It was a cold and frightening chill that sent shivers down her spine.

    Multiple whispers in anguage that she could not understand filled the empty void and Sophie could sense someone¡­

    Or rather something staring at her from an unknown location.

    [YOU DARE SPEAK TO A GOD IN THAT TONE?]

    Sophie reflected on her hostile questions and concluded that it was possible that she had already gone mad.

    Well¡­ she was no stranger to reckless decisions.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and spate out the words that had been trapped in her heart for the longest time.

    ¡°I never wanted to be your stupid vessel! I admit that your power is useful, but the drawbacks are just as dangerous.¡±

    ¡°AND I DON¡¯T WANT TO PLEDGE MY SOUL TO A CRAZY LUNATIC LIKE YOU!¡±

    Sophie shivered slightly as the strange whispers suddenly stopped and an enormous pressure mmed against her body.

    There was a terrible silence.

    Time flowed differently inside the amulet¡¯s space and to Sophie it seemed that the pressure would increase with every minute that passed.

    This tense atmosphere was unexpectedly broken by a happy peal ofughter that sounded both innocent and surprisingly child-like.

    [Excellent]

    [My vessel should be proud, feisty, and unbroken]

    [Never surrender your will to anyone¡­ even to me]

    [Good luck my little Arachnais]

    The presence inside the void immediately vanished and Sophie could sense that she was once again alone.

    There was no time to mull over the goddess¡¯ parting words as something important had captured her immediate attention.

    Outside of the mental space, Sophie could feel that her hunger had reached its peak, but the problem was that no more preys were left alive in the nearby area.

    It was time for her body to search the other floors.

    Perhaps this power was just a curse.

    No matter how hard she tried to look away, Sophie found herself forced to watch and experience everything that her body did.

    And her deepest fear was that the worst was yet toe.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Grr¡­ grr¡­ more¡­ more¡­.¡± Sophie growled darkly as she licked the warm blood from her fingertips.

    Sophie¡¯s ded appendages extended outwards as her body reacted eagerly to the chance for another tasty snack.

    ¡°No please!¡± a faint cry could be hearding from the upper floor.

    Sophie immediately cracked her neck upwards and used her enhanced vision to prate the metalloid walls.

    There was a creature that looked just like her.

    It was hunting down¡­

    ONE OF HER SNACKS!

    Sophie clutched her head in pain as the sudden burst of rage that coursed through her veins proved to be too overwhelming.

    ¡°Mine¡­ mine¡­ MINE!¡± Sophie screeched in fury.

    She channeled small amounts of qi into her ded- appendages and scuttled forward with movements simr to a crab.

    The surroundings started to shift as Sophie elerated rapidly until her figure could only be seen as a blur by the security cameras on the starship.

    Not that there was anyone left alive to review the footage.

    Only a few sttered bloodstains were left in the security office after Sophie had swept that particr floor on her way to the upper deck.

    Animalistic noises and grunts escaped from the hybrid girl¡¯s mouth as the territorial instinct to drive awaypetition was proving to be a powerful motivator.

    Sophie¡¯s fingernails lengthened into ws that scratched against the surface of the metalloid walls of the corridor.

    Two minutes¡­

    Three minutes¡­

    Sophie rushed up the stairs and entered the floor above only to be met with a sight that caused her blood to boil with rage.

    ALL OF THE FOOD HAD ALREADY BEEN SPOILED.

    There was a humanoid figure covered in blood and merrily munching away on the leg of an alien corpse that was missing several body parts.

    The rest of the mercenaries were scattered in gruesome postures all throughout the corridor with their eyes gouged out and their chests shattered.

    ¡°Grr¡­.¡± the clone spat out a bloody chunk of meat and tilted her head in confusion at the sight of another version of herself.

    ¡°Grr¡­ mine¡­mine¡­. mine¡­¡± Sophie muttered incoherently in reply.

    The clone had no time to react before Sophie¡¯s sharpened ws and ded appendages sank into her body.

    A dull coughing noise escaped the clone¡¯s mouth as a small line of blood flowed out from her lips.

    Both of her lungs and other major organs had been partially destroyed.

    Sophie grinned ferally as she began to toy with the fake by sticking her arm inside the clone¡¯s stomach and stirring around the intestines yfully.

 Chapter 324: Only One Predator May Survive...

    Chapter 324: Only One Predator May Survive¡­

    ¡°Got you¡­my¡­ delicious¡­ food¡­ grr¡­ food¡­¡± Sophie muttered with a crazy grin stretched across her face.

    The strange creature that looked identical to her was now barely breathing and hovering on the edge of death.

    Faint grunts and whimpers of pain could be hearding from the clone¡¯s mouth as her damaged organs began to shut down.

    Sophie lowered her head and bit into the jugr vein of the clone with one sharp lunge.

    Blood sttered across the already stained floor as the hybrid girl had finally killed herpetitor.

    There could only be one apex predator.

    The selfish beast-like instincts controlling Sophie¡¯s body refused to allow her to share the limited number of preys.

    Sophie rose up from the ground and prepared to sweep the remaining floors for thest survivors of the massacre.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Sophie clutched her heart and staggered slightly as waves of memories entered her mind one after the other.

    She could feel every painful experience that the clone had endured in the moments before her death in excruciating detail.

    The feeling of her organs being prated by a sharp ded tip was enough to force Sophie to her knees.

    These phantom sensations only worsened when she received the agonising memory of sharpened ws ripping apart the outer skin of her stomach and pulling out her intestines.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    ¡°Eurghh¡­ hurts¡­ hurts¡­ it hurts¡­.¡± Sophie groaned incoherently.

    It took around five minutes for these terrible memories to finally fade away and during the entire time, all Sophie could do was huddle into a ball.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears flickered twice before she cautiously got up from the ground and took a couple steps forward.

    The colour of her right eye had returned to its natural golden hue, but her left eye was still covered by a scarlet coating.

    The intense waves of pain had temporarily allowed Sophie to regain some control over her body as the fog of bloodlust clouding her mind had lessened.

    However, this control was not absolute, and she still couldn¡¯t stop her body from instinctively moving towards the remaining survivors on the ship.

    Fortunately, Sophie had enough influence to cause her body to head towards the floor furthest away from the exit.

    Lily should have already reached the exit zone and activated the metalloid bridge, but Sophie couldn¡¯t take any chances.

    Especially considering the monster she had be.

    The sight of the badly mutted corpses scattered around the corridor in pieces would be enough to cause even the most battle-hardened warriors to gag.

    But Sophie felt no emotions.

    Maybe it was because she was still affected by the berserker state but there was nothing but a callous indifference in her eyes as she scanned the nearby surroundings.

    It was like these people were mere ants.

    That thought frightened Sophie for a moment, and she desperately tried to stop her body from moving.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ am¡­ I am the daughter of Duke Peterlor,¡± Sophie whispered as she focused on her fingertips.

    Sophie¡¯s speech slightly slurred as tiny red specks started to appear on the edges of her right eye.

    ¡°I can¡­ I can¡­ control¡­no¡­ I will control¡­¡±

    Baby steps¡­

    You can do this.

    If she could just slowly regain control of her body, then maybe she could stop herself from killing thest surviving crewmembers.

    She needed at least enough people alive to form a skeletal crew that could get Lily and her to the border region.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and then exhaled softly as she focused all of her attention on her pinky finger.

    ¡°Just ¡­bend¡­ bend¡­ bend¡­ please,¡± Sophie whispered as she stared at her left hand.

    The fresh scent of blood still hung in the air as her body detected that some warm bodies were located on the floor above.

    Sophie could feel a small amount of qi in her dantian flow into the meridians of her legs but tossed all those distracting thoughts to the back of her mind.

    All she focused on now was getting her little finger to tilt.

    ¡°Come¡­ on¡­. bend¡­ bend¡­¡± Sophie desperately chanted with all of the force that she could possibly muster.

    There!

    Sophie cheered inwardly as she saw her pinky finger droop down slightly.

    This was all the proof she needed to prove to herself that it was possible to break out of the berserker state.

    Unbeknownst to Sophie, the tiny specks of red in her right eye gradually faded away as she continued to experiment on her other fingers.

    Time seemed to stretch out for an eternity as all Sophie could concentrate on now was regaining control of her other limbs.

    The smooth and hurried pace of the hybrid girl dashing through the corridor started to falter as her movements became slow and jerky.

    The overwhelming sensation of hunger caused Sophie¡¯s mouth to salivate but she was determined to resist the urge.

    Now was the best chance.

    This¡­ hunger¡­ and urges was just like an addiction.

    Trying to resist the alluring scent of blood wafting up from the corpses tossed carelessly on the ground was a torture that Sophie would never want to experience again.

    Sophie could feel her body struggling to break free and return to the base instincts that were craving for new prey.

    Doubts insidiously entered Sophie¡¯s mind and shook her already fragile determination.

    Why was she even bothering to resist?

    Even if she could regain control¡­

    Wouldn¡¯t this bloodlust just repeat the next time she activated the goddess¡¯ ability?

    Sophie gripped her palms so tightly that blood flowed out from the wounds caused by her fingernails piercing her flesh.

    Suddenly an unexpected image surfaced in Sophie¡¯s mind. It was a childhood memory that made a warm feeling bubble up in her chest.

    It had been her sixth birthday and her dad had spent the entire day with her on ake.

    The father-daughter pair went fishing for the first time and this tradition would continue for almost every birthday that followed.

    Sophie remembered catching a tiny, shelled creature no bigger than the size of her thumb and proudly showing it off to her dad.

    ¡°Good job!¡± came the enthusiastic reply.

    Sophie would never forget the warm gentle look in her father¡¯s gaze as he rubbed her hair yfully.

    Duke Peterlor had never treated her as a monster.

    She was simply his daughter.

    More warm memories continued to flow into Sophie¡¯s mind and gave her greater motivation to resist the hunger of bloodlust.

    Scenes of joking andughing with Astrid while Qiana sat quietly on the sidelines watching peacefully.

    Talking with Rachel over the virtual and hearing about the wild parties she was attending in college.

    Sparring with Katarina and Jack who would always encourage her even if the training session had not gone well.

    Surprisingly the only memory of Cleo that had left the greatest impression was not the passionate hours spent having sex.

    Or even the grand and thrilling adventures they had shared together.

    But rather it was a memory of a mundane day.

    The simple joy of holding the hand of the person she loved during a quiet afternoon spent reading novels together.

    A faint pink glow appeared above the marking on Sophie¡¯s chest and for the briefest of moments she could feel a soul connection to a beautiful princess thousands of light years away.

    The glow quickly faded before Sophie could delve deeper into the phenomenon, but it was enough to cause the scarlet colour of her eye to disappear.

    Both of her eyes were now a deep shade of gold and the terrible urge to kill while still being present¡­

    Was more of a faint sensation.

    Sophie copsed to the ground with tears leaking out of her eyes. The emotions of what had happened over thest couple of hours had left her exhausted and drained.

    ¡°Fuck¡­. I just want to go home.¡± Sophie muttered wistfully as she rested her head against a nearby wall.

    There was still some work to be done.

    Sophie waited a few minutes to regain some strength in her body and then got up from the ground with a tired yawn.

    She still needed to hunt down the remaining survivors but now her goal was to ce them all in the holding room or somewhere that could be locked.

    Then she would go outside and look for Lily.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure if her berserker mode would return so she wasn¡¯t going to rush to leave the starship.

    Lily was not in any immediate danger and there was a small tracking chip imnted in one of the barrier devices that Sophie¡¯s clone had given to the little girl.

    ¡°You can do this¡­ You can do this,¡± Sophie chanted as she reached the stairway leading to the next floor.

    She could not afford to lose control again.

 Chapter 325: Shame And Guilt

    Chapter 325: Shame And Guilt

    (Unknown Starship)

    (Seventh Floor- Washroom Facility)

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­I don¡¯t want to die,¡± Pirene muttered in a daze as he slowly rocked back and forth on the ground.

    His body constantly trembled and quivered, and his eyes stared off into the distance nkly.

    ¡°How long has he been like this?¡± Cordata asked the other person in the room.

    ¡°Ever since he took a nce at the security monitor and saw his partner get eaten alive by that beast,¡± came the cold reply from Lilise.

    The two survivors fell into silence while Pirene continued to mutter incoherently in the background.

    They had no idea how many people were left on the starship or if anyone else was still alive.

    The majority of the crewmembers were from a race called the Stukuins with noticeable physiological traits such as abnormally pale skin, mental abilities such as telepathy and long, slender limbs.

    ¡°Look¡­ we can¡¯t just sit around and wait for death. Why don¡¯t we head to the armoury and grab some weapons to fight back?¡± Cordata suggested.

    ¡°Brilliant n! I¡¯m sure the numerous squads of security guards sent to kill the beast didn¡¯t think of that exact same method,¡± Lilise eximed sarcastically.

    ¡°You work in data entry! Pirene is in the middle of a mental breakdown¡­ and I haven¡¯t shot a sma rifle in over thirty years!¡±

    There was a trace of despair hidden beneath the harsh words.

    It was not that Lilise was ready to die but the creature hunting them down was just too powerful to resist.

    That monster was a killing machine.

    Ruthless, efficient, and deadly.

    Bang! Bang!

    Two loud thumps against the metalloid door blocking the entrance to the washroom caused the aliens trapped inside to panic.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­. no¡­NO I DON¡¯T¡­. I CAN¡¯T!¡± Pirene shrieked loudly.

    His frantic yells and cries were immediately cut off by Cordata cing a firm hand over his mouth to get him to stop making noise.

    But it was toote.

    Screech!

    A bloodcurdling animalistic sound came from the other side of the door and all the aliens could do was watch in dread as the firm metalloid door was ripped apart like paper.

    The predator had arrived.

    There it was in all of its inhuman glory.

    A humanoid creature standing around seven feet in height with four ded appendages jutting out of its back.

    Its entire body was covered with a mixture of blood, guts, and fleshy chunks which caused it to have a body odour that was vomit inducing.

    However, the real horror was the knowledge that the beast was covered in what remained of their co-workers, friends and even family.

    Pirene slipped further into madness as the creature stepped forward slowly with deliberate steps.

    His cries of terror could no longer be blocked as Cordata had dropped his hand.

    There was no point in trying to silence him now.

    ¡°Why are you doing¡­ why¡­¡± Lilise questioned in a trembling voice.

    The alien had not even realised just how badly her arms and legs were shaking under the killing intent.

    Her question would remain unanswered as the beast vanished from the spot and reappeared right in front of them.

    The survivors did not even have time to react before a vial of pinkish liquid was thrown in their direction.

    The ss tube fell on the ground and cracked open. A thick fog of pink smoke filled the air which caused the survivors to cough violently.

    Lilise copsed to the ground along with her two otherpanions as her vision slowly sank into darkness.

    Thest thing she could remember before falling unconscious was a soft voice whispering a quiet reply.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Sophie¡¯s POV)

    Taking onest look at the entire area of the floor with her enhanced vision, Sophie scanned every nook and cranny for more survivors.

    There was no one else.

    Sophie sighed heavily as she realised that these three aliens were thest ones that she needed to collect.

    She no longer trusted herself to attack directly and knock the survivors unconscious so using sleeping agents was the only method left.

    There weren¡¯t many vials inside Sophie¡¯s storage bag but there was enough to knock out the handful of survivors.

    She had already brought fifteen crewmembers from the other floors to the holding room and now with these three, the final number would be eighteen.

    From a crew of hundreds¡­ to just eighteen.

    Starships were mostly controlled by the onboard AI unit so there should be enough people to operate.

    But how could she get these aliens to fly the starship and not backstab her once they reached the border region.

    Would she need to threaten them?

    Force them to work for the monster that butchered most of the people they knew?

    Sophie could feel a mixture of shame and guilt bubbling up in her heart but pushed that feeling down.

    There was just too much work that still needed to be done.

    She had to get these three inside the holding room and then head out of the starship to look for Lily.

    There were dangerous monstrous nts living beneath the seemingly calm exterior of the desert and while the numerous protective devices on the child¡¯s body may keep her safe¡­

    Sophie knew that it did not mean that the little girl would be invulnerable.

    With one smooth motion, Sophie picked up the three unconscious bodies and walked towards the holding room.

    These aliens were surprisingly light but that might have something to do with Sophie¡¯s impressive strength since she was a qi tide cultivator.

    This floor was the final stop of her search through the starship, so it took around twenty minutes to get back to the holding room.

    Sophie unlocked the door using a severed hand from one of the nearby corpses and then tossed the three bodies inside.

    The other survivors were still unconscious, but they would be in for a rude awakening once the sleeping agent wore off.

    Unfortunately, Sophie could not find any other rooms that locked from the outside, so she was forced to use the ce where she had killed remaining mercenaries.

    There was no time to cleanup, so the survivors were ced in a room with blood and body parts scattered across the floor.

    Sophie took a quick nce to double check that none of the survivors in the room required immediate medical attention and then closed the door.

 Chapter 326: Rescue Mission

    Chapter 326: Rescue Mission

    ¡°What was the route again?¡± Sophie muttered as she walked through the silent corridor with nothing but her footsteps to keep herpany.

    ¡°Something¡­ something¡­ split paths¡­ two lefts and then one right¡­¡±

    The ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique would send the memories of the clones into Sophie¡¯s mind after their deaths, but it would take a few moments to recall the smaller or less important details.

    Sophie navigated her way through the starship while taking casual nces at the trail of destruction she had left because of her rampage.

    It was fortunate that her killing spree did not appear to have damaged any vital equipment, but Sophie would need to send a couple of crewmembers to take a closer look.

    After all¡­ she wasn¡¯t too familiar with this model of starship.

    She could only cross her fingers and hope that there was nothing wrong with the engines. There really wasn¡¯t much of an alternative to getting off this.

    Only the knights would know where their starship was located and the security system onboard that particr vessel may be entirely different.

    Either way Sophie would need a trained crew in order to fly the vessel and she had a sneaking suspicion that those religious lunatics would probably kill themselves rather than help a heretic.

    ¡°God¡­ this is so fucking gross,¡± Sophie growled as she pulled out some gooey bits of pinkish flesh from her hair.

    She badly needed a shower.

    Sophie did not want to show up in front of Lily covered in blood, grime, and filth but there was no other option.

    Besides¡­ maybe she needed to tell the little girl¡­ no¡­

    Sophie shook her head twice and trekked onward. The secret of her Insectoid heritage could not be easily exposed.

    Maybe she would just say that it was a qi deviation or a side effect from one of her more aggressive cultivation techniques.

    The eerie silence inside the starship allowed Sophie to focus on how she would handle the meeting with Lily.

    If there was a one good thing about the events that had urred earlier, it was the fact that her clone had enough willpower to send the child away before the bloodlust fully took over.

    Thump! Thump!

    Sophie¡¯s footsteps echoed through the confusingbyrinth of metalloid doors and staircases. All around her were the traces of her rage-induce state of madness.

    From shattered doors to metalloid walls ripped open or torn apart by the sheer force contained in her ws as well as the numerous corpses and body parts scattered around.

    The rest of the journey was uneventful as Sophie tossed those distracting thoughts to the back of her mind.

    She finally reached the room that contained the exit hatch. It was a rtively open space that only contained a control console near the entrance and a wide-open hole in the middle of the room.

    Sophie saw that the bridge had already been deployed.

    Lily hadn¡¯t deactivated the structure once she left the starship, but it was more likely that she didn¡¯t know how to.

    A chill ran down Sophie¡¯s spine as the horrifying possibility of what could have happened if she hadn¡¯t regained control shed across her mind.

    What if she had reached this room while still trapped in a bloodthirsty frenzy?

    Would she have gone outside to look for more prey?

    Sophie gripped her head in pain as the shame and guilt rising up in her chest was making her want to throw up.

    It was getting harder to breathe and her vision started to shake as Sophie felt nothing but panic and fear.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I am not a monster,¡± Sophie quietly sobbed while tightly hugging the sides of her bodysuit with her hands.

    ¡°I am not a monster.¡±

    ¡°I am not a monster.¡±

    She took a few deep breaths and exhaled softly. She decided to use a mental health trick that her father had taught her a long time ago to deal with panic attacks.

    ¡°My¡­ name¡­ Sophie Peterlor and right now I¡­ I am standing inside a spaceship,¡± Sophie trembled slightly as she tilted her head to scan the room.

    ¡°The walls are a¡­ greyish ck colour and there is a bridge that leads to the desert outside. I need to find Lily and bring her back.¡±

    ¡°It feels warm inside this room and I can see a green button shing in the middle of the console¡­¡±

    Sophie continued to make observations until the nauseous feeling gradually went away and she could finally stand upright.

    This was not the first time that Sophie had felt something like this.

    During her early teenage years, because she had suffered from bullying and ostracization, crowded ces would always raise her anxiety.

    She had never told her father the reason for her fear, but he had still patiently taught her a technique that would calm her down instead of demanding that she exin why she felt that way.

    This technique was called ¡®grounding¡¯.

    Instead of focusing on whatever was causing you to panic, you would list out observations about your surrounding area.

    These details would help Sophie to distract herself and bring a feeling of calm or at least suppress her instinctive reaction to panic.

    It had been years since she hadst suffered from a panic attack, but the stress of thest few months had not been good for her mental state.

    Being in an unfamiliar environment and forced to remain alert and vignt constantly took a heavy toll on Sophie¡¯s well-being which she hid from Lily in order not to worry the little girl.

    ¡°One¡­ two¡­ three¡­¡± Sophie whispered as she took a few steps forward.

    Her body was still trembling slightly, but now it was manageable.

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she realised just how much time had passed.

    ¡°Come on¡­ justst until you bring Lily back. Then you can shower and take a nice long sleep¡­ don¡¯t think about the captives or Dawn¡­ just imagine that bed,¡± Sophie encouraged herself.

    Sophie jumped onto the first step of metalloid bridge with a dull thump and made her way downwards with purposeful steps.

    It was now nighttime and the temperature on the desert had dropped quite a bit. Sophie could see gentle clouds of white smoke whenever she exhaled.

    The moon shone brightly in the night sky and was apanied by numerous twinkling stars that flickered and winked.

    Beautiful.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a palm-sized disc device and entered in a series of numbers.

    This was the secondyer of protection to make sure that if someone malicious had stolen her monitoring device, that they would be unable to use it to activate the tracker.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    A harsh rm echoed through the quiet desert before an emotionless voice came from the device¡¯s speaker.

    [Target is located 2.3km away]

    The screen on the device turned into a map that showed a blinking red dot. The red dot was not moving so the monitoring device generated a simple route that led directly to the tracker.

    Sophie¡¯s line of sight was blocked by severalrge dunes, but these massive bodies of sand were no match for her enhanced vision.

    She peered in the direction indicated by the monitoring device and soon her vision shifted into a world of yellowish orange.

    There!

    Sophie spotted Lily huddled in the shadow of a sand dune with a sea of gorgeous red flowers blooming beneath her feet.

    Flowers?

    Oh no¡­.

 Chapter 327: A Well Deserved Nap

    Chapter 327: A Well Deserved Nap

    Sophie¡¯s heart skipped a beat as her enhanced vision that could prate a few feet into the ground saw thick vine-like roots slowly making their way upwards.

    Lily was trapped in the middle of a death trap!

    There was no time to waste.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and pumped thest threads of qi from her dantian to her legs in order to activate the ¡®Cloud Treading Dragon¡¯ technique.

    She could feel a sharp burst of pain spreading through her meridians as the negative side effects of qi exhaustion started to kick in.

    White spots blinked in and out of existence along the corners of Sophie¡¯s vision and an intense feeling of exhaustion began to spread throughout her body.

    ¡°No¡­ I¡­can¡¯t faint now¡­¡± the hybrid girl whispered darkly as she bent her knees.

    Lily was huddled in the shape of a tiny ball with a faint translucent barrier surrounding her body.

    The little girl knew that something was wrong as soon as she saw the first flower pop out of the soil.

    The problem was that any step she took that would lead her away from the center of the flower field would cause deadly wooden tendrils to erupt from the soil andunch an attack on her body.

    There were ten barrier generating devices thaty broken on the ground as the organism behind the attacks steadily chipped away at her defenses with quick, sharp attacks before retreating back underground.

    Lily was internally panicking but she tried her best to stay calm and wait for her big sister to find her.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. There was enough qi flowing into her leg meridians to use the movement technique three times.

    Just barely enough to grab Lily and get the hell out of there before the abomination lurking beneath the sands noticed what had even happened.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t even going to bother to fight the creature since theck of qi in her dantian meant that she would need to rely entirely on her enhanced physiology.

    The pale blue moon hanging high above in the night sky illuminated the empty desert but a nearby sand dune cast a dark shadow over Sophie¡¯s face.

    ¡°I¡­ I am not going to lose control¡­ I am not going to lose control,¡± Sophie chanted silently as she activated her technique.

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as the hybrid girl travelled a vast distance within a fraction of a second.

    Lily was still clutching her barrier device in her right palm when a bloody figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

    She opened her mouth to scream but a soft, feminine hand instantly shattered the translucent protective membrane and picked her up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of here,¡± Sophie softly whispered in a calm but gentle tone.

    She knew fully well that her appearance must be the stuff of nightmares.

    What child would want to see their big sister covered in blood, guts, and bits of chunky flesh?

    It was only a small mercy that Lily had not seen Sophie rip apart the alien corpses with both her bare hands and ded appendages before eating the meat.

    Who knows what she might think?

    ¡°Big¡­ sister¡­¡± Lily choked up as she stared at Sophie with a worried expression.

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin what happened when we get back to the starship,¡± Sophie reassured her.

    The hybrid girl did not rx her vignce even while casually chatting with Lily and had observed several of the flowers begin to tremble violently.

    Her golden eyes darkened as Sophie tilted her head downwards to see what the underground situation was.

    There were multiple vine-like roots slithering towards their location with several just seconds away from reaching the surface.

    Sophie tightened her grip on Lily¡¯s fragile body and pressed thest protective device on the child¡¯s bodysuit.

    She didn¡¯t have enough qi to create a barrier made from her own aura to protect Lily while travelling at high speeds.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie and Lily¡¯s figures vanished just moments before an enormous root broke free from the ground andunched several ck spike-like projectiles at their previous location.

    The surrounding desert blurred slightly as Sophie just focused on getting back to the starship before she passed out.

    Sophie almost stumbled several times as she felt faint, needle-like stabs of paining from different areas of her body.

    Was this from qi depletion or was it something else?

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure because while there were no more strands of qi to be found in her dantian, she could sense that a strange warm energy was circting through her body.

    It was hard to describe this contradictory feeling of both pain and pleasure, but Sophie¡¯s instincts did not send her any rms or warnings.

    She just had to uneasily ept that there was nothing she could do to examine her current health at least for now.

    Lily was held tightly in her arms and fortunately this barrier had served its purpose well when faced against the high force created due to Sophie¡¯s extreme eleration.

    Raurgh!!!!!!

    A loud shriek of rage echoed through the empty desert as Sophie moved further away from the field of flowers.

    The creature controlling the tendrils had clearly realised that its delicious meal had vanished mysteriously!

    Still¡­ in an unknown environment, one must never rx their vignce and remain constantly on guard.

    Sophie continued to briefly nce at the surrounding desert as she ran straight towards the metalloid bridge.

    Luck was on the pair¡¯s sides tonight as there were no more eventful encounters before reaching the familiar but oddly weing sight of the bridge.

    Sophie stopped activating the movement technique and immediately crashed to the ground with a dull thump.

    At least she had enough strength to shift her body upwards so that the full impact of awkwardly mming into the desert sand was experienced by her alone.

    Even knowing that Lily had a barrier device activated, Sophie¡¯s first instinct was to prevent the child in her arms froming to any harm.

    ¡°Big sister are you alright?¡± Lily hurriedly scrambled out of Sophie¡¯s arms and patted her shoulder twice in panic.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good,¡± Sophie cracked a small grin that barely reached the corners of her lips.

    ¡°I just¡­ need a long nap.¡±

 Chapter 328: The Next Steps To Take

    Chapter 328: The Next Steps To Take

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A faint ringing noise echoed through the transporter room which caused Sophie to groggily open up her eyes.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    ¡°Urgh¡­ just let me sleep some more¡­¡± Sophie muttered as she yawned sleepily.

    She tried to get up but there was a heavy but soft object lying down on her chest.

    Sophie took a quick nce at the mysterious object and saw Lily fast asleep with most of her tiny body curled up against her stomach.

    There were tiny flecks of dried blood on the little girl¡¯s skin and hair froming in contact with Sophie¡¯s bodysuit that was still covered in pieces of flesh.

    What happenedst night?

    Bits and shes of memory surfaced in Sophie¡¯s mind as she vaguely recalled stumbling while walking up the bridge and then finally entering starship.

    Once she reached inside the transporter room¡­ she could only remember copsing to the ground and falling asleep.

    The floor of the transporter room was a cold, hard surface so it was no surprise that Lily had decided to snuggle against her body to sleep.

    Still¡­ Sophie could not help a warm feeling from bubbling up in her chest as she stroked Lily¡¯s hair lovingly.

    It was nice that Lily wasn¡¯t afraid of her.

    However, Sophie wrinkled her nose slightly as the foul odouring off their bodies proved that the pair definitely needed a long shower.

    Sophie frowned as she shifted her arm to reach the metalloid device that was still ringing softly.

    She pressed a button on the side of the device which caused the ringing to finally stop.

    There was no urgent rush to talk to thest surviving members of the crew immediately, so Sophie remained in ce to allow Lily a couple more hours of rest.

    This brief period of silence was the perfect time to think about what actions should she do next.

    In the original n¡­ Sophie would have killed the key members of the uppermand and then teamed up with the mercenaries to take over the ship.

    Now¡­. well¡­.

    It was time to improvise.

    Tomand the loyalty of a random group of warriors would already be an impressive feat but trying to get the surviving crewmembers to obey the butcher who ughtered theirpanions was going to be a herculean task.

    Sophie mentally ran through the different methods of leadership and intimidation that her father had mentioned during territorial management training.

    Unfortunately, Duke Peterlor had only talked about the various methods in an introductory setting since Sophie¡¯s main focus during high school was fighting techniques or cultivation.

    Bribery?

    Most of the crewmembers were associated with the Sun God so who knows if they cared for material wealth and besides¡­

    She didn¡¯t have enough currency on hand to make them forget her rampage.

    Persuasion or diplomacy?

    After what she had done?

    Sophie chuckled darkly as that na?ve thought shed across her mind. Given the chance, there was no doubt that every one of those survivors would kill her at the first opportunity.

    The only option that remained was intimidation or fear. The most effective method at least in the short term.

    This really wasn¡¯t as easy as one would imagine.

    If Sophie pushed the survivors too far then there was a chance of a mental copse.

    She wasn¡¯t afraid of the crew being able to kill her directly because the main problem was that it was impossible to fly a starship using raw strength alone.

    The journey to the frontier region would take at least a week which meant that she needed to prevent any rebellions within that time frame and that wasn¡¯t even considering what to do once they reached the warzone.

    Joining the army now was going to be impossible since it was the referral was in the name of ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory¡¯.

    Maybe she could sneak in with the frence mercenaries? Sophie tapped her fingers absentmindedly.

    That was a problem for another day.

    Right now, she needed to worry about a ring weakness that any intelligent member among the survivors could spot.

    She could not afford to eliminate thest crewmembers which meant that she needed them alive and that was a weakness not easily fixed.

    Unless¡­

    Sophie bit her lip as the vague outline of a n began to take shape in her mind. Minutes turned to hours as Sophie continued to mentally run over different scenarios and ideas.

    Her concentration was broken by a loud yawning from the small child curled up in her arms.

    ¡°Hello sleepyhead,¡± Sophie smiled yfully as she nuzzled Lily¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ you¡­ where are we?¡± Lily tiredly muttered as she turned around to go back to rest.

    ¡°No. I think it¡¯s time that we both take a shower,¡± Sophieughed as she gently shook thezy girl.

    Lily groaned in protest but maybe it was the foul stench wafting off Sophie¡¯s dirty bodysuit, but she just couldn¡¯t go back to sleep.

    Sophie had visited almost every room on the starship in search for fresh prey during the attack, so she already had a mental map of the vessel in her mind.

    Most of the cabins that belonged to the officers onboard the vessel had a private shower room, so she nned on visiting the nearest ones and see if any were clean.

    Sophie got up from the hard ground with a painful groan.

    Sleeping on cold metal was definitely going to cause her back to ache for the rest of the morning or whatever time it was.

    ¡°Sorry Lily but I¡¯m going to need you to wear this,¡± Sophie whispered as she reached into her storage bag.

    She pulled out a nanotech ck mask that could hide Lily¡¯s human features but could also be modified withmands.

    ¡°Mode Delta- Total ckout. Password override: House Peterlor,¡± Sophie spoke with confidence.

    She then passed the mask to Lily after feeling a brief vibrationing from the center of the mask.

    She carefully pressed its soft surface against Lily¡¯s face and soon the mask sank into the little girl¡¯s skin.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ um¡­ I can¡¯t see,¡± Lily hesitantly spoke.

    The eyes section of the mask had been covered by a thin film of ck nanofibers which meant that Lily was now trapped in a world of darkness.

    ¡°Baby¡­¡± Sophie paused briefly as an expression of shame shed across her face.

    Maybe it was for self-satisfaction or cowardice, but she didn¡¯t want Lily to see what had happened to the crew onboard the vessel.

    What¡­ she had done to them.

    She couldn¡¯t ruin Lily¡¯s image of a perfect big sister.

    ¡°I¡­ there are a few dead bodies that still need to be cleaned up. Little children shouldn¡¯t see those things,¡± Sophie exined calmly.

    She did know that the children of high nobility would not be innocent flowers grown in a greenhouse.

    It was likely that Lily had seen death or watched holo-videos of brutal wars between cultivators during training.

    But¡­ if she could just maintain the illusion that she was a protector¡­. and not a mons¡­

    Sophie didn¡¯t even notice that her fingers were tightly clenched together until a sharp pain forced her to look down and see thin droplets of blood leaking out from where her nails had dug into her flesh.

    There were a few ufortable seconds of silence before Lily tilted her mask upwards to face where she thought Sophie¡¯s head was.

    ¡°Okay big sister¡­ I understand!¡± Lily replied cheerfully.

    Lily¡¯s tone was slightly forced but Sophie was so relieved that the little girl had bought her exnation that she subconsciously ignored the strangeness.

    This was the moment when a small rift began to form between the pair.

 Chapter 329: Side Story- Pulling A Few Strings

    Chapter 329: Side Story- Pulling A Few Strings

    (Alcorae Star System)

    (Tantibus University- First Year Training Center)

    ¡°Oh Lord hear my prayer! Channel your holy light into my soul so that I may be a sword of righteous.¡±

    ¡°For it is in your grace Lord that I may stand before you today as a vessel to carry your divine strength!¡±

    Archangel Descent!

    A blinding sh of light filled the training room which caused several of the first-year students watching the slender figure to cover their eyes.

    When the light gradually faded away, the students could see a beautifuldy with otherworldly grace and strength standing proudly in the middle of the fighting ring.

    Rachel stepped forward towards the training dummy with a calm look in her eyes. Four angelic golden wings had sprouted from her back and a pale halo floated gently above her ck curly hair.

    What was originally in her hand was a in wooden sword given to the students for the examination session, but it had now been transformed into a metalloidnceposed of unknown materials.

    She bore a striking resemnce to the legendary heroines from ancient Earth known as the Valkyrie.

    Rachel¡¯s dark brown skin, lean but muscr physique and hazel eyes captured the attention of all who witnessed her glory.

    Several boys and girls in particr blushed furiously as they recalled passionate nights spent in her apartment.

    Rachel positioned her body into a fighting stance with hernce extended outwards and then whispered slowly,

    ¡°Holy Sword Art- First Strike.¡±

    ¡°Phantom de!¡±

    She flew into the air using her newly sprouted wings before unleashing a flurry of sword strikes towards the immobile practice dummy.

    An endless sea of identicalnce phantoms appeared at the tip of her de causing the onlookers to exim in a mixture of shock and awe.

    The practice dummy onlysted for one second before disintegrating under the impact of her heavy strikes.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A mechanical voice echoed through the room as the diagnostic AI calcted the resulting force of her attack.

    [Congrattions! Student: Rachel Empyrean Has Passed The First Stage!]

    There was a slight pause before thunderous apuse filled the space.

    Tantibus University was one of the four most prestigious colleges in the Earth Federation, but their students were famous for being rtively easygoing.

    There was little to no animosity or rivalries among the students due to the emphasis on teamwork and group formations taught duringbat sessions.

    Rachel in particr was extremely popr among her peers both for the crazy parties that she held at her apartment every weekend and her social skills.

    ¡°That was amazing!¡± a pretty girl ran up to Rachel and shyly handed her a small piece of cloth to wipe her face.

    She was a slightly chubby girl in her early twenties with fiery red hair and cute dimples that could be seen on her face as she nervously grinned.

    ¡°Thank you very much. Aren¡¯t you such a sweetie?¡± Rachel smiled gently and took the handkerchief from her lovestruck admirer.

    She politely didn¡¯t mention the fact that her species were shapeshifting blobs of bio-liquid, so it was impossible for her to sweat.

    The shy girl opened her mouth to say something else, but she was rudely pushed out of the way by the crowd of students eager to talk to Rachel.

    ¡°I was like¡­ super impressed that you turned into an angel! I thought only a baptised saintess could do that!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so annoying that the final exam forbat ss is going to be three stages for one exam.¡±

    ¡°Geez¡­ I just want to go home!¡±

    ¡°Yo my buddy R¡¯er from the Hydra Star System is in town tonight¡­. Don¡¯t tell the dorm manager but I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s packing Jamma Juice!¡±

    ¡°Friday is going to be wild!¡±

    Rachel politely smiled and chatted one by one with her ssmates until the professor yelled for them to go back to the spectator zone.

    The crowd reluctantly returned to their seats while Rachel turned her head around to see where the exit was.

    Once a studentpleted the first stage, they were basically free for the rest of the day, so Rachel nned on heading back for some rxation.

    But first¡­

    Rachel ran back a few steps and held the palm of the shy girl who was shooting wistful looks from a distance while walking back to the spectator zone.

    ¡°Hey cutie,¡± Rachel whispered softly into her ear.

    ¡°How about we go on a little date Saturday night? Here¡¯s my Virtual Net ID.¡±

    Before the pretty girl could react, Rachel had already taken out hermunicator and showed a string of numbers.

    ¡°See you,¡± Rachel winked flirtatiously and then left before seeing the girl¡¯s reaction.

    She didn¡¯t see that the starstruck girl¡¯s face had turned as red as her hair.

    It wouldn¡¯t be so bad to try an innocent date every once in awhile.

    The problem was that those types usually wanted some kind of long-termmitment or exclusive dating and that wasn¡¯t really what Rachel desired.

    Of course, she was always upfront and honest with her partners about her open rtionships.

    But frankly¡­ to call them rtionships was already a bit of a stretch to put it mildly.

    Those nights of passion on the average weekend were more hookups than anything substantial.

    Rachel sighed heavily as the cheerful mask she put on in front of her ssmates slipped away as she slowly walked towards the dorms.

    The sky was cloudy and overcast with a cold chill in the air as winter was soon approaching.

    There was no one she could really connect to here.

    Her real friends were all in the same university and they could meet each other whenever they wanted.

    Well except for¡­

    Rachel¡¯s mood lowered as the cheerful image of Sophieughing and joking with her during the university entrance exam shed across her mind.

    It had already been months.

    The only reason why some of the noble heirs had not officially been dered dead was the fact that their families still held out hope.

    Other noble houses had already chosen recements and moved on.

    Duke Peterlor was an unmarried man and now that there was an entire dukedom to be gained by bearing his child¡­

    The number of nobledies eager to gain the title of duchess had quadrupled.

    Unfortunately for the nobledies, Duke Peterlor had rarely appeared in public since the incident at the Imperial pce.

    Rachel absentmindedly opened up hermunicator and pulled up the bounty profile for her missing friend.

    Duke Peterlor was certainly a generous man and any information leading to his daughter¡¯s retrieval would result in quite the substantial reward.

    Rachel had also tried to use the information channels of the Nephilim Church to aid in the search but her status as a prospective saintess did not allow her to wield too much power.

    ¡°Something on your mind? It is truly a rare sight to see you noting out of the Dean¡¯s office for stirring up some trouble in ss,¡± an elderly voice sarcastically muttered.

    Rachel nced up from hermunicator device to see the familiar sight of the bishop sent to act as her bodyguard by the church.

    The high-ranking leaders said that these bishops were sent to provide protection to all saintess or saint candidates, but it was an open secret that their actual duty was monitoring the behaviours of their charges.

    Although that didn¡¯t mean that they weren¡¯t well trained protectors.

    Bishop Walsh stood at an imposing six feet with muscles that were barely contained by his brown robe.

    His sickly pale skin and bulging veins that wriggled furiously with every movement he made was enough to unnerve Rachel slightly whenever she saw his appearance.

    She had never seen him truly use all of his strength before but even her archangel form wasn¡¯t enough to put a scratch on him during their sparring sessions.

    ¡°Not in the mood today Bishop Walsh,¡± Rachel tiredly replied as she was still feeling a bit upset after seeing Sophie¡¯s profile.

    Bishop Walsh raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he saw the defeated posture of his usually troublesome charge.

    ¡°Alright cheer up. I have some good news about that friend of yours who went missing,¡± Bishop Walsh spoke.

    Rachel hurriedly ran up to the bishop and shook his shoulders vigorously. She fired off a series of questions at the elderly man,

    ¡°What? Did you find her? Is she alright?¡±

    Bishop Walsh allowed himself to be tossed around for a few moments before replying in an almost smug tone,

    ¡°No¡­ but I did manage to get Priestess Lilith to agree to perform a divination next Saturday.¡±

    ¡°There is not guarantee that it will work but as far as oracles go¡­. she truly is one of the best.¡±

    ¡°Just um¡­ don¡¯t mention this to the anyone else¡­ I had to pull some strings if you understand what I mean¡­¡±

 Chapter 330: The Calm Before The Storm

    Chapter 330: The Calm Before The Storm

    (Unknown Starship- Lower Deck)

    There was an ufortable silence between Sophie and Lily as the pair moved through the endlessbyrinth of corridors and rooms.

    It wasn¡¯t by choice since Sophie genuinely didn¡¯t know what to say to break the tense atmosphere.

    After only telling Lily the partial truth about why she needed to wear a mask that would block her vision, Sophie could sense that the little girl wasn¡¯t happy.

    Sophie knew that this tension was entirely her fault.

    But¡­ she couldn¡¯t¡­

    How could she tell Lily the kind of monster she was?

    Sophie nced at the scattered body parts and messy bloodstains covering the walls and floor as she walked towards the section of the starship that housed the private cabins.

    ¡°Delicious¡­.¡± Sophie whispered involuntarily as the memory of tasting sweet flesh surfaced once again in her mind.

    She was thankful that Lily¡¯s face was covered by a mask so the little girl would not be exposed to these gruesome scenes¡­

    And the fact that her big sister was drooling with hunger.

    It was a sickness.

    Instead of feeling a sense of empathy or regret for the senseless killing¡­ all Sophie could think about were the chunks of meatying on the ground.

    Such a waste¡­

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes flickered briefly to a crimson hue as the familiar urge to kill bubbled up in her chest.

    She forcefully held back her bloodlust by gripping her fingernails tightly until they pierced the soft flesh on the underside of her palms.

    Deep breaths¡­ deep breaths¡­

    In¡­ and¡­. out¡­. in ¡­. and¡­ out¡­

    Sophie focused on her breathing and gently inhaled and exhaled until the bloodlust disappeared from her mind.

    Do not lose control¡­.

    Sophie closed her eyes and essed her memories from the rampage to double check that she was going in the right direction.

    ¡°Two floors up and then take a right¡­. then go into the side tunnel,¡± Sophie muttered softly.

    Taking a shower as soon as possible was the number one priority.

    Having spent several hours in a bodysuit that was covered in dried blood and pieces of alien meat meant that her body odour was absolutely horrendous.

    This was definitely one of the few times that Sophie rued the fact that her Arachnais physiology had granted her an enhanced sense of smell.

    After she cleaned up, then she would need to deal with the crewmembers locked inside the holding room since it was impossible for one person to operate a starship of this size.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ how far away are we?¡± a gentle voice came from Sophie¡¯s arms.

    Lily was squirming around ufortably because she wasn¡¯t used to having her vision blocked.

    The constantly jostling she felt as Sophie moved through the various corridors wasn¡¯t helping things either.

    ¡°Sorry baby¡­ it should only be around five more minutes and then we can both take a nice long shower,¡± Sophie apologised profusely.

    ¡°I promise¡­ I will make it up to youter¡­ just bear with it for now.¡±

    Lily tilted her mask upwards in direction where she assumed Sophie¡¯s eyes were and then nodded twice.

    Sophie smiled lovingly and touched the corners of Lily¡¯s mask with a contemtive look.

    She hesitated as her finger stroked the button that would remove the filter blocking Lily¡¯s eyes.

    No¡­. I¡­can¡¯t¡­.

    Many thoughts ran through Sophie¡¯s mind at that moment but eventually she sighed and moved her finger away.

    She was a coward.

    Sophie held Lily securely in her arms as she navigated up two floors and then some twists and turns until the pair finally reached a corridor with several locked metalloid doors.

    These were the private rooms for officers on the upper deck.

    Fortunately, this part of the ship was left rtively intact since Sophie¡¯s sudden attack meant that the officers were on other floors of the ship when her rampage begun.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she swept the surrounding area for any traps or injured survivors.

    Her enhanced vision was able to see past the doors and observe the details of the rooms behind them.

    There shouldn¡¯t be any crewmembers left alive in this part of the starship, but Sophie wasn¡¯t going to take any chances.

    After spending several minutes carefully looking, Sophie approached one of the metalloid doors andunched a fierce kick.

    Bam!

    The sturdy metalloid door flew off its hinges andnded on the ground with a dull thump.

    Those ster resistance materials used in its creation were no match for the strength of a qi tide cultivator.

    Sophie entered the room and pressed a button on Lily¡¯s mask to release the covering from her face.

    Lily blinked twice and then winced as it took her a few seconds to adjust to the lighting inside the cabin room.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ is this it?¡± she asked curiously.

    Lily found herself in a small room with one long mattress in the corner, four white walls and a wooden shrine ce prominently in the center.

    The wooden shrine was in the shape of a sun with numerous symbols and writings etched upon its surface.

    Other than those two objects, the rest of the room was empty with no other items or personal belongings.

    There was another metalloid door at the back of the room which Lily assumed led to the showers.

    ¡°Damn¡­ talk about a hard life. I never got why those cultist types want to live so frugally,¡± Sophie muttered as she leaned back against a nearby wall.

    Even the mattress was only covered by a in grey sheet with no pillows or nkets for whichever officer who lived in this cabin to rest their head.

    ¡°Lily¡­ it¡¯s time for a shower,¡± Sophie calmly spoke as she saw Lily begin to touch the wooden shrine curiously.

    ¡°Okay big sister!¡± Lily turned around and smiled cheerfully.

    Finally getting to take off the restrictive mask had put the little girl in a good mood. Sophie returned the grin with a sunny smile and then began to strip off her bodysuit.

    She had taken quite a few baths with Lily during their time spent together in the Unova Syndicate for safety reasons, so there weren¡¯t any issues.

    Sophie peeled off the variousyers of under-armour and then flung her discarded clothing on the mattress.

    It didn¡¯t take long to finally get her clothes off since her bodysuit was made from a memory-foam material.

    Sophie did notice as she stretchedzily that hair was now reaching her lower back after months without a haircut.

    She did really like having long hair but now that it was covered in dried blood from the constant fighting¡­.

    It was probably the best time for a new look.

    Long hair was indeed stylish but thest thing you needed on the battlefield was to get your vision blocked by a loose strand of hair.

    Maybe she should use a sharp de and try to cut her own hair?

    Sophie mulled over that option as she walked over to Lily and helped the little girl to get out of her clothes.

    ¡°Big sister will I look like you when I grow up?¡± Lily asked quietly as she stared at Sophie¡¯s voluptuous figure.

    ¡°Do you want to?¡± Sophie yfully teased.

    ¡°No!¡± came the firm response.

    Sophie was briefly taken aback for a moment and could not help but ask why.

    ¡°Oh? And why don¡¯t you want to look like your big sister?¡± Sophie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°Too big!¡± Lily pointed at her chest and yelled.

    ¡°Hahaha! You little rascal!¡± Sophie covered her chest in mock shame and chased Lily around the room.

    She quickly scooped up the little girl who was no match for her long slender legs and mercilessly ticked her until she apologised.

 Chapter 331: I Dont Blame Them

    Chapter 331: I Don''t me Them

    (Unknown Starship- Fifth Floor)

    (Holding Room)

    ¡°By the Sun God¡¯s light! There is only one way to defeat this wretched monster and that is to fight it as a group!¡±

    ¡°This is merely a trial to test our faith!¡±

    ¡°Are you out of your fucking mind?¡±

    ¡°Aphloth you have to either be a senile old fool or all those nights spent mediating have driven you mad¡­¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten how many corpses are scattered around the starship? Look around this very room for instance!¡±

    ¡°I will dly break down that door if you can tell me how it is possible to beat a mercenary capable of singlehandedly wiping out entire squads of heavily armoured soldiers?¡±

    ¡°So, you just want to give up? The Sun God will punish heretics like you!¡±

    Pirene let out a dull groan as the sounds of loud voices bitterly arguing caused him to finally wake up.

    Thest thing he could remember was being trapped in the bathroom with Cordata and Lilise¡­ and then¡­

    What happened?

    The alien furrowed his brows as he desperately tried to recall how he ended up in this strange room.

    Wait¡­. it was that lunatic mercenary!

    Pirene jumped to his feet and hurriedly swept the surrounding area for any trace of the fearsome warrior.

    His sudden movements did not draw the attention of the other survivors who were still engaged in a fierce debate among themselves.

    Pirene¡¯s orangish pupils scanned the interior of the room carefully but found nothing out of the ordinary.

    That was of course, if you didn¡¯t count the bloodstains sttered all over the ceilings and walls as well as the meaty pieces of flesh haphazardlyying on the ground.

    Pirene frowned as he smelled a nasty scent that could only be described as rotten meat mixed with bodily fluidsing from the torn-up corpses.

    This awful scent caused him to suddenly throw up.

    He gagged as the foul odour entered his nostrils and there was nowhere to escape since the holding room had poor cirction.

    Pirene immediately dropped to his knees and threw up a few more times until there was nothing left in his stomach.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± a cold voice came from behind Pirene¡¯s body, and a warm hand touched his back.

    Pirene looked up to see Cordata staring at him with a concerned look on her face. Her long, slender limbs stretched out to help Pirene get back on his feet.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Pirene murmured weakly as the nauseous feeling in his stomach had yet to go away.

    He tried to ask Cordata all the questions that were running through his mind but had to take a few moments to recover.

    It was difficult to form telepathy bonds without being able to fully concentrate, so Pirene didn¡¯t bother to establish a mental connection.

    Pirene closed his eyes and tried to focus his thoughts on anything but the horrible smell. He reminisced about life back home on Vntis.

    Pirene was born to a lower-ss family on the and joining the Sun¡¯s Glory was seen as the only way to advance one¡¯s social status.

    Every ten years, young Stukuins would be dropped off at education camps to learn the holy doctrine of the Sun God.

    This process usually took anywhere from thirty to seventy years.

    It was in this environment that the young Stukuins would learn about the glory of the Sun God and travel to distants with other missionaries to spread the good word.

    They would also take part in the cleansing ritual to allow the ignorant lifeforms of primitive civilisations to enter the Sun God¡¯s divine pce.

    A baptism of fire that would burn away their sins and leave only purity.

    Still even with this hands-on approach, only one quarter of the students would end up sessfully learning the doctrine.

    As for the rest¡­

    Some things were better left unspoken.

    Following the training, the newly graduated students would be given two years of rest and then would have the opportunity to join the organization.

    This was their final chance to leave but when you have known nothing but the organization for your entire life¡­

    It was hard for the graduated students not to return.

    Plus, in addition to the societal pressure and expectation, there were some really good advertisement brochures.

    Join a cult they said.

    Benefits and a healthy retirement n they said.

    Blessing from the almighty and powerful Sun God they said.

    If Pirene could go back in time to meet the high priest who handed him those sheets of paper just a couple of days before he decided to return to the organization¡­.

    He would have punched him right in the face.

    The nauseous feelings in Pirene¡¯s stomach had now faded away so he was able form proper words to ask the questions on his mind,

    ¡°Where¡­ where are we? And what happened after that lunatic cornered us in the bathroom?¡±

    ¡°Beats me,¡± Cordata replied with a small shrug of her shoulder.

    ¡°Right now, there are two theories floating around. One of them is that the creature wants to gradually eat us over a long period of time.¡±

    ¡°In that case we only have a few days or if we get lucky¡­ maybe even a few weeks before we all die.¡±

    ¡°And the other is that she needs some of us alive for some dark purpose otherwise why would she stick us in the holding room we used to house the mercenaries instead of just killing us right away.¡±

    Pirene saw that the rest of the survivors were huddled into a group near the metalloid door, so it was a bit difficult to count how many people were in the room.

    ¡°How many of us are there?¡± Pirene muttered.

    Cordata frowned slightly and tilted her head sideways to think. She raised one pale finger in the air and then Pirene felt a small brush against his mental subconscious.

    It was so faint that he almost didn¡¯t notice.

    ¡°There are sixteen of us left in this room,¡± Cordata replied frankly after a few seconds of counting.

    It was easy for a highly skilled telepath to check the number of nearby conscious beings.

    ¡°You are taking this awfully well,¡± Pirene noted as he observed Cordata¡¯s apparent easygoing attitude.

    He was genuinely impressed in her ability to keep a level head in this perilous situation where their survival was not guaranteed.

    ¡°Calm? You think I¡¯m calm?¡± Cordata chuckled darkly and pointed towards a certain area in the back of the room.

    ¡°I¡¯m not calm¡­ I am just resigned to fate.¡±

    Pirene turned around and saw two bodiesying among the mutted corpses of the mercenaries.

    Except these dead bodies were those of his fellow crewmembers. He even recognised the uniform on one of the corpses that belonged to the engineer team.

    Did the lunatic already begin a round of ughter before he had even woken up?

    ¡°Before you ask since it¡¯s written on your face, don¡¯t worry¡­ so far, the monster has not visited us yet,¡± Cordata spoke solemnly as she saw Pirene¡¯s terrified expression.

    ¡°Those two over there¡­. decided to kill themselves¡­¡±

    There was a quiet silence between the pair as the true horror of Cordata¡¯s statement took root in Pirene¡¯s heart.

    After taking a closer look at the corpses, he could observe open wounds in the middle of their foreheads that were consistent with a point-nk sma shot.

    There was no sma gun near the two bodies, but it was most likely that one of the other survivors had picked it up.

    ¡°They figured that a quick death was better than being eaten alive by that beast,¡± Cordata exined in a grim tone.

    ¡°Honestly¡­ I don¡¯t me them¡±

 Chapter 332: Psychological Warfare

    Chapter 332: Psychological Warfare

    Sophie¡¯s footsteps slowed down as she approached the metalloid door that blocked the entrance to the holding room.

    This was going to be the most crucial step of her n to finally leave this and travel safely to the frontier region.

    She had left Lily behind in the officer¡¯s cabin after the pair had finished a long overdue shower.

    It had been a relief to finally scrub off the manyyers of filth and grime that had been covering her bodysuit for hours.

    The greenish liquid used in the shower was so effective at dissolving muck that Sophie had even managed to get all those chunks of flesh out of her hair.

    Lily did not want to leave her side, but Sophie had to reluctantly persuade her not to leave the cabin until she returned.

    She did not want Lily to see what would happen to the crewmembers inside the holding room.

    There was only one way to control the survivors and that was to nt a seed of terror in their hearts.

    To be a monster so horrifying that the thought of rebellion would never cross their minds.

    Fear is perhaps the most effective motivator at least in the short term.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as an intense feeling of self-loathing and shame rose up in her chest.

    Would she even need to pretend? Or was she just going to reveal her true nature?

    The answer to those questions was something that Sophie hoped she would never find out.

    After letting out a heavy sigh, Sophie touched the outer surface of the door and prepared to break it open.

    Wait¡­ was there something she had forgotten?

    Sophie paused her movements as a sudden realisation crossed her mind. She had to return to the base camp of the Hyperion Knights and deal with the captain!

    The mutiny and her subsequent bloodthirsty rampage had made Sophie temporarily forget about the hunter goddess¡¯ mission.

    She still needed to kill Captain Dawn.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Sophie muttered in frustration.

    This was seemingly yet another obstacle ced in her journey to reach home.

    The goddess¡¯ warning prevented Sophie from just leaving the as she didn¡¯t want to risk whatever the divine entity meant by the punishment being ¡®a life for a life.¡¯

    But this could also be an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

    This spaceship model did have mounted sma cannons and high-ss orbital weapons capable of firing off intense beams of heat that could melt mountains.

    Sophie was not confident that she could beat the captain in a fair fight, but she didn¡¯t need to.

    There was nothing stopping her from just blowing him up into tiny pieces!

    Captain Dawn had not crossed the threshold to be a void stage cultivator which meant that he was unable to cross spatial distances instantly.

    In fact, only a god stage cultivator would be able to take a hit from an orbital cannon and emerge unscathed.

    Now in addition to flying the spacecraft, Sophie needed to convince one of the crewmembers to operate the ship¡¯s weapon systems.

    ¡°You can do this¡­ just remember your training¡­. take a deep breath,¡± Sophie whispered softly to herself.

    ¡°You have all the power.¡±

    ¡°They are already afraid of you.¡±

    She took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled until her mood settled down. It was time to show off her acting skills.

    Sophie bent down and ripped off another finger from the alien corpseying just outside the door.

    She pressed the slightly decaying appendage against the scanner which took a few seconds to read the fingerprint.

    Eventually there was a bleeping noise and the metalloid door suddenly swung open. An intense smell of rotting flesh and piss filled Sophie¡¯s nostrils.

    The loud argumentative voices inside the room were instantly silenced as the survivors trembled in terror at the familiar silhouette.

    ¡°Die¡­ die¡­ DIE MONSTER!¡± a desperate scream came from the back of the room.

    Bang!

    Sophie tilted her head sideways as a sma shot narrowly passed her right cheek by only a few centimeters.

    Sophie darkly chuckled as she brushed a strand of her hair from her face with casual movements.

    ¡°Does anyone else want a turn?¡±

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three other survivors reached for their guns and fired off rounds at Sophie¡¯s body, but the hybrid girl dodged them with ease.

    It was almost like bullying children.

    Sophie¡¯s original n was to toy with them some more but the uncontroble surge of bloodlust gradually increasing with every second that she remained inbat forced her to end things quickly.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the entrance to the room.

    The room filled with the sounds of painful grunts and moans as each survivor with a sma rifle in their hands found themselves thrown against the nearest wall.

    Sophie had taken care not to kill them but maybe it was her tense mood, but she may have used a bit too much force.

    ¡°The next person who tries to kill me will be executed immediately,¡± Sophie growled as the colour of one of her eyes turned scarlet.

    She didn¡¯t even bother to pick up the sma rifles thaty on the ground. A casual disregard for the weapons would prove to be a more effective deterrent than simply destroying them.

    It showed that she had enough confidence in her skills that she didn¡¯t even mind if they carried arms.

    Psychological warfare was an art.

    To break the mind requiredyers of subliminal messaging that the affected target would never even realise.

    Sophie did not expect tomandplete loyalty from the survivors as she would need to deprogram years of indoctrination.

    It would be good enough just to prevent betrayal. Sophie¡¯s eyes stared at every single crewmember in turn and saw the emotions hidden in their gazes.

    Fear, anger, sadness¡­

    Not good enough. The only emotion in their eyes should be a mixture of fear and submission.

    Sophie extended her ded appendages outwards with the pointed barbs clearly on disy. She grinned and her sharpened fangs gleamed under the light inside the room.

    An intense pressure filled the room which forced the survivors to their knees. Sophie unleashed her killing intent and to the terrified aliens¡­.

    They saw a bearer of death.

    A being that would never be satisfied until it left piles of corpses in its wake. Rivers of blood that would flow whenever it hunted.

    A creature who would kill not out of rage, not out of passion but rather an endless hunger. A hunger that could never be sated.

    And then the survivors came to the terrifying realisation¡­

    It was impossible to reason with a beast.

 Chapter 333: Fractured And Broken

    Chapter 333: Fractured And Broken

    Sophie maintained her posture and kept the aliens on their knees. The mental image of a bloodthirsty lunatic needed to be burnt into the mind of every survivor.

    This was the first opening act that was crucial in the oue of the negotiation.

    Intimidation was not as simple as merely threatening harm.

    No¡­ she needed to go further. She ¡­ would show them¡­

    Why they should fear the predator.

    The remaining crewmembers were shown the enormous gap in strength between the two parties.

    With a casual punch, Sophie could split their bodies in half. In a blink of an eye, she could mercilessly tear their corpses into fleshy chunky of meat.

    Even sma rifles were useless against her sharp reflexes.

    Still¡­ even trapped rabbits would dare to bite when faced with a merciless hunter.

    Sophie released her killing intent for a few minutes and then abruptly withdrew her bloodlust without warning.

    The next step was unpredictability.

    Sophie knew that her intentions and goals must remain a mystery to the survivors so that they constantly worried about her next move.

    ¡°Get up,¡± Sophie expressionlessly ordered.

    Her words had an immediate effect and even with trembling legs, the survivors desperately tried to get back on their feet.

    Many were still suffering from the aftereffects of being subjected to immense force and took a few minutes until they could stand upright.

    Sophie did not rx her posture and stared into the eyes of each survivor in turn.

    One by one, she observed every minute detail from the stripes on their uniforms to the injuries on their bodies.

    The entire time, she did not say a single word.

    Tension filled the air as the survivors nced at each other nervously.

    The most important rule of any negotiation was to never speak first because it was a sign of weakness.

    The party that spoke first would lose momentum since the initiative would be in the hands of the opposing group.

    Sophie was prepared to maintain this ufortable silence until one of the survivors could not stand it anymore.

    One minute passed¡­

    Two minutes passed¡­

    Five minutes passed¡­

    Time seemed to stretch to a crawl as Sophie¡¯s face disyed no hint of emotions which was in direct contrast to the survivors whose expressions showed various states of panic.

    ¡°What¡­ what¡­ do you¡­ want?¡± a nervous trembling voice came from the back of the room.

    A barely noticeable smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she realised that the bait had finally been taken.

    She took a quick look at the brave survivor who spoke up and saw a slender male dressed in a long brown robe with the symbol of the sun painted across the back.

    There was also a belt attached to the lower half of the robe that contained various metalloid devices which Sophie assumed were tools.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes as several guesses about the survivor¡¯s upation shed across her mind.

    Engineer, technician, or maintenance worker¡­

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Sophie whispered in a quiet tone.

    Her voice while soft, echoed through the holding room as the other survivors moved away from the unlucky alien.

    ¡°Pirene¡­ I¡­ I¡­¡± the alien stammered as an intense feeling of fear rose up in his chest.

    The bloodthirsty monster was now looking directly at him with those terrible eyes.

    ¡°Rx,¡± Sophie chuckled lightly.

    ¡°I appreciate someone with such¡­ bravery.¡±

    Her calm words seemed to have the opposite effect as Pirene noticeably tensed up. This was precisely what Sophie was hoping for.

    The next step of her psychological tactics was quite difficult, but it was a necessary evil.

    Social cohesion disruption.

    How could there be a mutiny when the survivors began to fight among themselves?

    How could alliances be formed when trust was destroyed?

    Sophie did feel vaguely ufortable about what she nned on doing next but at this point it was toote.

    Or maybe she was just making excuses to calm down her guilty conscience.

    It may sound cruel, but she valued the lives of herself and Lily more than the hundreds of aliens who had died on the starship.

    ¡°There is no need to hide anything,¡± Sophie turned away from Pirene and focused on the rest of the survivors.

    ¡°I have quite the¡­ hunger¡­.and certain needs¡­. certain¡­ urges¡±

    ¡°This may be a long trip, but I can assure you that at least half of you will still be alive by the time this starship reaches its destination.¡±

    ¡°Who lives and who dies will be entirely up to my will¡­ or should I leave it to you?¡±

    Sophie frowned and pretended to think deeply. This was all part of the act since she did not intend to kill any of the remaining survivors unless it was absolutely necessary.

    ¡°I require two meals today¡­. decide amongst yourselves who I will take,¡± Sophie bared her fangs and grinned.

    ¡°Do not worry¡­ I will reward all of the individuals who physically subdued the sacrifices with fresh food, water and maybe even a new room.¡±

    She could see the turbulent emotions disyed on the faces of the survivors as they realised what was happening.

    They did not dare to attack her, so the only solution was to pick two survivors and send them off as sacrifices.

    But the question of who would be chosen was bound to sow chaos.

    In addition, Sophie had offered generous rewards that could only be imed if the survivors took an active role in restraining the two that were chosen.

    People are selfish.

    No one truly wants to die.

    These were the two foundational truths that Sophie had learnt after her experiences on both Calypso and since being teleported to the Unova Syndicate.

    To treat all the survivors with the same level of cruelty would lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction towards her.

    That is why she needed to fracture the bonds between them.

    Sending off your own colleagues to ¡®die¡¯ would break any sort of unity.

    It was funny in a dark sort of way. Different groups in society can be united around amon suffering until one group is treated marginally better than the others.

    Then just like animals¡­ they turn on each other.

    Of course, Sophie hoped that these aliens had a simr mentality to humans otherwise this tactic was unlikely to work.

    ¡°You have five minutes to decide,¡± Sophie growled darkly and left the room. She closed the metalloid door and left the survivors to fend for themselves.

    It would be easy to use her enhanced vision to spy on the movements of the survivors, but Sophie intentionally did not bother.

    There was no need to witness the ugliness of society when individuals are faced with the threat of death.

    The door closed with a dull ng and the survivors nced at each other with unknown emotions hidden in their gazes.

    Although they tried to conceal it, each survivor had the same thought.

    I must not be chosen!

 Chapter 334: The Monster Returns

    Chapter 334: The Monster Returns

    (Unknown Starship- Holding Room)

    (Cordata¡¯s POV)

    There was a tense moment of silence as the monster left the room and shut the door. I could see the turbulent emotions disyed on the faces of my fellow crewmembers.

    What was going to happen next?

    I didn¡¯t want to die.

    We had all witnessed the fate of those killed by the beast and only the lucky ones were ughtered instantly.

    I still tremble slightly as I recall watching the monitoring screen while that lunatic carefully ripped apart the body of an officer piece by piece while he was alive and screaming out in agony.

    That monster with an insatiable hunger for blood and destruction.

    For the first time in my life¡­. I felt a crisis of faith.

    My entire life has been spent devoted to the Sun God and his teachings and yet in my darkest hour¡­

    He never answered my prayers.

    Perhaps the gods do not deem their followers worthy of their protection. Or perhaps their strength is not as powerful as the scriptures say.

    There is no doubt in my mind that voicing out these opinions on my home would immediately get me burnt alive at the stake by the archbishops.

    I cannot help but hope that I survive by the end of these next two weeks.

    I even think that it would be best if I just quietly disappeared to the outer regions rather than going back to the order.

    My family would get a nice severance pay that couldst for a few years if I managed to fake my death sessfully.

    I heard that financial groups are hiringbourers to explore news for resources. The work is dangerous but at least the pay is good.

    Cordata sighed heavily and asked the question that was on everyone¡¯s minds.

    ¡°So¡­ what should we do?¡±

    No one answered.

    She tilted her head to the side and saw Pirene shivering slightly as he continued to nervously nce at the door.

    Talking to the monster had exhausted all of his courage and now all he could do was whimper softly.

    ¡°I say we pray to the Sun God for answers!¡± a bold voice came from the front of the room.

    Cordata rolled her eyes in disgust as she saw an older gentleman with wrinkled hands make a religious gesture.

    ¡°Old man! We already tried that, and it didn¡¯t work!¡± a sharp retort came from the other side of the room.

    Cordata took a quick nce and saw a Stukuins female wearing an officer¡¯s uniform engraved with multiple stripes.

    Pilot¡­

    Usually, the different groups onboard the vessel such as the officers, security guards and technicians were housed and worked in different areas of the starship.

    Hence there wasn¡¯t much time to get acquainted with everyone.

    ¡°You filthy heretic! The order will punish you for turning away from our Lord and master!¡± the older man yelled.

    He raised up his hands and attempted to rally support from the other survivors. There were a few survivors who moved over to his side, but the majority stayed in ce.

    Years of indoctrination and religious beliefs were hard to go against, but the threat posed by the predator seemed to be insurmountable.

    It was this shift in mentality that Sophie was aiming for.

    There was no weapon that was more effective in breaking a person¡¯s psyche than terror.

    She had sessfully created an impression in the minds of the survivor that even their so-called god would not save them from her wrath.

    ¡°Look¡­ we only have five minutes until she returns,¡± a calm voice attempted to diffuse the tense situation.

    It came from a pale-skinned survivorying down on one of the blood-soaked beds.

    Cordata recognised the survivor as a man belonging to the alpha core group of a security squad.

    He used to pass her workstation every couple of days while doing a fresh round of patrols.

    Cordata furrowed her brows and tried to remember his name.

    Amp¡­Afy¡­ Ampofas!

    It was hard to link the usual confident figure who had been reduced to a fragile appearance. A mere shell of the person he once was.

    He was missing an arm and a long cut had been made along the side of his face that bled slightly as he shifted around.

    ¡°I am willing to sacrifice myself as the first person,¡± he grunted in pain and spoke.

    Cordata frowned slightly as she felt a sense of shame in her heart. Here was a man who had fought the creature and yet was willing to give himself up to protect the rest of them.

    He was a true hero.

    ¡°Do you think that monster will ept damaged goods? What if we make her mad and then she ughters us all?!¡± a hysterical voice suddenly yelled.

    The security officer¡¯s noble sacrifice was instantly forgotten as the survivors exchanged worried nces with one another.

    That possibility had never even crossed their minds.

    The instructions that the monster gave were for two sacrifices, but wouldn¡¯t quality also be a factor?

    ¡°Do you want to kill us all?¡± an aggressive survivor ran towards Ampofas and begun to shake him violently.

    Cordata and a few other crewmembers rushed forward and managed to drag the enraged man off the security officer¡¯s injured body.

    Ampofas¡¯ wounds were now bleeding heavily after the sudden attack and his blood dripped on the already dirty mattress.

    ¡°Get off him! At least he tried to help us!¡± Cordata scolded fiercely.

    ¡°Shut up! HE WAS GOING TO KILL US ALL!¡± the survivor shrieked and started to thrash around furiously.

    It took thebined efforts of five crewmembers to subdue him. Eventually Cordata was forced to pick up a nearby sma rifle and knock the struggling man unconscious with a heavy blow.

    ¡°Well¡­ I¡­ I¡­ guess we have the first sacrifice,¡± Pirene stammered as he hid in a corner.

    Cordata froze in ce as she realised what she had done.

    No¡­ she didn¡¯t mean to pick him¡­ she just wanted to get him to stop fighting¡­

    The approving nodsing from the other survivors made her sick to the stomach. Beasts and animals eager to take advantage of someone as long as it wasn¡¯t them.

    ¡°But we still need one more person,¡± came a voice from somewhere in the room.

    Tension filled the air as there was really no good answer to that statement. Time was ticking and the monster could be back in any second.

    Thump!

    Cordata hurriedly turned around and saw the limp body of Pirene slowly slide motionlessly down to the ground.

    A hooded figure stood over his unconscious body. It was a person that Cordata recognised as the supervisor of the technician department.

    Eravis.

    The longest serving crewmember onboard the vessel whose personal achievements had even gained him a reputation among the other departments.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for his questions¡­ then maybe the monster would not have wanted to eat us!¡± Eravis dered loudly.

    What nonsense¡­

    It was as clear as day that the mercenary was in a bloodthirsty rage long before Pirene had bravely spoken up.

    But despite this fact, soon other eager voices joined in support for Eravis¡¯ deration.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! He clearly was working with the monster!¡±

    ¡°This is what the Sun God would have wanted!¡±

    ¡°I never really did like that guy¡­ he was clearly suspicious from the start!¡±

    Cordata opened her mouth to protest but no words escaped from her lips. She looked away guilty and gave a silent apology to Pirene in her heart.

    There were already two sacrifices chosen and she didn¡¯t want to die.

    Cordata stood by and watched as the two unconscious bodies were unceremoniously dragged across the floor and dumped at the entrance to the holding room.

    Everyone waited with bated breath as the minutes ticked by. Each second felt like an eternity to the fearful survivors.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Two loud rings came from the other side of the room and all the survivors could do was gaze at the metalloid door that was slowly opening.

    The monster had returned.

 Chapter 335: The Fun Begins!

    Chapter 335: The Fun Begins!

    (Unknown Starship- Fifth Floor)

    (Holding Room)

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she quietly stepped into the room. The scent of blood and rotting meat filled her nostrils with every step she took.

    It was so¡­ disguis¡­ delicious¡­

    She could see the survivors visibly freeze as she slowly approached. There was a noticeable sense of tension in the air.

    Two unconscious bodiesy helplessly on the ground next to the door.

    The survivors had made the choice to sacrifice their fellow crewmates.

    This was exactly as Sophie predicted.

    She did not feel enraged at their callous actions because under the same circumstances¡­

    Who knows what choice she would have made?

    No one wants to die. Sophie knew that fact better than anyone since she still had the memories of Sui Meng inside her head.

    The shock and horror of slowly realising that you could never return to your friends and loved ones had tormented the ancient Earthling for the entire time she was in control.

    There were no second chances after death which is why Sophie cherished her life. There were too many goals that she still needed to aplish.

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Sophie chuckled darkly and slowly pped.

    She bent down and gripped the two unconscious survivors by the cors of their robes.

    She dragged the bodies across the floor while the other survivors nced away. Perhaps none wanted to see the fate of theirpanions.

    Guilt and remorse were the two emotions that Sophie hoped would fill their hearts.

    Her use of psychological maniption tactics was working so far but now it was time to take the next step.

    Reward.

    ¡°Who helped to pick out these sacrifices? Please step forward for your gift,¡± Sophie loudly dered.

    There was a brief moment of hesitation but eventually six survivors tentatively stepped forward.

    Sophie also spotted a survivor towards the back of the room ring at the six crewmembers with hatred in her gaze.

    That¡¯s it¡­

    A brief smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face that was so fast that the survivors didn¡¯t even notice.

    Turning their anger and frustrations on each other would ensure that a united group would be impossible to form.

    ¡°Well, such loyalty deserves a reward! Here are some fresh meals for the day and I shall return very soon,¡± Sophie calmly stated.

    Sophie nodded her head in approval and then reached into her storage bag for a handful of nutrient vials.

    She ced all six vials on a nearby bed and then left the room with the two bodies in hand.

    The metalloid door closed behind her with a dull thump.

    Why had she not given the vials to the survivors directly? There were two reasons. Firstly, it was to maintain an aura of indifference and more importantly¡­

    It was to give the other survivors in the room a chance to steal the rewards for themselves.

    Sophie nned on not interfering with anything that happened inside the room.

    Even in the case of injuries since it was unlikely that the survivors would kill each other.

    All the survivors should know that having fewer people in the room would increase the likelihood that they would be chosen as the next meal.

    Sophie picked up the two bodies from the ground effortlessly and then hoisted them on her shoulders like sacks of potatoes.

    It only took around ten minutes to bring the two survivors to the cafeteria level where the torn-up corpses of the security officers still remained.

    The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out thin strips of metalloid rope which she then used to bind their arms and legs.

    This step wasn¡¯t necessary to protect herself but rather to increase the difort for her prisoners.

    Sophie had to pause after she finished tightly locking the limbs of the prisoners as a sudden thought surfaced in her mind.

    Cleo would look so tempting if she was also wrapped up in chains¡­

    The mental image of the pampered princess being tied up and staring at her with a mixture of fear and arousal caused a fierce blush to form on Sophie¡¯s face.

    No¡­ no¡­ focus on the mission.

    Sophie shook her head twice to get that distracting thought from her mind, but the mental image still lingered.

    She could feel a warmthing from the pink mark branded on her chest but nothing else happened.

    Eventually thisfortable feeling faded away.

    Sophie made a mental note to ask her aunt what exactly the mark did.

    She had found little information regarding the mark inside the sea of Arachnais knowledge that her aunt had ced in the amulet¡¯s space.

    ¡°What¡­ where¡­¡± a groggy voice suddenly murmured.

    Sophie hurriedly took a few steps backwards and then arranged her posture so that it appeared as though she had been waiting impatiently.

    It was time for another performance.

    ¡°Hello little snack,¡± Sophie chuckled sadistically as she saw the frightened expression on the survivor¡¯s face.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait for your friend to join us and then we can spend some time together¡­¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ DON¡¯T HURT ME!¡± the survivor pleaded desperately.

    Sophieughed but did not say a single word. This game was about patience.

    Rather than going straight into torture, it was important to let the fear and dread fester in her victim¡¯s mind.

    Sometimes the unknown threat was more terrifying than the actual source of fear.

    Sophie did tell the survivors that the sacrifices would be eaten but the manner in which she would devour them was left to their imaginations.

    Some would expect a quick but messy death while others probably felt as though the process involved the hybrid girl painfully cutting off chunks of their flesh while they were still alive.

    Clearly the shivering alien in front of her was thetter. He visibly flinched whenever Sophie stretched out her arm to yawnzily.

    There was no rush and as the minutes ticked by, Sophie maintained the light smile on her face while the survivor¡¯s pale skin somehow got even whiter.

    The fear and tension were warping his mind and breaking down his psyche piece by piece. Sophie felt as though she could almost taste the emotions in the air.

    Don¡¯t lose control¡­.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and then slowly exhaled until the rising feeling of bloodlust went back down.

    Her goal was not to kill these two aliens. She needed them alive to extract information on the day-to-day operations onboard the vessel.

    ¡°Wha¡­ what¡­ happened?¡± Pirene opened his eyes with a wince as he felt a painful throb in the back of his head.

    A sudden noise echoed through the cafeteria as Sophie giggled and then pped her hands together in excitement.

    Pirene saw the monster standing before him and stared in disbelief as he realised that his own colleagues had betrayed him.

    ¡°Sorry the ce is a bit¡­. messy,¡± Sophie whispered hoarsely as she yfully picked up a severed arm from the floor.

    She toyed with the bloodied flesh for a few moments and then flung it off to the side with a bored look on her face.

    ¡°Shall we begin the fun?¡±

 Chapter 336: Dark Desires And An Unlikely Gamble

    Chapter 336: Dark Desires And An Unlikely Gamble

    It was an addiction.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as her gaze lingered on the trembling survivors.

    Her mental state had been slowly changing for a long time now, but she wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to her Arachnais heritage or a side effect of bing the hunter goddess¡¯ vessel.

    The physiological changes were obvious, but Sophie was nowing to terms with just how far her mentality had shifted as well.

    There was an inherent darkness inside her mind that hungered for the opportunity to be set free.

    The sweet temptation to forget about the interrogation n and just kill the two aliens in front of her made Sophie¡¯s mouth water.

    Small beads of saliva dripped down from the corners of her lips, and she could feel her fangs slowly lengthen.

    Feed¡­

    Sophie¡¯s eyes flickered constantly from their usual golden hue to crimson red as it took all of her willpower to fight against the natural instincts guiding her to kill.

    Deep breaths¡­ deep breaths¡­ deep breaths¡­

    Gently exhale¡­ gently exhale¡­ gently exhale¡­

    Sophie closed her eyes and tried to focus on something other than the sweet scent of flesh invading her nostrils.

    Cleo¡­.

    The beautiful princess with her slender and lean physique. The flowing dark hair that curled slightly as it fell below her shoulders.

    Seeing the mischievous glint in her piercing green eyes. The way her body twisted and squirmed in ecstasy when they had lost their virginity together.

    Sophie¡¯s heartbeat slowed and the turbulent emotions hidden behind her expressionless mask calmed down.

    Her eyes had now reverted back to their usual golden appearance but there was now a faint tinge of pink hidden along their edges.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how long this feeling of tranquility wouldst so she decided to speed up her interrogation n.

    She opened her eyes and saw the two survivors in a state of almost total mental copse.

    Some of her bloodlust and madness had leaked out while Sophie was trying her best to calm down.

    Fortunately, it only took a few moments for the survivors to recover but the expressions on their faces now showed only despair.

    Sophie frowned since this wasn¡¯t the emotional state that she wanted before the interrogation begun.

    Well¡­ now the only option was to go with a crueler tactic.

    Perhaps it was getting easier to pretend to be a monster since the feeling of guilt in Sophie¡¯s chest now seemed to lessen.

    It was time to show off her acting skills.

    ¡°Why do you both look so unhappy? Are you afraid of me?¡± Sophie muttered darkly as she stepped closer to her prisoners.

    She gently touched the sides of their arms and grinned wickedly as they visibly flinched.

    The feeling of domination made Sophie unconsciously grip tighter until her nails pierced the soft flesh of their arms.

    Hearing the painful gasps was music to Sophie¡¯s ears. The hybrid girlughed and then suddenly grabbed the throats of both survivors.

    The alien physiology of the crew was vaguely humanoid, but their long slender limbs and fragile necks made their bodies appear to be awkward and disjointed.

    Sophie took care not to squeeze their necks too forcefully because the strength contained in her palms was more than enough topletely crush their windpipes.

    ¡°How about we y a little game?¡± Sophie leaned closer and softly whispered a sweet temptation.

    ¡°Whoever wins is free to go.¡±

    ¡°I will only kill one.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s voice infiltrated the ears of her two captives, and she could see the expressions on their faces change.

    Hope¡­ is the most poisonous weapon.

    In the face of certain death, it was easy to give up and just ept.

    But offer an animal the chance to live and it will dly struggle and fight. This method was truly insidious.

    The survivors would not just have to win her game but ensure that their colleague lost as well.

    This simple realisation would turn them against each other.

    They were no longer crewmates but rather¡­petitors.

    Sophie took her hands off their necks and then waited in anticipation for the expected response to her offer.

    The survivor on the right hesitated for a moment and then spoke but his fear of Sophie made his speech fairly incoherent,

    ¡°What¡­ how¡­ how do you win the game?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ is¡­ will you really let one¡­ one¡­ of us go?¡±

    The hybrid girl vaguely recognised the voice as belonging to the brave alien who had asked her a question back in the holding room.

    Sophie could remember his name clearly but pretending that she had forgotten would serve another purpose.

    ¡°Before the game begins¡­.¡± Sophie chuckled lightly as she saw the survivors tremble before she had even finished her sentence.

    ¡°What are your names?¡±

    ¡°Pir¡­ Pirene,¡± one of the survivors stammered nervously.

    ¡°Eovoby,¡± came the steady reply from the other captive.

    His speech was the clearer of the two, but Sophie¡¯s keen vision could spot his hands shaking furiously.

    Sophie¡¯s inner sadism rose to the surface for a brief moment as she imagined breaking his thin fingers one by one.

    How would he scream?

    Would he beg? Would he cry?

    No¡­ no¡­ I have to stop¡­

    Sophie bit her lip violently and tasted the salty metallic tang of blood fill her mouth.

    Tasting her own blood was unpleasant but the disgusting feeling was enough to pierce through the mental fog.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out two cone shaped metallic devices. The devices in her hand instantly captured the attention of the prisoners.

    Each device was only around ten inches in length with an exterior that was coated in a light green substance.

    Sophie flipped the devices around and pressed two buttons on the back of each.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A faint ringing noise came from the devices which caused the prisoners to subconsciously move backwards.

    Unfortunately, the bindings wrapped around their limbs were too strong, so they were only able to move a few centimeters.

    Sophie ignored the obvious difort of the survivors and stepped forward to ce one device on each of theirps.

    ¡°This is a high-grade explosive device that can monitor biological responses to determine if you are lying or telling the truth,¡± Sophie exined with undisguised glee in her voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ this is only the first stage of the game so I will make it easy just for you!¡±

    ¡°All you have to do is answer a series of questions and that¡¯s it! Of course, if you tell a lie¡­¡±

    ¡°The device will activate immediately.¡±

    Bleep! Bleep!

    The noiseing from the cone-shaped devices was incredibly soft and yet the survivors could feel their hearts tremble with every ring.

    Thin beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads as both men knew that death was now staring them in the face.

    The only way to survive was to win whatever crazy game this monster had created for them.

    Sophie fought back the urge tough as she saw the panicked looks on the faces of the survivors.

    Of course, everything she had just said wasplete nonsense.

    The two cone shaped devices on the survivor¡¯sps were just rm clocks.

    Sophie had just set a timer to go off every couple of minutes to create a persistent ringing noise.

    There were no lie-detector devices inside her storage bag, so she was forced to improvise based on the assumption that these aliens had never seen Federation technology.

    And even if she did¡­. Sophie had no idea if lie detector devices would work on the physique of an unknown alien race.

    Biological responses varied wildly among the different species scattered across the universe so lie detectors were not very urate.

    It could be possible that the survivors would realise that unknown technology was unlikely to work on them but¡­

    Would they dare to take the gamble?

    Sophie carefully observed the emotions hidden in the eyes of the survivors and saw fear but also a small glimmer of determination.

    There it was¡­ exactly what she had been looking for¡­

    The survivors were ready to fall into her trap.

 Chapter 337: Skeletal Crew

    Chapter 337: Skeletal Crew

    Interrogation was an art.

    Breaking down psychological barriers to get the information you wanted out of a prisoner could be aplished using a variety of methods.

    Some would use brute force and violence while others leaned towards more subtle or softer techniques.

    Sophie only knew about torture and interrogation methods from the Katarina¡¯s lectures rather than actual practice.

    She was secretly a little bit nervous but none of this tension appeared on her face.

    The expressionless mask she wore in front of the survivors could not crack or her intimidation factor would be reduced.

    The hybrid girl circled the captives inplete silence. The only sounds in the room were the steady ringing noisesing from the cone-shaped devices on the survivors¡¯ps.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    With every tick, the survivors could feel the tension rise as the beast prowled around them like a hunter waiting to strike.

    Patience.

    Sophie was in no rush to begin the interrogation straightaway. Increasing the fear in the hearts of the survivors would make the task easier.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    The minutes passed slowly as Sophie made sure to gaze into the eyes of her captives and establish dominance.

    Half the battle had already been won.

    To allow the initiative to be her hands meant that the survivors were in a disadvantageous position from the start.

    Sophie paused and then turned to face the survivor on the left. She approached the tied-up alien and leaned closer until her mouth was just centimeters away from his ear.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the first question,¡± Sophie whispered darkly.

    ¡°What is the name of your race?¡±

    Pirene shivered lightly as he felt a trace of killing intent. The mysterious device on hisp seemed to get heavier as the beast watched him with those merciless golden eyes.

    ¡°We¡­ we¡­ are the Stukuins¡­ from¡­ Xerorma,¡± Pirene stammered and averted his eyes.

    Sophie smiled gently and yfully stroked the pale-skinned alien¡¯s cheek. His skin was coarse and rough with tiny pore-like holes.

    Pirene tried his best not to react, but Sophie could see thin droplets of sweat form on his brow.

    Delicious¡­. he would make a fine¡­ meal¡­

    Sophie smoothly withdrew her hand and took a few steps back. Pirene unconsciously let out a small sigh of relief as his tormenter moved away.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s movements were slow and graceful but only she knew that the bloodlust hidden in her body had nearly erupted.

    It seemed that the tactic of disorienting the prisoners using physical contact would have to be discarded.

    Sophiezily pointed at the second survivor and then spoke, ¡°This second question is for Eovoby.¡±

    ¡°What is the purpose of the Sun¡¯s Glory?¡±

    Eovoby froze as the attention of the monster shifted to himself. Those terrible golden eyes seemed to stare into his soul.

    He was nothing more than a ything in the eyes of this powerful beast.

    So far, Eovoby had managed to outwardly project a more confident image than his cowardly colleague, but he knew that surviving this twisted game would be difficult.

    The purpose of the Sun¡¯s Glory?

    Eovoby wasn¡¯t sure what was the exact answer that the mercenary wanted so he decided to just recite the founding mission.

    ¡°To serve the Sun God and to spread his message of eternal peace through the cleansing of sins,¡± Eovoby uttered solemnly.

    ¡°Our mission is to enlighten the various intelligent races across the universe and to ensure that they are worthy to join the Sun God¡¯s eternal pce.¡±

    ¡°Some civilisations may resist and cling on to false idols and gods, but our order shall ensure that these fake deities fade away in the sands of time after witnessing the might of our Holy One.¡±

    ¡°We are but one branch of the many religious orders working together to bring the¡­.¡±

    His speech continued uninterrupted for ten minutes until Sophie raised up her right palm and signalled him to stop.

    ¡°Lovely¡­. what a bunch of lunatic zealots,¡± Sophie muttered quietly under her breath.

    The long-winded speech mostly consisted of religious propaganda but there were still some useful tidbits of information when reading in between the lines.

    In addition to the Sun¡¯s Glory and the Hyperion Knights, there were other organizations that worshiped the Sun God.

    Sophie did not n toe in conflict with these groups as she just wanted to return home, but it was useful to learn some knowledge about them.

    One should always be prepared for the worst eventuality.

    In the following hour, Sophie drilled the two survivors about a variety of questions from the positions they held onboard the vessel to the policies involved in joining the Unova Syndicate government¡¯s army.

    Pirene was an engineer, so he had knowledge about the technical aspects of flying a starship while Eovoby worked as an administrator which meant that the information.

    Both men had ess to information that were extremely useful.

    Sophie would leak out small traces of killing intent at regr intervals to ensure that the survivors¡¯ heightened states of tension and fear were maintained.

    However, she was very careful not to go too far since it would only take a moment of carelessness to slip into a blood frenzy.

    ¡°Okay this final question is for you Pirene,¡± Sophie bared her fangs and growled.

    ¡°What is the minimum number of crewmembers needed to operate this starship?¡±

    She had saved the most important question for the end because immediately asking how many individuals it would take to fly this starship would give away her true objective.

    After answering questions non-stop over an extended period of time, eventually the survivors would no longer think about the purpose behind her inquires and speak automatically.

    Pirene did hesitate for just a moment but the temptation to win the game and survive made the words flow out of his mouth,

    ¡°The starship¡¯s autopilot mode was disabled which means that the onboard AI unit can only offer suggestions.¡±

    ¡°This is a medium ss vessel, so the team required to fly it has to berge.¡±

    ¡°On themand deck there should be at least ten main pilot, five navigators and twelve auxiliary officers in case of emergencies.¡±

    ¡°And the engine room should have two chief engineers and a team of at least eleven technicians.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ it takes around forty people in total in order to make a skeletal crew.¡±

 Chapter 338: Twisted Into A Dark Obsession

    Chapter 338: Twisted Into A Dark Obsession

    Don¡¯t lose control¡­

    Don¡¯t lose control¡­

    Don¡¯t lose control¡­

    Sophie kept repeating those words over and over in her mind as she felt the terrible urge to kill both survivors in front of her.

    The expressionless mask that she had chosen to disy to the prisoners was threatening to crack as Pirene finished talking.

    ¡°You will have twenty minutes of rest before the next stage begins,¡± Sophie muttered hoarsely as she clenched her hands tightly.

    She needed to leave now before something happened that she would regret.

    The hybrid girl picked up the two cone-shaped devices from the survivors¡¯ps and then walked out of the room.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Sophie pressed multiple buttons on the sides of the two devices and then tossed them into her storage bag.

    She walked out of the cafeteria with slow purposeful steps and left the survivors to recover from the interrogation.

    The survivors didn¡¯t even dare to exhale until the figure of their tormentor vanished from their sight.

    Sophie left the cafeteria with the frustrated feeling in her heart now openly disyed on her face.

    The bloodlust buried inside her body was threatening to resurface.

    ¡°Arghh¡­. FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!¡± Sophie screamed as she violently mmed her fist against a nearby wall.

    The force of her blow caused the metalloid wall to instantly copse.

    Again and again, she continued to punch until her knuckles begun to bleed and purplish bruises formed.

    Sophie started to breathe heavily as the corners of her eyes slowly turned red.

    The bruises and wounds on her hands regenerated instantly and a fiery rage bubbled beneath her anguished expression.

    Why?!

    I WAS SO CLOSE!

    WHY?!

    Sophie kneeled down and let out an animalistic howl as the stress that had been building up for thest few months was proving to be too much to bear.

    She was only an eighteen-year-old girl.

    It was true that there were the memories of a much older female from ancient Earth in her mind, but Sophie was still fundamentally a teenager.

    Having to put on a brave face and constantly reassure Lily that everything was going to be okay was tiring.

    And to make matters worse, she would now have to face Captain Dawn without the aid of high-powered weaponry.

    This starship was essentially grounded so unless she could trick her target into getting in range of the orbital cannons there was nothing she could do.

    Of course, that n would only work if one of the survivors was familiar with operating the weapons systems and now Sophie wasn¡¯t so optimistic.

    Damn¡­ actually the n wouldn¡¯t even work because firing off an orbital canon at point nk range from the ground would cause an explosion that would damage the starship.

    What were her options now?

    Kill the rest of the survivors and attempt to ambush the knights?

    Bloodlust surged in Sophie¡¯s chest, but the hybrid girl fought that addicting feeling back down.

    No¡­ she had already spilled enough.

    Sophie sighed and leaned her head back as she tried to figure out her next step.

    This was a medium ss spacecraft so there was the realistic possibility that other members of the order would realise that something was wrong.

    Maybe the higher ups had already attempted to contact the crew on the upper deck but had received no replies.

    It was only a matter of time before someone was sent to this region to investigate what had happened to the ship.

    They needed to depart before then.

    Sophie was not arrogant enough to think that she could travel through the universe unchallenged so the possibility of the Sun¡¯s Glory sending a void stage cultivator scared her.

    There was only one hope left.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and stared thoughtfully at the mutted corpsesying on the ground.

    On such a spacefaring vessel¡­.

    Wouldn¡¯t there be escape pods or smaller starships stored onboard?

    In the event of an emergency, surely the upper-level officers didn¡¯t expect to die with their fellow crewmembers.

    Good¡­

    Sophie smiled lightly as a thin flicker of hope appeared in her heart. All was not lost if these escape pods really existed.

    Like a drowning man grasping onto a piece of driftwood, Sophie clung to this possibility with a fierce desperation.

    She turned around and headed towards the cafeteria level immediately.

    All thoughts of using interrogation techniques and psychological warfare had been flung to the back of her mind.

    Sophie just wanted to know if there was a chance.

    No matter what she had to do¡­ no matter what sufferings she had to endure¡­ no matter what kind of beast she became¡­

    Please¡­ please¡­

    Give me a way to go back home.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t notice at the time, but her golden eyes were shining with a faint trace of madness.

    Her desire to return to the Earth Federation had be twisted into a dark obsession.

    Sophie kicked open the doors of the cafeteria and activated her movement technique to instantly teleport in front of the tied-up survivors.

    She grabbed Pirene by the neck and pulled the struggling prisoner up until their faces were eye level.

    Sophie could smell the fear wafting off the trembling alien as she applied more pressure to his windpipe.

    ¡°Hey¡­ does this starship have escape pods or spacecrafts that are capable of warp drive?¡± Sophie growled darkly.

    She could see confusion on her captive¡¯s face as he couldn¡¯t understand why he was suddenly being questioned.

    ¡°Answer the question and you win the game immediately,¡± Sophie whispered and stared deep into Pirene¡¯s eyes.

    Her golden pupils contained a monstrous killing intent that caused the hairs on the prisoner¡¯s arms to stand up.

    Eovoby froze in horror when he heard the monster give out this unexpected offer.

    Did the game only have one stage? Or had the creature gotten bored toying with them?

    Pirene¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment, and he could not help but sneak a nce at hispanion who was shivering.

    Could he live?

    Guilt flooded the alien¡¯s heart as he realised that winning the game would lead to the death of his colleague but¡­

    His own life was more important.

    Sophie smiled as she observed the fierce internal struggle y out on the face of her captive.

    Her patience to carefully weave a sinister web of psychological tricks had run out but the previous work that she had done on the survivors was more than enough to damage and twist their psyche.

    Pirene hesitated for a brief moment and then the words flowed out his mouth almost unconsciously,

    ¡°There are basic escape pods on the thirteenth level that can survive up to three weeks in space and are capable of atmospheric entry,¡± Pirene exined.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t have the security clearance to confirm but I did hear from one of my friends who¡­ was an officer that themand deck has a secret room containing four basic spacecrafts¡­¡±

    ¡°These vessels only have basic weaponry and shields, but the warp drive inside has enough fuel for three weeks.¡±

    ¡°And how many people would you need to operate one of those vessels?¡± Sophie leaned in closer and whispered in her prisoner¡¯s ears.

    Pirene stammered under the icy cold pressure that was surrounding his body.

    He sensed that whatever he said next would determine his fate.

    Pirene muttered, ¡°Just¡­ one¡­ a main pilot technically but¡­ to be safe¡­ probably two auxiliary pilots as well¡­¡±

    He stumbled backwards as Sophie suddenly released the tight grip that she had on his cor.

    She felt anxious as the possibility that these escape spacecrafts may not have an onboard AI unit shed across her mind.

    ¡°Are there any pilots left among your colleagues in the holding room?¡± Sophie roared with nervous anticipation.

    ¡°Just¡­

    ¡°WAIT DON¡¯T TELL HER¡­¡± Eovoby yelled as he realised what the monster truly wanted.

    The time Sophie had spent focusing on Pirene gave her other captive the opportunity to get a brief moment of rity.

    Why do this pointless game? Why not just eat them both if she was truly hungry?

    The monster¡¯s main goal wasn¡¯t to kill them all because she wanted to escape but couldn¡¯t without help!

    If she only needed a certain number of them¡­

    Would the remaining survivors be expendable?

    Unfortunately, his shout came toote as Pirene finished his sentence.

    ¡°Two.¡±

    A genuine smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face, and she could not help butugh.

    Perhaps her luck hadn¡¯t run out after all.

 Chapter 339: The Most Dangerous Hunt

    Chapter 339: The Most Dangerous Hunt

    ¡°Come on! Pick up the pace or I will cut off those useless legs,¡± Sophie growled as she turned around to shoot a dirty look at the survivors.

    She was currently dragging thirty crates of dried food stock as well as nutrient solutions that were hidden in the storeroom of the cafeteria.

    Fortunately, the crates had tiny hooks along their edges, so Sophie was able to link them together with metalloid rope.

    Pirene and Eovoby struggled to keep up with the relentless pace of their captor.

    The forced marching helped to distract them from the unpleasant revtion that the interrogations had uncovered.

    The monster only needed a handful of survivors to pilot a spacecraft while the rest of the crew were just expendable.

    The odds of being killed or eaten had just risen quite substantially.

    Eovoby scowled at his dim-wittedpanion who gave away the information but didn¡¯t dare to whisper a word ofint.

    The pointed ears of the beast seemed to catch even the faintest of noises.

    It was for this reason that both men did not even bother to attempt to escape.

    It was pointless since the monster would just instantly teleport to their location and slice off their heads.

    Maybe she would spare Pirene since he was an engineer but who could say for sure.

    A tense atmosphere had formed as the two men silently prayed to the Sun God that they would survive this ordeal.

    Sophie on the other hand was in a great mood.

    She still outwardly projected a short tempered and unpredictable personality but internally she felt like whistling a happy tune.

    There was a chance to reach the border region!

    With any luck by the time the higher ups in the Sun¡¯s Glory realised that something was wrong, she would be long gone.

    Now the only pressing concern was dealing with Captain Dawn. Sophie¡¯s cheerful mood soured as the memory of Lily¡¯s death shed across her mind.

    That future may nevere to pass but the threat posed by the captain of the Hyperion Knights was still present.

    Beating him in a fair fight was going to be impossible. Which is exactly why Sophie had no intentions of fighting him openly or fairly.

    Duke Peterlor had continually preached to his daughter that honour meant nothing to a man six feet in the ground.

    Honour was important¡­ but nothing was more important than staying alive.

    If she was destined to face a more powerful opponent then using cheap tricks and tactics would be the only way to survive.

    Sophie already had a few ns in mind.

    She would go all out using every single weapon in her storage bag along with all the high-ss poisons stored in her vials.

    Summoning clones using the ¡®Rsychosis¡¯ technique would also be key in dealing with any other knights that survived.

    The explosive device should have taken out a good portion of their numbers, but Sophie would be a fool to underestimate thebat ability of those that remained.

    The hybrid girl walked through the endlessbyrinth of corridors and passages inplete silence.

    It didn¡¯t take long to reach the familiar metalloid door that led to the holding room.

    Sophie kneeled down and ripped off another finger from the corpseying by the entrance before cing the severed appendage on the scanner.

    This time it took a few minutes for the door to open as the flesh on the thumb was beginning to slightly dpose.

    Of course, Sophie nned on making this herst trip to the room so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    There was a hissing noise as the metalloid door swung open to reveal Sophie¡¯s dangerous appearance to the terrified survivors.

    Why was the monster back so soon?

    Was it not satisfied with the sacrifices?

    Did more people need to die?

    Sophie raised up her hand and signalled Pirene and Eovoby to stay out of sight.

    For added measure, she also released a faint trace of killing intent and spiritual pressure that caused both men to pass out.

    A dull thump echoed through the corridor when their unconscious bodies fell to the ground but the survivors inside the room were too distracted to notice.

    Sophie walked with slow steady steps. Her ded appendages swayed gently from side to side with motions that were oddly hypnotic.

    The golden eyes of the hybrid girl seemed to darken under the faint light and her fangs lengthened into pointed ends.

    Sophie opened her mouth to begin her recruitment speech, but a sudden thought forced her to change the words that she was about to say.

    ¡°I am satisfied with the sacrifices that were offered,¡± Sophie chuckled darkly and grinned with a twisted expression.

    ¡°Their flesh was most¡­ delicious¡­. to hear their screams and cries¡­. and curses.¡±

    ¡°They cursed you all. You sentenced them to die in order to survive and I believe that deserves a special reward.¡±

    Sophie left the room and then untied one of the thirty crates from the rope. She returned and dropped the crate by the left side of the entrance.

    ¡°I will be back in a few days for the next pair,¡± Sophie muttered. Her harsh voice lingered in the ears of the survivors long after she closed the door.

    Sophie left the crates outside the room and scooped up the Eovoby and Pirene with rtive ease.

    Why had she not just gotten the pilots?

    It was too soon.

    Sophie didn¡¯t n on killing the remaining survivors, but she needed to maintain the impression in their minds that they were only one mistake away from death.

    Bringing Eovoby and Pirene back unharmed would reduce her fearsome image slightly and the fact that she needed the pilots was another weakness.

    The thought that had surfaced before she had begun the recruitment speech was that there was no way of knowing if the pilots were obeying her orders when shemanded the spacecraft.

    Sophie could speak themon tradenguage of the Unova Syndicate but her reading ability could only be described as barely literate.

    Plus, hermunicator from the Earth Federation was not linked to the virtualwork here so there was no way to track her current location.

    Hence she had to maintain her image as a monster in order to prevent any rebellious thoughts.

    A three-day buffer period was just a random time frame that Sophie tossed out since she had no idea how long the fight with the captain wouldst.

    Unfortunately for these two sacrifices, Sophie nned on tying them up in a random room and leaving a crate of food.

    Sophie found a room that was rtively clean on the seventh floor and tossed both men on the mattress before connecting their ankles to the frame of the bed using a metalloid chain.

    She returned to the holding room to pick up a crate but could hear loud argumentative voices through the wall.

    The survivors had now fractured into smaller groups that were hostile to each other. There were no unifying voices calling for peace.

    ¡°Good¡­¡± Sophie whispered as her pointed ears flicked slightly to the left.

    It was time to prepare for her most dangerous hunt.

 Chapter 340: The Key To Victory

    Chapter 340: The Key To Victory

    (Unknown Starship- Upper Decks)

    (First Commander¡¯s Private Cabin)

    Thergest room on the floor that contained the cabins for the upper-level officers had to be the room where the firstmander resided.

    It contained three beds, two bathrooms, a private kitchen, living room, and a mediation chamber with a wide array of ss X psychedelics along with a connecting holosuite.

    Two figures were currently upying the room but the atmosphere between them was noticeably tense.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Sophie hugged Lily tightly and felt the warm, soft body tremble as she spoke.

    ¡°I promise that I will be back in just a few days at most.¡±

    The hybrid girl wiped away the tears that were forming at the corners of Lily¡¯s eyes.

    Eliminating Captain Dawn was now the highest priority before they could leave the.

    This task had only increased in difficulty since there was also a time limit. She needed to leave the before any rescue teams sent by the Sun¡¯s Glory arrived to aid the surviving crew.

    It was impossible to know how much time was left so Sophie nned to kill the captain with a guaranteed fatal blow.

    Travelling to the camp from the starship would take around a day so the entire trip if everything went ording to n would be a three-day affair.

    ¡°Why are you leaving again?¡± Lily scowled and punched her fist softly against her big sister¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just fly on the ship?¡±

    Sophie hesitated as she saw the frustration hidden beneath Lily¡¯s usual soft gaze. Hiding secrets and keeping the little girl in the dark wasn¡¯t what she wanted to do but¡­

    No¡­ I¡­. need to¡­.

    Maybe she could tell Lily a partial truth?

    Sophie leaned in and nted a gentle kiss on Lily¡¯s forehead. She stretched out her arms and tenderly caressed the little girl¡¯s back.

    Humming a sweet luby from a well-known singer proved to be useful since Lily no longer frowned when looking at her.

    Sophie opened up the conversation with a casual question, ¡°Do you remember the knights that we stayed with?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ this is their starship so they might chase us down and try to kill us once we leave the atmosphere.¡±

    ¡°So.. I¡¯m going to¡­¡± Sophie coughed awkwardly as she tried to find the right words to say.

    She was startled to feel a small hand suddenly grab her arm tightly.

    ¡°I understand,¡± Lily whispered and then tilted her face upwards to stare at Sophie with a serious expression.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ I may be a child but I¡¯m not stupid¡­. I know that whenever you fought the bad guys that they died¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m upset because you lie to me!¡±

    Ahh¡­ how could I forget¡­

    Sophie eyes narrowed as a realisation shed across her mind. It was a thought so simple that it was amazing that she had never considered it.

    Perhaps unconsciously due to Lily¡¯s age, she was viewing the little girl with the same image of young children in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    On ancient Earth in the country that Sui Meng lived, it would be considered shocking to expose a child to violence and death, but this was the age of Interster warfare.

    As the heir to a great noble house, it was likely that in order to win against her siblings Lily had already seen death.

    Sophie bowed her head and admitted, ¡°Sorry¡­ I just wanted to protect you.¡±

    [And hide the terrible monster I be]

    [That is why I am still not telling you the whole truth even now¡­]

    Thosest two lines remained in Sophie¡¯s mind as she could not speak those shameful words and confess to eating and torturing countless aliens.

    Her dark mood was driven away by the feeling of a fierce pinch on her waist followed by a kind voice.

    ¡°Big sister you are so silly sometimes!¡± Lily yelled and squeezed her body closer into Sophie¡¯sp.

    ¡°I still love you.¡±

    Sophie smiled as she felt a warm bubbly feeling in her chest.

    The caring and innocent look in Lily¡¯s eyes contrasted her own troubled appearance.

    The only good event that had urred since being teleported to the Unova Syndicate was meeting up with Lily.

    Some may consider travelling with a child on a dangerous journey as an unnecessary burden, but Sophie knew that without her¡­

    She would have already gone fully insane.

    Even with the knowledge that there were loved ones waiting for her to get back home.

    Sometimes all you needed was warm hug.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get through this,¡± Sophie smiled and pressed her lips gently against Lily¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°I promise we¡¯ll get through this.¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (One dayter)

    The harsh light from the red sun shone down on Sophie¡¯s body as she sped through the desert on the stolen hoverbike.

    Dust clouds were kicked up into the air wherever the hoverbike passed but the hybrid girl just continued to press the elerator.

    Every moment was precious.

    The camp of the Hyperion knights was around one hour away from her current location which was more than enough time to run over the final details of her n.

    Sophie fully expected to be outnumbered but she did hold one crucial advantage that was the fact that the knights would have thought that she died in the explosion.

    Taking them by surprise would be a simple matter.

    There were other details that increased the odds in her favour such as the majority of the camp¡¯s forces dying in the explosion.

    Of course, with any luck, Captain Dawn would still be trapped inside the trial area, but Sophie had a gut feeling telling her that he was already out.

    Information would be the difference between life or death.

    She needed to scan the surrounding area to get the patrol routes of the knights on duty for the night.

    The best time to attack was always sunrise. The light of a new day would cause guards to rx since the night ended.

    It was the time they were most vulnerable.

    Deal with the small-fry first and then move on to the target. Sophie licked her lips as she could feel her bloodlust surging beneath her calm exterior.

    The thrill of being a hunter preparing for an ambush was an intoxicating feeling that caused Sophie¡¯s heart to skip a beat.

    Fresh¡­. meat¡­ hunger¡­.

    Hunger¡­.

    Sophie took out two nutrient vials from her storage bag and poured the contents into her mouth with practised ease.

    This was part of the new strategy Sophie was trying out to control her berserk state.

    If she fought the captain as a mad beast then she would be easily put down just like a beast.

    Staying sober and maintaining a clear head while fighting would be the key to victory.

 Chapter 341: Avatar Of The Sun God

    Chapter 341: Avatar Of The Sun God

    (Unknown- Base Camp of the Hyperion Knights)

    (Captain¡¯s Tent)

    ¡°You have failed,¡± a cold voice echoed through the tent.

    Captain Dawn leaned back against the nearest wall and remained silent as the harsh voice continued to berate him from themunicator.

    ¡°The archbishop will be sending reinforcements that should arrive in a few weeks time. You will immediately evacuate the and return to the Church for punishment.¡±

    ¡°I cannot imagine how you managed to lose three quarters of your squad and not even pass the trial¡­¡± the voice sarcastically mocked.

    Captain Dawn bowed his head and slowly raised his finger to press the [END] button on themunicator.

    The harsh voice was immediately cut off.

    There was now peace and tranquility in the tent which allowed the captain some time to think.

    After leaving the trial, most of his knights were not even able to recognise the man standing before them as his physiology had undergone drastic changes.

    All the hair on his body had been burned away leaving his skin smooth and pinkish not unlike a newborn¡¯s.

    Instead of eyes, there were two burning orbs in his sockets with mes that were a dark purplish-ck colour and glowed with a light that was oddly hypnotic.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s height had increased to eight feet and his already bulky frame had been transformed into a hulking monstrosity.

    Traces of his human features did remain, but no one would mistake the captain for an ordinary man.

    Captain Dawn did not resent his changed appearance norin about his twisted physique as these were gifts from the Sun God who had transformed him into a vessel.

    To be a weapon to spread the glory of the Sun God was everything that the captain had ever dreamed.

    However, a vessel was more than just a mere weapon.

    Those chosen by the gods served as avatars or extensions of their will.

    Those powerful creatures that hid beyond the void of this dimension needed servants to affect the universe.

    There have only been a handful of devoted believers chosen as vessels by the Sun God over the span of several millennia.

    Written records of their powers and abilities were scarce but it was rumored that the vessels were the strongest creatures of their era.

    Captain Dawn smiled as he felt the surging inferno of divine power lurking inside his meridians and itching to be released.

    It was why he didn¡¯t mind the reprimand from the high ups in the Church.

    He may have failed to get the seedlings but unlocked a power far greater.

    None would stop his mission.

    Knock! Knock!

    A harsh tapping noise came from the entrance of the tent. Captain Dawn frowned irritably at the sudden noise and waved his hand.

    There was a loud scream as the knight standing by the door instantly burst into mes. The scent of charred flesh and meat filled the air.

    Captain Dawn slowly walked over to the metalloid door and pushed it open. By now the unfortunate knight was nothing more than a burnt carcassying on the ground.

    The monstrous man smiled and ced a finger on the still burning corpse. The mes burning on the body were instantly sucked into his palm.

    Captain Dawn trembled in pleasure as thefortable feeling rushing into his veins almost caused him to moan.

    Another sacrifice for the Lord had been offered and he could feel his power grow with every kill.

    This feeling was an addiction but one that the captain indulged. He could feel the barrier to the void stage gradually start to chip away.

    He had been stuck in the qi tide stage for over twenty years but now there was finally a chance to go even further beyond.

    He only needed some more sacrifices¡­.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Sophie¡¯s POV)

    Well, that¡¯s not good¡­

    The hybrid girl squatted behind a nearby sand dune and peeked at the surprisingly empty campsite.

    Her golden eyes darkened, and the blurry details became clearer.

    She had already ced the hoverbike back in her storage bag and made her way on foot to a vantage point that overlooked the rest site.

    Two hours had passed uneventfully as Sophie was in no rush to make a move. She was prepared to wait for any opening or opportunities to implement in her ambush.

    What she didn¡¯t expect to see was a knight instantly bursting into mes and then the captain exiting from a tent looking like a demonic beast from hell.

    She could only recognise that creature as the captain from the symbol painted on the sides of his now ill-fitting uniform.

    He definitely couldn¡¯t do that before¡­. right?

    Sophie had also observed that the number of knights left were much fewer than she expected even ounting for those killed by her massive explosion.

    This was supposed to be good news, but Sophie couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that she was walking right into a trap.

    Something was wrong with her target¡­ the captain was a powerful warrior, but he was a human¡­

    And humans did not have burning mes instead of eyes.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ what the hell happened to him?¡± Sophie muttered darkly as she stared at the tent where her target resided.

    What had caused such a drastic shift in the captain¡¯s appearance?

    Had he gotten one of the seedlings?

    That was the first exnation that shed across Sophie¡¯s mind.

    It would be impressive if it were true but¡­ something was telling her that there was another reason¡­

    At least she could not sense the overwhelming qi of a void stage cultivator which meant that the captain was still in the qi tide stage.

    The ability for a cultivator to cross realms and beat a higher tier opponent was a mere fantasy starting from the void realm.

    The difference between a qi body and qi spirit cultivator was merely quantity but the void realm resulted in a shift in the quality of qi in the dantian.

    The qi inside the dantian of a void stage cultivator had been transformed into an endless gxy and infused with astral energy.

    A mere fraction of this energy was more than what was inside the dantian of ten qi tide cultivatorsbined.

    Fighting one at Sophie¡¯s current level would be suicide.

    Now her main concern was how to modify the current n.

    The original idea that Sophie had thought of was to create four copies to engage the other knights using guerri tactics.

    Quick hit and run strikes to disorient and kill the other Hyperion knights and force the captain to leave the safety of his tent.

    However there really wasn¡¯t the need for this tactic anymore since the number of knights left were pitifully few.

    Sophie was sure that she could clean them up in the first round. Maybe she could use the hit and run tactics on the captain instead?

    Rsychosis!

    The qi inside Sophie¡¯s meridians circted in a pattern that was both mysterious and familiar.

    The technique of the Arachnais n was capable of turning an individual into an army.

    Sophie closed her eyes and concentrated. She pushed the technique to the limit of her current understanding.

    One¡­

    Two¡­

    Three¡­

    She opened her eyes to find seven identical copies with each clone being outwardly indistinguishable from the others.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and wordlessly begun to pull out every single weapon and poison vial that she had been carrying.

    Now was not the time to be stingy.

    Sophie handed her clones a variety of weapons such as whips, guns, daggers, swords and even an axe.

    She kept the most dangerous toxins to herself but the poisonous liquids inside some of the vials that she gave out to her clones were enough to kill an ordinary qi tide cultivator.

    ¡°The three of you will be responsible for cleaning up the small fry,¡± Sophie pointed at the three clones at the back of the group.

    ¡°The rest of us will engage in pairs and hopefully wear down the captain. Immediately withdraw if things go south.¡±

    ¡°Our main goal is to waste his time constantly fighting skirmishes. This will force him to use up most of his qi and then we can kill him with one swift strike.¡±

    ¡°Any questions?¡±

 Chapter 342: The Plan Fails

    Chapter 342: The n Fails

    ¡°Do you think we can win?¡± a quiet voice whispered.

    Sophie froze for a moment as one of her clones asked the question that must have been in the back of all of their minds.

    Truthfully¡­ she didn¡¯t know.

    Captain Dawn was an immensely powerful warrior and had even killed her once in a possible future timeline.

    Now he seemed to posses a strange and mysterious power as well.

    Those mes¡­.

    Sophie furrowed her brows as the memory of those dark purplish- ck fire sent shivers down her spine.

    Every fibre of her being just wanted to run.

    Flee towards the starship and leave the as soon as possible.

    But the goddess would make her suffer a heavy price as punishment for failing the mission.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie since that would serve no purpose,¡± Sophie spoke honestly and clenched her fists tightly.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know if we can beat him. Sure, we got the advantage of surprise, but a single miscalction could result in our deaths.¡±

    ¡°I am going to hand out explosive devices to each one of you¡­ if you are about to die¡­¡±

    The hybrid girl paused for a moment to reach into her storage bag and take out several cylindrical orbs.

    There were a series of buttons on each orb and a transparent screen that disyed an inactive timer.

    This was the fatal trick.

    The ace in the hole.

    ¡°Blow yourself up and try to take that bastard down with you,¡± Sophie ruthlessly ordered. There was a cold chill in her eyes as her monstrous killing intent spread out.

    Sophie¡¯s clones seemed to be influenced by her bloodthirsty mood as a sadistic grin spread across the faces of every copy.

    There was no need for words as the clones split up into one group of three and two pairs.

    Sophie pointed towards the rest site and thergest group immediately made their way forward.

    The purpose of this squad was two-fold.

    They would serve both as a distraction and a way to eliminate the remaining knights.

    Sophie led the other clones around the enormous sand dune and circled around the camp site. It didn¡¯t take long to reach therge tent where the hoverbikes were stored.

    It was the perfectnding spot to infiltrate the camp.

    There must have been fewer knights that survived than what Sophie initially assumed since there were no guards in sight.

    Boom!

    A thunderous explosion erupted in the distance, and it was apanied by the sounds of screaming.

    [Bleep!] [Bleep!] [Bleep!]

    A ring rm that pierced through the quiet desert.

    The assault had begun.

    The clones in the first squad knew that they had to create as much noise and confusion as possible.

    Sophie kept a constant watch on the captain¡¯s tent using her enhanced vision but to her surprise¡­

    The intimidating figure of her target never emerged.

    Even as she heard her clones in the distance tear through the ranks of the surviving knights and mutte their corpses¡­

    The captain remained in his tent.

    Something wasn¡¯t right¡­

    Sophie made a series of hand gestures and her team of four other clones snuck into the rest site through the back area.

    ¡°Should two of us enter the captain¡¯s tent? Or do you want us to wait a little bit longer for him toe out?¡± a clone asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for now¡­¡± Sophie replied.

    ¡°Get into position and be ready to strike at any moment.¡±

    She unhooked the sma rifle attached to her hip and pointed it towards the entrance of the captain¡¯s tent.

    The sounds of screams and intense fighting continued to flow into her ears.

    Sophie¡¯s innate connection with the clones allowed her to sense their health and emotions at all times.

    Fortunately, none of the three clones involved in the frontal assault had sustained any serious injuries.

    The problem was that¡­ everything was going a bit too well¡­

    Sophie closed her eyes and focused on the mental bond linking her with the clones. She travelled through the connection and entered the body of one of her copies.

    She saw the helpless knights rushing forward and immediately being sliced open with one sharp thrust of her clone¡¯s ded appendage.

    Raucousughter filled the air as the desert was watered by the thick flow of blood.

    There were already twenty corpsesying lifelessly on the ground and now the pitiful stragglers were desperately flinging themselves towards the clones.

    Flinging themselves?

    What was happening?

    Bloodthirst and the thrill of battle had already clouded the minds of her clones, but Sophie remained clearheaded and could observe the absurdity of the situation.

    For some reason, the knights were rushing towards the clones and seemed to be intentionally seeking death.

    Each knight was dying in a horrendous and gruesome manner and yet theirpanions werepletely unaffected.

    In the first ce, it was quite suspicious that all of the surviving knights decided to engage the intruders within seconds of the attack.

    No one had bothered to even find the captain and none of the officers were at the backline to give out orders.

    Instead, they were fighting side by side with the squires!

    Sophie paid closer attention to the fighting styles of the knights and saw that while their des were swung at the clones¡­

    None of their swings were aimed at the vital points of their enemies. Some were evenpletely off the target mark!

    In fact, Sophie noticed that some of the sword strikes had no weight behind them.

    A mass suicide¡­ this was not a fight but an easy ughter¡­

    Wait¡­ why¡­

    Sophie felt confused as she travelled back into her body and tried to digest all that she had just seen from the perspective of the clone.

    None of it made any sense.

    Was there something she was missing?

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed, and her sma rifle trembled slightly as an intense feeling of death filled her mind.

    ¡°I already sensed you,¡± a deep voice hoarsely whispered from behind.

    It was a voice that appeared to be human, but it sounded muffled and mixed with throaty croak.

    Sophie instinctively activated her movement technique and teleported several feet in the opposite direction.

    She could feel a strong gust of wind pass by as shended unsteadily on the top of the nearest sand dune.

    Sophie turned around and saw a scene straight out of a nightmare..

    Every single one of her clones had been beheaded.

    Their memories flowed into Sophie¡¯s mind, but the truly terrifying thing was that she waspletely unaffected.

    The clones did not even have the time to reach before they died.

    It was a clean swift sword stroke that instantly ended their lives with one fell swoop.

    There wasn¡¯t enough time to activate the bombs.

    And the man responsible just stood there.

    He was dressed in the standard white armour of the Hyperion knights with a long flowing cape that swayed in the wind.

    He slowly removed his helmet to reveal a monstrous twisted abomination. Two purplish-ck mes glowed in the ce where normal human eyes should be.

    Green wriggling veins covered most of his face and pulsed regrly. His shoulder-long golden hair appeared to have been singed or burnt.

    A long sword was held in his right hand that glinted in the sunlight. The bloodied edge of the de provided a direct visual contrast with the rest of Captain Dawn¡¯s spotless attire.

    With a casual wave of his hand, the corpses beneath the captain¡¯s feet ignited and burned away until nothing was left but ash.

    It was not just the bodies of her clones as Sophie saw out of the corner of her eye that the dead bodies of the knights had also burst into mes.

    Captain Dawn shivered as tiny blue wisps of smoke entered his nostrils. These tiny wisps came from the corpses of the knights.

    Sophie clutched her sma rifle tightly as the captain¡¯s next words brought her nothing but endless despair.

    ¡°Now burn for my God¡­¡±

    ¡°Filthy heretic.¡±

 Chapter 343: Glorious Purpose

    Chapter 343: Glorious Purpose

    I need to move now!

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense went haywire as the feeling of death got stronger and stronger. She quickly activated her movement speed technique and teleported several feet backwards.

    An enormous pir of dark purplish-ck me erupted from the ground where she was just seconds before.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck¡­ fuck¡­¡± Sophie muttered as her body tensed up. This was insane.

    How was the captain so powerful?

    This didn¡¯t make any sense.

    It was clear from the qi fluctuations radiating off the captain¡¯s body that he hadn¡¯t reached the void stage.

    They were both qi tide cultivators so the gap should not be insurmountable.

    And yet¡­ Sophie felt like an ant staring up at an elephant.

    Captain Dawn swung his sword forward and a wave of sword qi erupted from the tip of his de.

    Sophie dropped down and rolled behind a nearby sand dune. The golden wave of sword qi narrowly missed her head by an inch.

    She could feel the wind from the strike brush against the tips of her hair.

    Sophie watched in horror as this simple strike continued to move forward and neatly bisected several of the tents on its path of destruction.

    This was bad. This was very bad.

    All of her clones had been killed instantly and it seemed like the captain knew that the ambush wasing beforehand.

    Wait¡­ no.. there were still the three copies that survived¡­ but would they even be able to help?

    ¡°May the fires of salvation burn your soul!¡± a loud roar interrupted Sophie¡¯s train of thought.

    Captain Dawn raised his left hand in the air and started to trace out a series ofplicated hand gestures.

    Sophie could see wisps of blue escaping from the mouths of the burnt corpses and this mysterious energy source was being drawn towards the captain¡¯s fist.

    Bang! Bang!

    Without hesitation, the hybrid girl pulled the trigger on her sma rifle and unleashed a series of rounds at the captain¡¯s chest.

    sh!

    The captain swung his swordzily and Sophie watched in disbelief as he managed to destroy every sma shot with incredible ease.

    His swordsmanship¡­ was strange and nothing that she had ever seen before.

    It was not as skillful as the moves that Duke Peterlor had demonstrated during training but¡­ something felt off.

    Captain¡¯s Dawn movements were extremely fast, and Sophie could only observe them due to her enhanced vision.

    At least she had managed to stop him frompleting whatever mysterious ritual that involved his left hand.

    Sophie kept a careful eye on her dangerous foe but still managed to send out a few mentalmands to her surviving clones.

    [Withdraw from the battle and get to a safe distance]

    [I n to engage him for a few hours to try to probe out any weaknesses in his fighting style]

    [Use the mental connection to view the battle from my perspective]

    Captain Dawn was a fearsome opponent, but he was not invulnerable.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and fought down the bloodlust rushing through her veins. The thrill of battle was causing the madness inside her mind to surface.

    Now was not the time for her to lose control¡­

    She needed to keep a calm mind and analyse his fighting style.

    Clearly the two main abilities of the captain that posed a threat were his pyromancy and swordsmanship.

    But did he have any other hole cards or skills?

    Long range attacks were clearly ineffective, so Sophie decided to take a risk.

    She pressed a series of buttons on the side of her sma rifle and soon the core of her weapon begun to glow.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished. She reappeared right in front of the captain¡¯s body and then threw her sma rifle at him.

    She teleported away instantly before the captain even had time to react to her surprise attack.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion erupted that sent the hybrid girl flying backwards as she was caught right at the outer edge of the st radius.

    A huge cloud of sand rose up into the air as the explosion sent dust shooting out in all directions.

    Overloading the core of a sma weapon at close range would produce a shock capable of killing most cultivators at the qi tide level.

    Sophie groggily got up from the ground with her ears still ringing from the boom.

    There was a reason why she had decided to try a risky suicidal attack and it had to do with her hybrid physique.

    The burns and wounds on her body quickly regenerated until nothing remained but a pinkish area.

    The healing factor of the Insectoid races was their most valuable biological trait and the Arachnais tribe was no exception.

    ¡°Is that all you have hybrid monster?¡± a cold voice echoed through the open desert.

    ¡°Petty tricks¡­ strategies¡­ all are useless in the face of my god¡­¡±

    A humanoid figure leapt high in the air andnded on the ground with a dull thump. Captain Dawn hadn¡¯t even bothered to dodge the explosion.

    And why would he?

    Sophie furrowed her brow as she saw the captain¡¯s new state. Chunks and bits of his flesh had been blown off in the st.

    The proud white armour of the Hyperion Knights could not stand a point-nk explosion from a sma core and had been partially destroyed.

    This created visible areas on the captain¡¯s body where his charred skin was exposed to the air.

    His facial features had beenpletely ruined and he was missing both his arms and a significant part of his upper body.

    Dark purplish-ck mes had reced his organic body parts and now the captain more resembled a fire elemental than an ordinary man.

    ¡°My flesh is a prison for the divine strength upon which the Sun God in all of his righteousness has bestowed onto me,¡± Captain Dawn dered.

    ¡°Has anyone ever told you that you talk a lot?¡± Sophie mocked with a sneer.

    ¡°You seem awfully proud to be a servant but frankly¡­. I think you¡¯re nothing more than his personal bitch.¡±

    ¡°CHILD! I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY INSOLANCE TOWARDS THE SUN GO¡­¡± the captain¡¯s furious yell was interrupted as he felt several blows strike his body followed by the sound of breaking ss.

    Sophie urately threw several vials of toxins on the areas of the captain¡¯s body where the armour had been blown off.

    Perhaps under normal circumstances the captain would have intercepted the projectiles, but Sophie¡¯s taunting voice had caused the pious man to lose his temper.

    Would poison still work?

    Sophie activated her movement technique and vanished into the distance. She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a nano-fibre whip as well as several needle-like des.

    The captain stood still in the same spot and made no attempt to close the distance between the two.

    This gave Sophie the time to carefully observe the effects that her various toxins had after making direct contact with the captain¡¯s exposed skin.

    Some parts had rotted off while others turned sickly colours such as yellow or purple.

    Nasty bumps and red welts had formed on some areas and his right leg sprouted numerous pimples filled with disgusting pus.

    It was impossible to see what was happening inside the captain¡¯s body from the outside, but Sophie assumed that his internal organs should be entering a state of copse.

    ¡°I will shed this mortal body. By the grace of the Father¡­ I will be your holy weapon of salvation,¡± Captain Dawn whispered in religious fervor.

    Even as his flesh rotted away and peeled. Even as he could feel a terrible pain as his organs liquefied from the inside.

    Even as he could feel thest vestiges of his humanity slip away.

    Even as the memory of his wife and daughter vanished¡­

    There was nothing in his mind but his divine mission.

    His glorious purpose.

    To spread the word of the Sun God¡­ no matter the price.

 Chapter 344: Heart of Fire

    Chapter 344: Heart of Fire

    (Vessel of The Sun God POV)

    I know that my body is being transformed.

    I can feel my skin slowly turn to ash and dust as the fire of the one true God burns through my sinful flesh to create an opportunity for rebirth.

    I have dedicated my life to his service. The memories of my past life fade away with everyst breath that I take.

    The divine strength of a primordial being is unfathomable.

    I could have never dreamed of possessing this strength when I was just an ordinary man.

    Talent, hard-work, opportunity and especially luck are necessary to enter the void stage. Every step of the cultivation process is a barrier that stops the unworthy.

    My Lord has given me the strength to cross this barrier and I already feel the ravenous fire lurking in my veins.

    It hungers to be free.

    I hunger to cleanse this universe of sin.

    There are many races which deserve salvation that only the holy baptism of fire can provide.

    Those false gods and idols¡­ must be destroyed.

    My foe is one of those heretics. The divine stench of another primordial being surrounds her body.

    It is an ancient darkness that makes my mes feel cold¡­ sphemous thoughts I must admit but behind those terrible golden eyes is a power that sends chills down my spine.

    But this is nothing more than a simple trial.

    I believe in my God and the power that he has granted me in order to y his enemies.

    I will sacrifice everything to serve him.

    My human flesh is weak and hence I am prepared to abandon my mortal form and be reborn as a true warrior of the Sun God.

    May the wise teachings of the Sun God guide me.

    May my strength burn all those who oppose the will of the Sun God.

    Glory to the Father!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and stared at the monstrous abomination whose flesh had begun to sizzle.

    The scent of burning meat filled the air but this time Sophie did not feel any familiar pangs of hunger.

    The divine power surrounding Captain Dawn¡¯s body was repulsive.

    Sophie could not describe it fully, but it felt like being exposed to a harsh ray of sunlight that wasbined with a strong acid.

    ¡°LORD I DEDICATE MY BODY TO YOUR HOLY CAUSE!¡± a fanatic roar echoed through the desert.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s missing limbs and flesh begun to fill out with purplish-ck mes recing the missing body parts.

    It was a sight that was both unnerving and unnatural.

    Sophie observed carefully how these mysterious mes would seep into the areas around the wounds.

    Spreading like a virus or an infection¡­

    Some kind of transformation was happening to the captain and unfortunately it appeared that her poisons had little effect.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared close to the captain but out of the reach of his longsword.

    There was no need for honour in life-or-death struggles.

    The perfect time to strike was now since his body was still in the process of conversion.

    Sophie rxed her mind and begun circting her qi towards her fingertips. These thin threads of energy entered the nano-fibre whip in her right hand.

    It had been a long time since she had fought using her favourite weapon.

    Sophie unfurled the whip andshed out a quick strike at her opponent.

    Viper Whip Art- Serpent Strike!

    The length of her whip transformed into the shadowy image of an enormous snake that opened its horrific jaws to swallow the captain¡¯s body whole.

    Sophie swung with all her force and also used her other hand to throw a handful of needles at her foe.

    Bang!

    The captain flew back a few hundred meters as Sophie¡¯s whip made direct contact with the middle of his chest.

    Sophie¡¯s needles had also managed to enter the areas of his skin not yet covered by the dark purplish mes.

    Giving the captain no time to react, Sophie once again disappeared from the spot and begun tounch a series of attacks.

    ck Whip Art- A Thousand Pierces!

    The whip¡¯s shape in her hand contorted and twisted until it became an endless sea of de-like strikes.

    The whip prated the captain¡¯s body numerous times until the humanoid creature¡¯s figure resembled a block of Swiss cheese.

    Sophie frowned as her attacksnded sessfully but the captain made no attempt to retaliate or block her moves.

    No.. was this another trap?

    Sophie paused in the middle of herst attack and quickly retreated a further distance away to observe the situation cautiously.

    The captain was now more simr to a corpse than to a living creature with his blood seeping into the desert and turning the sand red.

    His facial features had already been ruined by the prior explosion but now there was nothing to see but a bloody sticky mass of flesh.

    Sophie unleashed the full strength of her power at the captain so now all four of her opponent¡¯s limbs had been severed.

    Just to be extra spiteful, she had also destroyed a decent portion of the captain¡¯s lower body which meant that the once fearsome warrior was little more than a lump of meat.

    His sword had been dropped and even the dangerous fires burning on the surface of his skin seemed to flicker out as though the Sun God was ready to abandon his vessel.

    The captainy helplessly on the ground while the mes surrounding his body got dimer and dimer.

    Sophie approached cautiously and could not help but feel a bit confused. Visually the captain looked like a defeated man.

    His arms and legs had been sliced off and his mysterious power seemed to have abandoned him.

    He looked just like an easy prey waiting to be ughtered by the hunter¡­.

    And yet¡­

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense remained active. The threat posed by the motionless lump of meat was making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion erupted, and Sophie was forced to activate her movement technique immediately to flee.

    She vanished and reappeared several feet away. Sophie turned around to look at the captain¡¯s body only to find a gigantic ball of fire that was pulsating regrly just like a heartbeat.

    Thump!

    Thump!

    Thump!

 Chapter 345: A Slim Chance To Survive

    Chapter 345: A Slim Chance To Survive

    I want to kill¡­

    I want to kill¡­

    I WANT TO KILL

    A bloodthirsty snarl shed across Sophie¡¯s face as the familiar feeling of madness bubbled inside her veins.

    All she could do was watch.

    That creature¡­no¡­ that abomination¡­

    It was oozing divinity and holy light and it was truly¡­

    Fucking disgusting.

    All traces of humanity had left the captain as he abandoned his mortal shell to be a proper vessel for his god.

    Instead of a humanoid- shaped physique, he was now transformed into a floating sphere of fire that burned with a dark purplish-ck me.

    Fissures erupted from the ground beneath the monster¡¯s body and pirs of me sprouted upwards into the air.

    Waves of divinity made the already scorching desert even hotter.

    Sophie felt as though her body was melting under the intense heat.

    Even with the enhanced physique of a qi tide cultivator, it was getting harder to resist this unbearably high temperature.

    Sweat ran down the sides of Sophie¡¯s cheeks as the air shimmered slightly.

    Captain Dawn was no longer capable of speech, nor did he have any organs left and yet Sophie sensed that he was observing her carefully.

    She could not tell where this feeling wasing from but trusted her instincts.

    It was clear that poison would no longer be an option.

    Whether the captain still retained organic matter beneath his fiery exterior was only a tiny possibility.

    Sophie ran through n after n in her mind as she moved back to create some space between herself and her terrifying enemy.

    Bombs? Remote detonation? Overload another rifle?

    Ice techniques? She only knew one that worked with a whip.

    Try injecting the poison directly using her fangs? Wouldn¡¯t her face instantly melt if she got too close?

    What to do? WHAT TO DO?!

    Screech!

    An inhuman roar echoed through the desert as a horrifying noise was emitted from the core of the fiery being.

    Multiple shadowy tendrils covered in purplish-ck mes erupted from the back of the entity and shot towards the hybrid girl.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed, and in her vision she saw the fast-moving tendrils appear to slow down almost to a crawl.

    Her body moved automatically to weave and pass through the numerous tendrils that hungered to strike.

    There was only one observation that still kept a faint trace of hope alive in Sophie¡¯s heart.

    She could feel that although the captain¡¯s outward appearance projected an image of immense strength¡­

    The qi fluctuationsing from his body were still in the qi tide stage.

    Qi energy was not infinite.

    The dantian could only store a certain amount before it needed to be replenished.

    When using the hunter goddess¡¯ gifts, Sophie noticed that her qi was still being consumed even though the source of her power came from divinity.

    By abandoning his mortal shell, the captain was now a being fully powered by divinity and hence his qi consumption must be astronomical.

    But of course¡­ this was just an assumption.

    It was entirely possible that the conditions to use the strength of the Sun God were different from what she needed to provide.

    Still¡­ she wasn¡¯t going to give up without a fight.

    Asura Whip Art- Form Two

    Hail of Frost!

    The temperature surrounding Sophie¡¯s body instantly dropped to below freezing. Even the waves of heat radiating off the captain¡¯s fiery exterior seemed to vanish.

    The nano-fibre whip in her right-hand glowed blue as numerous illusory snowkes scattered around the desert.

    Sophie calmly dodged and weaved through the endless barrage of tendrils until she reached striking distance.

    Crack!

    Without hesitation sheunched her whip straight at the center of the ming ball andnded a hit on its surface.

    Screech! Screech! Screech!

    Loud agonising cries of pain caused Sophie to hurriedly grab her ears. She could feel a thin trickle of blood touch her fingertips and stain her palm red.

    Her eardrums had just been ruptured.

    The silence is what scared her the most.

    The world remained the same and yet¡­ she could not hear anything.

    All that filled her brain was a buzzing noise that seemed to drown out even the thoughts in her mind.

    Sophie stabbed her fingernails into the flesh above her kneecaps and used the pain to snap herself out of the shock.

    Swoosh!

    An enormous pir of me erupted from beneath the location she was just seconds before.

    Sophie frowned as she saw the ice that was covering the surface of the ming orb slowly melt away.

    Sophie activated her movement technique and instantly teleported away but no matter how far she travelled, a pir of me would erupt at her location without fail.

    No.. I need to counterattack.

    Sophie anxiously pulled out more needles from her storage bag and threw them at the fiery entity.

    The metallic des simply sank inside the purplish-ck mes without so much as a ripple. The frequency of the zing pirs continued to increase.

    Sophie now only had micro-seconds to dodge the next eruption and it was only due to her Arachnais natural reflexes that she was still alive.

    In fact, it was nothing short of a miracle¡­ but Sophie had faced worse.

    At least that was the lie that she kept muttering to herself.

    Swoosh!

    ¡°Damn¡­ what kind of annoying technique is this,¡± Sophie growled darkly as she narrowly avoided getting hit by yet another pir of fire.

    I need to break this stalemate¡­.

    Sophie kept dodging and looking for opportunities to close the gap, but nothing seemed to work.

    Minutes turned to hours¡­

    The relentless barrage of fiery attacks was made worse since Sophie did not dare to even get a speck of me in direct contact with her body.

    She had seen firsthand how the corpses of her mirror clones had disintegrated into ash once the purplish-ck me consumed them.

    Something had to change¡­

    Sophieughed madly as she silently made a decision in her heart.

    For all of her regret and disdain for the goddess¡¯ gifts, she was now going to beg for her favour like a mere dog.

    Perhaps there was no use fighting it.

    From the moment she had unlocked her Arachnais heritage used the Spider Whisper Art¡­

    Her fate was sealed.

    Power cannot be granted without a price.

    Sophie felt the world freeze and tremble as a terrible force invaded her body from beyond the void.

    Even the fiery entity sensed this mysterious energy as the mes on its surface suddenly became disorderly and chaotic.

    Sophie peacefully closed her eyes and relied on her other senses to avoid the pirs of fire sprouting beneath her feet.

    There were three gifts that the hunter goddess had bestowed.

    The gift of rage.

    The gift of lust.

    And the gift of foresight.

    ¡°Goddess¡­I offer my prayer to you¡­¡± Sophie muttered as she felt the mysterious force prate her inner dantian.

    ¡°And I will give you the soul of this creature as a worthy trophy of my hunt!¡±

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes. Her once golden pupils had changed, and now her vision became murky and unclear.

    The past, present, and future were all intertwined and tangled in Sophie¡¯s pale white eyes. She could see the threads of time in numerous visions.

    It was extremely limited.

    Sophie could sense that what she saw was nothing more than a mere droplet in the river of time¡­

    But it was enough to give her a slim chance to survive.

 Chapter 346: Vision Of The Future

    Chapter 346: Vision Of The Future

    Strange.

    That was the only word that could describe how Sophie felt as she saw the world through a different perspective.

    All bright colours had disappeared from her vision leaving only a world that was various shades of ck and white.

    White foggy clouds danced around the corners of her eyes and made everything seem almost like a dream.

    It was a surreal experience.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± a loud scream pierced through the quiet haze in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    The hybrid girl tilted her head to the left and saw an identical copy of herself engulfed in mes.

    It only took a few minutes for the fire to burn through the defenses of her mirror image and soon a ckened corpse fell to the ground motionless.

    White fog covered the body and then the scene disappeared.

    ¡°No¡­YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡± another loud scream forced Sophie to cover her ears in pain.

    This time the cry was filled with an emotional mix of both rage and pain.

    Another version of herself was forced to kneel before the fiery orb and Sophie could only watch as a blue wisp floated out of her reflection¡¯s mouth.

    This blue wisp was obliterated by a short tendril that emerged from the core of the creature.

    Sophie¡¯s mirror image froze in ce as her eyes gradually became unfocused and her pupils turned into a pale yellowish-white colour.

    Cracks began to form on the surface of her mirror image¡¯s face and then a fearsome pir of me erupted from the ground beneath her feet.

    Sophie frowned and tired to move her body towards the pir of me to investigate further but soon the white fog appeared once more, and then the scene vanished.

    ¡°Please¡­ kill¡­. me¡­.¡± a dark growl echoed through the silent world.

    Sophie felt a bit unnerved at the prospect of looking at yet another horrible sight but forced herself to see the newest picture that was now revealed.

    It was by far the darkest scene.

    The hybrid girl trembled slightly as she saw a picture straight out of a nightmare.

    A moving chunk of battered flesh was wriggling around the desert sand.

    The thing was forced to crawl on its belly as all of its limbs had been neatly sliced off. Its flesh had been ckened and burnt but somehow it was still alive.

    Blood dripped from the wounds on various parts of its body and the liquid fell into the warm embrace of the sand.

    If not for the two golden eyes in the middle of what could only be assumed was the creature¡¯s face, Sophie would not have believed that this was another version of herself.

    This time¡­ the end was not quick.

    She watched numbly as the fiery ball slowly burned the lump of flesh inch by inch until the bloodcurdling screams of pain turned into quiet whimpers.

    The white fog arrived, and the grey world resumed a state of peace and tranquility as though nothing had happened.

    Sophie remained in this strange ce for what felt like hours, days or even years as she witnessed uncountable visions of her death.

    Another death¡­

    Another¡­

    And another¡­

    Sophie had lost count as she saw numerous visions of her untimely demise ranging from instant incineration to a slow torturous process.

    No¡­ something was wrong¡­

    What was the point of an ability that just predicted death?

    Was there something that she was missing?

    There were only two possibilities for what she was currently seeing.

    The first was that no matter what action she took, the end result would be the same and Captain Dawn would kill her.

    The second possibility was that the gift of foresight would only show timelines where certain events would lead to death of whoever she was focusing on.

    She had peered into her own future¡­ would it be possible to see the possible futures of Captain Dawn?

    Sophie closed her eyes and concentrated¡­

    She banished all thoughts of her gruesome deaths to the back of her mind and focused only on the enormous ball of mes.

    She opened her eyes and saw an image begin to form right in front of her.

    The details were fuzzy at the moment, but Sophie didn¡¯t panic since she optimistically assumed that the quality of the vision would be enhanced with the passage of time.

    She was proven right as she could gradually make out smaller details in the image such as Captain¡¯s Dawn fragile body that was somehow in his human form and the cold glint of a sharpened de swinging downwards.

    The person swinging the de was unknown, but Sophie had a sneaking suspicion that it was her as she could spot four appendages on the humanoid¡¯s back.

    Crack!

    The space instantly shattered, and Sophie found herself thrust back into the reality without any clue about what to do next.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Sophie muttered as she activated her movement technique and teleported away.

    The never- ending barrage of fiery attacks had not ceased and if anything¡­

    The frequency of the ming pirs rising up from the ground had actually increased. However, Sophie was still able to avoid the attacks with ease by relying on her natural reflexes.

    ¡°No! I was so close!¡± Sophie yelled in frustration.

    Asura Whip Art- Form Two

    Hail of Frost!

    The nano-fibre whip in Sophie¡¯s right hand became engulfed in illusory snowkes as a blue colour spread across its body.

    The temperature surrounding the whip rapidly plummeted until the breath that Sophie exhaled turned into a white mist.

    Crack! Crack!

    Two lightning quick strikes broke through the ming orb¡¯s defense and struck the creature on the center of its body.

    Screech!

    An unearthly cry filled Sophie¡¯s ears, but this ufortable sound seemed like music as the hybrid girl realised something important.

    The pirs of fire constantly erupting beneath her feet were temporarily disrupted by her sudden attack.

    Did the fire elemental require concentration to summon the fiery pirs? Or did pain prevent the creature from channelling its divine power?

    A bloodthirsty snarl shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she discovered this important weakness.

    She continued tounch strike after strike but now the creature had grasped the threat of her blows.

    Boom!

    A ring of fire erupted from the core of the ming orb and created an imprable zone that extended up to twenty feet away from its body.

    Dark purplish ck mes rose up into the afternoon sky in an intimidating disy of strength.

    Sophie backed away and frowned as she realised that the creature was now out of reach for her whip to strike.

    At least it seemed that maintaining this zone of mes was tiring for the ming elemental since there were no more pirs of fire and the ming bolts directed towards her.

    An uneasy stalemate had formed.

    Sophie was still wary of any sudden attacks and teleported hundreds of feet away to a spot behind arge sand dune.

    There was no choice but to try to use her ability one more time.

    Sophie felt a stabbing pain in her temples as her vision once more shifted into a mysterious world of ck and white.

    This time she kept a firm picture of Captain Dawn¡¯s new inhuman form in her mind.

    Every detail about the floating fiery orb from its dark purplish-ck mes to the monstrous tendrils that were created from its core.

    Gazing into the future must have a price and Sophie could feel the painful throbbing feeling in her temples only get worse.

    ¡°I AM THE CHOSEN ONE OF THE SUN GOD!¡± a monstrous roar echoed through the strange world.

    Sophie turned around and finally saw what she had been looking for¡­

 Chapter 347: The Key To Victory

    Chapter 347: The Key To Victory

    There it was.

    The scene that Sophie had been searching for all this time.

    She watched carefully as a mirror image of herself picked up a de and pierced the captain¡¯s stomach in one fluid motion.

    ¡°Impossible¡­¡± a painful groan leaked out of the captain¡¯s mouth as his blood flowed out of the open wound.

    Sophie¡¯s clone smoothly flung her de aside and kneeled down to rip out the still beating heart from her defeated foe¡¯s chest.

    The mirror image closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer to the hunter goddess before devouring the heart.

    Wait¡­ something wasn¡¯t right¡­

    Sophie frowned as white clouds immediately shrouded the scene and then disappeared along with the vision of her victory.

    Captain Sun was a human?

    She could still vividly recall the creature that the captain had transformed into, and no trace of his humanity remained in that monster.

    The only thing left of the man was a floating ball of dark purplish-ck mes with unnerving tendrils bursting out of its core.

    But the person that was shown in the vision was clearly fully human.

    Could the captain even revert back?

    Sophie contemted silently and did not rush to deactivate her foresight ability since there were still some questions that needed to be answered.

    ¡°You think you have won girl?¡± a hoarse cry echoed through the mysterious ck and white world.

    Sophie turned around to see yet another vision.

    This time she was gripping the captain by the neck and hoisting him a few inches off the ground.

    Two of her four ded appendages had entered the back of the captain¡¯s body and crippled his spinal cord.

    The mouth of her mirror image contained fangs that were covered with a reddish-green liquid that fell to the ground.

    This liquid was undoubtedly poison.

    The problem was that colour alone was not enough to deduce what was thebination of toxins needed to create that particr venom.

    Sophie continued to observe as a twisted grin spread across the captain¡¯s face. There was a loud bang as the devoted Hyperion Knight chose to blow himself up.

    The hybrid girl in the vision could not react to the sudden explosion was badly injured by the st.

    But she was still alive.

    Just as before, the white fog shrouded the injured version of Sophie and then the image faded away.

    Yet again¡­ Captain Dawn was shown as a human.

    Sophie did not consider herself particrly smart or even the strongest among her peers, but she had one notable trait.

    Patience.

    She sat down cross-legged on the ground and waited quietly for more visions to appear.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the next cry of rage to reach her ears.

    ¡°I WAS WRONG I WISH TO CHANGE!¡±

    And the next¡­

    ¡°Stupid¡­ I¡­ I will¡­ never bow before you¡­ wretched dog¡­¡±

    And the next¡­

    ¡°I can bargain¡­ TAKE THIS YOU FILTHY HERETIC¡­¡±

    And the next¡­

    Time flowed differently in this mysterious ce. Sophie could not tell if hours, days or even years had passed.

    One image after another flowed into her mind and soon a pattern begun to emerge. There weremon simrities in each of the captain¡¯s deaths.

    The first was the most important observation and that was the fact that the captain was human¡­

    Or at least outwardly human.

    The cause of death may have ranged from whip strikes, sma shots, poison, explosives, to even blunt trauma but every death involved a person that lookedpletely human.

    The second interesting point was that the majority of his deaths led to Sophie being severely injured or even killed.

    Captain Dawn was ruthless in several scenarios and chose to blow himself up in multiple visions.

    Clearly he could not be reasoned with and would rather take his own life than fall into Sophie¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Troublesome¡­¡± Sophie muttered darkly.

    She got up slowly from the ground and stared nkly in a random direction while sorting out her mind.

    So.. he can be killed.

    That was a good start, but it was at this moment that Sophie realised just how limiting her foresight ability was.

    It was akin to skipping to the end of a movie and trying to piece together the entire plot based on thest few minutes.

    Furthermore, since her ability showed multiple possibilities, it was impossible to know which vision would be best to follow.

    Think¡­ Sophie¡­ think¡­

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she mentally reviewed every vision using her enhanced memory.

    Clearly the key to defeating the captain would be to somehow undo the transformation that he had undergone.

    Wait.. THAT¡¯S IT!

    Sophie deactivated her ability and returned to the real world. Her eyes returned to their familiar golden hue.

    The ring of mes surrounding the fire elemental continued to expand outwards. Sophie wiped some drops of sweat from her forehead as the temperature climbed rapidly.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from sight. She teleported hundreds of feet away until her danger sense began to calm down.

    The sudden realisation that had struck her just a few moments ago was still causing ripples in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    The answer was so simple¡­ the solution was so obvious!

    Captain Dawn¡¯s newfound power came from channeling the divine strength of the Sun God using his qi.

    Obviously that meant that his monstrous form relied on divinity and indirectly his qi reserves in order to maintain its appearance.

    But what would happen if the qi in his dantian became exhausted?

    It would mean that the transformation would no longer have the energy to sustain itself.

    She had been approaching this fight with the wrong mentality from the start.

    The way to beat the captain was not a quick sure-fire killing blow but rather a drawn-out fight that would force him to exhaust his qi.

    The solution was a marathon not a sprint.

    Using the whip was no longer an option as it would be impossible to get within reach of the captain¡¯s body.

    Sophie ced her nano-fibre whip back into her storage bag and pulled out a heavy-duty sma sniper.

    It took her a few minutes to remember the assembly process, but Sophie eventually managed to attach a scope and a suppressor.

    Sophie closed her eyes and sent out a series of mentalmands to her three surviving clones.

    [Return and go to the coordinates that I am about to send]

    [If you need a long-range weapon thene to me first and then move out to your assigned position]

    [I found his weakness]

 Chapter 348: Captain Dawns Counterattack

    Chapter 348: Captain Dawn''s Counterattack

    (Unknown- Hyperion Knight Basecamp)

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Boom!

    The sounds of explosions and heavy sma fire echoed through the empty desert as Sophie and her clones targeted the floating ball of mes.

    Sophie poked her head out from behind arge sand dune and ced the sniper rifle in front of her body.

    Concentrate¡­

    She carefully adjusted the scope and pressed the trigger. Blue light lit up the weapon¡¯s core as the sniper slowly begun to charge up.

    Sophie kept a steady hand on the weapon and locked the crosshairs on the core of the floating ball of mes.

    One minute¡­ two minutes¡­

    She did not panic as the weapon continued to charge even as the core begun to overload.

    Blue sparks of electricity brushed against the sides of her palms, but Sophie considered the pain as a mere tickle.

    An enormous wave of sma energy shot out from the tip of the weapon and flew towards the captain¡¯s inhuman body.

    This attack easily bypassed the ring of fire surrounding the captain and maybe Sophie was a bit lucky, but the shotnded right at the spot where the tendrils emerged.

    Boom!

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed, and she could see a significant chunk of the captain¡¯s body instantly disappear.

    She connected to the mentalwork with the clones and sent out a message to her other selves.

    [Don¡¯t give up! Keep on the offensive!]

    [This is the perfect opportunity to strike a killer blow!]

    Sophie quickly picked up the heavy sniper and rushed towards a new spot.

    It was just in time as a pir of fire sprouted up from below the location where she was just seconds early.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡±

    ¡°Fuck¡­ burning to death¡­ what a way to go..¡±

    ¡°TAKE THIS YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡±

    The enraged cries of Sophie¡¯s clones disrupted the quiet peace of the desert as the captain focused his attention on the minor annoyances constantly preupying his attention.

    He was only able to attack the main threat once before a wave of attacks forced him to redirect his energy elsewhere.

    This was exactly as Sophie expected.

    A million ants could defeat an elephant and Sophie was prepared to continue forcing the captain to use up even more of his divine energy.

    She smiled darkly as the injured areas of the captain¡¯s body healed from her heavy sma shot.

    There was not even a hint of panic in her expression.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then split into seven identical copies with her same characteristic.

    These new clones had all of her memories so they instantly knew what to do. Sophie handed out additional weapons from her storage bag but there were no more sma guns left.

    Some mirror images were forced to pick up a handful of needles as well as a solitary dagger.

    These clones could only be used as a distraction.

    Honestly Sophie was more reluctant that anyone else to see her clones sacrifice themselves.

    As for why?

    Because she would experience the process of their deaths as well as all the emotions and feelings that the clones had suffered!

    Sophie already had to fight the urge to constantly check the surface of her skin for burns since the memories of those painful deaths would asionally reappear in her mind.

    ¡°Split into teams and fill the gaps that appear in the encirclement,¡± Sophie ordered in a firm tone.

    ¡°One of you stay with me and we will head to another vantage point to get a clear shot at that monster¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s kill that piece of shit.¡±

    A solemn atmosphere appeared as each clone bowed towards Sophie before heading off to a different location.

    One of the clones stayed back and Sophie pointed at a gigantic boulder a few miles away as her destination.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Both bodies disappeared from the spot and reappeared at locations closer and closer to the boulder that Sophie had selected.

    From there the process was simple.

    Sophie once again charged up the sma sniper and fire off another heavy shot at the captain¡¯s body.

    She retreated from the location and then headed towards another vantage point along with her clone.

    The other mirror images continued tounch an all-out assault on the floating ball of me.

    Everything was used from sma shots to needles to even pocket bombs.

    Sophie spared no expense and was prepared to use every single resource that was avable in her storage bag.

    Now there was nothing left inside her storage space except nutrient pills, clothes, and medical supplies.

    The sudden influx of attacks caused Captain Dawn to extend the ring of fire and he managed to catch two of her clones in the surrounding ze.

    Sophie staggered slightly and was forced to rely on her clone to steady herself. She experienced a memory where her skin charred and turned to ash.

    Captain Dawn¡¯s mes¡­ were no ordinary fire.

    Sophie could feel a pain that seemed toe from within her body rather than her flesh.

    She had the ominous suspicion that getting hit with those dark purplish-ck mes would burn not just her skin¡­ but her soul.

    Danger!

    Sophie threw her body forward and narrowly avoided a spear of mes that passed just mere inches away from her head.

    The clone that she was travelling with was not so fortunate as the spear embedded itself in her chest.

    Sophie watched in horror as her clone screamed in pain as the spear melted into her flesh before spontaneously igniting.

    It was not a pleasant death.

    Sophie activated her movement ability once more and disappeared before another spear could find its way to her location.

    What was happening?

    Sophie closed her eyes and used her consciousness to travel into the minds of her clones and see how the situation was unfolding.

    It was not good.

    An endless wave of ming spears materialised out of thin air around the captain¡¯s body and shot forward towards her clones.

    Some managed to narrowly avoid the attacks while others were not so lucky.

    Captain Dawn had sacrificed his defense to create these spears and the ring of fire naturally disappeared.

    The problem was that there was no way to take advantage of this opening since her clones were doing their best just to survive.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then three clones appeared. She felt a bit confused and tried to activate the technique again.

    It was no use.

    No matter how hard she tried, Sophie could not create more doppelgangers. She had enough qi in her dantian but nothing was happening.

    Was it a w in the technique? Or was her understanding too low? Was there a limit to the number of clones produced within a certain time frame?

    Sophie could not help but let out a swear,

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

 Chapter 349: The Final Charge

    Chapter 349: The Final Charge

    ¡°Get it together¡­¡± Sophie muttered as she kept low to the ground.

    An endless barrage of ming spears passed over her head as she crawled on her belly like a worm.

    Not an elegant picture to be sure but Sophie was more concerned with staying alive.

    She let out a painful groan as new memories entered her mind after more of the clones died.

    This was bad.

    There were only four mirror copies left and each survivor was desperately trying to evade the ming spears.

    n after n shed across Sophie¡¯s mind as she quickly tried to think of possible countermeasures.

    The situation had taken an unexpected turn and it had caught her by surprise.

    Just how many more abilities was the captain hiding?

    Sophie did not expect the captain to give up his defense so easily tounch an all-out attack and this miscalction had cost her dearly.

    The hybrid girl snarled in rage and a crimson red colour began to grow from the corners of her golden eyes.

    Sophie fought down the familiar feeling of bloodlust by driving her fingernails into the soft flesh of her palms.

    The sharp burst of pain brought back some rity to her mind.

    Now was not the time to lose control.

    She was not reconciled to giving up so easily.

    Captain Dawn may be capable of unleashing what seemed to be an endless sea of ming spears but every ability had a price.

    The ring of fire surrounding his body had disappeared.

    Now was the perfect time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

    Sophie rubbed her temples and sent out several messages to her clones through the mentalwork.

    [Keep low and try to distract the target using only long-range weapons]

    [Prioritise your own safety and ensure that there are no more deaths]

    [There is a problem with the Rsychosis technique and for some reason I can¡¯t make more copies]

    She received acknowledgement from her mirror copies and then reached for her storage bag to pull out the nano-fibre whip.

    This was a stupid idea.

    No¡­ this was incredibly stupid idea.

    Sophieughed madly as she felt the adrenaline running through her veins.

    Maybe there was a part of her that was thrilled to be in life-and-death situations. Dancing on the edge of death produced a rush that was hard to match.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She rushed directly towards the floating ball of mes through the barrage of fiery spears.

    Danger! Danger!

    The hairs on Sophie¡¯s arms stood up as her danger sense went haywire.

    She saw the orb turn towards her direction and more spears materialised out of thin air.

    Every fibre of her being screamed to run but Sophie maintained the same high speed as she rushed towards her opponent.

    The world slowed down to a crawl as Sophie¡¯s figure ducked and weaved through the fiery maze of death.

    Sometimes a spear would pass mere inches away from her body but the hybrid girl relied on her reflexes to move instinctively in a way that would avoid all attacks.

    The orb clearly became flustered as more spears wereunched in Sophie¡¯s direction while the spears targeting her clones lessened.

    Bang!

    A sma shot struck the back of the orb as one of Sophie¡¯s mirror images managed to get a shot off sessfully.

    Screech!

    An inhuman roar echoed through the desert as the orb recoiled in pain. Sophie could sense that the blow had damaged its internal structure.

    The creature quickly regenerated but it was this brief moment of distraction that allowed Sophie to cross the remaining distance and close in.

    Asura Whip Art- Form Two

    Hail of Frost!

    The temperature plummeted as Sophie swung her whip forward with all the strength that she could muster.

    Crack!

    The sharpened edge of the whip easily prated the outer surface of the orb and entered into its inner body.

    Illusory snowkes appeared along the length of the whip and Sophie could see frost begin to form along the outer edges of the area where the whip prated the captain¡¯s body.

    Danger! Danger!

    Sophie immediately pulled out her weapon and activated her movement technique to teleport away.

    It was not a moment too soon.

    An enormous fiery explosion urred as Captain Dawn had decided to self implode to take out his wretched foe.

    It was a terrifying move.

    The ming cloud that was produced stretched over ten miles into the air and everything in the affected area was nowpletely destroyed.

    Sophie had moved almost instantly but it still wasn¡¯t enough to avoid the effect that the high temperatures produced by the st had on her skin.

    Every part of her body was now covered in second and third degree burns that stung horribly as they were now exposed to the air.

    The bodysuit that she had worn was heat resistant but was not capable of handling such an extreme shift in temperature.

    The desert sand glistened and gleamed as the incredible heat had turned most of the surrounding sand into ss.

    Sophie did feel surprised to realise that she could not sense the deaths of any of the remaining clones.

    She closed her eyes and sent out a message through the mental link in order to get an idea of what was the current situation.

    [How is everyone? Can you still fight or do you need some time for our regenerative ability to kick in?]

    It didn¡¯t take long to get several unhappy replies from her copies that caused Sophie to involuntarily let out a chuckle.

    [My arm waspletely burned off!]

    [Arm? My face has basically melted! And thank God I can¡¯t see what the rest of my body looks like because all I feel is pain]

    [You guys still have limbs?!]

    A cloud of dust filled the air that made it a bit difficult to see the captain¡¯s body through the haze.

    Sophie and her clones waited several minutes for the dust cloud to settle while the taking this time to heal.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the burnt and charred flesh on Sophie¡¯s body fell away to reveal a pinkishyer of newly grown skin.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Sophie muttered as she could now finally catch a glimpse of what the captain looked like from a distance.

    The enormous floating ball of fire had shrunken in size by more than half of its original length and those dark purplish-ck mes flickered weakly under the sunlight.

    This was it.

    This was the perfect opportunity.

    One final card to y.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes gradually turned scarlet as she indulged in the wanton feeling of bloodlust rising up in her chest.

    Maintain control¡­ maintain control¡­ maintain control¡­

    The addicting sensation to kill and ravage began to upy Sophie¡¯s mind as her fangs slowly lengthened.

    She gripped the nano-fibre whip tightly with her right arm and subconsciously began to circte qi towards her weapon.

    Sophie closed her eyes and sent out a final message to her clones.

    [Sacrifice yourselves in an all-out charge]

    [Don¡¯t forget to detonate those bombs right next to that monster¡¯s core]

    [I will end this]

 Chapter 350: The Grand Duel Ends

    Chapter 350: The Grand Duel Ends

    In that moment¡­ everything seemed to fade away.

    Sophie could hear the steady beat of her heart as she jumped out from behind the cover of a sand dune and rushed towards the captain.

    This was it.

    No matter what had happened before, Sophie knew that the next few minutes would decide the oue of the fight.

    She could feel the sickening feeling of bloodlust rising up in her chest and allowed herself to indulge in this dark sensation.

    Sophie¡¯s golden pupils gradually turned scarlet as her vision shifted into a world of orangish-red.

    Time seemed to slow down to a crawl.

    Sophie activated her movement technique and instantly teleported forward towards her weakened foe.

    The berserker state for all its ws was unquestionably powerful.

    Sophie knew that her reflexes, reaction time, danger sense and strength were enhanced far beyond her normal capabilities.

    Unlike thest time, Sophie still maintained a thin thread of sanity but her sense of reason faded with every passing second.

    She needed to end this quickly.

    Screech!

    An inhuman roar echoed across the empty desert but Sophie could detect vague emotions of panic and fear hidden in that terrifying shout.

    Fiery spearsposed of dark purplish-ck mes materialised out of thin air but their numbers were much less whenpared to the previous assault.

    The speed at which the fire elemental creatureunched the spears at her body had also slowed down significantly.

    Sophie effortlessly ducked and weaved through the endless barrage and even had time to fling needles at her opponent through the gaps.

    Elsewhere her mirror copies were also making their way towards the floating ball of mes.

    Bang! Bang!

    The sounds of sma fire filled the air as one of Sophie¡¯s clones relentlessly fired shot after shot at the creature¡¯s back.

    Masses of purplish flesh would fall off the fiery abomination¡¯s body as the sma rounds made contact with its outer surface.

    These wounds regenerated fairly quickly but its mes seemed to dim slightly after the creature healed itself.

    Clearly the divine energy required to maintain its fiery form was beginning to exhaust thest reserves of qi in the captain¡¯s dantian.

    Asura Whip Art- Form Two

    Hail of Frost!

    Sophieshed out with her whip as shadowy illusory snowkes appeared along the length of her weapon¡¯s body.

    Crack!

    She managed to get one sessfully strike before a ring of fire pulsated outwards from the floating orb¡¯s core.

    Sophie jumped backwards and narrowly avoided the fate of being roasted alive.

    She had now attracted the full attention of the creature.

    Thick pirs of me erupted from the ground beneath Sophie¡¯s feet as the hybrid girl had to awkwardly shuttle from ce to ce.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense had been strengthened thanks to her berserker state so she still managed to avoid these unpredictable attacks.

    Unfortunately, it appeared that Captain Dawn had enough energy left to make the situation far more dangerous than what Sophie had initially anticipated.

    Between dodging the pirs of fire and avoiding the ming spears, she could not find the opportunity tounch any counterattacks.

    A bloodthirsty snarl shed across Sophie¡¯s face as sheughed madly.

    There was not even a hint of tension or worry in her expression.

    Boom!

    An enormous explosion sent sand shooting up high into the sky as the first clone managed to get within striking distance of the ming orb.

    Sophie closed her eyes for a brief moment and sent out a message to her copies using the mentalwork that connected them.

    [Don¡¯t let up! We can end this now!]

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Sessive explosions happened one after the other as Sophie¡¯s mirror images managed to throw their explosive devices at the fiery creature.

    Sophie bravely ran straight into the dusty sand cloud and used her enhanced vision to locate the captain¡¯s body amidst the hazy surroundings.

    ¡°There you are,¡± Sophie muttered hoarsely as she ran towards the fallen figure.

    Captain¡¯s Dawn appearance had taken a drastic shift. The dark purplish-ck mes were now dimly lit and the orb was now longer floating in the air.

    Half of its biomass had been blown away after suffering the full brunt of high-ss explosives and the damaged areas on its body were no longer regenerating.

    Sophie did not intend to give mercy to her weakened opponent.

    This was a life and death encounter in which only one of them could survive.

    She extended her whip outwards and pressed a button on the top of the hilt. Sharp des extended outwards along the length of her nano-fibre whip.

    Asura Whip Art- Form Seven

    Bloodmoon Chill

    Sophie swung her whip in a circr pattern and the illusory image of a blood-red moon could be seen shining through the center of the arc.

    The temperature rapidly plummeted to a level that was so low that Sophie felt her arms begin to shiver involuntarily.

    Maybe somewhere in the creature¡¯s mind it recognised the impending doom that was about to befall it since the mes surrounding its body briefly reignited.

    But it was merely the final spark before the fire burned outpletely.

    Sophie easily dodged the multiple ming spears that were shot directly at her and then swung her whip forward with all the strength that she had left.

    Crack!

    A soft whimper entered Sophie¡¯s ears as a nasty crack appeared right down the middle of the ming orb¡¯s body.

    This crack lengthened and expanded until the fiery elemental split into two pieces.

    A harsh white light was suddenly emitted that caused Sophie to close her eyes in pain.

    One minute¡­ two minutes¡­

    Sophie tentatively opened her eyes and saw the naked body of the captainying on the ground defenseless.

    The dust cloud had now been fully dispersed and she could see her four mirror copies slowly approaching from the distance.

    Sophie walked up to the captain¡­ her target¡­ her enemy¡­

    The greatest foe that she had ever fought and by far the most dangerous.

    Captain Dawn sensed her approach and tilted his face towards the hybrid girl walking towards him.

    ¡°You fiend! THE SUN GOD WILL DEVOUR YOUR¡­¡± Captain Dawn roared but his words were cut short as Sophie extended one of her de-like appendages outwards and then sliced off his neck.

    The expression of rage and surprise was still on the captain¡¯s face as his head rolled a short distance before stopping.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t going to give him the chance to finish his speech.

    She had seen far too many possible futures where the captain had managed to blow up his dantian and kill the both of them.

    It was over.

    Sophie slumped to the ground and hung her head as a wave of exhaustion crashed over her body.

    There was no feeling of victory or satisfaction.

    She just felt tired.

    [Good work my little vessel]

    [I am d that you survived! My priestess has grown awfully fond of you and who knows how long it would take to find another delightful gem like you]

    Sophie didn¡¯t even react to the cold feminine voice that invaded her mind. The Hunter Goddess¡¯ sadistic temperament was something that she was used to by now.

    ¡°What do I need to do now to finish your quest?¡± Sophie asked softly.

    [Don¡¯t worry I will take it from here]

    Sophie¡¯s body twitched and she could feel a foreign power enter her dantian that felt both familiar and strange.

    Sophie rose up from the ground and approached the headless corpse of the captain with jerky motions as if she was controlled by a puppetmaster.

    She used her sharp nails to rip open the corpse¡¯s chest and pulled out the heart that was still beating.

    Sophie held the organ in her hand for a brief moment before opening up her jaw and pushing the heart into her mouth.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the fangs in the hybrid girl¡¯s mouth to tear the hunk of flesh into bite-sized pieces that were easily swallowed.

    The meat was hard, rubbery and had a taste that could only be described as vomit-inducing. Sophie tried desperately to stop chewing but her body was no longer in her control.

    She could only passively wait as thest piece of meat entered her throat and then the goddess made her body kneel down.

    Strange words flowed out of Sophie¡¯s mouth. Thenguage was archaic and dark but she could somehow tell that it was a prayer.

    ¡°Jaesa nyke jioragon bisa prayer naejot ao.¡±

    ¡°Se anogar hen issa eli prey emagon issare given naejot ao provide issa rusir greater kustikane¡±

    ¡°Sir bona nyke kostagon sagon able naejot jioragon ao tolmiot greater spoils.¡±

    ¡°Arghugon. Ossenagon.¡±

    As the prayer continued, Sophie discovered that she could recognise a few words in every sentence but that was the full extent of her understanding.

    Suddenly the wordsing out of Sophie¡¯s mouth ended and she felt the foreign power that was inside of her dantian had vanished.

    It was finally over.

 Chapter 351: Peaceful Night Sleep

    Chapter 351: Peaceful Night Sleep

    ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± Sophie smiled softly as she gently rubbed the sides of Lily¡¯s cheeks.

    The little girl was fast asleep on the bed and Sophie didn¡¯t want to wake her up so she stopped her movements.

    It had been a stressful couple of days and getting as much rest as possible was necessary for the both of them.

    Especially for a growing child who hadn¡¯t stepped on the path of cultivation yet.

    Intense mental exhaustion meant that Sophie herself was ready to catch a few hours of sleep.

    Defeating Captain Dawn and managing to kill him was a great victory but it was definitely a tiring experience.

    Sophie¡¯s hands still trembled as she recalled the many times during the battle where she had almost lost her life.

    This was not a game where one had a second chance. The slightest misstep would lead to death.

    Being the vessel of the Hunter Goddess was as much a curse as it was a blessing.

    No power came without a price.

    Sophie fondly touched Lily¡¯s head a few more times and then headed towards the cleaning area to take a full bath.

    She had already washed her hands and reced the damaged battle suit that she wore during the fight with a fresh one¡­

    But there was still a faint bloody scent that seemed to linger around her body.

    Sophie carefully stripped the body suit off her body and then flung it to the side carelessly.

    The body suit was made from a certain material that acted simr to memory foam so it was easy to remove.

    She pressed a button on the wall and soon a greenish fluid spurted out of a faucet and begun to fill the bathtub.

    Sophie closed her eyes and sent out a message to the four surviving mirror copies using the mental link that connected them.

    [Feed the prisoners with the supplies from the cafeteria level and make sure that the two that are tied up don¡¯t starve tonight]

    [Tomorrow we will enter the holding room and try to figure out what to do next. We definitely need a pilot and at least one other crewmember in order to fly the escape vessel]

    [Remember it¡¯s only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive so we need to leave this within the next few days]

    The hybrid girl entered the bathtub and felt the soft cleaning liquid stick to the surface of her body.

    It was an oddly rxing feeling so Sophie just leaned her head back against the side of the tub and began to contemte.

    There was no time to celebrate her victory.

    Truthfully she wanted to leave the tonight but right now she wasn¡¯t in the right mental state to y psychological tricks on the prisoners.

    That engineer Pirene had testified that the escape starships only needed a main pilot and an auxiliary pilot at minimum in order to fly.

    Two people.

    The tricky part was controlling those two individuals to ensure that they actually flew the starship in the direction she wanted over the span of a week.

    It would be a challenging task because Sophie was at a disadvantage since she could not read Unovan text.

    She could speak thenguage fairly well but would be unable to tell what any of the information shown on the main control deck of the starship meant.

    How should she do it?

    Constant pressure and fear?

    That could work. Sophie was confident in her acting abilities and it would be a simple matter to have her copies keep their eyes on the two crewmembers at all times.

    Reward? The problem was that she didn¡¯t have anything to offer.

    There was a limited number of local currencies in her storage bag which essentially meant that she was a pauper.

    Sophiezily turned over and ducked her head underwater for a few minutes to get the cleaning liquid in contact with her hair.

    Having long hair did look good but it was a pain in the ass to get dried blood, guts, and filth out after a fight.

    Sophie rose to the surface and wiped her face using the palm of her right hand. Everything now depended on reaching the border zone.

    The ce where a war was happening.

    This was an active battlefield and there would be tremendous risk involved but it was really the only option left.

    Sophie¡¯smunicator could only connect to the Earth Federationwork once it was within signal distance.

    Sending out a message to her father for help was Sophie¡¯s best chance at reaching home safely.

    Hopefully¡­ he hadn¡¯t suffered too much when she was gone.

    Sophie knew just how much love her father had for her.

    Finding out that his daughter was missing¡­ she couldn¡¯t even imagine how much pain he was going through.

    And then¡­ her friends¡­ Cleo¡­ even her little bat Moon. All of her loved ones did not know if she was even alive.

    It was a sobering thought.

    The joy of surviving the fight with the captain seemed to diminish as Sophie was struck by an intense feeling of loneliness and homesickness.

    The most frustrating thing about the whole situation was that there was really nothing that she could have done.

    It was impossible to predict that Emperor Sisrelis would be insane enough to sacrifice his life to teleport the heirs of high noble families to random ces across the universe.

    ¡°Fucking old bastard,¡± Sophie darkly growled as she mmed her fist into the side of the wall.

    Crack!

    She used a bit too much power in her frustration and soon a section of the wallpletely copsed.

    Sophie coughed awkwardly and then sheepishly ced her hand back under the cleaning liquid to get the dust off.

    Okay maybe she should just go to bed before more stuff in the cabin room got destroyed by ident.

    The hybrid girl got out of the tub and reached into her storage bag to pull out a fresh set of clothes for the night.

    Lily was snoring softly when Sophie quietly tip-toed her way to the bed. It had been a good idea to cover her body with the cleaning liquid since the bloody smell was now gone.

    Sophie carefully lifted up the nket and then slipped inside while trying her best not to wake up Lily.

    She nted a loving kiss on the little girl¡¯s forehead and then closed her eyes to take a well-deserved rest.

 Chapter 352: The Survivors Play One Last Game

    Chapter 352: The Survivors y One Last Game

    (Unknown Starship ¨C Fifth Floor)

    (Holding Room)

    The scent of blood filled the air as a headless corpse crashed to the ground motionless. No one dared to speak a word as the two monsters walked into the room with slow purposeful steps.

    It was back.

    The terrifying mercenary who had be a nightmare for the handful of survivors that remained after the massacre.

    What was truly horrifying was its ability to copy itself and split into mirror images that werepletely identical.

    The sharp barbs at the ends of their de-like appendages gleamed under the light.

    It was a chilling reminder of the threat posed by the creature and its clones.

    ¡°Does anyone else want to try and kill us?¡± one of the figures whispered in a mocking tone.

    A wave of bloodlust radiated outwards and soon beads of sweat began to appear on the foreheads of the survivors.

    It took all of their strength not to copse in the face of such monstrous killing intent.

    ¡°Rx¡­. we can¡¯t break them,¡± the other figure spoke and ced a firm hand on the shoulder of herpanion.

    Sophie¡¯s clone realised her mistake and quickly hid her bloodlust.

    There was an important mission to be done.

    This was a key moment that would decide if they would be able to leave the.

    Sophie¡¯s clone could only pray that the humanoid alien that she had just killed was not the pilot.

    Both hybrid girls in the room were made from the Rsychosis technique since the original Sophie was currently in the spaceship hangar waiting for their arrival.

    The other two clones were in charge of setting explosive devices in the engine room with timers that would go off three dayster.

    Detonating high ss explosives near the warp core wouldpletely disable the starship and hopefully provide a distraction for the rescuers when they arrive.

    Despite what the scared aliens in the room might think¡­

    Sophie did not n on killing all of them.

    The fight with Captain Dawn and the previous massacre had left a bad taste in her mouth so she ordered the clones to leave enough food and water in the holding room for the survivors to live.

    It wasn¡¯t a foolish decision since Sophie also prepared a back hand by leaving behind a false clue to throw any future pursers off their trail.

    For this misinformation to be effective, she needed the survivors to leak it out to the rescuers.

    ¡°The sacrifices that are chosen today will be picked using a slightly different method than before,¡± one of Sophie¡¯s clones snarled.

    Tension filled the air as the room fellpletely silent.

    The two copies were in no hurry to break this hostile atmosphere because this was exactly as they predicted.

    One minute passed¡­.

    Two minutes passed¡­.

    Five minutes passed¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s clones continued to pretend to contemte while the survivors did not have the courage to even move a muscle.

    Finally, one of the clones broke the silence and pointed at a random survivor who was shivering against the wall.

    He was missing an arm and his wound was hastily bandaged using cloth that had been torn off his robe.

    Getting proper medical help in the holding room was impossible and it appeared that the Stukuins race did not possess a healing factor.

    ¡°I figured out what game we are going to y today!¡± Sophie¡¯s clone yelled joyfully.

    She pped her hands in excitement and spun around like a little girl.

    It would have been a cute sight if not for the blood that was still dripping from the tip of her de-like appendage or the terrifying fangs that extended outwards.

    The best tactic to use when engaging in psychological maniption is to be unpredictable.

    The level of fear and tension in your victim¡¯s mind could be maintained by constantly keeping them guessing.

    Most intelligent lifeforms assume the worst in dangerous situations.

    The fear of the unknown is more potent than stating your goals and threats out loud.

    Sophie¡¯s mirror image bared her fangs and smiled before speaking, ¡°We will choose two or three sacrifices based on what job you have!¡±

    ¡°What a lovely suggestion!¡± the other clone followed her lead and also tried to mimic the high enthusiasm in herpanion¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we start from the back? Whoever I point at must say their name and then what job they have on the starship,¡± Sophie¡¯s copy loudly dered.

    The unlucky survivor looked around the room for some support but none of his fellow crewmates would look him in the eye.

    Everyone just tried their best to prevent the gazes of the two sadistic tormentors from falling on their bodies.

    ¡°My¡­ my¡­ name is Lisetera¡­ and I¡­ I work in security,¡± Lisetera spoke with a clear quiver in her voice.

    An unhappy look shed across the faces of the two monsters and Lisetera could feel her heart begin to race.

    It was over.

    She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst but nothing happened.

    One of the creatures pointed at another survivor and then the cycle continued.

    ¡°They call me Electera and I¡­.

    ¡°I¡¯m just an engineer¡­¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ I only do data entry¡­ please¡­ let me live..¡±

    The thought of lying did not even cross the minds of the survivors and they honestly spoke about their positions onboard the vessel.

    There were two reasons for this.

    The first being that the seeds of fear that Sophie had nted in their hearts had already taken root in their psyche.

    The second reason was that no one knew which jobs would lead to them being selected as the next sacrifice.

    It was better to be truthful than to take a risk.

    Sophie¡¯s clones kept the yful grins on their faces but secretly they were both feeling a bit flustered.

    With every job that was called, their expectations turned to disappointment. Was it possible that all the pilots were dead?

    In that case¡­ what would be the new n?

    One of the copies wanted to send a mental message to Sophie through thework but was stopped by the other clone in the room.

    There was no need to panic yet.

    Wait until everyone in the room had spoken and then they would decide what to do depending on the situation.

    Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as Sophie¡¯s clones kept pointing at random survivors in the room.

    Again, and again their fingers would stretch outwards to select a new survivor until only a handful remained.

    Until finally¡­. several voices said the words that the copies had been waiting for.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Lt. Shirren¡­I am an officer in charge of ship navigation and piloting.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m a trainee pilot.. my name is¡­ Penshese.¡±

 Chapter 353: Thinking About The Future

    Chapter 353: Thinking About The Future

    (Unknown Starship- Seventh Floor)

    (Starship Hangar)

    It had been easy for Sophie to punch open the st-resistant doors that blocked the way to the hangar.

    Walking slowly inside the room with Lily in her arms brought a small smile to the hybrid girl¡¯s face.

    The little girl had been overjoyed to see her big sister when she woke up and had spent the morning glued to Sophie¡¯s side.

    Truthfully, Sophie was equally happy to spend time with the energetic Lily as her cheerful attitude really helped to brighten her mood.

    The pair soon arrived in a vast open hall that was filled with futuristic spacecrafts that were designed in the typical Unovan style.

    Some of the noticeable traits were a slender, sleek design, mounted sma cannons on the undersides of the vessels and a barrier device ced on the front-end of the starship.

    Lily had stars in her eyes as she gazed at the shiny starships so Sophie gently ced her on the ground.

    ¡°Wow!¡± Lily yelled happily as she ran towards one of spacecrafts lining the sides of the room that had caught her eye.

    Sophie watched from the distance while taking a nce at the different models.

    The spacefaring vessel controlled by the Sun¡¯s Glory was a medium-ss starship hence it was logical to house smaller escape starships in case of emergencies.

    Of course, there would be differences in the models to fit different situations. Some starships in the hangar were meant for short-range explorations and hence did not have warp cores.

    Others could travel vast distances but typically did not have the strongest offensive or defensive capabilities.

    Sophie was not an expert so it was impossible for her untrained eye to tell from the outside which starship was suitable for the week-long journey to the border region.

    That would have to be done by the two prisoners that were currently being led to the hangar room by her clones.

    ¡°Thank goodness there were actually two of them,¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she closed her eyes.

    She connected to the mentalwork and sent her consciousness into the minds of her copies to review the memories of what had happened in the holding room.

    Penshese and Lt. Shirren were the names of the two survivors.

    Now how could she control them?

    Sophie disconnected from the mentalwork and opened her eyes with a pensive expression on her face.

    She reached into her storage bag and quietly checked for a couple items for an idea that shed across her mind.

    Sophie frowned as she realised a not insignificant problem as she checked through her storage bag.

    The supplies inside the space were limited and after months of being stuck in the Unovan Syndicate¡­

    Certain items were beginning to run low.

    There were now only a handful of weapons left and most of her poison vials had been used up in the fight with the captain.

    At least there was still sufficient food left since Duke Peterlor had made sure that his daughter had a year supply of nutrient vials before leaving for university.

    Clothes on the other hand¡­

    Well, it was only a week so worst case scenario, she would just wash the clothes in the cleaning liquid avable on the spacecraft.

    Or¡­ just have to wear the same clothes for the week¡­

    ¡°Big sistere look at this!¡± a loud voice snapped Sophie out of her musing.

    She nced towards the direction of the noise only to see Lily excitedly pointing at one of the starships.

    Sophiezily walked over and picked up the little girl in her arms with smooth familiar movements.

    ¡°What¡¯s so exciting?¡± Sophie teased as she tickled Lily¡¯s stomach. Lily¡¯s soft giggles filled the hangar and made the atmosphere feel warm.

    ¡°Big.. sister¡­ stop¡­ look at the writing,¡± Lily gasped as she grabbed Sophie¡¯s hand and looked up at her tormentor with tears in her eyes.

    Sophie took a casual nce at the sides of the starship and saw something interesting.

    There were several lines of text engraved on the metalloid exterior of this particr vessel.

    The text was in anguage that Sophie recognised as standard Unovan but since she could not understand the writing¡­

    There was no way to tell what these lines of text meant.

    Sophie held Lily in her arms and walked up and down the length of the hangar while inspecting the other starships curiously.

    To her surprise, she found that not all the vessels had text engraved on their metalloid exterior.

    In fact, she only counted around four starships in total.

    What was the significance of these vesselspared to the rest?

    Sophie could not tell since outwardly there appeared to be no major difference between them and any other starship in the hangar.

    Well, this seems like a mystery that would remain unsolved so Sophie tossed this detail to the back of her mind.

    Sophie turned her attention back to the little girl in her arms and asked a question,

    ¡°Do you like starships Lily?¡±

    Lily stayed silent for a moment and then talked about the dream in her heart that she had never shared with anyone before.

    ¡°I want to be amander like my mom when I grow up,¡± Lily softly whispered.

    ¡°She took me to visit her starship for my birthdayst year and I saw how all the aunts and uncles looked at her.¡±

    ¡°They¡­ loved her¡­ I want to be just like her.¡±

    Even with a childish voice, the determination hidden in Lily¡¯s soft-spoken words was impossible to deny.

    Sophie could not help but think about her own life after they both returned to the Earth Federation.

    What did she want to be?

    Join the military to be like her father?

    That was the n but secretly Sophie had another important reason for joining the Imperial Army.

    She would be able to apply for the legion situated at the border of the Insectoid Empire and then hopefully from there she could begin to look for her mom.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will be the greatestmander ever,¡± Sophie whispered before leaning in and nting a gentle kiss on Lily¡¯s forehead.

    There was afortable silence between the pair as they inspected thest couple of starships and then walked towards the center of the room.

    Sophie¡¯s movements slowed down as she received a message through the mentalwork from one of her clones.

    [We just met up with the other two of us in the cafeteria level and are now only ten minutes away from the hangar]

    [The prisoners are cooperative so far]

 Chapter 354: A Certain Job

    Chapter 354: A Certain Job

    ¡°Lily¡­ I might have to put on an act soon,¡± Sophie admitted truthfully.

    ¡°Not matter what you see or hear, you need to keep the mask on and not say a word until we get on the starship.¡±

    ¡°Can you do that for me?¡±

    It was better to be honest now since there was no way that Sophie could hide the intimidation and threats that she was about to make.

    Sophie also had a feeling that Lily knew more than she let on about what actions she had taken during the journey to ensure their safety.

    The little girl wasn¡¯t foolish or blind.

    It was just that¡­

    Sophie really didn¡¯t want to show her the depths of her inner darkness or the monster that she became once she channeled the powers of the hunter goddess.

    ¡°Okay big sister. I understand,¡± Lily replied softly.

    Sophie smiled gently at the little girl before reaching into her storage bag and pulling out a thin facial covering.

    The purpose of this disguise was to keep Lily¡¯s humanity a secret.

    It was impossible to predict what would happen on the journey to the frontier region so it was necessary to have safeguards.

    The Earth Federation and the Unovan Syndicate were at war and any vessel found carrying a human would definitely lead to extra trouble.

    Sophie pressed a button on the side of the paper-thin mask and the solid covering soon turned into a liquid form.

    She spread the liquid across Lily¡¯s face and it in just a few seconds, the mask reformed to perfectly cover the surface area.

    There were spare robes inside Sophie¡¯s storage bag so the hybrid girl pulled out a particrlyrge robe and ced it on Lily.

    Now that preparations wereplete, Sophie stepped back and took a second look at Lily to make sure that nothing went wrong with the disguise.

    Lily¡¯s figure and body physique were now covered by therge robe while her face was hidden behind a mask.

    It was impossible to tell what species she was.

    Sophie grinned with satisfaction and rubbed Lily¡¯s soft hair a few times.

    Now the only thing left to do now was wait.

    ording to her mirror copies, it would only take a few more minutes before they reached the ship hangar.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to steady her mood. The end of her long journey was in sight but it was important not to get overexcited.

    There was still work to be done. Firstly, she needed to properly intimidate and control the iing prisoners.

    And then sneak into an active warzone. Pretending to be mercenaries could be an option but it would depend on the situation at the frontier region.

    If the Unovan military did not control the space then it would be simple to bypass the blockade and try to reach the Earth Federation¡¯s territory directly.

    Well¡­ that would have to be after she sent out a message so that their ship wouldn¡¯t get blown up on the spot by the Imperial Army.

    The numerous factors and ns to consider caused Sophie¡¯s head to spin and the hybrid girl quickly realised what was happening.

    She couldn¡¯t allow her mood to fluctuate right before meeting the prisoners.

    Calm down¡­ deep breaths¡­

    In and out¡­ in and out¡­ in and out¡­

    Eventually, Sophie could feel her heartbeat begin to slow and a sense of tranquility filled her mind.

    It was just in time as well since a mental message from one of her clones entered Sophie¡¯s mind.

    [We are about thirty seconds away from the entrance leading to the ship¡¯s hangar. What role do you want us to y?]

    Sophie closed her eyes and replied using the mentalwork that connected the clones to her consciousness.

    [Just maintain a firm grip on the shoulders of the two prisoners. You don¡¯t need to talk once you enter the hangar but asionally leak out small traces of bloodlust]

    [The prisoners should be kept in a constant state of anxiety and fear]

    With thest message sent out, Sophie straightened out her back and opened her eyes. Her golden pupils shone eerily as a bloodthirsty snarl shed across her face.

    Through the open entrance to the ship¡¯s hangar, she could spot the crowd nearing therge hall.

    Four identical copies of herself were marching in tandem while two pale-skinned aliens trembled in the middle of the herd.

    Their cloaks that were once a source of pride in their organization were filthy.

    Blood and dirt covered the fabric and the haggard expressions on their faces clearly showed the mental stress that they were under.

    The prisoners were brought before Sophie who stared at them for several minutes without speaking.

    She let the tension fill the air as the prisoners got noticeably more frightened with every passing minute.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out long strips of metalloid wire which she then used to wrap around the necks of the two survivors.

    ¡°This is an explosive material that can be triggered at a push of this button,¡± Sophie darkly whispered as she held up a small disc shaped device.

    Of course¡­ this was total nonsense.

    The metalloid strips were just spare wirings while the so-called trigger device was nothing more than an rm cloak.

    But Sophie spoke as though what she said was true. There was no hesitation in her voice so the situation appeared real to the prisoners.

    Panic and fear shed across the faces of the prisoners as they felt as though the wiring on their necks weighed several pounds.

    The threat of death made their bodies shiver.

    Sophie stretched out her hand to cover her mouthzily and yawned. Her movements were slow and unhurried.

    ¡°Do you want to die? Or do you want to live?¡± Sophie asked inly.

    Penshese trembled as she hesitantly replied to the monster that held their lives in the palms of her hands,

    ¡°Please¡­ please.. I¡­ I want to live¡­¡±

    ¡°I also want to live,¡± Lt. Shirren bowed her head and spat out.

    Sophie maintained her demeanor but inwardly there was a feeling of tion in her heart when she realised that everything was proceeding as nned.

    A heavy wave of spiritual pressure forced both prisoners to their knees as Sophie unleashed just a small fraction of her cultivation strength..

    The hybrid girl¡¯sughter filled the room as she spoke to the prisoners with a sadistic grin on her face,

    ¡°If you both want to live then I will be merciful and grant you your wish.¡±

    ¡°The price for my mercy is a certain job for you to ept¡­¡±

 Chapter 355: First Encounter With The Unovan Military

    Chapter 355: First Encounter With The Unovan Military

    (Starship Model X-987)

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Delta)

    A minor- ss spacecraft was shuttling through hyper space at a breakneck pace towards an unknown destination.

    This spacecraft had the familiar design of vessels built in the Unovan Syndicate such as a sleek, narrow design and a heavy sma cannon mounted on its side.

    Symbols and writings that praised the Sun God had been etched onto the outer surface of its metalloid exterior.

    An educated observer would be able to tell that this particr model belonged to the mercenary group known as the Sun¡¯s Glory.

    ¡°Keep a steady eye on the surroundings and be prepared to intercept any transmissions that target us,¡± Sophie ordered.

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Lt. Shirren replied as she pressed a series of buttons on the monitor in front of her.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­paying attention captain,¡± there was a slight tremor in Penshese¡¯s voice as she responded as well.

    Sophie leaned back against the chair in the middle of themand deck and quietly contemted about the next course of action.

    Right now, one of her clones was entertaining Lily in the passenger level while two other clones were currently on themand deck with her.

    The mirror copies that had survived the fight with Captain Dawn had recently died since the Rsychosis technique expired.

    Fortunately, it was an easy problem to fix since Sophie could just split herself into three additional copies.

    It had been around six days since boarding the escape spacecraft and now the journey to the frontier region was nearly over.

    Maybe Sophie had gotten lucky recently but the trip so far had been quite uneventful.

    No encounters with any enemy vessels or raiders and the two survivors onboard the spacecraft had been very cooperative.

    Well, that was to be expected since they believed that the metalloid wirings wrapped around their necks were connected to an explosive device.

    But the true dangers woulde soon.

    They were approaching an active warzone. The Imperial Army had been advancing deep into the territory of the Unova Syndicate.

    It was really only a matter of time before the border zone fell but at the moment, the fighting spirit of the Unovan army was still going strong.

    Sophie pulled out hermunicator and tried to connect to the Earth Federationwork. It had be a habit since the starship got close and closer to the battlefield.

    Unfortunately, the words [No Network In Range] appeared once more on the screen of hermunicator.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Sophie cursed as she ced themunicator back into the storage bag with some frustration in her heart.

    She pulled several nutrient vials out of her pocket and started to drink one after the other in order to calm down her mood.

    It was easy to get angry on an empty stomach.

    Normal Qi tide cultivators should be able to survive without food or drink for several weeks at a time.

    Sophie on the other hand could not go two days without a nutrient vial otherwise the familiar feeling of bloodlust would return.

    She swallowed the tasteless liquid and the faint pangs of hunger slowly disappeared.

    Sophie ced the empty vials back in her storage bag and took a casual nce at the scenery outside the windows.

    Perhaps the worst part of long journeys through space was the utter boredom and silence.

    The universe was a vast empty zone with small flickers of civilisation scattered across nothingness.

    It was breathtaking to see numerouss, star clusters and ck holes for the first time but after days on end¡­

    Sophie was getting sick of it.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and entered the space inside her star-shaped amulet.

    The stone tablet floating in the middle of the space remained unchanged but there were now additional lines of text etched onto its outer surface.

    These writings were slightly blurred so Sophie was unable to figure out what meaning they conveyed or their importance.

    She floated carelessly while taking asional nces at the void.

    It had been several months since herst encounter with her aunt inside the space.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t figure out why her Insectoid rtive had been unable to visit her and a small part of her was worried that something bad had happened.

    Aunt Rai¡¯lle was Sophie¡¯s only connection to her mother.

    Sophie could have never found out that she was rted to the Arachnais royal family on her own.

    Sophie fruitlessly spent the next few hours inside the space trying to interpret the new writings that appeared on the stone tablet.

    No matter how hard she tried, Sophie could not get rid of the blurry fog that was covering the words.

    She withdrew her consciousness from the ne and leaned back against the chair in a low mood.

    Sophie remained on the chair for an unknown period of time until a voice on themand deck broke the calm atmosphere.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am a signal is being directed towards our vessel,¡± Lt. Shirren loudly stated.

    ¡°Put it up on the screen and allow me to do the talking or else there will be serious consequences,¡± Sophie growled.

    Just in case, she let out a small trace of killing intent that caused both pilots to freeze under the immense pressure.

    This was the firstmunication that would determine the next steps of her n to finally return home.

    She could not risk something going wrong.

    Sophie nodded at Penshese who quickly inputted a series ofmands on her console and soon a holographic window was projected in the front of the room.

    A massive alien with stone-like skin appeared in the middle of the projection wearing a purple military uniform.

    There were four arms attached to the sides of his chest and each palm held a different weapon.

    ¡°State your name and purpose for approaching,¡± the alienmanded in a firm tone.

    Sophie stood up from the chair and walked towards the holographic projection with slow purposeful steps.

    Now was the time for acting.

    It was important to maintain a calm, confident attitude when dealing with military types.

    ¡°We are a mercenary crew associated with the Sun¡¯s Glory. The government has promised significant cash incentives so we figured that it was a good idea to join the Unovan forces,¡± Sophie answered.

    A greedy smile shed across her face as though the only thought in her mind was the riches that she would soon posses.

    The military officer remained silent for a moment but inwardly he felt great disdain towards the creature on the starship.

    If the rich and powerful crime bosses had sent out their own private armies to join the Unovan forces then they would not need to rely on such trash!

    This would not be the first nor would it be thest mercenary crew joining the battlefield only because of money.

    However, he had to admit that it was an effective strategy since these greedy mercenaries would serve a purpose as cannon fodder.

    ¡°There will be a transmission sent to your ship with the coordinates of the nearest military outpost,¡± the officer spoke impatiently.

    ¡°You will need to meet with the individual in charge of personnel in order to get your assigned position.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your contribution to protecting the safety of the mothend.¡±

 Chapter 356: Death Sentence

    Chapter 356: Death Sentence

    Sloppy. Messy. Disorganized.

    That was the first impression Sophie got as she stood in line to be registered as a mercenary.

    Well¡­ it would be more urate to call it a crowded huddle rather than a line.

    There were warriors freely drinking and smoking while the military officers standing nearby would asionally join in.

    Loud cheers, yells and jeers would fill the air and the violent fights that broke out in the crowd served as entertainment.

    What a disaster¡­

    It was really no surprise that the Earth Federation was currently winning the war against the Unovan forces.

    For all the ws of the Imperial Army, discipline was never one of them.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and took a careful nce at the surrounding area to look for any hidden details.

    The military outpost was built on top of an artificial asteroid-like structure that was around the size of twenty football fields.

    A transparent bubble-like material formed a dome that covered the entire structure and created a breathable atmospheric zone.

    There was a single solitary building at the end of the asteroid where the registration would take ce.

    Part of thend mass was used for parking the starships operated by the various mercenary organizations that were here for registration.

    Lily, the two pilots and the rest of her mirror copies were inside the spacecraft while Sophie had volunteered to be the one to line up.

    Apparently the mercenaries with their own starships would only be required to register the vessel and the leader of the crew.

    These warriors would be sent on the battlefield to engage in spatialbat directly so it didn¡¯t matter who was inside.

    ¡°Move out of the way punk!¡± a massive creature with scaly skin and reddish eyes attempted to shove Sophie out of the way.

    Crack!

    ¡°ARGHHHHHH!¡± a painful shriek emerged from the twin orifices of the alien as Sophie calmly grabbed his offending hand and broke it directly.

    The alien¡¯s reddish eyes darkened in rage but one look at the terrifying killing intent hidden behind Sophie¡¯s quiet gaze was enough to make him back down.

    None of the military officers near the scene bothered to break up the fight or do anything about it.

    Sophie had observed this phenomenon quite a few times before.

    Several fights had broken out already and the military officers would only reluctantly step in if someone was about to die.

    She assumed that the only reason they did this was a need for more bodies to serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

    Sophie¡¯s violent actions had sessfully intimidated the mercenaries nearest to her so now there was no more trouble.

    Violence was the only universalnguage that these brutes understood.

    Anyone willing to join an active battlefield as the losing side must be either one of two options¡­

    Crazy or desperate.

    The rest of the time spent in line passed fairly uneventfully as Sophie kept a constant watch for any danger.

    She would asionally tilt themunicator on her wrist upwards to see if her metalloid device had connected to the virtualwork.

    It was pointless.

    [No Network In Range] would consistently appear on the screen.

    Sophie powered off the device to save battery life and made a few additional ns.

    In order to ry orders, the higher ups of the Imperial Army must have amunication line with the officers and foot soldiers.

    Sophie¡¯s father had casually mentioned that this was done using the standard virtual with key encryption programs.

    This meant that it would be safe to assume that the range of the virtual extended beyond the Earth Federation¡¯s borders in times of war.

    The frontline was guaranteed to have signal but it was also the most dangerous ce.

    The spacecraft that was stolen from the Sun¡¯s Glory was not built for war and its basic shielding functions would quickly fail under heavy fire.

    Sophie frowned slightly as numerous worries and concerns shed across her mind.

    She needed to get home safely but the task kept getting more difficult.

    ¡°Next!¡± a loud shout interrupted Sophie¡¯s concentration. She looked up to find herself only one spot away from the front of the line.

    The alien currently talking to the military officer in charge of registration bore striking resemnce to a humanoid rat with milky white fur and tiny beady eyes.

    His eyes would shift constantly from side to side as his body trembled slightly. He filled out a form and then spat on a certain section.

    The military officer shot the creature a look of disgust but the furry animal just scurried away on all fours.

    ¡°Next!¡± came another shout.

    Sophie walked up to the front desk and a sheet of paper was passed to her.

    The writings and symbols on the paper were clearly in the standard Unovannguage but there was a small problem.

    ¡°Sorry but I can¡¯t read,¡± Sophie freely admitted.

    The military officer did not even look remotely surprised. There was a significant percentage of illiteracy in the poption of the Unova Syndicate.

    Mercenaries and warriors especially tended to not prioritise education so it wasn¡¯t the first time that the officer had to read aloud the contents of the form.

    He let out a heavy sigh and then picked up the paper as well as a pen that wasying on the desk.

    ¡°Captain¡¯s name, number of warriors in your group, are you associated with any famous mercenary corps?¡± he askedzily.

    ¡°Reina Pris my name and I serve as the captain. We have seven warriors and were referred by the mercenary organization known as the Sun¡¯s Glory,¡± Sophie smoothly replied.

    Obvious there was no one onboard the vessel by that name but since there were no standard identification systems in ce¡­

    It was easy for Sophie to assume a false identity.

    The officer took a few moments to write down the information before grabbing another form to fill out additional paperwork.

    Sophie could sense that he was clearly getting a bit impatient since the questions were now being asked in a rapid-fire manner.

    ¡°Do you own a starship? What type of ss is your spacecraft? Are the weapons and barrier systems fully functional? Do your pilots have significantbat training in spatial warfare?¡±

    ¡°Are there any cultivators in your group with abat rating above the qi body stage? Do any members of your group have rank S abilities?¡±

    ¡°These include psychonic, healing, prophetic vision¡­.¡±

    Sophie did not show a trace of irritation on her face and continued to calmly respond to the endless barrage of questions one after the other.

    Eventually the multiple forms werepletely filled and the military officer handed Sophie a tablet with the information about their assigned position.

    Sophie thanked the officer politely and then left the scene with slow purposeful steps.

    She pressed a button on the side of the tablet and soon a holographic screen was projected outwards.

    Sophie tilted hermunicator upwards and sneakily took a picture of the screen. She would need to show this image to the two pilots in order to understand the message.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Ten minutester¡­)

    [Mercenary Group #456- Leader Reina Pris- Seven members- ss D]

    [Assignment Location¡­. Xercpolisis]

    A map was created that showed a blinking red dot and navigational markers that indicated what was the quickest route to travel from the outpost.

    ¡°This¡­ message¡­ are we really¡­ going to that?¡± Penshese stammered as she read aloud what was disyed on the tablet.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°A death sentence¡­¡±

 Chapter 357: Change Of Plans

    Chapter 357: Change Of ns

    (Earth Federation- Artificial X-837)

    (Temporary Military Outpost ¨C Command Center)

    In ordinary times, the current state of the ongoing war with the Unova Syndicate would be cause for celebration.

    Steady progress had been made on all fronts and the bulk of the Unovan forces were on the brink of copse.

    Now was the perfect time to press the advantage and secure several new territories for resource mining.

    And yet¡­ there was a somber mood in themand room as the higher ups had been summoned for a surprise meeting.

    This temporary military outpost had been built on top of an artificial equipped with state-of-the-art orbital cannons and was surrounded by a fleet of starships.

    Themand room was simr to an open auditorium with arge table in the center for the senior military officers.

    ¡°Hurry up and disy thetest report on the situation with the Unovan military,¡± a cold voice echoed through the room.

    The speaker was a Mendolesa male with brown fur who wore a ck uniform. A heavy longsword was attached to his hip and his eyes gleamed with killing intent.

    The military personnel at the back of the room froze as an immense pressure fell on their bodies.

    In fact, several of the weaker officers in themand center almost copsed.

    ¡°Captain Mason¡­ put away your spiritual pressure before I sent you to military court for insubordination,¡± an elderly voice broke the tense atmosphere.

    An unhappy look shed across Captain Mason¡¯s face but the Mendolesa warrior obediently withdrew his spiritual pressure.

    ¡°Do you have to be so hotheaded? No wonder your squad suffered so many casualtiesst time,¡± Lt. Hazelwood sneered nastily.

    ¡°But should we be surprised? Everyone knows that you dogs can only charge into battle like lunatics¡­¡±

    The mischievous Servie stuck out her tongue and made a funny face towards the fuming captain.

    Her thin transparent wings pped up and downzily and her attitude was full of disdain and ridicule.

    There was bad blood between the pair ever since the events of a certain mission in the Gamma sector so no one was surprised at the sharp exchange.

    Captain Mason¡¯s reddish eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to retort but a cool nce from the elderly human made him shut up.

    ¡°Both of you need to rx. This is neither the time nor the ce for such foolishness,¡± Commander Stewart snarled.

    Despite his frail physique and wrinkled features, there was none present in the room that did not take him seriously.

    Commander Stewart had a strong background and the forces behind him were not the kind that ordinary officers could hope to offend.

    The oldmander waited until the room had calmed down and then gestured towards the nervous logistical officer who was still holding a tablet.

    ¡°Yes.. yes sir!¡± Officer Harrison saluted and then tapped a button on the side of the metalloid device.

    An enormous blue holographic projection filled the room. It was an identical replica of the gxies currently involved in the conflict with the Unova Syndicate.

    Tiny details such as whichs were suitable for mining, the location of some hidden forces and high value targets were all clearly disyed.

    Still.. there were some areas of the map that were dark or iplete since the intelligence officers and scouting teams had not managed to gather enough information.

    Officer Harrison cleared his throat nervously as he could feel the eyes of every military leader in the room stare at his location.

    The Mendolesa warriors in particr sent shivers down his spine as their wolf-like faces seemed to contain an endless sea of bloodlust.

    Officer Harrison connected his tablet to the main AI unit of the military outpost and soon additional data began to fill the screen.

    ¡°At our current rate, we should be able to swallow at least one third of the Unova Syndicate¡¯s controlled territories within twenty years,¡± Officer Harrison exined.

    ¡°In the short term, it will be possible to take some gains in the frontier regions but the underworld forces and local overlords will not stand by idly once we arrive closer to their areas.¡±

    ¡°The AI unit has calcted that the likelihood of a temporary alliance between those organizations hostile to our invasion is around ny-nine percent.¡±

    ¡°Twenty years?¡± Commander Stewart groaned in disbelief.

    That prediction was identical to what he had also assumed privately but it was not the news that he wanted to hear.

    Twenty years was toote. Far toote¡­

    Right now, the political climate in the Earth Federation had beenpletely upheaved.

    The death of Emperor Sisrelis and the disappearance of several heirs to the most powerful noble families had thrown several regions into chaos.

    It had taken the Ascension cultivators of the Federation to personally perform both diplomatic negotiations as well as deliver stern warnings before the violence was quelled.

    In addition, the high noble families also had to y an important role to keep the citizens in their territories from panicking.

    Apparently there was now talk of a new emperor or empress being elected from the many royal heirs.

    Chaos¡­ was a double-edged sword.

    Stability was necessary in order to keep the societal order in check but chaos was the perfect time for men to seize new opportunities to rise.

    Commander Stewart had great ambitions.

    It was only through personal connections and barely enough qualifications that he had managed to secure such an important leadership role but he still hungered for more.

    Years ago, he would not have dared to act on these ambitions when Duke Peterlor was in charge of the Imperial Army.

    But that man was gone.

    And his recements were mere shadows of the great leader who inspired both fear and respect in his subordinates.

    In order to impress the new head of the royal family, Commander Stewart was not content to only collect a fews along the border region.

    No¡­ he needed more.

    Commander Stewart leaned back against his chair and rubbed his temples with a tired expression.

    ¡°Adjust the n,¡± he whispered in a low tone.

    The elderly man got up from his chair and ced his finger on several keys with steady movements.

    ¡°Send out a message to the military council and request for as many reinforcements as they can spare from the other sectors,¡± Commander Stewart ordered.

    ¡°I want strike teams to target these locations and capture theses by next week. We will construct a warp gate on this ex and begin an official invasion of the inner regions.¡±

    ¡°Within six months¡­ the Imperial Army will massacre those local warlords before they even have the chance to join forces together.¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence as themander finished speaking.

    Officer Harrison nervously ran a series of calctions using the AI unit and the results made his face instantly whiten.

    Officer Harrison mustered up his courage and pleaded with a quiver in his voice, ¡°No Sir! Please reconsider!¡±

    ¡°Our.. our current military actions will have significantly less casualties and we can gradually win this war without taking any risks.¡±

    ¡°Splitting up our forces at this time withoutpletely defeating the official Unovan army at the border regions isplete madness!¡±

    The anxious logistic officer was not the only person in the room concerned with the change of ns.

    Several other military leaders exchanged looks of disbelief and confusion.

    The oue of the war was already leaning heavily in their favour.

    A significant portion of the Unovan forces consisted of mercenaries who were no match against trained soldiers.

    Plus, the general poption seemed rather apathetic towards the actions of the Imperial Army as long as their homes and livelihoods were not affected.

    There was no need to rush tounch an offense against the inner regions of the Unova Syndicate and possibility risk a counterattack by the army.

    ¡°Are you going to disobey the orders of your superior?¡± Commander Steward questioned.

    There was a bone-chilling glint in his eyes that made the other officers in the room swallow theirints.

 Chapter 358: The Battle For Planet Xercpolisis

    Chapter 358: The Battle For Xercpolisis

    (Unova Syndicate- Xercpolisis)

    This was perhaps one of the most beautifuls that Sophie had ever seen. It was around three times the size of Earth with oceans that covered over fifty percent of its surface area.

    The continents were filled with lush greenery, forests and bushes that were visible from space.

    Two blue moonszily rotated around the in addition to a smoky ring of dust particles created from micro-meteor collisions on the moons.

    It was the only source of a rare metal known as ¡®Ternieum¡¯. This metal was only found deep within the¡¯s core and was mainly used to create expensive jewellery.

    Currently there were over two hundred starships floating within a thousand-kilometer zone above the.

    Sophie and her crew were one of the many mercenary ships ordered to the defense of this by the Unovan military.

    There were a few military vessels mixed in the fleet but they were few and far between.

    Soldiers assigned to this location had either offended the higher ups or were being punished for crimes.

    Penshese had called this a ¡®death trap¡¯ for an important reason. There was no strategic value in defending it.

    The metal extracted from the¡¯s inner core did not have any value save for its unique appearance and there were no important structures built on the¡¯s surface.

    The only notable fact about Xercpolisis was that it was directly in the path of the Federation¡¯s invasion.

    Hence, the mercenaries that were sent here would mainly serve the purpose of sending out an early warning in case of an attack.

    Their mission was to keep the invaders temporarily upied while the rest of the main army relocated to a safer area.

    Sophie had no ns to die gloriously for the Unovan army so she had ordered the two pilots to stealthily maneuver their starship to the back of the fleet.

    Apparently she was not the only one with that idea but the unlucky crews that had gotten caught trying to get an easy position were immediately blown up by the military spacecraft vessels hidden in the fleet.

    This warning had deterred many other crews with simr ideas but it would be impossible to say what would happen once the fighting begun.

    Spatial warfare was extremely chaotic.

    ¡°Monitor the surroundings constantly and divert all power to the shields once we get any signs of the Federation,¡± Sophie ordered in a calm tone.

    ¡°Our main goal is to survive for as long as possible and then leave the battlefield once the situation bes unwinnable.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we don¡¯t shoot down any enemy ships so just focus on evasion tactics.¡±

    Penshese and Lt. Shirren nodded firmly and begun to adjust certain buttons on their input units.

    Sophie leaned back against the captain¡¯s chair and started to review all the information that she could remember.

    Her true goal was to connect to the Earth Federation¡¯s virtual but obviously things were not going smoothly on that front.

    Sophie casually tilted her wristmunicator upwards and searched for any nearby signals only to once again be disappointed.

    [No Network In Range]

    Those familiar words shed once again on the screen before Sophie turned the device off with a frustrated sigh.

    It did make sense that the Imperial Army would not expand the range of the virtual before their attack had even begun.

    What else could she do? Sophie tried her best to think of a less dangerous n but found no other possible option.

    Sneaking pass the Imperial Army would be suicide since a foreign vessel would be most likely blown up on sight.

    And reaching the Federation¡¯s army would only happen if their starship first escaped the spatial zone controlled by the Unovan forces undetected.

    Sophie closed her eyes and sent out a series of messages to her mirror copies using the mentalwork that connected them together.

    [When the fighting begins keep an eye on the two pilots to make sure that nothing goes wrong]

    [I don¡¯t believe that they would be stupid enough to plot a mutiny while flying through an active battlefield so this is just a safeguard measure]

    [One of you needs to stay with Lily in her room to make sure that she doesn¡¯t panic once the fighting starts]

    Boom!

    Sophie gripped the sides of the chair tightly as the starship spun out of control.

    The ded appendages on her back extended outwards and stabbed the floor in order to prevent her body from falling out of the chair.

    ¡°Arghh!¡± Penshese cried out as her slender body mmed against the control panel.

    Lt. Shirren managed to stay in her seat but her already pale features seemed to whiten in fear.

    She frantically begun to press a series of buttons until the starship gradually stabilised.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Sophie questioned after she took a few deep breaths to calm down.

    ¡°Captain¡­ captain¡­ we have a problem,¡± Penshese¡¯s voice trembled slightly. She inputted a series ofmands and soon a holographic projection filled the room.

    This projection disyed the ongoing situation outside the vessel and included additional information gathered by the starship¡¯s sensors.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened in shock as several wormholes simultaneously manifested a few hundred kilometers away from the fleet.

    Thousands of military spacecrafts with the Imperial Army¡¯s logo painted on the sides of their vessels poured out of the rifts.

    The familiar design and models brought nothing but a feeling of despair to Sophie as she realised just how hazardous the situation had be.

    Boom! Boom!

    Without a moment of hesitation, heavy sma fire rained down on the mercenary fleet that was caught unaware.

    Boom! Boom!

    Several spaceships were instantly blown to pieces as orbital cannons easily pierced through the weak defenses of their shields.

    The intense heat from the sts immediately disintegrated the corpses so that nothing was left but ash.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just hover in one spot!¡± Sophie roared as she saw both pilots freeze in fear.

    ¡°HIDE BEHIND THE CLOSEST SHIP!¡±

    Sophie¡¯s angry voice pierced through the haze of fear that clouded the minds of the two pilots and allowed them to think clearly once more.

    The starship swiftly hid behind a muchrger spacecraft while secretly powering up the warp core in the engine room.

    Sophie was prepared to jump to hyper space in order to retreat from the battlefield. The hybrid girl clenched her fist tightly before a sudden thought shed across her mind.

    Themunicator!

 Chapter 359: The Unovan Militarys Betrayal

    Chapter 359: The Unovan Military''s Betrayal

    [No Network In Range]

    [No Network In Range]

    [No Network In Range]

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Sophie cursed loudly before smashing her right fist against the side of the chair in frustration.

    She didn¡¯t manage to control her strength properly and arge dent formed on the metalloid exterior.

    The situation was getting worse with every passing minute.

    This was the first time that Sophie had taken part in a spatial battle and she was struck by a feeling of powerlessness.

    Her strength was useless.

    Only warriors with cultivation above the void stage would be able to survive in space without oxygen for extended periods of time.

    And their bodies were capable of withstanding rounds of heavy sma fire directly.

    There was nothing Sophie could do except have faith in the two pilots to navigate the battlefield safely and keep everyone alive.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Nearby starships exploded one after the other and the shockwaves produced by the sts constantly impacted Sophie¡¯s spacecraft.

    The Imperial Army was not here to force them to surrender since the main objective appeared to be elimination.

    Stray shots would asionally hit the lush forestry on Xercpolisis and soon terrible wildfires began to consume the¡¯s surface.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then gestured to one of her clones in the room.

    Her mirror copy walked over swiftly and then stood at attention while Sophie pressed a button on the side of hermunicator.

    The metalloid device fell off her wrist and Sophie then handed it to her mirror copy.

    ¡°Keep trying to connect to thework and at the same time I want you to write up a draft message containing a brief summary of the current situation and our location,¡± Sophie ordered.

    ¡°Address the message to every important contact on mymunicator and immediately let me know when the message gets sent out so we can leave this dangerous battlefield.¡±

    ¡°I will keep an eye on the situation here.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s initial n was to wait for a steadywork signal and then make a videocall to the Peterlor mansion but it seems that the risk was far too great.

    The Imperial Army was slicing through the mercenary forces like a hot knife through butter and it was only a matter of time before the order to retreat was issued.

    Sophie¡¯s mirror copy nodded her head and then retreated to the back of the room where she began to type out the message.

    The clones created by the Rsychosis technique would inherit both the user¡¯s memories and personality so the message being typed out would be identical to what Sophie had in mind.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she stared at the holographic projection that disyed the state of the battlefield outside.

    ¡°Reroute all avable power to the ship¡¯s defenses and move behind the carrier vessel several kilometers ahead,¡± Sophie yelled.

    Penshese and Lt. Shirren obeyed the order instantly and the starship flew behind an enormous vessel for cover.

    Boom! Boom!

    Secondster, several heavy rounds of sma fire shot towards their previous location and blew up five starships.

    It was rare for Sophie to feel flustered but she channeled her fear and anxiety into determination.

    The decisions that she had to make in the next thirty minutes would decide whether the crew would live or die.

    There was a faint crimson-red hue that spread across Sophie¡¯s golden eyes as her vision shifted to a world of yellowish orange.

    Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl as the familiar feeling of bloodlust surged in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    And yet¡­ something was different.

    The heavy urge to kill still rang out in the back of her mind but the voice held a much softer tone than before.

    This was the first time that Sophie had used the goddess¡¯ abilities properly after the fight with Captain Dawn.

    She had clearly gained some benefits afterpleting her first hunt.

    ¡°Fly the starship five kilometers starboard and then drop down to hide behind the nearest squadron,¡± Sophie urgently shouted.

    The two pilots were now moving automatically and immediately followed Sophie¡¯s orders.

    The game of cat and mouse had now officially begun.

    One wrong move and it would be over.

    The starship that Sophie was currently flying on was mainly designed as a long-range escape vessel.

    The weapons systems were incredibly simple and none of the sma cannons were capable of breaching a standard military barrier device.

    Plus, there were no one onboard who could operate those weapons in the first ce since the two pilots were fully upied with navigating the spacecraft.

    On the battlefield, time no longer appeared to flow properly.

    Minutes somehow turned to hours as Sophie¡¯s heightened state of awareness made her lose track of how long it had been since the Imperial Army had arrived.

    Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision could spot tiny details on the starships of the Imperial Army.

    sma cannons would briefly light up as their cores were charged.

    It sounded simple to look for glowing cannons and then change the position of the starship but in reality it was an almost impossible task.

    There were over one thousand starships in the Imperial Army¡¯s fleet and Sophie had to keep a constant eye on every single one that she detected as a threat.

    It was at this moment that her danger sense kicked into overdrive.

    The hairs on Sophie¡¯s arms would tremble slightly and she would get a feeling to nce in a certain direction.

    The quiet tense atmosphere on the starship¡¯smand deck was broken by the sound of a firm voice barking out a series of orders at regr intervals.

    ¡°Move the starship forty kilometers portside and then cling closely to the rear of the carrier vessel currently engaging with the enemy.¡±

    ¡°The starship ahead of us to the starboard side is about to engage with several enemy vessels. It will serve as a distraction while we move towards the aft.¡±

    ¡°Penshese don¡¯t get nervous. As long as you continue to follow mymands then I promise that everyone here will survive this battle. Now fly the starship to this direction¡­.¡±

    There was a small part of Sophie that was actually relieved that she no longer felt sick when looking at corpses.

    Because there were a lot of them.

    Metalloid rubble and pieces from the destroyed starships floated aimlessly in space apanied by the dead bodies of the crew that once flew inside them.

    The fates of the crew were mixed as some bodies had mangled and crushed limbs, others were severely burnt and the fortunate few simply died of suffocation.

    This was war but it felt more akin to a massacre.

    The Unovan forces that consisted mainly of private mercenary organizations never stood a chance.

    Sophie continued to direct and point out potential sources of danger to the two pilots but noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

    The Unovan military vessels that were mixed in with the ordinary mercenary starships were stealthily turning around.

    Fleeing? But the order to retreat had not been sent out¡­.

    Wait¡­

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened as she realised a horrific possibility.

    Why did she assume that the Unovan military would issue a withdrawal order to their ally forces?!

    It would be a ruthless decision but it made sense to have the mercenary teams engage the enemy for as long as possible.

    ¡°Reroute sixty percent of the engine power to the warp core and then prepare on mymand to jump to hyperspace,¡± Sophie spoke in a low tone.

    Lt. Shirren paused her movements but the firm glint in Sophie¡¯s eyes forced the questions down her throat.

    Most of the starships that were part of the Unovan forces had yet to notice the military¡¯s betrayal but Sophie did spot a few towards the back of the fleet that were also igniting their warp cores.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    More starships exploded but this time Sophie¡¯s attention was more focused on escaping than hiding behind another vessel.

    Sophie leaned back against the captain¡¯s chair and let out a quiet sigh. It would be too dangerous to stick around for any longer.

    She couldn¡¯t even close her eyes to take a few moments to adjust her mood since the battle was still ongoing.

    ¡°I DID IT!¡± an excited yell snapped Sophie out of her bad mood.

    She took a quick nce towards the back of the room and saw her mirror copy raising her fist victoriously in the air.

    ¡°Themunicator managed to briefly connect to the virtual when we passed by that squadron a few minutes ago!¡± Sophie¡¯s clone happily eximed.

    ¡°There was enough time to send out the message!¡±

    Sophie couldn¡¯t stop a ridiculously happy smile from spreading across her face as the heavy feeling in her heart finally disappeared.

    ¡°We are leaving now! Set the coordinate destination as the military outpost where we received our assignment zone,¡± Sophiemanded.

    Penshese adjusted a few buttons on her monitor and then shouted, ¡°Preparing the jump to hyperspace¡­. Three¡­. Two¡­ One¡­¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Shortly after Sophie¡¯s spaceship had left the battlefield, the military spacecrafts mixed in with the other Unovan forces also departed callously.

    By the time the other mercenary organisations had realised that the military spacecrafts had vanished and abandoned them to their fates¡­

    It was already far toote.

 Chapter 360: The Message That Brought Hope

    Chapter 360: The Message That Brought Hope

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Mansion)

    A handsome middle-aged man sat quietly on a chair while staring motionlessly at his wristmunicator.

    The warm afternoons rays shone gently through the window and illuminated the study room in a soft glow.

    Rows upon rows of books lined the walls and a roaring firece made a crackling noise that broke the quiet atmosphere.

    Duke Peterlor was feelingpletely overwhelmed since a message from his daughter had unexpectedly appeared on hismunicator.

    It had been over four months of not knowing whatever his precious child was alive or dead.

    He had never stopped searching for her.

    Every passing day since her disappearance seemed to blur into a meaningless stream of time.

    This was a never-ending nightmare.

    One cannot fathom the pain of a parent who has lost their child.

    Duke Peterlor had not slept well since Sophie had been teleported to an unknown location and the gaping chasm in his heart proved to be impossible to fill.

    Other noble houses may have given up on their missing heirs but not him.

    Despite the advice of his peers, Duke Peterlor had stubbornly refused to even consider another sessor to the Peterlor family.

    All the noblewoman who had attempted to contact him with impure intentions during this time were cklisted without hesitation.

    Sophie would be the only choice for the next leader of House Peterlor.

    She was the greatest gift in his life and thest remaining connection he had with Princess Thai¡¯lle.

    Duke Peterlor was one of the most powerful men in the Federation. He was a bravemander who had fought constant battles and yet¡­

    His fingers trembled slightly as he pressed the notification button on hismunicator in order to open the message.

    [I hope that this message will reach¡­]

    [This is Sophie Peterlor and I am currently in the Unova Syndicate with Lily ckait. Both of us are unharmed and in good health]

    [We were teleported to a random several months ago and have only now managed to secure passage to the frontier region.]

    [Unfortunately, due to the war between the Imperial Army and the Unovan forces it is impossible to travel safely to the Earth Federation.]

    [We are posing as mercenaries and have secured a position near the battlefield. The starship that we are currently on belongs to a religious organization called ¡®The Sun¡¯s Glory.]

    [Ourst location was near Xercpolisis which should in the Imperial Army¡¯s control by the time this message arrives.]

    [The situation is extremely dangerous and I can only use mymunicator within the range of the virtual]

    [Urgent assistance and an extraction team is needed. I will continue to send out messages whenever possible]

    [Dad.. if you get this message¡­ I hope¡­]

    The message ended abruptly at that point.

    Clearly Sophie had typed out more lines of text but it was likely that the connection that she had used to link to the virtual was unstable.

    Duke Peterlor could not stop reading the message over and over again until the words had burned themselves into his mind.

    He seemed like a man possessed as various emotions rapidly shed across his face.

    Fear, anxiety, concern, happiness and then finally¡­ relief.

    She was alive.

    SHE WAS ALIVE.

    Duke Peterlorughed madly as tears ran down the sides of his cheeks. He knew it! He knew that his baby girl was a survivor.

    The handsome duke could feel the heavy burden that he had been carrying in his heart finally be released.

    But now was not the time to rx.

    Judging by the contents of the message, it was clear that both Sophie and Lily were in a perilous situation.

    The number of lives that were lost during war were as numerous as the stars in the sky.

    Duke Peterlor knew better than anyone that the battlefield was both the best and worst ce to hide.

    Ding!

    Duke Peterlor slowly pressed the button on the top right corner of his desk and soon the sounds of hurried footsteps could be hearding from the hall outside.

    Knock! Knock!

    A polite knocking noise could be heard before the head butler opened the door and entered the room.

    ¡°Did you wish to see me sir?¡± Butler Gerald politely asked.

    ¡°She is alive.¡± Duke Peterlor spoke inly but the happy smile that stretched across his face disyed his true emotional state.

    A look of disbelief shed across the old servant¡¯s face as there was only one person that his master could be referring to.

    ¡°The young miss is okay?!¡± Butler Gerald eximed.

    A simr joyous expression appeared on the old man¡¯s face as the good news brought a warm feeling to his heart.

    Duke Peterlor pressed a series of buttons on hismunicator and soon a holographic projection filled the room.

    It was map of the frontier region but this map was moreplete than the one in the hands of the Imperial Army.

    Most high noble families possessed an impressivework of spies but Duke Peterlor had also remained in contact with certain members of the Federation¡¯s military.

    It took him only a few minutes to ess thetest information on the wartime situation with the Unovan forces.

    The mental processing speed of a god stage cultivator was unmatched so Duke Peterlor already grasped the situation after reading the information once.

    ¡°She is currently stuck in this particr zone of the frontier region of the Unova Syndicate,¡± Duke Peterlor exined while gesturing to a certain area of the map.

    ¡°I believe the currentmander of the Imperial Army¡¯s Unovan conquest division is a man named Stewart Prince.¡±

    ¡°He is a fairlypetent man but is greedy ambitions are a weakness that have been exploited by several noble families.¡±

    ¡°In ideal circumstances, I would submit an official request to pause the war efforts and then send out rescue teams but it was likely that Commander Stewart will refuse.¡±

    ¡°Sir, will you go out personally or send out a team of shadow guards?¡± Butler Gerald inquired in a serious tone.

    There was a brief moment of silence as a conflicted expression shed across Duke Peterlor¡¯s face.

    He wanted nothing more than to rush over to his daughter and rescue her in person but there were countless eyes watching his every move.

    Being an outspoken supporter of hybrid rights and equality meant that he had made a lot of enemies and his foes would dly pay any price to make sure that his daughter disappeared mysteriously.

    Should they get word that Sophie was alone and surrounded by the Imperial Army, there was no doubt in Duke Peterlor¡¯s mind that assassins would be sent after her.

    Perhaps certain factions within the Imperial Army would ¡®coincidently¡¯ elerate their battlens and operate more ruthlessly than before.

    Sending out a team of his personal shadow guards seemed like the safest option and yet¡­

    Wait¡­

    A frown shed across Duke Peterlor¡¯s face as he remembered the other message that had arrived at the same time.

    The shock of seeing a message from his missing daughter meant that the duke had not bothered to open the other message until now.

    He opened the message from the unknown sender which read¡­

    [To Duke Peterlor. The Nephilim Church has information regarding the future whereabouts of your missing noble heiress]

    [The high oracle would like to speak to you directly. This opportunity was only granted due to the heartfelt request of one of our saintess-in-training.]

 Chapter 361: Gavashans Curse

    Chapter 361: Gavashan''s Curse

    (Hydra Star System- Leviathan)

    (Temple of The Fallen)

    Rachel could see nothing but darkness as she was led for what seemed like hours through an endlessbyrinth of tunnels and passageways.

    The Temple of the Fallen was built on Leviathan and was considered one of the most important holy sites for the Nephilim Church.

    It was said that centuries ago, a demonic knight named Igrin Gavashan received a prophecy from an archdemon.

    The monstrous entity proimed that this contained a portal to hell.

    Humanity¡¯s sins would be drawn to this and infect the poption with wanton depravity.

    The origins of this story have been debated heavily over the years with many schrs of the church insisting that the man never existed.

    However, there is no doubt that there is something strange about this.

    There are traces of an alien civilisation but no fossils or bodily remains have ever been found.

    Instead, all the primitive buildings, gathering ces and tombs remain empty as though the entire species simply vanished.

    There were reports of psychosis and insanity among the first colonisers to arrive on the and all attempts to build a major city have failed.

    Over the years, exhaustive testing has been done on the strange nature of this using prisoners and political captives.

    It was discovered that the psychotic effects would only ur once an individual stayed on the for a length of time longer than one month.

    The cause or reason for this madness was never found.

    Hence, someizens on the virtual called this phenomenon ¡®Gavashan¡¯s Curse¡¯.

    The Nephilim Church was the only organization brave enough to establish a temple on this cursednd.

    What methods they used to avoid the effects of long-term exposure remained a mystery to outsiders.

    Or perhaps the residents housed inside the temple had gone mad years ago¡­

    ¡°So¡­ am I going to be walking for longer or¡­.am I going to see that oracle something next week?¡± Rachel asked sarcastically.

    The faceless guards escorting the young saintess-in-training refused to answer her questions but the firm grip on her arm tightened.

    Rachel smiles lightly and paid no attention to the increased strength that the guard exerted.

    Members of the Quafes race had no pain receptors so it was useless to try to intimidate them with violence.

    The young saintess was wearing her ceremonial white robes and had tied up her curly hair in a single braid for the asion.

    A heavy linen cloth was wrapped around her deep chocte brown eyes so that the path to the center of the temple remained hidden.

    It was more of a symbolic gesture since Rachel could always just make an eye appear on the surface of her hand or another part of her body but she chose not to.

    Bishop Walsh had exhausted all of his connections in order to grant her the opportunity to meet with an oracle.

    She owed the bad-tempered old man a favour and Rachel could already predict what he would request.

    No more weekend parties. No more Friday night orgies. No more disrespect towards her fellow church members.

    Sigh¡­

    ¡°We have arrived,¡± a cold voice stated.

    A low dark growl came from Rachel¡¯s side as she felt the hand on her shoulder disappear.

    She curiously extended a tendril of her body liquid outwards to search for her guards but they had long vanished.

    ¡°Um¡­ hello?¡± Rachel cautiously spoke.

    ¡°Wee to my house child,¡± came the reply from an elderly sounding voice.

    Rachel coughed nervously and then tried her best to maintain a polite attitude as she conversed with the mysterious figure,

    ¡°Are you the oracle? I have a request that I would like to make.¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence and Rachel felt an immense pressure begin to weigh down on her body.

    For what felt like hours, she remained frozen in ce and unable to move or speak.

    No matter how hard she tried, somehow her ability to shapeshift no longer seemed to work.

    Suddenly a pair of warm hands grabbed the linen cloth wrapped around her face and pulled it off with extreme force.

    Rachel¡¯s head jerked back and her eyes slowly opened to reveal a spacious hall.

    Enormous pirs of salt rose up from the ground and statues of a goat-headed figure could be seen hiding behind the columns.

    Demonic symbols were painted on the floor and the entire room was dimly lit by a brazier in the center of the hall.

    Purplish-ck mes danced merrily in the middle of the brazier and shone with a hypnotic light that captured her attention.

    A creature covered by a reddish robe was standing before her. Its body waspletely covered by the garment.

    Rachel took a few steps backwards in shock and was relieved to discover that the intense pressure had vanished.

    The mysterious figure stepped forward with slow purposeful steps until its covered face was mere inches away from Rachel¡¯s own.

    ¡°Archangel Raziel chose you?¡± a frail elderly voice came from the center of the creature.

    ¡°Impossible! That boring old angel has not chosen a worthy host in eons!¡± another more youthful voice argued.

    Rachel¡¯s eyes narrowed as she observed that the creature¡¯s body that was hidden behind the red robe kept shifting as different voices added to the conversation.

    ¡°She reeks of lust! How could the angel of secrets choose her?¡±

    ¡°Raziel always liked to pick up broken things¡­¡±

    ¡°Think we can convert her? No.. there is no inner darkness inside her heart.¡±

    The creature continued to argue with itself for several minutes as Rachel kept a steady hand on the hilt of her sword.

    At the first sign of aggression, she was prepared to unleash her de and swing it forward. There was something about the unknown being in front of her that was unnerving.

    Rachel¡¯s eyes briefly glowed as a ring of golden mes appeared in the center of her pupils. She decided to use her judgement vision to peek into the oracle¡¯s nature.

    Boom!

    The saintess-in-training fell to the ground as the severe mental bacsh caused her to experience a temporary loss of bodily control.

    Rachel¡¯s avatar flickered briefly as her arms and legs turned back into her liquid state. It took her a few moments to regain a stable form.

    Meanwhile the mysterious creature continued to loudly argue with itself as though nothing had happened.

    This was getting nowhere.

    Rachel mustered up all of her courage and bravely whispered, ¡°Excuse me¡­ my friend Sophie Peterlor is missing and I need your help to find out where she is.¡±

    The voices immediately stopped and Rachel could feel a dark presence staring at her from beyond the void.

    Holy light surrounded her body and soon this unpleasant feeling vanished without a trace.

    The red robed figure walked forward and ced an object in her right hand.

    There was no exnation nor did it say a single word.

    Rachel¡¯s vision turned to darkness and when she opened her eyes, she found herself in the medical ward onboard the starship she had used to travel to Leviathan.

    Held in her palm of her hand was a in brown envelope.

 Chapter 362: An Interesting Offer

    Chapter 362: An Interesting Offer

    (Unova Syndicate- Sector Delta)

    Garmaran- Old Fergnar¡¯s Tavern)

    This served as a temporary housing base for the mercenary teams fighting for the Unovan forces.

    There was always profit to be made in war and the arrival of numerous warriors from across the universe represented an opportunity to acquire vast riches.

    Mercenaries were generous spenders since no one knew what fight would be theirst.

    Pleasure brothels, taverns, marketces and even very dens soon sprung up at uncountable locations.

    Three days had passed since the spatial battle at Xercpolisis and Sophie¡¯s crew had not been given another assignment yet.

    This was honestly good news since she had already been able to send out a message so her objective wasplete.

    However, Sophie was not foolish and knew not to only rely on a rescue team that may not arrive in time.

    She continued to actively search for methods to bypass the Unovan military¡¯s blockage and enter Federation controlled territory.

    Smugglers could be a possible option but she had yet to meet one.

    Right now, the next step of her n was to gather information using infiltration methods.

    ¡°Bring me another!¡± a boisterous roar echoed through the tavern as a humanoid figure with four de-like appendages mmed an empty ss against the nearest table.

    Laughter and loud jeers could be heard as the warrior staggered to her feet and walked towards the bartender.

    Sophie casually grabbed a few more drinks and then returned to the gambling table that was located in the center of the tavern.

    Mercenaries of all different races and species stared intensely at two rat-sized creatures that were locked in miniature cages.

    The creatures resembled furry little hamsters with soft orange fur and tiny beady eyes that seemed to glow under the light.

    Their limbs were elongated and there were several sharp ws attached to the ends of their feet.

    Razor sharp fangs could be seen as the creatures asionally yawned in boredom.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ce five hundred dors on the right one!¡± Sophie spoke confidently as she passed the drinks to her new acquaintances.

    No one noticed that her golden eyes briefly turned into a pale milky-white colour as she took a quick peek into the future.

    A scaly alien with purplish-grey skin slithered over to Sophie¡¯s location and offered some advice,

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid¡­. I¡­I heard from Lu¡¯kesn that the game is¡­rigged¡­¡±

    Thenguage that the mercenary spoke was the standard Unovan tongue but Sophie could also hear a strong ent.

    Sophie politely thanked the helpful warrior for her advice but still passed Unovan credits to the tavern bookie.

    The scaly alien shook her head twice to express her disapproval and then slithered away to another location.

    Sophie took a quick nce at the greenish-yellow liquid inside the ss sk before downing the contents into her mouth with one gulp.

    There was no other word to describe the beverages served in this tavern other than bitter.

    Sophie grimaced as the nasty liquid left an unpleasant aftertaste that she could still experience.

    Unfortunately, an unwee side effect of being a half Arachnais was that all poisons and toxins were instantly broken down once they entered her body.

    So, it was impossible for her to get drunk.

    Sophie was forced to act intoxicated so that she could fit in with the raucous atmosphere created by the other mercenaries.

    The tavern bookie politely walked around the crowd for a final time and took more bets until the empty container in the palm of his webbed hand was filled to the brim.

    He pressed a button on the device that was wrapped around his neck and soon a slender robot emerged from the back of the tavern.

    It rolled towards the gambling table and stood at attention quietly. The other mercenaries briefly quieted down as the metalloid robot pulled two steel pins out of its socket.

    It then proceeded to stab the sharpened ends into the creatures¡¯ backsides.

    Sophie could spot thin droplets of a mysterious substance that covered the edges of the pins.

    Rarghhhh! Rarghhhh!

    Rarghhhh! Rarghhhh!

    A series of thunderous roars erupted from the throats of the two creatures that were so loud that the room vibrated.

    With a deafening bang, both metalloid cages burst into pieces as the creatures emerged from their prisons.

    No trace of the adorable furry creatures remained as they were now nothing more than savage beasts yearning to kill.

    The liquid that had been injected into their bodies had clearly infected their minds as well since a strong madness could be seen in their eyes.

    ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight!¡± the crowd began to chant.

    The two creatures clearly didn¡¯t need the encouragement since they immediately lowered their heads and charged.

    Sophie ced her arm around the closest mercenary and whispered in his ear, ¡°So, who did you bet on?¡±

    ¡°The left one,¡± the warrior briefly replied and then turned his attention back to the fight happening on the table.

    Sophie was undeterred by the short response and continued to mix and mingle with the other mercenaries.

    Those who fought on the losing side of a war were either desperate or mad and Sophie had met plenty of both.

    Some mercenary teams were in crippling debt to underworld ns and needed the money offered by the Unovan military.

    Others were exiled from their organizations and given this onest chance to prove themselves on the battlefield.

    There were even a few that were fighting lunatics and relished the chance to face an enemy as powerful as the Imperial Army.

    Whatever their reason, Sophie discovered that most were fairly easy to talk to.

    For the ones that were hostile, she would just casually leak out a thin trace of killing intent and that was enough to deter any would-be aggressors.

    Twenty minutes passed by uneventfully as Sophie continued to walk around the tavern looking for new mercenaries to chat with.

    ¡°NO! FUCK ME I WASTED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!¡± a ferocious shout caught Sophie¡¯s attention as she turned away from the armoured knight that she was currently talking to.

    On the gambling table was the broken and bloodied corpse of the creature that was kept in the left cage.

    The surviving creature also sumbed to his wounds but not before his foe had taken hisst breath first.

    A joyful grin spread across Sophie¡¯s face as she walked towards the bookie to collect her earnings.

    The sounds of celebration mixed with bitter cursing filled the air as members of the gambling crowd experienced different emotions towards the results.

    ¡°I guess¡­ you were¡­ right,¡± the scaly warrior pressed a cold palm against Sophie¡¯s shoulder as the hybrid girl held the bag with her winnings.

    ¡°How about a drink on me?¡± Sophie smiled gently as signalled to the bartender to bring over another round.

    ¡°Thanks¡­ my name¡­ is Perspherene,¡± the mercenary introduced herself with a bloodthirsty grin.

    Perspherene wore a set of armour that was a deep navy-blue colour and clearly designed to mimic the appearance of standard military gear.

    Four identical short swords were attached to her hips and the hilt of a sma pistol could be seen poking out of one of her pockets.

    The scales that covered her exposed flesh were a purplish-grey colour and her facial features were simr to that of a lizard.

    Instead of humanoid legs, Perspherene had a long slender tail that wriggled slightly as she swayed unevenly from side to side.

    Sophie soon found herself deeply engrossed in conversation with this mercenary as they both exchanged stories.

    The best lies contained truth mixed within so Sophie mentioned that her crew was sponsored by the religious organization known as the Sun¡¯s Glory.

    Perspherene confessed that she was part of an independent crew whose captain had decided that the high fees paid by the Unovan military was worth the risk.

    A bitter smile shed across Perspherene¡¯s face and some unknown emotions were hidden in her gaze when she talked about her greedy captain.

    Time soon flew by as Sophie bid farewell to her new friend and continued to converse with the other warriors in the tavern.

    She kept a note of any rumors and spections about the state of the war and where the next battles would most likely take ce.

    Unfortunately, when she casually brought up the topic of smugglers, the responses were not great.

    Most had no idea where to even find one.

    Sophie sighed heavily and prepared to leave the tavern for another entertainment building when a voice called out to her.

    ¡°I heard whispers that you require the services of a smuggler?¡±

 Chapter 363: Katarina Receives A New Mission

    Chapter 363: Katarina Receives A New Mission

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Mansion)

    Katarina bowed her head respectfully as her lord entered the training room.

    The handsome middle-aged man wore a dark navy-blue uniform with a simple longsword attached to his hip.

    Unlike many of the other high noble families, House Peterlor did not have an ancestral weapon that was passed down from generation to generation.

    But none would dare mock the seemingly in sword that the current duke Rokan Peterlor was capable of wielding.

    As the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation, Duke Peterlor was a powerful genius whose swordsmanship skills rivalled those of men who had lived for centuries.

    ¡°My lord, please excuse the state of the training room. I did not expect any visitors today,¡± Katarina spoke respectfully.

    Duke Peterlor hummed softly and then walked towards the center of the spacious training room with slow purposeful steps.

    He approached a rectangr metalloid device that protruded several feet into the air. A simple press of a button was all it took for hundreds of robotic killers to emerge from the ground.

    ¡°Survive for ten minutes,¡± Duke Peterlor ordered in a quiet tone. He vanished from the spot and reappeared at the entrance before gesturing towards Katarina.

    Katarina strode forward confidently and pulled two daggers out from the pockets of her battle-suit.

    The sharp edges of the des glistened dangerously under the light as a bloodthirsty snarl appeared on Katarina¡¯s face.

    A holographic projection was disyed at the back of the training room with a countdown that started to tick.

    [10 minutes¡­ 9 minutes 59 seconds¡­ 9 minutes 58 seconds¡­]

    The eyes of the robot killers turned purple as their metalloid arms transformed into a variety of weapons.

    Several robots with long range weapons such as sma cannons and snipers directed their attacks towards the death guard holding two daggers.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Powerful beams of energy shot towards Katarina but no trace of fear could be seen on her face.

    The brown-haired killer channelled her inner qi into her leg meridians and activated her movement technique.

    Asura n Technique- Scarlet Rush!

    Red lightning flickered around Katarina¡¯s body before an addicting surge of energy filled her core.

    The world slowed down to a crawl as her reflexes were enhanced several times over.

    Katarina ducked and weaved through the rounds of heavy sma fire and swung her daggers forward.

    Slice!

    The sturdy metalloid bodies of the robotic assassins were cut sharply in half as Katarina¡¯s daggers tore through their outer exteriors with startling ease.

    What she didn¡¯t expect was for the inner cores of the defeated robots to suddenly glow ominously and explode.

    Katarina relied on her enhanced reflexes to jump away in time but still suffered minor burns on the surface of her skin.

    A frown appeared on Duke Peterlor¡¯s face as he observed her moment of carelessness.

    It was fatal on the battlefield to assume that the fight was over just because your opponent was seemingly defeated.

    That was the reason why he had secretly modified the robots in the training room just for the purpose of testing Katarina¡¯s improvisation ability.

    Now how would she react?

    It was a credit to the harsh training that the death guards received that Katarina was able to recover instantly.

    Numerous possible ns and countermeasures appeared in her mind to deal with the exploding bodies of the defeated robots.

    Katarina began to slow down her movements and focus on more defensive techniques as she thought about the solution.

    She tilted her head to the side and narrowly avoided a sword strike from a nearby robotic assassin while also blocking a sharp thrust that came from behind.

    It was impossible to tell the exact location where the inner cores were positioned from just looking at the metalloid exteriors of the robots.

    Wait¡­ that was it!

    A wild grin shed across Katarina¡¯s face as her movements sped up and she began to chop down the nearest enemies.

    This time she only used one arm to slice through her foes while her other hand would grab the glowing part of the corpse and fling it at the other robots.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    Katarina fell into a state of total concentration as the countdown timer continued to tick down in the background.

    [2 minutes 45 seconds¡­ 1 minute 15 seconds¡­ 30 seconds¡­]

    [20 seconds¡­ 10 seconds¡­ 5 seconds¡­]

    ¡°Enough,¡± a low voice echoed through the room.

    Katarina felt an immense spiritual pressure that was so heavy that her vision briefly turned to darkness.

    When she opened her eyes, all the robots in the room had vanished and no trace remained of their presence.

    A proud smile appeared on the duke¡¯s face as he walked towards his loyal guard and ced a firm hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°Well done,¡± Duke Peterlor congratted.

    He pulled out a folder from his storage ring which contained several sheets of paper. The folder was ced in Katarina¡¯s hands and the expression on the Rokan¡¯s face turned serious.

    The mission to rescue his daughter had to be done inplete secrecy.

    Even with state-of-the art virtual defense firewalls installed on hismunicator, the duke was not going to take any risks.

    It may sound old-fashioned to have the contents of the mission disyed on paper but he could rest assured that the information could never be hacked.

    ¡°Do not allow anyone else to read what is written in these documents,¡± Duke Peterlor warned in a low whisper.

    ¡°It contains your next assignment. You will read it here now and then I will destroy the contents.¡±

    The security camera that was ced in the training room immediately powered off as the duke said these words.

    ¡°I will follow your orders faithfully my lord,¡± Katarina swore solemnly and then opened the folder.

    Katarina¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she read was written inside and an intense wave of relief appeared in her heart.

    The young miss was still alive!

    Katarina had served as both a mentor and friend tody Sophie Peterlor and the disappearance of her prot¨¦g¨¦ was a devastating blow.

    She had spent thest couple of months relentlessly training and performing missions just to distract herself from her feelings of grief and pain.

    Katarina made sure to memorise every word carefully as she scanned through the documents with surgeon-like precision.

    This mission would be a joint effort between a team of death guards led by herself and a select group of holy pdins that would be escorting a certain saintess-in-training.

    The duke would draw the attention of his enemies by organising a sudden round of negotiations between the high nobles that were part of his political faction.

    This meeting would be the perfect smokescreen.

    ¡°When do we leave my lord?¡± Katarina asked curiously.

    Duke Peterlor casually snapped his fingers and the sheets of paper in Katarina¡¯s hands instantly ignited and turned to ash.

    ¡°Two days from now.¡±

 Chapter 364: A Bunch Of Idiots

    Chapter 364: A Bunch Of Idiots

    ¡°What a bunch of idiots,¡± Persphereneughed wildly as she stared at the holographic projection disyed on the walls of the tavern.

    The lizard-like warrior¡¯s tail swayed back and forth happily as her forked tongue flickered in and out of her mouth.

    Sophie took a casual nce at the images being shown on the screen and subconsciously let out a small hiss of pain.

    Fortunately, herpanion didn¡¯t notice since she was currently being distracted by the projection.

    Several portraits were being cycled across the projection with a warning from the Unovan government.

    One could spot severe and fatal injuries on the bodies of the alien warriors shown in the portraits.

    It was clear by their expressions of despair and numbness that they had endured hours or even days of torture.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she saw a badly injured humanoid figure with four de-like appendages jutting out of her back.

    The mirror image of herself in the holographic projection had a partially burnt face and several deep cuts on her body.

    Sophie could still remember every slice that the sharpened de made as it entered the skin of her clone.

    The offer from the mysterious voice had turned out to be a trap.

    Sophie had met with the alien whose body was hidden behind a long robe and listened to what he had to say.

    He imed that he was part of a secret organization that regrly shipped goods to rich nobles in the Federation and it would be easy to take passengers along for the ride on his starship.

    For the right price¡­

    It had been an expensive offer but Sophie still gave the strange alien the deposit necessary to book a ce on the starship.

    Naturally, Sophie was not foolish enough to go on the trip herself so she used the Rsychosis technique to send out a mirror copy in her ce.

    At first everything seemed to be normal and the smuggler had even picked up several other customers who wished to flee the battlefield and enter Federation-controlled territory.

    The passengers onboard the smuggler¡¯s vessel came from all walks of life. Sophie¡¯s clone had spotted drug runners, mercenaries and even a few daring traders.

    Then when the starship arrived at the coordinates where the jump to hyper space was supposed to be taken¡­

    Military spacecrafts were waiting with weapons drawn.

    What happened next was a bit of a blur but Sophie¡¯s clone had clearly seen the mysterious alien nod towards the officers and make a secret hand gesture.

    The clone decided not to kill herself in order to gather more information and over the course of several hours before the execution, she had managed to understand what had happened.

    The Unovan military had partially med their failures on possible information leaksing from traitors within their forces.

    Naturally the random mercenary organisations were prime suspects for these betrayals.

    The senior officers in the military could not trust the warriors who sold their allegiance to the highest bidder.

    Special ops units were created to infiltrate the mercenary forces and conduct sting operations to lure out suspicious individuals.

    Sophie¡¯s clone had only managed to discover a few more key details before she sumbed to her injuries.

    The memories of the intense torture sessions flowed into Sophie¡¯s mind that same night and almost caused her to pass out.

    Those brutes in the interrogation cells possessed a cream made from an unknown substance that magnified pain to the extreme when applied to the surface of a victim¡¯s skin.

    An ordinary cut would feel like a de slicing your flesh open slowly and painfully.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in order to settle her emotions. Right now, was herst day to rx before the next military assignment.

    Due to the information leaks, the Unovan military had simply sent over encrypted coordinates to the mercenary organizations that were part of the strike team.

    A special key would be transmitted on the day of the operation and all assigned units were to head to the coordinates immediately.

    ¡°Still, I can¡¯t understand why those idiots would risk crossing the border now,¡± a quiet voice broke Sophie out of her musings.

    Perspherene hummed softly and began to sing a song in anguage that Sophie had never heard before.

    There was a strange glint in her reptilian eyes as she held the drink in her hand absentmindedly.

    ¡°Probably looking to switch sides or move contraband through the underground market,¡± Sophie suggested softly.

    Perspherene scoffed and shook her head in disdain, ¡°Ahh¡­. money¡­ truly the root of all evil.¡±

    Sophie frowned at the ridicule hidden in Perspherene¡¯s voice and retorted sharply, ¡°The only people who say that kind of nonsense usually have too much wealth.¡±

    Although Sophie had personally never experienced poverty, the memories inside her mind from Sui Meng¡¯s experience during ancient Earth times were not pleasant.

    Sui Meng had struggled to survive during her early twenties and was forced to live in a cramped apartment with no idea when her next meal would be.

    Money may not bring happiness but it was always better to have more than less.

    The atmosphere froze for a moment but Perspherene justughed madly and clinked her ss against Sophie¡¯s cup.

    ¡°Trust me¡­ I know about having too much wealth¡­ or I would if my husbands weren¡¯t bleeding me dry from child support!¡± Persphereneined.

    Sophie felt a bit confused about the sudden shift in topic but Perspherene captured her attention with a tale of misfortune.

    On her, society was structured in a matricidal way with the females of her species acting as the breadwinners while the shorter males would be the caretakers of the home.

    Perspherene was the daughter of a tribal chief and groomed to be the next leader of their n if not for some unfortunate idents.

    She idently impregnated several males while drinking heavily at a party and was then forced to marry them for honour.

    Naturally being held responsible for providing for multiple children proved to be too much of a burden for the young Perspherene so she simply escaped and joined a mercenary crew.

    asionally she would send some credits back home to her families but she had no desire to ever go back.

    She was essentially the true definition¡­. of a deadbeat.

    ¡°So that¡¯s enough of my love life¡­ how about you? A good strong female like yourself must have plenty of mates!¡± Perspherene jeered as she ced an arm on Sophie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Mates? No¡­ it¡¯s just the one,¡± Sophie smiled shyly as the warm and gentle face of Cleo shed across her mind.

    Perspherene leaned in and softly whispered, ¡°One? That¡¯s a bit too low¡­¡±

    ¡°How about I introduce you to some xarians or Gar¡¯eans? They are the most fertile breeding tools on this¡­

    Sophie shook her head and politely refused.

    She had no intention of cheating on her girlfriend and who knows what those ¡®xarians¡¯ or ¡®Gar¡¯eans¡¯ looked like.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A sharp ringing noise rang out from Sophie¡¯smunicator as the notification for an rm had been activated.

    It was time to return to the starship and prepare for the next military mission.

    ¡°Any chance you also got a mission tomorrow?¡± Sophie asked as she passed her empty ss to the bartender.

    ¡°Nope¡­ haven¡¯t heard a word from the captain. Although that moron never checks the starship¡¯s chat logs so who knows if he just hasn¡¯t seen it,¡± Persphereneined.

    ¡°Take care Perspherene. Hopefully we can meet back at this bar sometime next week,¡± Sophie casually spoke.

    ¡°Yeah.. don¡¯t die tomorrow,¡± Perspherene replied with a smirk on her face.

 Chapter 365: First Contact With The Imperial Army

    Chapter 365: First Contact With The Imperial Army

    (Unova Syndicate- T¡¯ramran)

    (Unknown Location)

    ¡°Spread out and capture the target,¡± a loud voice echoed through the clearing.

    A military officer with several badges prominently disyed on his uniform stood in front of the mercenary teams that were assigned to this mission.

    An anonymous report had been sent tomand center with information that an Earth Federation scout was hiding on this.

    While the information could not be verified, there was no harm in sending out a small group of hired warriors to double check.

    Sophie wiped sweat off her brow as she stood quietly in the shadow of arge tree with purple leaves.

    This was a nightmare.

    It was barely developed and over ny percent of its habitable zone was covered in lush green rainforests.

    It was hot and humid with constant hissing noises filling the air from the uncountable insect-like creatures that crawled through the bushes.

    Lily, the two survivors and a few mirror copies of Sophie were still onboard the spacecraft hovering above the¡¯s atmosphere.

    After going over the details about this mission, Sophie had decided to go personally as the representative of their crew.

    Now she was mixed in with a group of strange warriors and fighters while being stuck in the middle of a forest.

    Sophie absentmindedly yed with a stick in her hand as she listened to the military officer¡¯s speech.

    ¡°Although you should have already reviewed the relevant information about this mission, I will once again go over the details,¡± Lt. Xerane exined in a firm tone.

    ¡°We have received news that a spy may be lurking on this and it is your mission to locate the enemy. Please remember to capture and do not kill.¡±

    ¡°There is a time limit to this mission and if nothing is found in forty-eight hours then it will be dered a failure.¡±

    ¡°You will then immediately return to your starships and head towards your next assignment.¡±

    Sophie nced at the other warriors who were stretchingzily or just chatting quietly among themselves.

    Truthfully, even the higher ups of the Unovan military did not expect the mercenary teams to find the scout.

    Earth Federation scouts were equipped with devices that blocked life scans so the task of finding them had to be done manually.

    Sophie only decided to go personally once she knew that it was a Federation scout that the Unovan military were targeting.

    If she could make contact with the scout first then it would be possible to send a message directly to the Imperial Army.

    Lt. Xerane coughed awkwardly as no one responded after his speech. He sighed heavily before signalling to the mercenaries to disperse.

    Sophie decided to go first and immediately headed in a north-eastern direction.

    Even if other teams wanted to follow her, she nned on losing them immediately.

    She could hear the footsteps of the other warriors gradually soften as she walked further. Apparently the rest of the mercenary teams had decided to separate in different directions.

    sh! sh!

    It was incredibly convenient to have de-like appendages attached to your back since Sophie was able to easily cut through the vines and nts blocking her path.

    She casually pierced a worm-like monster that emerged from the ground with a sharp stab of her barbed tip.

    Purple blood spurted out of the monster¡¯s wound and a screech of pain could be hearding out of a hole on its belly.

    Sophie promptly finished the job by ripping out its throat using her ws and a tantalising smell soon entered her nostrils.

    The hybrid girl sniffed the air twice before approaching the warm corpse and reaching into its abdominal region.

    She grabbed a bluish-white organ that was pulsating slightly and then shoved it into her mouth without hesitation.

    Sophie chewed twice before swallowing the meat with a loud gulp. The texture of the flesh was quite rubbery and the taste could only be described as unpleasant.

    But this poor tasting meat was not without benefit since Sophie could now sense a warm current of energy flow into her dantian.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Sophie whispered as she continued on her journey.

    She had to admit that there was a special sense of beauty in ces untouched by intelligent life.

    The jungle was primal and fierce. Tall trees were present as far as the eye could see and small droplets of moisture could be seen on the leaves.

    Sophie experienced several more attacks from the local wildlife but none posed any sort of threat to her.

    It was just unfortunate that only the worm-like monster contained an inner organ that provided her with energy.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears flickered back and forth as she constantly listened to the surrounding noises for any strange sounds.

    Her golden eyes darkened as her vision was enhanced several times over. Sophie could now spot tiny thorns growing on a flower several hundred meters away.

    Hunt.

    Sophie felt a rush of bloodlust as the thrill of a hunt made goosebumps appear on her arm.

    There was prey to be found¡­

    ¡°No.. no¡­ calm down,¡± Sophie growled as she dug her nails into the palm of her hand. This sudden sharp burst of pain allowed her to regain some control over her mental state.

    Using her abilities to find the scout was not an option since Sophie¡¯s wasn¡¯t sure if she would be able to resist the urge to kill him.

    The hybrid girl trekked forward while carefully observing the ground for any footsteps or signs of life.

    Although that was assuming that the scout was a human or mendolesa since the other two races of the Federation could technically fly.

    Quafes could shapeshift to give their bodies additional appendages in order to enable flight while Servies naturally had translucent wings.

    Ssh!

    A loud noise caught Sophie¡¯s attention as it came from a location just beyond a grove of densely packed shrubbery.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s figure flickered and then vanished from the spot as she activated her movement speed technique to close the distance.

    There was a beautiful deep blue puddle of water hidden behind the bushes with a tiny humanoid figure sshing around inside.

    Its body was strangely simr to Sophie¡¯s own and the humanoid even had the same de-like appendages jutting out of its back.

    ¡°Help me!¡± the creature cried out desperately.

    Sophie stepped forward in a daze and entered the water in order to rescue the mysterious figure.

    Just as her hands were about to touch its skin¡­.

    Sophie suddenly stopped moving.

    A conflicted expression surfaced on the hybrid girl¡¯s face as something didn¡¯t seem quite right about the situation.

    There was a voice inside her mind telling her not to touch the helpless creature but¡­ wasn¡¯t saving her the right thing to do?

    She needed to save her!

    Sophie was drowning and she needed help!

    Wait¡­ am I Sophie?

    No¡­ there no¡­are there two¡­. Sophie?

    The hybrid girl grabbed her head in pain and swung her fist forward at the pool of water using all the strength that she could muster.

    BOOM!

    Sophie could hear the sound of what appeared to be ss shattering as the illusion was broken.

    She looked up to see a handsome Servie wearing the Imperial Army uniform looking at her inplete shock.

 Chapter 366: Is This Some Kind Of Trap?

    Chapter 366: Is This Some Kind Of Trap?

    (Unova Syndicate- T¡¯ramran)

    (Unknown Location)

    There was a brief moment of silence as Sophie and the scout both stared at each other in shock.

    The handsome Servie wore a greenish uniform that blended in with the surrounding bushes and trees.

    His eyes were a beautiful amber colour and his dark ck hair flowed down the length of his shoulders.

    Two translucent wings ppedzily up and down as he hovered in midair.

    Sophie opened her mouth to say something when the Servie turned around and immediately fled the scene.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Sophie yelled as she stretched her hand forward to grab him. She grabbed nothing but air as the fairy-like creature zipped away at top speed.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as the hybrid girl activated her movement speed technique.

    She quickly closed the distance in a matter of seconds and the tiny figure of the Servie warrior was just within reach.

    ¡°Slow down¡­ I just want to talk to you,¡± Sophie exined as she raised up both her hands to make a peaceful gesture.

    ¡°I mean you no harm¡­ I swear. Look I am speaking the Federation tradenguage and I can exin my identity.¡±

    It was not a surprise that the scout was wary of her but it was important that Sophie convinced him that she was not a threat.

    She was about to disy a holographic projection of her identity card from her wristmunicator when the Servie disappeared.

    Sophie quickly looked around in confusion since she could not understand how the scout had escaped her enhanced senses.

    Wait¡­

    A horrifying thought crossed Sophie¡¯s mind as she realised what had just happened.

    Was it possible that she had been chasing an illusion this entire time?

    The excitement of finally meeting a member of the Imperial Army had caused her to let down her guard.

    ¡°Fuck! Son of a bitch!¡± Sophie cursed as she mmed her fist against a nearby tree.

    The heavy two-hundred-meter nt crashed to the ground instantly with a dull thud.

    No¡­ she couldn¡¯t give up now.

    Sophie closed her eyes and entered the hidden space within her amulet.

    The Spider Whisper Art began to automatically circte as she allowed the powers of the hunter goddess to flow through her meridians.

    Sophie calmly opened her eyes to see her vision transformed into a world of ck and white.

    Numerous shadowy grey figures that were identical to her appearance ran off in different directions.

    Sophie observed the oues of each path and carefully noted the events that followed.

    Some of her future selves never managed to find the Servie again while others discovered clones that would vanish into thin wisps of smoke.

    Over and over again, Sophie peered into the flow of time to see the possible oues of her decisions.

    It was an almost impossible task since just one single step in a certain direction could branch out to form an entirely different result.

    Sophie wanted to stay for longer in this mysterious state but her danger sense began to go haywire.

    Sophie hissed softly as she felt a sharp burst of pain in her mind.

    Clearly she couldn¡¯t use her foresight ability without suffering from side effects.

    The mysterious world shattered and Sophie found herself back in the middle of the forest with nothing but the chattering of bugs to keep herpany.

    Her pale whitish pupils slowly returned to their normal golden hue.

    Sophie clutched her head and gritted her teeth in pain since she was still experiencing the bacsh from using her ability

    Was the right answer the possible future path that involved making a left turn a few meters ahead?

    No.. that route just led to an empty cave.

    Damn.. which one was it¡­?

    Sophie waited a few moments for the dull throbbing feeling in her head to go away before carefully reviewing the information that she had gleamed from peering into the future.

    She had to make a decision soon since every passing second would increase the difficulty of her quest to find the scout.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred for a split second before multiple copies of herself appeared in various poses.

    There were seven figures in total with each copy being virtually identical to Sophie in every possible manner.

    The hybrid girl pointed in a few different directions and then dashed towards the path that she had seen in a particr future during her time in the mysterious ck and white world.

    The other mirror copies of herself quickly separated and also went in the directions of other possible paths.

    Sophie was ny percent certain that the route that she was currently taking led to the real body of the scout but just in case¡­

    She made sure to create enough clones to explore other potential locations.

    There was just one detail that was bothering her.

    The golden eyes of the Arachnais race were capable of piercing through any illusion and yet she had been fooled not once but twice.

    This meant that either her golden eyes were not as strong as those possessed by a pure-blooded member of the Arachnais race or something else was going on.

    Could it be that the scout was an expert in mind control or hypnosis?

    Sophie knew that the golden eyes of the Arachnais race were not omnipotent or infallible.

    They could only discern reality from illusions that were created externally and not false images that were conjured up by the mind.

    sh! sh!

    Sophie¡¯s de-like appendages extended outwards to slice through any vines or trees that were blocking her path.

    It only took a few seconds to clear the way forward but Sophie was still worried that her target was getting further away.

    This was a valid concern since the small body of the Servie scout could easily just fly through the gaps.

    Time passed slowly as Sophie desperately ran through the forest searching for even a trace of the scout.

    Messages would asionally enter her mind from the mirror copies using the mental link that connected them.

    Unfortunately, these messages contained nothing but bad news.

    [I have arrived at the clearing seen in seventh possible future and there was no one here]

    [I was responsible for going northeast and I did think that was someone hiding behind a bush at my spot but it turned out to just be an oddly shaped bush¡­]

    [Should be roughly five minutes away from the waterfall in the vision that I was assigned to but so far I can¡¯t see any signs of life]

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she contemted activating her bloodlust rage in order to aid her search¡­

    But that would have to be ast resort.

    Crash!

    A sharp noise alerted Sophie to an area to her left but this time she closed her eyes and extended her senses outwards.

    It wasn¡¯t possible to see but by relying on her danger sense and sharp instincts, Sophie was able to navigate her way towards the noise.

    She could hear the sounds of faint breathinging from a ce high above her body. Sophie refused to open her eyes this time and instead relied entirely on her ears.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    She pressed a raised button on the side of her wristmunicator and activated the voicemand function.

    ¡°Project my national identification card,¡± Sophie spoke in a polite tone.

    She felt the metalloid device on her wrist vibrate and assumed that the holographic projection was now being disyed.

    ¡°My name is Sophie Peterlor and I am one of the missing high noble heirs from the incident at the royal pce,¡± Sophie introduced herself.

    ¡°Please.. I mean you no harm and I just want to know if you have a way to return to the Earth Federation controlled territory.¡±

    ¡°And how do I know this isn¡¯t some kind of trap? Furthermore, why would a noble suddenly appear with the Unovan forces?¡± a low baritone voice questioned.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths in order to calm down and then offered a short exnation,

    ¡°I was teleported to an unknown and the reason why I joined the Unovan forces was to reach the border region safely.¡±

    ¡°My father is Duke Peterlor and will reward you handsomely for any help that you can provide.¡±

    ¡°This I swear on my honour as a high noble.¡±

 Chapter 367: Sending Out A Message For Help

    Chapter 367: Sending Out A Message For Help

    (Unova Syndicate- T¡¯ramran)

    (Unknown Location)

    Sophie stood quietly as she waited for a response from the mysterious scout.

    There was nothing else she could do to say to convince him that her words were true.

    She pressed a button on the side of her wristmunicator and felt a small vibration. The holographic projection that disyed her national identity was now deactivated.

    It was hard to resist the temptation to open her eyes but Sophie knew that she could not afford to fall into another illusion.

    Or whatever strange technique that the scout used against her.

    ¡°Duke Peterlor¡­. Is your father the former highmander of the Imperial Army?¡± the deep baritone voice questioned.

    ¡°Yes,¡¯ Sophie admitted freely.

    Her father was quite well known among the general poption of the Earth Federation and his military reputation was renowned.

    ¡°Let me check something for a moment,¡± the Servie calmly spoke. Sophie nodded in understanding and waited patiently.

    She could hear something rustling in the bushes nearby but still kept her eyes tightly shut. Several minutes passed by uneventfully as Sophie continued to wait.

    It would not be a lie to say that she was beginning to feel a bit frustrated but she did understand why the scout would be so wary.

    ¡°Okay you can open your eyes now,¡± the scout whispered softly.

    Sophie hesitated for a brief moment and then slowly opened her eyes to see the figure in front of her.

    The handsome Servie male was sitting down on a leaf of a nearby tree. His flowing dark hair swayed gently from side to side as his amber eyes stared at her.

    It had been quite some time since Sophie had seen a member of the pixie-like race that possessed such tiny beauty.

    The green uniform that he wore blended in perfectly with the surrounding forest and it was only thanks to Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision that she could see him clearly.

    ¡°My name is Finch Wondersong,¡± Finch bowed his head and spoke politely.

    Finch held up a tiny metalloid device in his right hand that was connected to a strange looking antenna.

    The tiny metalloid device was amunicator that was custom built to fit the short stature of the Servie race.

    He went on to rify why he now believed Sophie¡¯s story by projecting a holographic window into the air.

    ¡°I just checked on the virtual and your name along with your picture appeared on the list of noble heirs who have been missing for thest few months,¡± Finch stated in a matter-of-fact way.

    ¡°In fact, the honorable Duke Peterlor has added a special bounty to your name.¡±

    ¡°Anyone with genuine information about your current whereabouts will be rewarded with either an experimental gene serum or one hundred billion Enas credits.¡±

    Truthfully, Finch was extremely shocked to find out that the former hero of the Federation had a daughter who was a hybrid.

    He rarely kept up to date with thetest gossip happening on the virtual and the new leaders of the Imperial Army did not like to mention the former highmander.

    ¡°You can connect to the virtual from here?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    She tried using hermunicator to connect but received the message¡­ [No Network In Range]

    Finch merely pointed at the antenna sticking out from the tip of hismunicator and exined that this was a special military device used by the scouts.

    Its purpose was to allowmunicator devices to send and receive information from outside thework.

    ¡°I will send a message to the higher ups at the military outpost and hopefully they will send an extraction team out immediately,¡± Finch dered proudly.

    Wait¡­ was this a good thing?

    Sophie could see no other way to leave the Unovan Syndicate except for relying on the Imperial Army.

    House Peterlor did have many enemies so it was impossible to say that they would not see this a perfect chance to get rid of her.

    Unfortunately, this appeared to be her only option¡­

    She had not received a reply back from her father since hermunicator device was no longer in range so there was no way of knowing if her message had reached him.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then tried to look at the situation more objectively.

    Was it a risk to seek out the help of the Imperial Army?

    Absolutely.

    But staying as a mercenary in the Unovan forces was equally dangerous since she didn¡¯t know if the next battlefield would be herst.

    ¡°I am not the only noble here,¡± Sophie suddenly blurted out. Finch tilted his head sideways and shot her a puzzled look.

    ¡°Lily ckait was also teleported with me and is on my starship,¡± Sophie spoke in a serious tone.

    Finch paused his movements for a second and then pressed a series of buttons on hismunicator.

    He pulled up the list of missing nobles from the virtual to search for the name Lily ckait.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­. it says here that her family dered her dead and withdrew her from the missing person list,¡± Finch stated.

    ¡°What?!¡± Sophie shouted in surprise.

    Finch exined with a trace ofpassion in his voice, ¡°Yeah¡­ at least eighty percent of the noble heirs who are still missing have been dered dead by their families and the search has been called off.¡±

    ¡°Her picture and information can still be found so is this the person who is travelling with you?¡±

    Sophie took a quick nce at the picture being disyed on the holographic projection and saw a smiling Lily posing in the dress that she had worn for the royal banquet.

    It had clearly been taken on the day where everything went to hell.

    ¡°Yes.. that¡¯s her but I will say this clearly now¡­ I will not leave her behind,¡± Sophie firmly stated.

    Finch could sense the determination in her voice and quickly spoke to reassure her, ¡°There is plenty of space on the extraction spacecrafts so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to take her as well.¡±

    ¡°Mymunicator has a tracker embedded inside so that my squad will be able to find me in case of emergencies.¡±

    ¡°I suggest bringing me along to your starship and then we can wait together for the rescue team to arrive.¡±

    Sophie thought that the n sounded reasonable so she pulled out a small handbag from her storage ring.

    Sophie took out a few needles and proceeded to poke a series of holes to let air inside so that her tinypanion would not suffocate.

    There were also some loose pieces of cloth inside Sophie¡¯s storage ring which she ced on the bottom of the handbag to create afortable bedding.

    Finch¡¯s translucent wings ppedzily as he dove inside the small handbag and closed the zipper shut.

    The faint sounds of tapping could be heard which Sophie assumed was from Finch writing up a report to send to his higher ups.

    Sophie golden eyes darkened as she swept the surrounding area to make sure that no one else was hiding in the bushes nearby.

    With a small sigh of relief, Sophie turned around and begun walking towards a random direction.

    The meeting time was forty-eight hourster from the start of the mission so there was quite some time left to kill.

 Chapter 368: A Mission Of Cruelty

    Chapter 368: A Mission Of Cruelty

    (Earth Federation- Artificial X-837)

    (Temporary Military Outpost- Commander¡¯s Private Cabin)

    The gentle sounds of ssical music filled the air and an old gentleman dressed in a dark gold military uniform leaned against his chair.

    Commander Stewart closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against his temples. With slow circr movements, he massaged the sides of his head over and over again.

    Send a report? Or remain silent? What was the correct option?

    He did not expect to be faced with such a difficult choice.

    It had only been a few hours ago when a special report hadnded on his desk. The contents of that report were the source of his current state of anxiety.

    One of the scouts had made contact with two noble heirs and wanted an extraction team sent out to rescue them.

    The identities of both nobles had been confirmed so it was not a trap.

    The Imperial Army did have an obligation to rescue civilians and especially those of noble lineage so what action to take next should have been clear.

    Unfortunately, it was the identity of one of the heirs that was causing Commander Stewart a massive headache.

    Sophie Peterlor.

    The daughter of one of the greatest leaders that the Imperial Army had ever seen¡­ and a massive problem for the noble houses that were sponsoring Commander Stewart¡¯s military career.

    Commander Stewart knew that he did not earn his current position by skill or even luck, it was only thanks to his ability to be an obedient chess piece.

    ¡°For all my power¡­ all my ambitions¡­ I really am nothing more than a servant,¡± Commander Stewart muttered bitterly as his fingers tightened around the armrest of his chair.

    Rage and unwillingness filled his heart for a brief moment before he regained his senses and just let out a small sigh.

    His first instinct was to pretend not to see the report but the message from the scout was already logged into the system and had been read by his secretaries.

    It would be impossible not to take action.

    Commander Stewart was now stuck between a rock and a hard ce.

    No matter what choice he made¡­ he would either offend the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Earth Federation or a coalition of high noble houses.

    ¡°I need a drink,¡± Commander Steward groaned as he got up from his chair. He made his way to an antique wooden cab that contained multiple rows of expensive jade ornamental bottles.

    He twisted the cap off with ease and soon the pleasant fruity scent of luxury wine filled the air with soft vours.

    Commander Stewart¡¯s mood was so low that he didn¡¯t even bother to pour the drink into his favourite winess and just drank the golden liquid straight from the bottle.

    He finished that bottle swiftly and then moved on to the next one.

    Bit by bit, the cab that was once filled with rows upon rows of expensive alcoholic drinks was being gradually emptied.

    Ring! Ring! Ring!

    The harsh sounds of a metallic bleeping noise entered themander¡¯s ears which caused him to nce towards the bedside table.

    His privatemunicator was vibrating slightly and a number appeared on the screen that was quite familiar.

    Commander Stewart¡¯s heart fell as he realised what was about to happen.

    It truly was foolish of him to think that he was the only card that his sponsors had inserted into the Imperial Army.

    Was it one of his secretaries? An assistant? Or the scout himself?

    There was no way of knowing for sure and even if he did¡­ Commander Stewart did not dare to reprimand the traitor.

    Ring! Ring! Ring!

    Commander Stewart trembled as he walked over to the still buzzingmunicator with slow hesitant steps.

    If any of his subordinates were in the room they would be amazed to see their usually arrogant leader shuffling forward looking every bit as frail as his outward appearance would suggest.

    The military head picked up themunicator and saw the two options disyed on the screen.

    [ept] [Decline]

    For a brief moment, there was a small trace of regret in his heart. Duke Peterlor was truly a man he admired and a far better man than he would ever be.

    To n the assassination of his daughter¡­.

    Commander Stewart frowned as an expression of hesitation shed across his face before slowly turning into determination.

    It didn¡¯t matter.

    Duke Peterlor could always have another noble heir. Besides which high noble family didn¡¯t have numerous bastards running around?

    He could always just choose a random one to rece that hybrid.

    Bing the next Head Commander of the Imperial Army was all that mattered to Commander Stewart¡­

    Otherwise, what was the point of being constantly humiliated and forced to obey the orders and whims of those petty nobles!

    Commander Stewart fixed his expression and then pressed the [ept] option with his wrinkled finger.

    A holographic projection was emitted from the center of themunicator and a figure wearing a ck robe appeared in the room.

    He wore a in white mask with no markings that concealed his features and therge, oversized robe that covered his body also served the purpose of hiding his physique.

    Commander Stewart dropped to his knees and respectfully ced a hand across his chest in order to disy his loyalty.

    ¡°Thank you for contacting me. The situation with the Unovan Syndicate is proceeding as nned,¡± Commander Stewart spoke calmly with his eyes lowered.

    ¡°May I be so bold as to inquire for what purpose does your lord wish to contact me?¡±

    A low chuckle escaped the mouth of the hooded figure as he listened to themander¡¯s attempt to cover up his mistake.

    ¡°I think you know exactly why my master has sent me to contact you and believe me¡­ he is very disappointed,¡± a hoarse voice whispered.

    ¡°Tell me¡­ For what reason did you not send out a message that Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter had been found after reading that report?¡¯

    A tense atmosphere formed immediately after the hooded figure finished speaking. Commander Stewart could sense undisguised maliceing from the figure in front of him.

    He swallowed nervously as tiny beads of sweat began to run down his forehead. The mysterious figure waited quietly for an exnation without showing the slightest sign of impatience.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ The report only found its way to my desk a few hours ago so¡­ I¡­ um.. nned to organise some files and then pass¡­ on the information,¡± Commander Stewart stuttered as he spoke.

    He tried to calm himself down but faced with the threat of losing everything that he had worked for caused the normally confident military leader to falter.

    Commander Stewart internally scolded himself for being soft-hearted and not immediately grabbing his privatemunicator the second he had returned to his private quarters.

    ¡°Rx¡­ My master still has use for you,¡± the hooded figure spoke solemnly.

    ¡°This mistake will be forgiven only this time and there will be no greater opportunity to regain favour than to aplish the simple task that my master has assigned to you.¡±

    Commander Stewart¡¯s hands trembled slightly as he listened to the mysterious messenger ry the details of the mission.

    This was pure cruelty.

    It was not enough to merely assassinate the daughter of a high noble¡­ an example would be made of her mutted corpse and broadcasted across the virtual.

    To let the hybrids of the Earth Federation, learn what happens to those who aspire to heights above their stations.

 Chapter 369: Good News From The Imperial Army

    Chapter 369: Good News From The Imperial Army

    (Unova Syndicate- T¡¯ramran)

    (Unknown Location)

    ¡°This is aplete disappointment!¡± Lt. Xerane shouted angrily as he observed the mercenaries slowly gathering in the middle of the clearing.

    The deadline for returning had long been passed and now five hourster there were still some stragglers making their way to the meet up point.

    What infuriated the young officer the most was the fact that the mercenaries seemed to not even care that they were not on time.

    There were still a few teams missing but at this point Lt. Xerane was ready to conclude the mission report with or without them.

    Sophie let out a small sigh as she leaned against a nearby tree and enjoyed the cool shade.

    No one bothered to talk to her and frankly that suited her just fine. Finch was hidden safely away in a small handbag that was securely attached to her hip.

    Sophie had made sure to poke numerous holes in the bag¡¯s outer surface and ce bedding inside in order to make the tiny Serviefortable.

    Making contact with a scout from the Imperial Army had been a wee surprise and now she was one step closer to returning home.

    However, there was something about Finch that bothered Sophie.

    She couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on it but her instincts kept ring up slightly as she stroked the handbag.

    But there shouldn¡¯t be a reason to distrust the handsome Servie¡­ at least from a certain viewpoint.

    The Imperial Army had a duty to rescue civilians whenever possible and Sophie should be an important priority since she was the daughter of a high noble.

    Sophie frowned ever so slightly as she carefully reviewed the encounter with the scout in her mind.

    Her enhanced memory allowed her to easily recall even the tiniest details about the encounter and the events that followed.

    Sophie closed her eyes and was about to focus in on one particr scene when Lt. Xreane¡¯s loud roar snapped her out of her daze.

    ¡°Now can anyone give me some good news?!¡± the military officer yelled.

    ¡°Please report immediately if you observed any traces of the scout that was rumored to be hiding on this.¡±

    There was an awkward moment of silence as each mercenary nced around at each other and saw no one willing to respond.

    ¡°Anyone?¡± Lt. Xerane groaned in frustration as he ced a webbed hand on the side of his forehead.

    ¡°Sorry but I didn¡¯t see anything but trees and bushes,¡± Sophiezily drawled. She yawned sleepily in the direction of the military officer.

    Sophie¡¯s nonchnt words opened up the mouths of the other warriors and soon simr sentences echoed around the clearing.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ there ain¡¯t nothing but fucking grass out here.¡±

    ¡°My team and I almost died fighting some horrible worm beastly that came from the underground!¡±

    ¡°Are we going to get paid still?¡±

    ¡°Good question! I didn¡¯t walk for hours to not get some kind ofpensation!¡±

    Lt. Xerane¡¯s mood was lowered even further as the topic shifted towards how much money the Unovan military owed them for the past two days of work.

    For heavens sake, these greedy bastards wanted to get paid for failing toplete a mission.

    What a ridiculous notion!

    Lt. Xerane cleared his throat and pulled up a holographic projection on his wristmunicator before reading out a series of lines,

    ¡°As per the contract that you signed when joining the Unovan military, any mission that results in a failure regardless of the cause may lead to punishment by the disciplinarymittee.¡±

    ¡°In addition, it is left up to the supervising officer to determine whether or notpensation must be given.¡±

    Loud groans andints rang out immediately after Lt. Xerane finished reading out the rest of the contract.

    He calmly removed his ster pistol from the pocket on the side of his uniform and fired off a warning shot into the air.

    Bang!

    Lt. Xerane understood fully well that these brutes only understood thenguage of violence.

    Sophie observed the unhappy expressions on the faces of the mercenaries and filed away that information forter.

    Even though the military needed these hired warriors to serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield, they were clearly treating them badly.

    Leavingpensation ims up to the supervisor without any way to appeal their decision was an insidious method to avoid having to pay.

    Perhaps she could use the rift between the hired warriors and the military officers in the future¡­

    Unfortunately, that future came through a bit sooner than Sophie could have possibly imagined.

    ¡°The mission will now be officially dered a failure and hence¡­¡± Lt. Xerane¡¯s speech was interrupted by a fierce growl.

    Sophie took a look to her left and saw a muscr warrior wearing what could only be described as primitive tribal attire.

    His body was vaguely humanoid but there were several physical traits present on his body that disyed the features of his race.

    The body of the warrior was covered with soft down feathers and his face was sharply angr and simr to a bird¡¯s.

    Sophie was impressed by the wickedly sharp reaper-like scythe that was attached to his back using thick metalloid ropes.

    ¡°Hey.. I ain¡¯t going nowhere until we settle this payment shit¡­¡± the warrior growled menacingly.

    ¡°Look as I just stated¡­¡± Lt. Xerane replied impatiently.

    The warrior exined calmly before finishing his statement with a threat,

    ¡°Yeah. That contract said that its up to the supervisor whether or not we getpensated and you are our supervisor.¡±

    ¡°Now give us somepensation or I will snap that flimsy little neck of yours¡­¡±

    Threatening the military officer in charge of their unit?

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure if she should be impressed orugh at how idiotic this stupid fool was. Clearly whichever squad had picked this moron did not choose him based on his intellect.

    The defiance of this lone mercenary clearly caught Lt. Xerane by surprise but soon an expression of rage shed across his face.

    ¡°I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY DISRESPECT FROM THE LIKES OF YOU!¡± Lt. Xerane screamed in fury.

    Bang!

    He confidently pointed his ster pistol at the offending mercenary and fired off a sma round into his skull.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she secretly reached for the metalloid needles hidden in her back pocket.

    This was not good.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t escte,¡± Sophie quietly whispered as she nced around the clearing trying to get a feel of the mood.

    She could not afford to join this impromptu rebellion since there was a strong chance that the Unovan military would group all of them together as traitors and then demand a mass execution.

    Clearly she was not the only one who thought about this possibility since quite a few warriors also showed signs of hesitation.

    ¡°Does anyone else have a problem with theck ofpensation,¡± Lt. Xerane chortled as he yed with the pistol in his hands.

    The arrogance and pride that oozed in his voice as well as his unpleasant smirk made Sophie want to punch him right in the face.

    She exhaled softly in order to calm herself down and then waited with bated breath to see if anyone else was going to make a move.

    No one else did.

    Clearly the death of the outspoken mercenary was enough of a warning for the rest of the warriors.

    Lt. Xerane continued his speech as though nothing had happened, ¡°Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted¡­¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two Hours Later..)

    (Sun¡¯s Glory Starship- Private Cabin)

    Sophie sat quietly on a chair and watched as the Servie on the bed in front of her began to press a series of buttons on hismunicator device.

    Apparently Finch had received word from themand center of the Imperial Army and a rescue team would soon be dispatched.

    Lily and her safety would be the highest priority so the officers sent to rescue them would be at least in the qi tide stage.

    Finch even reassured her that there was a very real possibility that a void stage cultivator would be deployed as well.

    Sophie smiled gently and cheerfully disyed the joyous emotions that a lost noble heiress should have after been told that help wasing.

    But secretly¡­ she was silently feeling as though something was increasingly strange about the rescue operation.

    There were just a few details in Finch¡¯s good news that didn¡¯t make sense when examining the full context.

    Why was there no message that contact had been established with her father?

    Wouldn¡¯t it be advantageous to the rescue effort to get private reinforcements from a high noble house?

    And even if they didn¡¯t need the extra assistance¡­ Shouldn¡¯t they send a message to the duke and inform him that his daughter had been found?

    Finch nced up from the contents of the report and internally smirked when he saw the happy expression on the hybrid girl¡¯s face.

    She had no idea what was in store for her¡­

    The Servie scout tapped a fewmands on hismunicator and quickly replied to the unknown number that sent out an inquiry for more information.

    Finch had just closed the tab after writing out a few more details about Sophie¡¯s suspectedbat level when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

    His heightened senses as a scout gave him the confidence to use hismunicator while in the hybrid girl¡¯s presence but¡­

    When did she sneak up on him?

    Finch¡¯s heart dropped as he hurriedly wondered if he had managed to close the tab in time. He nervously looked up and saw Sophie staring at him with no change in her expression.

    ¡°I am gratefully for the help that you have provided and promise you that my father will reward you greatly for your actions,¡± Sophie swore loyally.

    ¡°It is merely my duty,¡± Finch replied bashfully while secretly observing Sophie¡¯s face for any trace of deceit.

    He found nothing so the suspicious feeling in his heart gradually disappeared.

    Sophie maintained her pleasant demeanor and began asking questions about Finch¡¯s personal life all the while keeping a single finger on his shoulder.

    Finch was happy to shift the subject to himself and began to talk about tales of his youth in the Alpha Star System.

    Sophie nodded andughed appropriately during the conversation and Finch could sense his nerves greatly rx.

    ¡°Now let me tell you about the time I¡­¡± Finch paused mid-sentence as something caught his attention.

    He could have sworn that for a brief moment that the hybrid girl¡¯s golden eyes turned into a pale milky white colour.

    Finch rubbed his eyes and when he took another nce, the colour of Sophie¡¯s eyes was the same as he remembered.

    Was it the stress of nning the ambush that was causing his mind to y tricks? Or was the usual side effect of using his mind control technique acting up again?

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Sophie asked quietly.

    Finch hurriedly shook his head and decided to just keep that unnerving observation in the back of his mind.

 Chapter 370: Countermeasures And New Plans

    Chapter 370: Countermeasures And New ns

    (Unova Syndicate -Frontier Region)

    (Sun¡¯s Glory Starship- Command Deck)

    Sophie stared silently out of the window and absentmindedly gazed at the numerous stars that passed by.

    It was only when travelling through the universe that one could fully grasp just how insignificant and small they truly were.

    Space was nothing more than vast hollow emptiness with flickers of life that easily faded and blinked out of existence.

    Sophie let out a small sigh as she felt her already low mood get even worse.

    The two prisoners were dutifully piloting the starship while her clones kept a close eye on the situation.

    The next assignment from the Unovan military hade a lot sooner than Sophie had initially anticipated.

    Apparently the Imperial Army wasunching a series of attacks on an important transit point that was vital to the supply link of the Unovan forces.

    All avable mercenary teams were to immediately head to the outpost and defend the warp gate with their lives.

    This should be good news in ideal circumstances.

    Sophie had just made contact with a scout of the Imperial Army and arriving close to the fighting zone would make the rescue operation proceed far more easily.

    The problem was¡­

    It was a trap.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she reminisced about the vision she had seen after activating her foresight ability.

    It was not a pretty scene. She saw herself ripping apart a heavily armoured team of qi tide cultivators before instantly getting knocked out by a void stage cultivator hidden in the darkness.

    As what happened next, Sophie had no idea since she had to withdraw from the ck and white world in order not to rouse Finch¡¯s suspicion.

    However, it was probably safe to assume that the end result would be either her capture or death by those assassins.

    The real issue was that Sophie had no way of knowing who was responsible for the ambush.

    Whether it was done by her father¡¯s enemies or an unknown group.

    Either way it was clear that relying on the Imperial Army was no longer an option. Sophie massaged her temples slowly and tried to think of possible solutions.

    Finch was still in her custody onboard the starship and was currently being entertained by one of her clones whose purpose was to monitor the dangerous Servie.

    Of course, he was under the impression that he was talking to the original Sophie and the mirror copies were the ones flying the starship.

    Sophie had already exposed her copy summoning ability while chasing down the Servie on T¡¯ramran so it didn¡¯t make sense to hide it.

    Right now, Sophie could only think about two possible courses of action that she could take.

    The first would be to take an immense risk and flee the battlefield once the Imperial Army attacked the outpost and try to reach Federation controlled territory before the starship blew up.

    The other option would be to use the attack on the outpost to connect to the virtual and check to see if there were any messages from her father.

    Hopefully he had seen her first message for help and had already assembled a team toe to her position.

    Sophie hated this feeling of helplessness. She grabbed the armrest of the captain¡¯s chair and slowly crushed the metalloid exterior.

    Despite all of the dangerous and life-threatening situations that she had been thrust into over thest few months, it was this final hurdle that was the most frustrating.

    Outside the window, Sophie could spot a field of asteroidsing up ahead. These massive rocks floated merrily along without a care in the world.

    Lt. Shirren pressed a series of buttons on her monitor and redirected extra power to the shields surrounding the space vessel.

    The starship easily passed through the field with minimum damage since the enhanced shields could easily withstand the collisions.

    ¡°Maybe I should go talk to Lily,¡± Sophie muttered quietly.

    It would take a few more hours before they arrived at the transit point so this would be thest opportunity for some peace and quiet.

    The hybrid girlzily got up from the captain¡¯s chair and strolled towards the exit. She nodded twice at the clones standing at attention and then left the room.

    Sophie didn¡¯t know that once she left, one of her clones immediately sat down on the captain¡¯s chair and mimicked her pensive expression to the amusement of the others.

    The stolen spacecraft was a decently sized vessel so it took Sophie around twenty minutes to reach the floor with the living quarters.

    Sophie made several turns through the windingbyrinth of side passages and corridors until she arrived at an unmarked door.

    She could already hear the sounds ofughtering from inside as Lily joyfully interacted with one of her copies.

    Sophie smiled gently and reached her hand out to input themand to open the door when a familiar sounding voice entered her mind.

    [Hey original. Finch has important news that he just shared with me. Apparently he got a message from the Imperial Army with more details about the rescue mission]

    [I¡¯m pretty sure that sneaky bastard used his open connection to the virtual to urately grasp the coordinates of our new assignment. I have to say that all things considered¡­.]

    [We should just kill him.]

    Sophie hurriedly withdrew her outstretched palm from the door and walked away to a concealed corner.

    She took a few deep breaths before closing her eyes and connecting to the mentalwork.

    It was once difficult to share her senses with her clones using the mental link but now Sophie could do it was ease.

    The mentalwork could be vaguely described as a miniature gxy withs revolving around a central star. Each celestial body was connected via golden thread-like links.

    Sophie entered the mind of the clone who had just sent the message and absorbed her recent memories.

    A tidal wave of information crashed into Sophie¡¯s head as she instantly absorbed thirty minutes worth of conversation.

    Sophie opened her eyes and there was a slight frown on her lips as she recalled what she had just seen.

    Apparently the rescue team had already been assembled and would secretly search for their spaceship once the official battle begun at the transit point.

    The contents of the report sent to Finch¡¯s wristmunicator detailed a rough outline of the n.

    The Imperial Army would only send out probing attacks over the next two days and then the real assault would begin on the third.

    Finch informed Sophie¡¯s clone that the rescue team would be sent out during that time.

    A full visual description of their starship had already been provided to the rescue team by Finch who had snapped several pictures of the outer exterior of the vessel.

    This had been done from a gap in the handbag when Sophie was carrying him back to the starship from T¡¯ramran.

    Sophie¡¯s clone had suggested killing the scout but Sophie knew that wasn¡¯t the answer.

    There would be significant bacsh if it was ever discovered that she had killed a member of the Imperial Army without cause.

    Seeing a vision of the future wasn¡¯t exactly a legal defense that stood the test of an impartial jury.

    Besides there would be no point since the description of their starship was already in the hands of the so-called rescue team.

    Wait¡­

    A smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she realised that the answer had been staring her in the face this whole time.

    Finch knew about her cloning ability but didn¡¯t know that she could transform her mirror copies into Lily¡¯s image as well.

    This was the perfect opportunity to trick her ambushers!

    The only problem was where could the real versions of themselves go?

    Sophie tapped her fingers against the sides of her hips for a few minutes before a brilliant idea entered her mind.

    She pulled out the metalloid tablet given to the mercenary teams by the Unovan military and connected to the public forums.

    There was a familiar profile that caught Sophie¡¯s eye and she sent out a private message to her recent acquaintance.

    Perhaps there was a way to discreetly leave the starship without drawing Finch¡¯s attention.

    [Sophie: Hey Perspherene, are you also going to the transit point?]

    [Perspherene: Sophie! I didn¡¯t see you at the tavern in awhile¡­ and yeah¡­ my greedy captain seems determined to lead us all to our inevitable deaths ? ¡­]

    [Perspherene: Do you want to meet up? I¡¯m always down to spend some more time with my drinking buddy!]

    [Sophie: Of course! But let me ask you something¡­ is your captain in need of more warriors? I¡¯m thinking of leaving my current crew]

    [Perspherene: I can put in a word for you since we are pretty short staffed at the moment but I¡¯ll give you a fair warning¡­ the pay is pretty shit.]

 Chapter 371: Welcome To Your New Crew!

    Chapter 371: Wee To Your New Crew!

    (Unova Syndicate -Frontier Region)

    (Oreciuam Prime- Temporary Housing Zone)

    ¡°Is there a healer anywhere?! I can pay the credits upfront!¡±

    ¡°So¡­ how many men did you lose? I swear those military officers are going to work us to death¡­¡±

    ¡°Old John is opening up a drinking booth by the corner¡­ I heard he brought some pleasure ves from the Quate system¡­ now I¡¯m not really into webbed feet¡­ but¡­¡±

    Sophie frowned slightly as she navigated her way through the sprawlingbyrinth of booths, shabby tents and drinking houses.

    The intense killing intent surrounding her body managed to persuade the numerous pickpockets roaming about the marketce that she was not an easy target.

    Still even the few that were extremely brave or foolish tended to learn their lesson when Sophie¡¯s ded appendages sliced off their outstretched hands.

    Two days had passed since arriving on this artificially constructed and the fighting had only intensified.

    This contained a warp gate that was connected to the inner regions of the Unovan Syndicate so it was a high value target.

    The Imperial Army could not afford to bomb the with orbital strikes so they merely settled for scouting the spatial defenses while preparing to send in ground assault teams.

    Sophie had managed to convince the supervising officer in charge of their unit to give her crew an easy logistic job on the that was rtively far away from the action.

    As for her method of persuasion¡­

    Well, let¡¯s just say that her storage bag now contained significantly less Unovan credits.

    However, she knew that tomorrow was the day that the Imperial Army would send out the full force of its spatial fleet.

    It was inevitable that all avable mercenary teams would have to fight.

    This was also when the so-called rescue mission would ur. Sophie had avoided all contact with Finch at least using her real body since receiving that horrifying vision.

    There was a steady stream of information constantly entering her mind from the mirror copy assigned to monitor the Servie¡¯s every movement.

    Sophie had to keep a close eye on him to make sure that he did not realise that something was amiss.

    Two loud yells interrupted her concentration and Sophie spotted a crowd begin to gather around two alien warriors.

    ¡°Oy! Watch where you¡¯re going¡­ you filthy X¡¯ren scum!¡±

    ¡°What did you say to me? An ugly piece of shit like you¡­ no wonder I heard that your mate has been entertaining other Kree!¡±

    A pair of blue skinned warriors with long slender bodies and multiple wings sprouting from their backs circled slowly around each other.

    Their bodies were covered in a thick slimy material that oozed and dripped to the ground. Sophie golden eyes darkened as she felt a sickening attraction to the foul-smelling goo.

    A crimson hue slowly crept from the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes as the familiar feeling of bloodlust stirred in her chest.

    Sophie forcefully turned her head away and ignored the loud yells and jeers that wereing from the fight.

    She couldn¡¯t afford to lose control right now since there was an important meeting that she needed to attend.

    Now where exactly was it again¡­.

    Sophie consulted the virtual map that was installed on the metalloid tablets that the Unovan military gave out to the mercenary teams.

    She typed in the coordinates of the meeting ce that Perspherene had sent her and saw a red arrow appear on the screen.

    A smile briefly shed across Sophie¡¯s face when she realised that the meeting spot was only a short ten-minute walk away.

    The hybrid girl wandered through the marketce while taking a few asional nces at the stalls by the sides of the road.

    Everything that you could ever need during wartime could be found here. Sophie observed weapons of all shapes and sizes, heavy armour, cloth fabrics and even battle ves.

    Quite a few merchants called out to Sophie as she passed by but she paid them no extra attention.

    Besides it was unlikely that she had enough credits to buy whatever they were selling in the first ce.

    Sophie took two left turns and then a right until she entered a dirty alleyway.

    Several alien species could be seen passed out on the ground with metalloid needles still attached to various parts of their bodies.

    Sophie cautiously stepped over a few of these discarded needles while making her way to a certain building at the end of the road.

    ¡°You got any credits? Please¡­ I¡¯ll do anything for some credits¡­¡± a hoarse voice whispered.

    A diminutive alien with pale green eyes shivered on the ground and stretched out a bony hand towards Sophie¡¯s direction.

    There was a sharp needle in its arm that was attached to a half empty syringe. Sophie could see a thick bubbly liquid slowly moving back and forth inside the syringe.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I don¡¯t have any to spare,¡± Sophie replied briskly and moved away from the pitiful creature.

    There were few warriors that did not suffer from immense psychological trauma after witnessing the horrors of war.

    Sophie did not judge these warriors for finding a substance drown their sorrows and make those terrible memories go away.

    She made her way to an unremarkably in wooden door and knocked three times as instructed by Perspherene.

    Bam!

    The door mmed open immediately and Sophie almost hit right in the chest by an enthusiastic fist that passed mere inches away from her body.

    ¡°By the Old Ones! I didn¡¯t think that you would be here so early,¡± Perspherene yelled happily as she gave Sophie¡¯s shoulder a firm pat.

    ¡°Good to see you as well,¡± Sophie smiled gently as she returned the gesture with equal enthusiasm.

    ¡°Come in! Come in! The boss man is waiting for you at the table,¡± Perspherene spoke merrily and shook her long scaly tail from side to side.

    Sophie followed her acquaintance into the building but what she saw inside was not what she was expecting.

    Despite outwardly resembling a shack, the interior of the building was a sleek futuristicboratory equipped with state-of-the-art apparatus.

    Sophie even spotted numerous intelligent robot units shuttling around as well as workers dressed in pale white uniforms.

    The walls were painted in a whitish grey colour and vents were installed at regr intervals along their outer surfaces in order to aid with the air cirction.

    Sophie spottedrge vats filled with the same bubbly liquid that was inside the syringes. Each vat was carefully inspected by a team of robots.

    There was even a packaging area where rows upon rows of filled syringes were neatly packed into boxes and stacked onto transport vehicles.

    ¡°Are you going to keep staring?¡± a gruff voice snapped Sophie out of her dazed state.

    She looked at the direction of the voice and saw a tiny rat-like alien wearing an expensive noble garment.

    His furry features and soft diminutive stature made him appear quite adorable. Sophie was especially fond of the ck top hat that was ced on the top of his head.

    Perspherene¡¯s forked tongue flickered out as she hastily apologised, ¡°Sorry captain¡­ she didn¡¯t mean any offense.¡±

    ¡°Enough with the nonsense,¡± the rodent-like alien snarled and raised one paw up in the air.

    ¡°So¡­ tell me why I should hire you?¡±

    It was a standard interview question. Honestly Sophie was relieved that the captain was willing to give her a chance in the first ce.

    There were very few mercenary crews that were willing to take on members with unknown origins.

    Sophie closed her eyes for a brief moment and when she opened them, an immense spiritual pressure filled the room.

    Cracks began to appear on the ground as Sophie disyed just a small hint of her cultivation prowess.

    The ded appendages on her back spread out slightly with their pointed barbs gleaming menacingly under the light.

    ¡°I am a cultivator in the qi tide stage with an undefeated battle record. I am also quite proficient in the art of poisons,¡± Sophie spoke confidently.

    ¡°Mypanion who also wishes to join your crew posses the ability to see into the future.¡±

    ¡°And where is thispanion?¡± the furry alien asked curiously.

    Sophie tilted her wristmunicator upwards and soon a holographic projection of Lily wearing a mask and long robes appeared.

    ¡°Mypanion is going over the withdrawal proceedings with our current organization which should bepleted by the end of today,¡± Sophie exined.

    She continued to list the various achievements that she aplished with a mixture of truth and falsehood.

    It was unclear whether the captain of Perspherene¡¯s crew enjoyed her pitch or not since his fur covered face made it hard to see his expression.

    Sophie talked for roughly ten minutes until she reached the conclusion of what she had to tell.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the captain rubbed his paws together without saying a word.

    ¡°You¡¯re hired,¡± he suddenly spoke.

    Sophie was a bit taken aback and despite her joy, Perspherene was also feeling quite confused.

    ¡°Um boss¡­ are you letting her join the crew so easily because I rmended her?¡± the scaly warrior asked curiously.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± the captain mmed his tiny fist on the surface of the table and squeaked.

    ¡°I have never seen a powerful cultivator who willing to work for such low wages! I¡¯ve been meaning to fire those two bastards Lerry and Srah for awhile now.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any idea how much money I could save if I no longer had to provide them with such high sries?¡±

    Perspherene fell into silence as her captain finished talking. It was hard to describe what she was feeling right now.

    On one hand she was grateful that her new friend was able to join her crew so easily but on the other hand¡­ clearly they were all just one recement away from being fired!

    Paying a high sry?

    Lerry and Srah had shown her their pay cheques once and they made less than minimum wage!

    Perspherene was now beginning to regret offering to give Sophie a chance to join the group.

    This greedy captain was clearly going to treat her as unpaidbour!

    Sophie also realised what was happening but unlike Perspherene she did not care that she would not receive proper payment for her services.

    This was going to be a temporary job anyways so she was actually a bit thankful that the captain was such a risk taker.

    The rodent-like alien cleared his throat and gestured towards Sophie before beginning another speech,

    ¡°I have not introduced myself so I will now¡­ my name is Rayen Von Hessan and it is a pleasure to have you onboard with us¡­¡±

 Chapter 372: Time For War

    Chapter 372: Time For War

    (Unova Syndicate -Frontier Region)

    (Oreciuam Prime- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    Ring! Ring!

    rms started to re out as an iing message arrived from the supervising officers in charge of monitoring the mercenary organizations.

    Sophie watched outside the window and saw a swarm of Imperial Army starships rapidly approaching the.

    There wererge destroyers, medium sized space shuttles and an uncountable number of lightweight raid starships.

    She was currently sitting down on a chair in the back of themand center with Lily held firmly in her arms.

    There were other warriors scattered throughout the room in various states of readiness.

    The atmosphere was grim at the prospect of facing such formidable enemies and one could sense the noticeable tension in the room.

    Most warriors were from the same race as Perspherene with long slender bodies and snake-like features but there were a few notable exceptions.

    Sophie had managed to join Perspherene¡¯s crew without raising the suspicions of Finch who was still under the impression that both noble heirs were on the starship with him.

    More details had been sent to the Servie¡¯smunicator about the uing operation but Sophie¡¯s mirror copy in charge of monitoring Finch suspected that he was intentionally concealing some details.

    Well¡­ that was no longer Sophie¡¯s concern.

    Unfortunately, her clones and the two prisoners onboard the stolen starship would have to serve as sacrifices for the ambush.

    Just in case, Sophie did offer her copies thest remaining explosives in her storage bag so that they would not be captured alive to be tortured.

    Hopefully this time they would use it because she really didn¡¯t want painful memories entering her mind.

    The copies created by the Rsychosis technique were approximately equal to Sophie in strength but they were far less durable and more prone to injuries.

    This w would gradually disappear as Sophie got stronger but for now it was a side effect that was impossible to avoid.

    ¡°So¡­ you think we¡¯re all going to die?¡± a gruff voice came from the side.

    Sophie nced in the direction of the sound and saw a fiery creature wrapped tightly in ck bandages and carrying what appeared to be a giantmp in his palm.

    ¡°Ishasa right?¡± Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s bad luck to talk about death before a battle?¡± Sophie responded curtly.

    ¡°Nah. In my culture we believe that death is only the beginning,¡± the warrior replied casually.

    He reached into hismp and pulled out a small blue book. He then opened it to show Sophie the contents inside.

    There were pictures of alien creatures in a ce simr to hell and surrounded by what could only be described as a wanton disy of sin and debauchery.

    Sophie frowned slightly and tilted Lily¡¯s head so that the little girl wouldn¡¯t see the nasty images inside the book.

    Ishasa clearly seemed not to pick up on her subtle signals of disapproval and begun to preach in a calm tone,

    ¡°Now¡­ let me that from the first book. It is said that in death, the warriors of the Ctiena race will dine in the halls of Voltanera. When the great B¡¯alle created the¡­.¡±

    Fortunately, his pious sermon was cut short by a holographic projection that filled up the center of the room.

    The image was incredibly blurry and even Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision could not make out who or rather what was shown in the center of the screen.

    ¡°Enhance the image and the quality of the audio,¡± Captain Hessan ordered as he rubbed his two furry paws together.

    ¡°You got it boss!¡± Perspherene replied swiftly as she headed towards a console to press a series of buttons.

    The image instantly became clearer and Sophie could now see a brutish officer sitting down behind a wooden desk.

    He was a hulking monstrosity with multiple heads and arms that seemed artificially grafted onto his body.

    Oddly enough, each pair of eyes were covered in thick sses that made it impossible to see what the colour of his pupils was.

    The officer cleared his throat twice and then picked up a piece of paper. He begun the slow process of adjusted his sses on multiple heads and then begun to read the script.

    [Attention all mercenary teams in the immediate vicinity. Please join the formation and prepare your vessel¡¯s defenses for the iing attack.]

    [This mission cannot afford to fail. Should our enemies gain ess to the warp gate then the invasion of the inner regions will be imminent.]

    [The crime of desertion will be punishable by death. No exceptions will be made.]

    [I will remind all mercenary teams that it was clearly stated in the contract that failure to follow military orders will result in no payment as well as severe penalties.]

    ¡°Big sister¡­ what is he saying?¡± Lily whispered softly. Sophie tilted her head down and made a shushing motion with her finger.

    She didn¡¯t want Lily¡¯s identity to be exposed and speaking thenguage of the Federation could be a give away.

    Sophie pressed a button on her wristmunicator and started to write a trantion of the speech that the officer presented.

    When the trantion was finished, she handed hermunicator over to Lily and adjusted her cloak to make sure that no one else could see what was disyed on the screen.

    The little girl¡¯s face was hidden behind a mask so it was impossible to tell how she was feeling as she read the message.

    Sophie did notice that she was trembling slightly so she ced a hand on her back and began to stroke her gently.

    Sui Meng¡¯s memories contained songs that were popr with children during the ancient Earth era so Sophie began to softly hum ¡®Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.¡¯

    A few minutes passed peacefully as Sophie continued to soothe and cate the nervous child on herp.

    ¡°What a lovely song!¡± Perspherene approached the pair and passed Sophie a ss filled with a greenish liquid.

    ¡°Drinking before battle?¡± Sophie grinned as she sniffed the liquid. It was a foul-smelling concoction and she could spot tiny fleshy chunks of meat floating inside the liquid.

    ¡°I think I will have to pass. Don¡¯t want to die from getting drunk!¡± Sophie refused politely.

    Perspherene chuckled merrily as her scaly tail swayed from side to sidezily. She took the ss from Sophie¡¯s hand and drank the contents in one gulp.

    ¡°Well¡­ more for me then!¡± Perspherene teased as her forked tongue flickered out.

    The snake-like alien slithered away towards the captain who was currently browsing a star map that disyed the nearbys.

    Captain Hessan may be a greedy man but he wasn¡¯t foolish since he understood the simple truth.

    All the wealth in the universe waspletely worthless if you were dead.

    Ring! Ring!

    Another holographic projection appeared in the center of themand deck but this time it was a series of coordinates.

    The assigned area to their crew was on the opposite side of the artificially constructed and away from the main fighting zone.

    Their task was to prevent the enemy from nking around and trying to breach the Unovan military¡¯s spatial defenses from the back.

    An expression of relief shed across Captain Hessan¡¯s furry face as he realised that this assignment was perfect.

    There was an asteroid belt a mere three hundred kilometers away from their assignment point.

    This would make fleeing the battlefield far easier than what he had originally anticipated but grasping the correct timing was critical.

    Leave too early and their starship would be shot down by the Unovan military vessels guarding the perimeter but flee toote and well¡­

    They would never have a chance to leave.

    ¡°Kiamueko! Redirect all avable power to the sensors and make sure that the weapons and defense systems are working properly,¡± Captain Hessan ordered.

    ¡°Yes boss!¡± a snake-like alien responded confidently.

    Unlike Perspherene, this alien was dressed in a heavy set of armour and covered with small robotic creations that crawled around his suit.

    Captain Hessan signalled to the pilots and pointed towards the holographic projection still floating in the middle of the room.

    The line of text with the assigned coordinates hung ominously like a grim reminder of what was toe.

    Sophie could hear the faint hum of the warp core engine as the starship begun to move towards a certain direction.

    It was time for war.

 Chapter 373: The Deaths Of Sophie And Lily

    Chapter 373: The Deaths Of ''Sophie'' And ''Lily''

    (Unova Syndicate -Frontier Region)

    (Oreciuam Prime- The Sun¡¯s Glory Starship)

    The heavy scent of blood still lingered in the air. Finch expressionlessly gazed at the two dead corpses that were thrown haphazardly on the floor.

    Despite his years ofbat experience, he could not help but tremble slightly after witnessing Sophie coldly stabbing her ded appendages into the hearts of the starship¡¯s pilots.

    There was not even a hint of hesitation in her actions.

    The sheer amount of bloodlust and killing intent that surrounded the hybrid girl¡¯s body resembled a demon crawling out of hell.

    It was impossible to tell if the prisoners had expected this betrayal but at least they did not have to suffer¡­

    Sophie¡¯s quick strikes ended their lives within an instant.

    The noble heiress sat back down on the captain¡¯s chair with tiny red flecks of blood still covering the sharp tips of her ded appendages.

    ¡°Send a message to the leader of the rescue operation and inform him that the starship¡¯s defenses are down and we are standing by,¡± Sophie ordered coldly.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Finch responded swiftly. The Servie scout pressed a series of buttons on his wristmunicator and sent out a message to the waiting squad.

    He stealthily took a picture of the scene inside the starship and updated the information about Sophie¡¯s suspected level ofbat ability.

    ¡°Um¡­ where are your copies?¡± Finch asked curiously. He looked around the room but could only see Lily standing quietly in the corner.

    The eight-year-old girl seemed numb to the violence that had just urred and was ying with a small metalloid orb.

    Clearly she was suffering from some form of post traumatic stress disorder. Finch¡¯s many years of experience as a scout allowed him to observe certain details and make deductions quickly.

    ¡°My technique only allows me to create copies thatst for a limited time,¡± Sophie exined with a smile.

    ¡°Can I let you in on a little secret?¡±

    The hybrid girl bared her fangs and moved in closer until her face was mere inches away from the terrified Servie.

    ¡°In my opinion without that w¡­ the copies would be vastly superior to me,¡± Sophie chuckled darkly.

    She was about to add some more words to her speech but the warning nce hidden in Lily¡¯s eyes made her swallow back what she wanted to say.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Finch muttered softly. It wasmon knowledge that virtually all cultivation techniques that created clones were all wed in some way.

    It did make sense that Sophie¡¯s clones had already expired and hence that was the reason why none could be seen on themand deck.

    Still even if there were some hidden, Finch was confident that the ambush team would be able to deal with them.

    Besides, Sophie possessed a fatal weakness that they could exploit during the attack. He had observed over thest few days just how much the hybrid girl cared about Lily.

    Taking her hostage could be a viable method to prevent Sophie from using her more ruthless techniques during the uing fight.

    Finch zipped away to the corner and continued to write up a report on his wristmunicator to send to the squad leader.

    Two identical smirks briefly shed across the faces of both Sophie and Lily for just a split second before vanishing immediately.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The loud sounds of far away explosions could be hearding from outside since the fighting had only intensified since the Imperial Army¡¯s siege began.

    Their starship was currently hidden behind a small exo on the edge of the battlefield while waiting for the rescue team to arrive.

    Lily fiddled with the small orb-shaped device in her palm while Sophie leaned back against the captain¡¯s chair and closed her eyes.

    So far the n was proceeding as expected. Finch was suspicious but his suspicions were directed towards the possibility that she had kept some copies hidden from him.

    He would never expect that the original was no longer onboard the vessel with him. How could a lost noble heiress abandon her only hope to return home?

    Although original wasn¡¯t a word that Sophie¡¯s clone liked to use since technically they were all the same person.

    ¡°They are here!¡± a loud shout of excitement snapped Sophie out of her daze. She opened her eyes to see three stealth spacecrafts decloak right in front of their spaceship.

    The symbol of the Imperial Army was not present on any of the vessels which was an immediate red g.

    These space vessels had long sleek designs and were outfitted with thetest stealth and anti-tracking technology avable.

    Boom!

    A thinser shot out of the leading vessel and pierced the inner hull of their starship. rms began to re out as the starship¡¯s life support systems started to fail.

    A red light was then projected from a device attached to the bottom of another vessel which scanned the entire length of Sophie¡¯s starship.

    Sophie and Lily exchanged knowing looks before stering expressions of tentative excitement and hope on their faces.

    Finch¡¯s translucent wings ppedzily up and down as the Servie zipped around the room in excitement.

    It was finally time!

    Sophie could feel the red light pass through her body and leave a tingling feeling. She smiled as the tips of her fingers slowly began to disintegrate.

    This was a feeling that she had not felt in a very long time. Teleportation was truly the most¡­ nauseating experience.

    It only took a few seconds for her entire body to disappear along with the bodies of both Finch and Lily.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two Minutes Later..)

    Sophie dropped to the ground and vomited what little remained in her stomach. She got up from the ground and unsteadily swayed back and forth.

    Teleportation was the fucking worst.

    Lily was not faring any better and a small puddle of pukey in front of the little girl¡¯s feet.

    The only person who seemed unaffected was Finch who was currently covering his nose in order to avoid the unpleasant smell.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and then focused her attention on the nearby surrounding area to look for any immediate threats.

    They were inside apletely empty room with white walls and floors.

    There was a metalloid door at the end of this strange ce so Sophie picked up Lily in her arms and made her way to the exit.

    Finch followed them but at a much slower pace than usual which Sophie pretended not to notice.

    The hybrid girl reached the metalloid door which swung open automatically to reveal an empty corridor.

    This was all rather strange.

    ¡°Where is everyone?¡± Sophie asked in confusion as she stepped forward. She turned around and looked at Finch who shrugged his tiny shoulders.

    ¡°Big sister maybe we should look around for¡­. LOOK OUT!¡± Lily started to speak but then hurriedly cried out a warning.

    Sophie ducked instantly and narrowly avoided a sharp de that passed mere inches away from her face.

    Numerous doors opened along the corridor and a horde of humanoid soldiers dressed in unmarked armour poured out of the rooms.

    Sophie¡¯s expression copsed and in the eyes of Finch he saw the hybrid girl¡¯s look turn from hope to despair.

    She could have never imagined that her father¡¯s enemies had long infiltrated the Imperial Army and organised this ambush.

    ¡°Finch¡­ did you know?¡± Sophie asked with a quiver in her voice. Finch smiled mockingly and chose not to reply.

    He flew away to the back of the empty room and waited patiently for the fighting to begin.

    The metalloid door that led to the mysterious white room mmed shut to prevent Sophie from returning to safety.

    There were cameras installed throughout this space vessel and the footage would be published on the virtual after editing.

    It was the perfect n.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes shed crimson and an immense spiritual pressure appeared that instantly crushed the bodies of the nearest soldiers.

    Lily buried her face into Sophie¡¯s chest so that no one would see that her eyes also briefly shed a crimson colour.

    The sma rifles held in the arms of the surviving soldiers began to glow ominously. It was a terrifying sign of what was toe.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Round after round of heavy sma fire was shot towards Sophie and Lily¡¯s direction.

    Using her enhanced speed and reflexes, Sophie managed to duck and weave through the barrage and emerge rtively unscathed.

    Despite her sess, Sophie did not feel overconfident since she knew that these faceless soldiers were merely cannon fodder.

    The vision that was obtained using her foresight ability clearly showed a cultivator in the void stage lurking in the shadows.

    Perhaps he would not make a move until it was clear that these soldiers could not deal with her.

    Sophie frowned slightly and circted her qi in a familiar pattern in order to activate her movement speed technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared in the middle of the faceless army with a bloodthirsty grin on her face.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s enemies saw her as prey¡­ but she was a hunter.

    ¡°Enjoy the surprise!¡± a child-like voice echoed through the corridor. Lily held up the metalloid sphere that was in her palm and pressed a button on the back.

    There was a faint bleeping noise but the soldiers did not have any time to react as an enormous fiery explosion instantly turned their bodies to ash.

    BOOM!

 Chapter 374: A Needle In A Haystack

    Chapter 374: A Needle In A Haystack

    (Unova Syndicate -Frontier Region)

    (Oreciuam Prime- Imperial Army Stealth Vessel)

    ¡°What a colossal failure,¡± a hoarse voice whispered. A hooded man slowly walked through the carnage with slow purposeful steps.

    His body waspletely covered by a dark blue robe and his facial features were hidden behind a in white mask.

    He ignored the burnt-up corpses and easily pushed aside the fallen metalloid debris that blocked his way through the corridor.

    This was supposed to be an easy operation. Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter would be beamed aboard their starship and then taken down by a hit squad.

    She would be captured alive and then tortured mercilessly. This horrific footage would be leaked to the virtual and serve as an example.

    The purpose of having a void stage cultivator nearby was to act as insurance in case of an emergency but clearly that useless scout had neglected to include Sophie¡¯s enhanced reflexes in the report.

    The hooded man scowled as he remembered just how easily the hybrid girl ducked and weaved through heavy sma fire.

    Any other qi tide cultivator should have been defeated quickly but perhaps they were too arrogant or optimistic.

    Sophie Peterlor may be mixed with the blood of some unknown race but her father was one of the greatest cultivators in the Earth Federation¡¯s history.

    Just half of his DNA would be enough to produce a powerhouse.

    The hooded man arrived at the center of the explosion and let out a heavy sigh while taking a close look at the surrounding area.

    Ash and soot sttered the walls and not a single intact corpse could be seen in sight. Most of the bodies had been disintegrated instantly and only small chunks of flesh remained.

    It was impossible to put full me on the soldiers when it was his reluctance to get involved sooner that led to this oue.

    Being forced to use a void stage cultivator in order to capture a hybrid girl who was only in the qi tide stage would be seen as shameful.

    The footage used in the capture would then have to be heavily edited to remove his appearance which could be exposed by intelligentizens.

    The hooded man knew that the only thing he could do now was to try and fix this situation or at least get something out of it.

    He pulled a small t disc- shaped device from out of his pocket and pressed a series of buttons on its underside.

    Ring! Ring!

    [Connecting to¡­. Agent 987¡­. Connecting to¡­ Agent 987¡­. Connection Established¡­]

    ¡°Do we have the footage?¡± the hooded man asked in a low mood.

    A few seconds passed as the voice on the other end paused for a moment clearly trying to figure out how to break the bad news.

    ¡°The footage was not redirected to the main ship¡¯s AI in order to prevent any leaks from urring and prevent any evidence from being exposed to future investigators,¡± the voice quietly replied.

    ¡°It was only stored on the local cameras in the area and all of the video taking devices have been either blown up or destroyed¡­¡±

    The hooded man lowered his head and mmed his fist against a nearby wall in rage. The purpose of assassinating Sophie Peterlor was to send a message.

    Merely killing the hybrid girl was not the main focus!

    Now with the footage destroyed, all of their efforts were now entirely useless. Days of nning and exposing their hidden cards in the Imperial Army were all for naught.

    me would undoubtedly fall on him for failing to act but how could he have known that the hybrid girl wouldunch a suicidal attack immediately!

    When Sophie teleported into the middle of the army, the hooded man assumed that the fight was over.

    Little did he know that both noble heiresses made no ns to survive.

    Wait¡­ something didn¡¯t seem right¡­

    The hooded man had been overwhelmed thinking about the mission failure but now that he stopped and reflected for a minute¡­. there were some details that didn¡¯t make sense.

    There should have at least been some trace of hesitation or reluctance in their decision to end their lives.

    Maybe the older noble heiress would have to will to sacrifice herself but the other noble girl was still a mere child.

    Even the best soldiers in the face of death show some fear.

    But at that moment of death there was nothing in their eyes except for determination and excitement¡­

    The hooded man frantically tilted his wristmunicator upwards and pulled up the report sent by the scout.

    He scanned the list of Sophie¡¯s suspected abilities and there was one line that stood out. The hybrid girl was capable of creating clones.

    Oh no¡­oh no¡­ you don¡¯t think¡­ that son of a bit¡­.

    ¡°There is good reason to assume that the Sophie Peterlor who blew herself up may be a mirror copy,¡± the hooded man growled as he spoke.

    Waves of immense spiritual pressure erupted from his body as the feeling of anger from being tricked made the void stage cultivator temporarily lose control.

    The surrounding metalloid walls instantly crumbled to dust andrge cracks appeared on the floor.

    It was only when the disc-shaped device in his palm vibrated twice that the hooded man managed to regain someposure.

    ¡°If the mission was a failure then what should we do next?¡± Agent 987 asked quietly. The hooded man took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and then begun to think.

    Assuming that Sophie and Lily were no longer on their original vessel then there were only two possibilities.

    The first being that they managed to escape the battlefield and sessfully to fled deeper into Unova Syndicate controlled territory.

    The second and more likely possibility was that both girls had somehow temporarily joined another mercenary crew and were still in the immediate area.

    ¡°Do we have any spies or moles in the Unovan government?¡± the hooded man inquired.

    ¡°I believe that quite a few supervising officers have privately made deals with the Imperial Army for amnesty,¡± Agent 987 replied seriously.

    ¡°Send out a message to the moles and attach a picture of Sophie Peterlor. Surely someone must have seen her,¡± the hooded man ordered.

    ¡°Alert the other teams and hidden agents about what has transpired here and warn them not to assume that any sightings of the target are the real one.¡±

    ¡°I will make contact with the higher ups of our organizations and exin my role in this failure.¡±

    The hooded man pressed a button on the side of the disc-shaped device and returned it to his pocket.

    All hope was not lost yet but he had to admit that searching for an individual in the middle of an active warzone was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.

    Sophie Peterlor had fooled them all perfectly.

 Chapter 375: The Nephilim Church Arrives

    Chapter 375: The Nephilim Church Arrives

    (Earth Federation- Artificial X-837)

    (Temporary Military Outpost- Main Hall)

    The main hall was built to entertain any visiting high nobles or important individuals. It was arge room filled with impressive stone statues and magnificent columns.

    Commander Stewart stood silently in the middle of the open hall wearing a in ck uniform with several medals prominently disyed on his chest.

    He held up a metalloid tablet right hand while absentmindedly looking over the information on the screen.

    It was important that he made a good impression on the guests that were about to arrive.

    ¡°Announcing the entrance of the members of the Nephilim Church,¡± a serious voice announced from outside the hall.

    The metalloid door that led to the hall swung open as numerous figures entered the room with slow but steady steps.

    ¡°It is an honour to see your holiness,¡± Commander Stewart smiled politely as he greeted the hooded figures that strode into the room.

    The Nephilim Church was one of the few official religions of the Earth Federation and was considered quite an impressive political force.

    One of the hooded figures removed his baggy robes to reveal a hulking six feet tall muscr man with sickly pale skin.

    There were bulging veins across his body that wriggled furiously with every movement that he made.

    It would be impossible not to notice the horrific open wounds on both of his palms that bled profusely.

    Oddly enough, the blood that dripped constantly to the floor would vanish immediately as if nothing had ever happened.

    Commander Stewart continued to smile while secretly hiding an intense feeling of disgust. It was only due to his years of social expertise that he managed to conceal any change in his expression.

    Bishop Walsh was a freak whose physique was rumored to have been mutated due to the cultivation method that he practiced.

    The other members of the church also removed their hooded clothing to reveal identical ckish-red armours with unholy runes engraved on their exposed skins.

    The infamous ¡®demon knights¡¯ of the Nephilim Church. Brutish warriors that allegedly fought by channelling the demonic powers of the seven deadly sins.

    Commander Stewart was not a believer himself but it was an undeniable truth that there was just something unnerving about those runes that sent shivers down his spine.

    There was one key exception to the sea of armoured soldiers. In the middle of the crowd was a beautiful angelic girl with long curly hair wearing a pure white battlesuit.

    The girl¡¯s eyes were a deep hazelnut colour which matched her dark brown skin. Two golden wings sprouted out from behind her back which radiated purity and grace.

    A ceremonial sword with strange but beautiful patterns carved into its metalloid exterior was held in her right palm.

    Was she a saintess? No¡­

    Commander Stewart¡¯s elderly face showed some confusion since he had encountered a saint once before.

    The feeling was simr but it was significantly weaker. The intimidating aura of the saint that he had made before had enough strength to force him to his knees and worship.

    This was clearly a saintess-in-training. Commander Stewart nodded politely at the girl who just stared back expressionlessly.

    There was something in her gaze that made him shudder. It was as though he was an open book and this girl could see right through him.

    Commander Stewart hurriedly averted his eyes and focused his attention back on the muscr man in front of him.

    ¡°I received the message from Archbishop Ezekiel so I understand that you wish to conduct a training exercise here?¡± Commander Stewart spoke softly.

    ¡°Yes. The saintess must prove herself worthy in battle so we wish to join the battlefield,¡± Bishop Walsh hoarsely replied.

    Commander Stewart tapped his fingers as he mulled over the matter in his mind. The rtionship between the Imperial Army and the Nephilim church was one of mutual benefit.

    Many foot soldiers were recruited through the church and the Imperial Army in turn would provide asional donations to the religious order.

    It was amon urrence for the Nephilim church to send out their young warriors to low-risk battlefields in order to gain experience.

    As long as their starships did not hinder the Imperial Army during their operations, the higher ups were willing to close one eye to the matter.

    Commander Stewart¡¯s only reason to hesitate was the matter of the assassination. It was more than likely that Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter was probably dead by now.

    He was confident that his powerful sponsors would be able to erase any evidence that connected the Imperial Army to the ambush but¡­

    What if the church managed to discover something?

    Wait¡­ that was it!

    Commander Stewart¡¯s smile widened as he gazed at Bishop Walsh with a tinkle in his eyes. There needed to be a scapegoat in case of emergencies and the church would be the perfect bait.

    Duke Peterlor in his anger would challenge the Nephilim Church and that would provide the justification needed to arrest him or at the very least turn the two sides into enemies.

    The high nobles that supported his rise through the Imperial Army would definitely be grateful for such a brilliant n.

    ¡°Well, there should be no problem with your request,¡± Commander Stewart spoke kindly.

    The elderly officer pressed a button on his wristmunicator and summoned a few logistic officers into the room.

    His men were already informed about the church¡¯s visit so it was a simple matter to arrange a few spare warships.

    Bishop Walsh bowed his head and thanked Commander Stewart softly before turning around to speak to the logistic officers.

    Commander Stewart stayed in the room for a few more minutes to make sure that everything was proceeding smoothly.

    He only left when thest member of the church had stepped out of the room. The elderly officer quickly returned to themand center.

    Although the current spatial battle with the Unova Syndicate should be a straightforward win for the Federation, it was important that themander at least be present in the war room.

    He couldn¡¯t have known at that time but yearster Commander Stewart would regret ever agreeing to the Church¡¯s request.

 Chapter 376: No Matter The Cost

    Chapter 376: No Matter The Cost

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (0.003 Light years Away From Oreciuam Prime)

    ¡°I must say¡­ Duke Peterlor¡¯s men are really quite impressive,¡± Bishop Walsh whispered gently as he strode into themand room.

    Several bodiesy unconscious on the floor with a heavy metalloid helmet attached to their heads.

    The military uniforms on the unconscious bodies belonged to the unfortunate members of the Imperial Army unlucky enough to be chosen to escort the church to their assigned starship.

    Bishop Walsh also recognised the metalloid devices as illegal memory modifiers

    Those helmets were quite pricey and almost impossible to buy on the ck market which made it obvious that Duke Peterlor had spared no expense.

    Five cloaked figures were currently operating the starship while a red-haired woman sat in the captain¡¯s chair.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that a man of God is so rxed in the face of violence,¡± Katarina smirked as she pointed her dezily at the muscr bishop.

    Bishop Walsh let out a low chuckle as the veins covering his pale-skinned body wriggled and trembled under the light.

    He shook his head twice and then pressed several buttons on his wristmunicator without saying a word.

    The blood from the open wounds on his palms dripped steadily on to the ground and a foul metallic odour filled the air.

    Fortunately, the blood droplets vanished mysteriously after a few seconds so there was no cleanup needed.

    Katarina turned her attention back to the monitoring screen that disyed the current position of their starship.

    The loud sounds of explosions and sma cannon sts could be heard faintly in the distance as they came closer to the battlefield.

    This was not the first interster war that Katarina had experienced and it would most likely not be thest.

    The ¡®Poison Witch¡¯ was a name that was feared and for good reason. Katarina absentmindedly nced at the key-shaped device lodged squarely in the middle of the starship¡¯s AI storage unit.

    The agreement between the Nephilim Church and the Imperial Army required the church to use spare vessels belonging to the military and take officers with them in order to oversee the process.

    It was more of an annoyance than anything else but these officers still needed to be dealt with seriously for the purpose of their mission.

    Katarina grinned as she remembered the look of shock on the officers¡¯ faces seconds before they fell unconscious due to her special concoction.

    After the spying eyes had been taken care of, it was a simple matter to imnt a rogue AI virus to infect the onboard AI unit.

    Now the starship waspletely under theirmand and the video-feed sent back to the Temporary Military Outpost was heavily modified.

    The video-feed was not sent back instantly so the several minutes dy was enough to erase the footage of the guards falling unconscious.

    Swoosh!

    The metalloid doors leading to themand center swung open and the remaining members of the Nephilim Church came pouring in.

    The demon knights neatly formed a line and stood silently along the walls of themand center.

    Katarina frowned slightly as she saw the unholy runes engraved on their bodies pulsate with an eerie light.

    Thest person to walk through the door was the saintess in training. Rachel strode into the room with confidence and a strut in her steps.

    Two angelic white wings sprouted from her back and the holy aura that surrounded her body made everyone in the room feel the urge to kneel down and worship.

    Rachel¡¯s long curly ck hair bounced yfully from side to side as she approached Bishop Walsh with a hopeful smile on her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Rachel spoke quietly but there was a clear trace of excitement hidden in her voice.

    She reached slowly into her pockets and pulled out a in brown envelope that had clearly been opened already.

    The Quafes girl lifted the already broken seal and pulled out another envelope from inside the first.

    This envelope was a light cream white colour with tiny golden symbols engraved along the corners.

    Written on the front of the envelope was a series of numbers along with a line of text.

    Katarina narrowed her eyes and observed that these numbers represented a date and time that the envelope had to be opened.

    Rachel tilted her wristmunicator upwards and checked the time. The wounds on Bishop Walsh¡¯s palms appeared to get worse as the blood that flowed out of his injuries darkened.

    The cost of receiving a prophecy from the demonic temple was steep. Bishop Walsh had willing taken on the burden in order to protect his charge from suffering the averse side effects.

    Rachel¡¯s upbeat mood instantly disappeared as she nced at her guardian¡¯s hands but Bishop Walsh smiled kindly and whispered something in her ears.

    It was time.

    Rachel trembled slightly as she opened up the envelope to reveal what information was hidden inside.

    A brief moment of silence formed as no one dared to even say a word.

    Katarina ced down her dagger on the corner of the chair and focused solely on the thin piece of paper held in the young girl¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Um¡­ it says¡­¡± Rachel hesitantly spoke.

    ¡°Thirty-seven, north sector quadrant, fifty-nine, northeast sector quadrant, sixty-seven¡­¡±

    Katarina immediately pulled up a map of the battlefield and began to input the numbers that were read out from piece of paper.

    Rachel¡¯s voice filled the room as Katarina hurriedly continued to map and trace out the directions with great urgency.

    It took around seven minutes for thest coordinate to be read out. Rachel cleared her throat nervously and then stared at the red-haired woman who was still typing outmands.

    Katarina pressed a button on the side of the captain¡¯s chair and soon an enormous holographic projection appeared in the center of the room.

    This was a star map which showed the entire frontier region with in-depth details involving the location ofs, stars, and points of interest.

    However, there were a few noticeable regions that were dark which meant that the information avable wascking.

    Katarina pressed another button and soon a thick red line appeared on the star map. It was the route constructed after inputting the numerous coordinates written on the envelope.

    Unfortunately, the final destination was an area behind Oreciuam Prime that was entirely dark.

    ¡°Direct all avable power to the starship¡¯s defense systems and follow the route on the map exactly,¡± Katarina ordered firmly.

    The death guards in charge of piloting the vessel immediately followed hermands and a low humming noise could be heard.

    Rachel slowly walked towards Katarina and handed over the envelope so that she could double check that every coordinate was correct.

    Katarina checked the lines of text carefully and made sure that there was no mistake. This entire rescue mission could not go wrong.

    Failure was not an option.

    She would make sure that Sophie returned home safely¡­

    Not matter the cost.

 Chapter 377: The Final Act Begins...

    Chapter 377: The Final Act Begins¡­

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Oreciuam Prime- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    ¡°By the Kyrenna¡¯s beard¡­ I needed that!¡± a loud groan echoed through themand room.

    Sophie nced sideways and saw a purple-skinned alienying down on the floor with a needle nted firmly in his arm.

    The creature had a short muscr body with several lumpy appendages sprouting out of his back and upper legs.

    These lumps bulged and wriggled eerily and one could see a yellowish pus-like liquid contained behind a thinyer of flesh.

    The alien twisted and squirmed on the floor ufortably while letting out the asional moan of pleasure much to the disgust of the rest of the crew.

    There was a wide smile stered across the alien¡¯s face as he was clearly still feeling the aftereffects of whatever foul drug was injected into his system.

    Captain Hessan scowled fiercely and gestured silently towards a couple warriors in the back of the room.

    He made a series of hand gestures using his furry paws that Sophie couldn¡¯t understand.

    However, it was not hard to figure out what he meant when the purple-skinned alien was dragged forcefully from the room by the two warriors.

    Both warriors had nasty grins stretched across their faces and Sophie could only assume that the purple-skinned alien was unlikely to return to themand room.

    ¡°Fuck. I knew that hiring that lunatic was a bad idea¡­ but his rate was just so low¡­¡± Captain Hessan muttered to himself.

    Only a small fraction of the crew members that were present on the starship belonged to his original team.

    To fill up the numbers Captain Hessan was forced to hire independent warriors looking for a mercenary organization to join.

    He specifically picked those that required low payment but as a result the quality of the warriors in his crew was nothing to boast about.

    Not that it mattered. Captain Hessan true objective was to use the ongoing war with the Earth Federation to establish drug supply lines across the frontier region.

    These temporary mercenaries were nothing more than hired muscle or in the worst-case situations¡­

    Meat shields.

    Sophie sensed a faint tinge of killing intent emerge from the captain¡¯s diminutive figure and held Lily closer in her arms.

    At the first sign of a threat, Sophie was prepared to ughter everyone on the bridge without hesitation.

    Well.. maybe not the pilots¡­ or Perspherene¡­ okay there were a few exceptions.

    Sophie trembled slightly as a wave of unpleasant memories entered her mind. She closed her eyes and hissed softly in pain as she received thest memories from her mirror copies.

    The sensation of being blown to pieces was so real that Sophie subconsciously checked her body to make sure that all of her limbs were still intact.

    The n worked.

    A faint smile briefly shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she recalled just how easily the ambushers had fallen for her decoys.

    Hopefully her father¡¯s enemies would believe that both Lily and she had been killed by the explosion.

    Even if there were suspicions, there was no way to track down their current location especially in the middle of an active warzone.

    Sophie let out a small sigh of relief and rubbed the top of Lily¡¯s hairzily. The little girl looked up with her face still concealed behind a mask.

    The hybrid girl nted a brief kiss on the top of Lily¡¯s head and then returned to gazing outside the window.

    The battle for Oreciuam Prime was not going in the Unovan military¡¯s favour.

    The constant booms caused by the destruction of multiple starships were being picked up by their vessel¡¯s radar system.

    Sophie witnessed the gorgeous fireworks created by the destruction of warp cores. Blue lightning-like energy flowed through scraps of metalloid debris that floated aimlessly through space.

    It was a morbid but fascinating sight. Unfortunately for the Unovan forces, none of the starships that were blown to pieces had the Imperial Army¡¯s symbol painted on their hull.

    A one-sided ughter.

    Sophie had learnt in school about the Federation¡¯s dominance especially in war but it was another matter to witness it firsthand.

    ¡°It is only a matter of time before an advance squadron is sent to our position,¡± a gruff voice hoarsely spoke.

    The voice came from the fiery creature whose molten body was wrapped tightly in ck bandages that concealed most of his physique.

    A decorative goldenmp was held in his right palm that asionally let out wisps of purplish-blue smoke into the air while a small blue book was gripped tightly in his other hand.

    ¡°Which one of you bastards said that?! Stop being such a pessimist and just learn to rx!¡± Perspherene yelled from across the room.

    Ishasa bowed his head as he solemnly read aloud the contents from the book in his left palm with great religious zeal,

    ¡°I am merely prepared for the inevitable. For when our mortal bodies turn to ash and dust, our souls will be eternally unbound to this ne of existence.¡±

    ¡°B¡¯alle whose body is one with the universe contains the secrets of life and death. He holds the power of reincarnation. Those who die in battle will receive his gifts both willingly and gratefully.¡±

    ¡°The halls of Voltanera fill with the cries of lust and debauchery but these sins are a reward for those who¡­¡±

    ¡°By the gods¡­ WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± an angry shout came from the other side of the room.

    Laughter and mocking jeers broke the formerly tense atmosphere as Ishasa put away his sacred book with an unhappy expression on his face.

    Sophie got up and moved several feet away from the unhappy warrior since the temperature around his body started to rise to ufortable levels.

    This change in temperature was not a problem for her body to endure but Lily was still a child with no cultivation.

    Captain Hessan didn¡¯t bother to tell the mercenaries to stop making noise since it was important to get the pre-battle jitters out of the way.

    Although there should be no need for any fighting if all went ording to n. The furry little creature dialed an address on his privatemunicator and soon an image appeared.

    What was shown on his screen was a Unovan Military officer inside what appeared to be a luxurious bathing room and two reptilian creatures with multiple arms attending to his every need.

    Captain Hessan nced around the room to make sure that no one was paying attention to his movements and then hurriedly typed out a few lines of text.

    The officer on the screenzily nced at hismunicator and then pressed a button to send a packet of information to Captain Hessan.

    BOOM!

    A loud and sudden st shook themand room which nearly made Captain Hessan drop hismunicator.

    Multiple starships blinked into existence with sma cannons aimed squarely at the fleet defending the interior spatial zone above Oreciuam Prime.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    ¡°Move now!¡± Captain Hessan roared as the pilots onboard their starship seemed to be frozen in ce.

    Sophie crouched down to the ground and used her ded appendages to dig into the metalloid floor in order to stabilise her posture.

    She clutched Lily even more tightly in her arms and prepared to face what was toe.

    The Imperial Army had finally reached them.

    Wait¡­ wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­

    Sophie¡¯s eyes lit up as she hurriedly powered up her wristmunicator in order to check if her hunch was correct.

    The roars of Captain Hessan and the panicked screamsing from the other mercenaries in the room seemed to fade into the background.

    ¡°Come on¡­e on¡­¡± Sophie muttered frantically as she checked the link icon on her home page.

    [Connecting to the virtual¡­ connecting to the virtual¡­ connecting¡­]

    [Connection Established.]

 Chapter 378: A Terrible Miscalculation

    Chapter 378: A Terrible Miscalction

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Oreciuam Prime- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    ¡°Come on¡­e on¡­¡± Sophie muttered softly as she slowly moved her finger to tap the messenger icon on her wristmunicator.

    Boom!

    A shockwave from a nearby explosion mmed into the hull of the starship. The impact was dampened by the shielding systems but Sophie still experienced a mild jolt.

    Fortunately, her ded appendages were nted firmly in the metalloid floor of themand room so she didn¡¯t lose her bnce.

    The other mercenaries weren¡¯t as lucky and painful groans and thuds could be hearding from around the room.

    Lily squirmed ufortably in Sophie¡¯s arms but her big sister was too focused on the task at hand to pay attention.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed as she hurriedly opened the messenger icon on her screen and was blown away by a flood of notifications.

    Over two thousand messages were currently unread along with hundreds of missed calls and sent videos.

    These messages came from old ssmates, her university peers, some people Sophie had gotten to know during the entrance exam, her father, and his death guards as well as her close friends.

    At a better time, Sophie would have taken a moment to appreciate just how much she was missed by those around her.

    Sophie¡¯s finger trembled slightly as she saw the numerous missed calls from Cleo¡¯s smiling profile but now wasn¡¯t the time to read them.

    The hybrid girl quickly opened up her chat history with her father and scanned the lines of text at a breakneck pace.

    Rescue mission? The church? Why would the saintess¡­? Oh wait¡­ Rachel!

    [Connecting to the virtual¡­ connecting to the virtual¡­.]

    [Connection lost.]

    Sophie fought the urge to curse in rage as her screen shed a ck and red colour to indicate that the connection to the virtual was lost.

    A mere two minutes passed since the screen shifted to ck and red but to Sophie this time felt like an eternity.

    Eventually she finally saw the screen on her wristmunicator change to a light green colour.

    [Connecting to the virtual¡­ connecting to the virtual¡­.]

    [Connection Established.]

    There was no time to type out a long message. Clearly the connection was unstable and Sophie didn¡¯t know when it would break again.

    A determined expression shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she inputted a series ofmands and pressed enter.

    A red light subtly blinked from the corner of her device as Sophie enabled the tracker function to broadcast her current location.

    Of course, she only linked this broadcast to a select few of her contacts. This included everyone that was mentioned in her father¡¯s messages who were involved in the rescue operation.

    Hopefully it would help.

    Sophie wanted to read some more of her missed messages but another violent explosion rocked the starship sideways.

    BOOM!

    Lily screamed loudly as Sophie¡¯s ded appendages nearly became dislodged from the metalloid floor.

    The hybrid girl quickly curled her body around Lily¡¯s soft physique and dug her pointed barbs even deeper into the flooring.

    Captain Hessan might not appreciate the damage being done to his flooring but frankly at this point the Sophie couldn¡¯t care less.

    ¡°Plot a course for the asteroid field but pretend to engage with those Federation bastards,¡± Captain Hessan spoke firmly.

    Perspherene nodded with her usual easygoing smile noticeably absent from her face. A few mercenaries at the back of the room moved towards the monitors that controlled the weapons.

    Sophie observed the fiery warrior Ishasa kneel down in prayer with his eyes trained steadily on the sight of multiple starships exploding.

    His bandage covered body shuddered and trembled constantly. Sophie couldn¡¯t tell if the fiery creature was afraid or excited.

    What can I do?

    Sophie clutched Lily tighter in her arms and scanned themand room for any avable positions or jobs.

    There was nothing and perhaps that was the most frustrating thing about the whole situation.

    Only cultivators in the void stage and above were able to participate directly in spatial battles using their bodies.

    While Sophie was curled up in a protective ball, Captain Hessan was frantically opening up the information packet that the military officer had sent him.

    There we go¡­

    A wide grin shed across the furry creature¡¯s face as he opened up the data packet to see aplete route through the asteroid field.

    It had truly been a wise investment to provide Lt. X¡¯ren with the asional gifts of pleasure ves and cash donations.

    Captain Hessan rubbed his paws together in glee and entered the route into the starship¡¯s main AI unit.

    Now the escape route was all nned. The problem was how to reach the asteroid field in one piece.

    Perspherene and Lilliam were both decent pilots but their ability to fly in high pressure situations did not inspire much confidence.

    ¡°Keep firing towards the Imperial Army starships but be careful not tond too many direct hits,¡± Captain Hessan ordered.

    ¡°We just want to keep up an appearance¡­ do not make ourselves a target.¡±

    He nced at the warriors in charge of controlling the sma cannons and received several nods of affirmation.

    Boom!

    This time it was a Unovan military spacecraft only a few hundred feet away from their position that exploded into tiny pieces of metalloid debris.

    Sophie watched in horror as an enormous wave of blue warp core energy struck the side of their starship.

    The lights inside themand room instantly started to flicker as this violent surge of energy bypassed the basic shields surrounding the starship and entered the inner circuitry.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ Perspherene activate our warp core now and send us into hyper drive before its toote!¡± Captain Hessan cried out.

    ¡°But sir¡­ its too risky!¡± Perspherene nervously replied.

    ¡°DO YOU WANT TO DIE?! WE MAY ONLY HAVE MINUTES BEFORE THE NEXT SHOT BLOWS UP OUR ASSES!¡± came the furious roar of the captain.

    He may have sounded intimidating but Sophie¡¯s animalistic instincts could sense a hint of fear in his hostile tone.

    This was truly out of his calctions.

    Perspherene gritted her teeth as her forked tongue slithered out of her mouth. She nced at her fellow pilot before pressing the button to activate the warp core.

    A faint humming noise could be heard that only made the tense atmosphere in themand room even more frightening.

    The excess warp energy that had entered the inner circuitry was causing certain systems onboard their space vessel to bepromised.

    Sophie could feel the temperature begin to drop gradually as the heating system slowly turn off.

    This was probably the end.

    All she could do was close her eyes and pray that both Lily and her would survive.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure who would answer her prayer to since the hunter goddess wasn¡¯t exactly a protective deity but she still tried anyways.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have all day!¡± Captain Hessan¡¯s quivering voice snapped Sophie out of her trance as she took one final look at the scene outside the window.

    Three fighter starships with the Imperial Army¡¯s symbol painted on the underside of their hulls were approaching quickly.

    Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision could easily see the faint crackling energy gathering on the tips of the sma cannons mounted on the spacecrafts.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Multiple beams of light shot towards their starship just as Perspherene let out a victorious hiss and pressed a button.

    A harsh white light filled themand room that was so bright that Sophie was forced to close her eyes to avoid the deadly re.

    She could faintly hear the sounds of someone screaming¡­

 Chapter 379: A Bad Situation Gets Worse...

    Chapter 379: A Bad Situation Gets Worse¡­

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Unknown Spatial Zone- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    Sophie drifted in and out of consciousness as her vision blurred. The blinding white light that filled the room made it impossible to see anything.

    There was also a pounding sensation in her head that made it difficult to gather her thoughts.

    She had to rely on her other senses to navigate themand room that was now inplete disarray.

    Sophie closed her eyes and focused as her pointed ears flickered constantly back and forth in search of any sudden sounds or movements.

    Screams and groans of pain could be hearding from different parts of the room along with the faint hum of an electric buzzing noise.

    ¡°Lily¡­ keep your eyes closed and don¡¯t leave my arms,¡± Sophie whispered gently. She received a soft mummer from the little girl in her arms as a reply.

    Sophie quickly moved her hands up and down Lily¡¯s body to make sure that she wasn¡¯t injured during the attack.

    Fortunately, there seemed to be no problems as far as Sophie could tell. She didn¡¯t feel any broken bones or open wounds.

    Thankfully Lily had been safely protected in her arms since it was her body that bore the brunt of the impacts when the shockwaves mmed into the starship.

    Where the hell were they? And what happened?

    Sophie vaguely remembered Captain Hessan ordering the two pilots to jump to hyperspace but thene on¡­ think¡­

    There were three Imperial Army fighter starships heading towards their position with sma cannons charging and ready to fire.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and slowly opened one eye to check the condition of themand room.

    The harsh re nearly blinded her but she was able to briefly glimpse the surrounding area and observe the scenery outside.

    It was not good.

    Sophie closed her eyes once more and relied on her enhanced memory to recall what she had just seen.

    A deep frown shed across her face as she mentally reviewed the images and scenes.

    Several bodiesy helplessly on the ground and some were covered in blood with their limbs bent and twisted in unnatural positions.

    Captain Hessan was still sitting down in his chair thanks to the metalloid bindings that were securely wrapped around his body.

    However, he seemed to be unconscious and it was only the subtle rise and fall of his furry chest that gave any indication that he was still alive.

    Outside the window disyed a picturesque sight unlike anything that Sophie had ever seen before.

    There were hundreds of dull grey rocks floatingzily outside the starship but some of the asteroids were pulsating with bluish energy.

    This familiar energy was something that Sophie easily recognised. It was clearly warp core energy.

    The only thing that she couldn¡¯t figure out was how was it possible for this energy to appear on the asteroids outside their starship.

    Oh no¡­shit¡­shit¡­ there was only one possibility.

    BLEEP! BLEEP!

    Right at that very moment a harsh rm red out from the speaker system and a mechanical voice echoed through themand room.

    [WARNING! WARNING!]

    [MULTIPLE BREACHES DETECTED!]

    ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck¡­ FUCK!¡± Sophie loudly cursed as she mmed her right fist against the floor in frustration.

    A thunderous boom could be heard as severalrge cracks appeared in the area where her palmnded.

    Okay.. now wasn¡¯t the time to panic.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and gently exhaled in order to calm herself down.

    She sensed that the harsh white light that was filling themand room slowly begin to dissipate.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure where this light hade from but frankly at this time there were more pressing concerns to worry about.

    The order to jump to hyper space was both suicidal and reckless but Sophie wasn¡¯t going to judge Captain Hessan because at that point there really was no other choice.

    Sophie figured that at least they should be thankful that their section of the starship didn¡¯t collide with any celestial bodies during the rapid eleration.

    Just the fact that they were still alive meant that there was hope.

    Sophie relied on her natural instincts and tentatively opened her eyes when she sensed that the white light was finally gone.

    The hybrid girl groaned as she got up from the floor with shaky and uneven steps. There was no time to waste.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then split into two identical copies that were indistinguishable from one another.

    She gently ced Lily in the hands of her mirror image and then headed towards the captain¡¯s chair.

    BLEEP! BLEEP!

    The harsh noise of the rms caused the other mercenaries in the room that were still alive and had uninjured limbs to groggily move about as well.

    Sophie stumbled slightly as she made her way to the captain¡¯s chair so she was forced to use her ded appendages.

    She stabbed the tip of her ded appendages into the metalloid flooring in order to stabilise her posture.

    It took two tense minutes for Sophie to finally make her way to where Captain Hessan was located.

    The furry mouse-like alien still had his eyes closed but at this time Sophie couldn¡¯t afford to wake him up gently.

    ¡°Hey¡­ HEY! Wake up before we all die!¡± Sophie cried out as she used her fingers to shake the captain¡¯s body back and forth like a ragdoll.

    There was no reaction. Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a vial of nutrient solution that was half filled.

    She unscrewed the top of the tube and poured the contents straight onto the face and body of the captain.

    ¡°Wha¡­ What?¡± Captain Hessan sputtered as he woke up with a strange liquid covering his entire body.

    The furry alien red at Sophie in rage with his tiny beady eyes staring at the hybrid girl with an expression of extreme grumpiness.

    Sophie quickly began to exin the severity of the current situation before the captain had the chance toin.

    ¡°The starship has been severely damaged and multiple breaches have been detected,¡± Sophie spoke solemnly.

    You need to pull up a damage report and activate the inner shielding devices to block off the damaged sections.¡±

    Captain Hessan¡¯s eyes immediately widened and he hurriedly reached for themunicator that was wrapped around his wrist.

    A holographic window was projected from the center of his device that disyed several lines of text that Sophie could not understand.

    She did notice that a few sections were highlighted in an ominous dark red colour and the captain¡¯s eyes seemed to linger on those parts.

    Captain Hessan¡¯s furry paws seemed to blur as he rapidly typed out a series ofmands to the onboard AI unit.

    ¡°This is far worse than I expected,¡± Captain Hessan suddenly spoke in a grim tone.

    ¡°Over half of the spacecraft¡¯s floors have been severely damaged and that includes several key areas such as the engine room which is leaking warp core energy outside and the life support system.¡±

    ¡°Right now, I managed to ess the backup unit for life support but it will onlyst for about two days at most¡­¡±

 Chapter 380: There Is No Hope

    Chapter 380: There Is No Hope

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Spatial Battlefield Above Oreciuam Prime)

    Katarina leaned back against the captain¡¯s chair with several hologram windows projected in front of her body.

    Her hands moved like a blur as she continued to input variousmands while checking out the current state of the war that was happening outside.

    So far the war was going in the favour of the Federation but Katarina had been to enough battlefields to know that a desperate enemy was the most dangerous.

    Even a cornered mouse would dare to bite a lion.

    The members of the Nephilim Church were at this time sitting down at the back of themand room and praying.

    With the exception of the saintess whose attention was drawn to the scenes disyed outside the windows.

    The loud explosions, the intense sight of multiple sma cannons firing at the same time and the asional enemy starship that was captured and boarded.

    Most cultivators who saw a spatial battlefield for the first time usually had a simr reaction.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Themunicator on Katarina¡¯s wrist buzzed softly which caused her to look down and see an urgent message iing.

    It was from Sophie!

    Katarina quickly tapped her finger on the screen to open the contents of the message. It was a broadcast of her youngdy¡¯s spatial coordinates using the virtual connection.

    A brief smile shed across the scarred woman¡¯s face as she quickly ced the spatial coordinates into the navigation system.

    Wait¡­

    This didn¡¯t make any sense.

    Sophie¡¯s current location was rtively far away from the final position written on the piece of paper.

    Katarina turned her head around and directed a question towards the back of the room, ¡°Hey¡­ how urate is this prophecy of yours?¡±

    Bishop Walsh slowly opened his eyes and rose up from the ground. His muscr body rippled and pulsated with wriggling veins that squirmed against his pale flesh.

    ¡°No one can truly predict with certainty what will happen in the future,¡± Bishop Walsh exined in a low tone.

    ¡°Those blessed with the gift of foresight whether acquired naturally or given by those of a higher power merely see the most likely thread that will be woven in the fabric of time.¡±

    Katarina nodded slowly and yed with the sharp de that waszily held in her hands. She sent a quick message to the duke and exined the situation.

    Sophie¡¯s current location was around twenty minutes from where their starship was positioned but the final destination on the paper would take around one day to reach if the route was followed exactly.

    Katarina couldn¡¯t decide if she should trust the prophecy to hold true or follow her instincts and just head towards Sophie¡¯s location directly.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Her wristmunicator buzzed twice as she instantly received an iing message from Duke Peterlor.

    The reply was short and simple.

    [Proceed as originally nned.]

    Another message came after the first but this time the information that was given made the doubts in Katarina¡¯s mind disappear.

    Apparently the prophecies issued by the Temple of The Fallen had never been wrong. However, most people did not want to pay the heavy cost for such knowledge.

    It may look as though the only price that Bishop Walsh paid were the wounds on his palms but¡­

    Duke Peterlor suspected that there was another fatal side effect that the religious guardian had concealed.

    Katarina carefully ced her de on the side of the chair and went back to monitoring the situation outside with a careful eye.

    The only difference was that there was now an extra holographic window that disyed the positional broadcast of Sophie¡¯s location.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry milord. We will rescue the young miss,¡± Katarina muttered softly.

    However, only a few minutester¡­

    The broadcast was mysteriously cut short.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Unknown Spatial Zone- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    ¡°Perspherene! Where are you?¡± Sophie called out as she dug through the metalloid rubble that was blocking the way.

    Fifteen minutes has passed since the starship had crashed in the middle of an asteroid field and Sophie was forced to handle the rescue effort by herself.

    Captain Hessan was sitting quietly in his chair with his head buried tightly in his furry arms after reading the damage report.

    The other mercenaries in the room were either too badly injured or uninterested in looking for their temporarypanions.

    Large sections of themand room had copsed and there were a few warriors still trapped underneath the rubble.

    Sophie had already dragged four bodies out but only one was still breathing. Unfortunately, Perspherene was still nowhere to be seen.

    The hybrid girl scowled as she continued to push aside the mess of metals and wires until she saw a familiar patch of purplish-grey scales.

    ¡°I got you!¡± Sophie eximed as she used her enhanced strength to easily shove aside the chunk of metal in front of her.

    Perspherene¡¯s slender but lifeless body came into view. If it wasn¡¯t for the slow rise and fall of her chest, Sophie would have been convinced that her friend was already dead.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a vial of healing serum which she then attached to an injector device.

    The cold needle sunk into Perspherene¡¯s scaly flesh and caused the lizard-like alien to furrow her brows ufortably.

    Sophie bent down and picked up Perspherene before heading towards the area of themand center designated for the injured.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of saving them?¡± a hoarse voice echoed through the room. Sophie turned around to see Captain Hessan staring at her with his beady eyes.

    ¡°Life support will run out in two days and the floor with the escape vessels has been destroyed so there is no way to leave,¡± he exined dryly.

    ¡°We are all going to die.¡±

    Sophie scowled as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out some bandages.

    She carefully wrapped the fabric over the wounds on Perspherene¡¯s body before continuing her search for more survivors.

    Truthfully Sophie didn¡¯t know why she was doing this. Perspherene was really the only person she was concerned about and she didn¡¯t even know the other warriors onboard the vessel.

    But maybe¡­ a small part of her was just tired of death.

 Chapter 381: The Harbinger Of Death

    Chapter 381: The Harbinger Of Death

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Unknown Spatial Zone- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    Sophie frowned slightly as she silently observed the tense atmosphere inside themand room.

    Captain Hessan had clearly given up and his depressive state meant that no one was taking charge of the situation.

    Sophie had already been forced on several asions to leak out a trace of her qi strength in order to deter a riot.

    But it was a temporary solution at best.

    Everyone still alive on the starship waspletely aware that there was no hope and desperate creatures with nothing to lose were dangerous.

    The warp core inside the main engine room waspletely destroyed as well as the escape spacecrafts located on the upper decks.

    Was this the end?

    Sophie absentmindedly looked down at her wristmunicator and saw the frustratingly familiar message appear once more on the homepage.

    [Connecting ¡­ Connecting ¡­ No Connection Found]

    This location was clearly outside the temporary extended range of the virtual which meant that there was no way to contact the rescue team.

    It was over.

    Sophie leaned against a partially copsed wall and covered her face with her palms before letting out a sigh.

    Was this how it would all end?

    A slow painful death by suffocation when the life support finally cut. The worst part of this entire situation was the feeling of helplessness and inevitability.

    Two days was an incredibly short time but every passing minute felt like an eternity as the inescapable shadow of death lingered on them all.

    At least Perspherene was unconscious so she wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the atmosphere of anxiety and tension that was palpable in themand room.

    Sophie nced at the corner of the room and saw her clone resting with her eyes opened while Lily slept peacefully in herp.

    A bitter smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she observed the slow rise and fall of the little girl¡¯s chest as she slumbered unaware of the fate toe.

    She had broken her oath. Lily was never going to return home.

    ¡°My fellow warriors,¡± a solemn voice broke the silent atmosphere as Ishasa walked forward until he reached the center of the room.

    ¡°Are you content to die like this? For my people¡­ the only way to die is in the glorious dance ofbat!¡±

    ¡°The halls of Voltanera are open to those who seek the most noble purpose¡­ to burn with the mes of desire and debauchery!¡±

    Ishasa slowly removed the bandages that covered his body as he continued his speech.

    What was revealed behind those flimsy pieces of cloth was a muscr humanoid creature with pitch ck skin and violet eyes.

    mes gently rose and fell along certain parts of the warrior¡¯s upper body while tribal tattoos and markings covered the entirety of his exposed flesh.

    Killing intent surrounded his fiery body as the temperature inside the room gradually rose to an ufortable level.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out her whip. She discretely made a hand signal to her mirror copy and sent a message through the mentalwork.

    [Cover Lily¡¯s eyes and make sure that the mask blocks out the sound]

    She saw the identical version of herself nod back and press a small button located on the underside of Lily¡¯s mask.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then began circting her qi in a certain pattern.

    Do not lose control¡­

    Do not lose control¡­

    Ishasa roared thunderously with such strength that the very floor vibrated and trembled. Captain Hessan was even blown away from his chair and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

    Sophie had to admit that she was rather impressed with this disy. Ishasa turned out to also be a cultivator in the qi tide stage which came as a bit of a surprise.

    Clearly he had mastered some technique in order to hide his true qi level or perhaps it was a racial quirk.

    ¡°BEHOLD THE GLORY OF B¡¯ALLE!¡± Ishasa howled as dark greenish-ck mes appeared in his palms.

    Screams of fear echoed through the room as the uninjured mercenaries quickly shoved and pushed theirpanions aside in order to flee.

    Sophie didn¡¯t me them since the vast majority should be in the qi body or spirit stage and hence would be killed instantly by a mere touch of those deadly mes.

    The hybrid girl stumbled as she rose to her feet. This wasn¡¯t because Sophie was clumsy but rather it was due to her having to fight the bloodlust that was rapidly filling up her mind.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes briefly shed crimson-red until she forcefully shoved the addicting feeling away.

    She could still vaguely feel the urge to ughter everyone in the room but now it was faint and almost akin to someone shouting in the background rather than in the forefront of her thoughts.

    Sophie firmly wrapped her fingers around the handle of her whip and began to channel her qi into her weapon.

    Asura Art- Form Seven

    Frost spike Hell!

    Numerous shadowy snowkes appeared around the length of Sophie¡¯s whip and the rapidly rising temperature inside the room instantly plummeted.

    She swung forward with all her might and the shadowy snowkes were transformed into pointy icicles.

    Crack!

    The full force of the whip mmed into Ishasa¡¯s body and sent the fiery creature flying headfirst into the closest wall.

    ¡°What?!¡± Ishasa groaned in pain as the mes in his palms were extinguished under the fearsome attack.

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. Thest image that Ishasa ever saw was some kind of object heading towards the middle of his chest.

    Blood quietly dripped from the tip of Sophie¡¯s ded appendages as the hybrid girl stepped away from the corpse.

    Sophie didn¡¯t feel anything as she stood in front of the body. There was no rage, no regret, or even guilt.

    She was just tired.

    The only reason why she had bothered to kill Ishasa was because his fiery attacks could have destroyed thest safe ce to rest on the starship.

    Sophie didn¡¯t want to die but there was really nothing more she could do except maintain order and hope for a miracle.

    ¡°Does anyone else want to die a warrior¡¯s death?¡± Sophie¡¯s hoarse voice filled the room.

    She turned around saw the other mercenaries staring at her with various emotions hidden in their gazes.

    Some were fearful while others gazed at her with traces of respect and reverence.

    ¡°Good. I¡¯d hate to have to kill more tonight to serve as examples,¡± Sophie muttered just loud enough for her voice to reach the ears of the mercenaries.

    Sophie walked towards her mirror copy and took the little girl from the arms of her clone.

    The sound dampening effect of the mask had done its job well and Lily was still sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

    Sophie nted a soft kiss on the top of her head and then looked up to stare at the scenery outside the window.

    The numerous asteroids floatedzily through the vacuum of space with some still crackling with energy from the warp core leakage.

    It was a magnificent sight but unfortunately Sophie was not in the mood to appreciate it. For the only thing on her mind was what to do next.

    BOOM!

    The starship lurched ufortably to the side as a few asteroids crashed against the hull of the spacecraft.

    Sophie stabbed her ded appendages into the ground and stared in horror as another starship emerged from the distance.

    The Imperial Army logo was painted on its underside and this familiar symbol was enough to send shivers down Sophie¡¯s spine and plunge her into the depths of despair.

    It was the harbinger of death.

 Chapter 382: Help Has Finally Arrived

    Chapter 382: Help Has Finally Arrived

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Unknown Spatial Zone- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Numerous asteroids shattered to dust after being struck by heavy rounds of sma fire that were sted from the cannons mounted on the topside of the Imperial Army starship.

    The enemy spacecraft was clearing a path through the asteroid field and heading straight for their heavily damaged starship.

    Sophie stared motionlessly at the scene outside the window with numerous thoughts racing across her mind.

    What to do? Was this end? Would she really never see her friends and family again?

    There was a solemn mood inside themand room and the tension in the air could be cut with a knife.

    Some mercenaries got down on their knees and prayed to whatever gods or higher beings that they believed in while others just watched in silence.

    Captain Hessan sat in his chair with a stone-faced expression on his furry face. His paws twitched nervously as he swayed from side to side.

    No one was calm in the face of death.

    Sophie gently stroked Lily¡¯s back and hummed a soft luby that she remembered from Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    The name of the song was ¡®Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.¡¯ Lily softly stirred in her arms so Sophie stopped patting her back.

    She didn¡¯t want the little girl to wake up.

    Perhaps it would be better for the end to happen while Lily slumbered peacefully as she would not experience the feelings of dread and anxiety.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The shockwaves caused by the sma rounds exploding the asteroids mmed against the hull of their starship and caused the room to shake violently.

    Sophie maintained her posture by using her ded appendages to hold her body in ce but the unlucky mercenaries found themselves mming against the closest walls or the hard metallic floor.

    The mirror copy that was created from the Rsychosis technique was holding Perspherene¡¯s unconscious body to make sure that Sophie¡¯s friend didn¡¯t suffer from the impacts.

    A bit of a futile effort considering that they would all die soon¡­

    A bitter smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she continued to watch space rocks that were billions of years old crumble and shatter to pieces in an instant.

    Nothing lived forever.

    However, Sophie was willing to try onest move.

    It may turn out to bepletely useless but Sophie didn¡¯t want to die without at least attempting something.

    ¡°Are themunicators still capable of sending out a transmission to the iing starship to request a video call?¡± Sophie quietly asked.

    Her voice echoed through themand room and caused a faint trace of hope to appear on the faces of the warriors present.

    Captain Hessan shot her a look of resignation but eventually activated his wrist device and inputted a series of code.

    He pressed a button on the side of the metalloid device and then quietly waited. A holographic projection appeared in the middle of the room that disyed a nk screen.

    ¡°If they bother to ept then we should see them on the screen,¡± Captain Hessan raised his paw and pointed at the projection.

    Sophie awkwardly scuttled over to the captain¡¯s chair using her ded appendages to move around the fallen debris that blocked the way.

    Lily was still wrapped tightly in her arms as Sophie had no intention of putting her down.

    ¡°Its useless you know,¡± Captain Hessan muttered darkly once Sophie came within earshot.

    ¡°Let me tell you something about the Earth Federation¡­ the creatures in that part of the universe are nothing more than savage barbarians.¡±

    ¡°All they know is conquer, kill and destroy. There will be no mercy for us once our starship enters the range of their sma cannons.¡±

    Sophie said nothing because there really was not much that she could say. The citizens of the Unovan Syndicate were right to view the Imperial Army as invaders.

    The savage uncaring nature of the universe meant that it was a yground where the weak civilisations would be devoured by the strong.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    There was an odd sense of peace as the moment of death slowly arrived. Sophie reflected on the short but remarkable life that she had led.

    Being the heiress of a high noble family meant that she had enjoyed wealth and privilege beyond the wildest dreams of the average citizen.

    And she was especially thankful to her father who insisted that she would be named as his sessor despite her hybrid heritage.

    She would cherish the amazing friends that she had met¡­ Rachel, Astrid, Qiana and many others¡­ and then there was Cleo¡­

    Sophie absentmindedly stroked the center of her chest where the mysterious pink mark appeared after their first night of passion.

    It was the only physical connection she had left that connected her to the princess that had stolen her heart.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    There was a great deal of things that Sophie had to be thankful for but all she could think about in her final moments were the regrets.

    To see her loved ones¡­ just one more time.

    Arge asteroid several hundred kilometers in length was blown to pieces as the Imperial Army spacecraft finally arrived within striking distance.

    Sophie and the rest of the mercenaries in themand room were drawn to the magnificent spacecraft that loomed ominously in front of their starship.

    The crackling sma energy still lingered on the tip of the multiple sma cannons mounted on the topside of the spacecraft.

    ¡°Well¡­ I wish I could say that it was an honour serving with you all but I¡¯d be lying,¡± Captain Hessan whispered hoarsely.

    The rodent-like alien reached into the front pocket of his uniform and pulled out a tiny bottle filled with a greenish-yellow liquid.

    He opened the cap with slow deliberate movements and then downed the entire contents in one gulp.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    [Iing Transmission Detected¡­. Disying¡­]

    Everyone in the room froze and slowly turned their attention to the image disyed on the holographic projection.

    Captain Hessan couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when a human female dressed in what appeared to be a metallic armour appeared on the screen.

    The human female had scarlet red hair and would have been considered a beauty were it not for the long and hideous scar stretched across her face that destroyed her perfect features.

    ¡°Katarina?! Is that you?!¡± a shocked voice blurted out.

    Captain Hessan turned around and saw the most powerful mercenary in the room stare at the figure on the screen with an ted expression.

    ¡°Mydy¡­ I must apologise for myteness,¡± Katarina bowed slightly and offered an apology.

    ¡°What is the current situation onboard your vessel? Is there anyone holding you hostage or capable of cing you in any danger?¡±

    ¡°No. I am the strongest cultivator in the room and these mercenaries are mainly in the qi body and spirit stage,¡± Sophie replied confidently.

    ¡°As you can probably tell from a visual inspection, our starship has been heavily damaged and the engine room had been destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Life support will onlyst for one day and maybe a few more hours¡­¡±

    The conversation that was taking ce between Sophie and Katarina was iprehensible to the aliens in the room as they both spoke using themon Federation Tradenguage.

    Only Captain Hessan was vaguely able to follow along with the general flow of the conversation and from what he understood¡­

    It appeared as though the powerful mercenary that had joined his crew may be an individual with a noble identity.

    Perhaps¡­ they were not destined to die just yet¡­

    What the captain didn¡¯t know was that in addition to talking to Katarina about the general situation, the hybrid girl was also making discrete hand signals to talk about more sensitive topics.

    Katarina exined using signnguage that her father¡¯s death guards had managed to disguise themselves as members of the Nephilim Church.

    The current Imperial Army starship that they were using was loaned by the headmander of the Unovan operation.

    It would have to be returned and there were only a certain number of extra robes and uniforms that the rescue team had brought with them.

    Only Sophie and Lily¡¯s safety could be assured.

 Chapter 383: The Use Of Violence

    Chapter 383: The Use Of Violence

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Unknown Spatial Zone- The Bloody Krena Warship)

    Sophie frowned slightly as she nced at Perspherene¡¯s unconscious body that was still being held safely in the arms of her mirror copy.

    It would be easy to just abandon her.

    In fact, there was a small part of Sophie that only wanted to leave since the reality was that she had only known the alien mercenary for a few days.

    But¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for Perspherene¡¯s help¡­ then there really was nowhere that she could have turned to after escaping the nned ambush.

    Sophie was not an ungrateful person and it wasn¡¯t right to leave someone to die who had helped her out.

    Debts must be repaid.

    ¡°When will the headmander of the Imperial Army expect your starship to return?¡± Sophie asked softly.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s right hand trembled slightly as her fingers discretely formed certain hand signals that only Katarina could understand.

    Katarina raised an eyebrow and replied using her left hand that was still ying with a sharp de between her fingertips.

    The verbal conversation between the pair proceeded as usual with no one in themand room any wiser to the fact that another secret conversation was taking ce.

    ¡°The Nephilim Church is allowed to conduct short term exercises on certain battlefields which roughly ur over the course of a few days,¡± Katarina exined seriously.

    The red-haired death guard¡¯s tone appeared solemn and her hand movements gradually got faster as the conversation continued.

    A few minutes passed uneventfully until a smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face when she finally reached a deal with her father¡¯s loyal guard.

    Katarina would use the Imperial Army starship to scan their spacecraft and search the floor where the escape vessels were located.

    If any vessels were in working condition then it would be a simple matter to use a tractor beam to pull them out.

    Perspherene, Captain Hessan and a handful of mercenaries would then be able to escape.

    This was the onlypromise that Sophie could reach with Katarina since she insisted that it was too dangerous to ept any extra passengers onboard the Imperial Army starship.

    Lily and Sophie¡¯s return to the Earth Federation had to be kept as a careful secret to ensure that they would not be in any danger from her father¡¯s enemies.

    Sophie turned around and begun to talk using the standard Unovan tongue, ¡°Captain¡­ you need to lower the shields so that our starship can be scanned for teleportation.¡±

    ¡°I will have to request that everyone please remain in one spot and do not move.¡±

    Captain Hessan nodded slowly and pressed his wristmunicator device using his furry paws.

    Several holographic windows were projected into the air with lines of text and symbols that Sophie could not read.

    The captain pressed a series of buttons on hismunicator and soon a red shing light filled the room.

    [WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

    A loud rm red from the overhead speakers as a robotic voice filled the room.

    [Shielding Systems¡­. Online¡­ Shielding Systems¡­ Deactivated¡­]

    Captain Hessan hurriedly pressed another button and the piercing rm noise turned off just as quickly as it appeared.

    The loud ringing noise woke up Lily who squirmed ufortably in Sophie¡¯s arms.

    There was no point in hiding their identities anymore so Sophie chuckled softly and rubbed Lily¡¯s soft hair.

    ¡°Lily! We¡¯re saved!¡± Sophie whispered excitedly.

    Lily yawned sleepily as she was clearly still feeling a bit drowsy but Sophie¡¯s words eventually registered in her mind.

    ¡°What? Big sister are we going home?¡± Lily yelled happily without a care in the world. She quickly froze since she realised that she had spoken out loud but Sophie justughed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry you don¡¯t need to hide anymore,¡± Sophie assured the little girl and nted a small kiss on the top of her head.

    She pointed at the holographic projection in the middle of the room and Katarina gave a friendly wave from the other side.

    Lily cheerfully returned the wave with excitement clearly visible in her eyes.

    Sophie¡¯s couldn¡¯t see her facial expression since it was hidden behind the mask but she got the impression that Lily was grinning from ear to ear.

    Of course, after months of being on the run, Sophie did not let her guard down in these final moments.

    She leaked out a trace of bloodlust to deter any unpleasant ideas from the mercenaries in the room and remained in a state of high alert.

    Not that anything should happen since as far as these warriors knew, Sophie was the only hope they had of escaping death.

    ¡°Mdy the scan willmence shortly,¡± Katarina tilted her head as then turned around to yell an order at someone offscreen.

    Sophie waited patiently with Lily held tightly in her arms.

    After months of being constantly in danger and trapped in a foreign territory, she was relieved to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

    A beam of purplish green light was emitted from a device located on the underside of the Imperial Army starship.

    This ray of light prated the now defenseless mercenary starship with its shielding systems turned off and swept through every floor methodically.

    Eventually the beam reached themand room and Sophie experienced a mild tingling sensation when the light hit the surface of her body.

    Here we go again¡­

    Instantaneous teleportation was undoubtedly a fantastic marvel of technological innovation but Sophie could not say that she was the biggest fan.

    ¡°Locking on your current location¡­ please be prepared for teleportation mdy,¡± Katarina¡¯s voice echoed through themand room.

    The purplish-green light focused on her location and Sophie observed the tips of her fingernails slowly begin to disintegrate.

    Thest thing she saw as she vanished from the room was Captain Hessan¡¯s betrayed expression and the rage and shock on the mercenaries¡¯ faces.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Imperial Army Starship- Mark112 Vtean Series)

    Blerghh!

    Sophie knelt down and vomited on the floor. She managed to put Lily down from her arms just before the nauseous feeling hit her with full force.

    Lily gave her back a few gentle pats as Sophie hurled another round of vomit onto the clean white floor of the teleportation room.

    The hybrid girl rose unsteadily to her feet as vision blurred and the world seemed to shake and tremble.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯m good..¡± Sophie groaned as she wiped the corner of her mouth.

    She was just about to reach into her storage bag to pull out some tissues when a loud shriek came from the entrance.

    ¡°Sophie! I can¡¯t believe that we finally found you!¡± Rachel yelled happily.

    Two angelic white wings fluttered in excitement as Rachel ran into the room and jumped into Sophie¡¯s arms.

    A harsh angelic light filled the room as Rachel¡¯s holy powers ran amuck as her emotions fluctuated wildly.

    ¡°Good to see you as well,¡± Sophie whispered gently as she returned the firm embrace. Despite her best efforts, a few tears ran down the sides of her cheeks.

    ¡°I see you got a new avatar¡­ it looks quite beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Mdy, it is truly an honour to see you again,¡± Katarina entered the room with slow purposeful steps.

    The scarred red-haired death guard approached her young miss and tilted her head downwards as a show of respect.

    ¡°Forget the etiquette¡­ that¡¯s an order,¡± Sophie smiled as she left Rachel¡¯s embrace and gave her old teacher a firm hug.

    The only thing that slightly spoiled the warm reunion was the unpleasant smell of vomit in the room but everyone tactfully did not mention it.

    There was a great deal ofughing and crying as Katarina led the three girls out of the teleportation room and towards themand center.

    Sophie held Lily¡¯s hand firmly since the little girl insisted on walking on her own.

    Rachel in the meantime was filling Sophie in on all the scandalous gossip that she had missed while being stuck in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Although she also promised to inform Sophie of her wild college stories once they were aler.

    As they passed through the endlessbyrinth of metalloid corridors and side passages, Sophie asked a question that was on her mind.

    ¡°Did you manage to find any escape spacecrafts onboard the mercenary starship?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    Katarina exined in a soft tone, ¡°The starship¡¯s scanner revealed that the floor where the escape spacecrafts were stored experienced a partial copse and hence most of the vessels were buried by debris.¡±

    ¡°It may take us a few hours but the scanner identified two working spacecrafts that are possible to salvage.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that you want to do this mdy?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ I owe the captain and a friend the opportunity to escape the asteroid field,¡± Sophie firmly replied.

    Katarina nodded and used her wristmunicator to send out an order to the team in themand center.

    Sophie closed her eyes and essed to the mentalwork that was a connection between herself and the mirror copy.

    [Maintain order and let the mercenaries know that we will supply them with two escape spacecrafts.]

    [If there isn¡¯t enough space for everyone¡­. then make sure that both Perspherene and Captain Hessan are guaranteed a spot.]

    [Use violent means if necessary.]

 Chapter 384: An Excellent Idea!

    Chapter 384: An Excellent Idea!

    (Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

    (Imperial Army Starship- Mark112 Vtean Series)

    Katarina guided the group confidently through a maze of side-passages and corridors until they arrived at an unmarked metalloid door.

    The scarred red-haired woman ced a finger against the scanner in the middle of the door and soon a loud bleeping noise could be hearding from the speaker overhead.

    The door swung open to reveal arge open space filled with rows of stations and monitors. This was the centralmand room for the starship.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s servants immediately stood up and bowed as Sophie entered the room. Their voices of respect echoed through the open space as they eagerly greeted theirdyship.

    ¡°Mdy it is an honour to see you again.¡±

    ¡°Please ept our apologies for noting sooner.¡±

    ¡°Young Miss¡­¡±

    Sophie smiled gently and gestured for them to rx. Katarina also shot a cold look towards the servants and discretely signalled them to cool it.

    Katarina¡¯s prestige among the servants was so great that they instantly returned to piloting the starship withoutint.

    ¡°So¡­ this is the famous sessor of the Peterlor family,¡± a hoarse voice came from the back of the room.

    Sophie turned towards the direction of the voice and saw a muscr pale-skinned man approaching them.

    He wore a in brown robe with golden angelic halos and demonic symbols engraved on certain parts of the fabric.

    His skin was as white as snow with thick wriggling veins that squirmed and pushed against the surface of his flesh.

    What was most disturbing about his appearance were the two open wounds on his palms that bled profusely.

    Sophie felt a bit confused as she observed that when the blood droplets hit the floor they seemed to vanish after a few seconds.

    ¡°The Nephilim Church has my gratitude for providing my father with the means tounch this rescue operation,¡± Sophie spoke respectfully.

    ¡°House Peterlor will not forget this favour.¡±

    She didn¡¯t know the identity of this man but clearly he was the de facto spokesperson of the church onboard the vessel.

    ¡°Forget it,¡± Bishop Walsh coughed heavily as he pointed towards Rachel.

    The elderly man¡¯s tense eyebrows loosened for a moment as he stared at his troublesome charge.

    ¡°The debt you owe us¡­ give it to Saintess Rachel instead.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ what?¡± Rachel stammered in shock but the firm look in Bishop Walsh¡¯s eye made the words of protest die down in her throat.

    Sophie didn¡¯t understand why this senior member of the church would turn an organisational debt into a personal one but she respected his wishes.

    She nodded twice and a relieved smile shed across the face of the elderly man.

    The bishop turned around and returned to the back of the room where the other members of the church stood quietly.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ that man was a bit scary,¡± Lily whispered quietly. Sophie chuckled and picked up the little girl in her arms.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ we¡¯re friends.. I didn¡¯t do this just to expect something in return¡­¡± Rachel hesitantly spoke.

    Sophie shook her head twice before replying softly, ¡°Just because we are friends doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t owe you.¡±

    ¡°I am truly grateful for what you have done.¡±

    Rachel¡¯s angelic wings trembled slightly as Sophie gave her a warm smile.

    The two girls shared a moment before returning the conversation to other topics such as the current news surrounding the royal family.

    Katarina saw that herdyship wasfortable so she strode towards the captain¡¯s chair and gave out new orders.

    A slight vibration rippled across the hull as the powerful tractor beam device located on the underside of the spacecraft was switched on.

    A full detailed map of the mercenary starship that Sophie was previously on had already been uploaded to the main AI system.

    Katarina enhanced the image and then used the AI programming to calcte the exact force and location needed to extract the trapped escape spacecrafts.

    Sophie continued her conversation with Rachel but secretly connected to the mentalwork that bound her to the mirror copy.

    [What¡¯s the situation on your side?]

    A wave of memories flowed into Sophie¡¯s mind that caused the hybrid girl to pause for a moment in the middle of her conversation with Rachel.

    The scene inside the mercenary starship had been total chaos once Sophie and Lily had disappeared from the room.

    Fortunately, Sophie¡¯s clone had been able to exin to the panicked warriors through the use of violent force that some of them would still survive.

    Right now, they were just uneasily waiting to see which two escape spacecrafts would be extracted from beneath the rubble.

    This would allow Captain Hessan to know the exact number of individuals that would be able to leave the doomed starship.

    Perspherene was still unconscious but the healing serum that Sophie had injected into her body was causing the wounds on her skin to regenerate.

    Captain Hessan told Sophie¡¯s clone that Perspherene¡¯s species were a race known for their survivability so she should be fine once she wakes up.

    ¡°Hey Sophie¡­ are you alright?¡± Rachel¡¯s concerned voice snapped Sophie out of her daze.

    ¡°Yeah. Sorry I just got lost in thought for a minute,¡± Sophie replied calmly. She was about to continue speaking when she noticed Katarina discretely make a series of hand signals.

    Sophie¡¯s right hand moved slightly as her fingers twitched in a certain way to form symbols.

    ¡°Okay I got it,¡± Sophie mouthed silently towards the red haired-haired woman sitting casually on the captain¡¯s chair.

    Katarina nodded and then opened her mouth to make an announcement,

    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone is excited that the rescue mission is proceeding exactly as nned but please do not getcent.¡±

    ¡°There are hostile forces mixed in the ranks of the Imperial Army who will be on the lookout for both Sophie and Lily.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we still need to pass through the temporary military base before leaving the warzone. Hence as a safety precaution it is necessary for everyone to temporarily disconnect their devices from the virtual.¡±

    The firm tone in Katarina¡¯s voice and her sound logic dissuaded any person in themand room from questioning her order.

    Sophie tilted her wristmunicator upwards and then pressed a series of buttons to set her device to offline mode.

    The purpose of Katarina¡¯s secret message was to give her a heads up about the situation before making the order official to the rest of the team.

    It was a bit of a disappointment that she couldn¡¯t message her father or her friends yet but Sophie understood the reason why.

    In the middle of a chaotic battlefield, it would be difficult for hackers to track and iste devices but once the starship arrived within the spatial range of the military outpost then they would be vulnerable.

    Sophie sighed gently and stroked the cold metallic edge of hermunicator.

    It was okay¡­. she just needed tost a few more days and then everything would be alright.

    There were just two burning questions that were still at the back of her mind and needed to be addressed.

    Sophie ced Lily down gently on the floor and then walked over to Katarina after exining to the little girl that she would be back soon.

    ¡°What is going on with them?¡± Sophie asked as she tilted her head towards a certain area of the room where humanoid bodies were neatly stacked one on top of each other.

    Katarina smiled dangerously as shezily pointed towards the bodiesying down on the floor, ¡°State of the art memory modification devices.¡±

    ¡°The Imperial Army personnel onboard the vessel will have false memories imnted into their brains.¡±

    ¡°The onboard starship AI unit has also beenpromised so their false memories will match the modified records.¡±

    Sophie took a casual nce at the officers who were quietly unconscious in the corner of themand room.

    Dome-shaped metalloid helmets were covering the top of their headspletely. These devices included thick wiring and blue lights that shed asionally.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit curious about when we arrive at the military outpost since I can¡¯t figure out how exactly do you n to disguise me?¡± Sophie asked softly.

    It was not that she thought it was impossible but there were four ded appendages jutting out from her back that were¡­

    A bit eye catching to say the least.

    Katarina¡¯s smile widened and suddenly Sophie¡¯s danger instincts warned that whatever her father¡¯s death guard was about to say next wasn¡¯t good.

    ¡°Mdy, I came up with an excellent idea ¡­¡±

 Chapter 385: The Consequences Of Failure

    Chapter 385: The Consequences Of Failure

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Thy¡¯rean Antis- Unknown Location)

    A round table was ced in the middle of a magnificent open hall that was softly lit by the warm rays of sunlight that entered through the open window.

    Twenty chairs were ced an equal distance apart and each seat was upied by impably dressed gentlemen and wealthydies.

    Mechanical butlers and android servants moved swiftly through the room and tended to every need of the esteemed individuals seated on the chairs.

    Food, wine, refreshments, and even light massages.

    Soft ssical music filled the atmosphere with both ss and prestige. These men and women were no strangers to disys of luxury.

    As members of the nobility, they enjoyed a level of wealth and privilege that was far beyond what the average citizen of the Earth Federation would ever see in their lifetime.

    Still there was a noticeable sense of tension in the air that caused frowns and furrowed eyebrows to appear on the faces of these nobles.

    In front of each person was a t rectangr metalloid device that disyed thetest reports about the current situation in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Most of the news was quite favourable.

    The Imperial Army had suffered no significant casualties or losses and it was only a matter of time before Oreciuam Prime was captured.

    This was a fantastic development. Oreciuam Prime contained a warp gate that led straight to the inner regions of the Unovan Syndicate.

    It would serve as aunch point for the invasion. Everything was proceeding exactly as Commander Stewart anticipated and yet¡­

    There was one piece of news thatpletely soured the mood.

    ¡°Preposterous! How is it possible that a mere hybrid trash escaped a void cultivator?!¡± an enraged shout erupted from the man sitting to the far left.

    The middle-aged gentleman reached for his golden chalice and downed the entire contents in one gulp.

    ¡°Is there a possibility of a traitor within our midst? It makes no sense that such a carefully nned ambush failed,¡± an elderly woman offered a more reasonable exnation.

    ¡°Inform our spies to continue looking for any sign of the girl. I don¡¯t believe that she can escape from the battlefield without someone noticing,¡± a hoarse voice muttered.

    ¡°I told you that we should have sent more men! This entire operation could not be left in the hands of such a loose cannon!¡± another voice added.

    ¡°How many people are required for the assassination of a child merely in the qi tide stage! Are you suggesting that we send two void stage cultivators instead of one?!¡± came the fierce reply.

    Arguments erupted as each member of the order expressed their own opinions about what should be the next course of action.

    The Grand Tutor sighed lightly as he quietly leaned back against the wooden frame of his chair and just observed his fellow nobles squabbling like petty children.

    The older man ced a wrinkled finger to his temples and began to rub gently. This failure was indeed a shocking development.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter truly appeared to be just as resourceful as her father.

    Both were like cockroaches that seemed to find a way to survive even when thrown into dangerous life and death situations.

    Unlike the rest of the Human Supremacy society, the Grand Tutor actually held a high opinion of Duke Peterlor¡¯s offspring.

    Her talent was impressive even among the top young cultivators of the Federation and it was clear that her potential was frightening.

    This is all the more reason why she needed to perish. The hybrid rights movement would have a powerful figure to rally around should she live and be the sessor to a dukedom.

    Those in power knew that there were dangerous undercurrents hiding behind the outwardly peaceful state of the Federation.

    Emperor Sisrelis¡¯ suicide and the death or disappearance of so many heirs to high noble families had created an immense power vacuum in the political sphere.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s faction could be somewhat contained by thete emperor¡¯s indifference to governing but now it was impossible to stop his influence from spreading.

    The Grand Tutor¡¯s hands trembled slightly with rage as he remembered the confident smirk on that self-righteous duke¡¯s face.

    His position among the royal family was on shaky ground. Already there were nobles who were like sharks that sensed blood in the water.

    They were eager to take his ce in a position that he had held for centuries.

    Thete emperor may have allowed him to act as essentially the prime minister but the new one may see him as nothing more than a relic of a bygone era.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want Duke Peterlor and his allies to find out that our hands were behind this operation so after two days stop all actions,¡± the Grand Tutor spoke firmly.

    ¡°Make sure that cleanup agents are dispatched to the battlefield and inform our spies to conceal any evidence of our actions.¡±

    The Grand Tutor¡¯s calm tone echoed through the open hall and silenced the loud argumentative voices.

    ¡°In addition to the teams searching on the battlefield send a message to Commander Stewart and inform him to check all starships that pass through the temporary outpost for any suspicious individuals.¡±

    ¡°It is unlikely that Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter would be foolish enough to stowaway on any military vessels but we cannot rule out the possibility that the duke also has agents inside the army.¡±

    The Grand Tutor knew that his words carried immense weight in the order. He was one of the founding members and had been serving in a leadership position for thest two hundred years.

    ¡°Utterly ridiculous!¡± a nasal voice suddenly yelled.

    This lone voice of opposition belonged to a noble seated at the far right of the round table.

    He was a rtively handsome man but his perfect facial features had clearly been augmented by artificial skin grafts.

    He wore a gaudy robe that was adorned with rainbow coloured jewellery that shimmered and sparkled under the light.

    Count Belios¡­ a major noble from the backwater region of Euclipsis.

    The other nobles in the room reacted with shock but the Grand Tutor¡¯s face remained an expressionless mask.

    ¡°Stopping the operation after two days? If I didn¡¯t know any better I would think that you were afraid of Duke Peterlor!¡± Count Belios snarled.

    ¡°In fact, what do we have to fear from that man? Thebined forces under ourmand can burn his territory to the ground.¡±

    ¡°You have led us for how many years and what do you have to show for it? NOTHING!¡±

    An indifferent smile shed across the face of the Grand Tutor as he lowered his head to address the count with a soft whisper,

    ¡°Do you think that you are capable of leading us then? Do you truly believe that the other noble factions will stand idly by if we end up provoking a civil war?¡±

    ¡°Or more importantly¡­ tell me¡­ what is your n if the Ascendants get involved?¡±

    The room instantly froze as the mere mention of the pirs of the Federation was enough to send a chill down the spines of everyone present.

    Ascendant stage cultivators.

    Three simple words but hardly enough to convey the sheer terror hidden behind them.

    They could not be considered as mortals or some would argue even as human. The Ascendants had the power to turn entires to ash with a mere wave of their palms.

    Cultivators may think of themselves as pursing immortality but only the Ascendants could im to have seeded.

    Naturally they disdained to get involved in the petty disputes of the Federation but should a faction intentionally create instability by provoking a civil war then there was only one solution.

    Complete annihtion.

    Sessfully assassinating Duke Peterlor or his daughter would not draw their attention but a full out war between the two sides on the other hand¡­

    Count Belios¡¯ face whitened as he stammered out a few sullen words of apology before taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brows.

    The Grand Tutor did not pursue the matter further and felt no sense of victory from putting that arrogant fool in his ce.

    In a certain sense he was right.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s faction had been putting them on the defensive for a long time now and more aggressive moves were called for.

    Any faction that was led by the youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation¡¯s history would be seen as attractive to the nobles in the neutral camp.

    Theck of tangible results in addition to the older age of the nobles in the Human Supremacy faction were both causes of concern.

    Count Belios may be the first to openly say his doubts but there would be others that would follow soon¡­

 Chapter 386: Orders From Headquarters

    Chapter 386: Orders From Headquarters

    (Earth Federation- Artificial X-837)

    (Temporary Military Outpost- Main Hangar)

    There was a strict procedure to be followed during wartime.

    Any starship that participated in a battle that was located in enemy territory must be carefully screened and checked upon re-entering Federation controlled space.

    This was a cumbersome procedure but a necessary one.

    There were numerous cases in the past of alien races infiltrating Imperial Army starships or even nting dangerous toxin bombs or explosives onboard the vessels.

    Sophie quietly stood with the rest of the demon knights as their starshipnded safely in the middle of the hangar.

    Outside the window she could observe the tiny ant-like figures of Imperial Army troopers moving from starship to starship.

    It was a continuous flow.

    Every few minutes a beam of green light would be emitted from the metalloid devices suspended high above on the ceiling.

    This beam of light would sweep the entire length of a grounded spacecraft several times before moving on to the next one.

    Sophie didn¡¯t panic since she had been told by Katarina a few hours earlier that this scan only checked for forbidden weaponry or suspicious lifeforms.

    Duke Peterlor was familiar with the technology level of the Imperial Army and had sent his death guard with countermeasures.

    ¡°Alright it should be a few more minutes and then we can disembark,¡± a loud voice shouted. It came from the officer sittingfortably in the captain¡¯s chair.

    The memory modification process had been aplete sess. None of the officers in themand room had any idea that they had spent thest few days in an unconscious state.

    Instead, their minds would recall scenes of flying around the outskirts of the battlefield and engaging already damaged fighter spacecrafts.

    The rogue AI unit that Katarina had infected the starship¡¯s intelligence system with would coborate their memories by modifying the flight records.

    Sophie assumed that there was not a hint of nervousness on the faces of her father¡¯s death guards or the members of the Nephilim Church.

    Although to be fair, it was hard to tell if this was true since the demon knights had their faces concealed by oversized helmets and her father¡¯s death guards worerge, baggy hoods.

    The only members of the church whose faces were openly disyed were Bishop Walsh and Rachel.

    Rachel was not confident that she would be able to maintain the act so she confided in Sophie that she nned to freeze her face in a deadpan expression for the rest of the inspection.

    Truthfully Sophie was a bit jealous of her friend¡¯s ability to shapeshift. It was quite the convenient ability.

    ¡°Ouch¡­ this hurts like a mothafuc¡­¡± Sophie hissed softly as she felt another jolt of pain hit her lower back.

    In absence of the ability to shapeshift, the hybrid girl was forced to rely on Katarina¡¯s so-called ¡®excellent idea¡¯.

    Basically, she was forced to wear a bio-mechanical exoskeleton that contorted and snapped her ded appendages in certain ces to create the illusion of a normal muscr humanoid figure.

    It was exactly as painful as it sounded.

    Imagine having your arm forcefully twisted to reach the middle of your back and that was a simr sensation to what Sophie was currently experiencing.

    She was convinced half-way through the disguising process that Katarina was going to rip off her appendages by force.

    Not to mention that the armoured uniforms that the demonic knights wore smelled like brimstone and sulphur so that really wasn¡¯t fantastic news either.

    Lily on the other hand had a much better time since all she had to wear was a specially modified electromaic cloak that concealed her from the probing ray.

    The little girl was currently attached to a metalloid harness on Katarina¡¯s body.

    Fortunately, Lily¡¯s short stature and slender physique meant that she was easily concealed under the robe that Katarina wore.

    Sophie bit her lip and tried her best not to let out a small groan of pain as she took a tentative step forward.

    A harsh robotic voice red out from the speakers overhead and echoed through the room.

    [Scan Imminent! Please Do Not Conceal Any Contraband!]

    Bleep! Bleep!

    It was the moment of truth.

    Sophie frowned slightly as the beam of green light came closer and closer to her position.

    Katarina had assured her that the bio-mechanical exoskeleton would disy real flesh and skin when exposed to the scan.

    Three¡­ two¡­ one¡­

    Sophie held her breath as the beam of green light swept up and down her body before moving on to the demon knight next to her.

    Thank goodness.

    A relieved smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face that was concealed by the bulky helmet. Everything was proceeding ording to n.

    The next couple of minutes passed rtively uneventfully as the scanner could not find anything illegal.

    ¡°The Nephilim Church offers our sincerest gratitude for guiding us through this dangerous voyage,¡± Bishop Walsh hoarsely whispered.

    He ced a firm hand on the shoulder of one of the pilots who tried his best to wince as drops of blood from the wound on the bishop¡¯s palm stained his shirt.

    Simultaneously the demon knights in the room knelt down and ced their right palm against their chest.

    Sophie followed along and also copied the movements of the church members closest to her.

    The hooded members of the church sped their hands together and prayed fervently in anguage that Sophie recognises as ancient Latin.

    Surprisingly it was Katarina who led the prayer as Sophie recognised her clear distinct voice filled with religious zeal and passion.

    Rachel stood silently but the holy aura surrounding her body seemed to respond to the worship by increasing the spiritual pressure.

    Bishop Walsh made a series of hand gestures and the ritual immediately stopped.

    The demon knights and Sophie got into two neat lines with the hooded church members sandwiched between them.

    Rachel walked with slow purposeful steps towards the front of the formation and then followed Bishop Walsh who left the room.

    Sophie marched uniformly with the demon knights with every step causing a jolt of pain to hit her upper and lower back.

    The hybrid girl simply gritted her teeth and carried on as if she felt nothing. This was the final stretch to freedom.

    The end was in sight. She just needed to bear with the pain for a few more hours¡­

    Bishop Walsh led the church members through abyrinth of side-passageways and corridors until they finally arrived at the exit room.

    The old clergyman pressed a finger on the scanner and metalloid door swung open to reveal a white open space.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    In the center of the room was a circr pit that gradually opened to reveal a metalloid stairway that led to the ground below.

    Bishop Walsh held out his arm and respectfully escorted Rachel down the stairs.

    Sophie witnessed firsthand just how important her friend was to Bishop Walsh and it was a sight that warmed her heart.

    The rest of the procession waited until the saintess and the bishop reached the end of the stairway.

    The hooded members of the church walked first with the demon knights following closely behind.

    Sophie absentmindedly touched the hilt of the broadsword that was attached to her hip as she walked down.

    The main hangar was an enormous open space that could fit thousands of starshipsying side by side.

    Temperature regting systems meant that there was a constant source of cool breeze that brushed against one¡¯s face as they walked through.

    Sophie was fascinated by the sight of so many different models of fighter spacecrafts.

    Some had long sleek designs and were clearly meant for light skirmishes while others were more heavily armoured with bulky barrier devices located on their undersides.

    A floating hovercar approached the procession that was piloted by a sunny looking girl who appeared to be in her early twenties.

    She wore the standard Imperial Army uniform and had pale white skin that was covered in brown freckles.

    She smiled politely and then gestured for them to board the hovercar. Bishop Walsh led the way and offered the first seat to Rachel who sat down with an expressionless look.

    The enormous space inside the main hangar meant that it was quite impractical to walk from end to end.

    Sophie shifted ufortably as she sat down and since her ded appendages were squished even closer together.

    ¡°Will we be visiting themander again?¡± Bishop Walsh questioned in a gruff tone.

    ¡°No sir! Commander Stewart is quite busy at the moment so I have been assigned to take you to a private room for additional scanning and then escort you to your vessel,¡± the cheery officer replied.

    ¡°That is quite curious. I was under the impression that usually only one scan of the starship is mandated,¡± Bishop Walsh spoke slowly.

    ¡°Yes sir you are correct! But Headquarters have sent out an order that all individuals that participated in the ongoing battle must submit to additional screening,¡± the officer exined respectfully.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed as the young girl finished speaking. Her disguise should hold up thanks to the bio-mechanical exoskeleton wrapped around her body¡­ but what about Lily?

    Would a simple electromaic cloak be enough?

    Now it would be impossible secretly send a message to Katarina since there were cameras everywhere inside the military base.

    Sophie tilted her head a few centimeters and observed Katarina who was resting against the side of the hovercar.

    It was impossible to see her expression since therge hood blocked most of her features but her bodynguage disyed no feelings of anxiety or worry.

 Chapter 387: A Ridiculous Task

    Chapter 387: A Ridiculous Task

    (Earth Federation- Artificial X-837)

    (Temporary Military Outpost- Commander¡¯s Private Quarters)

    ¡°Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!¡± loud cursing filled the room.

    Commander Stewart snarled as he flung the metalloid tablets and ornaments off his desk in rage.

    Not a single one of his subordinates would have been able to connect the famously stoic leader to the madman who was raging inside the room.

    Commander Stewart sunk into the wooden chair behind him and ced his head in both his palms.

    It took quite some time before the old military leader gradually calmed down and regained control of his emotions.

    He had just received several messages from the nobles who sponsored his career in the Imperial Army and it was not good news.

    They wanted Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter found within the next two days and would not tolerate any failure.

    ¡°What an utterly ridiculous task,¡± Commander Stewart groaned as he leaked out a trace of his spiritual pressure.

    Large cracks began to form on the metalloid floor as themander didn¡¯t bother to rein in his strength.

    What was the point?

    If this was a straightforward task that just required strength then he would not be feeling as depressed as he did now.

    Finding Sophie Peterlor was to be frank¡­ impossible.

    Not one sighting of the hybrid girl had been reported from the military officers currently on the battlefield.

    And it was even worse on the Unovan Army¡¯s side because the informants could not find any information about her.

    The Unovan government were so oundishly ipetent that they did not have proper documentation or records of the various mercenary organizations under theirmand.

    Commander Stewart removed his hands from his face and leaned back against the chair. He needed to take a few minutes to think.

    How could he find that girl?

    It was highly unlikely that Sophie Peterlor would be able to infiltrate any military starships and arrive in Earth Federation controlled territory.

    This meant that she was most likely still be in the Unovan frontier region. Arge expanse of space that included over two thousand habitables as well as numerous lunar colonies.

    And that was assuming that she was staying in a fixed location and not moving around on some random spacecraft.

    Commander Stewart tapped his fingers against the corner of his desk impatiently. The more he thought about it¡­ the bleaker the situation got.

    He was not foolish enough to believe that his position in the Imperial Army was irreceable.

    There were younger, smarter, and more experienced officers waiting for the opportunity to take his ce.

    Those overbearing nobles were a royal pain in his ass but it was only thanks to their support that he was able to lead the invasion operation without any challenges.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The wristmunicator wrapped around themander¡¯s arm vibrated slightly as the notification for an iing message appeared on the screen.

    Commander Stewart was tempted to ignore the message and continue indulging in self-pity but reluctantly decided to just press the button.

    The message came from his assistant secretary who was in charge of monitoring the main hangar room.

    [Greetings Commander! The third wave of spacecrafts are returning from the battlefield and there have been no issues so far.]

    [No contraband or stowaway alien life forms have been detected and everything is proceeding smoothly.]

    [There have been a fewints about the additional screening but your orders are still being faithfully carried out.]

    Of course, nothing was found.

    This wasn¡¯t a proper war it was more akin to a ughter. The Unovan government was both ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face the might of the Imperial Army.

    Commander Stewart had already been informed of the Unovan military¡¯s battlens from data sent by traitors in the army and there were no orders or ns for infiltration.

    Still¡­ there was something that he felt that he had forgotten¡­

    Commander Stewart rubbed his temples gently and tried to remember what exactly was the detail that he could not recall.

    Hmm¡­ oh wait¡­ the church!

    He had almost forgotten about the Nephilim Church¡¯s visit to the battlefield since the mission of trying to find Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter had been upying his full attention over thest few days.

    Commander Stewart pressed a series of buttons on his wristmunicator and sent out a message to the assistant secretary.

    Clearly his subordinate must have been a bit busy since it took a few minutes for the reply messages to finally appear on the screen.

    [The Imperial Army starship that was lent to the Nephilim Church came in today and passed the inspection scan without a problem.]

    [Currently the church members are being led to a separate room for additional screening and then will be escorted back to their original spacecraft.]

    [Would you like to schedule a brief meeting before they depart?]

    Commander Stewart frowned and then sent a message to his assistant secretary telling him that he was too busy to see the church members before they leave the military outpost.

    Bishop Walsh was a frightening individual at the best of times and truthfully Commander Stewart felt as though he had enough on his te already.

    Dealing with those religious fanatics was exhausting enough and he didn¡¯t want any more stress at the moment.

    He threw all thoughts about the Nephilim Church to the back of his mind and then got back to the problem at hand.

    It took some brainstorming but finally Commander Stewart got an idea about what to do next.

    ¡°Now to deal with this stupid task and save my career,¡± Commander Stewart whispered as he pressed a button on the underside of his desk.

    A holographic projection filled the room. It was a star map that detailed the frontier region of the Unovan Syndicate.

    This map had been filled outrgely thanks to the brave work done by the Imperial Army scouts who had been sent into enemy territory to gather information.

    Commander Stewart zoomed in on certain locations and used a private AI unit to run a series of calctions.

    Thousands of habitables and settlements with significant poptions were highlighted in a red colour.

    Commander Stewart adjusted the parameters in the AI¡¯s code and soon that number fell from thousands to hundreds.

    He captured the image of the modified star map using his wristmunicator and then it sent it out to the hidden agents inside the army.

    It was a straightforward matter to use an advanced AI unit to calcte the probability of Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter being found in various locations.

    The program would then highlight the ces with the highest probability which would make the job of the agents much easier.

    It was obviously not a foolproof method since the data on the Unovan frontier region was woefullycking in certain areas but it was the only chance he had left.

    Commander Stewart closed his eyes and muttered a silent prayer that Sophie Peterlor would be within his grasp before it was toote.

    He would never learn that his prayer had already been answered.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Forty-Five Minutester¡­)

    (Temporary Military Outpost- Hangar No. 12)

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance my child. May the great ones look down favourably and protect you in battle,¡± Bishop Walsh whispered softly.

    He ced a soft hand on the shoulder of the cheerful military officer who had just guided them to their spacecraft after taking them to a room for additional screening.

    There were no unexpected surprises as every member of the church had passed the scans without an issue.

    ¡°No problem sir! Have a safe trip!¡± Officer Rosalina replied with a smile. She did her best to maintain her expression even as droplets of blood stained the top of her uniform.

    Bishop Walsh stepped back and then proceeded towards the medium sized spacecraft that was parked in the left corner of the hangar.

    His movements were a signal to the other church members who followed closely behind in neat orderly lines.

    Sophie could hear her heart beating wildly as they neared the spaceship. Even the sharp jolts of pain in her upper and lower back seemed to fade away as all she could feel was excitement.

    It was finally over.

    It was time to go home.

 Chapter 388: The Future And The Past

    Chapter 388: The Future And The Past

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    (Nephilim Church Starship Model MK11 Delta)

    Sophie stared out of the window and watched quietly as the stars passed by in an endless stream of twinkling lights.

    A faint snoring noise could be heard inside her private cabin. Lily was fast asleep and had insisted on staying with her big sister for the rest of the journey back home.

    Sophie didn¡¯t mind so the pair were assigned to the same room.

    Unlike the little girl, Sophie just couldn¡¯t fall asleep even when she tried her best to close her eyes and take a brief rest.

    So now the only thing she could do was sit up on the bed and try to distract herself from thinking about what was toe.

    There was just too much on her mind. Sophie let out a gentle sigh as she continued to observe the magnificent scenery that shed by.

    For safety purposes Katarina had ordered all personnel onboard the vessel not to connect to the virtual using their devices just yet.

    The current location of their starship was still in military regted space so the risk of hackers infiltrating their devices was a realistic possibility.

    Sophie absentmindedly tilted her wristmunicator upwards but did not bother to turn on the screen.

    Truthfully she wasn¡¯t sure what to feel now that it was finally over.

    After spending months going from one life threatening situation to the next in the middle of hostile enemy territory, it was hard for Sophie to finally rx.

    Even now as she sat on a soft memory foam mattress on a starship that was being piloted by her father¡¯s loyal death guards, Sophie unconsciously extended her senses outwards to detect any possible threats.

    Old habits died hard.

    Sophie cautiously stretched out her ded appendages and winced as a sharp jolt of pain cut through her lower back.

    She had taken off the biomechanical exoskeleton a few hours earlier but her appendages were still feeling a bit sore.

    Fortunately, thanks to her enhanced healing factor, Sophie fully expected the pain to disappear eventually once her body recovered.

    But what would happen next?

    Now that Sophie was finally in a safe location there were numerous questions that she now had to consider.

    How would her friends react to her return? Would her father ever let her leave the Peterlor mansion after this scare?

    Would she have to repeat first year since she missed an entire semester? Would her father¡¯s enemies leave her alone once they found out that she returned?

    These were all issues that Sophie had thrown to the back of her mind during her time in the Unovan Syndicate since there were usually bigger problems at hand.

    But now she would have to face all of these questions.

    Sophie contemted quietly for a few minutes before a warm smile shed across her lips as a sudden realisation entered her mind.

    What did it matter?

    She was alive. She was going back home. She was going to see her loved ones again.

    Truthfully she was one of the lucky ones.

    Sophie remembered the full list of missing noble heirs that she had seen and the majority had turned up as corpses while the search for others had been indefinitely postponed by their own ns.

    Even Lily had been presumed as dead by her own family. Although Sophie nned on letting her father know that she would not support House ckait if Lily was reced as heir.

    A bit of political exertion but a duke¡¯s daughter could afford to be willful.

    Sophie had spent too much time with the little girl to have her suffer a hostile and dangerous atmosphere when she returned to her family.

    Sophie was grateful that her father did not sire any other children since the struggle between heirs often ended in violence.

    A sudden bout of homesickness struck Sophie and she was struck by the urge to see her dad as soon as possible.

    She turned on her wristmunicator and made sure that it was in offline mode before opening up her private gallery.

    Sophie scrolled through the pictures on the screen and her face made a variety of expressions as she continued to browse.

    There was a picture of her and Cleo smiling happily in the middle of their apartment on campus while the following picture was of Astrid flexing her muscles while Qiana shook her head in the background with an indulgent look in her eyes.

    An entire folder was dedicated to Moon¡¯s baby pictures when the frostwing bat had just hatched.

    Sophieughed when she saw the stupid grin on her furry pet¡¯s face as he pped his wings happily at the camera.

    ¡°Wait¡­ when did I take this?¡± Sophie whispered in shock as another picture shed across her screen.

    It was an image of Cleo at the zoo staring at the so-called ¡®tigers¡¯ that scientists had gically created based on the now extinct animal from the ancient earth era.

    This was from their first date.

    The hybrid girl didn¡¯t notice at the time but as she stared at the picture of Cleo, her golden eyes briefly shed pink.

    This moment onlysted for a few seconds so Sophie was left unaware that her powers had involuntarily activated.

    There were many pictures of the various scenic spots on campus.

    Zrudread University may be known for its brutal training and emphasis onbat but there were ces for the students to rx during the day.

    From a shot of the busy cafeteria where numerous alien races all packed together trying desperately to cram down their food before the next ss started to the park where thebat beasts were kept.

    Sophie had never bothered to check all the pictures saved in her gallery before but as she continued to scroll down, the sheer volume of moments captured in time left her feeling nostalgic.

    She even missed the mundane things about campus life such as the homework assignments that she would hastilyplete before the lecture begun.

    Sophie lost track of time as she browsed album after album.

    It was like she was trapped in a trance.

    Only when the final image appeared on the screen did Sophie finally close her gallery and turn off hermunicator.

    There was one picture in particr that really stood out to her.

    Sophie¡¯s smile gradually faded as she remembered the picture of her dad standing proudly on the day that she graduated from high school.

    The handsome image of her dad enthusiastically cheering her on during the ceremony without a care towards his appearance or reputation was a precious memory.

    Everything was much simpler back then. It was less than a year ago but that time still felt like a lifetime away.

    For better or worse she had changed during thest few months.

    Sophie¡¯s hands trembled slightly as she fought down the urge to cry.

    She had tried so desperately to keep a brave face on so that Lily wouldn¡¯t panic or be afraid during thest few months but truthfully at certain times¡­

    Sophie genuinely did not know if they were going to survive.

    There were so many moments where if she had made the wrong decision or had not reacted quick enough, they would have been dead.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ it¡¯s all over now¡­¡± Sophie whispered as she took a few deep breaths and exhaled softly.

    It wasn¡¯t healthy to dwell on what could have happened but Sophie couldn¡¯t stop those unpleasant possibilities from flooding her mind.

    Knock! Knock!

    A soft knocking noise came from the outside of the room which interrupted Sophie¡¯s mental struggles.

    The hybrid girl got up from the bed and quietly made her way across the room in order not to wake up Lily.

    She pressed her finger against the scanner in the middle of the door. It took a moment before the door swung open to reveal Rachel whose her holy aura was nowpletely gone.

    ¡°Hey¡­ do you want to go for a walk?¡± Rachel askedzily.

    ¡°Yeah. I definitely need to clear my head right now. Just give me a few minutes to slip into something morefortable,¡± Sophie replied with a gentle smile.

    She closed the door and headed to the bathroom where there were several clean outfitsid neatly on a rack.

    Thankfully Katarina had brought extra clothes and supplies since Sophie was sick of wearing the same standard battlesuit all the time.

    Now what outfit should I wear?

    Sophie nced back and forth but eventually decided on a pair of loose track pants and afortable red shirt.

    She walked over to the door but not before stopping by the bed and nting a soft kiss on Lily¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Ready to go? I¡¯ll show you around the starship,¡± Rachel cheerfully spoke. Sophie grinned and closed the door behind her as she stepped outside.

    Whatever the future may hold¡­

    There was reason to hope.

 Chapter 389: A Moment Of Peace

    Chapter 389: A Moment Of Peace

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    (Nephilim Church Starship Model MK11 Delta)

    ¡°This is the sparring room,¡± Rachel spoke cheerfully as she pressed a finger against the door scanner.

    The metalloid door swung open to reveal arge open space filled with robotic training droids and racks of weapons.

    There was even what looked like an obstacle course at the end of the roomplete with rotating tforms.

    ¡°Very impressive,¡± Sophie whistled appreciatively as she went inside. She made her way to the weapons rack and picked up one of the whips on disy.

    Sophie ran her fingers along the length of the whip¡¯s body and absentmindedly grabbed the hilt using her right palm.

    ¡°So how often do you train here?¡± Sophie asked curiously. Rachel shrugged her shoulders and reached for a sword.

    ¡°Not that often¡­ mainly a two-hour session in the morning and then I spend the rest of the day catching up on assignments,¡± Rachel exinedzily.

    The saintess held the sword confidently in her hand and begun to make a few thrusting motions in a specific pattern.

    Sophie quietly watched as her friend¡¯s body gradually became engulfed in a heavy aura that was a faint golden colour.

    Holy Sword Art Form Two- zing Justice!

    Rachel¡¯s sword burst into golden mes that raised the temperature inside the room significantly.

    Sophie took a step back and continued to observe as the Quafes girl lunged forward andunched a wave of fire at the nearest practice dummy.

    Boom!

    The poor robot never stood a chance as its metalloid exterior was neatly sliced in half along its mid torso region.

    It was by all ounts an impressive disy of strength for a student of her age, but Sophie could not help but unconsciously take note of the ws in the technique.

    The wave of fire that erupted from the tip of her de took far too long to be released and the momentary pause in her movements would be enough for an attacker to slip through her defenses.

    These ws were in addition to the high visibility of the technique that would make it easy to dodge.

    ¡°Want to give it a try?¡± Rachel asked as she extinguished the mes on the sword with a confident smirk on her face

    Sophie shook her head twice to decline and ced the whip back on the rack slowly. She wasn¡¯t in the mood for any fighting tonight.

    It was strange but she just couldn¡¯t muster up any excitement at the thought of fighting training dummies.

    Maybe it was the fact that her battles over thest few months had all involved dangerous life and death situations so regr training now felt too fake.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I show you a cool ce to rx then?¡± Rachel suggested quickly.

    ¡°Yeah that sounds great!¡± Sophie replied with a warm smile. The two girls shared a grin before leaving the training room.

    Rachel led the way confidently through a maze of corridors and side passageways.

    The Nephilim Church¡¯s spacecrafts had specially designed interiors that were built in order to confuse any intruders that boarded their vessels without permission.

    Many of the passageways led to dead ends or rooms that would m tightly shut once an organism was detected inside them.

    There were holy and demonic symbols carved onto the floor of the vessel which Rachel nced at as they walked by.

    She exined to Sophie that these symbols were ced in a certain way to spell out a message to those familiar with the church¡¯s secretnguage.

    Sophie nodded in understanding and took a few more nces at the eerie symbols.

    The holy runes were golden or white in colour with strange letterings that looked vaguely familiar to ancient Latin.

    The demonic symbols on the other hand were painted in a crimson red colour and instead of words there were numbers etched into their centers.

    ¡°Here we are!¡± Rachel eximed in excitement. She stopped suddenly in front of a wooden door that seemed out of ce on a futuristic high-tech spaceship.

    Rachel eagerly reached for the handle and turned the knob until a clicking noise was hearding from the other side.

    The wooden door unexpectedly crumbled to tiny pieces to reveal a small cozy room with a pool in the middle.

    As Sophie and Rachel stepped inside the room, the wooden pieces on the ground floated upwards and resembled into the shape of the door.

    The water inside the pool was crystal-clear and the bottom was covered in white fine sand that gently tumbled around.

    ¡°Wee to my secret hot tub! Turns out that being a saintess has the benefit of people building you a private room!¡± Rachel proudly stated.

    ¡°But we don¡¯t have any swim¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s words were interrupted by a shirt that hit her right in the face.

    ¡°Wooo!¡± a loud shriek echoed through the room. Sophie heard a loud sshing noise as Rachel dove straight into the water.

    The hybrid girl removed the shirt from her face and saw Rachel merrily swimmingps inside the pool while wearing a one-piece bikini.

    ¡°Do you think it looks good?¡± Rachel called out from the other side of the room.

    Sophie observed the area in front of her friend¡¯s chest temporarily morph into a liquid before transforming into a two-piece red bikini set.

    Once again Sophie was reminded of just how useful it was to have the ability to shapeshift.

    Rachel¡¯s curly hair floated gently in the water as she waved at Sophie to get in as well. Sophie let out a small sigh before jumping into the water with a resigned expression on her face.

    The water felt cool and refreshing. Sophie closed her eyes and stretched out her arms and legs to rx.

    She was still wearing her track pants and shirt, but it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to just wait inside the room until her clothes dried after the swim.

    ¡°Did you get bigger?¡± a shocked gasp came from Rachel¡¯s mouth. The Quafes girl swam over and gazed at Sophie without hiding the admiration in her eyes.

    Sophie looked down and saw that the front of her shirt was now slightly translucent, and the faint outline of her breasts could be seen.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably the wet shirt making them stand out more than usual,¡± Sophie exined with a nonchnt expression.

    ¡°Besides can¡¯t you just modify the size of your avatar¡¯s body parts at will?¡±

    ¡°Yeah but I like this current look. I might keep it for the next few years unless a new human appearancees into fashion,¡± Rachel replied with a grin.

    ¡°I was thinking of trying out purple or blonde hair next time and mixed things up with some freckles or scars.¡±

    ¡°But there have been some rumors that the new hot look is going to be tall and slender physiques¡­¡±

    Sophie was content to listen quietly as her friend exined the pros and cons of different body types when designed an avatar.

    This was¡­ nice.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t remember thest time that she had felt at peace as she did in this moment.

    It was incredibly mundane to sit down with a friend and talk about random topics and yet this was something that she cherished.

    After months of life in constant stress and fear, Sophie had learnt about the value of appreciating calm and tranquility whenever possible.

    ¡°That reminds me¡­¡± Rachel¡¯s voice suddenly interrupted her train of thought.

    ¡°Cleo wasn¡¯t the same after you disappeared.¡±

    Sophie felt her heart drop as those words sent ripples across her calm mood. She opened her mouth and hesitantly asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Rachel shot her friend a look of sympathy and then exined,¡± Well all of us were affected by what happened that night but your girlfriend she¡­¡±

    ¡°Look I¡¯m only saying what Astrid told me but apparently she stayed in her dorm room for weeks and refused toe out.¡±

    ¡°It took her quite some time to finally return to attending lectures, but she just goes to ss and returns straight to the apartment. Astrid said it¡¯s like she lost her soul¡­¡±

 Chapter 390: Cultivation And Training

    Chapter 390: Cultivation And Training

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    (Nephilim Church Starship- Meditation Chamber)

    ¡°Deep breaths¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out,¡± Sophie softly whispered as she calmly inhaled and exhaled.

    The room was eerily quiet, and Sophie could hear her heartbeat gradually slow down as she continued to rx.

    Thump! Thump!

    The qi in her dantian begun to circte through her meridians in a familiar pattern. It was a never-ending loop that transformed the vast ocean of energy in her dantian into a swirling river.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes cycled through a variety of colors as she quietly cultivated. They turned red, then white and finally pink before returning to their original golden hue.

    The powers gained from the hunter goddess swelled inside Sophie¡¯s body and she could feel the dark temptation to give in.

    Sophie did her best to resist these urges and continued to cultivate while focusing on remaining in control.

    Ever since she had sessfully managed to kill Captain Dawn and offer his soul as a sacrifice to the hunter goddess, something had changed inside her.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure what exactly was different but was determined to find out.

    It was undeniable that being a vessel to a divine creature had granted her great strength.

    What Sophie still needed to figure out was how to wield this power without it consuming her.

    The hybrid girl got up from the floor with slow purposeful movements and pulled a whip out of her storage bag.

    Sophie affectionately rubbed her nano-fiber whip using her right palm and then begun to practice a series of movements.

    Illusory snowkes appeared along the length of her whip and the temperature inside the room plummeted to sub-zero levels.

    Sophie paid no attention to the frost that appeared on her fingertips andshed out at a certain direction.

    The tip of her whip mmed against the closest wall which was immediately covered in a thinyer of ice.

    Sophie clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction and begun to repeat the movements but this time she forced more qi into the technique.

    Again, sheshed out towards the wall but this time she slightly increased her strength.

    Crack!

    The metalloid wall shuddered under the force of the blow and theyer of ice that formed on its outer surface was now several inches thick.

    ¡°Good enough,¡± Sophie muttered hoarsely as she ced the whip back in her storage bag.

    Rachel¡¯s words from the previous night still ran through in her mind every time that she stopped to rest.

    Sophie found herself unable to sleep when she returned to her room and had spent the past few hours in a daze.

    Cleo¡­

    Sophie felt a dull aching sensation in her heart as she remembered those piercing green eyes that were always filled with either mischief or affection.

    It was strange but now the meeting that Sophie had been looking forward to made her feel conflicted and a little bit upset.

    She had no idea that her girlfriend had suffered to that extent over the past few months.

    Although the situation was probably made worse by the fact that her fate was unknown due to the random nature of the teleportation.

    And then there was the whole matter about the parasite that was in Cleo¡¯s body¡­

    Fortunately, there was good news on that front, Katarina had informed her that Cleo had visited the Peterlor estate where a private doctor had sessfully managed to extract the symbiote.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths in order to calm down the bloodlust that begun to surge in response to her fluctuating emotions.

    ¡°Deep breaths¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out,¡± Sophie repeated her mantra and unclenched her tightly held fists.

    She was safe.

    She was about to go home and return to her normal life.

    There was no need to cloud her head with distracting thoughts.

    Sophie rubbed her temples and focused on the qi that was circting through her meridians. She knew that losing her cool so often was not normal.

    It was probably somebination of both her traumatizing experiences in the Unovan Syndicate and the price of using the goddess¡¯ powers.

    Sophie was seriously considering visiting a psychologist when she returned to university in order to sort out her mental state.

    Time slowly passed by as Sophie resumed her training efforts and tried to get her mind to stop thinking too much.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie¡¯s casual palm strikes left heavy dents in the surface of the wall since her superhuman strength allowed her to easily tear through solid metal.

    The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out thest vial of poison that was left.

    She unscrewed the top and flung the fragile vial against the floor. A cloud of vile toxins rose up from the ground which Sophie observed with a cold gaze.

    Poison Art- Cloud Serpent!

    Sophie moved her palms in a specific pattern and channeled her qi outwards. The mist of toxins twisted and contorted into the shape of a serpent that followed her hand movements.

    This dangerous gas slithered around the room like a living creature before Sophie made it enter her mouth.

    A sadistic smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as the sweet taste of poison touched the tip of her taste buds but soon this sensation passed.

    Sophie could feel her venom nds swell as the toxin made its way through her systems and empowered her natural poison.

    There was nothing in the immediate area to properly test the effectiveness of this toxin, so Sophie simply bit down on a chair that was ced in the room.

    A dull hissing sound was heard as the chair begun to melt until it fully dissolved into a foul-smelling puddle.

    Sophie approached a sensor and gave out an order to the AI unit in charge of monitoring the room, ¡°Activate the cirction system and scan the air for any residual toxins.¡±

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Sophie felt a cool breeze hit her body as the air inside the room was filtered several times until the toxins were gone.

    That was enough training for today.

    Sophie wiped the sweat from her brow and then left the room. She wandered through the corridors until a familiar door appeared.

    She knocked twice and then ced her finger on the scanner. The metalloid door swung open to reveal the interior of her private cabin.

    Lily was nowhere in sight, so Sophie assumed that Katarina or Rachel had probably taken the little girl out to y.

    Just as she was about to head into the bathroom and take a nice long hot shower, an announcement rang out from the speakers overhead.

    [Attention! We have entered the inner regions of the Alpha Star System, so it is now safe to connect your devices to the virtual.]

    [The estimated arrival time to Gaia is ten hours]

    Sophie froze in ce as Katarina¡¯s voice repeated the announcement a second time before the speakers cut off.

    There was no need to wait any longer.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ what should¡­ I¡­¡± Sophie whispered nervously. All thoughts of taking a shower and cleaning herself up had now been tossed aside.

    There were butterflies in her stomach as the hybrid girl tilted her wristmunicator upwards and powered it on.

    It took a solid thirty seconds for Sophie¡¯s shaky fingers to finally press the reconnect button on the top of the screen.

    Sophie watched the bar load with extreme focus until the confirmation message popped up. She was now connected to the virtual.

    The flood of messages inside her inbox were still unread but Sophie ignored the lines upon lines of text and just focused on a certain profile.

    Cleo¡¯s smiling face appeared in the center of her screen. Sophie sat down as the tension filling her chest made it difficult for her to breathe properly.

    Sophie took a minute to stare at the picture before mustering up the courage to tap the icon on the right corner of the image.

    [Do You Wish To Videocall?]

    [Yes] [No]

 Chapter 391: Three Simple Words

    Chapter 391: Three Simple Words

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    (Nephilim Church Starship- Private Cabin)

    Just click it¡­e on¡­e on¡­

    Don¡¯t be a coward.

    Sophie¡¯s finger trembled slightly as she hovered over the [Yes] option that was disyed on the screen.

    Her girlfriend was just one simple tap away but the tiny distance between her finger and themunicator seemed like a vast chasm.

    It had been over three months since that terrible day and her burning desire to reunite with her friends and family was the only thing that kept Sophie sane during those tough months.

    This waspletely ridiculous. Why was she being so hesitant?

    For fuck¡¯s sake¡­ this was just a phone call.

    The problem was that as her finger came closer and closer to the screen, Sophie would feel her stomach churn.

    What if Cleo didn¡¯t want to talk to her? She had changed over thest few months¡­

    What if she wasn¡¯t the same person that Cleo had fallen in love with?

    What if Rachel was wrong and Cleo had moved on with her life?

    Wouldn¡¯t Cleo be better off with someone else? Someone who wasn¡¯t¡­ damaged.

    Insidious questions wormed their way into Sophie¡¯s mind and filled her thoughts with nothing but negativity and self-doubt.

    Sophie flung her hand away from the screen and mmed her fist against the nearest wall with as much force as she could muster.

    A loud cracking noise echoed through the room as the thick metalloid exterior of the wall easily folded and copsed.

    Calm down¡­ calm down¡­ do not lose control¡­

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. She tried her best not to focus on the negative emotions but rather the sound of her steady heartbeat.

    ¡°In¡­ and¡­ out¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out,¡± Sophie whispered as she closed her eyes. She opened them slowly once a few minutes had passed and made her way to the bed.

    Sophie sat down on the soft,fortable mattress and leaned against the bedframe. She grabbed a few pillows from the corner of the bed and propped them against her back.

    Now that she had taken a few minutes to calm down, it was easier to look at the situation more objectively.

    This fear and panic¡­ it was nothingpared to what she had to endure during her time in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Besides logically Sophie knew that her self-doubts didn¡¯t make much sense when considering a few key facts.

    Cleo knew about her hybrid nature and quirks and had still remained by her side.

    Even when she had lost control on Calypso¡­ her girlfriend had decided to stay. There was never even a trace of disgust in her eyes when Cleo viewed Sophie¡¯s alien features.

    Maybe it was reasonable to wonder if your significant other would still love you after an extended period of time apart.

    Sophie truly didn¡¯t know.

    This was her first real rtionship and there were just so many unpleasant thoughts and doubts lurking in the back of her mind.

    ¡°I can do this¡­ I can do this¡­I can do this!¡± Sophie firmly spoke with a hint of determination in her gaze.

    She needed to treat this like ripping off a bandage and just do it as quickly as possible before her brain caught up with her actions.

    Sophie immediately tilted her wrist upwards and mmed her finger against the [YES] option that was disyed on the screen.

    [Video calling Cleo Sisrelis¡­. Connecting¡­ Connecting¡­]

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    The soft ringtone entered Sophie¡¯s ears like a thunderous drum as she nervously stared at the screen.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    All sense of time and reality seemed to fade away as Sophie¡¯s only focus was on the status of the call.

    Two voices inside Sophie¡¯s mind constantly fought back and forth as the minutes passed by uneventfully.

    A part of her was relieved that her girlfriend was not picking up while the other part was disappointed.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    The hopeful look on Sophie¡¯s face gradually faded as she realized that contacting Cleo was not possible¡­ well at least for now.

    Just as she was about to press the [Cancel] icon and give up, the image of a room was unexpectedly disyed on the screen.

    The angle of the video made it easy to deduce that Cleo¡¯smunicator was ced on a ledge or elevated area that was some distance away from her body.

    There she was.

    Sophie¡¯s breath was caught in her throat as she stared at the video on the screen with an almost religious fervor.

    The girl in the video was clearly unprepared for the sudden call as she sat quietly in a chair with her attention fully upied by the contents of the book in herp.

    She was dressed in a long oversized pink sweater and baggy pants that were a bit faded and had small rips in the fabric below her kneecaps.

    Messy ck hair fell below her shoulders and there was not a hint of makeup on her face.

    But one could argue that the girl didn¡¯t even need makeup since the famously attractive looks of the royal family had clearly been passed down.

    A cute button nose, sharp angr cheek bones, full kissable lips and a small birthmark beneath her chin.

    The only w on her perfect face were the heavy bags that were present under her piercing green eyes clearly from ack of sleep.

    Her face was sharper and thinner than Sophie remembered, and it was obvious from her unkempt image that Cleo did not bother to maintain her appearance.

    And yet¡­ even still¡­

    Sophie had never seen anyone so beautiful.

    In Sophie¡¯s mind there was no one else in the entire Earth Federation who couldpare to the loveliness of her princess.

    ¡°Excuse me? Why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Hello?¡± Cleo suddenly asked as she looked up from the book that she was currently reading.

    ¡°Wait¡­ what¡­?¡±

    Sophie froze in ce as she saw Cleo¡¯s expression turn from confusion to utter disbelief as she saw the image on the screen of hermunicator.

    ¡°Sophie?¡± a frail whisper came from the other side of the call.

    The book in Cleo¡¯s hands fell to the ground as the princess ran towards hermunicator and hurriedly picked it up.

    ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s me,¡± Sophie softly spoke. All the negative thoughts in her mind disappeared and a warm loving smile shed across her face.

    ¡°How? Wha¡­ what? Where are¡­are¡­ you?¡± Cleo tripped over her words as she spoke.

    Sophie opened her mouth to reply but couldn¡¯t stop the tears from running down the side of her cheeks.

    The throbbing feeling in her chest returned and faint tinges of pink began to spread from the corner of her golden eyes.

    A million thoughts about what to say next ran across Sophie¡¯s mind. There was just so much that she had to tell Cleo.

    Her strengthened connection to the Hunter Goddess, the duel with Captain Dawn, and even the time she had spent as a mercenary working in the Unovan Army.

    Those were only a fraction of her experiences over thest few months.

    And yet the only thing that left her mouth were three simple words.

    ¡°I missed you.¡±

 Chapter 392: The Connection Strengthens

    Chapter 392: The Connection Strengthens

    The time stood still at that moment. An eternity that passed neither slowly nor quickly.

    Sophie stared at the beautiful girl on the other side of the screen and found herself speechless. How could mere words describe how she was currently feeling?

    There was just so much to say but nothing woulde out of her mouth. Words alone could not convey the gut-wrenching mixture of emotions that were filling her chest.

    Sophie wanted to cry,ugh, and scream all at the same time. Here before her very eyes was Cleo and she could finally see her girlfriend again after three long months.

    Three months¡­ of hell.

    Having to fight mad religious cultists, go through ridiculous trials for a so-called ¡®Sun God¡¯ and even kill a ve trader.

    And those were just the parts that Sophie wanted to think about right now.

    Thanks to the video-feed that was disyed on the top right corner of hermunicator, Sophie could see the silly grin that was stered all over her face.

    ¡°Hey¡­ it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s been a while¡­ sorry¡­ I¡¯m um¡­ getting a¡­ bit excited,¡± Sophie stuttered nervously as her hands trembled slightly.

    Smooth. Real smooth.

    Cleo¡¯s expression of shock and disbelief immediately changed, and a teasing glint appeared in her piercing green eyes.

    ¡°Take your time darling. It has been some time since west talked¡­ I mean¡­ I heard some rumors that you left to im a harem of ten thousand beauties,¡± Cleo whispered in a serious tone.

    ¡°WHAT?! Where did you hear that nonsense from?!¡± Sophie eximed in shock.

    She was about to defend herself from those baseless usations when a loud chuckle came from the other side of the screen.

    Cleo smiled widely and Sophie realised that her girlfriend had just taken the opportunity to tease her as usual.

    Sophie could not help butugh along with Cleo not because she found the joke funny but because it made her feel that everything was going to be okay.

    In that shared moment, Sophie felt at peace.

    The joyful sounds of her girlfriend¡¯s giggles were more soothing than even the finest musical symphony.

    Theughter finally stopped, and a rare moment of silence filled the atmosphere. Both girls were unsure of what to do next.

    It was not an ufortable silence but rather it was a quietness that added to the tranquility of the moment.

    ¡°Is¡­ is it really you?¡± Cleo finally spoke with a hint of vulnerability in her voice.

    Sophie was shocked when she heard the deep hurt and sorrow hidden in her tone.

    Cleo was putting on a brave face and acting as if everything was normal but there were certain details in her appearance that stood out.

    Her fingers kept tapping the corner of her mattress nervously and there was a sense of tension hidden behind her cheerful mask.

    ¡°Yes. It is me,¡± Sophie spoke solemnly. She tilted hermunicator to the side and showed Cleo a view of the interior of her private cabin.

    Right now, it was important to show her girlfriend that she was safe and well. Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then begun the long exnation,

    ¡°I am currently on a starship and entering the Alpha Star System. It should only take a few hours before we arrive at Gaia.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what will happen next but most likely I will be able to return to university next week or maybe a couple weekster.¡±

    ¡°Thest few months¡­ I was teleported to a distant in the Unovan Syndicate where I fortunately encountered Lily ckait and we¡­¡±

    The brief exnation turned the minutes to hours as Sophie walked back and forth around the room while telling Cleo about her adventures in the Unovan Syndicate.

    She told her girlfriend everything.

    From the acts of bravery, she undertook in order to rescue Lily in perilous situations to her lost of control and ughter of the crew onboard the Sun¡¯s Glory.

    It was difficult.

    Sophie had to pause several times during her retelling as the memories and trauma from her experiences made it almost impossible to say out loud what she had gone through.

    But she kept going. She needed to get everything off her chest.

    Maybe part of this was as much for herself as it was for Cleo. In a sense it was almost like a confession.

    Cleo was the perfect listener. She waited patiently when Sophie needed time to stop and take a few moments to rx.

    The princess also gave out gentle encouragements throughout the conversation that helped Sophie to finish her story.

    ¡°I¡­.¡± Sophie fought back the tears that were threatening to fall down the sides of her cheeks as she sat back down on the bed.

    ¡°I thought I would never see you again. There were times when I genuinely didn¡¯t know if I would make it out alive,¡± Sophie muttered softly.

    ¡°Every time I was in one of those moments, I felt nothing but regret because there were just so many things that I failed to do.¡±

    ¡°I should¡­ I should¡­ have told you how much I loved you. How much you mean to me. I couldn¡¯t handle the thought of me dying in some backwater part of the universe and¡­¡±

    ¡°You moving on and finding someone else.¡±

    Sophie knew she was selfish. Logically it made sense that as the months passed without news, there was a possibility that Cleo would eventually move on.

    But she couldn¡¯t stand the thought of that happening.

    Cleo was hers. HERS. NO ONE ELSE COULD TOUCH HER.

    ¡°Sophie are you okay?!¡± Cleo shouted from the other side, but Sophie was in no mood to respond to her voice.

    The faint tinges of pink that were once present along the corners of her golden eyes had nowpletely spread to cover the entire surface of her eyes.

    Sophie felt the aching throbbing feeling in her chest return.

    It was a strange and different sensation whenpared to the usual bloodlust that appeared when she entered herbat state.

    This sensation appeared to be fueled by lust and greed.

    Despite being hundreds of light years away, Sophie was overwhelmed by the urge to tear off Cleo¡¯s clothes and make passionate love to her girlfriend like an animal in heat.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry I¡¯m just experiencing a strong emotion¡­ I¡¯ll try to get it under control,¡± Sophie groaned as she stabbed her fingernails into the soft flesh of her palms.

    Pain usually helped her to regain some semnce of sanity and pierce through mental fog caused by the goddess¡¯ powers and this time was no exception.

    The hybrid girl gently inhaled and exhaled for a couple minutes until the overwhelming sensation partially disappeared.

    Sophie was mainly focused on herself during those minutes, so she failed to realise that Cleo was no longer talking.

    Or rather¡­ was no longer capable of talking.

    On the other side of the call, a flushed Cleo moaned in arousal as a wave of heat brushed against her lower parts.

    She could not stop herself from gently rubbing her thighs together as her breath continued to hitch.

    Staring into Sophie¡¯s pink eyes had caused the noble princess to experience a familiar mind-numbing pleasure that she had not felt in months.

    The mark on Cleo¡¯s chest pulsated lightly and unbeknownst to the two girls the thread-like connection between them strengthened.

 Chapter 393: Emotional Trigger

    Chapter 393: Emotional Trigger

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    (Nephilim Church Starship- Private Cabin No.23)

    ¡°Sophie¡­ Sophie¡­ please¡­ I¡­¡± a gasping voice came from the other side of the call.

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes and saw an image on hermunicator screen that almost made her lose control.

    Cleo wasying helplessly on her mattress while gently rubbing her thighs together. The bottom part of her baggy sweater lifted up slightly to reveal a smooth belly.

    Her beautiful pale face was flushed with arousal and her piercing green eyes were clouded with lust.

    No trace of the prim and proper princess could be seen.

    Those full kissable lips drew Sophie¡¯s attention, but it was the look of want and desire hidden in Cleo¡¯s gaze that made her heart skip a beat.

    I want her¡­ I WANT HER. I WANT HER!

    Three words echoed non-stop in Sophie¡¯s mind as the powerful urge to take and ravage swelled up in her chest.

    Sophie forcefully ripped themunicator off her wrist and ced the screen face down on the bedside table.

    The faint gasps and pleasured moans that asionally could be hearding from the speaker made the dark desires in Sophie¡¯s heart bubble ever so closer to the surface.

    Clearly something was wrong. This wasn¡¯t a good development¡­ but why did it feel so right?

    Sophie slowly took in deep breaths and then gently exhaled while doing her best to focus on the sound of the air leaving her mouth.

    This was not the first time that this particr ability had activated but Sophie did not know that it would affect her girlfriend who was hundreds of light years away.

    ¡°Calm down¡­ you will see her soon¡­ calm down¡­¡± Sophie muttered softly.

    Instead of picturing erotic fantasies in her mind, Sophie tried her best to ground herself by remembering the quiet moments shared between the pair.

    The peaceful moments that were filled with nothing but happiness and joy.

    A warm sunny afternoon spentzily hanging around in the living room. Moon perched firmly on her shoulder while Cleo read a fantasy novel.

    Another time when the pair had taken the afternoon off to stroll around the campus and take pictures of the scenic spots.

    Or a simple dinner spent visiting a fancy restaurant that served traditional Mendolesa cuisine.

    Sophie smiled when she remembered the look of pure disgust on Cleo¡¯s face when a giant b of raw meat was ced on the table

    The rtionship between them was more than just sex. Cleo was her best friend. She was her confidant and her rock.

    Sophie would be the first person to admit that maybe she was a bit possessive, but she genuinely cherished her girlfriend deeply.

    It was this feeling of love and affection that made it easier to focus on her breathing pattern and calm herself down.

    Sophie felt at peace, and she picked up hermunicator with slow easygoing movements. Her reflection on the screen showed that her pink eyes were now back to their usual golden colour.

    Small flecks of pink could still be seen along the corners of her eyes, but these spots were rapidly disappearing.

    ¡°What¡­ what was that?¡± a faint groan interrupted her thoughts. The video feed showed Cleo walking back into view wearing apletely new set of clothes.

    Sophie sheepishly stared at her girlfriend who was now wearing a simple white dress that had clearly been hurriedly put on.

    What had happened to the princess just a few minutes earlier was fairly obvious since Cleo¡¯s old clothes were still in the room.

    Sophie tried not to stare too closely at the suspicious wet spot near the center of her girlfriend¡¯s faded pants that were on the floor.

    The princess¡¯ wild and messy appearance was now even more disheveled but the faint post-orgasmic afterglow that surrounded her body made her seem extremely alluring.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ are you okay?! I¡¯m sorry¡­ I think my powers identally activated,¡± Sophie hesitantly confessed.

    ¡°That¡¯s what that was?¡± Cleo hoarsely whispered. The princess was clearly feeling drained since Sophie could hear the tiredness in her voice.

    ¡°Um¡­ I think that my powers got stronger or maybe it¡¯s the connection between us. I¡­ I¡¯m not sure,¡± Sophie replied gently.

    The hybrid girl nervously twiddled her thumbs together while thinking about what to say next.

    Cleo had every right to be upset or even be concerned about what had just happened since to a cultivator it was a tremendous risk to be affected by someone else¡¯s ability.

    Sophie opened and closed her mouth several times as she struggled to find the right words to convey what she wanted to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I know this was an awful experience and I promise that I will get this stupid power under control just please give me a chance and I¡­¡± Sophie whispered.

    The rest of her words were interrupted by the voice that came from the other end of the call.

    ¡°When did I say that I didn¡¯t like it? It was a bit unexpected, but it definitely wasn¡¯t an unpleasant experience¡± Cleo suddenly blurted out.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Sophie eximed in shock.

    Cleo brushed a loose strand of hair to the side of her face and stared at her girlfriend with a calm but serious look.

    ¡°Babe¡­ I trust you. I know that your powers can sometimes make you lose control but honestly at least this time, the experience wasn¡¯t so bad¡­¡± Cleo exined with a gentle smile.

    ¡°Believe me. I haveplete faith in you to master these powers and plus when youe back to university, we can try to figure it out together.¡±

    Cleo finished her speech with a flirtish wink in order to lighten the mood that caused Sophie to let out a small chuckle.

    She really was perfect.

    Sophie had no other words to describe the fantastic princess who had stormed into her heart like a hurricane.

    ¡°So¡­ does this mean that anytime you get aroused the ability activates? What I mean is¡­ Will this power activate just for me or for anyone that you think is attractive?¡± Cleo asked curiously.

    Sophie paused for a moment to remember what her emotional state was during the time when the goddess¡¯ power flowed through her body.

    There was definitely a feeling of lust but that was only a small part. Truthfully there was a darker desire hidden behind Sophie¡¯s passion.

    ¡°No. You are the only person who makes me feel this way,¡± Sophie firmly spoke. This was something that she truly believed in.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just lust or arousal so seeing a good-looking person won¡¯t cause it to overwhelm me. I remember¡­¡±

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to steady her mood and then confessed what was the thought running through her mind at that time,

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ remember feeling jealous at the thought of you meeting someone else when I was gone.¡±

    ¡°Just the thought of you moving on and finding someone else was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.¡±

    ¡°I could be wrong, but I think that emotion was the trigger that made the ability respond to my feelings of insecurity.¡±

 Chapter 394: Selfish Desire To Protect

    Chapter 394: Selfish Desire To Protect

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    The higher ups of the Nephilim Church and Duke Peterlor wanted to keep their alliance secret, so Sophie was informed of the secret n once the starship got nearer to Gaia.

    They would be taking a detour to a well-known pilgrimage site in order to throw off any suspicions.

    There would be no doubts if after a battlefield exercise, the saintess decided to visit a holy site in order to bless the believers and worship.

    No one would suspect that the true purpose of the Nephilim Church¡¯s delegation was to rescue the hybrid daughter of Duke Peterlor.

    Once the starship had arrived on Ex NP-894, Katarina had led Sophie, Lily and the rest of the death guards to a private spacecraft that was concealed at a rendezvous point.

    This entire operation had made the return journey to Gaia several hours longer than a direct flight, but Sophie understood the reasoning.

    Her father¡¯s alliance with the Nephilim Church was a powerful hidden card that could not be easily revealed.

    Now Sophie and Lily stood quietly in a wide-open field while the wind brushed gently against their faces.

    A full blue sun hung brightly in the sky and was apanied by three moons that were a dull grey colour.

    ¡°Big sister where are we?¡± Lily asked quietly as she tightened her grip on Sophie¡¯s right palm. The little girl could barely contain her curiosity as she stared at the seemingly barren scenery.

    A wide-open field with no vegetation or any signs of life present stretched out before them. This dead patch ofnd extended outwards towards the horizon with no end in sight.

    ¡°Home. This is my home,¡± Sophie replied gently. A warm smile shed across her face and a few tears welled up in her eyes.

    Lily was unable to see through the illusion, but Sophie¡¯s golden eyes could easily pierce through the camouge system to see what was really present in this ¡¯empty¡¯ plot ofnd.

    An enormous translucent dome-like structure that rose high above the ground and reached for the heavens.

    This dome acted as barrier and also helped to conceal the underground entrance to the magnificent castle of House Peterlor from prying eyes.

    Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision could also make out slight fluctuations in the air when the wind brushed against the dome which caused tiny ripples along its surface.

    ¡°I¡¯m just waiting for Katarina and the rest of the death guards to finish powering down the hovercar and then I¡¯ll take you inside,¡± Sophie promised.

    Now that they had finally arrived in a safe location, Katarina had allowed the two noble girls to go outside first while she finishedpleting a brief mission report and a few tasks.

    The hybrid girl turned around and waved cheerful at the red-haired woman who was currently barking out a series of orders at her poor subordinates who were busily running back and forth.

    Katarina nced out of the hovercar¡¯s window and nodded back before discretely signaling using her hands that she only needed around five more minutes.

    Sophie sent back a message that told her not to worry and then ran her fingers through Lily¡¯s soft hair.

    The warmth of the little girl standing peacefully by her side brought a smile to Sophie¡¯s face.

    Suddenly an unexpected noise caused the hair on the back of her arms to stand up as her danger sense activated.

    Crack!

    Sophie stepped back in shock as the translucent barrier instantly shattered to pieces and a humanoid figure emerged from behind the veil.

    ¡°My daughter!¡± a fearsome roar came from the figure.

    Sophie had barely any time to react before she found herself trapped in the warm embrace of her father.

    ¡°My baby¡­ my princess¡­ my angel¡­¡± Duke Peterlor kept muttering softly as if in a trance. His massive frame shuddered, and Sophie could feel her shoulders getting wet.

    He was crying.

    ¡°I¡¯m here dad, I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m here,¡± Sophie choked up as she cried as well.

    It was as though the months of pain, trauma and grief all came crashing down at once as she felt the love and care of her father.

    Finally, she was safe. It was over¡­ the nightmare was finally over.

    Duke Peterlor clung to his daughter and refused to let go. No trace of the cold military leader with an aura that repelled others froming near him could be seen.

    At that moment, he was a father who had been reunited with his lost daughter. The greatest gift that his lover had ever given him.

    The other high nobles could not understand why Duke Peterlor was so distraught when his heir had disappeared.

    Which high noble family did not have multiple children? And a healthy man like Duke Peterlor could easily produce another.

    But they didn¡¯t understand.

    Wealth, nobility, family name¡­ he cared for none of it. His daughter was more important than all of those thingsbined.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault¡­ if I hadn¡¯t made you go to the banquet¡­ if I had just realised the warning signs that were there,¡± Duke Peterlor sobbed as he clutched his daughter tighter.

    ¡°Dad¡­ no one could have known,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she held her father. The regret and pain present in her father¡¯s voice made her heart feel sick.

    Katarina had thoughtfully activated the ck-out screens in the hovercar once the duke had unexpectedly appeared, so the father-daughter pair had privacy for their reunion.

    Lily was standing at the side watching the familial disy with a small trace of longing in her gaze.

    She also missed her family.

    Sophie took a few steps backwards to escape the bear hug and then took a good look at her father for the first time in months.

    Duke Peterlor appeared no older than his early thirties with a lean muscr physique but there was something different about him.

    He was still the same handsome man whose attractive looks had stolen many a noblewoman¡¯s and nobleman¡¯s heart but¡­ what had changed?

    Unlike Cleo, Sophie¡¯s father did not require sleep or rest since he had reached the god stage so there were no bags under his eyes or traces of exhaustion on his face.

    And yet¡­ somehow Sophie could sense a deep fatigue and tiredness hidden behind his perfect features.

    Just as Sophie was closely observing her father, Duke Peterlor was doing the same and feeling a mix of emotions.

    His daughter¡­ was almost identical to her mother.

    Maybe the shape of her nose or the angle of her eyes came from his side of the family, but Sophie was basically a splitting image.

    Those months spent in the Unovan Syndicate had changed her. His precious daughter was now several inches taller with firmer muscles.

    Duke Peterlor was taken aback when he observed the volume of qi in her dantian because it was impressive to say the least.

    Sophie was in the middle level of the qi tide stage. It was shocking progress that only fell slightly behind where his cultivation level had been at her age.

    Duke Peterlor felt both happy and worried. He felt a bit ashamed to admit it but a small part of him wished that his daughter had remained talentless.

    Then he could have happily protected and raised her for the rest of her life. It was a selfish desire, but Duke Peterlor knew firsthand just how dangerous the path of cultivation was.

    History was full of fallen geniuses who had never reached their full potential or rather were not allowed to.

    Duke Peterlor gently stroked the side of Sophie¡¯s cheek and ced his forehead against his daughter¡¯s forehead.

    He muttered a prayer silently.

    Duke Peterlor wasn¡¯t sure who he was praying to but hoped that some kind deity would bless his daughter and gave her a life of safety.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let anything like this ever happen again,¡± he whispered hoarsely.

 Chapter 395: Home Sweet Home

    Chapter 395: Home Sweet Home

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    Sophie continued to chat with her father as they walked towards a small wooden shack that was roughly the size of a one-bedroom apartment.

    Duke Peterlor had easily shattered the translucent dome in his haste to reunite with his daughter so now the camouge was broken.

    The other side of the barrier was not an empty field but rather a lush fertile garden that was filled with flowers and green leafy trees that stretched towards the heavens.

    Small insect-like creatures filled the air with soft buzzing noises as they hopped from flower to flower in order to taste the sweet nectar hidden inside.

    Sophie reached for a delicate red flower and plucked the petals off with smooth movements. She turned around and ced these small petals in Lily¡¯s hand.

    Lily¡¯s eyes widened and a happy smile shed across her face. Sophie ran a few steps backwards and picked up the little girl in her arms.

    Lily was clearly feeling a bit nervous around Duke Peterlor since the small child had only spoken a few sentences since the duke arrived.

    Sophie stroked Lily¡¯s hair and wandered through the garden with a look of admiration on her face.

    This ce made me feel a deep sense of tranquility.

    Sophie could feel her worries and anxiety fade away to nothingness as she smelled the fresh scent of nature.

    ¡°You always did love to y here. Especially when you were a little girl, I used to have to drag you away from here when it was dinner time,¡± Duke Peterlor chuckled loudly.

    Warm memories flooded back into Sophie¡¯s mind as she recalled the happy afternoons spent ying in the garden without a care in the world.

    In fact, it was in this same garden where she had spent many a ydate with Leona during the time when the two were still best friends.

    Leona¡­ hmm¡­

    Their rtionship had somewhat mended by the time the Imperial Banquet had urred but that was a few months ago or rather what felt like a lifetime.

    Actually, there were a lot of people that Sophie had yet to contact or at least message when she gave the matter some more thought.

    But she wasn¡¯t going to rush.

    There were piles upon piles of messages in her inbox, but Sophie nned on only establishing contact with her closest friends for now.

    She needed to take a solid week or maybe more to rest and recuperate after her ordeals in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Sophie walked in a daze until she finally arrived in front of the wooden shack that stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of the carefully constructed garden paradise.

    The shack¡¯s outer appearance was rather unassuming and seemed to be made from in wooden nks that were arranged in the style of a simple hut.

    Duke Peterlor entered through the doorway with confidence followed by Sophie who took a fewrge strides and easily caught up.

    A robotic voice was then hearding from a hidden speaker as a green light was emitted from a device on the ceiling.

    [¡°Confirming the number of lifeforms¡­ three¡­ scanning three biological lifeforms¡­¡±]

    [¡°Recognised¡­ Rokan Peterlor¡­ alpha level personnel¡­ highest authority level¡±]

    [¡°Recognised¡­ Sophie Peterlor¡­ alpha level personnel¡±]

    [¡°Error¡­ failure to recognise¡­¡±]

    The green light swept Lily¡¯s body multiple times to detect any hidden threats or weapons and soon a harsh wailing noise erupted from the speaker.

    Duke Peterlorzily made a series of hand gestures, and the automatic rm system was deactivated instantly.

    [¡°Transport to inner level¡­ Granted!¡±]

    ¡°Hold on to me tight Lily,¡± Sophie quietly whispered as she tightened her grip on the little girl¡¯s soft body.

    The room inside the hut began to shake violently from side to side as though an earthquake was happening.

    Sophie used her ded appendages to stab into the wooden floor in order to stabilize her posture.

    Duke Peterlor stood as firm as a rock since to him this violent trembling was nothing more than a calming breeze.

    With a loud hissing noise, three identical holes opened up in the floor. Sophie stepped into the nearest one after winking cheerfully at her dad.

    ¡°See you soon!¡± Sophie called out happily. She made sure that Lily was still securely held in her arms before flinging the rest of her body inside.

    Whoosh!

    Sophie closed her eyes and heard the sounds of Lily screaming in fear as the pair travelled through the underground slide.

    There were twists, turns and unexpected drops that made Sophie¡¯s stomach churn. She had no idea why her father would design the only entrance to the underground like this.

    With a dull thump, Sophie¡¯s feetnded on solid ground, and she opened her eyes to see the familiar sight of home.

    A magnificent sprawling mechanical city where hundreds of small hovercars zipping through the air above the tall skyscrapers that rose up from the ground.

    Hundreds of robot androids and mechanical drones kept the city fully operational and maintained a defense system capable of withstanding multiple orbital strikes.

    Even in the event that Gaia came under direct attack, there were enough resources such as multiple escape spacecrafts, barrier devices and food replicators tost for a lifetime.

    This was the fortress of House Peterlor. But¡­ it was also home. Sophie felt a firm handnd on her shoulder and knew that it belonged to her father.

    How he was able to easily evade her enhanced senses was a mystery that would have to be solved another day.

    ¡°Dad¡­ I¡­¡± Sophie tried to speak but couldn¡¯t get the words out. Maybe it was finally seeing the city that caused her emotions to once again spiral out of control.

    Standing in front of the Peterlor Estate with her father standing right beside her. Sophie choked up as tears ran down the sides of her cheeks.

    ¡°Big sister are you okay?¡± Lily asked worriedly. Sophie did her best to smile lightly at the small child, but her attempts just made her facial expressions look even worse.

    Whoever said that girls look beautiful when they cry waspletely full of shit. Sophie sniffed loudly and knelt down to the ground.

    She gently released Lily from her embrace and then ced her face in her palms. Sophie¡¯s entire body shuddered as she sobbed furiously.

    This was supposed to be a happy asion and she was ruining it. Sophie didn¡¯t want her father to see the snot and ugly tears that were streaked across her face.

    But what she didn¡¯t expect was the fact that her father couldn¡¯t care less about his daughter¡¯s less than ideal appearance.

    ¡°There¡­ there¡­ just let it all out¡­¡± Duke Peterlor whispered hoarsely as he knelt down to take his daughter into his arms.

    He stroked her back lovingly and waited for the tears and emotions to finally be released. He was prepared to wait as long as it took.

    Minutes passed slowly as the duke continued tofort his daughter and whisper that everything was going to be alright.

    It was impossible to guarantee that his daughter would live a worry-free life, but the duke swore to himself to never lose her again.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Duke Peterlor smiled and handed Sophie a handkerchief that he pulled out from his storage ring.

    Sophie muttered her thanks softly and used the fabric to wipe her face thoroughly until all traces of her breakdown had disappeared.

    An embarrassed flush spread across Sophie¡¯s face when she realised that the right shoulder of her dad¡¯s uniform was nowpletely soaked.

    ¡°Come on¡­¡± Duke Peterlor pretended not to see the embarrassed look on his daughter¡¯s face and reached his hand out.

    Sophie ced in her palm in her father¡¯s calloused hand and felt a surge of warmth in her heart when his fingers tightened.

    ¡°I know my little princess is um¡­ quite the foodie so I hired the famous caterers from The Emerald Sky¡¯s Restaurant to prepare a two hundred-course fest,¡± Duke Peterlor excitedly spoke.

    Sophie¡¯s stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food which brought a weary smile to the duke¡¯s face.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s precious daughter was absolutely perfect in his eyes but even he had to admit¡­

    His baby girl would probably eat away the fortunes of a lesser noble family!

 Chapter 396: A Fantastic Feast

    Chapter 396: A Fantastic Feast

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    ¡°What the hell is the holdup?! Am I paying you fucking morons to sleep on the job? Those steaks and souffles should have been out yesterday!¡±

    ¡°But sir! We can¡¯t keep up with the duke¡¯s daughter! She has already finished one hundred and fifty courses already!¡±

    ¡°Excuses! Excuses! Fuck off! Fuck off! FUCK OFF!¡±

    The sounds of yelling and angry roars filled the kitchen as a dozen chefs frantically ran from station to station.

    Head chef Gordan Ryene scowled as he directed his ire towards the newly hired chefs that were struggling to keep up with the pace.

    If he had to describe these highly trained and qualified chefs using three descriptions, then it would probably be¡­

    Amateurs. Dim wits. Useless sacks of shit.

    The Emerald Sky¡¯s Restaurant was one of the most prestigious restaurants on Gaia and had in the past been hired to serve thete emperor himself.

    One does not acquire such an impressive reputation without maintaining only the highest standard of quality.

    Duke Peterlor was a powerful client that deserved only the best that could be provided and Gordan swore that not a single meal would be anything less than five stars.

    Robotic waiters stood silently along the walls of the kitchen with empty tes held carefully in their palms.

    asionally a chef would run up to one of the robots and ce a warm meal on the empty te before rushing back to their station.

    The robotic waiter would then scan the dish for toxins and then proceed through the door and enter into the dining room.

    The dining room was arge open hall that was dimly lit by bioluminescent nts that were specially grown on the pirs that were scattered around the room.

    A heavy chandelier swung gently from side to side as the sounds of ssical music could be hearding from the speakers overhead.

    In the center of the spacious hall was a magnificent wooden table with intricate patterns carved onto its surface.

    Several chairs were ced along the edges of the table with each made from the finest materials that money could buy.

    The frames of the chairs were crusted with rare jewels while the seat was made from a special type of memory foam that perfectly molded to fit the shape of the person sitting down.

    Three well-dressed individuals sat down on these chairs with tes of food neatly piled in front of them.

    The seat at the head of the table was upied by Duke Peterlor who was content to watch as his daughter devoured te after te of food into her ravenous mouth.

    Lily sat down on the chair next to Sophie and took small, cute bites of the roasted potato skins on her te.

    Sophie maintained the refined attitude and demeanor that was expected of ady of noble birth, but something was a bit off¡­

    Although her movements were slow and elegant, it was an undeniable fact that the food seemed to just disappear down her throat.

    From cold noodle soups filled with rare vegetables and edible gold to gigantic bs of meat freshly roasted and smeared with honey.

    No te could survive more than a few minutes in front of her.

    But could you me her? Sophie had tasted very little other than vials upon vials of nutrient solution and the asional fresh meal during her three months stay in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Grade S nutrient solutions did not taste terrible but frankly it felt like drinking water and that was barely appealing to Sophie since there was nothing more satisfying than ripping into flesh¡­

    Sophie quickly pushed that dangerous thought to the back of her mind and continued to devour another bowl of mystery soup.

    She was tempted to let out a sigh of appreciation as an explosion of vors burst in her mouth when she sipped the hot liquid.

    ¡°Big sister¡­ big sister¡­¡± a soft whisper entered Sophie¡¯s ears. A tiny hand tugged at her sleeve as Lily stared at her pitifully.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sophie replied softly. Lily¡¯s face blushed as she gestured towards her te. There was a giant bone in the middle of her dish that was covered in spicy oil.

    Sophie realised the issue and smiled at the little girl.

    She picked up a knife and scrapped the meat and bone marrow off the bone with smooth movements before slicing the meat into bite-sized chunks.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lily replied with a warm grin. The little girl buried herself in the food and got sauce on the corners of her lip.

    Sophie¡¯s smile softened as she picked up a tissue and wiped the corners of Lily¡¯s face silently withoutint.

    Duke Peterlor stared silently as he observed a side of his daughter that he had never seen before.

    When did his daughter be so caring and motherly?

    Although as he thought about the matter further it did make sense that the pair had bonded over the course of thest several months.

    Anyone who had experienced so many life and death situations with apanion by their side would have formed a strong connection.

    Duke Peterlor silently made a note to himself to arrange a meeting with Count ckait as soon as possible.

    House ckait had not formerly made an announcement that they would be choosing a new heir but one of Lily¡¯s cousins had all but been confirmed as the logically choice.

    A brief frown shed across the duke¡¯s face as he remembered the bloody battle of session that had resulted from his father¡¯s swaying heart.

    Maybe there was a way to reintegrate Lily back into her family without causing a conflict.

    Duke Peterlor mulled over several possible methods in his mind before settling down on a certain option.

    Sophie hadn¡¯t noticed her father¡¯s contemtive mood as she eagerly stabbed her fork into arge fish-like creature that had been fried until its skin was crispy.

    Crunch!

    The oily fatty exterior immediately broke down under the force of Sophie¡¯s bite and she could taste the sweet tang of tender meat.

    Sophie reached for a goblet and took a small sip of wine from the ss.

    Her body¡¯s immunity to poison meant that alcohol was instantly broken down when it entered her liver, but Sophie still enjoyed the taste.

    ¡°My daughter¡­ have you decided when you want to return to university?¡± Duke Peterlor suddenly asked out of the blue.

    The handsome middle-aged man sounded casual but under the table his fists were clenched tightly together.

    Duke Peterlor tried his best to calm down and not let his daughter know about his internal struggles.

    He had been tempted to never let her leave the Peterlor estate ever again.

    In fact, a small part of him screamed that it was the best option to keep her safe but¡­.

    He couldn¡¯t.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t a canary that he could raise for a lifetime. She was his daughter, an individual who needed to grow and spread her wings.

    The power struggles and hidden undercurrents beneath the so- called ¡®peaceful state¡¯ of the Earth Federation had only gotten worse since the emperor¡¯s death.

    Emperor Sisrelis¡¯ choice to kill himself had left a power vacuum and as history would tell, many a noble house had disappeared in the long river of time during a war for session.

    Should he be killed one day¡­ Duke Peterlor would never forgive himself if his daughter were unable to look after herself and survive without his protection.

    Sophie stopped eating and ced her fork down on the side of the table. She took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled to focus her thoughts.

    ¡°Dad. I have been doing some thinking and I think maybe it¡¯s better if I don¡¯t rush back to university,¡± Sophie exined seriously.

    ¡°There are only two weeks left in this semester, so it doesn¡¯t make sense that I show up just for finals season.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I have to talk to the dean or the departmental heads, but I was considering re-enrolling in my courses next semester and then going to summer school to make up for my lost credits.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you decide¡­ I will support you,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke firmly. He got up from his chair and ced a warm hand on Sophie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°But I do think that you deserve some well needed rest.¡±

 Chapter 397: A Trip Down Memory Lane

    Chapter 397: A Trip Down Memory Lane

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    Everything was just as she remembered. Everything was fine. She was safe with nothing to worry about and yet¡­

    Sophie sat up with a groan and rubbed her temples furiously using her fingers. The familiar sight of her bedroom did little to ease her frustrated mood.

    She had tried fruitlessly for several hours to fall asleep but no matter what she did¡­

    Nothing seemed to work.

    Counting sheep?¡­ Nothing. Just closing her eyes¡­ nothing. Doing light exercise and washing her face¡­ nothing.

    ¡°I¡­ just¡­ I can¡¯t sleep,¡± Sophie muttered hoarsely.

    Being a cultivator in the qi tide stage meant that she should be theoretically capable of going without eating or sleeping for months at a time and be perfectly.

    Perhaps it was due to her Arachnais physiology, but Sophie still felt the urge to rest and eat on a regr basis.

    Which meant that right now she was tired as hell with heavy bags present on the underside of her eyes.

    What was keeping her awake?!

    Sophie mmed her fist against the soft mattress in frustration. She made sure to hold back using her strength, so that the bedframe didn¡¯t snap in two.

    This waspletely ridiculous.

    Sophie got up from the bed with an angry huff and decided to take a walk around her room to calm down.

    One would expect the noble heiress of a dukedom to have a magnificent bed chamber filled with obscene and gaudy disys of wealth but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth.

    It was fair to say that Sophie¡¯s bedroom wasrge and spacious, but it was mostly filled with flowers and tiny nts of varying colours and scents.

    There was an old poster hung on the wall that showed a virtual band that was popr a few years ago.

    In the corner of the room was arge bookshelf filled with story books, fantasy novels and written autobiographies.

    It was true that Sophie had an expansive collection of novels on her wristmunicator, but nothing felt better than holding a physical book and turning the pages by hand.

    In her childhood and teenage years, many an afternoon had been spent sitting down on the ground and getting lost in a world of fantasy.

    It was the perfect form of escapism.

    Sophie smiled softly as she pulled a few books from the shelves. ¡®The Evil Dragon And The Princess¡¯, ¡®Ancient Earth Fables- The Gods¡¯ and ¡®The Psyker War¡¯ were all titles she remembered clearly.

    She carefully opened the book covers one by one and flipped through the well-worn pages that were slightly yellow and faded.

    Next to the bookshelf was a in wooden desk with afortable chair. On the top of the desk were numerous pictures.

    Some were of Sophie and her father ying in the garden, another photo was of her and Cleo grinning broadly at the camera during their date at the zoo and there was even one of her first day attending high school.

    Happy memories¡­

    Sophie walked slowly and explored every corner of the bedroom before returning to the bed. She pulled the nket to side andy down with a heavy sigh.

    She had spent months in a hostile environment encountering one life threatening situation after the next.

    As a result, Sophie was now finding it impossible to get rid of her nightly vignce.

    Her eyes would constantly flicker to the corners of the room and her enhanced senses would unconsciously extend outward.

    Sophie frowned as she caught herself once again keeping a close eye on the entrance to the bedroom.

    There were no threats nearby.

    ¡°Rx¡­ just rx¡­ just rx¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly. She took a few deep breaths and gently exhaled.

    Well, if she wasn¡¯t going to get any sleep tonight then she might as well do something.

    Sophie knew it was a bad idea to look at a bright screen while trying to sleep but at this point she was too bored and tired.

    She reached for her wristmunicator that was ced on the top of her dresser table and powered on the device.

    The metalloid device took only a few seconds to boot up and soon the homepage appeared.

    Sophie browsed the different icons and finally settled on the ¡®Messages¡¯ tab.

    She clicked the icon and received an endless flood of unopened conversations and messages from friends, acquaintances and even professors.

    Sophie reached out using her finger to tap a random conversation but paused with her hand mere centimeters away from the screen.

    ¡°No¡­ I should prioritise,¡± Sophie muttered thoughtfully. She scrolled down to the contacts section and clicked on Astrid¡¯s profile.

    The Mendolesa girl¡¯s profile picture was a selfie taken of her sitting down at the beach with cool sunsses on.

    Sophie chuckled softly and clicked to open the conversation. She was blown away by the sheer volume of lines of text.

    Astrid had been sending her weekly texts with updates about her life and important events that had happened in the university.

    Some of the messages brought tears to Sophie¡¯s eyes as she could feel the longing and hurt in the tone of her friend¡¯s messages.

    Astrid: [Hey Sophie¡­ it has been a few weeks since you disappeared, and I have been trying my best to find new leads using spatial magic.]

    Astrid: [I know it¡¯s a long shot since that stupid Emperor blew up the warp circle, but I won¡¯t stop looking for you.]

    Astrid: [I promise.]

    Astrid: [I miss you ? ]

    Sophie¡¯s hand trembled as she continued to read the other messages that were saved on hermunicator.

    Astrid had spent thest few months desperately reading through the various books inside the university¡¯s magecraft archives trying to find a way to track the exit port of a random warp circle.

    Even Astrid¡¯s mentor had told her that it was impossible, but she had never given up hope.

    If there was at least one bright spot during those dark times it was that Sophie¡¯s disappearance had given her the courage to finally confess her feelings to Qiana.

    Life was too short not to make the most of every opportunity. Astrid had been fully prepared to face a rejection but surprisingly she had gotten a yes!

    Sophie couldn¡¯t help but smile since it was pretty obvious to everyone except the wolfish mage that Qiana found her attractive.

    The tone of the text messages after that point improved but Astrid¡¯s search for her had not stopped even for a moment.

    The minutes turned to hours as Sophie didn¡¯t stop after reading Astrid¡¯s messages but had opened up the other conversations in her inbox.

    Some messages made herugh, some made her cry, and some made her feel warm and fuzzy.

    There were more people that cared for her than she ever imagined.

    Unfortunately, she could not reply just yet since her father wanted her to wait a week before announcing her return.

    It was just an extra precaution to avoid any suspicion falling on the Nephilim Church¡¯s delegation who were still in the star system.

    Duke Peterlor also nned on having some of his personal starships intentionally be seen near the frontier region.

    Sophie hummed softly as she considered what to do next.

    It was a bad idea to send a reply to her acquaintances but maybe she could make an exception for Qiana and Astrid as long as she told them to keep it a secret.

    Cleo already knew so it probably wasn¡¯t an issue to tell just two more people. Sophie hesitantly reached for the call icon and pressed it.

    [Connecting to Astrid Lockhart¡­ connecting¡­ connecting¡­]

    Sophie¡¯s heartbeat quickened as she imagined the shocked and ted look on Astrid¡¯s face when she realised who was calling.

    [Connecting¡­ connecting¡­ connection¡­]

    Err¡­ or not?

    Sophie checked the local time on Eleron and saw that it was the afternoon which meant that her friend was probably in the mage tower studying at the moment.

    Well, that was okay. There really wasn¡¯t a need to rush. Sophie typed out a brief exnation of her current situation and then pressed send.

    She was about to try calling Qiana next when something strange happened. Sophie didn¡¯t notice at first, but the corners of her vision started to darken.

    Crack!

    The world around Sophie instantly shattered, and the hybrid girl found herself floating helplessly in a familiar looking void.

    It was the space inside the amulet. Sophie looked around in confusion since she hadn¡¯t been cultivating.

    There was a fainting tugging feeling in the center of her stomach and her body started moving towards a certain direction.

    Something or maybe someone inside the vast emptiness was calling out her name but she couldn¡¯t tell where the voice wasing from.

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

 Chapter 398: A Strange Dream

    Chapter 398: A Strange Dream

    Sophie tried her best to reply to the mysterious voice that was calling out her name, but nothing happened when she moved her lips.

    There was a ck mist-like substance that was covering the lower part of her face and other areas of her body.

    What was going on? What was this thing?

    Sophie struggled and twisted but the ck mist kept tightening around her body like an insidious python.

    ¡°Hunter goddess? Priestess? Are you the ones doing this?!¡± Sophie wordlessly mouthed.

    She waited for a few moments but did not receive a reply.

    This was clearly the space inside her amulet since Sophie could see the stone tablet hovering in the middle of the void.

    But for some reason it felt slightly different in a way that Sophie could not seem to pin down. All she knew was that there was a guiding force pulling her body in a certain direction.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened, and the ck mist slowly changed and morphed before her eyes to reveal a shocking sight.

    Hidden inside the ck mist were thread-like particles that danced merrily as they formed a constantly moving patchwork rope.

    This rope was wrapped securely around her body and extended outward in the same direction where her body was slowly being pulled towards.

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    The voice continued to chant non-stop as though her name was some kind of mantra. Sophie growled in frustration since she couldn¡¯t get the annoying noise to stop.

    Sophie tried desperately a few more times to use brute force to snap the ck mist but no matter what she did¡­ the rope would simply bend and stretch like a rubber band.

    The flow of time inside the amulet space was different from the outside world so Sophie had no idea just how much time had passed since she entered the void.

    She let out a heavy sigh after a few more minutes of fruitlessly struggling. Sophie rxed her body and decided to just wait and see what happened next.

    Clearly there was nothing she could do to get out of this situation. Besides whom knows what would happen if she did manage to get the ck mist off her body.

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Sophie!¡±

    ¡°Yes! Yes! I can fucking hear you!¡± Sophie silently roared in anger.

    The hybrid girl took a moment topose herself and then just stared wordlessly into the void.

    She tried to distract herself from the non-stop chants by focusing on reading the text written on the stone tablet.

    It was all written in the ancient Arachnaisnguage, but Sophie had long possessed the ability to somehow be able to understand the writings.

    ¡®Strength leads to anger.¡¯

    ¡®We are the hunters of the universe.¡¯

    ¡®The night shadows within behind the mark of the ancients.¡¯

    ¡®All creatures shall be enthralled in our dark web.¡¯

    ¡®None shall survive the spider¡¯s wrath.¡¯

    ¡®I pledge my soul to the great goddess to grant me the power to y all in my path.¡¯

    Those words were the source of Sophie¡¯s greatest strength¡­ and her eternal curse.

    Sometimes Sophie wondered if she would have made the same decision to cultivate using the Spider Whisper Art if she knew that it involved bing a vessel of the hunter goddess.

    Sophie¡¯s musings were cut short by a pulsating wave of energy that suddenly entered the void and rippled outward.

    BOOM!

    Sophie¡¯s body was rocked sideways under the force of the blow, and she could hear a tearing noise as though someone or rather something was trying to enter the void.

    Suddenly the ck mist covering Sophie¡¯s body tightened and that was the only warning sign she got before the pulling force intensified.

    Sophie¡¯s body turned into a blur as she was rapidly pulled towards the direction where the pulsating wave of energy had entered the void.

    Bang!

    The poor hybrid girl mmed against an invisible barrier that instantly knocked all the air out of her lungs.

    The pulling force didn¡¯t stop and kept trying to push Sophie¡¯s body through the barrier without any sess.

    Sophie was now stered against the invisible barrier with barely any space to breathe. She tried to resist the pulling force and it felt as though her body was being split in two.

    She could vaguely hear the mysterious voice chanting out her name a few more times before a loud cracking noise filled her ears.

    The void space instantly shattered, and Sophie opened her eyes to find herself back in her bedroom.

    ¡°What the¡­ hell¡­?¡± Sophie panted frantically as she grabbed her bedsheet.

    The rapid beating of her heart, pale face and the beads of sweat running down her brow made the hybrid girl appear as though she had just woken up from a nightmare.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled before counting to one hundred slowly.

    Gradually she could feel her mood calming down. Sophie nced at hermunicator and saw that several hours had passed since the time she was about to call Qiana.

    Sophie took a peek at the mirror on top of her dresser and observed that the heavy bags under her eyes were now gone.

    She also noted with surprise that her body felt lighter and more rested than she had felt in weeks.

    What happened? Did she fall asleep?

    Did she really go in the amulet space or was it a dream?

    Sophie closed her eyes and felt her consciousness sink into the void. She opened her eyes and saw the space exactly as she normally remembered it.

    There was no ck mist. The stone tablet was floating silently.

    There was no mysterious voice calling her name.

    Sophie floated silently around in the endless nothingness but didn¡¯t encounter any invisible barriers blocking her way.

    ¡°Huh? But¡­ I¡­¡± Sophie whispered in confusion. She opened her eyes and returned to the normal sight of her bedroom.

    Was it truly a dream?

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Star of Ethnaise ¨C Another Void Space)

    (Astral ne)

    ¡°Sister¡­ I tried my best, but I didn¡¯t get a response,¡± Princess Rai¡¯lle whispered softly with some disappointment evident in her tone.

    The youngest member of the Arachnais royal family made a series of hand gestures and multiple summoning portals closed.

    A slender palm was gently ced on her shoulder and a soft whisper came from the person standing behind her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My daughter is not strong enough to astral transfer through different void spaces¡­ at least not yet,¡± the voice spoke calmly.

    Princess Rai¡¯lle turned around and came face to face with the owner of the soft palm.

    It belonged to an otherworldly beauty whose aura radiated both seductiveness and deadliness in equal measure.

    The humanoid woman was roughly six feet tall with long slender legs and beautiful golden eyes that shone eerily in the darkness.

    Her lips were incredibly red with a colour simr to blood while her voluptuous figure would make any observer blush.

    Six ded appendages jutted out of her back with a sharp barb attached to each end. The fangs in her mouth glistened menacingly as she smiled confidently.

    She was the beautiful and enigmatic former princess Thai¡¯lle who was forced to rot away in an interster prison as punishment for her crimes.

    However not a trace of struggles or hardships could be seen on her perfect facial features that were almost identical to her daughter¡¯s.

    ¡°But sister¡­ I know how badly you wanted to see your offspring and I couldn¡¯t summon her,¡± Princess Rai¡¯lle frowned as she spoke.

    ¡°Mother¡­I mean¡­ Empress is working on a n to break you out of prison, but we are being monitored currently.¡±

    ¡°No don¡¯t worry. I have my own ns set in motion,¡± Thai¡¯lle replied calmly.

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous! You didn¡¯t break into the Ascension Stage. How can you possibly escape?¡± Princess Rai¡¯lle cried out.

    Thai¡¯lle¡¯s grin widened as a murderous expression shed across her face. A heavy aura of bloodlust filled the void that caused Princess Rai¡¯lle¡¯s body to tremble involuntarily.

    Fear but what she felt was more than fear.

    It was a primal fear.

    An irrational feeling that made Princess Rai¡¯lle want to flee immediately without looking back.

    At that moment, Princess Rai¡¯lle remembered why her older siblings had been so relieved when the emperor ordered that Thai¡¯lle be stripped of her right to inherit the throne.

    Everyone knew that a terrible price would be needed to be paid in order to kill such a monster.

    Thai¡¯llezily extended her ded appendages outward in an intimidating disy of force. Her cold voice was filled with arrogance as she spoke a simple sentence.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be out in a year.¡±

 Chapter 399: Mundane Pleasures

    Chapter 399: Mundane Pleasures

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    Sophie walked up and down her bedroom several times while deep in thought. She couldn¡¯t help but rey the events that urred in what she now assumed was a nightmare.

    What was that strange ck mist-like substance that was wrapped around her body?

    Why was she being pulled towards a barrier? How could there be a barrier in the amulet space?

    And the voice that kept chanting her name¡­ it was familiar, but Sophie could not remember where she had heard it before.

    The voice sounded muffled and there was an element of distortion as if it came from a far away ce beyond the void.

    Sophie groaned in frustration and angrily mmed her palm against the corner of her dresser table.

    A small crack appeared on the wooden surface as Sophie identally released a bit more force than she intended.

    No¡­ there was no use in getting upset.

    Perhaps the best thing to do now was to take a nice hot shower and then change her clothes. It would help if she took her mind off the situation and just rxed.

    Sophie tossed the unpleasant dream to the back of her mind and headed towards the bathroom that was located at the far end of her bedroom.

    The hybrid girl stripped off her clothes as she approached the metalloid door until she was in nothing more than her undergarments.

    She carefully ced her nightgown in theundry bag and then opened the door to the luxurious bathroom.

    The floor was covered in tiles made from a soft absorbent material that felt like stepping on grass.

    A few gorgeous watercolor paintings hung along the walls, but the main attraction was clearly the massive hot tub in the center of the room.

    There was also a showering area next to the hot tub and a row of sinks with her toothbrushes and shavers.

    Sophie slowly took off the rest of her clothes and exposed her voluptuous body. She smirked at her reflection in the mirror and made a short pose before getting embarrassed.

    Did she still look good?

    Sophie hesitantly took another look at the mirror and stared at the figure shown in the reflection.

    Her lean physique had gotten significantly more muscr, and her height had definitely increased by a few inches.

    This meant that she was now definitely well above seven feet in height.

    Sophie ran her fingers lightly against her abdomen and felt the well-defined six pack.

    Fortunately, the scars on her body from the various injuries sustained during her fights in the Unovan Syndicate were long gone.

    One of the benefits of having a strong regenerative ability was the fact that her skin would naturally return to a wless state.

    Sophie also couldn¡¯t resist cupping her two mountainous peaks and touching the tips.

    Sophie¡¯s face flushed as she felt a familiar tingle in her lower parts. She quickly dropped her hands and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

    The memory of what had happened to Cleost time she had lost control to her lustful urges was still fresh in her mind.

    Thest thing she needed to do was arouse her poor girlfriend in the middle of a lecture or somewhere else that was inappropriate.

    Sophie yawnedzily and stretched out her ded appendages to take a closer look at the physical traits of her Arachnais heritage.

    The barbs on the end of her ded appendages glistened menacingly under the light and Sophie could swear that they seemed sharper.

    Well, she would have to test out her observations in thebat practice room but that was for another time.

    Sophie pressed a button on the side of the hot tub and soon the clear liquid started to bubble as steam wafted upwards from the surface.

    She grabbed a bottle from the countertop and poured the contents generously inside the hot tub.

    The clear water immediately turned a pinkish red colour, and a pleasant aroma of fresh flowers and grass filled the bathroom.

    Sophie sighed contently and ced one foot slowly in the water to test the temperature.

    It wasn¡¯t something that she needed to be worried about since her enhanced physique could handle extreme temperature shifts, but old habits die hard.

    Perfect.

    Sophie carefully slipped the rest of her body into the hot tub and made sure not to ssh any of the liquid onto the tiles.

    This was heaven. She couldn¡¯t remember thest time that she had been able to just close her eyes and rx in a warm bubbly bath.

    The stress and anxiety from the mysterious dream seemed to fade away as Sophie hummed softly.

    ¡°Girl you are my sunlight¡­ the perfect soul¡­ the one and only¡­¡± Sophie sang loudly as she swayed from side to side.

    ¡°You know you are the one¡­ the one for me¡­ for you I would do anything¡­. BABY!!!!!¡±

    It was an old song from her childhood.

    She couldn¡¯t recall the name of the band, but it was probably from one of those older groups that her father would asionally y during their fishing trips.

    Singing in the bathroom. A smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she happily danced in the hot tub to an audience of one.

    It may seem like something incredibly mundane but after months of tension and fear¡­ it was this simple act that made Sophie feel alive and safe.

    Sophie¡¯s ded appendages also moved from side to side and sshed water onto the tiles.

    Fortunately, the soft material instantly absorbed the water droplets so there was no mess.

    The hybrid girl soaked and yed in the hot tub for around thirty minutes before heading towards the shower area.

    She ced a hand on one of the taps and pulled the metalloid handle. Boiling hot water poured out of the faucet andnded on her body.

    Sophie continued to hum as shethered and rinsed the bodywash that was covering the surface of her skin.

    She loved the soft scent of flowers. It was calm and tranquil. It was this peace that allowed Sophie to gather her thoughts and think about an issue that was bothering her.

    The Hunter Goddess¡¯ powers were certainly useful. That was not something that Sophie could argue against.

    Not using her gifts would be foolish.

    What she needed to learn was how to mitigate the side effects of using her abilities and how to prevent herself from losing control.

    Keeping herself in a pleasant mood was the main method that Sophie used to stabilize her emotional state, but it was not perfect since it was impossible to be happy all the time.

    And this method would not work in high stress environments where it would be difficult to take a moment to breathe and rx.

    She needed to learn anger management tips as well as advice on how to regain control of herself when using the gifts.

    Maybe her dad could offer advice?

    Sophie gave the matter some thought and decided to seek out her father after lunchtime.

    Her father was a god stage cultivator, so he probably had knowledge about the beings thaty beyond the Ascension realm.

    Besides other than him¡­ Sophie couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who would be able to help her out with this problem.

    Sophie ran her fingers through her hair a few times and then reached for a bottle of conditioner since she discovered that her hair felt a bit stiff.

    She rubbed the green liquid in her palms until it turned into suds before putting it in her hair.

    Sophie made surethe and rinse repeatedly before finally shutting off the shower.

    This felt good. There were few mundane pleasures in life better than stepping out of a hot shower while smelling clean and fresh.

    ¡°Turn on drying winds please,¡± Sophiemanded. The AI unit inside the bathroom vibrated softly and soon a gentle hot breeze was release from the vents.

    Sophie walked towards the back of the room and pulled out two towels from the wardrobe. She ced one towel on her head and used the other to dry off the rest of her body.

    ¡°Thanks. You can turn off the systems now,¡± Sophie yelled out.

    The lights and the breeze shut off immediately, but it was no problem for the hybrid girl to navigate her way to the exit thanks to her enhanced vision.

    Sophie opened the door and stepped into her bedroom. She blinked twice to get used to bright lighting and then headed towards her dresser to pick out an outfit to wear.

    Now¡­ what should she choose¡­

    Sophie browsed the wide variety of casual dresses, track pants, sweatshirts and fancy noble attire while picking out a few outfits that caught her eye.

    She eventually settled on a lovely pale white dress that wasposed of a smart- memory foam material.

    Sophie ced the dress on her chest and material automatically spread and wrapped around her body until she was fully covered.

    Unfortunately, her growth spurt during the months spent in the Unovan Syndicate meant that even her long dresses looked quite a bit shorter on her body.

    Sophie added shopping for clothes to the list of stuff she needed to do. Actually, she also needed to buy some gifts for her friends since she wanted to surprise them.

    Sophie brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes and then walked towards the door. Today was a new day.

    She picked up her wristmunicator from the top of her dresser table and powered on the metalloid device.

    Hopefully Astrid had seen her message¡­.

 Chapter 400: A Hearty Breakfast

    Chapter 400: A Hearty Breakfast

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    Sophie opened the door and wandered out of her bedroom. The corridor was empty except for the miniature robot cleaners that were currently sweeping the floor.

    The number of biological servants in the Peterlor Estate was quite low since the duke valued privacy.

    But these low numbers had no effect on the day-to-day operations since automation and artificial intelligence units could do work and aplish tasks more efficiently than humans ever could.

    Sophie headed towards the dining room while taking a few casual nces at the paintings hung along the walls of the corridor.

    Some depicted breathtaking environments on foreigns, others were more abstract and disyed sshes of colours seemingly at random and there were a few paintings of the father daughter pair.

    Those paintings seemed a bit out of ce among the other works of fine art but to Sophie it made her heart feel warm.

    She continued to move slowly through the endlessbyrinth of side passages and corridors while taking the time to observe the familiar environment of her home.

    Everything was just as she remembered.

    This familiarity brought a feeling of nostalgia since it felt as though she had never left.

    You never cherish something until you almost lose it. Sophie rubbed her eyes that were now tearing up.

    She needed some kind of distraction to keep her mind from wandering off to a dark ce.

    Sophie froze as she remembered that she still hadn¡¯t checked her messages yet.

    She quickly tilted her wristmunicator upwards to get a better look at the screen and tapped the inbox icon.

    There were several missed calls from Cleo, Astrid and Qiana as well as quite a few text messages. Sophie quickly opened up the chat logs and begun to reply to each one individually.

    Cleo wanted to know if Sophie was doing okay and talked about visiting immediately after finals to spend the holidays with her.

    The princess had her first exam today on the history of mech controllers so she would be unable to talk tonight.

    Qiana and Astrid were ecstatic to know that she had returned safely and wanted to have a video-callter today.

    Astrid initially nned on ditching her final exams and travelling to Gaia, but that n was instantly shot down once she discussed it with Qiana.

    The pair nned on spending the first part of the holidays with Astrid¡¯s younger siblings and then would travel to Gaia in thest week.

    Sophie nodded in understanding and checked the time on hermunicator.

    It waste in the afternoon and when ounting for the time zone differences the best time to organize the call would be three hours from now.

    She sent a message to Qiana and Astrid about what time she would return their missed calls and then turned off hermunicator.

    A wide smiled shed across Sophie¡¯s face and she could not help but walk with a bit of spring in her steps.

    She was finally going to talk to Astrid and Qiana again!

    Sophie was looking forward to catching up with her two best friends after months of being apart.

    There was just so much that she needed to say!

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how much she was going to tell them about her experiences in the Unovan Syndicate, but she had enough stories tost for several hours.

    A happy whistle filled the hallway as Sophie cheerfully skipped towards the dining room and entered the wide-open space.

    Lily and her father were nowhere in sight, so Sophie headed towards the kitchen to ce an order for breakfast.

    Let¡¯s see¡­.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have ten scrambled eggs from a Trehan beast, roasted Fle¡¯an meat and hmm¡­ how about two bowls of a random soup¡­ surprise me¡­¡± Sophie politely spoke to the head chef.

    ¡°And of course¡­ those are just the appetizers¡­ for the main course I would like¡­¡±

    The poor head chef nodded and quickly turned to his apprentices who were furiously writing down everything that Sophie had just ordered.

    The kitchen staff were well-used to the enormous volume of food consumed by the duke¡¯s daughter.

    It was hard tiring work but the sry more than made up for the exhausting days. Sophie thanked the chefs in advance and then left the kitchen.

    She walked towards the dining room and picked a random chair to sit down. The chefs in the kitchen were quite efficient so the food should be ready soon.

    It was a good opportunity to take this time to browse the virtual and see what thetest news in the Federation was.

    Sophie activated her wristmunicator and started to browse the virtual to see what she had missed.

    There were quite a few articles about the death of the emperor but much of the conversation had shifted in recent weeks from the shocking nature of his death towards the potential identity of his sessor.

    Emperor Sisrelis was a man used to pleasure and debauchery. He had managed to sire hundreds of offsprings that each held a im to the throne.

    Man or woman? From a noble family or amoner parent?

    Would the high noble houses lend their support in the fight for session or stay out of the matter entirely?

    These were all important questions and considering that humans were the most populous species of the Earth Federation, the other races were watching the matter closely.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure what her father¡¯s position on the situation was since she hadn¡¯t asked him since arriving on Gaia.

    Actually, a small part of her was thankful that her girlfriend was too young and very unlikely to be the next empress.

    Cleo had never expressed any interest or ambition in bing the next leader of humanity and Sophie wasn¡¯t ready to be a queen.

    Plus¡­ she would not be happy to put it mildly if her girlfriend decided to follow in the footsteps of her father and have a harem of ten thousand beauties.

    Just the mere thought of Cleoying in the arms of another woman made a heavy frown appear on Sophie¡¯s face.

    Crack!

    Sophie quickly lifted her hand from the table after hearing the sudden noise. There was now a small crack where her right palm had been just moments before.

    She awkwardly shifted her te a few inches to the right in order to hide the crack and then tentatively ced her hand back down.

    Okay¡­ that probably wasn¡¯t good¡­

    Sophie took a moment to rx and make sure that her emotions were in control before returning to hermunicator screen.

    She decided to search for lighter topics. Apparently, a new virtual reality game had been released by Nexterion Studios.

    The name of the game was ¡®A Hero¡¯s Magnificent Quest!¡¯ and it was about possessing a character who would travel on an epic fantasy journey set in ancient times.

    Sophie was actually quite interested and continued to read about this game. There were multiple love interests and different routes that one could go down.

    Sophie wouldn¡¯t call herself obsessed with videogames, but she did enjoy asionally putting on a virtual helmet and escaping to a world of fantasy.

    She made a mental note to herself to buy a copy and then moved on to look at thetest entertainment news.

    Hmm¡­ there were a fewpanies that were moving away from AI musicians and trying to form bands with real people.

    Sophie shook her head in disbelief, this trend would pop up every couple of years, but it was hard for real people topete with perfect virtual idols.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    The kitchen door swung open, and several robots moved swiftly towards the dining room with tes of hot steaming food in their metalloid ws.

    Sophie let out a sigh of contentment as the scent of roasted meat filled the room and made her mouth water.

    She couldn¡¯t wait to dig in!

    The first te that was set down in front of her was the roasted Fle¡¯an meat that resembled arge sausage.

    Sophie picked up a fork and knife and neatly cut the meat into tiny chunks with noble and elegant movements.

    Trehan meat was soft and buttery and simply melted away in her mouth. The burst of intense vors brought a smile to Sophie¡¯s lips.

    This was one of the small pleasures of life.

 Chapter 401: How Do You Relax?

    Chapter 401: How Do You Rx?

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    Gaia- Peterlor Estate)

    ¡°Now where should I go next?¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she rose up from the chair. She pressed a small button on the underside of the table.

    Ring! Ring!

    Robotic androids entered the room and immediately picked up the countless empty tes before returning swiftly to the kitchen.

    ¡°Thank you for the delicious food!¡± Sophie yelled before the door mmed shut. Chefs were truly the greatest people in the universe.

    Sophie yawnedzily and stretched her hands out. She walked towards the dining room exit while still deep in thought.

    What to do now?

    It may seem strange, but Sophie was genuinely feeling a little bit lost.

    After months of being in the Unovan Syndicate there were only a few rare moments where she had the time to just unwind and rx.

    Now that she had returned to safety it was like something was missing.

    The sense of urgency and vignce that was usually part of her life was¡­ gone.

    Sophie wandered aimlessly through the mansion while taking casual nces at the expensive paintings and statutes.

    House Peterlor was a high noble family. Their bloodline had a long history of nobility and ss, which Sophie was reminded of as she gazed at the disys of wealth and prestige.

    She was the heiress of this dukedom and also the only hybrid among her peers.

    Sophie sighed as she imagined her future under the heavy weight of various responsibilities.

    Hopefully, her father would live a long and healthy life for many years toe.

    She was definitely not ready to manage the various territories,panies, and military forces of the Peterlor family.

    Sophie stopped at a door at the end of a hallway and gently pushed it open. It was the entrance to one of the holodecks.

    Maybe she should do some training?

    Sophie walked towards the console in the center of the room and pressed the screen to begin designing her training session.

    ¡°Okay set the enemies to the qi tide stage¡­ let¡¯s go with multiple¡­ both ranged and melee weapons,¡± Sophie whispered softly.

    ¡°Danger level¡­ lethal¡­ what else am I missing?¡±

    Just as she was about to press theunch button, she froze for a moment with her finger just a few centimeters away from the trigger.

    No¡­ why was this the only thing she could think of to pass the time!

    Fighting, killing, fighting!

    Was that really all she could do?

    Sophie gritted her teeth in frustration and walked away from the console before she could give in to the temptation.

    This was supposed to be her chance to rx. Why was she constantly feeling the urge to do training exercises?!

    ¡°I can rx¡­ I can rx¡­ urghhh¡­ what the fuck should I do?¡± Sophie groaned as she rubbed her temples.

    Maybe she needed to spend some time in the garden.

    Seeing the beautiful flowers and exotic nts in the greenhouse would usually brighten up her day.

    That idea sounded good, so Sophie decided on the spot to head towards the greenhouseplex and spend a few hours.

    Then she could make that call with Astrid and Qiana in a much better mental state. Sophie didn¡¯t want her friends to be worried about her¡­ problems.

    This was nothing. She was fine.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then followed the familiar route to the greenhouses.

    Duke Peterlor knew that his daughter loved nts, so he had an entire set of buildings constructed that housed fauna from numerous regions across the gxy.

    The atmosphere inside each building was heavily regted by AI units that would also monitor the temperature, humidity, climate, and the health of the nts inside.

    There were five buildings in total with each containing a different biosphere and ecosystem.

    Sophie left the mansion and walked for around ten minutes until she finally arrived at theplex.

    She closed her eyes and spun around with her pinky finger outstretched. It may look silly, but it was a habit that Sophie had kept since childhood.

    ¡°I¡­ chose¡­ you¡­¡± Sophie spoke quietly and opened her eyes. Her finger was pointed at the building in the center of theplex.

    Hmm¡­ if she remembered correctly that was the swamp biome. Sophie looked down at her clean dress and hesitated.

    Should she go back and change clothes or pick another one? Actually¡­ it wasn¡¯t a big deal if she got a little muddy¡­

    Probably¡­

    Wait¡­ her storage bag!

    Sophie pped her forehead in disbelief, she couldn¡¯t believe that she had forgotten that there were spare clothes inside her storage space.

    The hybrid girl essed the space inside and pulled out a spare battlesuit, somefortable slippers and a towel.

    There was a changing room inside the greenhouse, so Sophie happily walked over to the metalloid door with clothes in hand.

    She pressed her right palm against the scanner and a green light shed twice. The metalloid door immediately swung open to reveal a tunnel with white walls.

    Sophie walked slowly along the passageway until she arrived at the changing room. She entered the room and quickly stripped down.

    She ced her dress in her storage bag and changed into the simple white battlesuit. The familiar feeling of putting on battle gear made Sophie pause for a moment.

    Was she morefortable wearing this than normal clothes? Of course, she was!

    How else was she supposed to react to sudden threat and dangers¡­ there¡­ there were monsters and threats everywhere¡­

    Monsters¡­ people who wanted to hurt her¡­. danger¡­

    Sophie realised what was happening and tried to stop herself from going to those dark ces.

    ¡°No¡­ you are just going to spend some time in the garden and rx¡­ you love the garden, and this will help you rx,¡± Sophie muttered to herself.

    Giving herself a pep talk was the only method she could think of at the moment, so she kept repeating the sentence over and over until those unpleasant thoughts went away.

    Sophie sighed heavily before putting on her slippers.

    These slippers were made from a fuzzy material that felt soft andfortable, but the hybrid girl found herself unable to enjoy the pleasant sensation.

    Was this all a farce? Who was she really trying to convince?

    She wasn¡¯t the same person. Did she even like flowers anymore?

    The self-doubt and questions kept surfacing in Sophie¡¯s mind and her mood fell even lower.

    Sophie pushed open the door to the changing room and walked along the tunnel.

    There was a massive metalloid door at the end of the tunnel but before Sophie could reach the barrier a faint mist was sprayed over her body.

    It was an anti-bacterial and anti-virus spray to make sure that no harmful microorganisms entered the greenhouse.

    Sophie sneezed loudly as some of the spray entered her nose. This was definitely her least favorite part when entering the greenhouse.

    A row of floating text suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Sophie wasn¡¯t surprised and took several steps backwards.

    [Scanning¡­ scanning¡­ Cleared!]

    [Please step back while the door opens¡­]

    Therge metalloid door slide aside to reveal an enormous,rge open space. The inner region of the greenhouse was a dome that extended hundreds of feet into the air.

    This was the swamp biome and there was a thickyer of mud and water on the ground.

    There were gorgeous white flowers blooming in the middle of the muck and several trees with long thin roots were growing healthily.

    Vines with golden fruits swaying merrily from side to side were wrapped tightly around these trees.

    There were tiny robot drones buzzing around the environment. These drones were constantly spraying moisture on the leaves and cutting certain sections of the vines.

    Sophie stepped inside the room and felt the warm soft mud hit her feet through the gaps in the slippers.

    It was quite hot and humid inside the dome and beads of sweat had already begun to form on her brow.

    The hybrid girl made sure that the ded appendages on the lower part of her back did not touch the mud as she walked through the swamp.

    Sophie bent down and sniffed the nearest flower. A heavy aroma entered her nostrils that caused her to recoil in disgust.

    It was a vile and pungent smell that could only be described as raw meat mixed with sewage.

    This wasn¡¯t like she remembered at all!

    Sophie tried another flower, but that scent was even worse than the first time around!

    Okay¡­ so sniffing the flowers would clearly not lead to a rxing time.

    Why not try the fruit?

    Sophie lifted up her feet and took long confident strides towards the nearest vine where a plump golden fruit hung several feet in the air.

    It was fairly easy to scale up the side of the tree and pick the fruit. Sophie felt quite aplished as she observed therge size of the fruit and the smooth texture.

    This was a Melenrien fruit that was first discovered on R¡¯rl, it was given the nickname ¡®the golden apple¡¯ by the first settlers and that name had stuck.

    Sophie used her fingernails to scrape away the hard exterior of the fruit and soon a soft fleshy interior came into view.

    Unlike the flowers, there was a tantalizing aroma wafting upwards from the center of the fruit that made a smile appear on Sophie¡¯s face.

    This was it. This was the object that was going to recapture the lost memories of her childhood days.

    This would take her back to a more innocent time.

    Sophie opened her mouth wide, and her fangs glistened menacingly under the artificial light inside the greenhouse.

    She tore into the soft fleshy part of the fruit easily and swallowed arge mouthful. Juices ran down the sides of Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    Err¡­. Er¡­. Hmm¡­

    Sophie chewed thest pieces of fruit still in her mouth but truthfully her excitement had now considerably faded.

    It wasn¡¯t bad¡­ it¡­ was just okay.

    Perhaps this was the straw that finally broke Sophie as she felt a surge of anger swell up in her chest.

    This entire thing was stupid.

    Rxing was stupid. This greenhouse was stupid.

    Sophie angrily threw the rest of the fruit into the mud where it sank after a few seconds She needed to burn off this energy now before she lost control.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then multiple identical copies of the hybrid girl appeared in various locations around the dome.

    Each clone had flecks of crimson red that were slowly covering their once golden eyes. They stared at Sophie with expressions of fury.

    ¡°Come¡­ on¡­ let¡¯s spar¡­¡± Sophie growled as she pulled out a whip from her storage bag.

 Chapter 402: A Seed Of Hatred

    Chapter 402: A Seed Of Hatred

    Drip¡­ drip¡­ drip¡­

    The only sounds that Sophie could hear in the shower room were the sounds of water hitting the floor and the steady beating of her heart.

    The water that fell to the ground was murky and unclean. It was a reddish-brown colour and one could easily spot tiny chunks of flesh mixed in with the liquid.

    Drip¡­ drip¡­ drip¡­

    Sophie stood quietly as wave after wave of painful memories from the mirror copies flowed into her mind. Her sparring session had gotten violently out of hand.

    Eleven clones had been summoned using her Rsychosis technique. Not a single one remained after the training exercise.

    She had killed them all.

    Truthfully Sophie could not even remember what had happened clearly. It was all just a blur of violence and madness.

    All she could recall was the sticky sensation of wet blood that stained her battlesuit and the unpleasant scent of death that filled her nostrils.

    With the memories now flowing into her mind, Sophie had a clearer understanding of what had just happened, but this brought her littlefort.

    She was truly a monster.

    It was odd to watch yourself from another perspective. Sophie could feel the terror and fear in the hearts of her clones as she ripped, tore and eviscerated their bodies.

    Not even their corpses were spared. Sophie watched in morbid fascination as she turned the corpses into tiny chunks of flesh that sank to the bottom of the muddy swamp.

    Sophie could not even recognise herself in those memories. Or maybe it was because she did not dare to recognise that monster as herself.

    Blerghhh!

    Sophie kneeled down and vomited loudly. She felt sick.

    The scent of her vomit was putrid and vile, but it was nothingpared to how she felt at the moment.

    This wasn¡¯t right¡­ how could have things turned out this way? She just wanted to enjoy the flowers and rx.

    She didn¡¯t deserve this. It was all his fault. That stupid piece of shit emperor who could do nothing except bed whores and drink.

    If he wanted to die, then so be it. If he wanted to go to hell¡­

    THEN WHY TAKE HER WITH HIM.

    A seed of hatred buried itself in Sophie¡¯s heart. Sophie mmed her fist into the nearest wall which immediately crumbled under the force of her blow.

    A poisonous crimson red colour began to spread from the corner of Sophie¡¯s golden eyes as she felt the familiar bloodlust rise in her chest.

    No¡­ not again¡­ NOT AGAIN!

    Sophie screamed in agony as she used her ded appendages to stab into the soft flesh of her legs.

    The fierce jolts of pain were enough to pierce through the mental fog that was beginning to cloud her mind.

    Sophie dropped to the floor as her fresh blood mixed with the dirty water that was already on the ground.

    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± Sophie whispered hoarsely. She didn¡¯t know who she was talking to. She didn¡¯t know what she was referring to.

    But those two words kept repeating themselves in her mind. She was tired. She was exhausted.

    This didn¡¯t make any sense. She had finally made it back home and the dangerous journey was over.

    Being in the Earth Federation meant that she was safe. She was going to see her friends and girlfriend again.

    Everything was perfect and yet¡­

    Sophie felt almost like a fake. This peace and sudden happiness¡­ did she really deserve it? The things she had done to survive¡­

    Why had the hunter goddess chosen her? Why her? WHY HER?!

    Sophie got up from the ground and winced as she could still feel the wounds on her legs leaking blood.

    The open wounds were already closing thanks to her regenerative ability, but this did nothing to stop the pain.

    Those sharp barbs on the ends of her ded appendages were designed for ripping into flesh and tearing the skin of prey.

    Sophie stumbled slightly as she reached for the shower handle and her vision briefly ckened.

    Everything turned to darkness before she was able to refocus and open her eyes.

    That probably wasn¡¯t a good sign but at this point Sophie felt too exhausted to care. She just wanted to take a nap now.

    Forget about calling Astrid and Qiana. Forget about talking to her father.

    She just wanted to sleep.

    Sophie wrapped a towel around her sensitive parts and stepped out of the shower room. She took out the dress from her storage ring and put it on.

    The shower room for the swamp greenhouse was located near the entrance to the building so it only took Sophie around two minutes to make her way outside.

    She took one final nce at the building. An indescribable emotion shed across Sophie¡¯s eyes for a brief moment.

    As she slowly walked away from the greenhouseplex, Sophie could not help but feel as though she was walking away from the past innocent version of herself.

    A bitter taste filled Sophie¡¯s mouth. She felt the urge to cry but no tears woulde out.

    Sophie walked silently towards the mansion. For once there was nothing on her mind except the urge to sleep and forget.

    She knew what she was feeling wasn¡¯t normal.

    She needed help but¡­ not today¡­ she couldn¡¯t do it today.

    Sophie walked in a daze through the mechanical city lost in her own thoughts until she heard a voice suddenly call out to her.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ young miss¡­ wee back! I hope that your trip to the greenhouse was calm and rxing,¡± an elderly voice spoke kindly.

    Sophie looked across the street and saw the head butler waving at her happily. He was carrying a few white bags steadily in his palm.

    Sophie stered a wide smile across her face and tried to respond in her usual bright demeaner,

    ¡°Yeah, I had a lot of fun! It was great seeing the flowers in bloom.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just feeling a little bit tired after walking through the greenhouse so I¡¯m probably going to take a short nap.¡±

    ¡°Young miss, that¡¯s very good to hear! I shall inform the master to prepare dinner tonight a few hourster than usual so that you may spend some time together,¡± Butler Gerald spoke calmly.

    The elderly man bowed politely and then returned to his errand. Sophie waited until his figure went out of view before dropping her fake expression.

    A part of her wanted to tell him the truth but now it was toote¡­

    Sophie let out a sigh and proceeded towards the mansion with a heavy heart.

 Chapter 403: The Terrifying Empress Sisrelis

    Chapter 403: The Terrifying Empress Sisrelis

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie¡¯s Bedroom)

    The room waspletely dark.

    Sophie had turned off all the lights and was currentlyying down on the mattress.

    She had covered her entire body with a thick heavy nket and was trying her best to fall asleep.

    Nothing seemed to work. She had been trying to get some rest for what seemed like hours now with no luck.

    Despite how exhausted she felt, it was a though something inside her just refused to let her rx and unwind.

    Over and over, she kept getting shbacks to the violent scenes that happened in the greenhouse.

    The fear and terror that her mirror copies felt at the moment of their deaths kept repeating on a nonstop loop.

    Sophie groaned as she began to rub her temples. She could feel a massive headacheing on as her mind descended further to a dark ce.

    Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­

    Sophie gently inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to get her heartbeat to slow down. It did help a little bit, but she still felt like shit.

    The hybrid girl grabbed the nearest pillow and ced it in her arms to hug. The soft fluffy warmth of the material brought a small amount offort to Sophie.

    Think of happy thoughts¡­ think of happy thoughts¡­

    Sophie closed her eyes and imagined spending an afternoon at the beach.

    She pictured the sun gently bathing her body with warm golden rays of light while the sounds of waves crashing could be heard in the background.

    The feeling of soft sand on her feet and the salty sea breeze brushing against the surface of her skin.

    Think of happy thoughts¡­ think of happy thoughts¡­

    Cleo was smiling at her while holding what appeared to be two sses filled with red wine. Sophie gratefully epted one ss and sipped the refreshing beverage.

    The light sweet taste of the wine filled her mouth and brought a smile to her face.

    She opened her arms and gestured towards her girlfriend that she wanted a hug. Cleo rushed forward into her arms and Sophie felt her warm body squash against her own.

    It felt peaceful.

    Sophie opened her mouth to whisper something to the princess when the scenery immediately shifted.

    The clear blue sky became a murky red colour and the sun could no longer be seen behind heavy rain clouds.

    Sophie could no longer hear the sounds of waves but rather the air was filled with the screams of the dying.

    She looked around in shock as the beach was now littered with corpses in various mutted states.

    The faces of the dying belonged to people that Sophie instantly recognized. She saw her father gasping for breath as a sword was driven deep into his chest.

    Astrid and Qiana had bodies that were burnt and ckened to the point where Sophie struggled at first to even identify who the corpses belonged to.

    Her ssmates from university¡­ Lily¡­ people and acquaintances she had met¡­

    Everyone was dead.

    The scent of rotten meat entered Sophie¡¯s nostrils and made her feel sick. She wanted to throw up.

    What was happening?!

    ¡°All your fault!¡± ¡°All your fault!¡±

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure who said it first, but the corpses rose up from the ground one by one and stumbled towards her.

    They could only speak three words but as Sophie listened to their cries, she felt a primal fear and dread that she had never experienced before.

    ¡°All your fault!¡± ¡°All your fault!¡±

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ no¡­ I didn¡¯t¡­ I¡­¡± Sophie walked backwards in shock. She felt a tugging sensation on her chest and looked down at Cleo.

    That was a mistake.

    The princess was unlike the rest of the corpses. She was alive and radiant. The most beautiful woman that Sophie had ever seen.

    No¡­ she was no longer a mere princess.

    Cleo wore the same navy-blue robes that the emperor once disyed, and her right palm held the Scepter of the Blessed, the scared artifact of the royal family.

    Her facial expression was dignified and calm. She was like a block of ice with no emotions or feelings.

    Except Sophie could see one emotion hidden behind the mask.

    Hatred.

    ¡°Monster¡­ beast¡­ lunatic¡­¡± Cleo darkly whispered. The hatred and rage present in her eyes made Sophie¡¯s heart sink to the floor.

    She dropped the princess and ran. She didn¡¯t know where to go or how to get away from this terrible ce.

    There was nothing she could do.

    ¡°All your fault!¡± ¡°All your fault!¡±

    The cries of the dead echoed in her ears as more corpses rose up from the ground to condemn and shame her.

    ¡°All your fault!¡± ¡°All your fault!¡±

    ¡°Stop it¡­ STOP IT!¡± Sophie screamed in pain. She turned around and used her ded appendages to spilt the nearest zombie into two pieces.

    She needed to make it stop. The noise needed to end.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes glowed crimson red as she rushed forward and tore easily through the flesh of the undead army.

    Kill¡­ kill¡­ kill¡­

    She was like a machine. Sophie ignored the familiar faces and only focused on getting those annoying cries to stop.

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity. Thest corpse fell to the ground motionless and never to rise again.

    Sophie panted heavily as she stood upon a mountain of bodies. She gazed at her blood-soaked hands and felt a rush of self-loathing.

    ¡°See¡­ you bring nothing but death. A savage beast that deserves to put down like the mongrel you are,¡± a dark whisper echoed through the beach.

    Empress Cleo Sisrelis stood a fair distance away from the carnage, but Sophie could make out every detail of her face.

    ¡°Monster¡­ beast¡­ lunatic¡­ tell me murderer¡­ do you think I am wrong?¡± Cleo snarled as she clutched the scepter tightly.

    ¡°Shut up! Shut up!¡± Sophie growled hoarsely. She walked towards the empress with slow stumbling steps.

    The hybrid girl reached the twisted version of her girlfriend and extended her ded appendages outward.

    ¡°Do you want to kill me as well?¡± Cleo asked coldly as she stared directly into Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    Sophie froze in ce with the barbed tip of her appendage a mere few centimeters away from Cleo¡¯s throat.

    ¡°No¡­ you¡­ aren¡¯t her¡­¡± Sophie whispered.

    A pinkish colour briefly shed across her now crimson-red eyes as another power flowed through her body.

    Sophie knelt down in pain as two opposing forces wrestled for control. The scenery of the beach shook and trembled as darkness crept in from the horizon.

    Empress Cleo Sisrelis leaned down to say something in her ear, but Sophie shoved her away using as much force as she could muster.

    She gripped her head in agony as her eyes constantly shifted from a light pinkish colour to a deep crimson red.

    Just as Sophie felt as though her mind was about to split in two¡­

    Ring! Ring!

    Sophie woke up with a gasp and found herself back in her bedroom. The pillows that were previously on the mattress had now been thrown haphazardly on the floor.

    It took Sophie a few seconds to figure out what had just happened. Somehow, she had fallen asleep and then¡­

    Ring! Ring!

    ¡°Where is that noiseing from?!¡± Sophie yelled in frustration.

    She turned her head towards the direction of the sound and saw her wristmunicator vibrating softly on the dresser table.

    Sophie grabbed the metalloid device that was still ringing and saw a notification on the screen.

    [Iing video call¡­ iing video call¡­ iing video call¡­]

    Ring! Ring!

 Chapter 404: Return To Dreamland...

    Chapter 404: Return To Dreand¡­

    ¡°Turn it off¡­ it¡¯s too loud¡­ I can¡¯t think,¡± Sophie whispered hoarsely. Her fingers trembled slightly as she touched the edge of her wristmunicator.

    [Iing video call¡­ iing video call¡­ iing video call¡­]

    Someone was calling her but how could she spare the energy to reply? Sophie let out a heavy sigh as her mood fell even lower.

    That dream¡­

    Sophie didn¡¯t even want to open that can of worms.

    Picturing the dead bodies of everyone she had ever met and having to see the intense hatred and rage on the face of her girlfriend was something that she did not even dare to dwell on.

    What was the point of all this power? It did not make her feel strong.

    She just felt¡­

    Weak. Helpless. Angry.

    Ring! Ring!

    The piercing sounds ring out from the speaker on hermunicator faded away to the background as Sophiey on her bed and allowed the darkness inside the room to consume her.

    She was alone. No one knew what she was going through. No one could help her.

    Dark voices whispered in her mind that she was a monster.

    Monster. Bastard. Half-breed.

    All familiar words that she had heard though the years. It was as though her trauma was amplifying all of her past pain.

    Incident after incident shed across Sophie¡¯s mind.

    She remembered the lonely times she had spent isted and mocked by the rest of her high school ssmates.

    Losing control and ughtering people without remorse like a butcher.

    The callousness of the Hunter Goddess when she gave out the order to kill the powerful Captain Dawn when that particr mission was almost akin to suicide.

    Sophie¡¯s hands still shook when she remembered just how close she hade to death during that fight.

    What had she done to deserve those awful experiences? Why her?

    Ring! Ring!

    In a fit of rage, Sophie picked up hermunicator and flung it across the room where it mmed against the mirror above the dresser table.

    Crack!

    The mirror instantly shattered to a thousand pieces. ss fell to the floor with dull thumps as Sophie stared in shock.

    No¡­ this wasn¡¯t her¡­

    Sophie leapt off the bed and pulled a pair ofbat shoes out of her storage ring. She put on the boots for protection and carefully walked over to the shattered mirror.

    Numerous shards of ssy on the floor as well as her wristmunicator that was no longer vibrating.

    Sophie hesitantly picked up the metalloid device and brushed off a few pieces of ss that were covering the screen.

    Fortunately, her wristmunicator wasn¡¯t broken and still worked. Even in her rage, she had somehow managed to reign in some of her strength.

    Sophie powered on the device and saw a notification on the screen that made her heart sink to the floor.

    [Missed call from¡­ Qiana]

    Oh yeah¡­ this was the video call that she had organized.

    Qiana and Astrid were probably looking forward to hearing from her and all she could do was throw temper tantrums like a child.

    Sophie felt a rush of self-loathing as she stared at the fractured reflections of herself in the broken mirror.

    ¡°I have to call back¡­ I have to¡­¡± Sophie muttered softly. She stumbled to the light switch and turned on the lighting.

    The room was instantly bathed in a soft glow that came from themp overhead. Sophie squinted and covered her eyes at the sudden sh of light.

    This didn¡¯t make any sense. Her eyes should have been able to adjust¡­ why was she feeling ufortable with moderate light?

    Sophie didn¡¯t have an answer.

    The hybrid girl pressed a button on the side of the dresser and soon two robot androids rolled into the room.

    These were state-of-the-art housekeeper androids with white oval-shaped bodies that resembledrge eggs.

    ¡°Clean up the mess please,¡± Sophie ordered as she pointed towards the mirror.

    The robot on the left let out a soft hum in acknowledgement and then rolled towards the shards of the ss on the ground.

    Two arms extended out of its exterior shell which were transformed into a broom-like structure.

    The robots cleaned up every shard of ss on the floor and on the dresser table swiftly and then departed the room.

    Sophie walked to the bathroom and sshed her face multiple times until she felt a little bit better.

    She could barely look at her reflection in the mirror. Sophie just took asional nces to make sure that no traces of her mental breakdown could be seen.

    Perhaps a simple video-call would not usually warrant this level of preparation, but Sophie did not want her friends to know about her mental struggles.

    She felt ashamed.

    It was an unhealthy emotion and maybe her friends would understand but she just¡­ couldn¡¯t.

    Sophie had spent months in the Unovan Syndicate having to put on a brave face so that Lily wouldn¡¯t feel worried.

    Now that she finally had the time to reflect on those experiences¡­ she found herself unable to deal or process them.

    She was a broken mess.

    Sophie clutched the sides of the sink tightly as her eyes briefly shed crimson. The familiar urge of bloodlust rose up in her chest.

    ¡°Breathe¡­ in¡­ breathe out¡­ breathe in¡­ breathe in¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly.

    She softly inhaled and then gently let out her breath while counting silently in her mind. Gradually her vtile mood calmed down and she could think again.

    She was not in the right state of mind to call anyone right now.

    Sophie ignored the nauseous feeling in her stomach and picked up hermunicator.

    She tapped the inbox icon and entered the private messaging chat between herself and Qiana.

    Sophie: [Sorry I can¡¯t make the call today. My dad wants to go out to a private restaurant to celebrate my return.]

    Sophie: [I think he wants to spend some father-daughter time so I¡¯m going to be busy for the rest of the day]

    Sophie: [Would tomorrow work instead?]

    Liar¡­ liar¡­coward¡­

    A painful smirk shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she typed out the rest of her excuse for why she was unable to return the call today.

    She closed hermunicator without bothering to see if Qiana had replied. The guilty feeling in her heart made her feel worse.

    Sophie returned to her room and turned off the light before returning back to the softness of her bed.

    She did not bother to pick up the pillows that were scattered on the floor and justy her head against the surface of the mattress.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t prepared to fall back asleep especially after the terrible nightmare that she had just experienced.

    But as the minutes slowly passed¡­ and the hours went by uneventfully¡­

    Sophie found herself drifting back to sleep as she experienced an intense feeling of tiredness.

    Her eyes slowly closed, and she eventually slipped into dreand.

    If she had checked hermunicator during this time, she would have realised that there were several missed calls and messages from Cleo.

 Chapter 405: I Will Never Give Up On You

    Chapter 405: I Will Never Give Up On You

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie¡¯s Bedroom)

    Knock! Knock!

    Two loud knocks at the door roused Sophie from her nap. She blearily opened her eyes and looked around the bedroom that was in total darkness.

    What was the time? How long had she slept?

    These were questions that Sophie did not know the answer to. She took off her wristmunicator and ced the device on the mattress without bothering to check the messages.

    Knock! Knock!

    It was probably one of the housekeeping robot androids requesting permission to clean the room.

    ¡°Enter!¡± Sophie hoarsely yelled as she pulled the nket over her face. She heard the metalloid doors slide open and someone entered the room with heavy footsteps.

    A sudden bright light made Sophie wince as the intruder flipped on the light switch without asking her permission.

    Sophie felt a strong tap on her shoulder which made her let out at a heavy sigh.

    Why couldn¡¯t she just be left alone¡­

    The hybrid girl flung the nket off her body and stared in shock at her father who was standing at the side of her bed.

    ¡°Dad?!¡± Sophie asked in confusion.

    She was surprised by the sudden visit and didn¡¯t have time to hide the tearstains that were still present along the sides of her cheeks.

    Duke Peterlor frowned slightly as he saw the state of his daughter. She looked pale and haggard with heavy bags present under her eyes.

    There was an atmosphere of depression and loneliness surrounding her body.

    Butler Gerald had informed him that Sophie wanted to eat dinner together but as the hours went by, the duke got increasingly concerned.

    Duke Peterlor had kept Lilypany while she was eating but the little girl kept ncing at the door to see when her big sister would appear.

    Eventually the duke excused himself from the dining room and instructed Butler Gerald to lead Lily back to her guest room.

    He finally decided to pay Sophie¡¯s bedroom a visit and see what was going on. On the way to his daughter¡¯s bedroom, Duke Peterlor got a bad feeling inside his chest.

    It was hard to describe why he felt this way but as a god stage cultivator, the duke had learnt over the years to trust his premonitions.

    Instead of going directly to Sophie¡¯s bedroom, the duke decided to pay a visit to his study room and investigate footage taken from the cameras ced around the estate

    He wanted to know how his daughter¡¯s afternoon had been when she spent some time in the greenhouseplex.

    Had something happened? Was there a problem that he didn¡¯t know about?

    Duke Peterlor carefully reviewed the footage and what he saw on the camera feed made him instantly realise that something was terribly wrong with Sophie¡¯s current mental state.

    ¡°Dad what are you doing here?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    She stered on a fake happy expression so that her father wouldn¡¯t suspect that something was amiss.

    Duke Peterlor said nothing and just slowly walked over to the dresser table where he stared at the ce where the intact mirror used to be.

    Sophie nervously got up from the bed and approached her father while doing her best to mimic a cheerful and bright appearance.

    Sophie smiled widely as she spoke, ¡°I know I said that we should have dinner today but I¡¯m just too tired¡­¡±

    ¡°Look princess¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m not stupid,¡± Duke Peterlor suddenly spoke.

    ¡°There has clearly been something bothering you and I want us to talk about it together.¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± Sophie blurted out in shock.

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine! Just feeling a bit tired. I mean it has just been barely a day since I came back home so you can see why I¡¯m still exhausted.¡±

    ¡°Honey¡­ I¡­¡± Duke Peterlor wanted to talk but his daughter quickly interrupted with another outburst.

    ¡°Actually, I n on calling Qiana and Astridter today! There is a lot of gossip that we need to catch up on! I¡¯m so excited to finally be able to talk to my friends again,¡± Sophie eximed.

    She didn¡¯t realise that cracks were beginning to show on her ¡®perfect¡¯ facade, and her father had long seen through her act as soon as he saw the smile on her face.

    Sophie continued to talk about all the exciting ns she had for the next few weeks, but a single sentence stopped her right in the middle of her speech.

    ¡°I saw the security footage of what happened in the greenhouse,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke softly.

    There was a moment ofplete silence in room.

    Sophie froze in ce as her father¡¯s words echoed over and over in her mind until they became a never-ending scream.

    Why did he look? WHY DID HE LOOK?!

    He knew. He saw. There was no going back.

    What was he going to think?

    What could he think other than the fact that his daughter was some kind of monster?

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ no¡­¡± Sophie stammered as she backed away slowly.

    She could see her father open his mouth to say something else, but the words could not reach her anymore.

    The world spun as Sophie¡¯s breathing became more rapid and the only sound, she could hear was the noise of her heart beating frantically.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Sophie¡¯s vision darkened as her body swayed gently from side to side. She didn¡¯t know what to do as a mixture of emotions bubbled up in her chest.

    Fear. Confusion. Rage. Shame. Guilt.

    She was feeling too much.

    Sophie knelt down to the floor and gripped her head in pain as a familiar surge of bloodlust flowed through her veins.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes constantly flickered from crimson red to their normal colour as the hybrid girl wrestled for control.

    Duke Peterlor instantly teleported from the dresser table and reached his daughter¡¯s side immediately.

    He approached the shivering girl carefully and with well-practiced motions, the duke wrapped his arms around her.

    Sophie¡¯s body stiffened at the sudden touch, but the familiar warmth of her father pierced through the mental fog that was clouding her mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay baby¡­ just focus on my voice¡­¡± Duke Peterlor whispered in a soft and gentle tone.

    ¡°Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­ you are in a safe ce now. No one will hurt you. All those emotions that you are currently feeling¡­ let them fade away to the back of your mind¡­¡±

    ¡°Take deep breaths¡­ then exhale¡­e on¡­ follow my lead¡­ breathe in¡­¡±

    Hours passed or maybe it was just a few minutes. Time seemed to freeze at that moment and every second felt like an eternity.

    Sophie did not know what was happening in the outside world as all she could focus on was the voice of her father slowlyforting her over and over again.

    There was no judgement or pity in his tone. All Sophie could feel was a loving warmth that wasparable to the sun.

    Duke Peterlor hummed softly as he continued to stroke his daughter¡¯s back. It was the same tune that he used to sing when his daughter was a little girl having trouble falling asleep at night.

    This was not the first time that the former militarymander had witnessed a mental breakdown, but this time was different.

    His own daughter was the one suffering.

    Seeing his daughter in pain hurt the duke more than a thousand des slicing against his own flesh.

    Duke Peterlor had nned on having Sophie visit a trained psychologist once she had gotten a few weeks¡¯ time to properly settled in but perhaps that was a mistake on his part.

    It was clear that she needed help now.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t alone in this,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke calmly. He tilted his daughter¡¯s face upwards so that she could see the seriousness in his eyes.

    ¡°You are not weak, and I don¡¯t expect you to push yourself and pretend that everything is fine when it is not.¡±

    ¡°We will get through this together. I promise.¡±

    Tears welled up in Sophie¡¯s eyes as she gazed at the concerned expression on her father¡¯s face.

    She could do nothing but sob in his arms. Duke Peterlor held his daughter¡¯s shaking body and allowed her to cry as long as she wanted.

    ¡°What¡­ what¡­ what if it is toote? I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­ already broken,¡± Sophie whispered hoarsely. Her fingers trembled slightly as she spoke.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s heart shattered when he heard the fear and hesitancy in his daughter¡¯ voice.

    The youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation had never felt as powerless as he did at that moment.

    He knew that the words he said next would either bring his daughter back from the brink or send her spiraling further downwards.

    Duke Peterlor took a brief moment to gather his thoughts and n out exactly what he wanted to say next.

    He brushed a loose strand of hair off his daughter¡¯s forehead and then spoke with a firm sense of conviction,

    ¡°You aren¡¯t broken.¡±

    ¡°My daughter¡­ you are far stronger than you give yourself credit. Do you think I could have survived in the Unovan Syndicate at your age? Much less be able to protect a child as well?¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you something¡­ mental health is a journey, and you will go through life experiencing many highs and lows.¡±

    ¡°Especially when you lead a life on the path of cultivation. There is not a single warrior alive who has not battled with inner demons.¡±

    ¡°You have had to face death on a constant basis. Whatever you had to do to survive during those months¡­ I don¡¯t think any less of you.¡±

    ¡°My daughter¡­ you do not need to fight this battle alone. I will not give up on you. I will never give up on you¡­¡±

 Chapter 406: A Relaxing Afternoon

    Chapter 406: A Rxing Afternoon

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Artificial Lake)

    ¡°Hmm¡­ looks like we might need to change the bait,¡± Duke Peterlor muttered as he reeled in yet another empty catch.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t these darn fishes hungry today?!¡±

    What bad luck!

    Usually, he was able to fill an entire cooler with fishes by now, but it looked like today was one of those days when nothing seemed to bite.

    He reached into the bucket near his foot and pulled out a squirming worm-like creature that hissed menacingly.

    With well-practiced motions the duke attached the creature to the end of his fishing rod and then flung the line back into the water.

    Ripples spread out from the point of impact and disturbed the calmke. Sophie sat quietly in the shade of a nearby tree as she observed her father¡¯s struggles.

    It was the morning after her mental breakdown and her father had decided to spend the day with her.

    Fishing together was a tradition that the duke had started since Sophie was a little girl and being with her father again made her feel quite nostalgic.

    Sophie had not touched hermunicator sincest night and on the advice of her father, she decided to spend the day just rxing.

    It was perhaps a bit unfair to her friends, but Sophie knew that right now, the best thing for her mental state was to try to clear her mind.

    She was not prepared to have a conversation just yet. In fact, she still hadn¡¯t decided if she wanted to let her friends know about her situation.

    Tomorrow Duke Peterlor nned on having a serious conversation with his daughter about going to see a psychologist for regr sessions.

    Possibly over a long period of time¡­

    Sophie knew that there was a very real possibility that she would be unable to return to university next semester.

    Especially considering her current fragile mental state.

    Maybe it was time to consider taking a year off to recover before returning.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she imagined being an entire year behind her friends. No¡­ there was no need to rush.

    Being a cultivator meant that her lifespan had already been extended for hundreds of years, one extra year of university was nothing in the grand scheme of things.

    The hybrid girl hummed softly as she took a few nces at the beautiful scenery all around her.

    Her father had constructed an artificialke some distance away from the main estate that was around the size of two football fields.

    Magnificent trees lined the shoreline which provided shade and the gically modified grass was soft like a pillow and purple in colour.

    ¡°Honey¡­ are you sure that you don¡¯t want to try?¡± Duke Peterlor called out.

    Sophiezily got up from the ground and approached the edge of theke.

    She dipped her toe in the cool water and swirled it around. The water was crystal clear, and it was possible to see tiny fishes merrily darting around the nts that grew on theke bottom.

    Sophie knelt down and scooped up a handful of water before sshing it against her face. She giggled softly as the water droplets ran down the sides of her cheeks.

    There was secretly a sense of relief in her heart.

    After her father discovered what had happened in the greenhouse, Sophie had been afraid that he would look at her differently or treat her like a monster¡­

    But he didn¡¯t.

    In fact, her dad had been nothing but patient and supportive.

    Being the head of a high noble family meant that the duke had a constant barrage of responsibilities and tasks to oversee and yet¡­

    Here he was spending the entire day with her.

    Sophie appreciated what he had done far more than her father would ever know. He was truly the light that brought her back from the darkness.

    ¡°Okay dad. I¡¯ll give it a try,¡± Sophie spoke softly. She stepped out of the water and walked towards her father.

    The duke handed her a spare fishing rod. Sophie ran her fingers along the wooden frame and let out a light sigh.

    Old fashioned just as she remembered. Duke Peterlor loathed to use high tech nano-fiber fishing rods and preferred simple wooden ones created by passionate craftsmen.

    A genuine smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face for a brief moment as she reached into the bucket of bait.

    She picked up a particrly nasty-looking creature that attempted to bite her fingertip as she hoisted it out.

    Sophie ced the creature on the hook and then flung the bait as far as she could. The hooknded several feet in the distance with a loud ssh.

    ¡°You probably scared away all the fish already!¡± Duke Peterlor chuckled loudly. The middle-aged man ced his arm around his daughter and drew her in close.

    Sophie leaned against his muscr chest and the father daughter pair rxed in silence as the afternoon passed.

    asionally the duke would bring up random topics for conversation, so Sophie never felt bored during the quiet moments.

    He made sure not to mention anything about her time in the Unovan Syndicate but instead talked about thetest entertainment news or gossip among the noble families.

    Sophie quite impressed with her father¡¯s knowledge of thetest boybands and girl groups.

    Little did she know that her father had spent a few hours prior to their fishing trip on the Virtual Net searching for topics to bond with his daughter.

    ¡°I will say that I don¡¯t quite understand the appeal of those¡­ so-called ¡®Rexen Boys¡¯,¡± Duke Peterlor said with a bewildered expression on his face.

    ¡°All their songs are basically them saying their names over and over while electronic noises re out and you can hear screams in the background.¡±

    ¡°Well dad¡­ that¡¯s the appeal. They are supposed to be an underground indie band that are fighting against the elites of society¡­¡± Sophie tried to exin to her confused father.

    ¡°Maybe I am a bit too old for that sort of thing,¡± Duke Peterlor mused with a helpless smile.

    The look of confusion and resignation on her father¡¯s face caused Sophie to giggle and she leaned in closer.

    The warmfort of her father made the afternoon seem a bit brighter. Suddenly Sophie jerked forward in shock as she felt a faint tugging sensation on the end of the line.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a catch!¡± Sophie eximed excitedly as she stood up.

    ¡°Steady hands¡­ steady hands¡­ just remember to not use too much strength or else you¡¯ll break the line,¡¯ Duke Peterlor warned calmly but the glint in his eyes betrayed his inner excitement.

    Sophie gripped the wooden handle firmly and pulled back as her fishing rod started to bend. She gradually began to reel in the line as the tugging sensation intensified.

    Having supernatural strength meant that there was no suspense in whether she would be able to pull in the fish but rather the issue was if she used too much force.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled. She carefully monitored her strength while the line got shorter and shorter.

    She could now see a vague dark shape thrashing frantically just under the surface of theke.

    That was it!

    Sophie immediately jerked the fishing rod upwards, but her exhration was cut short when she heard a loud cracking noise.

    The fishing rod had split into two pieces as Sophie in her excitement idently used a bit too much force.

    The hybrid girl could only watch numbly as the other half of her fishing rod fell into the water with a dull ssh.

    What made matters worse was that the ck shadow had managed to free itself during the ident and swum away.

    Duke Peterlor patted his daughter on the back and walked over to the storage bag where he pulled out another fishing rod.

    ¡°Want to try again with your old man?¡± Duke Peterlor asked warmly.

    The annoyance and rage that was beginning to bubble up in Sophie¡¯s chest instantly disappeared as she heard those casual words.

    ¡°I would love to,¡± Sophie replied firmly. She took the fishing rod from her father and repeated the process of putting bait on the end of the hook.

    This time she cast out the line closer to the shore of theke before settling down for yet another long wait.

    ¡°Do you want me to ask Butler Gerald to bring Lily overter this evening? Or are you morefortable with just the two of us?¡± Duke Peterlor asked kindly.

    Sophie considered his suggestion for a minute and then replied, ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m feeling better today so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    The duke powered on his wristmunicator and sent a message to the butler to bring Lily over in a few hours along with a few crates of food.

 Chapter 407: Plans For The Future

    Chapter 407: ns For The Future

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Artificial Lake)

    ¡°Big sister!¡± a loud cheerful voice broke the silent atmosphere. Sophie had the time to react but decided to allow a tiny body to m into her chest.

    She instinctively wrapped her arms around Lily who was snuggling tightly against her body. It was fair to say that the pair had spent little time together since arriving on Gaia.

    Of course, the reasons were out of her control¡­.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in order to prevent those negative feelings from worsening.

    Right now, she needed her mood to remain as calm as theke.

    Duke Peterlor sensed his daughter¡¯s difort and ced a warm hand on her shoulder. Sophie opened her eyes and smiled reassuringly.

    ¡°Young miss, please excuse my tardiness,¡± an elderly voice gently spoke.

    Sophie turned around and saw Butler Gerald walking towards them leisurely with a row of robotic androids following closely behind.

    Each robot was holding multiplerge metalloid crates.

    Butler Gerald nodded respectfully to the duke and then proceeded to order the androids to set up the dinner table.

    Inside one of the crates was a long table while other boxes contained various objects such as chairs, food and eating utensils.

    The dinner menu had been prepared long in advance by the chefs in the kitchen and the preservation boxes were specially designed to prevent the loss of heat.

    ¡°How are you, Lily?¡± Sophie spoke softly to the child who was sitting quietly in herp.

    ¡°Are you enjoying your stay here?¡±

    Lily buried her head further into Sophie¡¯s shirt and refused to say a word. Sophieughed and handed her fishing rod over to her father to hold.

    This little girl had a temper!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t have time to y with you¡­ there have just been so many things to do. Please forgive me,¡± Sophie cooed softly.

    Lily was silent for a moment and then finally raised her head. Sophie gently touched the corners of the little girl¡¯s eyes that were beginning to tear up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t me you big sister. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m leaving in two days,¡± the little girl sniffled. Sophie shot her father a quizzical look since this was the first time that she was hearing this.

    ¡°The original n is still to reveal that both of you were rescued by the end of this week, but Lily¡¯s family wants her back home as soon as possible,¡± Duke Peterlor exined.

    What he didn¡¯t mention was that he had already negotiated with the elders of House ckait so that Lily¡¯s position as heiress would no longer be under threat.

    The members of House ckait were smart individuals. The opportunity to further their ties with Duke Peterlor could not be afforded to be passed up.

    Plus, the additional offer to share the rights to a few mining colonies under his control certainly helped the matter along.

    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too but don¡¯t worry¡­ I¡¯m sure your family has been worried sick since you disappeared,¡± Sophie whispered gently.

    Sophie hugged the little girl tightly and whispered a few soft words of encouragement. She made sure that Lily knew that she was always weed to visit.

    The benefit of living in an underground artificial city was that the lighting systems could be easily manipted.

    Sophie and her father had spent several hours by theke already, but it was still as bright and sunny as if it were midday above ground.

    Lily¡¯s low mood gradually improved as Sophie teased and yed with her. The familiarity between the two girls brought a smile to the duke¡¯s face.

    He was sure that the happy look in his daughter¡¯s eyes was not forced. It was an encouraging sign that she had not closed off her heart after the trauma.

    Duke Peterlor had seen many soldiers and cultivators go down that path. Closing off themselves from the world in order to never feel pain or hurt again.

    Living like the dead.

    Day by day doing nothing but their assigned tasks and then returning to their apartments to sleep. A never-ending cycle of numbness and depression.

    Duke Peterlor absentmindedly tightened his grip on the fishing rod as a few ufortable memories shed across his mind.

    In many ways being a god stage cultivator was a curse. Perfect memory recall meant that he could never forget certain events¡­

    No matter how hard he tried.

    While the duke was lost in his thoughts, Sophie was patiently teaching Lily how to fish using her years of knowledge.

    Unfortunately, it appeared as though the little girl was not as found of the activity as the father daughter pair.

    In fact, Sophie suspected that the only reason why Lily did not have a bored look on her face was because she was keeping herpany.

    The hybrid girl yfully shook the fishing rod back and forth until small ripples spread out and covered theke¡¯s surface.

    Lily giggled and pped her hands, so Sophie decided to stir more vigorously. Clearly there was no chance of catching anything today so she might as well have some fun.

    ¡°Dinner is ready master,¡± Butler Gerald walked over and whispered in the duke¡¯s ear. Duke Peterlor thanked the elderly servant and gestured for Sophie to pack up the fishing rod.

    Sophie sniffed the air and smelled an overwhelming mixture of scents. Roasted meat, curried vegetables, soups and even deserts!

    Her mouth was already beginning to water!

    Sophie helped her father pack up the fishing equipment and then headed towards the dinner table with Lily in her arms.

    She ced the little girl carefully on the seat next to her and then immediately dug in. It was a sumptuous feast!

    ¡°Lily why don¡¯t you try this?¡± Sophie spoke peacefully. She picked up a few dishes that were her favorite and ced them on Lily¡¯s te.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Lily replied loudly and mimicked the motions of her big sister to eat as much as possible.

    Duke Peterlor also selected a few dishes and passed them to his daughter with an indulgent smile on his face.

    Tomorrow he would talk to his daughter about the psychologist that he had invited to spend a few weeks in the estate.

    But for today¡­ he just wanted to see her rx.

 Chapter 408: A Difficult Conversation

    Chapter 408: A Difficult Conversation

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Study Room)

    Sophie sat down on a chair and waited patiently for her father to return. The study room was exactly as she remembered.

    Rows upon rows of books lined the walls and a roaring firece crackled in the corner of the room.

    The floor was covered in a luxurious carpet that made the atmosphere feel warm and cozy. This was the ce where her father usually worked.

    The in wooden desk in the center of the room had a projector device installed in the center of its frame that could easily disy holographic maps and images.

    Sophie hummed softly as she absentmindedly yed with the wristmunicator held loosely in her right palm.

    She needed to talk to her friends¡­.

    Truthfully there was a small part of Sophie that wanted to keep everything hidden but it would be hard to hide what was happening to her.

    Cleo had sent several messages already asking about her well-being and Sophie had yet to reply to a single one.

    And there was the fact that she had missed the appointment to video-chat with Astrid and Qiana so there was no doubt that her friends were probably already suspicious.

    Seeing those unopened messages in her inbox made Sophie feel a bit anxious and sick.

    Those messages constantly surfaced at the back of her mind whenever she had time to think or rx.

    Sophie ran her thumb over the smooth metalloid surface of hermunicator while doing her best to calm down.

    Deep breaths¡­ deep breaths¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out¡­

    The hybrid girl¡¯s chest gently rose and fell as she counted to one hundred in her mind. The door to the study room swung open and her father entered the room.

    ¡°Sorry sweetie¡­ I hope you didn¡¯t have to wait long,¡± Duke Peterlor apologized softly. Sophie¡¯s father ced a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed itfortingly.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay dad¡­ I was just thinking a bit,¡± Sophie exined with a forced smile.

    Duke Peterlor walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair with a heavy thud. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out two sealed sses with each containing a clear liquid.

    He ced one ss on the desk and handed the second ss to Sophie who epted it gracefully.

    She opened the seal, and the fruity aroma of fresh juice filled the air and entered her nostrils.

    Sophie sipped the liquid as her father leaned back against his chair and began to talk in earnest.

    ¡°I have been doing a bit of thinking¡­.¡± Duke Peterlor spoke calmly as he made sure to maintain eye contact with his daughter.

    ¡°Right now, I don¡¯t think that it is the best thing for you to return to university immediately or at least not until you get into a better head space.¡±

    ¡°I have talked to the university heads of departments and your position as one of the top students for the freshman year made them willing to consider alternatives.¡±

    ¡°Virtual sses could be an option, but you would still have to return to campus at the end of the semester to undertake the final exams.¡±

    ¡°How would that sound? If you don¡¯t want to then it is a simple matter for you to just repeat first year.¡±

    Sophie froze for a moment and considered her options carefully.

    Zrudread University mainly focused on practicalbat training and encouraged their students to take breaks to go on bounty hunting missions.

    Sophie¡¯s double major was in poison andbat beast cultivation and only poison cultivation was highly technical and required a lot of theoretical knowledge.

    With virtual sses, Sophie was confident that she would be able to catch up on the work that she had missedst semester.

    It was even possible to get on track to enter second year with the rest of her friends.

    The problem was her mental state. Sophie frowned slightly as she tapped her fingers against the corner of the chair.

    What was the correct choice?

    Her father would respect her decision either way. Sophie rubbed her temples and closed her eyes while going over the pros and cons.

    She couldn¡¯t imagine spending several months in the mansion without something to do. It would drive her crazy.

    Maybe virtual sses would help her to get back on schedule and return to a normal life following her experiences in the Unovan Syndicate.

    ¡°Dad¡­ I think I want to give it a try. If I don¡¯t think that I can do it anymore then I will let you know,¡± Sophie answered firmly.

    ¡°Okay sweetie¡­ I will make the arrangements now,¡± Duke Peterlor replied with a proud look in his eyes. He opened hismunicator and typed out a few lines of text.

    Sophie rxed in her chair and continued to sip the sweet liquid inside the ss. The fruity scent filled her mouth and lifted her mood.

    In a few minutes, her father would probably bring up the difficult part of the conversation.

    Sophie was aware that her father had yet to bring up the matter of finding an appropriate psychologist.

    Psychologist¡­ she needed to see one but¡­

    She really didn¡¯t want to.

    Who wanted to bare their soul and insecurities in front of a random stranger to be judged?

    To know that the only reason why you had to see one was because there was something inside you that was broken.

    Broken¡­

    Sophie gripped her fingers tightly against the soft fleshy underbelly of her palm. The sudden jolt of pain was enough to distract her from those dark thoughts.

    The logical part of her knew that this reaction was exactly why she needed to see a psychologist but emotionally¡­.

    It was hard to admit that she needed help.

    Sophie let out a small sigh and waited for her father to finish typing on hismunicator.

    She did not need to wait long as the duke soon ced down hismunicator and looked up at his daughter.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ I can tell that you are feeling a bit reluctant, but I want to bepletely honest with you,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke softly.

    ¡°No one is weak for trying to get help. It is impossible to be strong all the time and sometimes we need others to extend a helping hand to get us out of the darkness.¡±

    ¡°I have made an appointment with Doctor Reynolds who has been my regr psychologist for a few years now.¡±

    ¡°Your psychologist?!¡± Sophie eximed in shock. This was the first time that she was hearing about this.

    ¡°Yes. My psychologist¡­ sweetie after your mother¡­ I¡­¡± Duke Peterlor paused for a second as a painful expression shed across his face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I was not in the best state of mind after returning from the Insectoid Empire and you were just a little baby.¡±

    ¡°I put aside my pride and got help. You needed a father who was able to take care of himself and there was so much that I had to learn.¡±

    The duke slowly got up from his chair and approached his daughter. He pulled Sophie into his arms and gave her a warm hug.

    Tears welled up along the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes as she hugged her father back. It was truly her blessing to have the greatest dad in the universe.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get through this¡­ I promise¡­¡± Duke Peterlor whispered quietly.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t alone.¡±

 Chapter 409: The Final Exam

    Chapter 409: The Final Exam

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University- Training Field #452)

    Cleo sat quietly and observed the hundreds of attack drones floating silently in the air.

    She was currently sitting down at the edge of a wide-open training arena that was around the size of three football fields.

    Every single one of the attack drones was equipped with a regenerative shield and multiple sma rifles capable of firing twenty rounds per second.

    It was an impossible task to defeat them.

    Even a cultivator in the qi tide stage would be instantly blown to pieces if they dared to step into the line of fire.

    Cleo took a deep breath and steadied her thoughts. Today was the final day of the mech controller exam.

    It involved practical training.

    Despite the strict standards already required to pilot a mech, Zrudread University expected more from their students.

    It was not enough to merely have the ability to pilot a mech. Each student should be able to fight as if the metalloid exoskeletons were an extension of their own limbs.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± a cheerful voice came from the Mendolesa girl standing by a nearby tree.

    Her furry tail wagged furiously as she stared at the floating attack drones with a hungry look in her eyes.

    ¡°Tired¡­ I can¡¯t wait for this exam season to be finally over,¡± Cleo repliedzily as she stretched her arms.

    ¡°Elenora if you have time for small talk¡­ then you have the time to prepare. We all know that you failed the theory portion of the ss already,¡± Drew eximed sarcastically.

    Cleo shot an unpleasant look at the Quafes boy who was currently smirking at the two of them with an arrogant look on his face.

    ¡°Worry about yourself. Remember our bet? The person with the lowest mark will have to pay for a month¡¯s worth of food,¡± Cleo replied coldly.

    Elenora walked over to Drew and begun to argue while Cleo closed her eyes and ignored the two quarreling students.

    Unfortunately, there were only three students in the mech course, so she was very familiar with the two of them.

    Drew was a bit of an ass but his skills in piloting mechs in the light armor ss could not be underestimated.

    Elenora on the other hand preferred mechs with heavier firepower so she specialized in mechs built in the Ravager series.

    Cleo was leaning towards beast-like mechs but nned on trying out different types until she found a model that clicked with her fighting style.

    The sounds of Elenora and Drew arguing faded away to the background as Cleo thoughts began to wander.

    God¡­ I miss my Sophie.

    Cleo let out a light sight as her thoughts turned towards her beautiful girlfriend. Finding out that Sophie had returned alive and was now safe at home still felt like a dream sometimes.

    And now¡­

    Cleo absentmindedly opened up hermunicator and checked her inbox for any missed messages or calls.

    There was nothing.

    Sophie had not returned any of her messages or video chat requests.

    What was going on with her?

    Cleo was definitely feeling a little bit worried. The only thing keeping her from going into full panic mode was the message that she had received from Sophie¡¯s father.

    He didn¡¯t say what was going on but told her that his daughter was okay. Cleo tried to press for more details, but the duke refused to say.

    He simply said that his daughter would tell her once she was ready and that it wasn¡¯t his ce to say.

    It was so frustrating!

    The princess ced hermunicator into her storage ring and then turned her attention back to the exam.

    She would get the answer one way or the other.

    This was herst exam and Cleo nned on taking the first spaceflight back to the Alpha Star System as soon as it finished.

    No hesitation. She wasn¡¯t even going to bother to wait for the results since she missed her girlfriend desperately.

    And somehow, she just knew that Sophie needed her now more than ever. It was a subtle feeling, but Cleo was convinced that it was true.

    Cleo got up from the ground and walked over to Elenora and Drew.

    Over thirty minutes passed uneventfully while the three students waited for their instructor to arrive at the exam site.

    It was annoying since the exam was supposed to start over an hour ago, but Instructor Barrett was not a man known for punctuality.

    ¡°Sorry for runningte ss!¡± a frail elderly voice shouted. A mechanical pod zoomed over to the training field with an old man sitting in the cockpit.

    He stopped therge mechanical pod a mere hundred feet away from his students and then leapt confidently out of the vehicle.

    Instructor Barrett was an old man with grey hair that was mixed with dark soot. It poked out in all directions as if he had just gotten an electric shock.

    He wore the standard mechanical overalls of the Imperial Army and matched the dull grey colours of the uniform with bright neon-green sneakers that shed horribly with his outfit.

    He smelled of engine oil, smoke and ash. Not a particrly pleasantbination of scents but Cleo was used to it.

    ¡°Well, I have already begun to mark the theory exams and I must say¡­ I am very disappointed in one of you,¡± Instructor Barrett scolded fiercely.

    ¡°Clearly someone did not study properly because I remember taking about the steampunk era and the pioneers that designed early mechs and yet that individual imed that¡­¡±

    ¡°Sir! Can we just begin the exam?¡± Drew hurriedly interrupted before the professor lost himself in a tangent.

    Instructor Barrett stroked his beard and muttered thoughtfully, ¡°Wha¡­ what? Oh yeah¡­ the exam.¡±

    The elderly man ran back to the mechanical pod with swiftness that seemed impossible given his frail appearance.

    He returned five minutester to the group with threerge ck crates that were around the size of two-story houses.

    Instructor Barrett used his mental force to levitate the crates several feet in the air and with expert precision ced the boxes in front of each student.

    ¡°Just ce your hand against the scanner and then I will exin the exam once everyone is suited up,¡± Instructor Barrett spoke with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

    Cleo stepped up to the nearest ck crate and had to step on tiptoes to ce her right palm against the scanner that was located way too high up.

    Drew was able to use his fluid body to stretch his arm and tap the scanner without a problem while Elenora had no issue cing her w against the scanner.

    With a dull hissing noise, a door-shaped hole opened up in the surface of each crate that revealed arge space inside.

    Cleo stepped inside confidently and entered a world filled with mechanical machinery, androids and messy wires.

    In the center of the crate was a mech but it was not just any mech.

    It was thetest Xperion model from the Trident Series.

    One could tell as much from the deep navy blue colour of the exterior and the custom trident symbol that was embedded in the chest te.

    Cleo¡¯s breath hitched as she stared at the sleek lightweight design with multiple thrustors and aser sword.

    It was beautiful. Mechs truly were a marvel of scientific engineering.

    ¡°I have to read the specs!¡± Cleo muttered softly. She ran over to the mech eagerly and took a tablet from the robot standing next to it.

    Suddenly there was a loud bleeping noise and a holographic projection appeared above a console in the corner of the room.

    Cleo nced over and saw lines of text appear in the air.

    [Wee Mech Controller!]

    [You have thirty minutes to modify the mech in front of you¡­ that includes weapon systems, shields, flight thrustors, aerial navigators and more¡­]

    [The Final Exam will begin once the modification process ispleted]

    The holographic projection changed to a picture of the internal view of the Trident mech as well as a list of materials avable in the room.

    Cleo frowned when she finished reading the instructions.

    The base model should be sufficient for most situations, but it looked like Instructor Barrett wanted his students to add additional pieces of gear.

    This was going to be tricky. The most important part of mech construction was making sure that the various pieces fit together.

    If you simply ced the strongest sma cannons and shields on a mech without care for the aerodynamic shape of the model, then it would lead to a total disaster.

    Overheating¡­ck of proper flight capability¡­. so many issues could arise from one careless design choice.

    Instructor Barrett was clearly testing them on all the knowledge that he had taught during the course of the semester in the lectures.

    Cleo cracked her knuckles and prepared to get down to work. She tapped the picture of the internal view and zoomed in on certain sections.

    It was time to ace this.

 Chapter 410: Secrets Hidden In The Mechanical City

    Chapter 410: Secrets Hidden In The Mechanical City

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Mechanical City)

    [Hey¡­ I¡¯m sorry that I haven¡¯t been in touch over thest few days¡­ I¡­]

    ¡°No that¡¯s so stupid,¡± Sophie groaned as her finger hovered over the delete key.

    She pressed the icon and the message draft instantly disappeared.

    The hybrid girl yed with themunicator in her right palm as numerous thoughts ran across her mind.

    She was currently sitting down on a bench enjoying the artificial sunlight that shone down on the mechanical city.

    Her father had insisted that she not spend too much time indoors.

    It was a good decision because every time Sophie returned to her bedroom, she would get shbacks to the nightmarish dream where all of friends and family were dead.

    A gentle breeze brushed against Sophie¡¯s body and made several loose strands of her long ck hair fall across her face.

    At the current moment, it should be around four o¡¯ clock the afternoon, but Sophie did not bother to double check.

    She had lost track of time and was simply rxing outside.

    Lily had gone home yesterday, and the psychologist was supposed toe tomorrow for their first session.

    What was his name again?

    Doctor Reynolds or something like that¡­

    A frown shed across Sophie¡¯s face as she pictured an elderly man dressed in a buttoned-down vest and holding a clipboard.

    In Sui Meng¡¯s memories there were scenes of psychologists shown on television who would constantly ask silly questions like¡­

    ¡®But how do you really feel?¡¯ and ¡®How does that make you feel?¡¯

    Hopefully her uing session would be nothing like that otherwise Sophie nned on walking out immediately.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that Lily isn¡¯t around when¡­ oh¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly before remembering that Lily had already left.

    The mansion just felt a lot emptier without the cheerful little girl constantly shadowing her every move.

    Sophie missed her already.

    There was a hollow feeling in her chest since she had basically spent thest few months with the little girl constantly by her side.

    This feeling of loneliness was the driving force behind her decision to finally confess to her friends about her current situation.

    But¡­ things were not going exactly as nned.

    Sophie rubbed her temples slowly and tried topose yet another message. She thought for a moment and then began to type out.

    [Hey¡­ I would like to apologise for not reaching out properly since returning home but¡­ it¡¯s because I have been dealing with some¡­]

    ¡°Fuck! Why is this so difficult?!¡± Sophie yelled in frustration. She deleted the message once again before it had even been sent.

    This was the tenth time.

    THE TENTH TIME!

    Sophie sighed heavily as she nced at the contact list on hermunicator. Astrid, Qiana and Cleo were the three profiles on the top of her list.

    She needed to tell them.

    Come on¡­ she wasn¡¯t a coward! It was just a message exining why she had not reached out.

    It did not have to be an essay. It did not have to be perfect. Just talk to them.

    This wasn¡¯t even a hard task!

    Sophie¡¯s fingers trembled slightly as she tapped the screen to open up the draft function. This time she hurriedly wrote down several lines of text before her burst of courage disappeared.

    [Hey¡­ I¡¯m sorry for not reaching out before. Truthfully, I do want to talk to you all desperately but I¡­ I just can¡¯t¡­ not yet]

    [Right now, I¡¯m not in the right mental state. It isn¡¯t anything serious and I am going to get help, but I may need a few weeks to recover.]

    [I¡¯m sorry.]

    Sophie¡¯s heart began to race as she finished typing thest word.

    She quickly sent the messages out to her three friends and then closed hermunicator before seeing if anyone responded.

    Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­e on¡­ don¡¯t lose control¡­

    Sophie hummed softly as she took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled. Her palms felt weak and mmy as she awkwardly hung them to the side of her body.

    There were tiny beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Sophie grabbed a tissue from her storage ring and wiped her face.

    Where was this fearing from?

    Just picturing her friends reading the messages made Sophie feel sick.

    She even felt a slight urge to throw up. Sophie leaned forward on the bench and wrapped her arms around her body.

    Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­ breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­

    The minutes passed slowly as Sophie gradually got her mood to calm down. She ced hermunicator back into her storage ring and got up from the bench.

    Maybe a walk would help to clear her mind. It certainly seemed better than just sitting down and letting her wandering thoughts lead her to dark ces.

    Sophie closed her eyes and stretched her index finger outward. She waved her finger back and forth before slowly opening her eyes.

    Her finger was pointed towards a north-eastern direction, so Sophie decided to stretch her legs for a bit.

    The hybrid girl slowly walked towards arge needle-like tower that was in the center of the metalloid city.

    Drones and robots could be seen all throughout the city maintaining the buildings, performing menial tasks and transporting raw materials as well as other functions.

    Sophie moved to the left as a tiny ball-shaped robot zipped past her body and headed towards what looked like a garage.

    Duke Peterlor used his home on Gaia as a secondary base so there were secrets hidden in the mechanical city that Sophie had yet to uncover.

    Not that she was in any rush to learn all the secrets. Sophie did not want to take over as the future duchess of House Peterlor until at least a few centuries passed.

    But as the heiress she would probably start to get involved in the territory management after university.

    Sophie was not looking forward to handling all of those responsibilities. Administrative work was a battle that could not usually be solved by brute force or violence.

    A smirk shed across her face as Sophie imagined punching her way through endless stacks of files and paperwork.

    Certainly not the heroic life of a warrior but definitely much safer and frankly Sophie felt as though she had encountered enough danger for a lifetime.

    Although she didn¡¯t have much hope of spending the rest of her days peacefully.

    She had an instinctive feeling that her status of being the vessel of the hunter goddess would drag her into more perilous situations in the distant future.

    As Sophie neared the core of the mechanical city, an additional type of drone could be seen patrolling both sides of the road.

    Massive bulky security bots with vaguely humanoid features and numerous weapon systems roamed the area.

    Sophie walked quietly as several beams of green light scanned her body before confirming her identity.

    However, these security bots were just the tip of the iceberg.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes shone eerily as the hybrid girl used her enhanced vision to get a better look at her surroundings.

    Suddenly multiple invisible drones could be seen clearly in her view with weapons trained directly at her body.

    Sophie waved her palm and the guns on the drones could be seen following her motions closely.

    A bit of an overkill but Sophie knew that her father had made many enemies over the years. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

    The needle-like building was a mere five hundred meters away from her current location. Sophie crammed her neck upwards to look at the gigantic structure that stretched towards the heavens.

    The tip of the building was incredibly slender, and overall architect was a sleek design that seemed vaguely off putting in a way that Sophie could not describe.

    There was a single ss door at the base of the structure. Sophie slowly walked towards the door but was stopped by two security bots that stood silently by the entrance.

    A green light was emitted from the security bot on the left that swept up and down Sophie¡¯s body.

    There was a speaker in the middle of the bot¡¯s face and soon a smooth mechanical voice could be heard.

    [Scanning individual¡­ identity confirmed¡­ Sophie Peterlor¡­]

    [ess Denied.]

    [Please leave this area immediately]

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Sophie thoughtfully muttered as she stared at the building.

    It was getting prettyte anyway so the hybrid girl decided to just ask her father about the tower when she returned to the mansion.

    Tomorrow was going to be her first session with the psychologist, so Sophie hoped to get a good night¡¯s rest before the appointment.

 Chapter 411: The First Session

    Chapter 411: The First Session

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate)

    ¡°Thank you foring on such short notice,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke politely as the hooded figure walked towards him.

    The humanoid figure was roughly five feet in height and his entire body was covered by arge oversized ck coat.

    A mysterious green mask covered his facial features and the only thing that one could observe about his appearance were two milky white eyes.

    Those eyes shone eerily through holes that were cut out in the mask.

    Dr. Reynolds was currently being escorted by the head butler who nodded respectfully as he approached the duke.

    ¡°It is my pleasure to help an old client and friend in his time of need,¡± a cold voice spoke.

    Dr. Reynolds took a look around the mechanical city but there were no traces of curiosity or awe in his eyes.

    Dr. Reynolds¡¯s way of speaking was both clear and understandable but one could detect a faint sing-song ent when he said certain words.

    Duke Peterlor was ustomed to the entric nature of his old psychologist.

    Despite his many quirks, Dr. Reynolds was truly the best in the field and his services were highly sought after by many noble families.

    It was a testament to both the doctor¡¯s great ability and the confidence of his clients that any secrets shared during the sessions would never leave the room.

    This guarantee of confidentiality was due to Dr. Reynolds¡¯s rather unique racial traits¡­

    ¡°Is there anything that you would like to drink or eat before I take you to meet my daughter?¡± Duke Peterlor asked curiously.

    ¡°No thank you. I have not installed a temporary feeding unit into my body so I will have to decline. Perhaps next time I will bring some extra storage space,¡± Dr. Reynolds replied calmly.

    ¡°Very well then,¡± Duke Peterlor smiled and gestured for the doctor to enter the mansion. Dr. Reynolds stepped into the mansion with slow purposeful steps.

    He pulled a small notebook and a pen out of his storage ring and began to take notes as Duke Peterlor guided him through the halls.

    He was particrly interested in what parts of the mansion that Sophie usually frequented and at what times.

    Dr. Reynolds quietly observed the numerous portraits and paintings that lined the walls.

    He paused for a brief moment in front of a painting that showed the duke and his daughter standing side by side in a garden.

    ¡°So¡­ I was thinking for the first session that I could sit in with my daughter and make sure that it goes smoothly¡­¡± the duke suddenly spoke.

    ¡°That will not do,¡± Dr. Reynolds shook his head and firmly declined.

    ¡°The sensitive nature of my meeting with Miss. Sophie Peterlor should mean that she is afforded the highest level of doctor patient confidentiality.¡±

    ¡°I will not stop her from telling you about the contents of our meeting but only after it urs and she must feelfortable informing you.¡±

    His tone was frank and unhurried.

    It was as if he was not talking to a high-ranking duke but rather an ordinary father worried about his daughter¡¯s well-being.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Duke Peterlor muttered sourly. Dr. Reynolds for better or for worse would always stick to his principles when dealing with patients and their families.

    No matter their noble ss or rank.

    The rest of the journey was done infortable silence with the only sounds being their footsteps as they traversed through abyrinth of corridors and side-passages.

    Finally, the duke arrived at a metalloid door with the words ¡®Holosuite 13¡¯ etched into its outer surface.

    Duke Peterlor pressed his finger against the scanner and the door swung open to reveal a in white room covered with grey lines that ran along the floor and walls.

    There was a console in the middle of the room that acted as a controller for the hard-light projections.

    Dr. Reynolds stepped into the room and made his way to the console where he began to input in a series of codes with familiar well practised motions.

    The room shook slightly and a faint electric buzzing noise could be hearding from the floor as the projectors powered on.

    Dr. Reynolds slowly took off his oversized robe and removed the mask from his face.

    Now it was clear to see that despite his humanoid physique, the doctor was clearly something alien.

    His body was vaguely shaped almost like a scarecrow with long extended limbs that seemed too long.

    There were numerous mechanical parts sown and interwoven into his flesh to the extent where it was impossible to tell where the machine ended and where he begun.

    The flesh on his body was a pale sickly green colour with yellow scars that ran down the sides of his torso.

    But the truly shocking detail that anyone would instantly notice was previously hidden behind the mask.

    Dr. Reynolds¡¯s head was entirely robotic with wires and circuits recing hair. The doctor reached into his storage ring and pulled out another mask that was a pale grey colour.

    He ced the new mask on the metalloid surface of his face and attached it carefully. This entire process took only a few seconds toplete.

    Dr. Reynolds cleared his throat and then turned to address the duke who was standing by the entrance,

    ¡°I should have everything ready in about twenty minutes. I will have to kindly ask you to turn off the monitoring systems inside the room during the one-hour session for privacy reasons.¡±

    ¡°Please let your daughter know that it is perfectly fine to bring food, snacks, water or anything else that she feels is necessary.¡±

    Duke Peterlor nodded in understanding and then closed the door. He could hear faint shuffling and electric hums on the other side.

    The duke lingered for a moment and then headed towards Sophie¡¯s bedroom. He opened hismunicator and sent out a message to the kitchen to prepare some light snacks.

    That was nerve-wracking.

    Even after spending months with the doctor after his return from the Insectoid Empire and asionally over thest few years, it was still a bit hard to get used to his appearance.

    It didn¡¯t help that the other members of his species were apparently extinct which meant that Dr. Reynolds was the only survivor.

    His visage was truly unique across the universe.

    Duke Peterlor let out a small sigh as he wandered through the mansion lost in a semi dazed state.

    Sophie was about to embark on a long journey of healing that could take months or even years depending on how things went.

    As a father, the duke knew that all he could do now was to be there for his daughter every step of the way but he just¡­

    Wished that he could do more.

    Did he do the right thing by allowing his daughter to be a cultivator? Could he have done something else during that fateful day?

    If he had only just monitored the emperor¡¯s actions more closely¡­..

    No¡­ thoughts like those would lead nowhere. He knew that more than anyone.

    Regret was like a poison and the duke had already drunk far too much from that particr chalice.

    A face very simr to Sophie¡¯s shed across his mind as the duke knocked on her bedroom door.

    Sometimes the duke could not help but wonder how Thai¡¯lle would react to the way he was raising their daughter.

 Chapter 412: The Strange Psychologist

    Chapter 412: The Strange Psychologist

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Holosuite 13)

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Pleasee in,¡± a calm voice spoke from the other side of the door. Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then ced her finger against the scanner.

    The metalloid door swung open to reveal a wide-open field that was enclosed by a ring of massive oak trees.

    There was a single stone path leading to the center of the field where Sophie could see a humanoid figure sittingfortably in a wooden chair.

    This was a bit strange¡­

    Sophie tentatively walked inside and closed the door behind her but couldn¡¯t help but think what the hell was going on?

    This entire scenery was nothing more than an illusion created by hard-light projections but it felt real and somewhatforting.

    ¡°Just follow the path and take your time,¡± Dr. Reynolds yelled from the center of the field. Sophie awkwardly nodded back and then proceeded to step on the stone path.

    The stones on the path were all the same golden colour and it reminded her of a certain book in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    The yellow brick road¡­

    Sophie did not know what to expect as she neared the doctor who was sitting with a rxed posture on the chair.

    She could easily observe his alien features as well as the numerous mechanical parts that were interwoven into his flesh.

    A natural bio-mechanical species? Or had he intentionally modified himself?

    Would it be impolite to ask?

    Distracting thoughts surfaced in Sophie¡¯s mind as she subconsciously resisted thinking about the true purpose of these sessions.

    She really didn¡¯t want to talk about her problems.

    Who would want to bare their soul to aplete stranger?!

    And yet¡­ deep down she knew that this was for the best. It was clear that her mental issues could not be solved by her alone.

    If this Dr. Reynolds could help her out then so be it.

    Doctor Reynolds pressed a button on the console and another wooden chair appeared out of thin air.

    He gestured towards the hybrid girl to sit down as Sophie finally arrived at the center of the field.

    This was Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter¡­

    The old psychologist tapped his fingers against the side of his knee as he ran through different ns of treatment in his mind.

    Well before he got to that¡­ there were some things that he needed to address first.

    ¡°Thank you for meeting me,¡± Doctor Reynolds stretched out his hand and shook Sophie¡¯s right palm.

    ¡°I understand that this is your first therapy session so it is perfectly understandable for you to feel a bit nervous or apprehension.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­¡± Sophie hesitantly replied as she gripped the sides of the chair. Why was this somehow more terrifying than fighting pirates on Calypso?

    It was just a simple conversation for god¡¯s sake!

    Doctor Reynolds adjusted the grey mask that covered his robotic features and then pressed a button on the side of his head.

    There was a dull hissing noise as what appeared to be a metalloid chip popped out of a hole in his circuitry.

    Sophie stared in morbid curiosity as the doctor removed the chip and then pulled out an identical looking one from his storage ring.

    ¡°I would like to assure you that anything brought up during our therapy sessions will bepletely confidential,¡± Doctor Reynolds spoke firmly.

    ¡°I will store all of my memories of our encounters on this chip which will be in your possession after each session.¡±

    ¡°This is my way of guaranteeing my patients that their secrets will never be leaked.¡±

    ¡°So do I keep the chip and then hand it back to you at the start of a new session?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes so do make sure to keep it in a safe ce since there will be no backup data on my hard drive,¡± Dr. Reynolds replied calmly.

    Hmmm¡­. a bit of Sophie¡¯s nervousness faded away as she was intrigued by the doctor¡¯s strange alien physiology.

    There was a brief moment of silence between the pair as Sophie waited patiently for the doctor to say something.

    A few bird-like creature flew overhead and a warm sunset could be seen peaking shyly from the distance.

    Sophie had to admit that this was quite the well-designed holosuite experience. It was almost like being transported to a different world.

    ¡°Would you like to take a walk?¡± Doctor Reynolds finally spoke.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Sophie replied in shock.

    The bio-mechanical creature got up from his chair and pressed another button on the console.

    The surroundings instantly changed from a wide open-field and Sophie now found herself standing on the shore of an endless ocean.

    Giant waves crashed against the shoreline and massive cliffs and rocks could be seen scattered along the coast.

    Doctor Reynold began to walk in a northeastern direction with slow purposeful movements. He would asionally stop to admire the view of the ocean.

    Sophie looked around in confusion as the figure of the doctor slowly got further and further away.

    What? Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a therapy session? Where was he going?¡±

    The hybrid girl activated her movement technique and instantly teleported behind the doctor.

    Doctor Reynolds seemed unfazed by her sudden appearance and asked a few simple questions in a casual tone, ¡°Do you have any hobbies?¡±

    ¡°I guess¡­ fishing and reading,¡± Sophie responded.

    ¡°I understand that you are a student at Zrudread University. Quite impressive I might say. How did you find the experience?¡± Doctor Reynolds inquired softly.

    ¡°Well, the teachers were nice¡­ but¡­¡± Sophie began to talk about her experiences on campus.

    This back-and-forth conversation continued uninterrupted for several minutes as Doctor Reynolds would ask mundane and seemingly random questions.

    Sophie found it easy to reply to the doctor since he did not bring up any sensitive issues or topics.

    He didn¡¯t even mention the events at the royal banquet or her time in the Unovan Syndicate.

    In fact, Sophie was now beginning to wonder what the purpose of all of this was.

    ¡°Look¡­ I don¡¯t mean to be rude but aren¡¯t you supposed to be¡­ fixing¡­ I mean curing me so I can get back normal?¡± Sophie finally asked.

    ¡°What is the point of asking me so many questions that have nothing to do with my trauma?¡±

    Doctor Reynolds let out a low chuckle and then replied in an easy-going manner, ¡°Miss Peterlor, this is only our first session.¡±

    Asking you these questions is for my benefit so I can get to know the kind of person you are and what possible treatment n will be best suited for your needs.¡±

    ¡°And I believe that you have a misconception. My job is not to ¡®fix you¡¯ since the purpose of these sessions is to assist you to learn how to help yourself.¡±

    ¡°This will be a long journey and unfortunately it may take some time. There are no shortcuts when ites to therapy.¡±

    ¡°But do not worry because Duke Peterlor has fully booked my services during this time so you will be my only client.¡±

 Chapter 413: A Hopeful Future

    Chapter 413: A Hopeful Future

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Holosuite 13)

    ¡°Wee Miss Sophie! I trust that you have been well since ourst appointment,¡± Doctor Reynolds spoke politely.

    Sophie stepped inside the holosuite and saw what looked like afortable study room that had a roaring firece in the corner.

    Rows upon rows of booksy on the bookshelves that lined the walls and arge oil painting was hung just above the firece.

    The atmosphere was warm and cozy with dim lighting that made her feel almost at home.

    Sophie gripped the chip in her palm nervously and approached the doctor who was standing behind a wooden desk.

    She was now quite familiar with the pre-session routine since this was her fourth session with the psychologist who would lose his memories after every session.

    It was a bit of a weird experience at first but Sophie was pretty used to it by now. She handed the chip over to Doctor Reynolds who nodded politely.

    The doctor pressed a button on the top of his robotic head and soon a p opened that revealed a space with two entry ports.

    He pressed the chip into the open slit and slide the device inside until a loud clicking noise could be heard.

    Doctor Reynolds closed his eyes as data entered his mind from the previous sessions with the hybrid girl.

    This entire process only took around one minute toplete and the doctor soon opened his milky white eyes.

    ¡°So how have you been? Are there any issues or problems that you would like to discuss before our session begins?¡± Doctor Reynolds asked softly.

    ¡°Not really¡­ I mean Cleo ising to visit next week so I am kind of looking forward to that¡­ but I am still feeling a bit anxious,¡± Sophie replied hesitantly.

    ¡°Have you still not messaged anyone? I understand that your father revealed that you were now safely at home to the general public,¡± Doctor Reynolds questioned in a peaceful tone.

    Sophie spoke firmly while doing her best not to show her hands that were trembling slightly in her pockets,

    ¡°I think there is no need to hurry and reach out because he told the press that I am in a private hospital recovering so it should be fine not to rush things.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­.¡± Doctor Reynolds hummed softly and took out his notebook to write down a few observations.

    Sophie saw a chair in the corner of the study room and grabbed it in order to have a ce to sit down.

    It was not obvious at first nce but the longer that Sophie stayed in the holosuite, the more she realised that the simted environment was clearly inspired by her father¡¯s private work room.

    The only sounds in the room were the noises that Doctor Reynolds¡¯s pencil made as he stroked the surface of his notebook.

    ¡°I believe that I have now identified the main issues that we will be working together to help you solve or at the very least manage over the next few months,¡± Doctor Reynolds finally spoke.

    ¡°Truthfully, I am quite optimistic about you. There is a clear desire to work with me and get through this together.¡±

    ¡°I always tell my patients that I can only help those who want to be helped. All the advice and techniques in the universe are useless if my patient refuses to recover or lives in denial.¡±

    ¡°Can I hear the list of issues?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    Over thest few sessions, Sophie had definitely tried her best to be as open and honest with the doctor as possible.

    She had told him about her feelings, panic attacks and most of her experiences in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Sophie had even mentioned some of her deepest secrets such as Sui Meng¡¯s memories, being the vessel of the Hunter Goddess and her insectoid heritage.

    It was unfortunate that Doctor Reynolds¡¯s face was hidden behind a grey mask so it was impossible to tell what his reaction was at that time.

    But somehow it made it easier to speak since Sophie could treat the doctor almost like a wall or an inanimate object.

    It helped that the doctor¡¯s bio mechanical nature meant that all of her secrets were safely extracted and kept in the chip so Sophie had no concern about them being leaked.

    Doctor Reynolds paused for a moment and tore off a certain page from his notebook.

    A beam of green light was emitted from the center of his milky white eyes that scanned the entire length of the page.

    This green light scanned the contents multiple times and then finally a different light was emitted from his pupils.

    This light was a dark red colour and soon the entire page was disintegrated into a pile of ashes which the doctor ced in his storage ring.

    Sophie tilted her head in confusion at the doctor¡¯s strange actions but received no exnation for the sudden disy of force.

    Doctor Reynolds ced his skeletal -like palm on the surface of the desk and then turned to address Sophie with a serious tone,

    ¡°It is clear that you seem to be suffering from mild symptomsmonly associated with post traumatic stress disorder.

    What isplicating the matter is your insectoid nature which appears to be enhanced by your connection to this ¡®Hunter Goddess¡¯ deity.

    From what I can gather, your warrior or perhaps the better word is bat state¡¯ amplifies aggressive tendencies while your mating state amplifies lust or feelings of attraction.

    This mating state seems to be targeted at Miss. Cleo Sisrelis who is your current partner.

    Fortunately, your third state appears at least for now to have no negative side effects.

    I do not believe that the best course of treatment is for you to suppress these emotions but rather to learn how to channel them correctly.

    How can you use these powers without letting these emotions consume you? I have worked on simr cases in the past so I believe that it can be done.

    In addition, I would like to work on the smaller issues as well such as relearning socialisation skills and helping you to ovee your fear of reaching out to your friends and acquaintances.

    I must confess that I am also quite curious about the memories imnted inside your mind from this ¡®Sui Meng¡¯ character¡­¡±

    Sophie listened carefully as the doctorid out a months long treatment n that included learning about different mediation techniques, resetting techniques and mock simtions.

    He even mentioned seeking out the help of her father during the training sessions when she would have to use the goddess¡¯ powers.

    Sophie felt a bit overwhelmed by all this information but the calm and reassurance in the doctor¡¯s voice gave her a cautious feeling of optimism for the future.

    Maybe it was okay to be hopeful¡­

 Chapter 414: An Unbreakable Connection

    Chapter 414: An Unbreakable Connection

    (Alpha Star System)

    (Xemena Commercial Transport Group- Vessel No.1446)

    The first-ss section of the spaceship contained numerous private suites where the wealthy business elites and noble aristocrats could travel infort and peace.

    Inside one of these suites was a gorgeous dark-haired beauty with long curly hair that gently fell below her shoulder.

    Her eyes were a brilliant piercing green colour and seemed to gleam with a mischievous glint.

    The noble girl had a lean physique that was soft and willowy with curves in all the right ces.

    She wore an expensive ck dress that was adorned with tiny star-like crystals that blinked and mimicked a beautiful night sky.

    Perhaps the only w in the noble girl¡¯s appearance would be the heavy bags below her eyes and a general aura of exhaustion.

    Cleo leaned back against the softfortable sofa-like chair and absentmindedly touched her wristmunicator.

    In just less than an hour, she would be reunited with Sophie again.

    The princess sighed lightly as she got up from her chair and walked up and down the length of her private suite.

    She felt a mix of emotions especially after receiving a message from a girlfriend not too long ago that talked about her struggles with mental health.

    Cleo knew that something was wrong when Sophie did not reply to any of her messages but she had no idea that the situation was so serious.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings inside the cage and tried to get Cleo¡¯s attention. The princess smiled at therge frostwing bat¡¯s antics and opened the door.

    Moon rushed outside the cage and began to fly around the room leaving small patches of ice wherever he passed.

    This ice soon melted but the temperature inside the private suite rapidly plummeted until Cleo could see tiny white clouds whenever she exhaled.

    The previously little frostwing bat had grown quite a bit since Sophie¡¯s disappearance.

    Cleo wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to some kind of mutation but Moon was significantly bigger than the expected size of a juvenile of his species.

    In fact, he was now roughly half the size of Cleo¡¯s body!

    There were other noticeable differences in Moon¡¯s appearance especially whenpared to a normal frostwing bat.

    These included his erged fangs, tiny spikes that grew along his spine and a whip-like tail with a sharpened de-like bone on the end.

    The bluish stripes along the sides of his torso and upper back now glowed ominously and felt cold to touch.

    Moon¡¯s ability to drop the temperature of his surroundings and summon ice crystals had also improved drastically.

    He also ate¡­ a lot.

    It was fortunate that Duke Peterlor would regrly send credits for his expenses because Cleo suspected that the frostwing bat would eat through her bank ount within a month

    ¡°We are going to see your mommy soon¡­ are you excited?¡± Cleo whispered softly as she stroked the top of Moon¡¯s furry head.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon¡¯s tiny tail wagged furiously from side to side as the frostwing bat hopped up and down in excitement.

    Cleo reached into her storage ring and pulled out a bowl full of nutrient pellets. She then ced the bowl on the table and Moon jumped on the chair beside it.

    Cleo left the frostwing bat to enjoy his mid-morning snack while she opened up hermunicator and sent a message.

    [Cleo: Hey Sophie! I am going to see you soon ?? I also brought Moon along and I bet you won¡¯t even recognise him when you see him]

    [Cleo: I love you babe <3]

    The princess pressed the exit icon and closed the inbox. There was no use in worrying because no matter what happened¡­.

    Cleo was determined not to leave her girlfriend in her time of need. She had already secretly messaged Instructor Barrett and requested a few extra weeks of vacation.

    She was confident that she would be able to catch up on the work that she missed and more importantly she wanted to spend as much time with Sophie as possible.

    Plus, the first few weeks were usually theory sses anyways and she could always just get the notes from Eleanora.

    Thump! Thump!

    Cleo ced her right palm on the center of her dress and felt the dull beating of her heart.

    It had been months now since the surgery and there was a small part of her that still could not believe that the symbiote was gone.

    Truthfully the days after the surgery, Cleo felt hollow as though there was a part of her that was missing but that feeling eventually faded.

    After years of being bonded without even knowing it¡­.

    How could her mother have done that to her?!

    Dark turbulent emotions filled Cleo¡¯s chest as she felt nothing but bitterness and rage. The princess took a few deep breaths to calm herself and slowly rubbed her temples.

    It was a technique that she had picked up after watching Sophie use it whenever her insectoid nature rose to the surface.

    Speaking of Sophie¡­

    The doctor imed that the symbiote¡¯s failure to prate inside her inner organs was a scientific miracle but Cleo knew the truth.

    It was all due to the pinkish brand that was burned into the middle of her chest. The mark that Sophie gave her after their night of passion together.

    Cleo dared not think of the possibilities of what might have happened if she had not met the hybrid girl who had changed her life.

    She would have been reduced to nothing more than an emotionless husk. There was no doubt that she would have also been stronger but power at that price was not worth it.

    To be a weapon for her mother to wield in order to acquire the throne and the authority that came with that cursed seat.

    But fortunately, that future would nevere to pass¡­

    It was this same connection that made Cleo feel rxed as she looked outside the window and saw the enormous blue slowlye into view.

    No matter what happened, there would always be an unbreakable bond between the two of them.

    A happy smile shed across Cleo¡¯s face as she heard a mechanical voicee from the speaker overhead that echoed through the private suite.

    [Attention all passengers we are now beginning our descent!]

    [Attention all passengers we are now beginning our descent!]

    [Please ensure that you are fully prepared to disembark in ten minutes]

 Chapter 415: The Wait And Anticipation

    Chapter 415: The Wait And Anticipation

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Hidden Entrance)

    Duke Peterlor had repaired the illusion barrier that concealed the entrance to the underground city so now any passing starships would see nothing but a barren scenery.

    Sophie stood silently in the wide-open field and tried her best not to constantly look down at her wristmunicator to check the time.

    A gentle wind blew a few loose strands of hair across her face and the full blue sun shone brightly down on the hybrid girl.

    She resisted for one more minute before once again powering on her device and checking to see what time it was.

    Sophie let out a light sigh and then turned on the camera function in order to see what the current state of her appearance was.

    She nervously straightened out a few creases on the bottom of her casual white dress and adjusted the star-shaped amulet on her neck.

    What if she hadn¡¯t dressed properly? I mean¡­

    Was a simple white dress with flower patterns and just her usual ne enough?

    Cleo was a princess for god¡¯s sake! What if she thought that her girlfriend¡¯s in attire was a sign that she no longer cared?!

    Sophie gripped the sides of her dress tightly as her brain went into overdrive mode.

    Questions and dark thoughts surfaced in her mind as her image on the camera feed suddenly appeared unsightly and hideous.

    No¡­ no¡­ there was no need to panic¡­ no need to panic¡­.

    Take deep breaths¡­. rx¡­ rx¡­. rx¡­

    It was impossible not to feel anxious and truthfully Sophie¡¯s emotions were all over the ce.

    Most of her feelings were of excitement and anticipation at the thought of seeing Cleo again after months of being apart.

    But there was a not insignificant part of her that felt nothing but anxiety and dread at the prospect of seeing her girlfriend again.

    She had changed and it was nerve-wracking to imagine the possibility that Cleo may not love her anymore.

    Sophie knelt down and slowly rubbed her temples. She took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    Using a technique that Doctor Reynolds had suggested, Sophie began to count the des of grass at her feet.

    ¡°One de¡­ two des¡­ three des¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly.

    The hybrid girl kept counting and gradually felt her turbulent mood slowly calm down.

    A warm hand was ced on her shoulder and Sophie turned around to see her father staring down at her with a concerned look on his face.

    ¡°Honey¡­ why did you decide toe here so early?¡± Duke Peterlor gently spoke.

    ¡°I heard from Butler Gerald that you have been out here for around two hours now. Cleo isn¡¯ting until quite a bitter¡­¡±

    ¡°Dad¡­ am I looking okay? Should I change? I should change right? I mean¡­.¡± Sophie stammered as she blurted out the true thoughts in her mind.

    Duke Peterlor frowned and immediately reached out his hand to pull his daughter up from the ground.

    He pulled out a box of tissues from his storage ring and handed one to Sophie.

    The hybrid girl wiped the tears that were beginning to form along the corners of her eyes and listened carefully as her father begun to talk.

    ¡°Sweetie¡­ when I was around your age¡­ and the time when I met your mother. I also used to get nervous,¡± Duke Peterlor chuckled as he spoke.

    ¡°We all want to present the best version of ourselves and especially towards the people that we feel that we need to impress.¡±

    ¡°But the reality is¡­ you can¡¯t. Being with someone means that they have to like your appearance even when you are not impably dressed or covered in makeup.¡±

    ¡°This might just be the words of your old man but you truly are a beautiful girl. There is no need to worry about your appearance.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my dad¡­ you have to say that,¡± Sophie retorted with a small smile.

    ¡°Trust me¡­ you basically won the gic lottery! I have you know that your old man was voted the most eligible bachelor for five years in a row,¡± Duke Peterlor boasted proudly.

    ¡°And I have yet to see a beauty that came even close to matching your mother.¡±

    There was a trace of nostalgia and longing in the duke¡¯s eyes as he mentioned princess Thai¡¯lle that Sophie thoughtfully did not mention.

    Duke Peterlorughed and pulled out two chairs from his storage ring. He ced the two chairs side by side and gestured towards Sophie for her to sit down.

    The father and daughter pair rxed in the wide-open field as the sun shone brightly in the middle of the sky.

    Sophie would still asionally check the time on her wristmunicator but the tiny ball of anxiety that made her stomach feel sick slowly faded away.

    The rest of the afternoon passed by peacefully as Duke Peterlor told his daughter about stories during his time in the Imperial Army.

    Sophie stared in disbelief as her father mentioned encountering a strange alien race whose bodies were mainlyposed of sucrose and other sugar bio-molecules.

    Apparently this species was a war-like race from a in the outer regions. Which was surprising considering that their bodies would break under the slightest blow.

    During his time in the Imperial Army, the duke had been assigned to various scouting missions to explore new areas and search for resources.

    There were new sights, cultures, civilisations, and alien races that opened the duke¡¯s mind to whaty out there beyond the reaches of the Federation.

    It was hard to reallyprehend the vast scale of the universe.

    The radius of the observable universe was around 46,508 billion light years but scientists theorised that the actual size was muchrger.

    Even the mighty Earth Federation whose territories and influence stretched across multiple gxies was nothing more than a speck of dust.

    ¡°If there is one lesson that I have learnt during my time in the army, it is that no matter how good you think you are¡­ there is always someone better,¡± Duke Peterlor solemnly spoke.

    ¡°Never assume that you are all powerful or invincible. For example, the biggest threat currently to the Earth Federation is the Insectoid Empire but¡­

    ¡°I have no doubt that there are other powerful factions lurking among the stars.¡±

 Chapter 416: Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Chapter 416: Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Arge mechanical hovercar gradually approached from the horizon andnded at the edge of a seemingly barren field.

    Sophie nervously leapt to her feet and hurriedly powered on hermunicator. She opened the camera function and checked her appearance multiple times.

    No.. no¡­ her hair was a mess! The dress that she was wearing¡­ it really was too in!

    God¡­ she looked terrible!

    Sophie began to hyperventte as negative thoughts began to surface in her mind. Fortunately, her father was right there by her side to ce a warm hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°Take in a deep breath and remember what we talked about,¡± Duke Peterlor whispered gently.

    ¡°You look absolutely beautiful.¡±

    His calming words helped Sophie to rx and those painful doubts faded away to dull hums in the background.

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled. There was no need to panic. Those nasty thoughts were just the self-doubt talking.

    The full blue sun was now more than halfway across the sky but the thought of seeing Cleo again made the entire world brighten.

    Duke Peterlor chuckled lightly as he saw his daughter begin to fidget and nervously y with the ends of her skirt.

    ¡°Come on¡­ why don¡¯t we go meet her?¡± Duke Peterlor spoke calmly.

    He ced the chairs back into his storage ring and then held out his hand.

    Sophie tightly gripped the duke¡¯s palm and let her father lead her towards the hovercar. With every step, the hybrid girl could hear her heartbeat slowly get louder and louder.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Cleo¡­

    Sophie didn¡¯t notice at the time but there was a faint pinkish mist that was beginning to spread from the corners of her golden eyes.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Something was calling out to her. It was impossible to describe the feeling but it was almost like there was a thread leading her towards the direction of the hovercar.

    A bond¡­

    No¡­ there was more than one thread¡­

    Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion as she felt two tugs. One was noticeably fainter than the other but it was definitely present.

    Was there something that she was missing?

    Sophie had the vague feeling that she had forgotten something in her excitement to be reunited with Cleo.

    The hovercar was only around five hundred meters away so the father daughter duo soon arrived in front of the vehicle.

    Whoosh!

    An opening appeared in the side of the hovercar and soon a metalloid staircase descended to the ground with a dull thump.

    Sophie forgot to breathe when she saw the figure that appeared at the top of the stairs. All she could hear was the rapid beating of her heart.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    It was her.

    IT WAS CLEO.

    The princess was just as beautiful as she remembered. Long dark curly hair that fell gently below her shoulder.

    Perfect facial features, a cute button nose that Sophie had to resist the urge to kiss and pale fair skin that resembled an ice queen.

    A lean physique with soft curves that Sophie was all too familiar with and of course those piercing green eyes thatpletely stole her heart.

    The outfit that Cleo wore perfectly disyed her beauty.

    It was an expensive ck dress that was adorned with tiny star-like crystals that blinked and appeared almost like a night sky.

    Cleo stopped for a moment and her eyes sparkled with love as she met the gaze of her girlfriend who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± Cleo teased softly as she spread open her arms. Sophie¡¯s body moved before her mind even had the time to react.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She instantly appeared on the top of the stairs and wrapped her arms around Cleo¡¯s body.

    Without a care for who was watching, Sophie smashed her lips into Cleo¡¯s and furiously kissed her girlfriend.

    Those lovely lips were just as soft and sweet as she remembered.

    Sophie¡¯s much taller bodypletely covered the princess and she dominantly pinned her girlfriend against the side of the nearest wall.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Sophie¡¯s right eye was nowpletely covered in the pinkish mist and the only thought in her mind was to make sure that the soft girl in her arms never left her again.

    Cleo was mine¡­ Cleo was mine¡­ I love her so much¡­

    A dark possessive tide was flowing through her veins and Sophie had to fight down the urge to pull her girlfriend into the nearest room.

    Who knows what might have happened if a loud cough had not broken the passionate mood.

    ¡°Ahem! Ahem! Sophie¡­ don¡¯t get too carried away! I am still here you know!¡± Duke Peterlor loudly yelled.

    Sophie instantly broke off the kiss and stepped back. Her brain had finally caught up to what she had just done and her face slowly turned red.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ I¡­. err¡­ I¡­¡± Sophie stammered as she tried to find the right words to say. Two minutes passed as Sophie continued to mumble iprehensibly.

    The hybrid girl kept nervously trying to exin herself but the words just wouldn¡¯te out!

    Cleo¡¯s lips were slightly bruised and bloody but there was a loving smile on the princess¡¯ face as she gazed at her panicked girlfriend.

    She pressed a finger against Sophie¡¯s mouth and made a shushing noise. Cleo buried her head in Sophie¡¯s chest and began to cry.

    ¡°I thought that I would never see you again¡­ there were nights where I¡­¡± Cleo whispered tearfully.

    Sophie began to stroke her girlfriend¡¯s back as she broke down in tears. The pain and hurt in Cleo¡¯s voice broke her heart.

    Months¡­ her girlfriend had suffered for months without knowing if she was alive or dead.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t help but notice therge bags under Cleo¡¯s eyes. It was a clear sign of the many sleepless nights that her girlfriend had endured.

    Sophie leaned in and whispered into Cleo¡¯s ear, ¡°I¡¯m here¡­ I¡¯m here¡­ I promise I won¡¯t ever leave you again.¡±

    Cleo looked up and Sophie used her fingers to brush away the tears that were running down the sides of her girlfriend¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Sophie spoke hesitantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologise¡­ don¡¯t you dare apologise. It wasn¡¯t your fault,¡± Cleo whispered softly. Sophie nodded slowly and continued to gently touch Cleo¡¯s face.

    She kept wanting to feel Cleo¡¯s soft skin to remind herself that this wasn¡¯t a dream. Her girlfriend was really here in her arms.

    Sophie smiled gently and she could feel the wild lustful urges inside her chest slowly fade away.

    The pink mist that covered her right eye slowly disappeared and in its ce was the normal golden hue.

    This happiness¡­ she never wanted it to end.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t resist and pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s forehead. She could still hear the steady beating of her heart but this time it seemed to be joined by another heartbeat.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

 Chapter 417: The Second Thread

    Chapter 417: The Second Thread

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Hidden Entrance)

    ¡°I love you¡­ there were so many nights where I would just lie awake and regret not telling you every single day about how much you mean to me,¡± Sophie whispered softly.

    The hybrid girl stretched out her palms and lovingly touched the sides of Cleo¡¯s cheeks.

    If this was a dream¡­ then Sophie prayed that it would never end.

    There were no words to describe how she was feeling at this moment in time. Happiness was too simple a word for the strong emotions flowing through her body.

    It was like a missing piece of her soul had finally returned.

    The bond that connected the pair was a thread that stretched across vast distances of time and space.

    For once, Sophie felt thankful to the Hunter Goddess. To be able to mark this gorgeous princess as her own was a precious gift.

    ¡°I see you grew again,¡± Cleo teased mischievously as she stepped out of the warm embrace and looked up.

    ¡°Yeah¡­I¡­ err¡­ had another growth spurt,¡± Sophie awkwardly grinned as her face turned red.

    Cleo said nothing but her eyes gleamed with unspoken appreciation as she gazed at Sophie¡¯s lean but muscr physique.

    It was somewhat intimidating to have a girlfriend who was over seven feet in height but there was a fierce primal beauty about Sophie¡¯s appearance that made Cleo¡¯s heart skip a beat.

    Maybe it was due to being separated for so long but Cleo could not help but think that her girlfriend had somehow gotten even more beautiful.

    The princess reached out her right palm and gently touched the muscles on Sophie¡¯s upper arm.

    If the duke was not present, she might have even begged Sophie to lift up her skirt so that she could see the muscr six pack thaty beneath.

    Duke Peterlor let out a light sigh as he saw his daughter and her girlfriend lost in their own little world.

    He thoughtfully walked a few meters away and turned around to give them some privacy.

    Now that the pinkish colour had faded from his daughter¡¯s eyes, the duke felt that it was okay to give the pair some space.

    Pink eyes¡­

    Duke Peterlor smiled nostalgically as some very scary but pleasant memories shed across his mind.

    His time with Thai¡¯lle had always been eventful but whenever her golden eyes shifted to a pinkish hue¡­

    The poor duke was usually unable to move his legs the following morning and truthfully for the rest of the day as well.

    Sophie¡¯s mother was one fierce warrior¡­

    ¡°So¡­ how was your flight?¡± Sophie asked casually.

    ¡°Oh, it was pretty boring. I just spent the entire time thinking about meeting you so I barely got any sleep,¡± Cleo replied nonchntly.

    Sophie frowned slightly and pressed a brief kiss under Cleo¡¯s eyes. The princess puckered her lips and Sophieughed before kissing her willing mouth.

    ¡°You need to take care of yourself,¡± Sophie spoke firmly with determination in her tone.

    ¡°Same to you,¡± Cleo replied with a soft gaze.

    There was afortable moment of silence between the pair as they simply enjoyed the feeling of being in the arms of the person they loved.

    ¡°Young miss watch out!¡± a loud voice came from inside the hovercar. Sophie turned around and saw a gigantic furry mass hurtle towards her at an impossibly fast speed.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie let go of Cleo instantly and her figure blurred and vanished from the spot.

    Why had her danger sense not activated?

    Was her ability weakening? Or had she been distracted by Cleo¡¯s presence?¡±

    Sophie snarled with a hint of bloodlust and extended her ded appendages outwards to split the iing attacker into two.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (MOMMY!)

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Sophie withdrew her ded appendages but couldn¡¯t stop the furry mass from mming right into her chest.

    Fortunately, she was now a cultivator in the qi tide stage so the impact just caused her to stagger backwards for a brief moment.

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! I found mommy! I found mommy!)

    A familiar sounding voice echoed in her mind. This voice sounded babyish but there were hints of maturity.

    ¡°Moon? Is that you?¡± Sophie eximed in shock as she looked down at herbat pet. Moon waved his long whip-like tail happily and nuzzled against his master¡¯s chest.

    Sophie gently patted his furry back but was still in what she could only describe as a state ofplete shock.

    When had her little baby turned into a giant monster?! Weren¡¯t frostwing bats supposed to stay cute and cuddly?!

    Sophie searched her memories and pulled up all the information that she had read about frostwing bats andpared it to Moon¡¯s current appearance.

    Moon was significantlyrger than even an adult frostwing bat with a wingspan that was almost half the length of Cleo¡¯s body.

    His fangs wererger and sharper and the blue patterned fur across his back now had a visible ominous glow.

    The tail that extended from the base of his body had somehow gotten a bone-like edge that faintly resembled Sophie¡¯s own ded appendages.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (I missed you mommy!)

    Moon cried out tearfully and the temperature around his body instantly plummeted to sub-zero levels.

    Sophie rubbed his back gently as the tips of her fingers began to get covered by frost. Clearly her baby still needed to learn how to control his frozen domain ability.

    But that didn¡¯t matter.

    Sophie was just d to be reunited with him after such a long time. Seeing Moon again did solve the mystery about who the second thread was connected to.

    In fact, Sophie now felt pretty stupid since it hadpletely slipped her mind.

    The blood bond that she had formed with Moon may be weaker than her connection with Cleo but it was still an important part of her soul.

    ¡°It is good to see you again baby,¡± Sophie softly whispered as she furiously rubbed Moon¡¯s long furry ears.

    ¡°Did you cause any trouble for auntie Cleo during the time I was gone?¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (She likes me since I didn¡¯t cause trouble and¡­)

    ¡°Really?¡± Sophie raised her eyebrow and stared at her frostwing bat who was now beginning to fidget nervously.

    Moon pped his wings up and down as he sheepishly turned around so that his face was hidden from Sophie¡¯s view.

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    (I didn¡¯t cause¡­ much trouble¡­ I only caused¡­ some¡­ just a little¡­ I¡¯m a good boy!)

    ¡°Well, I will take your word for now young man¡­¡± Sophie teased with a fake serious tone.

    At least thanks to her growth spurt and enhanced strength, Sophie was still able to pick up Moon in her arms just like when he was a baby.

    The temperature soon returned to normal as Moon settled down in her arms and happily raised his head to look at the scenes outside.

    ¡°My apologies young miss¡­¡± Katarina emerged from the other side of the hover car and bowed politely.

    ¡°I was unable to stop yourbat pet from tearing open his cage and rushing towards you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Katarina¡­ I was d to see him as well and I know that my baby can be a handful,¡± Sophie spoke with a weary grin.

    Moon wanted to protest but the stern look in Sophie¡¯s eyes made the frostwing bat¡¯s words die in his throat.

    ¡°You two are always the same,¡± Cleoughed happily. The sounds of the princess giggling entered Sophie¡¯s ears and made the hybrid girl turn to look at her girlfriend.

    Sophie stood frozen in ce as she could not believe that such a lovely and perfect creature existed in this universe.

 Chapter 418: A Feeling Of Sympathy

    Chapter 418: A Feeling Of Sympathy

    Moon squirmed and crawled up from Sophie¡¯s arms. The gigantic frostwing bat jumped on top of his master¡¯s head and looked around with a smug grin on his face.

    This was his spot now!

    Sophie let out a light sigh as she reluctantly allowed her mischievous pet to perch on his favourite resting ce.

    Although hisrge size did make it a very ufortable experience. Sophie brushed a few loose strands of hair to the side of her face and then turned to Cleo.

    ¡°It really is good to see you again,¡± Sophie smiled happily. She probably sounded like a broken record at this point but she needed her girlfriend to know just how much she meant to her.

    If there was anything that her experiences during her time spent in the Unovan Syndicate had taught her, it was that life really was too short.

    You never really knew what was going to happen and tomorrow may nevere.

    It was for this realisation that Sophie resolved to try her best to live every day without regrets.

    Cleo¡¯s piercing green eyes sparkled with adoration as she walked up to her girlfriend and grabbed her right palm.

    The princess did not have to say a single word for Sophie to understand the warmth and care behind that simple action.

    Sophie was unable to bend down to kiss Cleo with the added weight of Moon on her head so she settled for lightly squeezing her girlfriend¡¯s hand.

    Moon got a bit jealous when he saw Sophie¡¯s attention being drawn to Cleo so he hurriedly pped his wings up and down.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! You got bigger just like me!)

    ¡°Moon¡­ stop that! My hair! You are messing up my hair!¡± Sophie eximed with mock anger.

    She reached into her storage ring and pulled out a few nutrient pellets for Moon to nibble on.

    Food seemed to do the trick and her frostwing bat soon settled into afortable silence that was asionally broken by the sounds of him munching furiously on the treats.

    Unfortunately, it appeared that her pet had not learnt to improve his eating habits and Sophie was not pleased to feel crumbs falling down on the back of her new dress.

    Sophie stretched out her left hand and rapped her knuckles against Moon¡¯s thick skull. ¡°Moon! You need to chew your food properly!¡± Sophie scolded lightly.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Sorry mommy¡­ I¡¯ll be a good boy)

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so harsh on him,¡± Cleo gently spoke as she rubbed her fingers against Sophie¡¯s palm.

    ¡°This is the liveliest that I have seen him in months. He¡­ and I¡­ weren¡¯t the same after you disappeared.¡±

    The mild feeling of annoyance at Moon¡¯s antics disappeared instantly as Sophie realised what was going on.

    Moon despite his size was still a juvenile. He was probably causing mischief to attract her attention after not seeing his mom for months.

    It was easy to ignore just how young he was due to his monstrous appearance but at the end of the day he was still a baby.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes began to water as she imagined just how lonely and desperate Moon must have been during the time that she was gone.

    Cleo stood on her tip toes and pressed a kiss against the bottom of Sophie¡¯s cheek. ¡°Sophie¡­ don¡¯t get lost in your own world,¡± Cleo calmly spoke.

    ¡°Sorry. You¡¯re right¡­ I need to move forward and shower you both with plenty of love,¡± Sophie replied with a smile.

    Speaking of love¡­

    Sophie¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but linger on Cleo¡¯s soft curves as the princess wore a lovely ck dress that tightly clung to her body shape.

    Memories of the passionate nights that they had shared together where she had made the elegant and noble princess scream and beg for pleasure surfaced in Sophie¡¯s mind.

    There was a primal hunger in Sophie¡¯s eyes as she reminisced about Cleo¡¯s delicate fair skin covered in hickeys and love marks.

    Sophie could slowly but surely hear the beating of her heart increase until it became a never-ending cacophony.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    A faint pinkish colour was once again beginning to spread from the corners of her golden eyes as Sophie leaned in closer to her beautiful girlfriend.

    ¡°Alright¡­ so I am sure Cleo is pretty tired after her flight. Shall we head towards the mansion now?¡± Duke Peterlor suddenly interrupted the delicate moment.

    The sixth sense of a god stage cultivator meant that Sophie¡¯s father was well aware of the changes that were happening to his daughter.

    Truthfully¡­ the duke was not a happy man at the moment. He had nned for his daughter and Cleo to stay in separate bedrooms during the duration of her visit.

    But clearly judging by the effect that Cleo was having on his daughter, that n would need to be changed.

    Duke Peterlor was well aware of what actions had to be performed in order to receive a soul brand from an Arachnais¡­

    And he was not thrilled in the slightest.

    The soulmate connection would mean that his daughter¡¯s lust state would be easily triggered by physical contact with her mate.

    The duke did not understand enough about Arachnais physiology to know whether separating the pair would allow Sophie to resist those dark urges or make them worse.

    The only experience that he had was with Thai¡¯lle and by the gods that woman was insatiable. In fact, now that the duke thought about the matter a bit further¡­

    He could not help but feel a sense of sympathy for poor Cleo.

    He could only hope that the princess had spent thest few months not neglecting her physical training and conditioning at the university.

    Cleo tilted her head in confusion as she saw Sophie¡¯s father unexpectedly nce at her with a look of pity.

    ¡°Come on¡­ we don¡¯t have all day,¡± Duke Peterlor coughed awkwardly in order to hide his embarrassment.

    He didn¡¯t expect to be seen by the sharp-eyed princess!

    Duke Peterlor turned around and walked a few steps until he reached a patch of air that seemed to be slightly vibrating.

    After identally shattering the translucent illusory dome when Sophie arrived, the duke had upgraded the security measures.

    While the dome was activated, the barren field was actually a pocket dimension that was both real and fake.

    It had been extremely expensive to install but the duke felt as though it was a worthy investment to ensure his family¡¯s safety.

    He took out a rectangr shaped piece of metal from his pocket and pressed it against the mysterious shimmering air.

    Soon a door appeared that led to the real entrance to the hidden mechanical city.

    Cleo was familiar with the steps to enter the hidden territory of House Peterlor so the princess was not surprised to see a in wooden shack appear in the middle of the once barren field.

    Of course, now that the illusion had been broken, the field was now a lush fertile garden that was filled with flowers and green leafy trees.

    Sophie gently plucked a few flowers from the nearest nts and carefully ced them inside Cleo¡¯s hair.

    Her princess was now transformed into a beautiful maiden of the flowers. Sophie¡¯s heart skipped a beat as she stroked the soft silky hair that fell down her girlfriend¡¯s shoulders.

    Duke Peterlor nced fondly at his daughter who was ying absentmindedly with the flowers in Cleo¡¯s hair.

    Despite his initial misgivings, the duke had to admit that Cleo had brought nothing but happiness to his daughter.

    There was a softness to Sophie¡¯s smile that had been missing ever since she had returned from the Unovan Syndicate.

 Chapter 419: A Night Of Love

    Chapter 419: A Night Of Love

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie''s bedroom)

    Knock! Knock!

    Sophie loudly rapped her knuckles against the metalloid door that led to her bedchamber. She waited for a moment until she heard a soft voice calling out from the other side.

    The hybrid girl pressed her finger against the scanner and soon the metalloid door swung open to reveal the inside of her bedroom.

    Cleo was sitting up against the headboard andzily ying with her curly hair that spilled down her shoulders.

    The princess had changed out of her expensive ck dress and now wore a simple pair of pink pajamas.

    Sophie swallowed nervously as the top of Cleo''s pajamas would asionally rise up to reveal the fair skin thaty beneath.

    "Calm down¡­ calm down¡­ calm down¡­" Sophie kept muttering those two words like a spell.

    There was a faint whitish mist rising up from the inside of each cup as the contents were piping hot.

    "I popped down to the kitchen and got us two cups of hot chocte. I remembered that you love those little white marshmallows so I made sure to put in some," Sophie spoke gently.

    She carefully moved towards the bed and ced the tray down on the dresser table next to the mattress.

    "Thank you Sophie¡­ How did things go with Moon? Did he cause you any trouble?" Cleo asked with a quiet smile.

    Well¡­ he was a bit of a handful¡­.

    Actually, at one point, Sophie did not know whether her anxious frostwing bat would let her go peacefully back to her bedroom.

    Sophie thought about what to say for a moment and then replied slowly,

    "Well¡­ he was very clingy but I did manage to read him a bedtime story and then he fell asleep. I think he was tired from flying up and down the mansion basically the entire afternoon."

    "He was very excited to see his mommy again," Cleo teased as she reached for the nearest cup.

    "Yeah I was pretty happy to see him¡­ I mean¡­ I was happy to see the both of you¡­ god¡­ sorry I''m fu?k?n? up what I''m trying to say," Sophie stammered as she spoke.

    Cleo''sughter filled the room and a blush spread across Sophie''s face as she saw the mischievous twinkle in her girlfriend''s eyes.

    She had missed these quiet moments. She had missed her Cleo.

    Sophie picked up the remaining cup on the tray and brought the mug to her lips.

    The rich choctey aroma filled her nostrils and reminded her of winter nights spent curled up near the firece.

    There was no need to worry about burning her tongue but out of habit Sophie still blew twice across the hot surface.

    She sipped peacefully as the atmosphere inside the bedroom fell into afortable silence.

    Sophie finished about half of the liquid inside the cup before cing the mug back on the tray.

    Cleo was still taking delicate sips so Sophie took a moment to observe the new furnishings inside her bedroom.

    Sophie nced at the brand-new paintings and flowerpots that were ced around her room.

    The mirror ced above the desk on the other side of the room was one of those items.

    Still even as Sophie''s gaze fell on the various items ced around the room, her eyes would inevitably wander back to her sweet girlfriend.

    "Is there something on my face?" Cleo asked with a raised eyebrow. Sophie chuckled lightly and leaned forward to press a soft kiss against her lips.

    The sweet taste of chocte made the kiss even more delicious and the dim lighting in the room caused thefortable atmosphere to soon turn ambiguous.

    Sophie gently grabbed the cup from Cleo''s hands and ced it on the tray next to her own mug.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Sophie could hear the rapid beating of her heart as her hands began to touch various parts of Cleo''s body.

    She lightly teased and yed with her girlfriend''s slender waist before pressing kiss after kiss against her neck.

    "Baby¡­ I missed you¡­ every single day¡­ I missed you," Sophie hoarsely growled as she rubbed her thumb over Cleo''s wet plump lips.

    "Tell me how much you love me¡­ tell me how much you need this¡­ beg me¡­"

    "Ahh¡­ don''t¡­" Cleo softly m??n?d as Sophie''s fingers gently stroked and touched the underside of her br??sts.

    Sophie''s golden eyes shone eerily and faint traces of pink could already be seen slowly creeping along the edges of her eyes.

    There was a loud voice screaming inside Sophie''s mind¡­

    Do it¡­ make her yours¡­. make her scream in ecstasy¡­.

    Sophie''s head began to fill with images of Cleo''s n?k?d body that was hidden behind those flimsy pajamas.

    Sophie felt as though her body was on fire, her girlfriend''s skin was soft as silk and those quiet m??ns made her legs tremble in anticipation.

    She squeezed those lovely plump mountains through the pajamas and furiously yed with those delicate n?pp??s.

    "Please¡­ please¡­ I¡­ can''t¡­I¡­" Cleo protested but her voice got gradually softer and softer as it was reced by a melody of gasps and m??ns.

    The soft mewing noises that Cleo made as she desperately tried not to give in to the p???sur? was driving Sophie insane.

    Sophie reached out with her right hand to tear apart Cleo''s upper shirt when her fingers stopped mere centimeters away from the fabric.

    Something was wrong¡­

    "Sophie?" Cleo asked curiously as she opened her eyes to see a cautious expression on her girlfriend''s face.

    "Do you want this?" Sophie asked hesitantly while her fingers trembled.

    She hadn''t noticed it before in her state of ?ust but now that she took a moment to pause¡­

    It was impossible not to observe the dark circles under Cleo''s eyes or the aura of exhaustion surrounding her body.

    Her girlfriend had not properly slept for days and it was obvious that she was tired after a long spaceflight.

    Sophie felt disgusted and ashamed of herself. Here she was trying to start a night of intimacy without caring for Cleo''s well-being.

    The princess needed rest.

    "One¡­ two¡­ three¡­ four¡­ five¡­ six¡­" Sophie counted quietly until her mood eventually calmed down.

    The faint pinkish mist that was beginning to spread from the corners of Sophie''s golden eyes gradually vanished as the hybrid girl took in a few deep breaths and then exhaled.

    Cleo was not a s?x toy¡­. she was one of the most important people in her life.

    Sophie refused to let her Arachnais nature turn this rtionship into one of only ?ust.

    "Of course¡­ I want¡­" Cleo quickly retorted but couldn''t stop yawning in the middle of her reply.

    That yawn was enough to confirm Sophie''s suspicions. Her girlfriend was not physically ready for an intense night of passion.

    "No.. I can¡­ I don''t want your urges to go out of control¡­" Cleo spoke guilty.

    "For that reason alone, I am not going to do anything tonight," Sophie replied with a serious expression.

    "I want to be intimate with you because I want it and you want it as well. You should never feel obligated to sleep with me just because of my urges."

    Sophie smiled gently and grabbed her girlfriend''s hand. She leaned in closer and whispered softly in her ear,

    "Right now¡­ I want you to rest and have a good night''s sleep. Trust me¡­ as soon as you get better¡­ I will do anything you d?s?r?¡­"

    Sophie reached for the light switch and soon the room was plunged into darkness. She carefully wrapped her arms around Cleo''s soft body and kissed the top of her head.

    "I love you. I''ve said it a million times but I will say it again¡­ I love you," Sophie spoke warmly.

    "I love you too," Cleo replied. Sophie''s golden eyes could easily see in the pitch-ck darkness and she saw the affectionate expression on her girlfriend''s face.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Five minutester)

    "Hey¡­ Sophie¡­"

    "Yeah?"

    "Thanks for caring about me."

 Chapter 420: An Invitation?

    Chapter 420: An Invitation?

    (The Next Day¡­)

    Sophie groggily opened her eyes and blinked twice as she felt a warm body stir beside her. She nced at Cleo who was snuggling tightly against her ?h?st.

    The princess had her mouth open and was softly snoring as her hands inadvertently brushed up and down Sophie''s lower th??hs.

    "Naughty girl¡­" Sophie purred as she leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss on the top of Cleo''s forehead.

    The princess briefly stirred but fell back asleep. Sophie couldn''t help but think that her girlfriend resembled azy cat.

    Now what time was it?

    Sophie could not tell since it had been so long since she had gotten such a good night''s sleep. For once, there were no nightmares in her dreams.

    She didn''t even wake up screaming. This was progress!

    Cleo¡­

    A stupid grin spread across Sophie''s face and she had to resist the urge to pepper her girlfriend''s neck with soft kisses.

    She was here! It was a bit silly but Sophie could not help but constantly touch Cleo''s shoulder to make sure that she was real.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Okay¡­ maybe that was enough touching¡­

    Sophie hesitantly withdrew her hand as her mind was suddenly flooded with the urge to rip off her girlfriend''s clothes right there on the spot.

    "One¡­ two¡­ three¡­ four¡­" Sophie began her familiar routine of counting. She took several deep breaths and then exhaled lightly.

    She was in control¡­ she was in control¡­ she was in control¡­

    Sophie felt the urges gradually faded away and she now had the time to appreciate this peaceful moment.

    It was such a simple p???sur? but Sophie wouldn''t trade it for all the riches in the universe.

    Seeing that her girlfriend showed no signs of waking anytime soon, Sophie stretched out her hand and grabbed hermunicator that was on the dresser table.

    She powered on the metalloid device and switched it to dark mode. Should she try to message Astrid and Qiana today?

    Maybeter¡­.

    Feeling a bit bored, Sophie decided to check thetest viral news articles that were published on the Virtual Net.

    Oh¡­ this was interesting.

    Apparently a private mining organization had discovered a in the outer regions that was inhabited by gigantic lizard-like creatures.

    Sophie quickly tapped the article to read more and saw a sight that was extremely familiar.

    She had seen simr images in Sui Meng''s memories about monstrous creatures that roamed ancient Earth before humans appeared.

    Wasn''t that a dinosaur?

    The alien race that was discovered on the were over forty feet in length and twelve feet in height with sharp razor like ws attached to their legs.

    Their hands were hriously short and useless with a single talon poking out of the center of each fingertip.

    The bodies of this lizard-like race were covered in soft downy feathers that resembled birds. Each member had a different colour pattern that waspletely unique to the rest of the herd.

    However, that were some significant differences between the dinosaurs in Sui Meng''s recollections and these creatures.

    Each member of this gigantic race wore delicate dresses made from leaves and they appeared to have formed an intelligent andplex societal structure.

    Now how exactly they were able to construct these outfits remained a mystery but some scientists had already theorised that this race may possess mental or psionic abilities.

    Their skulls were certainlyrge enough to contain brains the size necessary to develop extra sensory abilities.

    Sophie was so absorbed by this incredible story that she failed to notice the pair of brilliant green eyes sleepily staring at her.

    "What''s so interesting?" Cleo asked hoarsely. The princess'' usually neat curly hair was now aplete mess and she was clearly half-asleep.

    "Did I wake you up baby?" Sophie whispered gently. She turned off hermunicator and ced it back on the dresser table.

    Cleo iprehensibly muttered some words and then wrapped her arms around Sophie''s body.

    The hybrid girl stroked the side of Cleo''s cheek and cooed softly while her girlfriend returned to dreand.

    Sophie''s golden eyes could easily see in the darkness and she silently observed the bags under Cleo''s eyes.

    They were noticeably much lighter than yesterday and Cleo''splexion had also improved significantly after some rest.

    Sophie enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere inside the room since it gave her some time to think about how to spend the winter vacation.

    Duke Peterlor had announced on the Virtual Net that his daughter had returned safely but was currently recovering from injuries.

    At least for two weeks, Sophie knew that she could not be seen in public in order to back up this false narrative.

    Fortunately, Cleo was going to be returning to Zrudread University after the start of the new semester so there was plenty of time.

    But there was one big problem¡­

    What if she took Cleo to a crowded ce and then lost control?

    In addition to the potential loss of life, it would provide the anti-hybrid movement with evidence that she was mentally unfit to be the heiress to a dukedom.

    Urghhh¡­

    Sophie frowned slightly as negative thoughts began to surface in her mind. The doubts and self-loathing were dark clouds that lowered her mood.

    Unexpectedly Sophie felt a soft hand squeeze her palm as Cleozily whispered from under the nket, "What did I tell you about getting lost in your own little world?"

    "Aren''t you supposed to be asleep?" Sophie retorted with a small smile.

    Cleo raised up her head and leaned in close. Sophie could not see a single w on that gorgeous face that came closer and closer to her own.

    Those eyes¡­ that bu??on nose¡­ that fair skin¡­

    Sophie opened her mouth expectantly but was disappointed when Cleo simply bopped her on the nose and then hid back under the nket.

    "Oh, you are such a teasing little minx," Sophie growled and ripped off the nket.

    Cleo squealed and then jumped off the bed. The princess fumbled around for the light switch and then turned on the lighting in the room.

    The bedroom was instantly lit and Sophie saw her girlfriend sway her h?ps seductively from side to side.

    "Cleo¡­ don''t¡­" Sophie huskily spoke.

    She could b?r?ly contain the urges that were rapidly filling her mind with dirty thoughts and the hunger in her voice was obvious.

    Cleo slowly unbuttoned her pajamas and Sophie froze in shock as one bu??on after the next was untied.

    The princess'' slender body was now on full disy. Those faint muscr lines on her abdomen, those two firm peaks that were fully erect and that waist that was soft and flexible.

    Sophie''s eyes wandered downwards and she got lost in those model-like legs and the shaven area slightly above them.

    "God¡­ this woman is going to be the death of me," Sophie ?r??n?d as her golden eyes shifted to a pinkish hue.

    "I''m going to take a shower," Cleo dered nonchntly before walking towards the back of the room without a care in the world.

    Sophie waspletely transfixed and couldn''t hear a word that her girlfriend was saying.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Cleo reached the bathroom door and ced her long yet delicate fingers on the handle.

    Sophie''s heart skipped a beat as she was treated to a full view of that pear-shaped ?ss.

    The metalloid door swung open and Cleo took one step inside before turning around to face her spellbound girlfriend.

    Those piercing green eyes were sparkling with mischief. The princess knew exactly what her body was doing to the beautiful hybrid girl on the bed.

    Despite herck of clothing, Cleo suddenly revealed an aura of majesty and nobility as she opened her mouth and spoke a simple sentence,

    "Should I make my invitation any more obvious?"

 Chapter 421: Driven Mad With Pleasure (R-18)

    Chapter 421: Driven Mad With Pleasure (R-18)

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Sophie slowly got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom in an almost zombie-like trance.

    Everything seemed to fade away¡­

    The only thing that mattered was the beautiful girl beckoning towards her with a flirtatious glint in her eyes.

    She had vague memories of ripping off her sleepwear and exposing her muscr body to the full view of Cleo.

    Sophie did not even seem to register the furious blush that spread across Cleo''s face as she observed the breathtaking girl marching towards her.

    Sophie was over seven feet in height with features that made her beauty look both wild and exotic.

    From those pointed ears to those colored eyes that glowed ominously. But it was her body that was the real heartstopper.

    The time that Sophie had spent in the Unovan Syndicate had clearly toughened her up. Cleo tried not to stare too long at that firm six-pack nor the well-defined muscles on her arms and legs.

    However, there was no mistaking Sophie''s beauty as masculine as she possessed two plump mountains and an hourss figure that swayed seductively from side to side.

    Cleo knew that the longer she stared, the greater the chance that she would lose control of the situation, so she fled inside the bathroom.

    The voice inside Sophie''s head only got louder and louder as she approached the metalloid door that was still open.

    Sophie entered the bathroom and saw her girlfriend standing next to the pool with her hands ced securely on her h?ps.

    "My¡­my¡­ you certainly took your time," Cleo growled in mock anger.

    The princess was still fully n?k?d, and Sophie could see those pinkish n?pp??s fully erect. Cleo may have gotten rid of her blush, but her body obviously remembered what she had just seen.

    Blood slowly dripped from the corners of her knuckles as Sophie tried her best to exin to Cleo just how dangerous this was.

    "Cleo¡­ you¡­ have¡­ you¡­ have to want this¡­ I¡­ I can''t stop myself if we go any¡­ any further¡­" Sophie gasped as her eyes shone with a pinkish light.

    "I don''t want you to stop," Cleo teased as her piercing green eyes were filled with an unwavering determination.

    "Do you think I''m doing this by mistake? I know exactly what I want¡­ but the real question is¡­"

    Cleo stared right in her girlfriend''s eyes before activating a movement technique and teleporting instantly to her side.

    "Will you take what I''m offering?" Cleo quietly spoke with a hidden vulnerability behind her careless tone.

    At that moment, Sophie could not help butpare her girlfriend to a demon offering the greatest p???sur? at the cost of her soul.

    The princess shook her messy hair from side to side as she leaned dangerously close to Sophie''s ?h?st.

    "I want it. I want you. Now," Cleo purred seductively.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Cleo dropped her act and hurriedly moved forward to see if her girlfriend was alright.

    All she wanted to do was prove that she didn''t fear Sophie but clearly something had gone wrong.

    "Sophie¡­ are you¡­" Cleo''s words were cut off by the harsh kiss that was mmed against her lips.

    Sophie began to roughly make out with her girlfriend as she pushed herself against Cleo''s body.

    Their br??sts rubbed against one another, and the pleasurable sparks that were produced made Sophie''s actions even more frantic.

    Cleo was pressed against the wall by Sophie''s muchrger and more curvaceous body.

    The ded appendages on Sophie''s back moved around with glee as if they were also celebrating her conquest.

    She was never going to let the princess escape this. Sophie utterly dominated the smaller girl and whispered in her ear in-between those kisses.

    "You mischievous girl¡­ teasing me¡­ getting me so fu?k?n? horny¡­" Sophie hoarsely spoke. The passion and d?s?r? in her voice made Cleo''s heart skip a beat.

    Sophie''s eyes werepletely pink, and Cleo found herself lost in that intense gaze. It was a gaze that promised that she was in for the time of her life.

    "Remember¡­ what I said¡­ earlier?" Sophie whispered darkly as she nipped at Cleo''s neck with soft bites.

    "Beg me¡­ beg me¡­ to fu?k you¡­"

    The predator inside her was enjoying the look in Cleo''s eyes. Her prey squirmed and twisted in p???sur?.

    "Please¡­ I want¡­" Cleo ?r??n?d as she felt the wetness between her legs. Sophie did not say a single word and instead allowed her fingers to move towards Cleo''s engorged slit.

    Cleo could do nothing but m??n as Sophie teased and yed with her wet opening. Sophie would asionally slip her fingers inside before quickly withdrawing them.

    There was no need to rush¡­

    The thrill of this hunt wouldst for several hours¡­

    Sophie roughly groped that firm ?ss and delivered two fierce ps that caused Cleo to squeal in surprise.

    Wrapping her arm around the princess'' waist, Sophie pulled her girlfriend even closer as she nuzzled against her cheek.

    An unexpected m??n escaped Sophie''s mouth as she stared at that delicious slender body with those soft curves.

    She was d?s?r?d¡­ Cleo didn''t see her as a monster¡­ she was loved¡­

    Both s?xu??ly and emotionally.

    The clear ?ust in Cleo''s eyes made Sophie feel as though she was about to go insane. There was a relentless stream of passion flowing through her body¡­

    To feel her¡­ to touch her¡­ to im her as her own¡­

    "Open your mouth," Sophie ordered in a firm tone. Cleo hesitated for a moment before obediently parting those luscious lips.

    Sophie pressed her lips against Cleo''s and then shoved her tongue into her mouth with force. She made sure to explore every crevice in her girlfriend''s mouth.

    She was getting wet¡­

    Sophie''s fingers returned to the delicious honeypot that was leaking sweet nectar. She slowly pushed two fingers inside and enjoyed the warm heat of Cleo''s sacred pce.

    The m??ns of p???sur? leaking out from Cleo''s mouth were blocked by Sophie''s skillful kissing.

    Time no longer had any meaning.

    Sophie kissed and marked every surface of Cleo''s body as the predatory instincts inside her were not going to be easily satisfied.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Finally, after Cleo had been reduced to a drooling mess, Sophie pulled a nket out of her storage ring and then spread it down on the smooth floor.

    She gentlyy down her girlfriend on the nket with the utmost care and love.

    Fortunately, the nket was made from an expensive fur-like material, so Cleo did not even feel the hard tiles that were below.

    "What¡­ what are you?" Cleo asked with a quiver in her voice.

    Sophie crawled on the floor and positioned her head right above the surface of Cleo''s lower th??hs.

    Sophie smiled gently for the first time and nted a soft kiss on her girlfriend''s face. This kiss was soothing and felt almost like a cloud briefly touching her body.

    Sophie firmly pushed Cleo''s legs apart and gazed hungrily at the prize that nowy exposed to only her eyes.

    Cleo trembled in anticipation and covered her mouth using her hands. She did not want her cries to echo through the mansion.

    However¡­ it was no use.

    Sophie''s tongue trailed up and down the length of her inner th??h. She got closer and closer to the engorged slit without touching it directly.

    "Don''t tease¡­ don''t tease¡­ please¡­" Cleo pleaded desperately. Her panting voice and those gasps were music to Sophie''s ears.

    The hybrid girl immediately dove her tongue into the dripping center. She bit and su?k?d until Cleo was howling in ecstasy.

    Sophie dug her nails into Cleo''s skin with so much force that small droplets of blood covered her fingertips.

    This mixture of p???sur? and pain was causing Cleo to experience a new level of bliss. Those soft humble pleads of ''More'' and ''Don''t stop!'' excited Sophie beyond belief.

    Sophie lost herself in the dripping wet fountain that never seemed to run out of liquid. Cleo grabbed her girlfriend''s head and stammered out some iprehensible words.

    Sophie had driven her mad with p???sur?.

    Those fleshy lips¡­ the cute little bu??on¡­

    It was time for the finale. Sophie pressed her mouth against the top of Cleo''s puss? and furiously tongued her ???t.

    Cleo''s m??ns were rising further and further as she no longer had the strength to try to hide her cries.

    "Sophie¡­ Sophie¡­ Sophie!" Cleo yelled as loudly as she could. The princess'' body shuddered, and her legs locked firmly around her girlfriend''s neck.

    She erupted into a tremendous ?r??sm that sttered liquid across Sophie''s entire face. Those juices were quickly savored by her hungry girlfriend who refused to stop ???k?n? her puss?.

    Sophie slowly grabbed Cleo''s legs and freed her head from the eager embrace of her girlfriend who now seemed exhausted.

    "I love you," Cleo drunkenly whispered as she recovered enough to finally speak.

    "Gods above¡­ I love you¡­"

    Sophie''s pinkish eyes softened, and the hybrid girl leaned over to softly kiss the side of her girlfriend''s cheek.

    "I can''t have you do everything. Should we try¡­" Cleo''s words were interrupted for a second time as Sophie moved her body forward and spread her legs.

    Sophie adjusted her body until she could feel the soft dampness of Cleo''s v???n? rub against her own wet fountain.

    She slowly began to hump herself against Cleo while using her hands to roughly grope and hold those two plump br??sts.

    Without a word ofint, the princess began to match the movements of Sophie with equal enthusiasm.

    Sophie squirmed furiously against Cleo''s legs as she rubbed their pussies together.

    The wonderful sensation of grinding against her smooth skin and the way her muchrger body dwarfed Cleo''s was causing Sophie''s n?pp??s to harden.

    She missed this¡­ she missed this so much¡­

    Cleo was driven to one ?r??sm after another as Sophie expertly yed with her body. Thanks to her ability she could see every single p???sur? spot.

    Sophie used this knowledge to make her girlfriend hum and scream for hours on end¡­

 Chapter 422: Blessing And A Curse

    Chapter 422: Blessing And A Curse

    (Earth Federation- Alpha Star System)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie''s Bedroom)

    "Baby¡­ baby¡­e on¡­ Cleo¡­" Sophie whispered softly as she rubbed her hands along her girlfriend''s back.

    Cleo lightly ?r??n?d as two soft palms rubbed against her flesh. Sophie chuckled and continued to gently massage and rub her girlfriend''s body with loving care.

    Quite a few hours had passed since Sophie passionately made love to her girlfriend in the bathroom, but Cleo''s physique was clearly still too weak for that level of tossing.

    Sophie''s face blushed as she saw the numerous hickeys and marks left on Cleo''s n?k?d body.

    Her body now resembled a beautiful wless piece of white jade that was now stained by hundreds of marks.

    Sophie''s eyes had returned to their normal golden colour, but oddly enough she could feel an extra source of energy flowing through her dantian.

    She did not have the time to study this matter at least not yet, but it probably had something to do with the ?ustful urges that had temporarily taken over her mind.

    "So¡­ how was my performance?" Sophie cheekily asked with a proud smile across her face. The hybrid girl was on cloud nine.

    All the worries and stress that had been umting at the back of her mind over thest few weeks seemed to just fade away.

    Cleo shot her girlfriend a dirty look and just wiggled her peach shaped ?ss from side to side before opening her mouth.

    "Shut up," Cleo hoarsely growled. The princess puffed her cheeks and turned around so that Sophie could not see her blushing face.

    "You know you love me," Sophie grinned widely before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss against Cleo''s cheek.

    The princess purred softly, and a familiar urge stirred in Sophie''s body as she stared at her girlfriend''s n?k?d body.

    Should she try to go for round two? Well¡­ it was more like round thirty¡­

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie''s golden eyes, but the hybrid girl quickly pushed the feeling down.

    Cleo needed some rest.

    Sophie stretched out her hand and turned off the light switch. Soon the bedroom plunged into darkness and Cleo shifted ufortably.

    Sophie reached for the nket and spread it over their two n?k?d bodies. She wrapped her arms around Cleo and allowed the princess to make herselffortable.

    Sophie watched quietly as her girlfriend fought to stay awake but gradually her eyelids dropped further and further.

    "Sweet dreams¡­" Sophie muttered quietly. The sounds of Cleo''s soft breathing filled the room and made Sophie''s thoughts wander in strange directions.

    She still could not believe what had just happened.

    Despite knowing that she could have lost control, Cleo was still willing to seduce her.

    That level of unconditional trust made Sophie feel ashamed of her own doubts. Well¡­ the next session with Doctor Reynolds was certainly going to be an eventful one.

    Those counselling sessions were helpful, but Sophie had to admit that she was still apprehensive about the whole situation.

    She truly wished that she didn''t have to go but unless she could figure out her mental troubles all on her own¡­.

    It was best to just be obedient and go.

    "Sophie¡­ Sophie¡­ stop it¡­" Cleo whispered while rubbing her legs together. Sophie stared in disbelief as her girlfriend was apparently having a spring dream right next to her!

    Wake her up? No¡­ she shouldn''t¡­ damn¡­

    Sophie scowled unhappily and leaned closer to pepper Cleo''s soft neck with additional kisses in frustration.

    One of the downsides of being in the qi tide stage was the fact that her stamina was basically untouched after those intense three hours.

    In fact, during the height of her ?ustful state, Sophie had the vague suspicion that she would be able tost for several weeks if not months in a state of constant mating.

    Oh well¡­

    It was best to find something to distract herself. Sophie picked up hermunicator from the dresser table and turned off the screen light.

    She still remembered her promise to Doctor Reynolds to try and reestablish contact with some of her old friends.

    Naturally Qiana and Astrid would be at the top of the list. Sophie took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves and then opened her contact list.

    Seeing Astrid''s happy profile with her arm wrapped around Qiana''s shoulder brought a smile to Sophie''s face.

    Sophie: [Hey! How are you? I just wanted to say¡­]

    Sophie: [Would you like to have a video chat tomorrow or this weekend?]

    There was no immediate response which left Sophie feeling a bit disappointed. She checked the virtual Net and discovered that it was around three in the morning.

    Still¡­ it was a step in the right direction.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile In Another Location¡­)

    "Sir¡­ the servants don''t understand why we have to relocate temporarily," Head Butler frowned as he spoke.

    "I''m giving everyone a paid holiday for the next few weeks," Duke Peterlor dered calmly as he crossed his arms.

    The duke''s voice was firm andmanding which made the protests in the butler''s throat die down.

    Butler Gerald gave his master a look of confusion and then walked towards the servants to let them know the good news.

    Duke Peterlor waited until his butler left the room and then let out a heavy sigh before rubbing his temples.

    He checked the security camera ced outside his daughter''s room and sure enough neither girl had left yet.

    No one could understand the struggles of having a precious baby daughter who inherited something ferocious from her mother''s side of the family.

    Poor Cleo¡­

    Despite the fact that Sophie''s bedroom walls wereposed of a soundproof material, the duke was taking no chances.

    As soon as Cleo entered the mansion, the duke had already put his n in motion and removed all the human servants from the house.

    Robot androids would be in charge of maintaining, cleaning and cooking at least for the duration of Cleo''s stay.

    Duke Peterlor''s control over his spiritual senses had reached the level of total mastery so it was easy to block his sense from extending into the mansion.

    Now he had to rely on the camera ced outside the bedroom to see when it was safe to return to his home.

    As he thought about it more¡­ the duke felt even more pity for Cleo.

    It truly was both a blessing and a curse to be chosen as a mate for an Arachnais.

 Chapter 423: A Special Meeting

    Chapter 423: A Special Meeting

    (Four dayster¡­)

    (Peterlor Estate- Holosuite 009)

    "Are you feeling a bit nervous?" Cleo asked softly as she saw Sophie silently stand in front of the metalloid door to the holosuite.

    "Just a little tad¡­" Sophie replied awkwardly.

    Her finger was a few centimeters away from the scanner, but she needed some time to work up the courage to press it.

    Today was her first session with Doctor Reynolds since Cleo had arrived and it was going to be a special one.

    The psychologist had suggested that if she wasfortable, he would like to invite Cleo toe to the next session.

    He was interested in the mental connection between the pair as well as to discuss any issues in their rtionship.

    Sophie at the time thought that it wasn''t a problem but when she finally arrived at the door, she could not help but hesitate.

    It may sound silly, but Sophie wanted herself to seem invincible in Cleo''s eyes. It was embarrassing enough to have to need therapy¡­

    "Stop overthinking," Cleo whispered gently as she stood on tip toes to nt a soft kiss against Sophie''s lower jaw.

    Sophie enjoyed the warm feeling of her girlfriend''s body leaning into hers as she suddenly felt a lot more confident.

    Come on¡­ Cleo had already seen her at her worst¡­ it was a bit toote to pretend to be perfect¡­

    There was afortable silence between the pair that was interrupted by Cleo stepping back andining.

    "God¡­ I wish you weren''t so freaking tall!" Cleo scowled as she had tried her best to reach Sophie''s lips.

    Sophie lightly chuckled and bent down to fiercely press her lips against Cleo''s. She was careful not to go too far because she didn''t want to trigger her instincts.

    "I think I''m ready now. Thanks babe," Sophie spoke peacefully. She pressed her thumb against the scanner and the door slid open.

    Inside the holosuite was the familiar looking office space that resembled her father''s study room.

    Doctor Reynolds was sitting peacefully on a chair next to the open fire while ying with a strange device in his palms.

    He slowly got up from the chair and made his way to the front of the room. The numerous mechanical parts sewn into his body creaked and ?r??n?d with every step that he took.

    Doctor Reynolds nodded in thanks and then pressed a bu??on on the side of his robotic skull. A small gap suddenly appeared on his head, and he ced the chip inside.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the doctor froze in ce. It was impossible to see from the outside, but data was constantly pouring into his mind.

    Finally, the doctor let out a heavy sigh as thest memory ?ssimted into his core.

    "It is a p???sur? to meet you Miss. Sisrelis," Doctor Reynolds extended his skeletal-like hand outwards to shake.

    "Good day. It''s okay if you just call me Cleo," Cleo politely shook his hand and then responded.

    "I''ve heard that you are one of the best psychologists. Thank you for agreeing to Duke Peterlor''s request."

    "Please why don''t you both take a seat on the couch," Doctor Reynolds suggested. He walked over to the console in the middle of the room and inputted a series ofmands.

    The temperature was instantly lowered to a morefortable range and arge couch materialized out of thin air.

    The psychologist also adjusted some of the finer details in the room such as the position of a few bookshelves and the painting on the wall.

    Cleo grabbed Sophie''s hand as the hybrid girl led her over to the couch. The pair sat down slowly as the doctor finally finished modifying the room.

    Doctor Reynolds walked over to a chair that was directly opposite the couch and sat down.

    "I''m sure that Sophie has already informed you, but these sessions arepletely confidential," Doctor Reynolds talked slowly.

    "My goal is to help Sophie learn to manage her emotions, memories and feelings in a way that is not destructive."

    "This will be a bit of a special session as I really wanted to get to know you. It is clear from our previous chats that you are someone that is very important to Sophie."

    "She is also very important to me," Cleo immediately replied as she softly squeezed her girlfriend''s hand.

    A blush spread across Sophie''s face as there was a hint of pride in Cleo''s tone. Doctor Reynolds hummed softly as he stared at the pair.

    There was no way to tell what his facial expressions were since everything was covered by a in grey mask.

    "Sophie how do you feel about Cleo?" Doctor Reynolds asked curiously.

    "My everything. It''s hard to describe but she was one of my biggest regrets and motivations when I was trapped in the Unovan Syndicate," Sophie spoke seriously.

    "I kept worrying that I would never see her again. The thought of her moving on eventually and falling in love with someone else¡­ it scared me¡­"

    "It isn''t just the physical connection that we share¡­ I genuinely love everything about this girl from herugh to her pranks to the way she makes me feel¡­"

    "Special."

    Sophie''s eyes began to water as she felt a surge of emotions. She essed her storage ring and pulled out some tissues to wipe the tears that were beginning to form.

    "Take as much time as you need topose yourself," Doctor Reynolds spoke warmly. He tilted his head towards the princess and spoke in a clear tone,

    "Cleo¡­ take me back to the first time that you met Sophie and how did you end up deciding to pursue a rtionship."

    "Tell me a little bit about your rtionship."

    "Well, the first time that I saw Sophie was in her dorm room. It was a funny situation¡­ I still remember the startled look on her face when I¡­" Cleo replied with a nostalgic smile.

    The princess didn''t even realise it as she talked but Sophie could see the warmth in her eyes as she talked about their journey together.

    There were many events that Sophie had not thought about in awhile and hearing about them made the hybrid girl realise just how much the pair had gone through together.

    The way that Cleo described their rtionship made Sophie want to grab the princess and take her back to the bedroom immediately.

    This thought was enough to cause a faint pinkish mist to begin to spread from the corner of her left eye.

    "One¡­ two¡­ three¡­" Sophie quickly began her routine to calm down. She took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    "Are you feeling alright now?" Doctor Reynolds asked with concern.

    "Yeah¡­ sorry¡­ I got a little bit excited for a moment there¡­" Sophie replied nervously.

    Doctor Reynolds leaned forward and addressed Cleo, "Perhaps we should talk about the main topic that I would like to explore a bit further today."

    "Cleo¡­ How do you feel about being permanently bonded to Sophie?"

 Chapter 424: No One Is Perfect

    Chapter 424: No One Is Perfect

    (Peterlor Estate- Holosuite 009)

    (Cleo''s POV)

    It was an unexpected question. I could not help but freeze for a moment as Doctor Reynolds'' voice echoed through the holosuite.

    How did I feel about being permanently bonded to Sophie?

    It was honestly something that I had not given much thought about or rather¡­ never really tried to think about for too long.

    I could see the nervousness in my girlfriend''s face as she tightened her grip on my palm. I quietly leaned forward and pressed my lips against her cheek.

    Sophie was clearly someone who had a low self-esteem. It was something that I just could notprehend.

    How was it possible that my girlfriend did not know that she was one of the most gorgeous beings that I had ever seen?

    Those adorable, pointed ears and the sharp angr facial features that made her appear as a cold ice queen.

    The way she was just so protective and loving.

    Cleo blushed as she reminisced on all the times that Sophie had made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

    It was not because of overly grand romantic gestures but rather the little things that made the rtionship special.

    Bringing her hot chocte or coffee while she was studying. Holding her hand as they walked through the campus or just spending an afternoon cuddling on the sofa.

    Cleo put these warm memories to the back of her mind as she focused on the question at hand.

    Two minutes had already passed while she reminisced, and her silence was creating a tense atmosphere in the study room.

    Being permanently bonded to Sophie¡­

    Cleo gathered her thoughts carefully and then opened her mouth to speak, "The truth is that without Sophie''s mark¡­ I would have been swallowed up by the symbiote imnted in my body."

    "I¡­ I could not believe that my mother was so cruel¡­ if it wasn''t for¡­ every time I think about what could have happened¡­losing my emotions and bing a soulless husk¡­

    "It¡­ it terrifies me¡­that''s why¡­ I feel so awful¡­" Cleo couldn''t finish the sentence that she was about to say.

    "Why do you feel upset?" Doctor Reynolds asked in a in tone.

    It was impossible to tell what the psychologist was thinking behind that simple grey mask, but Cleo got the feeling that he knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

    Cleo took a few deep breaths and locked eyes with her girlfriend who was staring at her with nothing but love and concern in her gaze.

    Sophie had always been honest with her.

    The least she could do was to return that honesty and be as open as possible.

    "Because¡­ because¡­ a small part of me is bothered by just how much control Sophie has over my body," Cleo finally spoke in a rush.

    "I know it''s unfair¡­but I can''t help but feel that way¡­"

    There was a terrible silence in the air. Cleo looked down at the floor terrified to see the expression on Sophie''s face.

    Dark thoughts surfaced in the princess'' mind but the voices that she heard resembled her mother''s tone.

    You ungrateful bitch¡­

    You know that your girlfriend is in a bad mental state and here you are fu?k?n? up everything and making things worse¡­

    Couldn''t you keep this to yourself? Now Sophie is going to feel guilty and it''s all your fault!

    Doctor Reynolds cleared his throat, and the sudden noise was enough to snap Cleo out of her daze.

    She looked up at the doctor who had now ced both of his skeletal-like hands on the table in front of him.

    "Did Cleo''sinte as a surprise to you Sophie?" Doctor Reynolds questioned in a low tone.

    Cleo refused to look to the side but heard her girlfriend stutter an iprehensible reply in shock.

    The guilt that Cleo was now feeling made her heart ufortably tight.

    Doctor Reynolds sighed heavily and addressed Sophie who was still in shock over Cleo''s response, "It is a surprise to you, isn''t it?"

    "In your mind Cleo unconditionally and fully epts everything about you. And why wouldn''t you have that impression?"

    "Cleo has neverined about getting permanently bonded and has even epted your strange powers and abilities."

    Doctor Reynolds watched as his words sank in Sophie''s mind and then tilted his head to talk to Cleo directly.

    "From what I have gathered from my previous sessions with Sophie," Doctor Reynolds spoke calmly.

    "It appears as though she views your rtionship as perfect and by extension¡­ she also thinks of you as perfect."

    "The problem is¡­ you are not perfect. No one is perfect. Sophie views you as wless and hence will see herself as being not worthy to be in a rtionship with you."

    "I believe that you have not addressed any issues you may have had with Sophie because you are afraid of hurting her."

    "If you will allow me to be frank for a moment¡­ that is an incorrect way of thinking."

    Doctor Reynolds'' words were slow and unhurried and yet every one of them pierced through Cleo''s heart and forced her to pay attention.

    Was he right? No¡­ no¡­ he couldn''t be right¡­

    Cleo''s mind was now aplete mess. There were many emotions filling her heart that she could not describe.

    The only sound in the room was the crackling noise of the firece as neither girl could find the right words to say.

    Doctor Reynolds leaned forward and addressed the pair with serious tone,

    "I understand that my role was initially to only focus on your well-being Sophie but due to your connection with Cleo¡­ I would like her to join a few more sessions in the future."

    "My goal for these special therapy sessions is to help you both learn tomunicate about any issues or problems in your rtionship."

    "Due to your young ages and the fact that your rtionship has been rtively quick to form, it ispletely normal for you both to experience challenges."

    "It is how you respond to these challenges and to each other during those tough times that will determine the future path of your rtionship."

    "The mark that you have branded on Cleo may be permanent but if you do not cherish and maintain your rtionship¡­ then her love can easily turn to resentment."

 Chapter 425: Growing Stronger

    Chapter 425: Growing Stronger

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Home Theater)

    "Rebeca my love! How could you leave me for another?!"

    "Jason¡­ you''ve never loved me! I saw you with that Mendolesa girl! I know that you cheated on me!"

    A handsome golden-haired man knelt on the floor and wept as his former fianc¨¦e walked slowly out of the room.

    All he could see was her thin graceful back as she walked with a confidence that had never been shown in all the months that they had been together.

    Perhaps he truly was the one in the wrong.

    Rebeca was a graceful swan and he had imprisoned and clipped her wings.

    But it was just one mistake. He truly loved her¡­ why couldn''t she see just how much he had sacrificed?

    How did things get to this point? Where did it all go wrong?

    "Please¡­ just give me another chance?!" Jason cried out as he clutched his heart in pain. Rebeca''s steps paused for a moment, but she never looked back.

    The door finally closed, and the room fell into darkness. The sounds of Jason''s painful cries echoed hauntingly through the apartment.

    [The End.]

    "Huh? Wasn''t that supposed to be aedy movie?" Sophie asked in confusion. She turned to see her girlfriend wiping away the tears from her eyes.

    "Comedy? No that was one of the saddest romance films of all time," Cleo sniffled as she felt a mixture of sadness and nostalgia.

    "Wait¡­ don''t tell me you actually cried? That was the worst acting that I have ever seen in my life!" Sophie eximed in shock.

    "You just don''t understand¡­ this movie is based on a poem written by Lord Edmonton who wouldter spend the rest of his life alone and in regret," Cleo whispered softly.

    "I know this movie can seem a bitcking but when I was a young girl¡­ I remember my mom sitting down in the living room and watching it with me."

    "It just reminds me of¡­ oh¡­ this is stupid¡­"

    "No¡­ I''m listening," Sophie said gently as she leaned closer and brushed her lips against Cleo''s ear.

    A few days had passed since the meeting with Doctor Reynolds and there were subtle changes to their rtionship.

    Sophie was not going to lie to herself and pretend that it didn''t hurt a little bit that Cleo was ufortable being open and honest due to fears of hurting her low self-esteem.

    The foundation of any rtionship was trust and honesty.

    Sophie felt guilty that she had created an environment where Cleo was afraid to voice anyints or her opinions.

    What did it say about her? Sophie had no clue that Cleo had issues with being permanently bonded but it retrospect it should have been obvious.

    Who would want someone else to be able to manipte their emotional state at any time?

    "I¡­ I''m just so conflicted about my mom," Cleo''s voice broke Sophie out of her musings.

    "I¡­ hate her¡­ Ipletely and utterly despise her. But¡­ but¡­ every time I think of her face¡­ I can''t help but recall how she used to be when I was a little girl."

    "We were alone in the pce until my talent for mental force revealed itself. For the longest time it was the two of us against the world."

    Sophie did not know what to say but it seemed as though Cleo simply wanted someone to listen.

    Sometimes all you could do in a situation was listen and let the other person know that you cared about them.

    The hybrid girl wrapped her arms around the princess and drew her into a soft embrace. Sophie pulled a box of tissues from her storage ring and carefully wiped her girlfriend''s face.

    Seeing Cleo''s delicate facial features up closepletely mesmerized Sophie who got lost in those piercing green eyes.

    She leaned in and nted a firm kiss on Cleo''s lips. The kiss lingered for a few seconds and Sophie could taste a sweet addictive vor that made her want toe back for more.

    With a great deal of effort, Sophie pulled back before her ?ustful urges could surface and ruin the moment.

    "I''m here for you. I promise that she will never hurt you again," Sophie vowed solemnly as she looked Cleo in the eyes.

    Love without a doubt was one of the most dangerous poisons.

    Sophie''s words carried a weight that only she understood. She was determined to never let Cleo ever suffer that level of harm again for the rest of her life.

    "My knight in shining armor," Cleo teased as she raised a hand to her forehead and pretend to swoon in delight.

    "At yourmand my princess," Sophie followed along and bowed her head respectfully. Cleo''s soft giggles filled the theater room and brought a smile to her girlfriend''s face.

    "Should we watch another movie?" Cleo asked once herughter had subsided. She reached for the remote and pressed a bu??on to return to the home screen.

    The theater room inside the mansion used retro technology to simte the experience of watching movies from many centuries ago.

    Modern movies were more akin to a virtual reality experience where the audience could be one of the characters in the script and their decisions would affect the oue of the story.

    Duke Peterlor was a bit of an old-fashioned man and preferred the works from a few thousands of years ago when movies were more of a viewing experience.

    It was a definitely a more passive experience but sometimes you just wanted to turn your brain off and watch a few hours of entertainment.

    He had designed the theater room as his private den, but Sophie had spent many afternoons in her childhood watching ssical movies on the big screen.

    Cleo flicked through the catalogue and finally decided on a film called ''The Hero Gives Up On His Quest!''

    "Okay¡­ let''s watch an actualedy movie," Cleo dered as she pressed the start bu??on. The screen went dark for a moment and then the opening scene began to y.

    The princess snuggled up closer to her girlfriend as the movie opened up with the scene of a skinny young woman ying the flute.

    In the distance a ten-year-old child with missing teeth was waving around a wooden sword while loudly shouting.

    Sophie gently stroked Cleo''s back as she enjoyed this precious time that they were spending together.

    Maybe¡­ it was for the best that her father had decided to hire Doctor Reynolds.. Slowly but surely, Sophie could tell that her rtionship with Cleo was growing stronger by the day.

 Chapter 426: Dark Undercurrents Surge

    Chapter 426: Dark Undercurrents Surge

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

    "Another failure," Doctor Valenna ?r??n?d as she wrote down her recordings for today''s experiment.

    The scientist wore a simple whiteb coat with multiple pockets that were filled with various strange devices and surgical knives.

    Her curly brown hair, average looking features, easy going smile and thin ck sses would not make her stand out in a crowd.

    But her eyes¡­

    There was something inhuman and cold behind her seemingly friendly gaze.

    Doctor Valenna was currently standing on a raised tform overlooking an enormous pit that was hundreds of feet deep.

    Inside the pit was a sight that could only be described as monstrous.

    Dozens of half-naked human bodiesy helplessly on the ground while creatures hungrily fed on their corpses.

    The only trace of their former humanity that was left could be seen on their faces which were constantly stuck in expressions of pain.

    Several of these monsters were sewn together into unholy abominations that oozed purple slime as they crawled along the ground like worms.

    Loud grunts and m??ns could be heard echoing through the deep pit, but those terrifying noises had no effect on the woman standing on the tform.

    "Clean up this mess immediately," Doctor Valenna ordered coldly as she walked away. The faceless androids nodded and then proceeded to turn off the safety valve on their sma rifles.

    Bang! Bang!

    They opened fire on the monsters squirming below and soon the sounds of painful cries and bloodcurdling shrieks filled the air.

    Doctor Valenna paid no attention to the noise as she hurriedly moved towards her private quarters to n for the next test.

    Where had she gone wrong?

    Why had the project not seen any significant results in months?!

    Project Rhat''ets was supposed to secure the future of humanity and lead them to a brighter intergctic era.

    Crossing human DNA with Insectoids to produce the ultimate living weapons.

    If the raw talent for cultivation that humanity possessed could be enhanced with Insectoid regenerative abilities and their impressive physiques¡­

    It would instantly tip the delicate bnce of power in the Federation. Humanity would finally no longer have to rely on an alliance with the Quafes, Servies or Mendolesa races.

    But that goal was now looking more like an unrealistic dream.

    Doctor Valenna soon arrived at her private quarters and pressed her finger against the scanner to gain ess.

    The metalloid door swung open to reveal a in room that was only furnished with a single mattress, a wooden chair and a desk.

    It was cold and minimalistic much like the woman who was the head of the entire operation.

    Doctor Valenna sat down on the chair and began to n out her next move.

    The investors were already getting quite unhappy, and it was putting a strain on a project that was already risky from the beginning.

    The death of Emperor Sisrelis had only increased their d?s?r? to see the project seed as soon as possible in order to gain power before the next leader was selected.

    Doctor Valenna sighed heavily and reached into her storage ring. She pulled out a thin brown leaf and ced it on her tongue.

    The brown leaf instantly dissolved, and she could now feel a rush of adrenaline surge through her body.

    It was an unhealthy coping mechanism but what else could she do?

    To think that merely a few months ago there was hope. Doctor Valenna opened up her tablet and rewatched the old security footage from the previous facility.

    Subject 001, Subject 002 and Subject 003. Those three specimens had managed to escape their prison cells and kill an entire squad made of qi body and qi spirit cultivators.

    Only Subject 002 was captured alive after that night but he died merely a few weekster.

    Before his death, the artificial hybrid''s cultivation level had rapidly increased until it reached the qi tide stage.

    Unfortunately, he suffered from multiple organ failures and despite her best efforts, Subject 002 could not be rescued.

    However, the contents of the vial could not be replicated in theb.

    There was a limited quantity of blood left and all the new hybrids produced from the gene-splicing process would go through a simr cycle.

    They would rapidly increase in strength until their bodies copsed. The process usually took weeks and the longest was around one month.

    "If only I could get my hands on more Insectoid species," Doctor Valenna ?r??n?d in frustration as she ran her fingers through her messy hair.

    The results of her experiments were not entirely useless since she was able to make two reasonable deductions regarding Human-Insectoid hybrids.

    The first was that humans gically spliced with low level Insectoid species would produce stable hybrids, but theirbat power would not be higher than the qi body stage.

    The second was that the DNA of more powerful Insectoid species would produce stronger but short-lived hybrids.

    Doctor Valenna let out another heavy sigh and began to type out a request to be sent to the nobles in charge of the project.

    There was nothing she could do but ask for more Insectoid species to be sent to theboratory as soon as possible.

    Smuggling Insectoid corpses from the battlefield was a difficult operation but the scientist knew that those nobles had connections in the Imperial Army.

    Still¡­there was work to be done.

    Doctor Valenna was not a woman who gave up so easily and now was certainly not the time to panic even as she knew that her life was on the line.

    With newfound determination Doctor Valenna got up from her chair and sent a message to the team leader working in the breeding zone.

    [Prepare the special vial for my arrival. I trust that everyone under yourmand is aware of theck of results in the recent months]

    [The investors are not pleased so it is imperative that we have a breakthrough within the next few weeks]

    [There can be no mistakes]

 Chapter 427: A Frightening Conspiracy

    Chapter 427: A Frightening Conspiracy

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    The royal family owned arge area ofnd on Gaia and had built thousands of pces to house the concubines and offsprings of thete emperor.

    Emperor Sisrelis was always a generous man when it came to spending the state''s money on frivolities.

    As a result, these side pces were magnificent works of architecture that included imposing columns, expensive pieces of artwork and flowering gardens.

    Each pce was maintained by an army of state-of -the-art robotic caretakers.

    But now there was trouble in this perfect paradise. The death of the emperor had left a vacuum in the political sphere and there were many princes and princesses eager to fill the void.

    Not to mention the uncountable number of noble factions seeking to rise above their stations by supporting the next sessor.

    The problem was¡­ there were too many options.

    Emperor Sisrelis to put it mildly was quite the romantic soul and had fathered hundreds of offsprings.

    This presented quite a conundrum to the nobles looking to throw their support behind a singr candidate.

    The wiser aristocrats were waiting patiently for the day of the selection ceremony to see which candidates stood out among the crowd.

    The selection ceremony was both simple and straightforward. A tournament would be held among the princes and princessespeting for the throne.

    It was a practice that could be considered barbaric but in this brutal universe¡­ strength was truly all that mattered.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Imperial Complex- Side Pce 205)

    A fair slender hand reached for a cup of tea that was still steaming. Long golden locks swayed gently from side to side as Princess Marie stared out the window in a daze.

    She was over five hundred years old and yet her looks were identical to a woman in her early twenties.

    As a cultivator in the void stage, it was a simple matter to modify her physical appearance and manipte her gic code.

    "So, you came all this way to my pce to tell me not to participate in the ceremony," Princess Marie suddenly spoke.

    She turned around and stared at the handsome youth standing in the middle of living room.

    His face was simr to thete emperor''s but there was something deeply unsettling about his appearance.

    He possessed a lean muscr physique that was simr to an Adonis, and it was undeniable that he should be considered incredibly handsome.

    He wore an expensive navy-blue shirt that was adorned with white jewels that glistened and gleamed under the sunlight.

    And yet¡­ he was almost too handsome.

    There was something fake about his facial features almost as though he was wearing a mask.

    His movements were smooth and graceful, but one could not shake the feeling that it was like a puppet dancing on a string.

    "Sister¡­ please take this as a token of my appreciation," the mysterious man whispered seductively.

    He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a simple wooden box that was locked with a metalloidtch.

    Princess Marie slowly finished sipping her cup of tea and then eyed the box on the table with a wary gaze.

    She had lived long enough to know that the blood ties between the member of the royal family would not stop them from killing each other.

    Still, she could not resist hesitantly breaking the metalloidtch and opening the wooden box to see what was inside.

    "This¡­" Princess Marie hissed in shock. Her pupils dted and a trace of greed appeared on her elegant features.

    The man wore a gentle smile as he watched his sister pick up the small ruby-like gem from inside the box.

    "I wasn''t expecting this level of generosity. Where did you even get a Kry''en crystal?" Princess Marie eximed in glee.

    "I have my methods¡­ this is but a small sample of the crystals in my possession," the man replied smugly.

    Princess Marie finally calmed down after a few minutes and ced the crystal in her storage ring for safekeeping.

    "And all you want me to do is not participate in the selection ceremony?" Princess Marie could not help but ask again.

    "Yes, my dear sister. I will also provide another crystal after the enthronement of the new emperor as thanks for your service," the man exined.

    His handsome features caught the princess'' attention and even she could not stop her heart from skipping a beat.

    "Which faction are you representing? The crown prince? The princess from the Whiten family?" Princess Marie questioned seriously.

    "I''m sorry sister but I am not at the liberty to say at the moment," the man replied peacefully.

    A strange expression briefly shed across his face that made princess feel vaguely threatened.

    No¡­ perhaps she was mistaken. How could a void stage cultivator feel threatened by a man in the qi spirit stage?

    Princess Marie hummed softly and allowed the man to wait as she carefully gave the matter some more thought.

    The selection ceremony¡­ there was no guarantee that she would win. In fact, there was no guarantee that she would survive.

    The throne was indeed an attractive prospect, but one needed to be alive to enjoy it and Princess Marie knew that her cultivation level was not the highest in the royal family.

    It was better to take this offer and get some benefits than to risk her life for a throne that she would be unable to obtain.

    Maybe she could get an even more generous offer from this sibling that she had never seen before today.

    "Give me some time to consider the matter and I will have my reply by the end of the week," Princess Marie spoke quietly.

    The mysterious man nodded politely and then proceeded to walk out of her pce with slow purposeful steps.

    Princess Marie waited until he had left the room and then pulled the crystal out of her storage ring to inspect it more closely.

    She had never seen a Kry''en crystal of this size before. The way the reddish gem sparkled in her hand was utterly mesmerizing.

    "Ouch!" Princess Marie cried as she felt a burning sensation. The crystal in her palm suddenly melted and waspletely absorbed by her skin.

    The princess froze in ce as her eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning back to normal.

    Princess Marie shook her head from side to side as she desperately tried to remember what had just happened.

    There was nk space in her memories as though someone had edited out thest thirty minutes.

 Chapter 428: A Necessary Evil

    Chapter 428: A Necessary Evil

    (Alpha Star System- Meri''an)

    (Secret Location- Private Estate Of The Crown Prince)

    "House Balrone are too unpredictable! They always switch sides the moment that something goes wrong!"

    "Remind me sister¡­ how many nobles have joined our faction thanks to your efforts? Zero? Then you should shut up or provide an alternative solution."

    "Mind your manners boy¡­ you are two hundred years too early to be talking to me in that tone."

    Prince Theseus frowned as he quietly observed his quarrelling siblings. He was getting a headache from all the noise.

    Being the crown prince was stressful enough and these meetings did nothing but raise his blood pressure.

    Unfortunately, it was a necessary evil.

    Despite their spoilt appearances, every prince and princess in the room was connected to a major family.

    The next leader would be chosen at that time but already having a base of support would be the difference between a good ruler and an effective one.

    If only they could get along¡­ or at least pretend to¡­

    Prince Theseus let out a light sigh that went undetected amidst the noise in the room. Not for the first time he wondered whether it was worth it.

    That thought was fleeting, and the crown prince quickly pushed it to the back of his mind. It was a bit toote now for any regrets.

    This was the path that was chosen for him.

    From the day he was born with a grade S cultivation talent, it was an inevitability that he would be involved in the struggles for the throne.

    "Okay that''s enough," Prince Theseus finally spoke.

    "It doesn''t matter if a few opportunistic nobles join our faction. Once arge number of nobles join our side it will be easy to get the rest to fall in line."

    "In the meantime, our additional goal should be to focus on the high-ranking families. The presence of a duke will be quite influential."

    "But of the dukes or duchess have responded to our invitations," one of the princesses spoke.

    "Then clearly we have not provided enough resources to get them interested," Prince Theseus coldly replied.

    He ced hismunicator on the table and pressed a bu??on on the side of the metalloid device.

    A holographic projection appeared in the middle of the room. It was an enormous list with thousands of names.

    Most of the names were glowing red which indicated that attempts to win them over had failed.

    Prince Theseus clicked on one of the names that was still blue, and the list was reced by a picture of the current head of House Peterlor.

    "Why has no one bothered to contact Duke Peterlor?" Prince Theseus questioned seriously.

    There was a brief moment of silence as no one could answer the prince''s simple question.

    Prince Theseus ced his hands on the table and waited for someone to speak.

    Finally, after some time, there were some who were willing to talk.

    "Well, he hasn''t shown any interest in the fight for the throne¡­"

    "Yeah¡­ I mean¡­ it wasn''t likely that he was going to join us¡­"

    "I don''t have any connections with House Peterlor, so it was difficult to reach out¡­"

    Princes Theseus felt his headache intensify as he heard excuse after excuse from his royal siblings in the room.

    Did they truly believe that he was stupid? Clearly something else was going on to make them so reluctant to even try.

    Eventually one of the princes in the room answered with the real reason, "There are several nobles who have joined our side that believe in the Human Supremacy doctrine."

    "We are likely to lose their support if word got out that we visited Duke Peterlor and frankly do we want the help of someone crazy enough to make a hybrid a sessor?"

    "Everyone knows that the hybrids are merely lesser creatures who dirty the purity of the human race."

    There was a scattered apuse after his words and several royal children nodded along in a show of support.

    Prince Theseus felt sick to his stomach as he saw the gleeful smirks on his siblings'' faces as they mocked and jeered at the very notion of hybrids getting involved in politics.

    And why would they speak up?

    Prince Theseus himself did not say a word ofint so naturally everyone in the room ?ssumed that it meant he approved.

    This was getting out of hand¡­

    Prince Theseus opened his mouth to say a few words of rebuke but eventually he said nothing in the end.

    Another necessary evil. This was just another necessary evil. When he became the next emperor, he would change thews and a better man than his father.

    A necessary evil¡­

    Prince Theseus did not have the mood to continue the meeting and spent the rest of the afternoon in a haze of self-loathing.

    Naturally he maintained his poker face and cold appearance so of the princes or princesses in the room realised that something was amiss with their leader.

    The senses of a void stage cultivator were incredibly sharp so even though crown prince was b?r?ly paying attention, he was still absorbing the critical information from the reports.

    "Thank you foring here today. Your loyalty to the cause will not be forgotten," Prince Theseus spoke politely.

    "Don''t forget that we will be holding another meeting in three months'' time."

    The crown prince thumped his arm against his ?h?st and shouted, "Glory to the Federation!"

    After thest guest had left the room, Prince Theseus leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

    "Are you going toe out or do I have to drag you out myself?" the crown prince whispered softly.

    The air behind him shimmered and a mysterious man walked out from behind the veil.

    This person bore an eerily striking resemnce to thete emperor and possessed a charm and beauty that seemed unnatural.

    "I must say brother¡­ the rumors of your sharp instincts are quite justified," the man chuckled merrily.

    Prince Theseus kept his eyes closed but extended his senses to get a mental picture of the mysterious visitor.

    The qi fluctuations in the man''s dantian were around the same as those usually seen in cultivators of the qi body stage and yet that had to be impossible.

    There was no way a mere qi body cultivator could break into his mansion without alerting the guards.

    "Which family are you from?" Prince Theseus asked curiously as he secretly grabbed the dagger hidden in his pocket.

    "Does it matter?" the man replied with an easy-going smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ruby-like gem that gleamed hypnotically under the light.

    Prince Theseus opened his eyes and stared at the gem.

    He made no attempt to touch the Kry''en crystal and instead focused on looking at the stranger''s face.

    The crown prince mentally reviewed every member of the royal family that he had seen before but still could not determine who this was.

    "Please ept this humble gift from my employer. He is a nobleman with great expectations for the awe-inspiring crown prince," the man spoke politely.

    He stretched out his hand and the ruby-like gem continued to glow. The crown prince appeared transfixed by the object and slowly got up from his chair.

    "This is just a small token of apprecia¡­" the man didn''t have time to finish his sentence as a ck knife cleanly sliced his head off.

    Blood sttered on the floor as the crown prince stood over the corpse with a cautious attitude.

    He waited several minutes for any signs of life, but the body remained still. Prince Theseus tentatively poked the corpse a few times with his foot and finally let down his guard.

    He knelt down next to the body and grabbed the crystal. Prince Theseus could not help butugh as he found the entire affair ridiculous.

    Did that mysterious man hope to bribe him with one tiny Kry''en crystal?

    The prince yed with the crystal in his palm as his attention shifted to the employer who had sent one of his brothers to bribe him.

    Which family was it? The Prenaon? The MacIvors?

    Still at least he was now a rare crystal richer. Prince Theseus opened his storage ring to put the gem inside, but a sudden burning sensation made him pause his movements.

    The crystal in his palm had somehow melted and the reddish liquid was now being absorbed by his skin.

    Prince Theseus hurriedly grabbed his knife to chop off his right arm, but the knife froze mere inches away from his skin.

    The crown prince''s eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning back to normal.

    The headless corpse in the room had now disappeared and the only trace of the mysterious intruder were the bloodstains on the floor.

 Chapter 429: A Heavy Burden

    Chapter 429: A Heavy Burden

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex- Underground)

    The magnificent architecture of the numerous luxurious pces could be easily admired and seen by anyone passing by the entrance to the Imperial Complex.

    Of course, there were few that knew of the structures secretly built below these expensive mansions.

    But even deeper still at a level right above the core of the was an unremarkable room.

    This room was only around the size of a small bedroom. There were no doors and nothing connecting it to the outside world.

    It contained no furniture and those heavy stone walls, and a hard concrete floor resembled a prison cell.

    Inside this simple room was an old man. He wore a in white robe that had not a speck of dust on it.

    His ck hair with specks of grey was loosely tied in a ponytail that flowed down his back.

    Heavy wrinkles could be seen creeping along his face but oddly enough his exposed hands and feet were those of a young man in his twenties.

    He was not traditionally handsome as his features were sharp, angr and almost hawk-like.

    There was not a single trace of qi in this elderly man''s dantian, and a casual observer would easily ?ssume that he was a mortal.

    They could not be more wrong.

    "Milord, I have arrived with the news," a cold voice whispered reverently. A shadowy figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the stone room and knelt on the floor.

    He pressed his head against the concrete and refused to raise it until he received permission from his master.

    Time slowly passed as the shadowy figure remained in the same frozen position. Those minutes turned to hours and yet he did not move a single muscle.

    "Rise," the elderly man finally spoke.

    The shadowy figure got up from the floor and lowered his head so that he would not look directly at his master''s face.

    "Tell me¡­ how many candidates have fallen?" the elderly man asked in a nonchnt tone.

    By his casual tone one would ?ssume that he was merely asking about something insignificant rather than inquiring about the fates of the royal offsprings.

    Despite their gic and materialistic advantages, there were few that were worthy of his attention or respect.

    "Quite a few have sought out foreign aid from forces beyond the control of the Federation such as symbiotes, pirates and even hostile alien organizations," the shadow figure replied.

    "Several noble houses have been using their daughters and sons as tools to corrupt the hearts of royal offsprings with a decent chance of winning the selection ceremony."

    "At least twenty of the top ranked candidates have absorbed modified Kry''en crystals. None have realised that their minds have been subtly altered."

    "It is likely that the absorption process has interfered with their memories."

    The shadowy figure paused for a moment and his hesitancy was noticed by the elderly man who waited patiently for his subordinate to gather his thoughts.

    "One of those princes who absorbed a modified Kry''en crystal¡­ was the crown prince," the shadowy figure softly whispered.

    There was a silence in the space.

    The shadowy figure kept his eyes locked on the floor, so he was unable to the see the look on his master''s face.

    "I am not surprised. That boy is immensely talented, but hecks the necessary steel to be a monarch," the elderly man spoke inly.

    "He fancied himself a wolf, but in the end¡­ he was nothing more than a mere dog that barked loudly. More bravado than actual courage and intellect."

    "But still¡­ it has been quite some time since a faction has dared toy hands on the frontrunner to be the next emperor. I''m almost impressed."

    A dark chuckle filled the room as the elderly man''s lips curled up to reveal a bloodthirsty smile.

    The killing intent radiating from his body made the shadowy figure kneel down in fear.

    There were no thoughts of rebellion in his mind especially not when he knew that his master could delete his existence with a mere thought.

    The heavy pressure in the air was making it difficult to breathe.

    The shadowy figure was a cultivator in the void stage who would be considered a powerhouse wherever he went in the universe and yet¡­

    He felt like an antpared to the small trace of strength leaking out from the elderly man standing before him.

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the elderly man put away his killing intent and addressed the shadow figure who was now trembling like a leaf in the wind.

    "Keep an eye on the rest of the candidates and inform me of any changes," the elderly man ordered.

    "Yes milord!" the shadowy figure answered firmly and then vanished from the room. The underground returned to silence which allowed the elderly man to return to his meditative state.

    Just like the other selection ceremonies in the past¡­ he would not interfere.

    Nor did he have any ns to warn the royal offsprings about the dangerous organizations currently aiming at them.

    He was the Ascension stage cultivator responsible for maintaining the position of the royal family and he only needed to ensure that the tournament was fair and just.

    As for what happened before the tournament¡­ that was not his concern.

    Truthfully from the moment the emperor or empress died¡­ the war to choose the next leader would unofficially begin.

    Espionage, ?ssassination, corruption, betrayal. This war would be the first test to weed out those unworthy to even enter the tournament.

    Ascension Stage cultivators were powerful but needed to remain hidden as trump cards against other intergctic nations.

    As long as an event or individual did not harm or threaten the core of the Federation then they would easily turn a blind eye.

    Thete Emperor Sisrelis¡­

    The elderly man let out a light sigh of disappointment. When he was prince, there were high expectations that he would be a great leader.

    Who could have thought that he would waste away drinking and whoring just like the worst of his ancestors?

    When you have lived for thousands of years like the elderly man did, youe to realise that history may not repeat but it rhymes.

    Simr trends and patterns form. Empires and nations rise and fall.

    Great families of unimaginable wealth and power could lose it all in a single generation.

    The responsibility of the Ascension Stage cultivators to ensure that these trends did not hurt the core of the Federation was a heavy burden.

 Chapter 430: Something Mundane

    Chapter 430: Something Mundane

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Gardens)

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! I''m hungry! Give me some more food please!)

    "Yes, my greedy baby I''ll feed you some more snacks," Sophie whispered gently as she reached into her storage ring to pull out another sizable chunk of meat.

    Moon pped his wings up and down excitedly as he let out soft purrs almost like a cat.

    It would have been a cute sight were it not for the fact that her pet was now the size of a teenage human.

    Sophie figured that the reason why Moon was growing so fast was probably due to the blood bond connection between them or maybe Moon was just a special mutant.

    Either way she would still love this mischievous little baby.

    Sophie tossed the chunk of meat high into the air using some of her enhanced strength. The enormous drumstick flew several meters upwards, and Moon stared at the snack with wide eyes.

    The frostwing bat shot forward like a blur and grabbed the chunk of meat before it could hit the ground.

    The gross sounds of flesh ripping apart echoed through the garden, but Sophie didn''t mind that Moon was a messy eater.

    Sophie took the chance while Moon was distracted with his food to wander around the garden and examine the flowers.

    This was a private area separate from the greenhouseplex that housed a few rare or special nts that she had personally grown.

    It wasn''t a particrlyrge space but there was a sense of familiarity that Sophie foundforting.

    Cleo was currently still asleep after another tiring night of passion for the princess and truthfully Sophie felt a bit thankful for the break to clear her thoughts and think about certain things.

    It had already been three weeks since the princess had arrived, and every day had been nothing but a blessing.

    Even putting aside all the intimate moments that they shared when the night fell, just waking up while holding the person you loved did wonders for her mental state.

    In fact, it was only due to Cleo being by her side that Sophie had managed to work up the courage to reach out to her friends and acquaintances.

    Cleo had the brilliant suggestion to break up her contacts into different groups and only do a certain amount of people per day.

    Sophie followed her advice and found it much easier to reach out when she only focused on a few rather than look at the mountain of missed messages and calls.

    The other people on her contact list had sent messages that varied from concern to worry to even outright curiosity.

    Sophie answered most of them politely but took the opportunity to purge her contact list of some who were clearly just trying to fish for news.

    At the start of her mental crisis, Sophie could not have even imagined dealing with so many messages or people and yet¡­ it was now over.

    The hybrid girl felt as though the colours in the world had gotten brighter since her girlfriend had stepped off that hovercar.

    Doctor Reynolds in theirst session was pleased at the progress that she was making but he did caution that there was still a long journey ahead.

    Sophie knew what he was saying was correct¡­. but it would not be a lie to say that she wasn''t feeling a bit disappointed.

    Maybe if she went back with Cleo when the semester began then she could return to her normal university life.

    Of course, that was just wishful thinking.

    Although Sophie supposed that she should be grateful that due to her previous status as the rank one student as well as the kindness of her professors who were willing to offer online courses¡­

    Remote learning huh¡­

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she passed a tree that grew yellowish fruits from the topmost branches.

    These fruits were star-shaped with green tendrils wrapped around their outer shell. The tree itself was not very tall and its height was only slightly above Sophie''s head.

    Sophie used her ded appendages to slice the stem connecting one of the fruits on the tree and grabbed it as it fell.

    The hybrid girl opened her mouth and took a big bite. The flesh of the fruit was hard and unpleasant to chew but the inside tasted like a honey.

    The fleshy inside was soft and yummy which brought a small curve to her lips. Sophie saw a white bench up ahead and walked slowly towards it.

    After suffering through months of nonstop life and death situations during her time in the Unovan Syndicate, it felt weird to have to worry about homework and grades again.

    Being a double major in both poison cultivation andbat beast training meant that there would be a lot of work that she would need to catch up on before the second semester even begun.

    And that didn''t even consider themon first year courses that she would need to do over the summer in order to get the credits needed to move up to second year.

    Well, she would need to work hard in order to reim her number one spot once finals season began.

    Genius required talent but talent alone would get you nowhere in life. Comcency andziness would cause even the brightest student to stagnant.

    And as the duke''s daughter¡­ no to be more precise¡­ as a hybrid heir to a dukedom.

    Sophie was aware that she needed to not only reach the standards necessary for her position but exceed them.

    She wanted the entire Federation to know that her father had not made the wrong decision.

    It was an added pressure but honestly it was less stressful than half the events that Sophie had already experienced.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! Mommy! I''ve finished eating!)

    Sophie raised her hand and caught the giant bone that was hurled in her direction. Moon was staring at her with a gaze that Sophie recognized.

    "Already go fetch!" Sophie yelled as she pulled back her arm and flung the bone as hard as she could towards the opposite side of the garden.

    Perhaps she used a bit more force than what was necessary since the bone mmed into the ss exterior of the dome and a huge crack formed.

    Sophie guilty pretended not to notice it and made a mental note to inform the Head Butler once she returned to the mansion.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon took off like a rocket and flew towards the bone on the ground. His giant wings kicked up dust clouds that covered the flowers in his path.

    "Moon don''t fly so low to the ground!" Sophie scolded as she hurriedly ran over to make sure that her nts were alright.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Sorry Mommy!)

    Moon''s voice echoed in Sophie''s mind but somehow the hybrid girl got the feeling that her frostwing bat did not take her words to heart.

    Sophie figured that was a problem to deal with another day, so she focused on the task at hand instead.

    She reached into her storage ring and pulled out a few wet tissues as well as some gardening tools to repair the flower beds.

    It would be a boring task but somehow Sophie appreciated being able to waste her time doing something so mundane.

 Chapter 431: Duke Peterlor Is Impressed!

    Chapter 431: Duke Peterlor Is Impressed!

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Training Room #43)

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie''s body vanished from the spot and a blurry figure could be seen ducking and weaving through a hail of sma fire.

    "Too slow for a real challenge," Duke Peterlor muttered as he adjusted the settings on the control device.

    Additional gun turrets popped up from the ground andunched a fresh wave of attacks at his daughter.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened as she felt a surge of power rush through her body. A faint crimson mist was beginning to spread from the corners of her eyes.

    Bloodlust¡­ rage¡­ killing intent¡­

    A chilling pressure descended on the training field. Duke Peterlor raised an eyebrow but showed no reaction to the fearsome killing intent.

    At his level it was akin to a mere spring breeze, but an ordinary qi tide cultivator would have been paralyzed in fear.

    Sophie used her enhanced reflexes to continually dodge the sma rounds but it was getting increasingly difficult.

    Her father just kept adjusting the settings so that more and more weapons were firing at her position with no respite.

    It was time to use her secret technique. Sophie slowed her breathing and began to circte her qi in a specific pattern.

    Rsychosis!

    Multiple identical copies of herself suddenly appeared out of thin air. Sophie used her clones to purposefully block any shots that she could not avoid.

    Duke Peterlor kept his face expressionless but was secretly pleased by his daughter''s out of the box thinking.

    Compared to her peers, it was not a lie to say that Sophie probably had the mostbat experience.

    The way she fought and how she reacted to unexpected factors during a fight was simr to a veteran soldier in the Imperial Army.

    Although¡­ knowing the price that his daughter had to pay in order to acquire those skills¡­

    Duke Peterlor felt both regretful and guilty.

    But he could not afford to dwell on those thoughts. What happened to Sophie in the Unovan Syndicate would not change.

    All he could do now was support his daughter and provide a safe and loving environment for her to heal.

    And part of that healing process involved training her to control the strange abilities and gifts bestowed by the so-called ''Hunter Goddess.''

    "Remember the goal of today''s training is to control your berserker state. I want you to activate the goddess'' power and fight seriously," Duke Peterlor spoke sternly.

    He pressed a button on the side of the control device and the firing stopped.

    Sophie''s clones had a few superficial wounds on their bodies, but the original Sophie was virtually untouched.

    "Are¡­ are you sure?" Sophie whispered hesitantly.

    The faint reddish mist in her eyes was already beginning to fade as Sophie subconsciously pushed down her feelings of bloodlust.

    Duke Peterlor''s confidentughter echoed through the training room as he pulled a wooden sword out of his storage ring.

    "My daughter¡­ believe me¡­ I am in no danger. I know that you may feel reluctant to use your gift, but it is very important that you get it under control," Duke Peterlor exined.

    "Your power is yours tomand. No matter what happens once your berserker state is unleashed¡­ I will still love you just the same."

    Sophie heard sniffs and turned around to see some of her clones tearing up. The hybrid girl let out a light sigh and closed her eyes.

    When she reopened them, there was nothing but determination in her gaze. Her father believed in her and that was all that mattered.

    "Come¡­ I am ready," Sophie hoarsely growled.

    For once she rxed and indulged in the dark desires lurking in her heart. It was a thrill to finally be able to cut loose and those twisted sensations sent chills down her spine.

    Bloodlust surged in her veins and Sophie could feel her power growing by the second.

    The ground beneath her feet cracked under the pressure and subtle changes were beginning to ur to her body.

    Sophie''s fangs lengthened and the ded tip at the end of her appendages started to glow ominously.

    Her golden eyes were swallowed up by a terrifying crimson red colour that made her appearance resemble a demon from hell.

    The world around her slowed down to a crawl and Sophie could easily see the faint rising and falling of her father''s chest as he inhaled and exhaled.

    Kill¡­ kill¡­ kill¡­

    Hunt¡­ hunt¡­ hunt¡­

    Those words kept echoing louder and louder in Sophie''s mind until they became a never-ending cacophony of noise.

    Sophie growled animalistically as she crouched down on the ground.

    The mirror clones next to her were also affected by her berserker state due to the mental connection and were transforming into mindless beasts.

    "Just as dangerous and beautiful as her mother," Duke Peterlor whispered softly.

    Despite the horrifying sight before him there was a faint hint of nostalgia and fondness in the duke''s eyes.

    He held the wooden sword firmly in his hand and took a few deep breaths before getting into position.

    Clearly, he could not use his full strength, but he may not be able to handle his daughter if he limited himself to the qi tide stage.

    Perhaps strength in the realm of the early stages of the void would be most suitable when sparring with his daughter.

    Sophie extended her ded appendages outwards and then rushed forward towards the figure of her father.

    She leapt high into the air and then violently punched forward towards his chest.

    Sophie used her full strength in the blow and grinned as she imagined the blood that was about to be spilled.

    BOOM!

    Sophie was forced to take a few steps back as her father nonchntly blocked her blow using the training sword.

    The crimson colour in Sophie''s eyes darkened and the thrill of hunting a dangerous prey made her blood boil in excitement.

    Sophie ran on all fours along the ground and used her four ded appendages asnces to pierce through her father''s defenses.

    BOOM!

    Once again Sophie''s body was sent flying by another casual blow from the wooden sword.

    There was still a thin thread of reason in her mind so instead of going in for another attack she sent a message to her mirror copies.

    Sophie ran away to the corner of the training room and quietly observed as her clones ran towards her father.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    Duke Peterlor sent them flying before they could even make contact with his body. His movements seemed slow as Sophie viewed them with her enhanced vision and yet¡­

    Why were her clones having trouble avoiding them?

    Sophie growled darkly and cautiously inched closer while keeping her eyes on the duke''s movements.

    The killing intent inside her mind was beginning to cloud her judgement.

    She wanted¡­ no¡­ she needed to see some blood.

    Sophie''s nails slowly grew until they more resembled ws than what would usually be seen on a normal hand.

    The hybrid girl''s figure vanished from the spot, and she reappeared behind her father''s back just as he was dealing with one of her clones.

    Sophie opened her mouth wide and prepared to bite into his neck and inject a deadly dose of venom.

    Snap!

    "Arghh!!!!" Sophie screamed in pain as her fangs shattered against the duke''s skin. The hybrid girl tried to escape but the duke softly pped his palm against her stomach.

    Once again Sophie flew back but this time her body crashed against the wall of the training room andnded with a dull thump.

    The duke froze in ce and hurriedly ran over to make sure that his daughter was alright.

    Had he gone too far? Damn it! What was he thinking?

    "Sophie¡­ are you alrigh¡­" Duke Peterlor never got to finish his words as a shadowy blur leapt towards him.

    Sophie''s eyes gleamed with madness and her shattered fangs were quickly regenerating as if the injury had never urred.

    Duke Peterlor used his sword to parry and block most of her wild attacks, but the heavy weight of the blows brought an incredulous smile to his face.

    His daughter was currently fighting just like a wild animal with no regards for her safety or defenses.

    Because he was a god stage cultivator, the duke could easily pick out the ws in her movements and end the fight, but he decided to wait a bit longer.

    Sophie''s attacks previously had been within the realm of the qi tide stage but now that she had fully lost control¡­

    It was impressive just how much her strength had multiplied. In addition, her speed and reflexes were much higher than before.

    Holy Sword Art- Form Seven

    Light spear!

    The wooden sword in the duke''s hand glowed as numerous yellow symbols appeared along the edges of the de.

    A celestial aura surrounded the duke''s body, and he pierced forward using the sword with the same motions as if he were using a spear.

    Sophie crossed her arms and blocked the brunt of the attack. She growled hoarsely and used her right palm to grab the wooden sword.

    Duke Peterlor was forced to let go of his weapon as the multiple ded appendages on Sophie''s back shot forward and narrowly missed him.

    Impressive¡­

 Chapter 432: Unmatched Strength Among Her Peers

    Chapter 432: Unmatched Strength Among Her Peers

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Mansion- Medical Area)

    Sophie groaned ufortably as she slowly opened her eyes. She was currentlyying down on a in white mattress inside a room norger than an apartment.

    Numerous metalloid devices were ced around the room and there was a tube attached to her arm that steadily fed green liquid into her veins.

    There was a faint scent of disinfectant in the air and Sophie recognised this ce as one of the wards inside the medical center.

    "Arghh!" Sophie cried out in pain and quickly grabbed her head.

    She had woken up with massive headache that just would not go away.

    It was difficult to think properly, and her body felt as though it had just been run over by a hundred trucks.

    Where was she? What had happened?

    Thest thing she could remember¡­ urghhh¡­ why couldn''t she remember?

    Sophie gritted her teeth and slowly rubbed her temples until the pounding sensation in her head went away.

    Okay¡­ now she could finally think.

    Sophie vaguely remembered walking into the training field for a morning sparring session with her father.

    Eventually he told her to fully unleash her berserker state¡­

    Everything else after that was a nk.

    Sophie recalled willingly allowing her dark desires to take over her body but then it all went to ck.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and decided to take things one step at a time. She nced at the tube connected to her arm and settled back down on the mattress.

    The hybrid girl took a quick look at her surroundings to make sure that no one else was in the room and then gently lifted up the bottom part of her shirt.

    Ouch¡­

    Dark purplish ck bruises appeared on the skin beneath her shirt and Sophie gingerly touched some of her ribs.

    Fuck¡­ they were definitely bruised.

    Well, the good news was that her injuries were rapidly recovering thanks to the enhanced regenerative ability of the Arachnais race.

    Sophie estimated that in about less than an hour''s time her body would be as good as new. The hybrid girl stared at the ceiling and hummed softly to pass the time.

    At that moment when she had fully lost control, for once she did not have any fear about using the goddess'' gift.

    Maybe it was due to the absolute trust that she had in her father and his assurance that nothing she did could ever hurt him.

    The berserker state was truly a double-edged sword. Sophie was well aware that in her rage induced state she was as much a threat to her allies as she was to her enemies.

    Sophieughed softly as she gave the matter some more thought.

    It was really arrogant of her to worry that she could possibly injure a cultivator in the god stage.

    The hybrid girl''s pointed ears twitched slightly as she heard the sounds of footsteps rapidlying closer to the room.

    The metalloid door swung open to reveal Cleo''s worried face. The princess was wearing a in white tee shirt and track pants.

    Her long curly hair flowed gently down her shoulders, but the princess hadn''t bothered tob it properly, so it bore an uncanny resemnce to a bird''s nest.

    Still there was an odd sense of beauty in her messy appearance that made Sophie''s heartbeat suddenly quicken.

    "Oh?! You''re finally awake!" Cleo eximed in excitement.

    The princess ran into the room and stopped just before the mattress that Sophiey on.

    Cleo gently touched the side of Sophie''s cheek and leaned in to nt a soft kiss against the hybrid girl''s mouth.

    The sweet taste of her girlfriend''s lips made Sophie purposely stick out her tongue and forcefully enter inside.

    Cleo let out a soft moan which only encourage Sophie to be a bit naughtier.

    The hybrid girl yfully reached for the front of her girlfriend''s shirt when a sudden burst of pain made her withdraw her hand.

    "Damn¡­ sorry¡­ it seems like my body is still recovering," Sophie sheepishly spoke as blush spread across her cheeks.

    The princess'' face was still flushed from the intense kiss, but her mind was now fully on her girlfriend''s well-being.

    "How are you feeling?" Cleo asked with concern.

    Sophie''s stomach growled and the hybrid girl realised what she was needing.

    "Better than when I first woke up but now that you mention it¡­ I am a little bit hungry¡­ do you think you can get some food from the kitchen?" Sophie asked hesitantly.

    "You are such a glutton!" Cleo teased yfully as her piercing green eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief.

    "Fortunately, you are dating a girl who know you too well!"

    The princess reached into her storage ring and pulled out several bowls of food that were still warm.

    Inside the bowls was a brownish-red soup with chunks of pinkish meat and vegetables swimming merrily in the mixture.

    The scent of cooked meat and the fragrance of the rice inside the soup filled the room and caused Sophie''s mouth to water.

    Cleo grabbed an empty table from the corner of the room and brought it next to the mattress within Sophie''s reach.

    The princess began to ce the bowls on the top of the table and also grabbed some cutlery and napkins from inside her storage ring.

    "Babe¡­ did I ever say how much I love you?" Sophie''s eyes widened as she hungrily gazed at the feast before her.

    "Yeah¡­ yeah¡­" Cleo spoke nonchntly but her lips curved up to form a small smile. She never got tired of hearing her girlfriend say those three words.

    Sophie slowly got up from her resting position and ignored the painful aches. While in the berserker state she usually consumed a tremendous number of calories, so she needed to refuel.

    The hybrid girl scooped up a chunk of meat using the spoon next to the bowl and brought it to her lips.

    The meat was soft and tender and melted away in her mouth. Sophie could not stop returning for seconds¡­ then thirds¡­ then fourths¡­ then fifths¡­

    Cleo sat quietly as her girlfriend polished off one bowl after the next. There was an indulgent look on her face as she would asionally lean over and y with Sophie''s hair.

    The worry in the princess'' heart slowly faded away. Sophie''s initial state after the training session had not been good but Duke Peterlor insisted that he had controlled his strength.

    Cleo knew that logically that was probably true, but no one wanted to see their significant other unconscious and sent to a medical ward to recover.

    Still judging by the pained look on the duke''s face it was clear that this intense training was weighing down on his heart despite everything that he said.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Private Study Room)

    Duke Peterlor essed his wristmunicator and pulled up the footage from the training field this morning.

    His enhanced senses were able to cover the entire underground city, so the duke was aware that his daughter had finally woken up.

    Perhaps it was best that she spent some time with Cleo before he came to discuss the training results and check up on her.

    There were quite a few ws that he had identified just by revisiting the footage.

    Sophie in that berserker state was incapable of rational thinking and was vulnerable to traps or tricky opponents.

    Also, she tended to over rely on her enhanced healing factor and sacrifice her defense for a full offensive attack.

    Fighting like a wild animal may at first overwhelm your opponent but those with experience would be able to deal with it easily.

    Still not everything was negative since Sophie''s berserker state in some respects had already exceeded the duke''s expectations.

    It would be impossibly for her to cross realms and kill a void stage cultivator but that boost in her strength and those improved reflexes¡­

    Duke Peterlor struggled to think of any cultivator in the qi tide stage capable of withstanding his daughter''s attacks.

    And even on the topic of crossing realms¡­

    Duke Peterlor forwarded the footage to a specific moment and stared with a look of wonder and awe.

    One of Sophie''s ded appendages shot forward and when he blocked it with his palm there was a faint trace of blood on the curved barb.

    She had done it again¡­ Sophie had wounded him.

    Of course, this was without him activating any defensive techniques and only using a fraction of his true power.

    And the wound itself was incredibly shallow.

    But still¡­

    Just the mere fact that the barbs on her spider-like appendages were capable of prating the flesh of a god stage cultivator was shocking.

 Chapter 433: A Slow Return To Normal Life

    Chapter 433: A Slow Return To Normal Life

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Study Office)

    Sophie nervously paced back and forth as she took an asional nce at the ck screen on the desk.

    She was expecting a call at any minute now from Professor Macabre.

    The new semester would not start until next week but since she was a special case, the poison cultivation professor wanted to have an introductory session.

    This private study room was on the first floor of the mansion and was basically identical inyout to her father''s office space.

    Rows upon rows of books set on a bookshelf while a roaring firece crackled away in the corner of the room.

    There were a few paintings of flowers and nts hung up on the walls and the floor was covered by a thick furry carpet that was soft to touch.

    Sophie opened her wristmunicator to check her appearance one more time. She wore a dark blue nnel shirt and ck dress pants.

    Fortunately, her hair was not messy and flowed gently down her shoulders. Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

    Just rx¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out¡­

    In¡­ and¡­ out¡­ in¡­ and¡­ out¡­

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    A harsh ringing noise interrupted her meditative state and Sophie saw an icon shing in the middle of the screen that indicated that a call was iing.

    She quickly walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair. Sophie adjusted her posture by raising up her shoulders before gently tapping the [ept] button.

    The darkness on the screen was reced by the footage of a woman sitting down in what appeared to be the middle of a whitish-greyboratory.

    Professor Macabre was a human woman with brown, wavy hair that hung over a sharp angr face with prominent cheekbones.

    She had lidded blue eyes with dark circles under them that made her seem exhausted. A small but vicious scar ran across from one side of her face to the other.

    This scar made her more resemble a mercenary rather than the typical image of an intellectual scientist.

    "Hello professor," Sophie politely spoke as she ced her arms on the table and tried to portray a confident image.

    "Miss Peterlor it is a pleasure to see you in good health," Professor Macabre smiled as she talked to her favorite first year student.

    Gradually Sophie''s nerves faded away as her teacher began to make small talk about thetest happenings in the university.

    Professor Macabre may have the appearance of a fierce woman but beneath her no-nonsense attitude was someone who deeply cared about her students.

    Perhaps it was due to the small number of cultivators in the poison department but there was a level of personal intimacy between herself and most of her students.

    Finally, the topic of the conversation turned to the new semester and Professor Macabre pulled out a tablet from her storage ring.

    She opened up a few files and then sent them to Sophie''s wristmunicator via the virtual connection.

    Professor Macabrezily tapped the top of the table in front of her and then opened her mouth to exin how the semester would go.

    "Now normally we would not allow online learning and instead rmend that you take a year off and join the iing freshmen ss," Professor Macabre spoke calmly.

    "However, I was able to convince the administrators to give you a chance."

    "I know your capabilities and I believe that with hard work and discipline¡­ you should be able to catch up on the work that you missedst semester."

    "It will be difficult, but I am prepared to help you as much as possible so that you may seed. I expect you to retake the number one position once you return to the campus."

    Professor Macabre knew more than anyone else that her prot¨¦g¨¦ had a talent for the art of poison cultivation.

    That potential was not even considering her rare biological physiology that rendered her immune to most toxins.

    "Have you checked the files that I have just sent?" Professor Macabre asked. Sophie hurriedly tapped her wristmunicator and opened up her inbox.

    She saw an unopened message from the professor and opened the files. There were several documents inside.

    "I have included the blueprints for theboratory that needs to be built as well as a list of reagents and chemicals that we will be using throughout the semester," Professor Macabre exined.

    "Some of these chemicals are quite toxic so in those special cases I would rmend that you seek the assistance of Katarina to watch over your experiments."

    "The rest of the files include my lesson ns, some notes and other information that you will be tested on in quizzes and midterms."

    Sophie took a closer look at the information inside the files and was blown away by just how in depth and detailed everything was.

    It was clear that her professor had spent a great deal of time and effort to provide her with all the resources that she needed to seed.

    "Thank you, professor!" Sophie spoke gratefully. She truly was thankful for everything that her professor had done.

    A small smile shed across Professor Macabre''s face before she returned to the matter at hand.

    "Don''t thank me yet¡­ I have sent the schedule so you should take a look and familiarize yourself with the details," Professor Macabre rified sternly.

    "You will have to attend three lecture sses and oneboratory session per week."

    "In addition, I will be regrly assigning homework and other assignments that will have to bepleted on time."

    "There is much work to be done so you and I will be seeing each other quite regrly over the next few months. I also expect that you will not be neglecting yourbat training."

    Sophie nodded seriously but inwardly could not help but feel a bit overwhelmed. It was not hard to predict that she would be incredibly busy in the future.

    Her schedule was already full, and she had not even talked to thebat beast lecturer yet!

    Fortunately, that ss did not have many theory lectures so maybe most of the work would involve strengthening the blood bond connection between herself and Moon.

    Although Sophie had heard of secret qi techniques that would enhance yourbat beast''s abilities so maybe she would have to learn those as well.

    But that was a matter for another day.

    Sophie straightened out her back and listened carefully as Professor Macabre went over some additional information about her sses.

    Having to worry about coursework and tests¡­.

    It was a sign that her life was slowly going back to normal.

 Chapter 434: Ambition And The Pursuit Of Power

    Chapter 434: Ambition And The Pursuit Of Power

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Study Room)

    "Okay so Lithium carbonate affects the central nervous system¡­ it can also have an effect on receptor sensitivity¡­" Sophie muttered quietly to herself.

    She picked up her pen and began to write down some notes on the nk workbook in front of her.

    It was a bit old fashioned and maybe it was due to the influence of Sui Meng''s memories, but Sophie enjoyed physically writing her self-study notes down.

    When it came to poison cultivation, it was not enough to just memorize the content as her mentor Professor Macabre expected her students to apply what they had learned in ss.

    Which made sense.

    The problem was that this meant that Professor Macabre''s tests were significantly more difficult and relied heavily on a solid foundation of theoretical knowledge.

    When one thinks of cultivation, they usually imagine scenes of a sword chopping down a mountain, an arrow tearing through the void or even a palm with enough force to tten a spaceship.

    Poison cultivation was not as shy as those methods, but it was chillingly efficient and if there was one thing that Sophie had learnt during her time in the Unovan Syndicate¡­

    In life and death situations¡­. effectiveness mattered more than showmanship.

    Sophie tossed those unpleasant memories to the back of her mind and concentrated on the next section.

    Neurotoxins¡­

    A thoughtful look shed across the hybrid girl''s face as she read about unique toxins found ons in the border region.

    There was one nicknamed ''The Devil''s Kiss'' which could be identified due to a victim''s lips swelling immediately after contact.

    That was a particrly nasty toxin whose main effect was to disintegrate the axons inside the neuron cells.

    It would lead to aplete copse of the electrical signal pathway that carried messages to and from the brain.

    Sophie continued reading and making notes for around twenty more minutes before setting her notebook down.

    "Finished?" Cleo asked quietly.

    The princess was currentlyying down on a sofa in the corner of the room with a sleepy expression on her face.

    Sophie got up from her chair and walked over to the sofa. She sat down and pulled her girlfriend into her arms.

    "Yeah¡­ I think I''m done for the day," Sophieined in a low tone.

    "It has really been difficult to get back into the study mood¡­for some reason I just can''t concentrate for longer than one hour."

    "Distracted?" Cleo teased as she used her slender palm to stroke the side of Sophie''s cheek.

    Sophie leaned down and pressed her lips against Cleo''s. It was a lingering kiss filled with love and warmth.

    The hybrid girl broke away first since she didn''t want her powers to activate. It was already a difficult task to stay in control with Cleo so close to her body.

    Cleo smiled wickedly as she nuzzles closer to Sophie''s body. The princess'' hand began to slowly wander upwards.

    "Cleo¡­ not¡­ now¡­ I¡­" Sophie groaned as she quickly grabbed the mischievous hand moving towards her chest.

    She shot her girlfriend a disapproving look but only received a soft giggle in return.

    Cleo smiled fearlessly when she observed the effect that she was having on her girlfriend.

    It was always a satisfying sight.

    Sophie realised what was happening and decided to pay her girlfriend back for the teasing. She suddenly pulled Cleo forward and the princess fell on herp.

    "What are you¡­ Oohhh!" Cleo shrieked as Sophie yfully groped and fondled her chest.

    The hybrid girl quickly shot a look towards the door to make sure that it was locked and then continued.

    Did her girlfriend get bigger? Sophie kneaded and rubbed the soft bouncy fleshy that was addicting to touch.

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corner of her eyes as Sophie gave in to the ambiguous atmosphere.

    Wait¡­ wait¡­ fuck!

    The study room didn''t have proper soundproofing!

    It hadpletely slipped Sophie''s mind that her father who was a god stage cultivator would be able to hear them regardless of how heavy the soundproofing was.

    Fortunately for the duke, he was able to manipte his spiritual sense to block out any noises.

    And over thest few weeks the poor man had gotten quite used to activating this skill.

    Sophie hesitantly stopped her teasing and Cleo nced up at her with a perplexed look.

    The princess'' face was still flushed and the reddish blush on her cheeks was enough to set Sophie''s heart racing again.

    "One¡­ two¡­ three¡­" Sophie counted slowly as she began to take in deep breaths before gently exhaling.

    Don''t lose control¡­ don''t lose control¡­ don''t lose control¡­

    For the first time, Sophie decided not to use pain to snap her out of the lustful state but instead to only try calming meditation.

    Perhaps it was a sign of her progress but gradually the pinkish colour faded and Sophie''s eyes returned to their normal golden hue.

    Sophie let out a small sigh of relief and could not help but feel a little bit proud.

    She did it! She managed to stop herself just in time!

    It was a small victory, but progress was progress.

    "Are you okay?" Cleo asked with concern. Sophie smiled back sweetly and nted a kiss on her forehead.

    There was no need to rush anything. Besides it would be nighttime in just a few hours so there would be plenty of time for naughty stuffter.

    A thought suddenly entered Sophie''s mind as she remembereding across some information on the Virtual Net earlier in the day.

    "Oh yeah¡­ that reminds me," Sophie spoke with a hint of curiosity in her tone.

    "What is happening with the selection ceremony to choose the new leader of the royal family? I saw a few articles on the Virtual Net but no one seems to know the date."

    "Well choosing the next emperor or empress is a serious matter," Cleo exined seriously.

    "The selection ceremony is the final test but¡­ the fight for the throne begins the moment that the previous ruler dies."

    "You don''t have to participate in such a dangerous tournament, right? Or do you want to?" Sophie asked nervously.

    It would be her girlfriend''s choice if she wanted to join the fight for the throne, but the mere thought made Sophie anxious.

    The glorious history of the Imperial Family was soaked with the blood of princes and princesses who died in order for the eventual winner to sit on the throne.

    "Don''t worry¡­ I''m not crazy," Cleoughed softly as she stroked Sophie''s cheek.

    "My mother probably expected thete Emperor to rule for another thousand years which would give me plenty of time to grow up

    "But¡­ he didn''t. If I joined the session fight with my current cultivation level¡­. well let''s just say that I would probably be dead by the first round."

    Familial love and kindness were an exception not the norm in the royal family and Cleo knew better than anyone what terrible acts people canmit in the name of ambition.

    The pursuit of power was a never-ending quest.

 Chapter 435: A Romantic Date

    Chapter 435: A Romantic Date

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (St. Romeo''s Beach- Private Beach house)

    There was a unique ce on Gaia.

    It was located at the northernmost tip of the where the temperatures plummeted to around minus forty-five degrees Celsius.

    It was an enormouske covered by a thick ice sheet and surrounded by a white sandy beach.

    The ice was a pinkish red colour due to the strange nts living at the bottom of theke that released chemicals that affected the colour of the water.

    Monstrous snake-like abominations glided beneath the ice with their yellowish eyes searching for a worthy prey.

    Tall green leafy trees provided shade along the white sandy beach and a light snow would asionally fall.

    The entire view was picturesque almost like something out of a magazine.

    There was a sense of peace and tranquility that could not be exined.

    Numerous luxury vis and private mansions had been built around theke since wealthy nobles and merchants would often take vacations at this spot.

    Each mansion was appropriately spaced out so that the residents would not have to interact with one another and were afforded a certain level of privacy.

    Sophie stood quietly on the beach and took a few deep breaths of the fresh air. She was currently wearing a heavy ck jacket, a pair of navy-blue track pants and a reddish scarf.

    Truthfully, she would have been just fine in regr clothes but somehow it seemed appropriate to wear winter attire.

    The hybrid girl walked towards the shore of theke and used her ded appendages to lightly tap the sheet of ice.

    A fine crack began to spread from the point of contact, and she could see the snake-like monsters nce in her direction.

    "Oh? Do you think I''m food?" Sophie teased softly as she applied more pressure using her ded appendages.

    Crack!

    The crack widened and one of the monsters unable to bear the temptation burst out of the ice and lunged at her.

    The enormous jaw of the beast opened wide to reveal numerous rows of sharp incisor-like teeth that glinted under the sunlight.

    Without hesitation Sophie reached into her storage ring and pulled out her whip. She began to circte her qi in a particr pattern as the beast got closer.

    ck Whip Art- Hail of Shadows!

    Sophie straightened her wrist and flung her whip outwards.

    Shadowy illusory des surrounded the edge of her weapon as it travelled directly towards the path of the hungry predator.

    The beast did not have any time to react before its body was neatly cut into two equal parts without any suspense.

    The body of the monster fell on top of the ice with a dull thump and bluish blood began to spread from the fresh corpse.

    Some of the blood entered the water and caused a stir among the other snake-like creatures.

    Sophie took a step back and observed as the corpse was dragged underwater and devoured within a matter of minutes in a feeding frenzy.

    Pity¡­ she was expecting more of a challenge.

    Sophie''s pointed ears twitched as she heard footstepsing towards her direction. The hybrid girl didn''t have to look as she could tell exactly who this was.

    In fact, she was very familiar with this person''s footsteps.

    "Tada! Look at me babe!" a cheerful voice suddenly called out. Sophie smiled softly and turned around only to be left speechless in shock.

    Cleo was grinning at her with a mischievous sparkle in her piercing green eyes. The princess wore a pretty white winter jacket with tiny elf-like figures stitched along the bottom.

    Her fair slender legs were covered by a pair of thin ck pants and the princess posed seductively as she saw the awestruck look on her girlfriend''s face.

    The long curly hair that fell down her shoulders swayed gently from side to side as Cleo pressed her lips together and blew a kiss.

    Sophieughed and walked over to hold her girlfriend''s hand. Cleo smiled sweetly and leaned in to ce her head on Sophie''s chest.

    The pair stood silently for a moment.

    It would have been a romantic mood if not for the bloody scent still lingering in the air and the snake-monsters staring at Sophie with hopeful expressions.

    Clearly the monsters wanted her to kill more of their brethren for another snack. Sophie pretended not to see them and gently led Cleo to the other side of the beach.

    She was not going to let those monsters ruin her first outdoor date with Cleo after so many months apart.

    It had been a challenge to find the perfect dating spot and Sophie had done a lot of research on popr romantic locations.

    She wasn''t quite ready yet for crowded ces but hopefully Doctor Reynolds would eventually help her to get the goddess'' powers under control.

    There was already some progress being made so Sophie was feeling a bit optimistic about the future.

    It did help to be spending time with her amazing girlfriend especially considering that these were thest days that they had together before the new semester began.

    Cleo would still be staying at the mansion for two more weeks, but online sses would begin so Sophie knew that she might not have time to go outside often.

    "It''s a bit quiet here¡­ almost like we''re the only two left in the world," Cleo whispered as she tightened her grip on Sophie''s palm.

    "Would you mind? Imagine if one day it was just the two of us¡­ everyone else disappeared," Sophie spoke softly.

    "Hmm¡­ I guess I would have to cancel my ns to get a royal harem," Cleo replied in a serious tone.

    "Huh?!" Sophie eximed in shock.

    She was about to ask Cleo about those so-called ns when she noticed the sparkle in those green eyes.

    This little minx was teasing her!

    "Do you like seeing me jealous?" Sophie growled darkly as she leaned in and pressed a series of fierce kisses on Cleo''s face.

    "Harem? Clearly you have too much energy to be thinking about other people."

    There was a dangerous hint in Sophie''s voice which Cleo recognised instantly. The princess'' face flushed as she already could tell what was going to happen tonight.

    Laughter and conversation filled the air as the pair continued their walk along the beach until they reached a tall tree in the middle of their path.

    Sophie saw a golden pear-like fruit at the top of the tree and immediately recognised it as a mion fruit.

    mion fruits were absolutely delicious with a texture simr to watermelons on Ancient Earth.

    "Let me get that for you babe," Sophie dered confidently. The hybrid girl let go of her girlfriend''s hand and approached the tree.

    She easily scaled the tree using her ded appendages to pierce the firm bark and crawl upwards like a spider.

    She plucked the golden fruit from the topmost branch and simply leapt off.

    The body of a qi tide cultivator was quite sturdy, so Sophie was able to justnd on her feet as though the sixty-foot drop was nothing.

    Cleo pped enthusiastically and Sophie gave a bow and pretended to wave towards an adoring crowd of fans.

    "Thank you! Thank you!" Sophie yelled happily as she continued her act.

 Chapter 436: A Failure In The Butchers Pen

    Chapter 436: A Failure In The Butcher¡¯s Pen

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

    The disposal field or as some nicknamed it¡­ ''The Butcher''s Pen''.

    That was the name for a wide-open field where failed experiments would be released in order to get some final data on their physical andbat capabilities.

    At the opposite end of the field was an enormous crate over twenty feet in height and around the size of a small bedroom.

    The walls of the crate were covered in reinforced metalloid steel, but cracks could already be seen spreading out from a certain area.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Someone¡­ or rather something kept frantically knocking against the walls of the crate and those heavy thumps could easily be heard even from some distance away.

    For make no mistake, the thing inside that crate was an angry monster.

    A thing that was once a human but now had lost any semnce of their former humanity. A twisted abomination created from the gic maniption of both Human and Insectoid DNA.

    And most importantly¡­

    A Failure.

    Doctor Valenna stood patiently on a raised tform that provided a bird''s eye view over the entire field.

    The lead scientist wore a simple whiteb coat with multiple pockets that were filled to the brim with various strange devices and surgical knives.

    Below the tform stood dozens of guards lined up at attention in neat rows with their ster rifles at the ready.

    The dark circles under the lead scientist''s eyes had only gotten more pronounced over thest few days.

    Scientific research took decades if not centuries in certain fields in order to get results but there was no more time left.

    The investors would be holding a call tomorrow and Doctor Valenna knew that her time was probably up.

    Perhaps that was why she felt the urge to visit the disposal field personally instead of reviewing the footage after the extermination.

    There was enough blood left for one more chimera fusion but at this point Doctor Valenna knew that it was going to be a waste of time.

    Without a doubt, hybrids between the Human and the Insectoid race were viable¡­

    But Doctor Valenna spected that the Insectoid species chosen for the splicing process needed to be a high-level lifeform.

    Well, there was no use thinking about what was going to happen next.

    Doctor Valenna knew that she wasn''t a good person in fact her biggest regret was not that she had partaken in these monstrous experiments but rather the fact that her work would not bepleted.

    The ends always justified the means.

    The subjects chosen for these experiments deserved their fates, it was only right for them to serve the empire one final time.

    Hopefully the next person chosen to lead the project would have a fraction of her intelligence and research skills.

    Doctor Valenna would hate for all of her hard work to go to waste. Although that may be the fate once the nobles investing in the project finally decided to pull the funding.

    "Test Subject Beta-007 will be released shortly," Doctor Valenna spoke coldly.

    The guards did not verbally acknowledge her words, but the scientist could see their fingers tighten ever so slightly on the triggers.

    Doctor Valenna reached for the console in the middle of the raised tform and entered a series ofmands into the device.

    A harsh siren noise began to re out from the other side of the field as the walls of the crate fell apart to reveal the creature hidden inside.

    This abomination was vaguely humanoid, but its skin was covered in thick reptile-like scales that hid its features.

    Its arms and hands had somehow been transformed into two bone-like scythes that gleamed under the bright sunlight.

    As the monster opened its mouth a muffled screeching noise could be hearding from its throat.

    It was all it could muster since its vocal cords had been surgically removed during the twisted operation.

    The guards adjusted their ster rifles in the direction of the creature and prepared for the uing engagement.

    Doctor Valenna sighed with disinterest as she gazed at the scene below. Subject Beta-007 was initially a promising lead but its organs proved to be too unstable.

    She estimated that the hybrid only had around one week left until it suffered from aplete organ failure.

    The lead scientist figured that she might as well get abat test out of it before the hybrid died.

    "Ur¡­gr¡­re¡­ereee¡­" the hybrid groaned as it shook its head from side to side almost like a dog.

    Suddenly it turned its face directly towards the guards at the opposite side of the field and its body froze in ce.

    Its pupils dted with hatred.

    Although the creature had long forgotten its name, its identity and even its sense of self¡­

    It remembered its anger and pain.

    Doctor Valenna saw the look in its eyes and her expression of boredom soon turned to casual interest.

    It was always amusing to see a bit of fire left.

    Those specimens tended to give the best results when subjected tobat scenarios.

    The scientist pulled a tablet out of her storage ring and began to write down some notes while keeping a close eye on the battlefield.

    "Ur¡­gr¡­re¡­" the hybrid hoarsely panted as it began to stumble towards the guards. It kneeled down in pain as its body began to shiver uncontrobly.

    What was happening? Were its organs failing already?

    Doctor Valenna stared in disbelief as the skin on the hybrid''s back started to bubble. The guards began to panic but the lead scientist refused to give the order to shoot.

    The hybrid thrashed on the ground in agonizing pain with an unholy screech constantlying out of its mouth.

    Two translucent wings burst out of its back which sent blood and fleshy chunks of meat high into the air.

    The hybrid growled darkly with its eyes firmly fixed at the position of the guards. There was a hint of hunger in its inhuman expression.

    Its figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as it flew towards the guards at a breakneck pace.

    Somehow the creature was able to use its newly acquired wings with ease despite no prior experience or knowledge of flying.

    "This is¡­ it¡­ THIS IS IT!" Doctor Valenna cried out in shock as she ran towards the edge of the raised tform.

    It was hard to describe what Doctor Valenna felt at this moment, but it was a mix of happiness, surprise and sadistic glee.

    Still the lead scientist did not fully lose herposure and made sure to activate the barrier around the raised tform.

    When dealing with unknown abilities, it was important to keep her safety in mind. As for the guards below¡­

    Doctor Valenna looked forward to their performance against the rapidly evolving hybrid.

 Chapter 437: A Pursuit Of Knowledge

    Chapter 437: A Pursuit Of Knowledge

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

    "Oh¡­ oh¡­ yes¡­ you are magnificent!" Doctor Valenna shouted loudly as she stared in rapture at the abomination currently banging its scythes against the barrier.

    "I was correct in my theory! Hybrids are truly the best biological weapons!"

    "After all these years of hard work¡­ I can''t believe that I have lived to see the day where my dreams have be a reality."

    A fierce reddish blush spread across the face of the lead scientist and for once her cold eyes were filled with powerful emotions.

    Test Subject Beta-007 had proven to be a sess beyond her wildest dreams.

    Doctor Valenna spared a nce at the scattered corpses on the ground before resuming her observation of the specimen.

    A bloody scent hung in the air and the frightened expressions on the faces of the dead bodies served as a grim reminder of the terrifying nature of the hybrid monster.

    The security team did not stand a chance.

    Despite having a superiority in numbers as well as the technological advantage, Subject Beta-007 still managed to eliminate them all.

    Doctor Valenna saw firsthand how it was able to use its newly acquired wings to duck and weave through multiple rounds of heavy sma fire.

    Despite only having a cultivation level of the qi tide stage, it seemed as though this creature had somehow entered a berserker mode.

    It fought recklessly and paid no attention to the heavy injuries that appeared on its body as long as it managed to kill.

    The remains of those men and women who had recently died were torn into tiny pieces and some were even in a half-eaten state.

    Subject Beta-007 had been severely wounded in the fight but Doctor Valenna could see his flesh slowly regenerating with every passing second.

    But for how much longer would he survive?

    Even if he died now Doctor Valenna could already envision a new path forward for the project.

    She had been going about this all wrong. The perfect use for these hybrid weapons were not as a long-term force but rather as temporary shock troops.

    Beings capable of exerting extremebat capabilities in order to disrupt enemy lines. Due to their short-lived nature, they would be able to fight harder than a regr soldier.

    Perhaps she needed to use the DNA of multiple Insectoid species to see which ones werepatible to produce abination of different traits.

    Doctor Valenna hurriedly wrote down some notes and ideas for the uing experiments that she was already nning to perform.

    The meeting with the investors was tomorrow but instead of dread, Doctor Valenna felt nothing but optimism and hope for the future.

    "Ur¡­gr¡­re¡­reeeee¡­" the hybrid abomination groaned.

    It continued to mindlessly stab its de-like scythes at the glowing barrier that separated it from the raised tform.

    Despite the barrier showing no signs of cracking, Doctor Valenna made sure to adjust the settings and increased the power.

    One did not reach her position without taking precautions as necessary.

    The hybrid creature tried fruitlessly for several more minutes before it knelt down on the ground and spat out a mouthful of ck blood.

    Its humanoid body shivered and trembled uncontrobly. The monstrous abomination let out a horrifying screech that made the hairs on the scientist''s arms stand up.

    Those translucent wings on the hybrid''s back fluttered slightly as the creature rolled on the ground all the while clutching at its throat with those scythes.

    It made several deepcerations on its neck, but it seemed as though those injuries were nothingpared to the pain that it was currently experiencing.

    "Record the process of its cellr decay and organ failure," Doctor Valenna calmly spoke into her wristmunicator.

    A drone flew up from a hidden building on the other side of the field and its camera lens zoomed in on the creature''s position.

    The entire field was surrounded by high-definition cameras and video recording devices but sometimes it helped to get another angle.

    The humanoid creature only managed tost for a few more minutes before it took a deep shuddering breath and then finally copsed.

    Before its death¡­. those monstrous eyes seemed to stare at Doctor Valenna with a deep hatred that was human-like.

    Had it recovered its memories?

    Or was that emotion merely thest trace of its humanity trying desperately to return?

    Either way¡­ Doctor Valenna didn''t care. She had seen hundreds if not thousands of those kinds of eyes from the specimen chosen for her experiments.

    But she had to admit that there was a sickening beauty to see thest me of life slowly fade away and withier into nothingness.

    Doctor Valenna''s lips curled up as she sent a message to the centralmand of the security forces to dispatch another team to the termination field.

    It didn''t take long for another group of heavily armed officers to arrive at the edge of the field.

    The younger ones in the group tried their best not to gag as they walked past the bodies of their formerrades.

    As for the older ones, there was a quiet look of resignation on their faces as they walked straight ahead without stopping to nce at the corpses on the ground.

    Doctor Valenna waited until the guards confirmed the death of the hybrid before deactivating the barrier and walking down from the raised tform.

    The lead scientist knelt down and pulled out an empty syringe from her storage ring.

    She gently pressed the needle against an open wound on the hybrid''s back and extracted around five hundred milliliters of blood and tissue samples.

    "Bring the body to the third building in the northernboratory zone," Doctor Valenna coldly ordered.

    The team leader for the security unit stepped forward and gestured towards his subordinates to help him handle the body.

    "Be careful not to damage the wings!" Doctor Valenna snapped angrily as she saw one of the men grab the translucent appendage quite roughly.

    The lead scientist made sure that the body of the hybrid was secure before turning around to leave for her private quarters.

    There was nothing that Doctor Valenna wanted more than to run down and begin dissecting the fresh corpse of the hybrid but there were important matters to handle.

    She needed to organize a meeting with the other science teams in theplex and grab all the avable manpower.

    The footage alone may not be enough to convince the investors to give the project a few more months of grace.

    The footage of Subject Beta-007 was impressive but there were several concerns that needed to be addressed and improvements that could be made.

    The first being that the hybrid abomination was frozen in ce while it evolved duringbat which was a significant weakness.

    It was capable of fighting through extreme injuries in a berserker state, but its regenerative abilities were not quick enough¡­ at least not yet.

    And she still had not managed to raise the cultivation level of a hybrid to beyond the qi tide stage.

    Then there was the matter of testing these hybrids against different power types. For example, how would they fare against mages?

    What about mental force? Poison? Foresight?

    There were many questions that needed answered but that was exactly what made Doctor Valenna so excited.

    Her endless quest and pursuit for knowledge had led her down this dark path. It was what had gotten her kicked out of multiple universities for hical practices.

    Those old academics just could not seem to understand that a price had to be paid for scientific progress.

    It was better to sacrifice a few to enhance the quality of life for the many.

 Chapter 438: The Gift Of Love

    Chapter 438: The Gift Of Love

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate)

    Squeak! Squeak!

    "Moon¡­ how many times do I have to tell you not to rip up my bedsheets!" Sophie roared angrily as she walked into her bedroom.

    It was as though a whirlwind had passed through her private quarters.

    Clothes were scattered haphazardly on the floor, the paintings on the wall were scratched and several of her nts had evidently been dug out of their pots.

    As for her bed¡­ the mattress appeared to be fine but the same could not be said about the sheets that were clearly ripped into tiny pieces.

    Moon immediately shot up from the mattress and attempted to flee the scene of his crime.

    Unfortunately, his speed was no match for the hybrid girl who quickly activated her movement technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie''s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. Moon pped his wings frantically and bolted for the door.

    It was toote.

    Sophie reappeared next to his body and grabbed the massive frostwing bat by his ears. She lightly pulled on his ears and Moon''s face showed a panicked expression.

    He knew exactly what was going to happen next.

    "Every time I go out¡­ I return and I find that you have turned my clean and tidy bedroom into a mess!" Sophie scolded furiously.

    "Do you like to see me upset? Do you want me to punish you? Huh?! Answer me Moon! Answer me right now!"

    Moon whimpered softly and tried to nuzzle his head against Sophie''s shoulder. The frostwing bat tilted his face upwards and stared at his master with puppy dog eyes.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon stuck out his tongue and licked Sophie''s fingers. He purred softly and continued to act cute, but Sophie just stared at him expressionlessly.

    "Nuh uh¡­ not this time mister! I''m not falling for your cuteness. This time I need to make sure that you get punished," Sophie spoke firmly.

    "Go to the holodeck training room and do two¡­ no¡­ three hours of reflex and dodge training."

    Moon let out a heavy sigh and then pped his wings in resignation.

    Sophie released her grip on the frostwing bat''s ears, so Moon took the opportunity to escape her grasp.

    "I will be checking the footageter so make sure that you actually go," Sophie called out as her frostwing bat left the room with a sullen atmosphere surrounding his body.

    Sophie maintained her stern appearance for a brief moment, but it copsed immediately as she recalled the frightened expression on Moon''s face when she caught him red handed.

    "What am I going to do about that mischievous brat?" Sophie whispered softly with a gentle smile on her lips.

    Despite her anger, she could not bear to punish Moon seriously so maybe that was why her frostwing bat never seemed to learn his lessons.

    Wait¡­ why was she here again?

    Sophie frowned as she tried to remember why she had to go into her bedroom in the first ce.

    Oh yeah¡­ that was it!

    The sudden appearance of Moon inside her room caused Sophie topletely forget her original purpose.

    The hybrid girl walked towards her dresser table and pulled out a tiny box.

    The box was a greyish white colour with a single golden bow wrapped around its center.

    Sophie''s fingers trembled slightly as she picked up the box. She knew exactly what was inside since she had spent several hours searching for the perfect gift.

    The next semester would begin in two days'' time and Sophie wanted to give her girlfriend something special as thanks foring to visit her during the winter break.

    It was impossible to understate just how grateful Sophie felt towards Cleo for staying by her side during her time of need.

    Those dark thoughts¡­ those feelings of anxiety and shame¡­ they all seemed to melt away in her presence.

    She was the beam of light that illuminated her darkness.

    All she could do was make sure that her girlfriend was showered with as much love and affection as possible.

    Sophie gently wrapped her fingers around the box and then ced it inside her storage ring. She did not want to risk dropping it and damaging the contents inside.

    The hybrid girl pressed a button on the side of her dresser table and a holographic window was projected into the air.

    Sophie swiftly entered a series ofmands to summon the housekeeping androids and described the current state of her bedroom.

    She waited until she received a reply from the main AI unit before leaving the room and heading towards the greenhouseplex.

    There was a spring in her steps as Sophie walked through the mechanical city while taking an asional nce at the tall metalloid buildings that stretched upwards towards the heavens.

    This city was truly a marvel of engineering and Sophie was constantly amazed at the sleek and modern architecture involved in its construction.

    It didn''t take long for the hybrid girl to finally arrive at the greenhouseplex.

    The greenhouseplex was a set of five buildings that housed flora from numerous regions across the gxy.

    Each building contained apletely different biosphere and ecosystem.

    The full list included a desert biome, an aquatic/swamp biome, a dark forest biome, a grasnd biome and an arctic biome.

    Cleo was currently inside the grasnd biome.

    Sophie wanted to surprise her girlfriend, so she did not send out a message using hermunicator.

    The hybrid girl quietly approached the door of the greenhouse that contained the grasnd biome and pressed her right palm against the scanner.

    A green light shed twice, and the metalloid door immediately swung open to reveal a tunnel with white walls.

    Sophie swiftly made her way through the winding corridor until she entered the changing room.

    She took off her dress and changed into afortable battlesuit that clung tightly against her curves and lean muscr physique.

    Sophie nced at her reflection in the mirror and licked her lips seductively. She was a smoking hot babe, and she knew it.

    But there wasn''t any time to waste.

    Sophie''s movements slowed down to a crawl as she inched her way to the entrance and slowly made her way inside.

    The grasnd biome as the name suggested was a wide-open field covered in nts no taller than a few feet.

    There were a few trees scattered around the field, but the main attraction was the colorful flowers that bloomed on the ground.

    The hybrid girl could spot the figure of her girlfriend sitting in the shade of one of the trees while reading a book.

    Sophie''s predatory instincts red up but instead of the usual crimson hue, there was a faint pinkish mist that gradually spread from the corners of her eyes.

    The hybrid girl crept closer and closer to her prey.

    Sophie stayed low to the ground and concealed her body in the taller patches of grass.

    Five hundred meters¡­ three hundred meters¡­ two hundred meters¡­

    One hundred meters¡­

    A bloodthirsty grin shed across Sophie''s face as she finally arrived within striking distance. The hybrid girl crouched down and thenunched herself at Cleo.

    The princess did not have time to react before her body was enveloped in a warm hug and a pair of lips pressed against her own.

    Cleo struggled to breath as Sophie hungrily tasted the sweet lips of her girlfriend while softly growling sweet words of love.

    Eventually the hybrid girl broke away from the kiss and stared at the princess whose face was now a bright red colour.

    Sophie had to resist the urge to rip off her clothing on the spot and instead took a few deep breaths in order to calm down.

    The pink mist in her eyes gradually faded as Sophie regained control over her wild instincts. She reached into her storage ring and pulled out the small box.

    It was time to show Cleo just how much love she deserved.

 Chapter 439 - Words Cannot Say How Much I Love You

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Greenhouse Complex)

    Sophie held the small box in the palm of her right hand and stared at Cleo who was now frozen in shock.

    She could not help but giggle as she observed the surprised look on her girlfriend''s face.

    Sophie gently reached out with her other hand and stroked the side of Cleo''s cheek.

    There was just so much that she had to say and yet at this moment¡­ the words simply would note out.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. It was obvious that Cleo already knew just how much she cared for her, but it was important to put it into words.

    "Thank you," Sophie softly whispered as she leaned in closer and pressed her lips against Cleo''s forehead.

    "It''s hard to even put to words just how much I love you. Every day in the Unovan Syndicate I would think about if I would ever get to see you again."

    "And when I returned home, and I was nothing more than an emotional mess¡­ you were there by my side."

    "I don''t know what I did to deserve an amazing girlfriend like you, and I hope that you can be with me for many years toe."

    Tears welled up in Cleo''s eyes as she listened to Sophie''s passionate speech. The hybrid girl took a step back and then finally opened the box.

    She carefully untied the golden ribbon and peeled back the outeryer to reveal a beautiful ne.

    It was made from a rare metal called Netherium, so its base colour was a dark purplish hue.

    As for its price¡­ it was actually not that expensive whenpared to other high-ss metals.

    Sophie had chosen it because it looked pretty, and she thought that it would suit her girlfriend.

    Tiny star-like jewels had been embedded into the material that gleamed and sparkled under the lighting in the greenhouse.

    Sophie unsped the hook and brought the gift to Cleo''s neck. She gently ced the ne around her girlfriend''s neck while peppering her cheek with soft kisses.

    Sophie took a moment to appreciate the sight before her eyes. The ne rested against Cleo''s soft fair skin, and it was very noticeable but did not look out of ce.

    "Sophie¡­ I¡­ I don''t know what to say¡­" Cleo stuttered as her piercing green eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

    "I¡­ I didn''t get you anything¡­ damn it¡­ I knew¡­ I¡­ mean¡­ this¡­mfphhh"

    Sophie silenced her mutterings by leaning in closer and pressing her lips against hers. The sweet taste of Cleo''s lips was incredibly addicting.

    She could spend a lifetime lost in this sweetness.

    A faint pink mist began to spread from the corner of Sophie''s eyes but this time the colour was noticeably lighter.

    Sophie could feel her lustful urges slowly rise but somehow it was not as overwhelming as usual, so she did not spoil the moment.

    Cleo gasped for breath, so Sophie reluctantly broke the kiss and stared at her girlfriend with a hungry look.

    The pleasant scent of flowers filled the air as some of the wildflowers and nts in the greenhouse were in full bloom.

    Sophie reached for the nearest flower and plucked a few red petals from the nt. She slowly ced the petals in Cleo''s hair to create a natural crown.

    The princess now looked like a nature goddess¡­ at least in Sophie''s lovestruck eyes. Cleo smiled indulgently as she watched her girlfriend''s antics.

    Sophie was a mature girl for her age and that maturity had only gotten worse after months of experiencing countless dangerous situations.

    It was only in these quiet moments that one could see the shadow of a normal girl who was only neen.

    Cleo ced her finger on the ne and gently ran her thumb over its surface. The metal felt cold to touch but somehow the princess felt warm as she yed with Sophie''s gift.

    "Hey¡­ I''m going to miss you when I go back to university," Cleo whispered softly. She grabbed Sophie''s hand and forced the hybrid girl to look directly in her eyes.

    "I expect a video call every night. Every. Single. Night," Cleo spoke seriously.

    Sophie could tell that her girlfriend was not joking as her aura suddenly intensified.

    "I will¡­ I¡­ I''m going to miss you too," Sophie replied with a gentle smile.

    Where had all the time gone?

    The winter break felt as though it had just begun and yet it was almost over.

    It seemed like just the other day that Cleo had stepped off that hovercar and entered the Peterlor Estate.

    Two days from now was the start of the new semester and Cleo would have to leave shortly after to return to campus.

    Sophie let out a low sigh as she thought of just how difficult the next few months would be.

    She needed to catch up on the previous course materials fromst semester and then also learn the new theories and techniques for the uing one.

    Thankfully her memory andprehension skills had vastly improved since entering the qi tide stage so hopefully it would not be a problem.

    Sophie knew that a small part of her had enjoyed being the top student at the university.

    Perhaps it came from a prideful ce, but she did want to reim her status.

    Of course, even if that did not happen, she was fine either way as long as she could remain in the same year group as her friends.

    "You''re drifting off again," Cleo chuckled as she pinched Sophie''s cheek. The hybrid girl snapped out of her musings and refocused on her girlfriend''s bemused expression.

    "Sorry I was just thinking about the online sses. I can''t believe that my biggest worry is going to be the mountain of homework and assignments that I have to catch up on," Sophie groaned.

    "You mean normal student worries?" Cleo raised an eyebrow and questioned.

    "Yeah¡­ it just feels weird to be concerned about something so¡­ low stakes? I'' m not sure if that''s the right word," Sophie replied hesitantly.

    "You''ll be fine Sophie¡­ trust me," Cleo spoke with a confident tone.

    The princess grabbed her girlfriend''s arm and pulled in her in for another kiss.

 Chapter 440 - The Semester Begins

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie''s Private Laboratory)

    Today was the first day of the new semester and for Sophie that meant that her online sses would now officially begin.

    Professor Macabre''s ss would be in the morning while thebat pet lecture would ur in the afternoon.

    It was impossible to say that Sophie was not feeling a little bit nervous. Going to sses and bing a regr student again¡­

    This mundane life would have seemed like a dream merely a few months ago.

    Sophie took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled in order to calm down her nerves. The hybrid girl headed towards the newly constructed building that housed her privateboratory.

    The duke had spared no expense for his daughter''s education and Sophie was looking forward to seeing how the inside of theboratory had been constructed.

    She had purposefully avoided visiting theboratory until today.

    Finally, after five more minutes of walking, Sophie arrived at a massive square-shaped building that resembled a cube.

    Its exterior was covered in a heavy metalloid substance that shone under the artificial light source above the mechanical city.

    As she took a closer look, Sophie observed numerous small vents ced around the top of the building which she assumed were part of the cirction system.

    Poison cultivation sometimes involved chemical processes that produced dangerous gases as a by-product, so these vents were necessary.

    While Sophie was confident that her body would be able to handle exposure to toxins in the event of an ident¡­

    It didn''t hurt to be careful and maintain proper safety standards.

    There were always exceptions in the universe, the physiology of the Arachnais tribe did have the ability to assimte or withstand most poisons but there was always a possibility¡­

    A simple fingerprint scanner was ced in front of the entrance to theboratory. Sophie approached the machine and pressed her thumb against the surface of the scanner.

    The scanner emitted two beams of green light that swept the length of her finger multiple times before shing blue.

    A door soon appeared in front of her that swung open to reveal a white corridor. Sophie entered the building and the door swung shut with a bang.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and checked the floor n of her privateboratory.

    She quickly picked out a direction and then headed towards it. The first step was to go to the changing room and put on her gear.

    The changing room was located a few doors from the entrance, so it didn''t take long for Sophie to find it.

    Sophie stepped inside and saw what looked like a giant closet filled with rows of basic equipment such asb coats, gloves, masks and other essentials.

    After a few minutes of changing, Sophie now had apletely different appearance and the hybrid girl paused for a moment in front of a mirror.

    She wore a in white coat with multiple pockets, a ck mask was ced over her lips and nose and her hands were covered by a pair of purple gloves.

    Sophie''s golden eyes were now protected by a pair of heavy goggles and her hair which Cleo had tied earlier was done in the style of a single ponytail.

    "I look like a mad scientist," Sophie whispered to herself as she posed in front of the mirror.

    There wasn''t much time left before ss started so the hybrid girl stopped ying and headed towards the main experiment room.

    Sophie walked into the room and was instantly taken aback as she saw how impressive the interior was.

    Theboratory could only be described as sleek, futuristic and excessive.

    There were multiple benches each with a private station that came equipped with all the essential equipment that Professor Macabre had requested.

    The storage room for the reagents and chemicals was around the size of a small apartment and was located at the back of the room.

    Robot androids stood silently against the wall ready to obey anymands and fetch anything she wanted from the storage room.

    There was also a room for extraboratory equipment although Sophie knew that she wouldn''t have to use it.

    There was more than enough equipment on the benches. Everything from titration sks, volumetric cylinders, microscopes, droppers, thermometers and so much more.

    And of course, there were safety equipment to be used in the case of emergencies.

    An air purifier caught Sophie''s attention for a brief moment, but she was soon distracted by the other sights inside theboratory.

    A thrill ran down Sophie''s spine as she had to resist the urge to explore around the room and check out everything.

    There would be plenty of time for that after the lecture, so Sophie decided to reign in her curiosity. She approached one of the benches and sat down.

    Sophie pulled a small circr device from her storage ring and connected it to her wristmunicator.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Harsh ringing sounds echoed through theboratory but eventually Sophie saw the [Connection] icon appear on the top of the device.

    She pressed the icon and the circr device vibrated softly. A holographic window was projected in the air and soon a website was disyed on the screen.

    There were several videos already uploaded to the site as well as a section for homework and another section for assignments and quizzes.

    ording to the sybus that her professor had sent, the first sses would just deal with basic theories, so Sophie had to watch those several videos carefully.

    After the first week then they would switch to live sessions where Sophie would be able to ask questions and interact with Professor Macabre.

    Sophie clicked on the first video and saw Professor Macabre standing in front of the ss while mixing two reagents carefully.

    Inside one of the sks was a deep purplish-ck mixture that asionally bubbled and hissed while the other contained a green gooey substance that bounced up and down.

    "Now ss today we will be discussing the different types of antidotes," Professor Macabre spoke clearly.

    "Chemical, physiological and mechanical. I expect you all to be very familiar with each type over the course of this semester."

    "Now let''s begin with the mechanical type which will prevent the toxin from being absorbed in the first ce¡­"

    This was an old video that had been recorded from the first ss after the midterm. Sophie pulled out her notebook and a pencil from her storage ring and began to take notes.

    The hours passed quickly as Sophie rediscovered her studying groove and got lost in a world of scientific theories and poison cultivation.

 Chapter 441 - The Final Night Together

    "Help! Help! I''m being kidnapped!" Cleo loudly screamed as she wildly iled her body around in an attempt to escape her captor.

    "Do you have to do that?" Sophie groaned as she pinched her girlfriend''s ear.

    Cleo immediately burst into a fit of giggles and refused to apologise.

    The hybrid girl let out a heavy sigh and stared at her girlfriend with an indulgent smile on her lips.

    Cleo was currently blindfolded and being led to a mysterious ce. Sophie gently grabbed her arm and escorted the princess like an overprotective knight.

    Today was thest day that they would spend together since Cleo''s extended vacation was finally over, and she would have to return to Zrudread University.

    Just the mere thought of Cleo leaving made Sophie feel a mixture of sadness and anger, but she refused to let her dark desires get in the way of what was best for her girlfriend.

    Cleo would happily take a semester off to spend time with her in the mansion, but Sophie did not want her to do that.

    Well¡­ only a tiny part of her did¡­ okay maybe a bit more than a small part.

    "So, are you going to tell me where we''re going?" Cleo asked softly as she was guided through a maze of corridors and passageways.

    "It''s going to be a surprise," Sophie replied with a teasing grin.

    She bowed her head and nted a soft kiss against Cleo''s cheek.

    Finally, after several minutes the pair appeared in front of a metalloid door. Sophie pressed her finger against the scanner and a green light shed twice.

    She entered the room and carefully escorted Cleo inside. Even though her girlfriend was a cultivator, Sophie treated her with care and attention as if she were made of fragile ss.

    Sophie gently reached for the blindfold and pulled it off with one smooth motion. Cleo blinked rapidly to get adjusted to the sudden light.

    Cleo gasped in shock as she saw where Sophie had brought her. They were currently standing inside a magnificent ballroom with an expensive chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

    The floor was made from a shiny metalloid substance that had been painted to resemble a field of wildflowers.

    A small dining table had been ced in the middle of the room and a few candles were ced in the center.

    The scent of roses filled the air as flowers were wrapped around the columns scattered across the room.

    "Surprise babe," Sophie whispered lovingly. She held Cleo''s hand and guided the awe-struck girl to the nearest chair.

    She pulled back the chair like a gentleman and made sure to symbolically wipe the seat even though it was definitely clean.

    "When¡­ when did you do this?" Cleo asked in shock.

    "I had to borrow one of the spare rooms in the mansion from my dad. Its ourst night together and I wanted to do something special," Sophie exined proudly.

    "But wait¡­ let me show you something."

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and pressed a series of buttons. The lighting in the ballroom dimmed and a metalloid stage rose from the ground.

    A ssical tune began to y, and four hologram figures appeared on the stage. They were members of thetest virtual boyband group.

    They were called ''The Sunset Boys.''

    Well to be more precise this was a recording of one of their unreleased songs that would note out for several months.

    It was amazing what money could buy. Especially in the entertainment industry where credits were all that mattered.

    The lead singer was a feminine man with long, spiky hair who opened his mouth and began to sing in a low tone.

    "Baby my heart reaches out to you¡­"

    "I see your smiling face in my dreams¡­ baby for you I would go through wind and rain¡­"

    "Our love is all I need¡­I''m on my knees baby..."

    The other members of the band pulled out different instruments and began to y. The lead singer increased his volume and belted out more lyrics.

    "For my love is like a burning volcano¡­ baby its hot and burning."

    "There is no greater beauty in the universe¡­ in my eyes you are my one and only soulmate."

    "Let''s grow old¡­ let''s grow old¡­ our story is yet to unfold¡­"

    The song was ridiculously cheesy and sappy, but Cleo felt her heart melt as she stared at her girlfriend.

    "You did this all for me?" Cleo whispered softly. Sophie opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the warm body that rushed into her arms.

    Cleo had leapt over the table and was now sitting down on herp and showering her face with lots of kisses.

    Sophie closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft touch of her girlfriend''s lips. She wrapped her arms around Cleo''s body and began to gently stroke her back.

    Thank you¡­ whoever had sent this angel into her life¡­ thank you.

    Cleo finally stopped her attack and nuzzled deeper into Sophie''s embrace. The princess had never felt as safe and protected as she did when inside Sophie''s arms.

    The band continued to y in the background as the pair silently listened to the lyrics and enjoyed each other''spany.

    "Okay darling¡­ let me get the next part of the surprise ready," Sophie reluctantly spoke. Cleo got up from herp and returned to her chair with an expectant look on her face.

    Sophie hurriedly walked towards one of the walls in the corner of the ballroom and tapped her knuckles against a certain part.

    The wall shuddered and then a hidden door swung open to reveal a room where several tes and bottles were stored.

    Sophie grabbed the most expensive bottle of wine and two sses and returned to the table with a happy smile.

    "Is that fruit wine brewed by the Armeron race?" Cleo raised an eyebrow in surprise as she noticed thebel on the bottle.

    "Only the best for my princess," Sophie gave a mock bow and then smiled.

    Cleo''s heart skipped a beat as she saw her girlfriend''s childish antics.

    The princess had to fight the urge to jump over the table and repeat her actions from a moment ago.

    Sophie was usually the aggressive one when it came to intimacy in their rtionship and maybe it was because this was theirst night together, but Cleo felt unusually confident.

    The hybrid girl twisted the cork using her right hand, and it eventually released with a loud pop.

    A spicy aroma entered her nostril that was both pleasant and exotic. She poured the purplish liquid into the two sses and handed one to Cleo.

    "Cheers¡­ to many more nights together," Sophie spoke warmly.

    "Cheers," Cleo replied with a gentle smile.

    The two girls pressed their winesses together briefly as they cheered. Sophie raised the ss to her lips and gulped the expensive wine.

    The taste was unlike anything that she had ever experienced.

    It was bitter at first, but the aftertaste was like a mixture of vani, brownies and cookies allbined into one overwhelmingly sweet package.

    Due to her Arachnais physiology Sophie was unable to get drunk, so she quickly refilled her wine ss and downed another drink.

    Cleo on the other hand took small sips and savoured the wine with all the elegancy and ss befitting a member of the royal family.

    Sophie leaned forward and stole a kiss while Cleo was contemting the vour of the wine. The sweet taste of Cleo''s lips mixed with the aftertaste of the wine to produce a pleasant sensation.

    "I love you," Sophie whispered sincerely as she stroked Cleo''s cheek.

    "Part of me wants you to stay but¡­. I¡­ I will see you soon. These months will fly by quicker than you think, and I promise to contact you ever day."

    "Every. Single. Day," Cleo spelled out her requirements firmly. The princess crossed her arms sternly and waited for her girlfriend''s reply.

    "Every single day," Sophie promised solemnly.

 Chapter 442 - The Future Looks Bright!

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Living Bio-Starship- Command Deck)

    A space vessel sailed silently through a vast asteroid field. Its outer surface was a sickly green colour but that was not the strangest part about this odd starship.

    Thick wriggling veins could be seen squirming beneath its sickly green outer surface and an enormous eye on the hull of the starship opened and closed asionally.

    This was a bioship, an extremely rare organism capable of being mechanically spliced and altered to create a starship made from both machines and living matter.

    The Earth Federation mainly treated these strange starships as material for scientific research rather than for actual practical use.

    There were many reasons for this decision. Bioships were notoriously difficult to create, and their performance wasckingpared to regr spacecrafts.

    Only basic weapon systems could be imnted on a bioship and its shield generators wereughably flimsy.

    Still these bioships were not without advantages.

    For one they did not require fuel as the organism was able to gain energy from absorbing sr radiation.

    There was also a low maintenance cost as the bioship would periodically regenerate any damaged areas.

    A mouth emerged from a certain section of the bioship and a long purple tongue left the orifice and headed towards a nearby asteroid.

    It wrapped around the space rock and quickly pulled it inside its mouth. The asteroid vanished inside the bioship and a satisfied humming noise could be heard.

    There was a smallmand room built inside the front section of the bioship where a team of heavily armored humans stood quietly.

    A single chair had been ced in the center of the room where a naked woman sat.

    Despite her naked appearance there was not a single gaze in her direction that contained lust.

    Instead, the armored individuals in themand room wore expressions that ranged from pity to indifference.

    A fleshy tendril rose up from the floor and connected to the base of the woman''s skull. She let out a horrifying shriek and thrashed back and forth madly.

    The tendril was translucent so one could see greenish fluid travelling up the length of its body and entering the woman''s brain.

    The woman shuddered and then froze in ce almost like a statue. Her skin turned as white as snow, and she sank even deeper into the chair.

    One of the armored men approached the frozen woman and ced a metalloid circlet around her head.

    "We will need to pick up a next pilot soon," a gruff voice spoke. It belonged to the man wearing the heaviest set of armor in the room.

    "Those bastards on Calypso¡­ what the hell did they do to provoke Duke Peterlor? Thousands of good ves and livestock were lost during the battle."

    "And now the duke ns to hunt down the remnant criminal organizations. No one is willing to sell ves in this sector anymore."

    "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

    The man mmed his fist against the wall in rage and a heavy crack appeared. This crack was quickly repaired by the bioship, but an angry humming noise filled the room.

    None of the armored warriors inside themand room seemed to care about the bioship''s anger and instead directed their attention towards the matter at hand.

    Young human females were best suited to serve as pilots for the bioship but after the destruction of the ve trade on Calypso it was difficult to find a willing seller.

    The leader of the team let out a heavy sigh and stared out of the window. They were thest survivors of a space pirate crew that had disbanded several months ago.

    A rising leader in the underworld had set his sights on their crew and swiftly took over the organisation in a single night.

    Captain Abrams trembled as he remembered the vicious look in the youth''s eyes as he casually ughtered men, women and children alike.

    He thought that in his many years as a pirate he would be used to bloodshed by now but¡­ what he saw that night still kept him awake at night.

    That young man was a monster in human skin. A beast that saw human life as nothing more than weeds to be plucked.

    Now there were only ten of them left and their only spacecraft was a bioship that was useless in a proper fight.

    Captain Abrams briefly considered the option of turning himself and the rest of his crew over to the authorities.

    There were enough credits hidden inside the bioship tost them for a lifetime.

    Thank goodness one of his men had the foresight to raid the treasure room before everything turned to ash.

    Maybe they would even get a reduced sentence.

    By paying the right bribe to the right officer it was possible that they could be regr citizens in a few years'' time.

    Hell¡­ after a lifetime of rape, pige and ughter it would be good to happily retire on some remote.

    Well maybe that would be the thought of most people, but Captain Abrams didn''t know if he could forget the thrill of raiding starships and escaping with expensive artifacts and women.

    Thievery was in his blood and his blood ran hot as did the other surviving members of his crew.

    "Captain¡­ why don''t we investigate the rumors about the hiddenboratory?" a voice suddenly interrupted Captain Abrams'' musings.

    "Huh? What are you talking about?" Captain Abrams asked harshly.

    "Well, I heard from Old Jack down at the tavern that some shady folks are kidnapping and buying ves to experiment on," one of the armored pirates exined.

    "If we raid their home base then we should get enough women to pilot the bioship! You know those crazy scientist types¡­ they never have proper security."

    "We could drop down and kill whoever is in charge."

    It was a fair suggestion and a much better n than turning themselves in.

    Captain Abrams listened patiently as his second inmand talked about this secretboratory.

    It sounded too good to be true, but Captain Abrams was a man who enjoyed gambling. They were currently at rock bottom so there was nowhere to go but up.

    "Do you have any idea where thisboratory is?" Captain Abrams questioned.

    His second inmand powered on his wristmunicator and pressed a series of buttons. A holographic map was projected into the air that disyed the entire Hydra Star System.

    Several areas in the outer region were highlighted in a red colour. Captain Abrams greedily scanned the map and saw that the nearest location was rtively close to their current position.

    "Men¡­ we have our next job!" Captain Abrams roared happily.

    Loud cheers filled the room as the surviving pirates finally felt hope for the first time. The future was looking bright!

 Chapter 443 - Improved Technique

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Training Room No.3)

    Sophie''s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared next to thebat droid and tore its metalloid exterior apart using only her ded appendages.

    No¡­ this wasn''t enough¡­ she needed more¡­ more¡­ MORE!

    "Increase the difficulty to level five and turn off the safety protocols," Sophie yelled loudly.

    Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

    A harsh ringing noise echoed through the training field as a holographic window was projected in front of her.

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    [Level Five may increase the risk of serious injuries¡­ do you wish to confirm?]

    [Yes] [No]

    Without hesitation Sophie touched the [Yes] option and the window slowly disappeared.

    The training room was silent for a moment and then a hole opened up in the middle of the field.

    Sophie reached into her storage ring and pulled out her whip. An unusually serious expression shed across her face.

    This was going to be a tougher challenge.

    The AI unit monitoring the situation in the training field should stop the exercise if her life was truly in danger, but things could always go wrong.

    A gigantic mechanical hand reached out from inside the hole and soon a colossal robot monster pulled itself out of the pit.

    This creature was humanoid in appearance with four arms each wielding a different type of weapon.

    Its upper right hand held a sma rifle while its upper left hand held a sword. Its lower arms held a dagger and a crossbow respectively.

    Its exterior was reinforced with a metalloid alloy that was able to resist the attacks of an ordinary qi tide cultivator.

    The robotic titan was over thirty feet in height and towered over Sophie. It had been a while since the hybrid girl had been made to feel like an ant.

    Sophie''s body began to tremble uncontrobly.

    Not out of fear¡­ but rather out of excitement.

    The thrill of battle. The rush of the hunt. Sophie''s golden eyes darkened as she stepped forward and kept her posture low.

    A faint crimson mist was beginning to spread from the corners of her eyes and the familiar rush of madness was coursing through her veins.

    Thebat droid made the first move by firing off multiple arrows at Sophie''s location using the crossbow.

    Sophie easily moved her body to the side and dodged them one by one. Her movements did not escape the robot''s sight and the arrows came faster and faster.

    To her surprise, Sophie discovered that the robot was learning her movement pattern and beginning to predict her next steps.

    But¡­ she had not gone all out yet.

    Sophie allowed the crimson colour to fully cover her golden eyes and her vision soon shifted into a world of orangish-red.

    Dodge left¡­ dodge right¡­ duck your head¡­ shift your body to the side¡­

    Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but Sophie had never felt so alive.

    It almost made her forget why she was in such a bad mood.

    Sophie pushed those negative thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the fight.

    The qi in her dantian began to circte in a certain pattern.

    ck Whip Art- A Thousand Cuts!

    Sophie extended her whip outwards andshed it forward through the hail of arrows. The body of her whip contorted and changed directions in midair as it moved almost like a snake.

    Bang!

    The robot took a few steps back as the force of Sophie''s attack made a small dent in its metalloid exterior.

    Its mechanical eyes glowed in fury, but Sophie''s qi technique had not finished yet. At the point of impact, tiny cracks began to spread out.

    These cracks resembled cuts made by a knife and despite thebat droid''s best efforts it was unable to determine how to stop the damage.

    Sophie bent her knees and forced her qi to flow into her lower leg meridians. This was a reckless move but under the influence of her berserker state it seemed like the best choice.

    She could feel her power surging as she leapt high into the air andunched herself directly at her opponent.

    Swish!

    Sophie narrowly avoided the dagger that swung directly at her position. She was forced to adjust her trajectory midflight in order not to be chopped in half by the robot''s sword.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie channeled her qi into her feet and stepped on the air to get out of range. She still had a thread of sanity left and knew that a frontal attack would not seed.

    It was a shame that her poison techniques were useless against a mechanical enemy. Wait¡­ actually¡­

    An idea surfaced in Sophie''s mind, and she stared at the robot with a thoughtful expression.

    Poison cultivators were not helpless against non-biological opponents otherwise they would not be valued in the Imperial Army.

    By enhancing their toxins using qi, it was possible for these biological weapons to pass through metals or even dissolve them.

    Professor Macabre had only taught them how to manipte poison clouds and only mentioned the theories behind poison enhancement offhandedly.

    But Sophie had a cheat.

    The hybrid girl pulled a vial from her storage ring while running around the training field. She easily avoided the sma shots that were fired off in her direction.

    The liquid inside the vial was a deep purplish colour and it bubbled angrily. Sophie pulled out the stopper and a pungent scent entered her nostrils.

    The poison inside the vial smelled of rotten eggs mixed with hydroperoxide¡­ not exactly a pleasant experience.

    Sophie grimaced before bringing the vial to her mouth and downing the contents in one smooth gulp.

    She doubled over in pain for a brief moment as it felt as though her body was on fire.

    Eventually she felt a cooling sensation spread throughout her body as her Arachnais physiology broke down and absorbed the toxins.

    Sophie''s venom nds swelled, and her fingernails and fangs lengthened. She was ready to hunt down her prey¡­

    The only problem was how was she going to get the toxin out?

    Sophie wanted to try something but with the constant barrage of sma fire it was difficult to stop for a minute and think.

    "Pause the training and resume on mymand," Sophie spoke clearly.

    The robot immediately froze in ce as the main AI unit assumed control of thebat droid.

    Sophie waited to make sure that the robot was safely deactivated and then finally rxed.

    Okay maybe this was cheating but she really wanted to try out this new technique.

    She didn''t notice at the time but the crimson colour in her eyes gradually disappeared without a conscious effort.

    Sophie doubled over and tried to expel the venom from her nds without biting down on something.

    She tried for several minutes but only seeding in almost throwing up on the ground from gagging too much.

    Damn it¡­ was this the only way? No¡­ think¡­ think¡­

    Sophie pped her hands together excitedly as she thought of another idea. She closed her eyes and tried to activate a simple poison technique.

    Asura Poison Art!

    The Leviathan''s Wrath!

    Sophie felt her fangs tingle and soon a purplish mist began to emerge out of her mouth.

    This smoke did not dissipate but rather clumped together to form the appearance of an enormous sea serpent.

    She gestured towards the immobile robot and the mist shot forward like an arrow being released from a string.

    It collided with the robot and a hissing sound could be heard as the metalloid exterior melted away.

    The robot''s eyes dimmed as its body fell to the floor with a dull thump. Sophie''s eyes sparkled as she saw the results of her experiment.

    "Not bad," a deep voice came from behind her.

    Sophie turned around in shock and saw her father standing there with a kind smile on his face.

    "I figured that my daughter would be spending some time in the training field," Duke Peterlor spoke gently.

    "I could tell that you''ve been in a bad mood since Cleo left this morning."

    "Dad¡­ I''m not¡­" Sophie began to argue but was silenced by the look in her father''s eyes.

    "Fine¡­ okay¡­ I miss her. I know that it''s the right thing to do to let her go back to university, but I want her to stay here with me," Sophie confessed sadly.

    "I know that I am being selfish¡­"

    Duke Peterlor opened his arms and gave his daughter a warm hug.

    He knew that what Sophie needed now was not someone to lecture her but rather someone to lend a shoulder.

    "Do you want me to schedule an appointment with Doctor Reynolds tomorrow?" Duke Peterlor asked softly.

 Chapter 444 - A Little Lesson In Trickery

    (Zrudread University- Hidden Location)

    (Archmage Hollystorm''s Mage Tower)

    Astrid let out a heavy sigh as she walked through a dense forest looking for a simple run-down wooden shack in the middle of nowhere.

    Why her mentor wanted to hide his mage tower in such a remote location remained an unsolvable mystery.

    As an archmage it would be simple to just construct a barrier and give her a runic key to enter.

    Instead, Astrid was forced to trek thirty miles everyday to and from ss.

    It was fortunate that the Mendolesa girl kept herself fit so she could finish the journey in around ten minutes at full sprint.

    Today was the first day of the new semester and Astrid felt nothing but excitement and happiness.

    Her friend Sophie had returned safely from the Unova Syndicate and would be joining them around the time of finals season.

    Astrid looked forward to seeing her in person again. They didmunicate over the Virtual Net during the winter break, but it wasn''t the same.

    Speaking of the winter break¡­

    A silly grin spread across Astrid''s face as she reminisced about the amazing vacation, she had experienced with Qiana and her siblings.

    Emma, Jackson and I had really taken a liking to her girlfriend and the time they spent together on Etern was enjoyable.

    When the five of them were together¡­ it may sound silly, but Astrid honestly thought that they felt like a real family.

    Of course, it was much too early to bring this up with Qiana since they had only been dating for a few months.

    But maybe one day¡­

    "Did you hit your head? Why are you grinning like an idiot?!" a harsh voice interrupted Astrid''s pleasant daydream.

    Archmage Hollystorm appeared on top of Astrid''s fluffy head with a stern look on his child-like face.

    "It''s good to see you too teacher!" Astrid replied happily.

    Archmage Hollystorm maintained his cold appearance but secretly smiled when he saw the innocent look on his apprentice''s face.

    Astrid was the first student that he had ever taught and although she did not look like the typical mage¡­

    It was undeniable that her talent was tremendous.

    Archmage Hollystorm wagered that few among her generation would be able to beat her in a fight.

    "So, what new spells am I learning this semester?" Astrid asked excitedly.

    "New spells? No¡­ no¡­ we still have to go over the theory of mage circles and the implications of the modern-era mana theory on Lewis'' Law," Archmage Hollystorm replied.

    "In fact, before we even get to that section, I will teach you about the ancient runic system of modification and the spatial disruption spiral¡­"

    The Servie mage droned on for a few minutes before noticing that his apprentice was no longer paying attention.

    Instead of listening, she was ying with a stick that she had broken off from a nearby tree.

    "Hey! Are my words going in one ear anding out of the other?!" Archmage Hollystorm yelled in mock anger.

    Astrid dropped the stick and immediately replied, "Wha? No¡­ NO SIR!"

    Well, this was to be expected¡­ frankly it would be amazing if she absorbed ten percent of what he just said.

    Archmage Hollystorm had gotten used to his peculiar apprentice.

    She was extremely talented but was easily distracted unless it was something that she found interesting.

    In order to get her to train seriously he needed to literally beat the information into her thick skull during mock battles.

    It seemed that only in fighting would Astrid''s true potential be unleashed.

    This made no sense since most mages were content to stay in their towers and spend their lives dedicated to exploring the mystery of the arcane.

    But Archmage Hollystorm was an adaptable Servie and had learnt to deal with his apprentice.

    "Alright why don''t I teach you a quick spell," Archmage Hollystorm suggested.

    "Really?" Astrid eximed in shock.

    Archmage Hollystorm crossed his arms and spoke in a stern voice,

    "Yes, but you need to promise me that you''re going to spend at least six hours in the library learning about modern-era mana theory."

    A conflicted look shed across Astrid''s face as she carefully considered her options. She really didn''t want to spend the first day back in university in the library for six hours.

    But on the other hand, her mentor never disappointed when it came to teaching her cool and interesting spells.

    Astrid turned towards her teacher and nodded. She was willing to endure a long study session if it meant that she could learn a new spell.

    Archmage Hollystorm smiled and then spoke solemnly,

    "Please extend one of your hands outward, follow my movements and then repeat after me¡­"

    "Spatium discidium ferrum."

    The Servie mage extended his right hand and began to slowly rotate his palm clockwise and then anticlockwise.

    Heavy mana filled the air as the archmage used a mere fraction of his enormous mana pool. Just a small taste of his power was enough to cause Astrid to salivate.

    She couldn''t wait to be a strong archmage just like her teacher.

    Bluish runes appeared in the air around Archmage Hollystorm''s palm and then he pointed his hand at a nearby tree.

    "Spatium discidium ferrum!" Archmage Hollystorm roared. A translucent wave of energy shot out from his palm and mmed directly into the tree.

    Astrid looked on in amazement as the sturdy tree crumpled like paper before vanishing into the void.

    She walked over to where the tree was just moments ago and saw nothing.

    It was as if the tree had never existed in the first ce.

    "Want to give it a try?" Archmage Hollystorm asked casually but the gentle curve of his lips betrayed his prideful state.

    Astrid''s tail began to wag furiously as she nodded her head up and down. She had an incredible memory and could already recall her mentor''s movements perfectly.

    The Mendolesa girl extended her right paw outwards and began to copy what she had just seen.

    First, she rotated her paw clockwise and then anticlockwise.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Astrid took a few deep breaths as could feel her mana heart begin to activate. Bluish runes appeared in the air around her palm.

    The number of these runes were considerably lower than when Archmage Hollystorm had activated the spell.

    Astrid focused on the tree to her left and slowly recited the spell, "Spatium discidium ferrum!"

    A small translucent wave of energy mmed into the outer surface of the tree and then disappeared.

    Astrid stared anxiously as she waited for something to happen. One second¡­ two seconds¡­ three seconds¡­

    Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as she peered at the tree hoping that the space would crumble.

    ¡­. Nothing.

    "Where did the spell go wrong?" Astrid nced at her mentor and asked curiously.

    "Hmm¡­ well¡­ I''ll tell you after your study session," Archmage Hollystorm mischievously giggled.

    As if it were fate, the mage tower appeared in the distance with the door to the library already wide open.

    Archmage Hollystorm flew into the tower barrier without sparing a second nce at his apprentice.

    Astrid could not shake the feeling that she had somehow been tricked but she was a woman of her word, so she walked towards the library.

    Today was definitely going to be a long day.

 Chapter 445 - Dr. Valenna Makes A New Friend

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

    "Please¡­ it was a mistake¡­"

    "I swear I can give you anything! Money! Relics! Just let me go!"

    "Help¡­arghh¡­ get those freaks away from me!"

    Dr. Valenna narrowed her eyes as she observed the struggling men hanging above arge open pit.

    A metal hook had been inserted into the base of their spines. It was a quick and efficient method of instant paralysis.

    Inside the pit were dozens of squirming naked bodies that had been fused together to create monstrous worm-like creatures.

    This was the third stage of the gene-splicing process used to create viable Human- Tarkkakans hybrids.

    Of course, these hybrids were little more than cannon fodder on the battlefield but their value to scientific research was far greater.

    Thanks to these experiments Dr. Valenna and her team now had a greater understanding of the Insectoid Empire.

    Hundreds if not thousands of Insectoid species lived in the Gavon Supercluster and yet all these different races were able to fight as one unified colony.

    This was due to the suppression of bloodlines.

    Higher ranked Insectoid species were able tomand their lower order brethren.

    But this suppression was far greater than what was previously assumed.

    After conducting a series of experiments, Dr. Valenna was able to determine that rather than merely mand'' it was more akin to brainwashing.

    Lesser insectoid species such as the Tarkkakans, Oythyoras and Peneelira were physically unable to resist an order from a member of a high-level Insectoid species.

    But the main purpose of Project Rhat''ets was not to research the biological mechanisms behind the Insectoid chain ofmand but rather to produce powerful soldiers.

    It was just a pity that the hybrids produced so far were not ready to be deployed or mass produced¡­

    Dr. Valenna shook her head and pushed those negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Now was the time to deal with these intruders.

    "Tell me¡­ how did you find the location of ourboratory?" Dr. Valenna coldly asked.

    "Perhaps I will spare the one who gives the most urate retelling of the events leading up to your arrival on this."

    One of the men hanging above the pit immediately blurted out,

    "We¡­ we didn''t know for sure! Some guy at Old Jack''s tavern was passing out information."

    "He¡­ he said that you all have been buying a bunch of ves, so we thought that it was an easy job!" Captain Abrams loudly yelled.

    The lead scientist furrowed her brows as the other surviving pirates hurriedly spoke up about what they knew.

    Pirates were not known for their loyalty and in the face of death there was not a single member of the crew that resisted the interrogation process.

    But honestly¡­ what were they thinking?

    A crew flying a bio-mechanical starship of all things decided tond on a with just ten people?

    Dr. Valenna powered on her tablet and began to write down some notes.

    Clearly these individuals were ill-suited to serve as experimental test subjects at least not before boosting their IQ levels artificially.

    A waste of time¡­

    Dr. Valenna nodded at the guard standing next to the pit and he immediately reached for a simple lever.

    The pirates were slowly lowered into the pit where the monstrous abominations waited patiently for their meal.

    Desperate cries and angry pleads filled the room as the pirates realised that Dr. Valenna had no intention of letting them go.

    The guard standing near the pit turned away as he could not stomach what was going to happen next.

    The worm-like creatures unnaturally stretched out their jaws to reveal rows upon rows of sharp fangs.

    The pirates were slowly devoured starting from their feet. The blood loss meant that they were unconscious towards the end of the process.

    A small mercy.

    Dr. Valenna wrote down some more observations on her tablet and then left the room to send a message to the investors.

    She walked along the corridor while typing out a message to send to the noble in charge of the security arrangements for the project.

    There was no thought in her mind to hide the fact that the location of their secretboratory had been leaked.

    This was the first incident but judging from the words of the pirates¡­ it would undoubtedly not be thest.

    Nothing was full proof in this world and there was always a chance that someone working on the project had betrayed them.

    However, this person did not post any information about the project on the Virtual Net but was using whispers and rumors in taverns.

    Dr. Valenna was curious about his goal, but that question would be for the investors to solve.

    She was merely in charge of the scientific research and frankly¡­ she had her hands full at the moment.

    A new specimen was about to arrive today!

    Dr. Valenna felt her heartbeat quickened as she remembered what she had heard at thest meeting with the investors.

    One of the nobles had managed to procure a living high ranked Insectoid!

    It had been extremely difficult, but he had gotten into contact with a ck-market seller in the outer regions.

    This was it! This was what she needed to find the breakthrough that she had been looking for.

    Dr. Valenna felt like a little girl waiting on Christmas day to see what Santa had brought for her under the tree.

    She pressed an icon on the screen of her tablet and began to review the information about the iing specimen.

    Apparently, the seller imed that this Insectoid was a member of a race known as the Serpentinea.

    The intelligence of this insectoid was quite high and at the level of what would be considered a genius among humanity.

    It could talk but was unable to speak themon Federation tradenguage and instead spoke its own tongue using a variety of clicking noises.

    Fascinating¡­

    Dr. Valenna''s lips gently curved upwards as she already nned out ten different experimental simtions in her head.

    High quality human test subjects were going to be needed.

    She made a note to herself to check out the breeding stock avable on the dark.

    Dr. Valenna finally arrived outside theboratoryplex and waited patiently as a medium-sized spacecraftnded on the ground with a thunderous boom.

    Dust clouds flew up into the air, so Dr. Valenna pulled out a mask from her storage ring and ced it on her face.

    A metalloid hole appeared on the bottom of the spacecraft a set of metalloid stairs emerged from the opening.

    The lead scientist waited with bated breath as two muscr men lifted an enormous ss container and slowly descended the flight of stairs.

    The ss walls of the container were transparent, so Dr. Valenna had a clear glimpse at the alien inside.

    It was a humanoid creature with stic and stretchy skin that bore a striking resemnce to rubber.

    Yellowish scales covered certain parts of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder des.

    Three bright pink eyes were located along its torso and there was a mysterious orifice near its posterior region.

    The insectoid was currently curled up in a fetal position and it refused to make eye contact with anyone outside.

    Dr. Valenna''s heart throbbed as she saw its pitiful state.

    Oh¡­ there was her precious test subject! Had they been mistreating it? Didn''t they know just how valuable it was?

    She approached the ss container and gently rapped her knuckles against the walls.

    The creature did not stir but somehow Dr. Valenna knew that it was paying attention to her.

    She leaned in closer with a twisted expression on her face.

    "Don''t worry¡­ this is a safe ce. Those bad people won''t be hurting you anymore," Dr. Valenna whispered softly.

    "You and I will be spending a lot of time together."

 Chapter 446 - The City Of Pleasure

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Volteren City- Inner Region)

    Volteren City or as some would call it¡­ ''The City of Pleasure''.

    This city was separated into two distinct areas named the outer district and the inner region.

    The architecture of the city was based on civilisations found on Ancient Earth, so the buildings were made from concrete.

    Colourful tiles were used to create the roofs on the houses and beautiful sculptures and paintings could be seen scattered across the city.

    Gambling, pleasure houses, pod racing¡­ these were only some of the many activities that one could enjoy in this heavenly ce.

    ''The City of Pleasure'' was an appropriate nickname for the entertainment capitol of Gaia.

    The outer region was easy to visit and only required an entry fee of around fifty credits to enjoy a full day of activities.

    Of course, in this ce¡­ the visiting tourists would often leave with far less money than what they initially had.

    The city was under the control of a council of nobles who had invested in the various entertainment facilities.

    Now the inner region on the other hand was meant to be a safe ce for the upper echelon of society to rx and unwind.

    Money alone could not buy you entry to the inner region.

    No matter how much credits one possessed¡­ it was not enough.

    Only members of the noble ss were allowed in the inner region which made the hybrid girl walking down the street all the more noticeable amidst the crowd of regr humans.

    She was over seven feet tall with long dark hair that swayed gently from side to side as she walked.

    Her body was lean and muscr but there were curves in all the right ces. Four ded appendages jutted out from her back and her eyes were a golden colour.

    Sophie ignored the curious stares directed at her as she took out her wristmunicator and began to take pictures.

    This was going to be her first solo outing since returning home and she was honestly feeling a bit nervous and excited all at the same time.

    Doctor Reynolds had rmended that she venture outside the Peterlor Estate to get a change of scenery.

    Apparently staying in the same ce all the time could have an adverse effect on her mental well-being.

    Sophie was surprised when even her father said that she should go although she could hear the reluctance in his voice.

    Katarina had suggested that she visit the famous entertainment capitol and Sophie agreed that it sounded fun.

    "Wow!" Sophie whispered as she took a picture of a sculpture to her right.

    There was a que next to the sculpture that described the art piece.

    It was allegedly two rabbits frolicking happily in a garden, but Sophie had never seen a rabbit in Sui Meng''s memories that had multiple heads.

    Plus, she was pretty certain that rabbits didn''t have forked tails and jaws that wererger than their hindlegs.

    Clearly the artist in charge of the work had taken some creative liberties when designing his sculpture.

    "Hey beautiful are you here by yourself?" a seductive voice called out.

    Sophie nced in the direction of the voice and saw a scantily d woman with a curvaceous figure beckoning towards her.

    The seductive beauty was standing in front of a building with red curtains that covered the windows, so it was impossible to see what was happening inside.

    However, judging from the happy smiles on the faces of the nobles who exited the building, Sophie had an idea about the services provided inside.

    "No thank you," Sophie replied politely. The woman shrugged in disappointment and then called out to another potential customer.

    Sophie made a mental note to herself not to mention this encounter to Cleo during their call tonight.

    No need to make her girlfriend feel jealous.

    The sun shone brightly in the sky, but the inner region had temperature cooling units installed at fixed points across the city.

    Sophie smiled as she enjoyed the fresh cool breeze that brushed against her face. She made her way towards a fountain in the center of the city.

    There were quite couples standing next to the fountain, holding hands together or whispering sweeting nothings into each other''s ears.

    asionally someone would reach into their pocket and toss a coin-shaped object into the water.

    Ohh¡­ a wishing well!

    A trace of nostalgia appeared in Sophie''s eyes as she stared the fountain. She saw a machine just a few meters ahead where one could exchange credits for coins.

    It was fairly cheap and only cost around five credits for one coin.

    Sophie ced her card into the open slot and soon received a ck coin with surprisingly heavy weight.

    The hybrid girl walked towards the fountain while trying her best not to make eye contact with the loving couples.

    It was honestly quite an awkward experience to be the only person by themself.

    Sophie reached the edge of the fountain and held the coin in her right palm.

    "I wish¡­ I wish that my family and friends will always be safe," Sophie whispered softly.

    She opened her palm and allowed the coin to hit the water with a dull plop.

    Despite everything that had happened to her over thest few months¡­ Sophie was content about her life at the moment.

    Her only wish was for the safety and happiness of her loved ones. There was nothing else that she desired.

    Wait actually¡­

    It would be nice if her Aunt Rai''lle visited her in the amulet space.

    Sophie did not know what had happened to her rtive on her mother''s side, but she had not seen the Arachnais princess in months.

    Well technically she was also a princess¡­ or at least the daughter of a princess?

    It was kind of confusing since Sophie was told that her mother had been banished from the royal family.

    Sophie knew that wishing for two wishes was kind of cheating, but she still ran back to the machine and got a second coin.

    After closing her eyes and wishing to meet her aunt again, Sophie left the fountain and continued on her journey of exploration.

    It didn''t take long for Sophie to see a magnificent golden pce appear in the distance. The road leading to this pce had rare and precious gems embedded along its sides.

    Sophie took a few pictures of the amazing scenery and then walked towards the pce.

    What was that ce?

    Sophie approached the doors of the pce and saw a long line of people waiting to enter. These people were finely dressed in elegant garments that radiated ss and nobility.

    If she had to guess¡­ the people in the line seemed to only be in their early twenties but it was impossible to tell someone''s true age based solely off their appearance.

    This was because of the advancements made in anti-aging technology as well as cultivation techniques that restored youthful looks.

    The hybrid girl looked down at her outfit that was basically a pair of ck trackpants and a simple sweatshirt.

    Clearly, she was not dressed for the asion.

    With the mentality of why not give it a try, Sophie joined the back of the line despite getting some rude stares from the others waiting patiently.

    The line was moving rtively slowly so Sophie used her wristmunicator to find out more information about the golden pce.

    It was apparently an indoor fighting pit where guests were allowed to ce bets on the winners of each duel.

    These bets were extremely high stakes with the minimum amount required being at least two million credits.

    Sophie''s eyes widened as she saw the amount of money that could be won or lost in this honey trap.

    A man could make a fortune or lose it all.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly left the line to check out another ce.

    Although she was the daughter of a wealthy duke, Sophie was notfortable with gambling away the money that her father had given her to spend.

    Perhaps it was due to Sui Meng''s influence but Sophie by nature was quite the frugal person and only spent money on nutrient solutions, weapons or new poisons.

    Oh¡­ and the asional gift for her girlfriend.

    Compared to the other rich second-generation nobles, Sophie could be said to be extremely stingy!

    The hybrid girl left the line without a second nce and then consulted the map on her wristmunicator.

    Apparently, there was a petting zoo located about a ten-minute walk away from her current location.

    Sophie''s lips gently curved upwards as she saw the cute furry animals avable to be petted and yed with.

    Maybe it wasn''t so bad to take a day away from the Peterlor Estate and go exploring on her own.

 Chapter 447 - The Day Of Fun Continues

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Volteren City- Inner Region)

    "Wow¡­ I need to send these to Cleoter," Sophie muttered to herself as she looked at the pictures saved on her wristmunicator.

    The petting zoo turned out to be an even better experience than she anticipated.

    Sophie smiled as she saw a picture of herself surrounding by small furry bundles of joy.

    These cute animals were called ''Cree'' and they were a native species to a in the Hydra Star System.

    Sophie continued to look at the pictures while walking in the direction of the nearest restaurant.

    It was now around two o'' clock in the afternoon and truthfully she was feeling a little bit hungry.

    There were vials of nutrient solution in her storage ring, but Sophie wanted to treat herself to a proper meal.

    "Okay¡­ take a left¡­ then a right¡­ then go straight," Sophie whispered as she pulled up a map of the city on her wristmunicator.

    Soon an enormous three storied building came into view with a signboard hanging from the entrance.

    The sign had the name of the restaurant written down on its surface.

    This restaurant was called ''The Golden Bite'' and ording to the Virtual Net it was a five-star establishment.

    Sophie confidently walked through the open door and was greeted by a distinguished older gentleman wearing a ck suit.

    "Greetings honoured guest and wee to ''The Golden Bite''," the man cheerfully spoke.

    "May I please see a piece of ID to determine which floor would best suit your needs?"

    Sophie reached into her storage ring and pulled out her identity card which she handed over to the man.

    The waiter ced the card on the reader to verify its legitimacy. Sophie waited patiently as the elderly waiter finished checking her ID.

    "Ahh¡­ Miss Peterlor it is truly our pleasure to have the daughter of a duke visit our humble establishment," the waiter ttered.

    The fake smile on his face became more genuine as he realised that this was potentially a customer with deep pockets.

    "I would like to invite you to our top floor where only the most esteemed guests are allowed to dine," the waiter boasted proudly.

    Sophie appreciated his frank attitude and replied with a small smile, "Dining on the third-floor sounds like a wonderful experience."

    The waiter pped his hands together in excitement and led Sophie towards the elevator that was a few feet away from his desk.

    Sophie entered the elevator, and it only took around forty-five seconds to travel up to the third floor of the building.

    The ss walls in the elevator were transparent so Sophie could see the situation outside the walls as she travelled upwards.

    The first floor of the restaurant was like a casual bar with plenty of guests sitting down and bonding over the steady flow of drinks.

    The second floor on the other hand was more of a casual dining experience with separate tables for each set of guests.

    Sophie exited the elevator and saw apletely different atmosphere from the previous two floors.

    The third floor was exclusively a fine dining experience with tables ced several feet apart in order to give the guests plenty of space.

    A magnificent crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and the floor was polished until one could see their reflections staring back at them.

    This floor had the least number of guests, but it was still decently packed.

    Sophie noticed that there were a lot of young people around her age wearing fancy clothing and expensive essories.

    "Ahh¡­ it seems as though there is a table avable by the window," the waiter spoke.

    Sophie followed behind him and they passed several tables on their way to the far end of the room.

    A handsome young man surrounded by a group of simrly well-dressed nobles called out to Sophie as she walked by.

    "Oy¡­ who the fuck let a hybrid bitch in here?" he yelled loudly with a drunken slur to his words.

    Sophie froze in ce as she heard theughtering from his friends.

    Empty bottles were scattered across their table and the heavy scent of alcohol could be smelled from a distance.

    Sophie turned her head towards the rude group of nobles and spoke clearly enough for the rest of the room to hear,

    "Excuse me¡­ I must be hard of hearing¡­ but can you repeat that again?"

    "Um¡­ why¡­ why is that hybrid talking to me?" the young man asked his friends with a fake expression of bewilderment on his face.

    "Don''t you know that I''m Charles Oryett¡­ the one and only son of Count Oryett. My dad owns an entire moon colony," the young man boasted proudly.

    Sophie smiled sweetly and her tone was deceptively innocent and kind, "Tell me¡­ Charles of House Oryett¡­"

    Sophie''s voice dropped to a whisper as she approached the arrogant young man with her ded appendages extended outwards.

    "Where did you get the confidence to disrespect the daughter of a duke?" Sophie hoarsely growled.

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened, and a sudden pressure erupted from her body.

    The nobles at the table who moments earlier were mocking her appearance were now forced to their knees.

    The third floor of the restaurant instantly went silent as the other diners watched in fear as Sophie unleashed a trace of her killing intent.

    No¡­ don''t lost control¡­ stay focused¡­

    This was supposed to be a demonstration of her strength but going too far would have an adverse effect.

    Sophie took a deep breath and withdrew her spiritual pressure. She was not a monster. She was not a beast.

    The faint red mist that was beginning to spread from the corners of her eyes vanished.

    Sophie took onest look at the shivering nobles and then gestured towards the waiter to lead the way to her table.

    "Right this way Lady Peterlor," the waiter politely spoke.

    He appeared to be unfazed by Sophie''s sudden disy of strength, but the hybrid girl could see that his hands were trembling slightly.

    Sophie made a mental note to herself to learn how to control her spiritual pressure so that she would be able to concentrate it in a certain area.

    It was a bit inconvenient that her spiritual pressure would affect everything in her immediate surroundings.

    The waiter led Sophie to a table near a window and then withdrew with a polite nod. Sophie thanked him and then sat down on the chair.

    She nced out of the window and saw the wishing fountain in the distance.

    There were couples still lingering around the water. It was quite the romantic spot, Sophie couldn''t wait to one daye back to the city and bring Cleo with her.

    Exploring the city by herself was a fun experience so far but it would surely be better with her girlfriend by her side.

    Sophie let out a light sigh and then turned her attention to the tablet that was ced on the table.

    She pressed a button on the side of the device and a menu appeared on the screen.

    "Hmm¡­ what should I try?" Sophie whispered to herself as she browsed the different options.

    ''The Golden Bite'' specialised in cuisines from a region on Gaia known for their seafood industry.

    Sophie was in the mood to try new dishes, so she ordered several bowls of soup, fried fish dumplings, crispy potato skins and seafood medley.

    The hybrid girl tapped her card against the surface of the tablet and a loud bleeping sound was heard as her payment was being processed.

    The conversation on the third floor had resumed but it was much quieter than before.

    Stares were asionally directed towards Sophie''s table, but the hybrid girl did not pay them any mind.

    Being the daughter of Duke Peterlor as well as being a hybrid meant that she would probably be the center of attention in any setting.

    It was annoying but it was something that she would just have to get used to.

    Sophie raised up her wristmunicator and took a few pictures of the scenery outside the window.

    Arge blue squid-like creature glided past the window and headed towards the fountain. It circled the air above the fountain twice before diving inside with a dull ssh.

    The couples lingering near the fountain had to take several steps back to avoid water droplets fromnding on their clothes.

    "Here is your order ma''am," a warm voice suddenly spoke.

    Sophie turned away from the window and saw another waiter standing there with multiple tes on a tray.

    This time the waiter was a young man in his early twenties with dirty blonde hair and a wide infectious smile.

    "Thank you," Sophie replied calmly. She maintained her elegant appearance as the tes were carefully set down on the table.

    One te¡­ two tes¡­ three tes¡­

    The entire table was covered in food and Sophie''s mouth began to water as she smelled the seductive aroma of freshly cooked meat.

    It was time to dig in!

    Sophie calmly picked up a spoon and dipped it into the nearest bowl of soup. She blew on the soup twice and then put the spoon in her mouth.

    She had no idea which dish this was, but it packed quite the spicy punch!

    Sophie reached for a ss of water and took a small sip. She dipped the spoon once more in the soup and repeated the process.

    When eating in public it was important to maintain both her manners and appearance since she represented House Peterlor.

    Sophie ate much slower than usual and took about an hour before thest morsel of food entered her stomach.

    The hybrid girl smiled gracefully and then picked up a napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth.

    Should she go for desert as well?

    No¡­ she had already wasted too much time on lunch.

    There were still parts of the city that Sophie was eager to visit so she left a few credits on the table as a tip and then left.

    Sophie did not even spare a nce at the arrogant noble youths.

    That indifferent attitude would probably bother them a lot more than going up to them for a second time.

    Sophie left the restaurant and tapped the screen on her wristmunicator. She pulled up a map of the city and decided to search for other attractions.

    There was apparently a ce only twenty minutes away where tourist could dress in skimpy outfits and dance on each other.

    Staff members would throw coloured dyes into the crowd and the music was provided by a world ss DJ.

    Sophie wasn''t interested in participating but she figured that it won''t hurt to go there and take a look.

 Chapter 448 - Sophie Gets A Job

    (Volteren City- Inner Region)

    (Grand Central za)

    There was a raised tform in the middle of the za where several loudspeakers and audio equipment had been ced.

    Arge crowd of nobles dressed in skimpy outfits had gathered in front of the raised tform.

    Smiles and flirtatious winks were exchanged as the nobles bumped and grinded their bodies against one another.

    The music continued to y loudly and could be heard from several miles away.

    It was a fast-paced beat with heavy thumps that made the ground shake.

    The nobles who usually came to the city of pleasure were those who had little to no chance of seeding as the head of their house.

    Most would spend the rest of their lives drowning in pleasure and using their vast wealth to live a life of luxury.

    Hence there was no need to maintain their image as members of the upper ss of society.

    A handsome young man with short ck hair jumped on the stage and grabbed the mic. He cleared his throat once and then addressed the crowd of partygoers.

    "My name is DJ Big Man, and I will be your host for the afternoon!" the young man shouted.

    "Are you ready to make some noise?!"

    "I CAN''T HEAR YOU¡­. I SAID ARE YOU READY TO MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE!"

    Loud cheers and screams filled the air as the DJ screamed into the mic.

    The atmosphere was electric, and Sophie could not help but get caught up in the excitement.

    She was standing at the back of the crowd and enjoying the music. It felt good to be finally doing something that someone her age should be experiencing.

    Of course, she had no ns on joining the crowd and dancing with a bunch of strangers, but Sophie was content to be part of the experience.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    Sophie stumbled for a moment but used her ded appendages to dig into the ground. Several of the partygoers were not as fortunate and crashed to the ground unceremoniously.

    The DJ was currently ying a song with heavy bass. The music was so loud that Sophie could see the air vibrating in front of the speakers.

    Thank goodness everyone who attended this party was a noble who could afford buying a healing serum.

    Sophie was convinced that several of the nobles here must have already gone deaf.

    How their eardrums had not ruptured yet was a mystery that would have to be solved at ater time.

    Sophie closed her eyes and swayed her body from side to side as she lost herself in the madness.

    Her ded appendages and hybrid appearance were enough to cause the nobles in the crowd to keep their distance, so Sophie had enough space for herself.

    She knew this would happen, so that was the reason why she decided to hang out at the back of the crowd and not bother the partygoers.

    The DJ switched tracks and another song began to re out from the speakers.

    "Baby put your hands up! Step to the right!"

    "Step to the left! Wiggle! Wiggle! Wiggle!"

    "Make that booty pop! Show them what you got!"

    Sophie opened her eyes and gasped in surprise as she saw several noble girls and some boys drop to the floor and begin to shake their ass.

    Cheers and whistles erupted from the spectators and one of the braver souls pped a boy on his ass.

    Sophie was originally going to take a few pictures of the rave to send to Cleo but now she decided that it was probably not a good idea.

    "Excuse me miss but would you like to join us?" a soft voice entered Sophie''s ears.

    The hybrid girl turned around and saw a small girl with a pair of sses on her face who was also wearing a ck tee shirt with the words ''Staff'' printed on it.

    "Sure! What are you going to do?" Sophie asked over the noise of the music.

    "We''re running a bit short on the water dye crew, so we need some volunteers to help," the girl exined with a smile.

    Sophie considered her offer for a moment and then decided to ept.

    The crowd was getting a bit too sexual for her liking so it would be good to take a break.

    She followed the short girl to an area in the corner of the za and saw a group of young adults also wearing ck shirts.

    "I got one of the nobles to help us!" the short girl pped her hands happily.

    "Vaeri¡­ how many times does the supervisor have to warn you not to bother the nobles," one of the boysined.

    The eldest of the group was a red-haired girl in her early twenties called Rose.

    She had a fairly tall and slender build but appeared short in front of the seven-foot-tall hybrid noble.

    She had been working in the city for around five years now and her typical experience when dealing with nobles was anything but pleasant.

    Rose didn''t know what game this hybrid noble was ying since there was no way that she would be willing to help out the staff.

    "Look sorry miss¡­ she''s new," Rose stepped forward and apologetically bowed to Sophie.

    "No, it''s okay¡­ I''m happy to help," Sophie replied as she saw the downcast look on Vaeri''s face.

    "Are you sure? The pay isn''t very high¡­ I mean not that you need it miss," Rose stuttered as she spoke.

    Sophie rolled up her sleeves and flexed her arms confidently.

    Her actions clearly broke the heavy sense of tension in the air and other staff members looked visibly more rxed.

    Rose still looked a bit suspicious but she was unable to do anything to the nobles who visited the city so she could only pray that nothing went wrong.

    "Alright everyone we have five minutes before the main show begins so let''s get to our stations and prepare," Rose ordered firmly.

    "Vaeri please take our honoured guest to your station and have her do whatever tasks that she feelsfortable with."

    Vaeri nodded twice and then rushed in the direction of her station without looking back to see if Sophie was following.

    Rose let out a heavy sigh and once again bowed and apologised to Sophie whose lips were gently curved upwards.

    Sophie could easily track down Vaeri using her enhanced senses, so it didn''t take long for her to reach arge cannon-like device.

    There was a metalloid console next to the device with a series of buttons prominently disyed in various colours.

    "Sorry¡­ I¡­ rushed ahead," Vaeri hesitantly spoke.

    "Don''t worry about it. I was right behind the whole time," Sophie graciously replied. It wasn''t a big deal, and she was excited about this job.

    "So, what do I have to do?" Sophie asked curiously.

    "I need you to aim the cannon at the crowd! When I count down just aim it upwards and a wave of colourful dye will shoot out!" Vaeri exined.

    Vaeri rushed over to the console and began to press the buttons in a seemingly random order.

    The cannon-like device began to glow blue as its systems powered on. A happy smile spread across Vaeri''s face as she continued to press the buttons.

    "Systems are running fine¡­ let me just do a diagnostic test¡­" Vaeri muttered to herself. Sophie walked behind the cannon and inspected it closely.

    She ced her right hand on the device and began to adjust it so that the barrel was tilted a bit further upwards.

    Sophie didn''t want anything to go wrong so she secretly cheated. Her golden eyes briefly turned white as she peered into the future.

    Her vision shifted into a strange world of ck and white. Shadowy figures of her potential future paths appeared in the corner of her vision.

    Sophie wandered this strange world for what seemed like an eternity looking at the different oues.

    There was one future where she idently fired the cannon at any innocentdy several feet away from the za and her entire body turned purple.

    Sophie blinked and her eyes returned to their normal golden colour.

    After making a series of small adjustments to the cannon''s position, Sophie stepped back with a satisfied grin.

    It was show time!

 Chapter 449 - Visions From Beyond The Void

    (Hydra Star System- Unnamed)

    (Headquarters of the Calypso Brotherhood)

    What is the difference between good leaders and great ones?

    Some would say intelligence while others would say authority.

    There are many answers to this question but for the members of the Calypso Brotherhood there was only one reason why they followed their captain.

    Fear.

    No other emotion could bring together a crew of thieves, murderers and rapists to join under the same banner.

    Captain Kohli had managed to unite most of the surviving pirate crews from Calypso and taken them under hismand.

    The forces led by Duke Peterlor were still searching the Hydra Star System for any traces of the escaped pirates so for now they had toy low.

    Fortunately, there was a barely habitable hidden deep inside an asteroid field that was the perfect hideout.

    A town had been hastily constructed where the pirates would live until the heat died down.

    In the middle of this makeshift town was a magnificent temple that seemed out of ce amongst the wooden shacks and shoddy buildings.

    Its white columns extended over sixty feet in the air and the roof of the temple was made from rare and precious metals.

    Statues of a faceless man standing proudly while holding a stone tablet were scattered around the front of the temple.

    The scent of raw sewage, filth and alcohol filled the air, and the streets of the town werepletely disgusting.

    And yet around all the roads leading to this magnificent temple were surprisingly clean.

    Most of the pirates did not dare to wander too close to the building.

    Whispers and rumors had spread that those who entered the temple would never leave.

    A middle-aged man was currently walking towards the entrance of the temple with a grim expression on his face.

    He was clearly out of shape and his belly jiggled and wobbled with every step that he took. He wore a simple pair of brown pants and a faded shirt that had several stains on it.

    Despite his humble appearance he was Kohli''s second inmand. A man named Theon Rason who was wanted across ten different gxies.

    In his youth he was known as the ''Noble Butcher'' for his involvement in a terrorist incident on Hyren.

    Theon took in a deep breath to calm his nerves and then entered the temple before his newfound courage disappeared.

    He walked through a long and winding corridor until he arrived inside a grand open hall with a throne made from human bones ced in the middle of the room.

    This hall was dimly lit by a wall of torches that barely illuminated their surroundings.

    Theon''s nose wrinkled as he smelled something foul.

    He peered closer at the shadowy corners of the room and what he saw made him unconsciously take a step back.

    There were dozens of corpses wrapped up in iron chains. It was impossible to tell the gender of the deceased as virtually all the flesh from their body had been stripped away.

    Theon sniffed the air once more and finally recognised the awful scent that was entering his nose.

    It was blood.

    He was now beginning to regreting here. Why the hell had he been foolish enough to disturb the boss?

    Theon knew better than anyone that Kohli was no longer the na?ve young man who acted like a rich second generation on Calypso.

    No¡­ he was something far darker now.

    "Are you afraid to approach me?" a seductive whisper came from behind the throne.

    An average looking young man emerged from a pool of blood on the floor and spread his arms outwards.

    He waspletely naked, and his skin was a pale and sickly colour. What was shocking about his appearance was his eyes that werepletely ck.

    Nasty boils and moles covered his body from below his neck. These fleshy growths oozed yellowish pus that sizzled as it hit the ground.

    "Please forgive me young master," Theon bowed respectfully and desperately tried not to let the disgust show on his face.

    He would die if his eyebrows furrowed even the slightest.

    Kohli was convinced that he was the handsomest man in the universe and by the gods¡­

    He was prepared to kill anyone who disagreed.

    "What brings you to my pce?" Kohli chuckled darkly as he gazed at his subordinate with a strange glint in his eyes.

    "I havepiled a list with the remaining resources for our organization. This month showed a decrease far greater than what was expected," Theon exined humbly.

    "The enforcers have already identified several suspicious individuals who may be stealing supplies from the¡­"

    Kohli held up his palm and Theon instantly shut up without even a moment of hesitation.

    He did not know why his young master did not want to hear the rest of his report but his ability to read Kohli''s mood was the only reason why he was still alive.

    "What is power?" Kohli suddenly asked in a casual tone.

    There was a brief moment of silence in the hall as Theon pondered what he meant.

    "Um¡­ strength¡­ cultivation strength is power?" Theon hesitantly replied.

    "Power is indeed strength¡­ but it is more than that. Power can only be wielded if one has the vision and ambition to match it!" Kohli fervently spoke.

    He began to furiously scratch the boils on his skin which caused them to burst and release a foul mixture of pus and blood.

    Kohli smiled as he continued to tear apart his flesh with his own bare hands. There was no indication on his face that he felt any pain.

    Perhaps for a monster like him¡­ pain was merely something to be savoured and enjoyed.

    Kohli smiled lovingly as he spoke in a sweet tone, "I should hate Duke Peterlor¡­ I should hate the man who killed my father and forced me to flee my home."

    "But he showed me just how small and insignificant I truly am."

    "How foolish I was to dream of ruling some backwater when the universe could be under my control."

    "Duke Peterlor¡­"

    Kohli''s eyes shone with an eerie light as an expression of reverence and worship shed across his face.

    The tips of his ears turned red and his lips gently curved upwards. The heavy scent of blood got stronger as Kohli sped his hands together.

    "I want his power¡­ I want his strength¡­ I want his everything¡­" Kohli hoarsely whispered as he sat back down on the throne.

    His second inmand was frozen in fear as he realised that his captain had slipped into one of his fits of madness.

    There was nothing he could do now except not make any sudden movements and pray that Kohli would regain his senses.

    Time slowed down to a crawl and the only sound that filled the hall was Theon''s heart that kept beating frantically.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Kohli sat on his throne of bones and stared off into the distance. What mysterious thoughts ran through his mind were impossible to guess.

    "You can leave now," Kohli ordered calmly.

    Theon bowed his head in respect and then fled the hall before his master could change his mind.

    Kohli waited for a few minutes until he was sure that Theon had left the temple and then pulled out a stone tablet from beneath his throne.

    This stone tablet was covered with a mysterious writing that was in anguage that he could not understand.

    The mysterious writings would asionally glow red and a vision from beyond the void would enter Kohli''s mind.

    This was the source of his power. This was his blessing.

    His divine gift sent from the gods above to make him the true ruler of the universe.

    He owed everything and would do anything to repay the great being that had given him the ability to transfer the qi energy of those he killed to himself.

    But now his level had stagnated. He remained stuck at the boundary between the qi tide stage and the void stage.

    Absorbing the cultivation levels of qi body and qi spirit cultivators no longer had any effect. He needed more.

    "Please¡­ show me¡­ show me the path¡­" Kohli prayed sincerely as he closed his eyes and stroked the sides of the stone tablet.

    Dark whispers and voices entered his mind and suddenly the hideous man let out a horrifying scream.

    The walls of the hall shook as a tremendous spiritual pressure erupted from Kohli''s body.

    He saw it! HE SAW IT! HE SAW IT ALL!

    A fierce hybrid warrior appeared in his visions. She was over seven feet tall and possessed four ded appendages.

    Her golden eyes, pointed ears and sharp fangs were all traces of her inhuman lineage but for some reason Kohli felt that she looked a bit familiar.

    No¡­ impossible!

    Kohli opened his eyes in shock and his body shivered in ecstasy. He quickly powered on hismunicator and checked the Virtual Net.

    The hybrid daughter of Duke Peterlor was the identity of the mysterious woman in his vision.

    Kohli licked his lips temptingly and burned the image of Sophie Peterlor into his mind. The great being had shown him the path to the void stage.

    Only the cultivation of a divine vessel could repair the stone tablet. Perhaps it was a poetic form of justice.

    Duke Peterlor had killed his father so¡­.

    He would kill his daughter.

 Chapter 450 - Moons Peaceful Days Are Over

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie''s Private Office)

    Sophie whispered softly to herself as she turned another page to read the rest of the report,

    "House Marshon controls the warp gate passage to the eastern side of the Federation. The current lord barely holds on to this power and is currently besieged by hostile forces."

    "It is likely that he will no longer be able to control his family. Credible rumors state that a marriage alliance with the Rowen n has been proposed."

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows thoughtfully as she continued to read while thinking about the implications of the marriage alliance.

    As the heir to a dukedom, Sophie was trying her best to be more informed about the current political state of the Earth Federation.

    Combat training and attending her online sses took up most of her time but she still dedicated an hour''s worth of time everyday to read thetest news.

    Not every problem could be solved with cultivation strength and no man was an ind.

    Even her father who was the youngest god stage cultivator had regr dealings with other noble families.

    Sophie hummed softly as she took out her notebook and jotted down a few notes.

    House Marshon could be an ally on the condition that the lord retained his power and managed to fend off his ambitious rtively.

    Unfortunately for the unlucky man his siblings had married into wealthy families and controlled forces of their own.

    Siblings¡­

    There was a saying back on ancient Earth that ''blood was thicker than water'' but amongst the noble society this was not the case.

    Most of the conflicts would begin when a member of a noble house decided that they wished to take the power for themselves.

    Father against son¡­ mother against daughter¡­ brother against sister

    House Peterlor was no exception and Sophie was aware of her family''s bloody history.

    There was a reason why she had no cousins or close rtives on her father''s side. Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she leaned back against the chair.

    Her heart always turned to a mess when she thought about family.

    It had been months since she hadst seen Aunt Rai''lle in the amulet space.

    Would she ever encounter her Arachnais family again? Sophie did not know the answer to that question.

    She tried to focus her attention back on the report but found it impossible to concentrate. Sophie got up from the chair and walked around the study in order to clear her mind.

    She looked at the painting hung above the crackling firece and fell into silence. It was a picture of a beautiful meadow with a clear blue sky.

    Gorgeous colourful flowers blossomed, and small furry animals could be seen peaking out from inside the grass.

    As she stared at the picture, Sophie could feel her irritated mood gradually calm down as she gave the matter some more thought.

    Right now¡­ she couldn''t do anything.

    She was not strong enough to travel to the Insectoid Empire and return alive.

    Cultivators had a lifespan of thousands of years so even if she never saw Aunt Rai''lle in the amulet space again¡­

    She woulde to her.

    And Sophie really wanted to see her mom for the first time.

    Aunt Rai''lle had told Sophie that her mother was in closed door cultivation but surely she woulde out to see her daughter.

    All Sophie could do now was grow and gradually be powerful enough to visit her mom.

    Sophie''s eyes gleamed with determination, and she walked back to the desk with firm steps.

    The hybrid girl picked up another report began to read out loud.

    "House Obelis are showing open hostility to the Servie race but are secretly in contact with an underworld gang¡­"

    Time slowly passed as Sophie lost herself in a world of political intrigue and strife. It was only when her wristmunicator vibrated twice did the hybrid girl put down the report.

    It was time to check if she had assignments left toplete for her online sses.

    Sophie picked up the tablet and checked thetest article that Professor Macabre had sent her.

    "Urghhh¡­ not again," Sophie groaned as she saw that the new assignment was to write a two-thousand-word essay on inorganic contaminants.

    "Well, there''s no time like the present," Sophie whispered to herself as she opened up a nk document and began her essay.

    She would asionally look at her notes to see what information Professor Macabre had spoken about in ss but tried her best to put everything in her own words.

    Zrudread University tended to be pretty strict when it came to matters such as giarism and Professor Macabre especially was a harsh teacher.

    She expected her students to not only memorise the knowledge that she taught in ss but to apply it to different situations.

    Sophie managed to write around one thousand words before finally hitting a wall.

    No matter what she did¡­ she just could not figure out what to write next.

    It was like her mind was aplete nk. Sophie wrote down and deleted a sentence multiple times before finally giving up.

    Maybe she just needed a break to clear her thoughts. Sophie closed the document and decided to look at her other course.

    Sophie checked Professor Ward''sst message and saw an unopened file.

    She tapped the file and it opened up to disy a new cultivation technique called the ''Psionic Soundwave Scripture.''

    This technique involved circting qi towards the meridians in the throat and unleashing a sonic boom that disoriented anyone who heard the noise.

    Sophie raised an eyebrow in confusion since she could not understand why her professor had suddenly sent a new technique for her to learn.

    She scrolled down and saw that Professor Ward had written a short exnation at the bottom of the document.

    This technique was not for her to practice but for Moon.

    Frostwing bats were capable of using sonic attacks and screams but Moon primarily relied on his frozen domain ability.

    Professor Ward was concerned that Sophie''s pet was limiting himself. It was very dangerous to only have one form of attack.

    Her task for Sophie was to get Moon to learn the first part of this technique by the end of next week.

    Wait a minute¡­ the end of next week?!

    Sophie''s eyes widened and the image of Moon''s usualzy self surfaced in her mind.

    Her frostwing bat did nothing but eat, sleep and y whole day.

    He would only bother to train if Sophie supervised him personally. Otherwise, he would simply lie down on hisfortable mattress and sleep.

    This was not good.

    Sophie checked the time on hermunicator and then hurriedly rushed out of the study room.

    It was the afternoon now so Moon should probably be in the kitchen for his teatime snack.

    The hybrid girl burst into the dining room and sure enough herzy pet was being fed by robot androids holding tes of food.

    Moon pped his arms happily when he saw his master walk into the room and his forked tail swayed from side to side.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! Mommy! Why are you here?!)

    Sophie''s lips gently curved upwards and Moon suddenly got an ominous premonition that perhaps his days of rxation were over.

    His prediction would turn out to be correct.

 Chapter 451 - The Sufferings Of A Frostwing Bat

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Training Field No.12)

    "Alright Moon¡­ let''s begin your training," Sophie dered confidently as she pped her hands together.

    She turned around and saw her frostwing bat attempt to sneak out of the room through the exit door.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie''s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    Moon pricked his ears up and desperately tried to find his master.

    But it was toote¡­

    "Going somewhere?" Sophie''s cold voice came from behind him. Moon pped his wings and tried to fly but a firm hand gripped him by the back of his neck.

    No matter how hard he struggled it was impossible to break out of Sophie''s grip. The hybrid girl waited until herbat pet had tired himself out and then let go.

    Moon copsed on the ground with an expression of misery and despair on his furry face.

    Why had things gone so wrong?

    One minute he was enjoying his usual afternoon snack in the kitchen and the next he was whisked away to the training field to learn some stupid technique.

    "As I was saying¡­" Sophie continued as if Moon''s attempted escape had not just happened a few moments ago.

    "Professor Ward wants you to learn a technique based on the ''Psionic Soundwave Scripture''. She thinks that you rely too heavily on your frozen domain skill and¡­"

    "She is absolutely correct."

    Sophie tried her best to put a stern no-nonsense look on her face as she red down at Moon who just stared nkly at her.

    Okay maybe it was a bit toote to try and act intimidating.

    Sophie was aware that her frostwing bat knew that deep down she was a pushover when it came to discipling him.

    No¡­ she couldn''t give up yet!

    The deadline for Moon to learn this new technique was by the end of next week.

    Surely with his talentbined with her ability to teach¡­

    He would seed.

    Sophie inwardly cheered herself up with some optimistic thinking and then turned back to the matter at hand.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and projected a holographic disy showing the document that Professor Ward had sent.

    "So, as you can see by this diagram¡­ you need to channel your qi from the dantian region directly to the Ren meridian located right next to your voice box," Sophie exined calmly.

    "It says here that you need to repeat this pattern at least three times to store enough energy. At full power this sonic attack will be able to instantly knock out a qi spirit cultivator."

    Sophie continued to read the document out loud and made some mental notes about the important sections.

    "Want to give it a try?" Sophie asked softly when she finished.

    Moon''s forked tail swayed gently from side to side and the frostwing bat immediately gave a response.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy¡­ can I say no?)

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened, and she stared at Moon who was doing his best to put a pitiful expression on his face.

    "Sorry¡­ I was simply being polite," Sophie replied in a sweet and gentle tone.

    "You. Are. Going. To. Give. It. A. Try."

    Moon let out a heavy sigh and walked over to the floating wall of text. He spent several minutes looking at the diagram showing the qi flow needed for this technique to work.

    The frostwing bat closed his eyes and began to channel his qi using the document as a guide.

    Sophie stood nearby and kept a careful eye on herzybat pet to make sure that he was actually trying.

    The light blue patterns on Moon''s fur got brighter and brighter as a powerful spiritual pressure surrounded his body.

    Moon loudly growled and small cracks began to appear on the ground beneath his feet.

    Psionic Soundwave!

    The frostwing bat opened his mouth and immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sophie rushed forward in an instant and checked him for injuries.

    "Moon! Moon! Are you okay? Tell me where it hurts?" Sophie frantically shouted.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy¡­ I don''t think that I canst much longer¡­)

    Moon closed his eyes and no longer responded to Sophie''s panicked questions.

    The hybrid girl lifted up the heavy frostwing bat in her arms and was about to run to the medical center when a sudden thought entered her mind.

    Sophie had known Moon since he was just a little newly hatched baby and something about this situation was not right.

    She intentionally slowed down her movements as she walked to the exit. Sophie decided to check to see if her suspicions were correct.

    Sophie closed her eyes and allowed her consciousness to flow towards the bond that linked her and Moon''s souls together.

    It had been quite some time since Sophie hadst done this, so it felt a bit strange to enter Moon''s thoughts.

    The only way to describe the sensation of using a blood bond was that it was like dreaming with your eyes open.

    Sophie could now see, taste and experience everything that Moon was currently feeling.

    She checked Moon''s throat meridians for any signs of bacsh or damage but found nothing.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows in confusion and checked the other parts of Moon''s body for any traces.

    Wait¡­ a minute¡­

    Sophie''s eyes opened and she stared at Moon who was now ying dead in her arms.

    The hybrid girl could not help butugh angrily as she remembered just how frightened she was when Moon coughed up blood.

    Moon''s body trembled as he got another ominous premonition that perhaps his master n had somehow been revealed.

    "Are you still going to continue acting?" Sophie growled hoarsely.

    "Imagine my surprise to discover that while my frostwing bat had not damaged his throat meridians¡­ he purposefully bit his own tongue to spit out blood."

    "Can you imagine that?"

    Moon slowly opened his eyes and pretended not to notice the murderous look on Sophie''s face as he guiltily slid out of her arms.

    "Okay you win," Sophie crossed her arms and stared at Moon.

    "I will not make you learn the new technique today."

    Moon now looked even more afraid as he ducked his head under his wings.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy¡­ is this¡­ some kind of trap?)

    "No¡­ go on¡­ you can leave and return to the kitchen," Sophie spoke calmly.

    Moon hesitated for a moment and then headed towards the door while constantly looking back at his master.

    Sophie waited patiently until Moon was just a few feet away from the door before sending a request to the AI unit in charge of monitoring the training room.

    "Seal off the entrance and activatebat scenario Alpha¡­ lethal force stage one," Sophie whispered quietly.

    The metalloid door mmed shut just as Moon was about to go through it and soon a harsh robotic voice filled the room.

    [Activating Combat Scenario- Alpha- Stage One]

    [Clear Condition- Survive for Twenty Minutes]

 Chapter 452 - The Ordinary University Girl

    (Hydra Star System- Acocpolsis)

    (Unnamed Factory- Headquarters Of The Balren Gang)

    ck fog darkened the skies above the factory and a heavy rain began to fall down on its poorly constructed roof.

    Today was an important day.

    Several Mendolesa warriors stood respectfully at attention as their fearsome boss strode into the room with a confident attitude.

    This Mendolesa male was over eight feet in height with horrific scars littered across his muscr arms and chest.

    On his back was an enormous broadsword made from a special material created from a mixture of steel and nano-carbonites.

    No one knew his true name.

    Two decades ago, this ferocious beast mysteriously appeared in the slum district and immediately ughtered the heads of all the major crime families within the span of one night.

    On that day it was said that the river that flowed through the slums turned red with blood.

    Even yearster one could find the asional torn up corpse washed up along its shores.

    Men called him the ''Butcher.''

    This brutal man became the crime overlord of the slum district, but it was not just his strength alone that allowed him to hold onto his power but also his cunning.

    He created an organisation known as the ''Balren Gang'' and dabbled in the drug trade.

    Angelic tears, snow crystals and hallucinogens were just some of the products that flooded the market.

    The sale of these drugs proved to be a lucrative venture and a well-ced bribe or two was enough to get the security forces to turn a blind eye.

    The Butcher''s heavy footsteps echoed through the factory and caused his men to not even dare to breathe.

    He would asionally stop and examine the machinery with a strange glint in his eyes.

    Robot droids and child workers were hard at work inspecting the drugs to make sure that the quality was up to standard.

    Or at least good enough so that the customers would not notice any difference.

    The Butcher felt no remorse for flooding the streets of the slums with poison and destroying hundreds of families in the process.

    Those who turned to drugs were already weak.

    If anything, he was doing the slums a favour by removing such filth from society.

    The Mendolesa warrior bared his fangs andughed darkly. Thick wriggling veins could be seen squirming along the length of his muscles.

    The other members of his gang were not sure what to make of their boss'' sudden happy attitude but dared not say a word.

    "Give me the progress report," the Butcher hoarsely growled.

    A thin frail human male peaked out from behind one of the Mendolesa warriors and ran forward while holding a tablet.

    "Yes sir! The factory''s output has increased by about four percent over thest two quarters and several new customers have reached out to us," the man spoke proudly.

    "The equipment that was damaged from the fight with the Ocaren Guild has been repaired and the cost was only around one hundred thousand Enas after heavy negotiations."

    The Butcher waited patiently until the man had finished talking and then nodded his head in approval.

    Human were cunning creatures best suited for administrative work.

    He could never trust one of the meatheads in his organisation to be in charge of the factory.

    Lord knows the ce would probably be burned down within a week.

    "Now¡­ concerning the n for expansion¡­" the Butcher spoke in a low tone. He was suddenly interrupted as the lights went out.

    What was going on?

    There was a back up generator inside the factory so the electricity should not have gone out.

    Years ofbat experience had sharpened his instincts, so the Butcher immediately reached for his sword.

    "Stay alert men! This could potentially be an ambush!" the Butcher roared in fury.

    His voice echoed through the dark factory, but he did not receive a response.

    There was aplete silence.

    The Butcher cautiously gripped his weapon and took a few steps forward while relying on his memory of the factory''syout.

    Two steps to the right¡­ three steps forward¡­ then another step¡­

    The Butcher travelled through the darkness with his ears fully pricked up in order to hear the slightest sound or movement.

    Nothing.

    It was like he was the only person in the world.

    What had happened to his men? What the hell was going on?

    For the first time in decades, the brutal Mendolesa warrior felt fear enter his heart despite his best efforts to put on a brave appearance.

    The cold pressure of death loomed over his body.

    The Butcher did not see anyone but somehow, he knew that someone was staring at him in the darkness.

    A terrifying predator watching their struggling prey willingly fall closer and closer to their end.

    "Come out! Don''t hide like a little rat!" the Butcher hollered as he suddenly swung his sword in multiple directions.

    Heavy waves of sword qi burst out from the tip of his de and flew off into the darkness uninterrupted.

    The Mendolesa warrior continued his frenzied assault as he was determined to force the unknown assant to leave their hiding spot.

    The lights inside the factory suddenly turned back on and the Butcher was horrified to see the corpses of his men.

    Every single one of them had died with a neat cut across their throats.

    No one had been spared.

    But what was most terrifying was the surprised expressions on their faces. It appeared as though not one person had been able to react to the sudden attack.

    Wait¡­ why didn''t he hear them die?

    Surely someone would have made a noise¡­

    The Butcher wandered through the factory that had now turned to a hellishndscape. The heavy scent of blood lingered in the air.

    He came across the destroyed metalloid bodies of the factory droids but mysteriously enough not a single corpse on the ground belonged to a child worker.

    Where were the children that he hired?

    The most terrifying fear was the fear of the unknown. The Butcher had never seen such methods before and it frightened him.

    What kind of monster was hunting him down?

    The lights in the factory blinked for a moment and then went out for a second time.

    The only sound that could be heard was the Butcher''s own heart as it frantically began to race.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    "Listen¡­ I can pay you!" the Butcher called out to the unknown assant.

    "Whoever hired you¡­ I can double¡­ no¡­ triple the money that they offered! Please let us just discuss this peacefully¡­"

    What the butcher didn''t notice was that a young woman stepped out from a dark corner of the factory and stared at him.

    She was an eastern beauty but with a face that would not stand out when ced in a crowd.

    Her body was slender and frail almost like a twig and at first nce she appeared to be an ordinary university student.

    Thick framed sses were ced over her eyes and heavy bangs covered the top of her forehead.

    Qiana stepped forward with slow purposeful steps until she reached mere centimeters away from her target.

    The darkness inside the factory seemed to respond to her movements and wrapped around her body as if it were alive.

    Even now the Mendolesa warrior kept on calling out to the unknown attacker hoping for a response.

    He would never receive one.

    Qiana''s arm shed and a knife prated the Butcher''s throat with an almost surgical- like precision.

    The once fearsome crime boss who ruled over the slums of Acocpolsis died without even making a whimper.

 Chapter 453 - The Second Target

    (Hydra Star System- Acocpolsis)

    (Unnamed Factory- Headquarters Of The Balren Gang)

    Qiana stood silently in the darkness and nced down at the headless corpse at her feet. This mission had been aplete sess.

    All the members of the Balren Gang that were present in the factory had been ughtered.

    Qiana had even made sure to evacuate the child workers before starting the operation.

    There was no emotion in her eyes as she calmly powered on her wristmunicator and took several pictures of the body.

    A million Enas bounty had been ced on this fearsome Mendolesa warrior, but Qiana did not do it solely for the money.

    Zrudread University emphasised practicality and there was no course with a higher drop out rate than the assassin ss.

    The professor would regrly assign bounties for his students to collect.

    These life and death missions were equivalent to a midterm exam.

    How do you train a good assassin? The answer was quite simple.

    Teach them how to kill which was impossible to do with just theory alone.

    No matter how high your cultivation level or how powerful your qi technique¡­ if you could not kill without hesitation then it was all useless.

    Qiana took a final picture of the fallen Mendolesa warrior and then turned her attention to the machines in the corner of the room.

    The Butcher was dead¡­ his reign of terror over the slums was finally over but if she left the factory undamaged then another organization would just take his ce

    Drugs were a poison that destroyedmunities and lives.

    Qiana adjusted her thick sses and walked towards the expensive machinery.

    She reached into her storage ring and pulled out several disc shaped devices that blinked ominously with a reddish glow.

    The shadows surrounding Qiana''s body twisted and wriggled as if they were alive as she ced down the devices and set the charge.

    Qiana stepped back to admire her work and then swiftly left the factory.

    Momentster an enormous explosion rocked the slums, and arge fireball could be seen rising up in the air.

    The residents peered out of their windows and were amazed to see the infamous factory of the Balren Gang engulfed in mes.

    Qiana wrapped a heavy brown cloak over her body and disappeared into the night with quiet steps.

    She had broken the first rule of assassination by causing such a loudmotion and there was still one target left for her toplete.

    A woman by the name of Madelyn Theoren.

    The bounty on her head was significantly less than the Butcher but her reputation was truly disgusting.

    She was the head of a brothel in the slums called ''The Lovers'' Kiss.''

    Madelyn would buy underaged boys and girls from poor families and train them into bing prostitutes.

    Of course, there were those who resisted her methods and their bodies wereter found drifting along the river.

    This was truly a cesspool of filth and degeneracy.

    It was not the first time that Qiana had dealt with such cases but the white hot anger that bubbled in her heart remained the same.

    Children were innocent. Those who abused them for their own dark purposes did not deserve to see the light of day.

    Qiana took out a well-worn handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped the blood off her knife.

    Madelyn was a cultivator in the qi spirit stage so once the infiltration was sessful it would be a simple matter to finish her off.

    Qiana navigated her way through abyrinth of run-down shacks, back alleyways and hidden corridors like she had lived here for her entire life.

    Information was just as important as personal strength to an assassin.

    Qiana had spent several nights memorising the paths leading to different locations across the slums.

    Several escape routes were already burned into her mind just in case of an emergency where she needed to flee quickly.

    It took around twenty minutes before Qiana arrived at a two-story building that appeared out of ce amidst the scenes of poverty.

    The exterior of the building was extremely clean with a fresh coat of pink paint that seemed almost sensual.

    The melodic sounds of jazz could be hearding from inside the building and heavy purple curtains blocked the windows.

    Men and women dressed in loose outfits or skimpy clothes entered the building with smiles on their faces.

    Qiana observed that those who left the building would stumble slightly as they walked and there were lipstick marks and hickeys covering their bodies.

    Two fierce Mendolesa warriors guarded the entrance with sma rifles held in their arms.

    They checked each client entering the brothel for a membership card before letting them inside.

    Qiana dug into the pocket of her cloak and pulled out a special white membership card that was for the highest tier of service.

    As for the owner of this card¡­

    Well let''s just say that he would be unable to visit brothels anytime soon as he was currently recovering in the hospital.

    It was time for the operation to begin.

    Qiana ducked into an empty alleyway and quickly put on her disguise. She took off her heavy brown cloak and wore an expensivevender dress.

    Toplete her new appearance, Qiana removed her sses and put on a blonde wig.

    She reached into her storage ring and pulled out a thin mask made from a rubber-like material.

    Qiana carefully ced the mask on her face and pressed a small button on its underside. The mask tightened and then slowly transformed Qiana''s facial features.

    The girl that stepped out of the alleyway was nowpletely different.

    Qiana had been transformed into a jaw dropping blonde bombshell who had a flirtatious smile on her face.

    She swayed confidently up to the Mendolesa warriors guarding the entrance and held out the white card.

    "Enjoy your night," one of the guards spoke respectfully.

    Qiana winked slyly and walked into the brothel with slow purposeful steps.

    Inside the brothel was a world of hedonism and debauchery. Shirtless men and women sat down onfortable mattresses while attractive prostitutes massaged their bodies.

    The sounds of giggling andughter filled the air and Qiana''s appearance fit right in this atmosphere of revelry.

    A handsome young man with a six-pack approached Qiana but she dismissed him with a casual wave.

    She wandered through the brothel while taking asional nces at the patrons who were clearly enjoying themselves.

    "My dear guest, would you like somepany for the night?" a sweet voice entered Qiana''s ears.

    A young girl who looked no older than fifteen walked up to her with a wide smile stered across her face.

    But her eyes wereplete lifeless.

    "Yes¡­ please take me to Madelyn¡­ I have some business to discuss with her," Qiana replied smoothly while stepping back to avoid unnecessary contact.

    Qiana held up the white card and trace of fear appeared in the young girl''s eyes before she quickly adjusted her emotions.

    "Of course," the young girl spoke in a respectful tone.

    Qiana''s lips gently curved upwards as the girl led her upstairs to a private office. She stopped at the entrance and knocked lightly on the door using her knuckles.

    "Come in please," an elderly voice came from the other side of the door. Qiana thanked the girl and then whispered in her ear.

    "Tonight, is your best chance to escape from this life," Qiana quietly spoke.

    She entered the office without looking back to see the expression of surprise and disbelief on the young girl''s face.

    Secondster the power was mysteriously turned off and the brothel plunged into darkness.

    What happened next remained a mystery to the local authorities, but the corpse of Madelyn Theoren was found floating in the river.

 Chapter 454 - The Return

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    Various climates, biomes, and environments were present on the to give studentsbat experience in different situations.

    There was also a massive city located on the outskirts of the campus where students could go to rx and unwind after a long day of sses.

    The architecture of the city was based on ancient tribal homes of the Mendolesa race but modernised with state-of-the-art appliances for convenience.

    Sophie wandered through the streets of the city while feeling oddly nostalgic.

    Everything was so familiar and strange at the same time, it seemed like a lifetime ago when she hadst walked through these streets.

    Tall Mendolesa warriors could be seen shopping, fighting and having fun.

    Street vendors were advertising their wares and services to the passing students.

    Sophie stopped near one of the vendors and bought a piece of roasted meat that was dripping with oil and grease.

    She handed the elderly Mendolesa woman some coins and then bit into the delicious meat.

    The skin of the meat was incredibly crispy, and the inside was plump and juicy.

    Sophie could not resist going back for seconds and ended up buying four more pieces before she decided to move on.

    After spending months on Gaia, it was a novel experience to be in a ce where humans were the minority.

    Sophie wore a simple pair of ck track pants and a in white shirt but still managed to attract curious looks.

    It may have something to do with her hybrid appearance or the more likely answer¡­

    The massive five-foot tall frostwing bat that was perched on her head and happily nibbling down on some crackers.

    "You know you can fly right?" Sophie spoke in mock anger. Moon pped his wingszily and quickly gave a response.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy my wings are tired and I''m feeling sleepy¡­ plus it was a long spaceflight¡­)

    Sophie sighed helplessly but decided to let her mischievous frostwing bat have some fun today.

    Moon to his credit had managed to learn all the new techniques that Professor Ward had assigned to him.

    The blood bond between himself and Sophie had gotten even stronger over thest few months and now they could easily read each other''s thoughts.

    Although Sophie made sure to block off ess to her mind when she video called Cleo for their nightly sessions.

    There was no need to traumatise her innocent baby with adult matters.

    Two bright suns shone brightly in the sky and a cool breeze brushed against Sophie''s face as she walked through the city.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Sophie''s wristmunicator rang out twice and a message appeared in her inbox from Cleo.

    Cleo: [I''m so excited to see you in three days!]

    Cleo: [Don''t freak out but I have a surprise for you¡­. :)]

    The hybrid girl''s lips gently curved upwards as she quickly responded to the messages before powering off hermunicator.

    Cleo was nning a surprise, but little did her girlfriend know that Sophie was going to give her an even bigger one.

    Sophie checked her storage bag to make sure that the special underwear that she had bought was still there.

    Just imagining the surprised look on Cleo''s face when she opened the door to their apartment and saw her girlfriend waiting for her with open arms brought a smile to Sophie''s face.

    This would be their one chance to rx since finals season was starting next week and Sophie did not want to tire out Cleo.

    Exams¡­ studying¡­ normal student life¡­

    Sophie closed her eyes and silently thanked Doctor Reynolds for his hard work during thest few months.

    Although the dark urges and the side effects from using the Hunter Goddess'' powers were still there...

    Sophie had learned to manage them.

    No longer did she lose control of her mind when using her berserker state.

    A humble looking store at the end of an alleyway caught Sophie''s eye. It was a simple one story building with in brown walls and a bright red roof.

    The hybrid girl could not remember visiting this store before, so she decided to go inside and have a look.

    "Hello! How can I help you today?" a soft voice called out to Sophie as she walked through the doors.

    A sweet looking human girl wearing a white uniform walked up to Sophie and gestured towards the disy.

    The store waspletely empty with the sole exception of a disy stand positioned in the middle of the room with several pieces of paper ced on it.

    "Can you tell me what product is avable here? I''m a little bit confused," Sophie admitted truthfully.

    The salesgirl let out a smallugh and picked up one of the pieces of paper on the disy case.

    It was only around the size of Sophie''s palm and a mysterious ck rune had been drawn on its outer surface.

    "These are rare talismans created by Mendolesa elders. It is said that those who posses these charms will gain the strength of a Thuran beast!" the salesgirl exined.

    "A Thuran beast?" Sophie asked in confusion.

    Clearly, she was not the first customer to ask this question because the salesgirl immediately had the answer.

    The salesgirl leaned in closer and dropped her voice almost to a whisper,

    "It was a fearsome creature native to the Mendolesa race''s home world. Legends say that the beast was over eighty feet tall and could tten mountains with a single step!"

    "These charms are filled with ancient sorcery!"

    Sophie waited patiently until the salesgirl finished talking and then took a closer look at the charms.

    She didn''t believe that they actually worked but the design looked quite nice and using them as bookmarks wasn''t a bad idea.

    "Okay how much for two of them?" Sophie asked politely.

    "You are in luck! Today the store is having a special two for one deal so you can pick up two charms for the low price of twenty Enas!" the salesgirl excitedly eximed.

    Only twenty Enas for two charms?

    For a talisman that allegedly had the ability to grant its owner the strength of a monstrous titan, it was definitely a great bargain.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and rummaged around for some change.

    She paid the money and then picked up two charms with the same runic pattern painted on them.

    She nned on giving one to Cleo so it would be nice if they matched. Moon yawned loudly as they left the store, and he gently closed his eyes.

    Soon a loud snoring noise came from the top of Sophie''s head as Moon fell asleep without a care in the world.

    Alright maybe it was time to wrap up her shopping spree.

    Sophie pulled up a map on her wristmunicator and headed for the Sanctuary.

    She would drop Moon off first and then sneak into her apartment to give Cleo a surprise that she wouldn''t forget anytime soon.

 Chapter 455 - Sophies Surprise Goes Awry (R-18)

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    Sophie quietly walked towards the massive three story building while taking constant nces behind her shoulder to make sure that she wasn''t being followed.

    This was an important mission, and it was alreadyter than she expected.

    Moon had been dropped off at the Sanctuary and Sophie nned on picking him up tomorrow afternoon.

    Sophie pressed her hand against the fingerprint scanner and a green light shed twice. The metalloid door swung open, and the hybrid girl stepped inside the building.

    Students in the elite ss were entitled to live in the elite student housingplex which was a sprawling cul-de-sac of gorgeous mansions.

    Sophie silently stepped into her apartment and was extra careful not to leave any traces of her presence.

    She would asionally stop to admire the pieces of furniture in the room.

    The memories of going shopping with Cleo to pick out new couches, sofas and entertainment systems shed across her mind.

    The kitchen was connected to the dining room and Sophie could see a pile of unwashed dishes in the sink.

    An android housecleaner was currently washing the dishes while another was sweeping the dusty floor.

    Sophie''s lips gently curved upwards as she made a mental note of the dirty dishes.

    She would tease her girlfriend relentlessly for being messy.

    Okay¡­ focus¡­

    The hybrid girl headed for the master suite and tip toed her way to the bedroom with quiet steps.

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator for the time and saw that it was around six o'' clock in the evening.

    Cleo''s lecture would have just ended, and it was likely that she was on her way home from the mech simtion hall.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out the set of lingerie that she had bought to surprise her girlfriend.

    A set of silky ck see through bra and panties. The material was translucent and left little to the imagination.

    Sophie posed with the bra against her chest when a horrifying thought entered her mind.

    She quickly raised up her right arm and sniffed twice.

    Fuck! She needed to bathe now!

    The hybrid girl had spent basically the entire day walking around the city in the zing hot summer weather.

    Unfortunately, cultivation did not have the side effect of making cultivators immune to sweating or getting dirty.

    Sophie ran to the shower room connected to the master bedroom and quickly stripped off her clothes.

    "Ten-minute cleaning cycle please," Sophie called out to the AI unit. There was a humming noise and then the shower turned on.

    Water dripped down her body and Sophie visibly rxed.

    She adjusted the temperature and soon the bathroom mirror fogged up with steam.

    There were few pleasures in life that were better than taking a hot bath.

    There was a small nozzle next to the shower which Sophie picked up. A purplish liquid shot out of the nozzle which she used to cover her entire body.

    The bathroom was filled with the sweet scent ofvender as Sophie made sure to wash her body thoroughly.

    There could be no mistakes. Everything had to be perfect for her surprise.

    Finally, the water stopped, and a vent opened up above her. Gusts of hot air mmed against Sophie''s body and dried her instantly.

    Sophie reached for the nearest towel and used it to wipe her body one more time.

    She wrapped the towel around her waist and slowly walked towards the mirror.

    She used her hands to wipe the steam off and took a casual nce at her appearance. A gorgeous seven-foot-tall young woman stared back at her with a sweet smile.

    Her body was lean and muscr but with curves in all the right ces.

    Two sparkling golden eyes gleamed under the lighting and her seductive facial features like her plump lips were capable of leaving anyone spellbound.

    Sophie posed in various positions before she realised what she was doing. A fierce blush spread across her cheeks, and she hurriedly left the room.

    The hybrid girl grabbed the silky panties and put them on in one smooth motion. She stretched out her legs and tried to imagine the shocked look on Cleo''s face.

    The bra was a lot harder to wear since her ded appendages got in the way but eventually Sophie figured it out.

    It was just in the nick of time because Sophie could faintly hear the sound of the door opening downstairs.

    The hybrid girl''s pointed ears flicked upwards, and she used the senses of a qi tide cultivator to determine Cleo''s position.

    Her girlfriend stopped in the dining room to do something but now she was heading up the stairs to the master bedroom.

    It was finally showtime!

    Sophie ran over to the switch and turned off the lights. The bedroom plunged into total darkness and Sophiey down on the bed.

    Okay¡­ now what pose should she use?

    Sophie agonised for a few seconds as there seemed to be a problem no matter what pose she made.

    Cross her arms? That looked stupid.

    Spread her legs? No¡­ no¡­ that was too eager.

    Stick out her tongue? No¡­ too childish.

    Sophie eventually settled on leaning gently against the headrest and cing one hand on her breast while the other rested on the mattress.

    The door to the bedroom swung open and Cleo entered the room to find itpletely dark.

    The princess furrowed her brow in confusion because she could not remember turning off the lights when she left for ss.

    Did she forget?

    Cleo walked over to the light switch to turn on the lighting when a pair of warm hands grabbed her body and pulled her on the bed.

    "Surprise babe it''s me¡­ ARGHHH!" Sophie shrieked in pain as she was suddenly attacked by a mental spike.

    "Sophie?!" Cleo eximed in shock and quickly withdrew her mental force.

    Her girlfriend was clutching her head in pain and looked at her with a tearful gaze. The princess rushed over to Sophie and began to rub her temples lovingly.

    She pressed and kneaded Sophie''s temples for several minutes until the pounding headache disappeared.

    "What are you doing here? I thought you weren''ting for another three days," Cleo whispered softly.

    "I¡­ I thought that I would give you a surprise¡­" Sophie sighed as she realised that her n was ruined.

    "Did you improve your mental attacks?"

    "Sorry¡­ I didn''t know who you were, so I subconsciously attacked using my full strength," Cleo exined guilty.

    Sophie extended one of her ded appendages outwards and hit the light switch.

    The room flooded with light and Cleo''s mouth fell open as she saw the sexy appearance of her girlfriend.

    "Damn it! This all happened differently inside my head¡­ in fact I¡­ mphhh!" Sophie was interrupted for a second time as a pair of warm lips crashed against her own.

    Cleo flung herself in her girlfriend''s arms and began to tear off her clothing like a woman possessed.

    Sophie''s eyes widened in surprise, but she did not stay passive for long. She roughly grabbed her lover and flipped her body over so that she was the one on top now.

    Sophie began to vigorously make out with Cleo and rubbed her aroused nipples against the princess'' much smaller chest.

    She tore apart Cleo''s shirt and a pair of soft delicate breasts were exposed. Cleo blushed and stared at her girlfriend with loving eyes.

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread across Sophie''s golden eyes as the hybrid girl found herself gradually losing control.

    She loved seeing the emotions in Cleo''s eyes when they were intimate.

    Sophie nuzzled gently against Cleo''s neck and began to pepper it with soft kisses.

    "I missed this¡­ I missed you so much over thest few months," Sophie growled as her hands naughtily wandered downwards.

    She yed with Cleo''s t stomach before one of her hands gently brushed against the flower garden that was already wet.

    Cleo let out a shocked gasp and moaned loudly as Sophie slipped one finger inside and began to touch her clit

    And the night was far from over¡­

 Chapter 456 - The Passionate Embrace Of Lovers (R-18)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    (Master bedroom)

    "Now tell me¡­" Sophie''s voice dropped to a low whisper as she leaned in closer to Cleo and blew gently in her ear.

    "What''s an innocent princess like you doing so far from home? The universe is a very dangerous ce¡­"

    "Don''t you know there are bad people who want to fuck a sweet little thing like you?"

    Cleo giggled softly and Sophie could not help but fall in love all over again with the adorable girlying down in her arms.

    The princess'' soft luscious lips proved to be a temptation that was impossible to resist so Sophie gave her a rough lingering kiss.

    Cleo moaned and her lips slowly parted which allowed Sophie''s tongue to slip inside.

    The rough kiss deepened, and Sophie continued to stir around inside Cleo''s honeypot.

    It was time for some fun¡­

    Sophie pulled away from the kiss and lowered her head to ferociously suck on the two pink nipples standing proudly at attention.

    "So¡­ big¡­" Sophie teased as she fondled and groped the two delicate mountains of flesh.

    Cleo''s body squirmed and twisted as her cheeks became flushed in arousal.

    Sophie''s eyes were now fully pink, and the hybrid girl could feel her flower garden slowly moisten as she heard the cries of ecstasy leaking out from her girlfriend''s mouth.

    "Did you miss me?" Sophie whispered softly as her hands continued to naughtily roam Cleo''s body.

    "Everyday¡­ everyday¡­I¡­ I missed you so much," Cleo hoarsely replied as she crossed her legs around Sophie''s back.

    "I need you¡­ I want you¡­. please¡­ I''m begging you¡­"

    The princess was drowning in pleasure and her body was fully addicted to the sensations that Sophie was giving her.

    Sophie gently bit Cleo''s nipple which elicited a small cry of surprise from the princess.

    She used her tongue to lick her way down Cleo''s slender body while continuing to touch and y with her girlfriend''s clit.

    Cleo''s wet pussy was trembling in anticipation as if it were a reflection of Sophie''s carnal desires.

    Sophie stuck out her tongue and licked her lips seductively.

    She stared into Cleo''s eyes and saw a hunger and need that transcended mere words.

    When the hybrid girl lowered her mouth and feasted there was no technique just a rampant hunger for pleasure.

    Sophie pushed her tongue deep inside Cleo''s already wet pussy. It had been months since theirst intimate encounter and the princess was clearly unprepared for the sudden strike.

    Cleo squealed in excitement as Sophie''s tongue roamed every nook and cranny as she explored those fleshy folds.

    Her girlfriend''s juices were slightly bitter, but Sophie found herself addicted to the taste as she kepting back for more.

    "Oh my god¡­ oh my god¡­ right¡­ right¡­there¡­" Cleo gutturally moaned as she began to y with her own breasts.

    Sophie alternated between sucking her girlfriend''s clit directly and using her tongue to slowly travel up and down the length of her muff.

    Cleo''s cries filled the room as Sophie activated her lust state and her vision turned into a world of pinkish red.

    She could now see the pleasure centers on Cleo''s body and used this information to drive her girlfriend wild.

    Finally, Sophie''s skilled tongue proved to be too much as Cleo''s toes curled up and her body shook and quivered.

    "I''ming!" Cleo yelled as her body erupted in one huge orgasm.

    A flood of pussy juices flew directly into Sophie''s waiting mouth and the hybrid girlpped it all up like a cat in heat.

    Sophie used her tongue to help clean up her girlfriend''s soaked thighs since Cleo was incapable of making any movement after experiencing a violent orgasm.

    But Sophie wasn''t done with her yet¡­

    The hybrid girl wrapped her arms around Cleo''s body and pulled her upwards.

    She used her free hand to take off her panties and tossed them aside without a care in the world.

    Cleo may have gotten her orgasm, but Sophie was now in the mood for some serious fucking. She spread her legs apart and pulled Cleo even closer to her body.

    It may have just been her imagination, but Sophie could feel the heat of Cleo''s pussy.

    The hybrid girl pushed her hips forward and began to ground her fleshy lips against Cleo''s flower garden.

    "You feel so good¡­ holy shit¡­ forget about finals¡­ I''m going to fuck you every single day of the week," Sophie whispered seductively as she wriggled her hips.

    "Stop being so¡­ so¡­ good¡­ DON''T STOP!" Cleo screamed as Sophie roughly pinched her hardened nipples.

    The two girls vigorously humped and grounded their pussies together for what seemed like hours or even days.

    Sophie lost track of how many times Cleo would throw her head back and loudly scream as her body erupted in one orgasm after the next.

    There was not one trace of an elegant and noble royal princess on Cleo''s face as she squealed iprehensibly with a silly smile.

    The wet sounds of hot sex echoed through the room as Sophie bucked hard against Cleo''s pussy and came.

    She slowed down her movements and allowed Cleo some time to rest and recover.

    There was no need to rush things when the night was long.

    Sophie couldn''t wait for her girlfriend to be stronger so that her stamina would improve.

    "Wait¡­ wait¡­ my turn," Cleo panted as she left Sophie''s arms and gently pushed her girlfriend down on the bed.

    "It''s not fair that I make you do all the work¡­"

    Sophiey back and stared at her lover with a puzzled expression. Cleo wasn''t usually this proactive, so Sophie was looking forward to her next move.

    "Don''t you dare move," Cleo warned as her piercing green eyes seemed to stare into Sophie''s soul.

    The hybrid girl nodded as she heard the seriousness in her girlfriend''s tone. Cleo pursed her lips together and moved her head downwards.

    She was not as skilled as Sophie but did her best to replicate her lover''s motions.

    What Cleocked in technique, she more than made up for it in sheer enthusiasm.

    Sophie''s eyes widened as she felt a pleasant tingle running down her spine. She stroked Cleo''s ck hair gently and ran her fingers through the curls.

    "Why don''t you do this more often?" Sophie teased as she wiggled her hips lightly from side to side.

    Cleo looked up at her girlfriend and the depth of love and affection in her eyes made Sophie want to cum on the spot.

    What happened next was a blur of passion that didn''t stop until the sun came up the next day.

    Sophie had vague memories of tossing Cleo on the bed and roughly devouring her pussy while her girlfriend yed with hers in a sixty-nine position.

 Chapter 457 - A Long Awaited Reunion

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    "I''m sorry babe¡­ I may have gone a bit too farst night," Sophie whispered guilty as she carefully ced a te of food on the dresser table.

    "You see¡­ I couldn''t stop¡­ when you moaned like that¡­ by the gods¡­ it turned me on so much¡­"

    The events ofst night were a bit too much for Cleo but Sophie felt better than she had ever felt in months.

    Cleo opened her eyes groggily and stared at her girlfriend with a resentful look.

    The princess could feel her body aching and sore from the violent lovemaking session.

    Every inch of her exhausted body was covered in hickeys and her nipples were now bright red after Sophie sucked on them roughly.

    The princess tried her best to sit up so that she could scold her girlfriend properly but discovered that her legs were too weak to move.

    Cleo closed her eyes and began to doubt life.

    It was true that she was a psychic cultivator with a strong mental force, but it wasn''t as though her body was weaker than a normal cultivator.

    Damn it!

    Cleo made a vow to increase her trips to the gym and attend a physical strengthening ss.

    One of these days she was going to make Sophie beg for mercy!

    The princess was tired of being the one on the bottom every time they made love.

    "Babe?" Sophie called out again, but Cleo did not give a response. The hybrid girl leaned in closer and nted a soft kiss on Cleo''s cheek.

    "I love you."

    She gently stroked Cleo''s back and pushed down the dark desires flowing through her body.

    Seeing Cleo''s naked appearance was enough to cause a faint mist of pink to begin to spread from the corners of her eyes.

    Cleo sighed in resignation and her lips gently curved upwards.

    She grabbed Sophie''s shirt and pulled her in for a tight embrace.

    "I''m very upset! Why do you always say something sweet whenever I get angry with you?!?" Cleoined loudly.

    "Do you do it on purpose? Hmm¡­ is it all part of your master n to escape with no consequences?"

    Sophieughed and helped her girlfriend sit up. Cleo groaned but forced her body upright since she needed to eat.

    Sophie reached for the bowl of soup on the dresser table and personally spoon-fed Cleo who swallowed withoutint.

    Being so close to those plump luscious lips was a fatal temptation and Sophie could not resist mixing in light kisses with every other spoonful.

    Cleo finished the bowl and yawned sleepily.

    Sophie saw that her girlfriend was still feeling a bit tired, so she tucked her into bed and turned off the lights.

    "Good night beautiful," Sophie whispered lovingly.

    The hybrid girl took onest look at Cleo''s adorable figure and then left the room.

    Now what should she do today?

    There were a few options like continue to explore the city, walk around the campus or meet up with her friends.

    Sophie wandered through the mansion aimlessly while taking an asional nce at the housekeeping androids currently sweeping the floor.

    Finals were next week so there were no more sses.

    However, several of her professors had office hours avable for any students who needed some extra help with the material.

    "Hmm¡­ maybe I should pay Professor Macabre a visit?" Sophie muttered to herself.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and pulled up her schedule.

    The poison cultivator exam was on Monday with the theory section in the morning and theb portion in the afternoon.

    For thebat beast course there was only a practical exam on Friday that wouldst the entire day.

    Finally, the week after would be the battle ranking exam that determined which students were qualified to remain or move up into the elite ss.

    Naturally since Sophie had been absent from university for more than a semester, she had slipped from first ce down to the bottom of the elite ss rankings.

    The battle ranking exam was a good opportunity to retake her throne. A vicious smile shed across Sophie''s face as she relished the chance to go head-to-head with her peers.

    Speaking of her peers¡­

    Sophie opened up her contact list and sent out a few messages to the group chat. She really wanted to see Astrid and Qiana again.

    Sophie: [Hey Astrid! Hey Qiana! Guess who''s on campus right now!]

    Sophie: [I arrived earlier than expected so do you want to hang out?]

    Qiana: [Sorry¡­ I''m in the middle of an assignment so I won''t be back until this weekend. Want to meet up at the Gorn Hohn''s Restaurant?]

    Astrid: [Sophie! I''ming to your apartment now!]

    Qiana: [Don''t you have ss with Archmage Hollystorm?]

    Qiana: [Hello?]

    [Astrid has gone offline¡­]

    Sophie continued to chat with Qiana for a couple more minutes before the quiet girl said she had to go.

    Apparently, Qiana was in the middle of a bounty hunting mission on a backwater in the outer regions.

    Her target was a notorious crime lord but Qiana reassured Sophie that everything was proceeding ording to n.

    Sophie wished her good luck and then powered off hermunicator. She had no doubt in her mind that Qiana would be able to finish her mission.

    Sophie didn''t know when Astrid would arrive, so she quickly ran into the spare bedroom and put on some decent clothes.

    A simple pair of ck track pants and a in white tee shirt was an unbeatablebination in terms offort.

    Sophie nced at her appearance in the mirror and saw tworge hickeys on her neck.

    She reached into her storage bag for her makeup kit and carefully brushed some concealer against her skin.

    There¡­ now she was perfect!

    Sophie left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen to make some light snacks. It was always good to have food when guests were about to arrive.

    Especially when your guest was a tall, muscr Mendolesa battle mage.

    Sophie opened up the cupboard and saw a few dehydrated cream sweet cakes.

    She set a pot of milk to boil and then ced the spongy squares inside the mixture. Sophie hummed softly as she waited for the cakes to absorb the milk.

    It didn''t take long before the sugary scent of sweets filled the kitchen.

    Sophie picked up one of the cakes and tore off a small piece to get an idea of the taste.

    The cake was gooey and soft almost like a brownie but with a creamy center that was just bursting with vour.

    Don''t eat more¡­ wait¡­ wait¡­e on Sophie¡­ resist the urge¡­

    Sophie grabbed her hand and forced herself not to reach for another bite.

    The hybrid girl ced the finished cakes on the countertop to cool down and then started a next batch.

    Twenty minutes passed slowly as Sophie continued to make a buffet of delicious treats and sweets for Astrid to enjoy.

    Ring! Ring!

    The doorbell buzzed twice, and Sophie saw arge shadow appear behind the entrance door. She walked over and swung the door open.

    "Astrid! It''s so good to finally see you again¡­" Sophie happily eximed.

    "Sophie!" a loud voice cried out in excitement.

    Arge mass of fur rammed into her body at top speed and Sophie found herself crashing to the floor with a painful thud.

    Astrid''s tail wagged from side to side furiously as she hugged her best friend who had gone missing for several months.

    "It''s good to see you as well," Sophie smiled indulgently as she got up from the floor with Astrid''s ws still wrapped around her body.

 Chapter 458 - Hanging Out With A Friend

    "Why don''t I get some snacks from the kitchen¡­ go make yourselffortable and I''ll be back in like two minutes," Sophie exined gently.

    Astrid nodded in understanding and went over to the couch to sit down.

    She kept ncing back at Sophie as if to reassure herself that this was real.

    Her best friend had returned.

    A warm fuzzy feeling surfaced in Sophie''s heart when she saw the emotions of relief in Astrid''s eyes.

    It felt good to be cared for and know that someone had your back no matter what.

    The hybrid girl walked over to the kitchen area and opened up the drawers under the countertop.

    There were severalrge tters stored inside the drawers, so Sophie chose thergest ones avable.

    She ced the sweet cream cakes on the tters and made sure to stack them up nicely.

    A sugary scent filled the air and Sophie had to resist the urge to grab one of the cakes for herself.

    Those spongy gooey cakes with their cream filled centers were a devilish temptation.

    Sophie held two tters one in both hands and walked towards the living room.

    Astrid''s tail was still wagging furiously as she poked her head over the couch. Her furry ears prickled up as Sophie''s footsteps came closer and closer.

    "I didn''t have much time, so I only made dessert. I hope you like it!" Sophie shyly whispered.

    She set the tters down on the table in front of the couch.

    "Thank you! Sophie¡­ you know how much I love sweets!" Astrid eximed in excitement. The wolfish girl grabbed the nearest cake and swallowed it whole without even chewing.

    Then she grabbed another¡­

    And another¡­ and another¡­

    "Delicious¡­" Astrid groaned as she wiped some cream from the side of her lips.

    Sophie saw that her friend was not holding back so not to be outdone she quickly snatched some of the cakes for herself.

    The sounds of chewing and satisfied sighs filled the air as both girls happily enjoyed the sugary taste of the sweet cakes.

    Finally, thest cake disappeared in Sophie''s stomach and an identical expression of sadness appeared on both their faces.

    Astrid and Sophie sat on the couch and just looked at each other silently.

    The atmosphere turned a bit quiet and there was a faint sense of tension. There was just so much to say but somehow neither girl knew where to begin.

    "So¡­" Astrid and Sophie blurted out at the same time.

    "No¡­ you go first¡­"

    "Come on¡­ you just came back to university¡­ you should talk first¡­"

    "I insist¡­ you came over to my apartment¡­"

    "No¡­ I insist¡­ don''t be polite with me¡­"

    The girls angrily stared at each other and then burst outughing. The sense of awkwardness faded away and Sophie felt the same closeness as before.

    "Did you get the archmage''s permission to skip sses?" Sophie asked with a knowing smile.

    Astrid bared her fangs and boasted proudly, "My mentor? I fooled himpletely! It was a simple matter to just cast an illusion spell inside the library."

    "I''m sure that he believes that I am currently hard at work studying the theory of magical equivalent exchange and blood rituals by Mage Carter."

    "Sophie¡­ you won''t believe how boring those dusty old books are!"

    "I swear those ancient mages would write an entire novel to exin a simple one-line concept."

    Sophie listened to Astrid''s story, but something didn''t seem right.

    She couldn''t help but question Astrid about the obvious w in her master n to skip sses without her mentor finding out.

    "Are you sure that you managed to trick one of the most powerful archmages in the Federation with a simple illusion spell?" Sophie asked softly.

    The smug grin on Astrid''s face disappeared as she suddenly realised that in her excitement to meet up with Sophie¡­

    She may have fucked up.

    "By the gods¡­ he''s going to assign me so much homework when I show up tomorrow," Astridined as she ced her face in her furry paws.

    An aura of sadness and despair surrounded the massive Mendolesa girl as shey feebly on the couch.

    "Cheer up! Maybe he''ll turn a blind eye since it''s so close to finals season," Sophie reassured her friend as she ced a warm hand on Astrid''s shoulder.

    "That demon? Sophie, you don''t understand¡­ he keeps me locked up in that tower for hours at a time!" Astrid sighed helplessly.

    The Mendolesa girl felt the weight of the world on her shoulders as Sophie brought up the topic of the uing exams.

    For some reason Archmage Hollystorm had gotten a copy of the first-year exam from Mer University and he wanted his young pupil to take it.

    Mer University was one of the four great universities located on the aquamarine of Neptune in the Rx-J123 Star Cluster.

    It gained its position among the four because of the specialised nature of the college.

    Mer University was known as the central hub for magical research and many notable mages from all races had trained there.

    What that basically meant for poor Astrid was that she needed to write two separate magic exams and pass both.

    Astrid pushed those negative thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the present moment.

    She quickly cheered herself up and turned to face Sophie. She needed to do something to break the somber atmosphere.

    "I must say¡­" Astrid''s voice dropped to a low whisper as she leaned in closer.

    "Cleo''s scent is all over your body¡­ I see someone had a good timest night¡­"

    The Mendolesa girl sniffed the air twice and giggled when she saw the flustered look on Sophie''s face.

    "But I showered this morning! How can you¡­" Sophie trailed off when she saw Astrid gesture towards her wolfish nose.

    Those of the Mendolesa race had an excellent sense of smell which was an ability inherited from their warrior ancestors.

    "I''m just teasing you¡­ it''s good that you guys are still together," Astrid casually spoke as she held up her hands in mock surrender.

    The hybrid girl''s eyes narrowed, and she faintly had the urge to give Astrid some payback.

    "Ohh¡­ but if I recall¡­ aren''t you dating Qiana now?" Sophie teased softly.

    "Tell me Casanova¡­ how has your love life been going?"

    "Casanova? Who or what is a Casanova?" Astrid asked in confusion as she had never heard that word used before.

    "He was the star of a movie from¡­ oh never mind¡­ just give me the details about your dating life?" Sophie quickly replied.

    "Well¡­ it''s going quite well!" Astrid spoke with a bright smile stered across her face.

    "I, Jackson and Emma like her a lot¡­ I¡­ I was a bit worried about how they would react once I started dating but Qiana is amazingly sweet and gentle when she spends time with them."

    "Obviously she''s really busy with her bounty hunting missions and I spend most of my day in the mage tower so we''re taking it slow for now."

    "One step at a time¡­ I mean there''s no need to rush anything¡­"

 Chapter 459 - Moons Terrible Reputation?

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (The Sanctuary- Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    It was a beautiful day. Sophie smiled as she wandered through the Sanctuary on her way to pick up Moon.

    The Sanctuary or ''The Zoo'' as it was fondly nicknamed by the students was the area where thebat beast pets were housed.

    It was an enormous stretch ofnd that contained battle arenas, veterinary clinics and hatcheries.

    There were different environments inside the Sanctuary since every pet had a preference for a certain biome.

    In addition, a barrier device created arge force field around the Sanctuary so that none of the flying pets would be able to escape by ident.

    The forcefield also made it easier to control the environments inside the park.

    The air was rtively pleasant smelling since robot androids would regrly clean the pens and air filtration devices were ced in locations across the park.

    Moon was currently staying in the tundra district that was a good twenty-minute walk away from the entrance to the Sanctuary.

    When walking through the Sanctuary it was like exploring a different world.

    Sophie could never get used to sheer variety of mysterious nts and animals that roamed freely through the park.

    She saw fur, gills, scales, wings and all kinds of strange and bizarre appendages¡­

    Tall green giantszily snacked on leafy shoots, small furry creatures scurried across the tree branches and slender spider-like beasts weaved colourful webs.

    Aquatic typebat beasts swam merrily in thergekes and rivers.

    They would asionally jump out of the water to grab the meals that the caretakers flung into the air.

    Sophie looked up and saw an enormous reptilian beast soar above her head. The creature had two heads and four flesh-like wings that casually pped up and down.

    A caretaker was frantically pursuing the reptile while yelling for the creature to get back into its cage.

    The reptile shot the caretaker a look of contempt and then with a burst of speed managed to disappear into the distance.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and snapped a few pictures of the chaos to show Cleoter.

    After constantly messaging Cleo over thest few months, Sophie had gotten used to taking pictures of anything interesting.

    Sophie continued her journey through the park while keeping an eye out for any students from her ss.

    It wasn''t like she was good friends with anyone in the ss except for maybe Luna and Plume but it would be nice to see her ssmates again.

    Sophie was determined to try her best to be a bit more sociable.

    Doctor Reynolds had suggested that it would help her improve her social skills by getting out of herfort zone a bit more.

    Unfortunately, it appeared as though today was not the day to begin her n to make new friends since Sophie only saw upperssmen and caretakers.

    Well, it wasn''t that surprising¡­

    The Sanctuary was arge ce so it would be quite the coincidence to bump into someone that you knew.

    Sophie felt mildly disappointed but threw that feeling to the back of her mind as she finally arrived at the tundra district.

    The temperature was noticeably colder, and it got worse as Sophie walked further into the zone.

    Eventually she could see small clouds of white mist whenever she exhaled, and the tips of her fingers felt a bit numb.

    Most of thebat beasts inside this zone had white or lightly coloured fur but Sophie saw a few noticeable exceptions.

    A green humanoid beast stood on its hindlegs and let out an earth-shattering cry.

    Sophie kept her distance from the creature and checked her wristmunicator for directions.

    She walked a few hundred meters to the right and saw the entrance to an ice cave. Sophie entered the cave without hesitation and found herself in a beautiful world of frozen ice.

    Large stctites hung from the ceiling which created a winter wondend. Sophie hurriedly snapped a few pictures and explored deeper into the cave.

    Suddenly a harsh squealing sound echoed through the underground and Sophie recognised the cry.

    It definitely came from a frostwing bat!

    Sophie''s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as the hybrid girl activated her movement technique.

    She arrived in arge open space where she saw something that she would never forget.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Hand over your snacks and no one gets hurt!)

    Moon was currently spreading his wings outwards and intimidating a crowd of shivering frostwing bats.

    His forked tail swayed from side to side, and he opened his mouth to reveal fangs muchrger and sharper than those of a typical frostwing bat.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Hurry up! We don''t have all day!)

    One by one the frostwing bats walked up to Moon and dropped a small nutrient pellet in front of him.

    Moon crossed his wings proudly and smiled with a stupid grin on his face. Sophie fought down her urge tough and quietly snuck up behind him.

    Some of the frostwing bats noticed her presence but Sophie put a finger to her lips, and they did not say a word.

    She arrived within striking distance of Moon''s body and with one smooth motion she reached out and grabbed her naughty frostwing bat by the chest.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Who wants a fight?! Who wants a¡­ Mommy?)

    Moon''s defiant attitude instantly vanished, and his face gradually turned pale in fright.

    He used his furry foot to push the pellets in the direction of the crowd of frostwing bats while praying that his mom had not been standing there the whole time.

    "So¡­ you''re a thug now?" Sophie growled darkly as she gestured towards the pile of pellets.

    "I seem to recall you saying some nonsense like ''no one gets hurt''."

    "Did you n on injuring any of these bats? Tell me¡­ if you hurt them¡­ whose money do you think will have to be paid topensate their owners?"

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened, and she stared at her roguish pet who sheepishly looked down at the ground.

    The crowd of frostwing bats watched the scene in amazement.

    Moon was the fiercest animal in the tundra region and his reputation as a ''little king'' wasmon knowledge among the pets in this zone.

    But now the crowd of frostwing bats discovered exactly where Moon had gotten his intimidation aura from.

    The small trace of bloodlust that leaked out of Sophie''s body was enough to cause Moon to tremble.

    However, therge frostwing bat quickly calmed himself down because he knew that panicking would not solve the matter at hand.

    Moon copied Sophie''s usual actions and took a deep breath to rx.

    Sophie was still ring at him but now Moon knew exactly what to say to get out of this.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy it''s¡­ it''s not what it looks like!)

    Sophie raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she could not wait to hear what excuse her mischievous pet nned to use.

 Chapter 460 - Study Session Time!

    (Zrudread University- Main Campus)

    (The Royal Library)

    A tall rectangr building stood next to the cafeteria. From the outside it was not very impressive or visually stunning as its walls were painted a dull grey colour.

    Compared to the busy lines and crowd of students going to and from the cafeteria, this building inparison looked practically deserted.

    Only a handful of students trickled in and out of its entrance.

    With the Virtual Net being readily avable to all the students, libraries were generally seen as outdated.

    Zrudread University in particr was verybat and practical oriented so most students were reluctant to spend much time reading in the library.

    Sophie held up her student card and pressed it against the entrance scanner. The ss doors swung open, and the hybrid girl walked inside.

    The inside of the building was surprisingly nice. The floor was covered in a soft,fortable fur carpet and there was a pleasant scent of flowers in the air.

    There were multiple floors inside the library with the first floor serving as themon area that had chairs, benches and tables.

    The other floors contained private study rooms that the students could book.

    There were terminals connected to the Virtual Net scattered around the room, but Sophie also sawrge bookshelves filled with heavy tomes and books.

    Physical books held a certain charm, and it may sound silly, but Sophie enjoyed the feeling of flipping through pages.

    Today was Friday.

    Only a few more days were left before the final exams begun and Sophie nned to meet up with some of her friends for a study session.

    Celestia had invited her to join their cramming session and had also extended the invitation to the rest of the ss.

    Sophie at first was feeling rather hesitant but it had been a while since she hadst seen the gossipy Servie girl, and this was a good chance to learn a bit more about her ssmates.

    "Hello youngdy¡­ how can I help you?" a warm and friendly voice called out.

    An elderly human woman wearing a in white robe stepped out from behind one of the bookshelves and smiled at Sophie.

    "Good morning! I''m looking for a study room booked by a student named Celestia," Sophie replied politely.

    The elderly woman slowly powered on her wristmunicator and essed the library''s database.

    "Ahh¡­ third floor¡­ room twenty-five¡­" the elderly woman whispered softly. Sophie thanked the helpful librarian and then headed towards the stairs.

    She could have taken the elevator but a little exercise before a study session always helped to clear her mind.

    The library was much bigger than one would expect it to be judging solely on its unimpressive exterior.

    Sophie suspected that spatial runes had been engraved onto the ceiling to expand the space.

    The hybrid girl curiously looked around and saw students desperately studying with heavy stacks of paper in front of them.

    Some were jotting down notes and answering mock questions while others were frantically trying to memorise the contents.

    There were even a few that gave uppletely.

    Sophie spotted a Mendolesa boy lounging on one of the couches in a deep slumber.

    Sophie shook her head and tried not tough when she saw some drool slip out of the poor boy''s mouth.

    It took around five minutes to finally reach the third floor. Unlike the first floor, this area was a long corridor with doors on both sides of the hall.

    There was a number on each door that clearly marked the room number and there was also a glowing light that indicated whether the room was upied or not.

    "Okay¡­ let''s see¡­ twenty-one¡­ twenty-two¡­" Sophie whispered to herself as she got closer and closer to a door near the end of the hallway.

    She could hear the sounds of people talking andughing on the other side of the door.

    Sophie knocked on the door twice and then swiped her student card against the scanner. The door swung open, and Sophie entered what appeared to be a miniature ssroom.

    The conversations inside the room immediately halted as the students stared at her with varying expressions.

    Whispers and murmurs filled the room as the students could not believe their eyes.

    Celestia had told them that Sophie wasing but there were some that did not trust her words.

    "Wait¡­ the rumors were true?"

    "I thought she was going to repeatst semester¡­"

    "Damn¡­ does this mean that I don''t have a chance toe first?"

    "Sophie! d you could make it!" a sing-song voice cut through the strange atmosphere.

    Celestia flew over with her translucent wings ppingzily andnded on top of Sophie''s head. The Servie girl hummed cheerfully as she yed with strands of Sophie''s hair.

    "They didn''t believe me you know¡­ everyone thought that you wouldn''t show up!" Celestia boasted proudly as she turned to the crowd with a smug look on her face.

    "It''s good to see you again¡­" a soft whisper came from the corner of the room. A hybrid boy with two bone-like wings jutting out from his back waved at Sophie.

    "Nice to see you as well Rafessa," Sophie replied with a smile.

    Her open and friendly demeaner caused the other students to lose their nervousness and they soon came over to chat.

    "Tell me¡­ what happened that night¡­ is it true that the emperor blew himself up?" a Mendolesa girl leaned in closer and whispered.

    "No¡­ I heard that he summoned the power of a false God and banished the nobles to another dimension!" a spiky haired boy yelled.

    "The Federation government is just covering it up! My dad works for a guy who knows a guy whose cousin knows the truth!"

    "Where did you go for those three months?" Celestia chimed in with a question of her own.

    Sophie patiently answered most of the questions but was intentionally vague on some of the details.

    Still even her brief summary of the events that she had gone through in the Unovan Syndicate was enough to get looks of amazement from the crowd.

    There were around ten students in the study room with the majority being humans which was quite the rare sight at Zrudread University.

    Poison was seen as unbefitting for a warrior in the Mendolesa culture, so it was unusual for a member of their species to choose this path.

    Sophie continued to answer questions and catch up with her fellow ssmates for around ten more minutes until finally someone could not take it anymore.

    "Excuse me¡­ can we go back to studying now?" a nasally voice filled the room.

    Sophie saw a quiet boy dressed in a turtleneck sweater staring at her with an expression of annoyance.

    "Sorry about that," Sophie apologised sincerely. There would be time for idle chat once the study session finished.

    Sophie sat down on the nearest avable seat and pulled some textbooks out of her storage bag.

    Celestia jumped off her head andnded on her shoulders where she peered down at the book.

    "I''m having some trouble with the organic chemistry section," Celestia freely admitted as she gave Sophie her best puppy eyed look.

    The Servie girl was d that the number one student in the poison cultivation ss was back because she really needed the help.

    Sophie was not just the best student in theb section, but her theoretical knowledge was unrivalled as well.

    "Which part? The carbon-to-carbon bonding or the effects of modifying the benzene ring to produce a cyclohexadiene?" Sophie asked quietly.

    Celestia''s tiny head began to hurt as Sophie kept on listing out the different terms that would probably be on the exam.

    By the gods¡­ she hated chemistry.

 Chapter 461 - The Day Before The First Exam

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    There were numerous paths of cultivation.

    Some focused on physical enhancements, others wished to wield the power of the elements, and a few sought the aid of the arcane.

    However, there was one path that was far more difficult than the rest.

    Mech controllers.

    Tomand the suits of armour capable of destroying entire fleets required a tremendous amount of mental force.

    Perhaps not even one in one billion individuals with potential for cultivation would meet this threshold.

    And of course, that was just the beginning of their long journey.

    Increasing one''s mental force took an incredible amount of effort and patience.

    It involved long periods of silent meditation where a cultivator would be forced to dive inside their own mind.

    To regrly confront one''s darkest fears, desires and secrets on a regr basis was no easy feat.

    Many gave up after only a few months of training and those who persisted may eventually hit a wall that they could not ovee.

    Cleo slowly rubbed her temples as she opened her eyes.

    The princess was currently in one of the spare bedrooms and sitting down on a fur mat.

    Tomorrow was the first day of the final exam season and Cleo was trying her best to stabilise her fluctuating mental state.

    Her first exam was a practice flight that would take ce in an asteroid field that was a few days away from Eleron.

    Instructor Barrett wanted his students to navigate through difficult terrain using their mechs andplete the tasks that he assigned them.

    It was a bit unusual for first years to be given such an assignment, but Instructor Barrett had high expectations for his students.

    Cleo closed her eyes and attempted to slip back into her meditative trance.

    Time passed slowly and the princess'' brows eventually furrowed in frustration.

    It was no use. No matter how hard she tried.

    Maybe it was time for a break¡­

    Cleo yawned sleepily and grabbed a spare jacket from her storage bag. The princess pulled a mirror out of her pocket and checked her appearance before humming in satisfaction.

    She walked out of the spare bedroom and headed downstairs to the central living room.

    The television was turned on, and Cleo could hear loud noises from the top of the stairs.

    "Alejandro my beloved¡­ why did you leave me?!"

    "Rose my love¡­ for it was thine beauty and grace¡­ it was mainly your unpleasant face¡­"

    "You selfish pig! Don''t think I don''t know that you were sleeping with my brother!"

    Sophie was sitting down on the couch and staring intensely at the bloody scene taking ce on the screen.

    "Tell him Rose! You don''t need a cheater in your life!" Sophie cheered loudly as she reached for another sweet cake.

    The hybrid girl paid no attention to her appearance as she shook her fist at the television and cursed the two-faced male lead.

    "Rose! Are you seriously getting back¡­" Sophie''s voice trailed off when she saw her girlfriend staring at her with an expression of bemusement.

    Cleo giggled and ran over to the couch where she plopped down on Sophie''sp and seductively wiggled her hips.

    A faint pink mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie''s golden eyes, but the hybrid girl desperately fought down her urges.

    Tomorrow was the first day of exams so she couldn''t leave in Cleo in a bedridden state!

    "What nonsense are you watching?" Cleo teased as she gently stroked Sophie''s cheek.

    Her movements got bolder, and Sophie had to resist the temptation to tear off her jacket and expose those two plump mountains.

    "Just thetest drama¡­." Sophie gritted her teeth and exined. Cleo saw the struggle in her girlfriend''s eyes and decided to stop teasing her.

    The princess settled downfortably in Sophie''sp and held her girlfriend''s hand.

    The sun was slowly going down towards the horizon and the light shining through the window was a warm orange colour.

    "Are you nervous about the exams?" Cleo suddenly asked as she yed Sophie''s fingers.

    Nervous?

    Sophie hummed softly and gave the matter some thought.

    It may sound a bit arrogant, but Sophie was confident in her ability to do well.

    She had spent thest few months desperately studying and catching up to her ssmates.

    Professor Macabre and Lecturer Ward were both very helpful and always tried their best to exin the concepts that she did not understand.

    "I¡­ I don''t think so¡­ I mean it''s probably going to be a couple of hard exams, but I''m prepared for basically anything," Sophie replied calmly.

    "I expect my girlfriend to get first ce!" Cleo solemnly ordered with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    "Yes, mydy," Sophie teased softly as she pressed her lips against Cleo''s cheek and pinched her soft ass.

    "Your wish is mymand¡­"

    The princess squirmed happily, and the pair fell into afortable silence.

    The show continued to y in the background, but Sophie reached for the remote and lowered the volume.

    Alejandro was trying to win his lover back with a gift of flowers, but he idently sent them to Rose''s brother.

    The man who he had an affair with!

    Sophie''s eyes widened in shock, and she leaned forward to get a better look at the drama that was about to unfold.

    Cleo sighed helplessly as she watched her girlfriend gradually lose herself in a world of backstabbing, deceit and falsehood.

    She had no idea why Sophie was so obsessed with these kinds of shows.

    For god''s sake¡­ the acting and the story wasn''t even that good.

    Cleo had seen better examples of real-life drama during her childhood and teenage years spent growing up in the Imperial Pce Complex.

    Her father''s lust was a double-edged sword for his many wives because he was easily reached by anyone in the harem.

    But he was not interested in matters outside of the pleasures of the flesh so naturally he did not bother to punish the actions of his concubines.

    Sophie reached for another sweet cake but this time instead of swallowing it directly, she broke it in half.

    "Open your mouth babe," Sophie whispered shyly.

    Cleo obediently followed hermand, and a small piece of cake was pushed into her mouth.

    Sophie followed her action up with a fierce kiss that took Cleo''s breath away.

    "Very sweet!" Sophieughed as she grabbed another piece and repeated the same action until Cleo''s lips were swollen.

    The princess'' face was nowpletely red as a fierce blush spread across her cheeks. Sophie always knew how to break down her walls.

    The tender moment between the pair was interrupted by the loud criesing from the television as the drama reached the finale.

    "Rose my love¡­ why do you hate me?!" the handsome Alejandro roared in despair.

    He stood in the pouring rain outside the house of his lover who stood silently by the window.

    "Because¡­ because¡­ I love¡­" Rose stuttered as she spoke.

    "Love?" Alejandro raised his head as his eyes gleamed with hope.

    "Because I love my brother¡­ AND YOU SLEPT WITH HIM FIRST!" Rose screamed loudly as she mmed the window shut.

    The screen slowly turned ck, and the credits started to roll. Sophie dropped the piece of sweet cake in her hand as she stared in disbelief.

    "Holy shit! What a plot twist!" Sophie excitedly spoke.

    She hurriedly powered on her wristmunicator and began to check the Virtual Net for any reviews.

    "What am I going to do with you?" Cleo affectionately whispered as she leaned in and kissed Sophie''s cheek.

 Chapter 462 - The Exams Begin!

    (Zrudread University)

    (St. John''s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

    Today was the day.

    Sophie strode into the ssroom with a determined look on her face. She wore a simple whiteb coat and a pair of goggles hung around her neck.

    Several students were already sitting down next to a workstation while others were still putting on their safety gear.

    A few students from the study session waved at Sophie so she nodded back politely before heading towards the back of the ss.

    Sophie sat down on an empty chair and took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

    It felt strange to be back in theboratory building and writing an exam.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and took one final look at her notes.

    In the morning was the theory exam that wouldst for around three hours and then there would be a short break for lunch.

    In the afternoon they would have to return for theboratory portion that was worth around thirty five percent of their final grade.

    Sophie nervously opened up several documents and lost herself in a world of forms, rare toxins and cultivation techniques.

    It was not that she needed to cram but it simply helped to review the notes one final time before the exam begun.

    "Hey Sophie!" a cheerful voice called out.

    Celestia zipped through the entrance and flew towards the back of the ssroom where shended on Sophie''s shoulder.

    "Are you ready?" Celestia asked in an excited tone.

    "Yeah¡­ I should be fine," Sophie replied calmly as she continued to look at her notes.

    She skimmed over the section on inorganic trace metals and focused on the notes that she made on neurotoxins and their effect on dendrites.

    "Well best of luck!" Celestia replied before jumping off Sophie''s shoulder and flying towards an empty chair in the corner of the ss.

    Sophie raised her head and smiled as she saw the small Servie girl immediately engage in conversation about thetest gossip with her desk mate.

    Celestia may have an outgoing personality and seem like an air head at first nce but the fact that she qualified as a member of the elite ss disyed her hidden strength.

    Sophie had no doubt that she would do well in the exam.

    There were still eight minutes left before the exam would officially begin so Sophie turned off her wristmunicator.

    More students entered the ssroom and soon theboratory got more crowded but there were a few workstations left empty.

    Sophie noticed that there were less students present than when she wrote the midterm examst semester.

    Clearly there were some who dropped out of the course or decided to switch majors.

    Poison cultivation was quite difficult so it was no surprise that some would eventually choose to drop out.

    Sophie absentmindedly watched therge clock in the front of the ssroom and counted down the minutes before the exam begun.

    The metalloid doors swung open and Professor Macabre strode into the room with a confident smile on her face.

    "Hello my dear students! I hope you all are prepared for this final exam," Professor Macabre enthusiastically spoke.

    "As I stated in thest lecture, the materials tested on this exam will included everything that was mentioned in both this andst semester."

    "The exam will have fifty multiple choice questions, a few short answers and then finally your choice of three essay questions."

    "I expect nothing less than a minimum grade of seventy five percent if you expect to keep your ce in the elite ss."

    Professor Macabre''s words lowered the atmosphere in the room as tense expressions appeared on the faces of the students.

    An exam covering the knowledge learnt over two semesters was going to be quite difficult even when taking into consideration the enhanced memory that cultivators possessed.

    Professor Macabre pulled a stack of metalloid tablets from her storage bag and slowly walked around the room handing one to each student.

    She gave Sophie an encouraging smile as she approached the back of the ssroom and handed the hybrid girl a tablet.

    Sophie pressed her thumb against the device and a green light scanned her finger. Suddenly several metalloid walls rose up from the ground and trapped her in a box.

    These walls were several inches thick and made from a material that absorbed light.

    Sophie curiously touched the nearest wall and found that the metal felt quite warm.

    She was clearly not the only one who experienced this unexpected trap because surprised gasps echoed through the ssroom.

    "Cheating will not be tolerated so please don''t be foolish enough to try," Professor Macabre sternly warned.

    Sophie noticed that one of the walls had a hidden camera in the top right-hand corner that was positioned right above her body.

    Zrudread University was quite strict when it came to finals season and especially so for the elite ss students.

    They received the most resources and hence were held to a higher standard than the rest of the college.

    "I''m going to give you all some extra time so feel free to begin now," Professor Macabre cheerfully spoke.

    The tablet screen shed twice, and Sophie saw a few lines of text appear.

    [State Your Name: ....]

    [Student No: ......¡­.]

    "Okay¡­ I can do this," Sophie softly whispered to herself. She carefully filled out her student information and then begun the exam.

    She decided to skip the multiple choice and short answer questions and start with the essay questions first.

    There were three hours in total, so Sophie nned on dealing with the part worth the most marks first and then working her way backwards.

    Exams required not just knowledge but a strategy as well.

    Sophie scrolled down and finally saw the section that she was looking for.

    The essay section had three prompts and she needed to choose one to write down two pages of information.

    Let''s see the options¡­

    The first prompt was fairly straightforward and involved talking about the role of poison in the Umbra War of the thirtieth century.

    The second prompt asked the students to think about how to deal with a species that did not have biological organs.

    This was not an umon urrence in the universe as several races made of metals or beings of pure energy had been encountered by the Earth Federation.

    Would poison in the traditional sense still be effective?

    Sophie''s eyes widened when she saw thest and final prompt.

    It involved a theoretical situation where multiple qi techniques could manipte a certain neurotoxin and the students were required to choose the best technique.

    Hmm¡­ thest one seemed interesting, and Sophie had just reviewed neurotoxins earlier, so it seemed like fate.

    The hybrid girl touched the screen with her fingertips and then began to write out her essay.

    The feeling of nervousness that she had seemed to fade away as Sophie carefully recalled the knowledge inside her mind.

 Chapter 463 - Is It Too Late To Drop Out?

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (St. John''s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

    "So, on the question about the implications of modified hydrochloric acid¡­ what did you write down as your answer?"

    "Bro¡­ I didn''t even reach that part¡­ I ran out of time¡­"

    "Fuck¡­ I''m going to fail¡­ I knew I shouldn''t have spentst weekend ying virtual reality games¡­"

    "I studied for like three weeks and halfway through the exam I waspletely lost¡­ I don''t know why Professor Macabre always writes hard questions."

    "Is it toote to drop out?"

    Sophie walked into the ssroom and heard the conversations happening between her fellow students.

    The lunch break was over, and the practical exam would start in around ten minutes.

    The theory exam to put it mildly¡­ was extremely difficult.

    Even Sophie had been surprised with the obscure knowledge that was tested.

    The short answers and essay questions in particr could not be answered by just memorising the information given in ss but required them to apply the knowledge that they had learnt.

    "How was the exam?" a soft voice nervously called out.

    A hybrid boy with two bone-like wings jutting out of his back walked up to Sophie.

    "Oh, hey Rafessa¡­ it was¡­ okay?" Sophie replied hesitantly.

    "I mean I wasn''t sure about the answer to thest ten multiple choice questions, and I wrote an extra page for my essay."

    "Hopefully she doesn''t deduct marks but Professor Macabre is pretty strict so who knows¡­"

    Other students saw that Sophie was discussing the exam and hurriedly walked over to her to ask questions about how she felt.

    "Did you get ''B'' for the second multiple choice?"

    "What essay prompt did you pick?"

    "The answer for thest short answer was ''Covalent Bonds'', right?"

    Sophie patiently answered their questions since this was a good opportunity to solidly her image as someone who was warm and friendly.

    Sophie was aware that her over seven-foot-tall height along with her ded appendages and fangs made her look quite scary.

    The time passed quickly and just as Sophie was about to discuss her theory on thest essay prompt, Professor Macabre walked into the room.

    "Alright students get to your stations," Professor Macabre sternly spoke.

    The students dispersed and Sophie walked towards the back of the ssroom and sat down on an empty chair.

    Professor Macabre stood in front of the room with a disappointed expression on her face.

    Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked directly at her students.

    "I have begun marking your exam and let''s just say¡­ I hope that many of you perform better on the practical exam this afternoon," Professor Macabre hoarsely whispered.

    "It is worth around thirty five percent of your final grade so please do not assume that it will be easier than the theory portion."

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a heavy stack of papers.

    The poison cultivation teacher walked around the room and ced a sheet of paper on each table in front of the students.

    Professor Macabre had significantly less enthusiasm than in the morning and her sharp gaze sent shivers down the spines of the unlucky students who suffered her silent wrath.

    The professor handed out thest sheet and then walked to the front of the room.

    "The practical exam will have two parts that test different skills. The first part will require you to modify a random poison form that has been assigned to you," Professor Macabre exined.

    "I expect the lethality of the base toxin to at least double its initial strength. Bonus marks will be granted for any additional side effects."

    "This can range from infectious pus-filled boils to milder symptoms like a rash or pox-like afflictions."

    "You have two hours toplete this task and the reagent cupboard will be fully avable during this time."

    Professor Macabre gestured towards the storage space in the back of theb where hundreds of vials, chemicals and other strange mixtures were stored.

    "Please begin," Professor Macabre spoke coldly.

    There was a frantic rush of movement as several students immediately headed for the storage space to choose ingredients.

    Sophie remained in ce and turned the paper over to get a closer look at the form.

    Randomly adding chemicals and hazardous materials to a toxin was just in foolishness.

    It was better to look at the poison assigned to her first and then make a n to modify the form.

    The name of the poison that Sophie had been given was called ''The River''s Sorrow.''

    It was a particrly nasty toxin that got its name from the madman who used it to poison the water supply of an alien.

    The poison was colourless and tasteless.

    It was an insidious toxin that attacked the body''s breathing apparatus and rotted away the alveoli walls.

    Victims would die a slow and painful death of suffocation as air would no longer be able to flow into their lungs or gills.

    Sophie closed her eyes and tried to remember all the information that she knew about this poison.

    Professor Macabre had mentioned it in ss once but she had only spent around three minutes briefly discussing it.

    "Hmm¡­ how can I change this," Sophie muttered quietly to herself.

    Theb benches had drawers ced underneath, so Sophie pulled one open and got a notebook and a pencil from inside.

    She also opened another drawer and took out twoboratory apparatus to help her in the modification process.

    The first was a poison detector that would measure the lethality of different poisons using a rtive scale of one to ten.

    The second was a poison crucible which was a device that facilitated the breakdown of toxins into separateponents via heating which allowed for mixing.

    In addition, Sophia grabbed a few volumetric sks, a scale and some measuring cylinders.

    The first step was to make the poison ording to the form so that she had an idea of its lethality.

    Sophie had not forgotten Professor Macabre''s instructions to double the lethality of the original toxin.

    This exam unlike the theory exam permitted students to use the Virtual Net so Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and started to search for more information.

    There were several articles about ''The River''s Sorrow'' but most simply discussed the incident when it was first used.

    There were few scientific articles that discussed modifying the toxin.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and began to look up the individualponents that made up the poison.

    She finally made a breakthrough since one of theponents was the leaf of a Feren nt found on Hrin.

    This rare nt took several years to grow, and the ingestion of a single leaf would cause one''s organs to gradually copse.

    Sophie spent around fifteen minutes looking up the otherponents before a n gradually formed in her mind.

    What if she modified the poison to transform it from a water-based toxin to an airborne one?

    This would be quite the difficult feat, but Sophie was quietly optimistic about her chances of sess.

    She got up from her chair and headed for the storage space to pick out some chemicals.

 Chapter 464 - A Change Of Plan

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (St. John''s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

    "Careful¡­ careful..." Sophie whispered to herself as she ced a dropper inside the vial of colourless liquid.

    This vial of colourless liquid was the poison that she had made ording to the original form with no modifications.

    Sophie wanted to get an idea of the toxicity level before starting the process to convert the liquid poison into a lethal gas cloud.

    She gently squeezed the rubber cap and liquid slowly entered the vial.

    Sophie extracted around fifty millilitres before stopping.

    Okay¡­ so far everything was going alright.

    Sophie pressed a small button on the bottom of the poison analysis device and the screen powered on.

    There was an opening in the middle of the device so Sophie gently ced the tip of the dropper inside the hole and squeezed out the liquid inside.

    A line of text shed across the device''s screen.

    [Three minutes to analyse sample¡­]

    Sophie did not waste any time and while the device was analysing the poison, she flipped open her notebook and jotted down some more ideas.

    There were a couple chemicals that she wanted to try binding to the leaf of the Feren nt that was required to make the poison.

    Hydrosulfuric acid, nitrous dioxide and even carbon monoxide were all options to try and experiment with.

    Sophie nced at the clock and saw that she had more than an hour and a half left. There was plenty of time remaining.

    Ding! Ding!

    The device suddenly bleeped twice before presenting the results of its analysis.

    [Poison Lethality- 0.04]

    Huh? That didn''t make any sense¡­

    Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion when she saw the results and could not help but wonder if she had done something wrong.

    This device would analyse toxins on a rtive scale of one to ten with ten being the highest and one being the lowest.

    A lethality level that did not even reach one was impossible.

    ''The River''s Sorrow'' was a toxin that had almost decimated an entire alien civilisation so it should at least be a three or four.

    Sophie closed her eyes and recalled her memories of making the poison.

    She had followed every step exactly and did not make any adjustments to the form.

    The final product was indeed colourless and odourless just like in the description.

    Sophie opened her eyes, and a sudden thought crossed her mind. She ran over to a nearby sink and filled a beaker with some distilled water using a measuring cylinder.

    The hybrid girl measured around five hundred millimeters of water using the measuring cylinder and then mixed the poison in the beaker.

    There was no visible change.

    Sophie grabbed a fresh dropper and took another sample but this time she took it from the mixture of water and the poison.

    She ced the dropper inside the device''s opening and then repeated the process for a second time.

    Time seemed to slow down as Sophie stared intensely at the poison analysis device.

    Ding! Ding!

    [Poison Lethality- 3.1]

    It was a drastic change.

    Sophie opened up her notebook and wrote down the value.

    Evidentially there was some kind of reaction when the poison contacted the water which caused its lethality level to increase.

    This was not good news for her original n to turn it into a gas.

    Sophie would have to run some test to see if the poison reacted to the hydrogen dioxide molecules or just the hydrogen.

    If it was just the hydrogen, then she could proceed with her original n.

    If not, then she needed to figure something out and fast.

    With a lethality level of three point one then that meant that the modified poison would need to reach six point two.

    "Hmm¡­ take a deep breath¡­ you got this¡­" Sophie muttered to herself as she clenched her fist tightly under the table.

    She was clearly not the only one currently worried about her task as several other students were looking around the room with dazed expressions on their faces.

    Professor Macabre maintained the stern look on her face but was secretly pleased to see their reactions.

    This final exam would separate those who truly wished to devote themselves to the Art of Poison and those who were better off choosing another major.

    She looked forward to seeing who would rise above her challenge and seed.

    Sophie turned on the heating pad beneath the crucible and poured in the mixture inside.

    She wanted to separate theponents of the poison and run some additional tests.

    While the mixture was heating up, Sophie searched on the Virtual Net to try and look for any more information.

    Things were looking pretty difficult at the moment and Sophie was briefly tempted to use her racial traits to enhance the poison.

    All she had to do was swallow the mixture and allow her venom nds to heighten its lethality.

    But that was the easy way.

    Sophie wanted to prove her own strength by not relying on her racial advantage.

    Besides if she continued down that road then what use was there to even be the poison cultivation ss.

    The mixture inside the crucible boiled so Sophie hurried over with several empty test tubes to collect theponents.

    She adjusted the goggles over her eyes and collected three different liquids from the mixture.

    One of the liquids was an angry red colour and Sophie recognised it as the only metalloid alloy used in the creation of the poison.

    The clock continued to tick ominously as the time went by faster and faster. Sophie moved towards the fume cupboard and prepared her first experiment.

    She got a cylindrical sk full of hydrogen gas and then added the colourless liquid to the sk.

    There was no reaction as the liquid simply fell to the bottom of the container. Sophie swirled the liquid inside the sk for several minutes before running it through the analysis device.

    Ding! Ding!

    [Poison Lethality- 0.04]

    "Damn it!" Sophie cursed as she realised that water was an integral part to the activation of the poison.

    She needed to change her n now.

    Sophie disposed of the waste in the collection bin and then ran over to the table.

    She flipped open her notebook and jotted down some ideas.

    Side effects like causing pus-filled blisters to form on the skin of the victim would not directly enhance the lethality but would definitely weaken their immune systems.

    Sophie headed for the reagent cupboard and grabbed two solutions from the back of a shelf.

    One was the blood of a creature known as the Plore''an found on a lunar colony in the Hydra Star System.

    The other was made from a pale yellowish white flower that was native to Gaia.

    It was known as the ''false love'' because its beauty concealed a deadly hidden de.

    Sophie spent the rest of the time frantically adding chemicals, substances and trace metals to the form while recording the lethality levels of the resulting mixtures.

    She used the information avable on the Virtual Net to eliminate different reagents and only chose the ones with the highest likelihood of sess.

    Eventually with only five minutes left on the clock, Sophie dripped her newest mixture inside the poison analysis device.

    She bottled up the rest of the mixture inside an empty beaker and then waited with bated breath for the results.

    "Come on¡­e on¡­" Sophie whispered seriously as she stared at the screen without even blinking.

    [Ding! Ding!]

    [Poison Lethality- 6.15]

    Sophie let out a disappointed sigh as she nced at the clock and realised that there was no more time left.

    She had been so close to the six point two needed to get full marks in the practical exam.

    Sophie walked up to the front of the ssroom and handed the beaker over to Professor Macabre who smiled encouragingly.

    The hybrid girl nodded politely and then returned to her seat with a heavy heart.

    Sometimes it was more frustrating to narrowly fail than to never have a chance in the first ce.

 Chapter 465 - The Assassin Class Final Exam

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (Forest Biome- Training Field No. 53)

    The final exam for the students who chose to specialise in the assassin major was entirely a practical affair.

    One could not be a killer from merely testing one''s knowledge but rather by learning skills to aid in hunting, stalking and tracking.

    The forest biome was an enormous stretch ofnd that epassed over thirty-five hectares.

    Four individuals were currently travelling through this dense forest while carefully watching their surroundings for any hidden threats.

    The leader of the group was a massive Mendolesa female who held two twin scimitars in the palm of her hands.

    Two human men with identical appearances followed closely behind. They were painfully thin, and their eyes gleamed with hunger.

    At first nce they seemed quite weak since neither man had a weapon or armour on their bodies.

    They wore simple white robes with a heavy silver chain hung around their necks.

    But there was a dangerous aura surrounding them that was hard to ignore.

    The final member of the party was an aquatic-like alien with pale bluish skin and scales that covered most of her flesh.

    She had four hands, a long-forked tail and gills along the sides of her neck.

    She held a golden trident using her webbed fingers and constantly stopped to sniff the air.

    There was nothing inmon between the four of them except for one crucial detail¡­

    They were all criminals sentenced to death.

    Crimes such as genocide, murder, rape and torture were just a few of the charges listed against them.

    They all possessed cultivation levels of the qi tide stage and were formidable foes.

    An ordinary student could not possibly hope to face them head on and win.

    But it was precisely for that reason why they were the targets of the assassin ss.

    Professor Aegon wanted his students to carve one important message into their minds.

    No creature is truly unkible.

    Even the greatest warrior has moments when their concentration slips for just a fraction of a second.

    And that was all the opportunity that a skilled assassin needed to kill them.

    Qiana hid among the leaves and softly leapt from branch to branch as she kept a firm lock on her targets.

    She was the first one to track down the group, but her ssmates should not be too far behind.

    Now Qiana was faced with a choice.

    Should she engage first or wait for her ssmates andunch a multi-pronged attack.

    Cooperation would certainly be an advantage but whether or not her fellow students would want to work together was another matter.

    Only the one whonded the killing blow would pass the exam. It was an insidious trick that manipted their psychology perfectly.

    Professor Aegon ensured that his students would be aggressive to both their targets and each other.

    Qiana closed her eyes and silently nned out her next series of movements.

    Concentrate¡­ focus¡­ do not leak a trace of your killing intent.

    The most important trait of an assassin is patience.

    The shadows surrounding Qiana''s body twisted and wriggled as if they were alive.

    Dark runes formed on her skin and the quiet girl bore a striking resemnce to a devil crawling out of hell.

    Qiana bent her knees and channeled qi into her legs. She activated a movement technique and her speed instantly doubled.

    There was no hesitation in her movements because she knew that hesitation would lead to failure.

    It was time.

    Light Transmission!

    Small electromaic signals pulsed outwards from Qiana''s body and entered the minds of the four criminals.

    This was a special technique created by her ancestors that allowed the caster to modify the electric signals sent to the brain of those affected by the technique.

    Qiana lunged forward with her dagger poised to strike the neck of one of the unarmed human men.

    Just as her de was mere inches away from his skin, the man suddenly ducked, and the knife passed over his body.

    Qiana felt a sense of dangere from the side and quickly jumped out of the way just as a small metalloid device flew at her.

    Bang!

    Arge explosion echoed through the forest and Qiana could notpletely avoid the aftershocks of the st.

    She mmed against a nearby tree and groaned as she felt one of her ribs crack.

    There was no time to recover as the Mendolesa warrior swung her scimitars towards her neck.

    Qiana scrambled up the tree and narrowly avoid the de that would have certainly separated her head from her body.

    The students had not been provided with barrier devices for the final exam so any significant injuries would most likely be lethal.

    There was a reason why the assassin major had the highest fatality rate of all the courses offered at Zrudread University.

    One could only learn when their lives were truly on the line.

    Qiana narrowed her eyes and maintained some distance between herself and her attackers.

    Why had her technique failed?

    Qiana silently observed the four criminals who stared back at her with bloodthirsty expressions.

    Wait a moment¡­

    Qiana''s eyes widened in shock as she saw the blue alien creature wave her four hands around and mana circles hovered in midair.

    A mage? Was Professor Aegonpletely mad?

    "Ignis explosio temporis!'' the mage roared in rage.

    Multiple runic circles formed in midair as the alien channelled the power of the arcane.

    Qiana wrapped the shadows around her body just as an enormous wave of fire flew towards her.

    The surrounding trees began to burn, and the high temperatures caused the air to shimmer. Clouds of ck smoke filled the air which made it hard to see what happened to the quiet girl.

    "Did you get her?" the Mendolesa warrior growled hoarsely. The mage sped their hands together and nodded.

    No one could survive a direct hit from her fire spell. That reckless student was most likely burnt to a crisp.

    Nothing should remain of her corpse except for ashes that would be scattered across the forest by the winds.

    "We need to keep moving¡­ those brats must have been alerted to our position now and I''m sure that they are not far behind," one of the two men spoke.

    "Brother¡­ don''t worry¡­ my pupil technique can see through all illusions," the other man spoke proudly.

    "Let theme¡­ we will ughter them all," the Mendolesa warrior boasted confidently as she snarled with a bloodthirsty expression on her face.

    Being treated as a whetstone for a bunch of shitty youths was a humiliation that none of them could forget.

    Although they would most likely die after or during the exam¡­ the four of them made a pact to kill as many students as they could.

    "My de is thirsty¡­ I will kill¡­ arghh!"

    The Mendolesa warrior''s voice trailed off and her eyes widened in shock.

    A lithe figure rose up from the ground beneath her feet and nted a dagger inside her throat.

    Qiana''s body was nowpletely ck, and her eyes were a bottomless pit of death and destruction.

    The Mendolesa warrior struggled to breathe as she desperately grabbed her throat and tried to stop the bleeding.

    She eventually fell to the ground with a dull thump and stopped moving.

    Qiana pulled another thin de from her pocket and threw it at the two brothers approaching her with their fists extended outwards.

    The mage whispered another chant, but Qiana''s mission was already aplished.

    She briefly nced at the corpse and then tossed a small circr object at the ground.

    The metalloid device hissed, and an enormous white fog was released from its center. One of the brothers activated his pupil technique to try and find her but¡­

    She was long gone.

 Chapter 466 - The Pride Of A Mage

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (Redheart National Stadium- Training Field No.2)

    Mages are in equal parts both feared and admired throughout the universe.

    People cannot help but fear that which they do not understand.

    No one knows which species first stumbled upon the arcane but even millions of yearster there are countless mysteries that still remain unsolved.

    What exactly is mana?

    Why can only a small percentage of cultivators convert their qi into this mysterious energy source?

    Magic was fantastic, dangerous and addicting.

    Many who study the arcane would spend a lifetime trying desperately to learn even a fraction of all its secrets.

    Professor Ma smiled as he stared at the dozens of students currently gazing at him with various expressions of nervousness.

    The mage department at Zrudread University was not the greatest among the four top university but they received more than sufficient funding to provide a solid education.

    Students who graduated from this major would usually travel to Mer University in order to specialise further down their chosen path.

    Therefore, the mage professors made sure to teach their students the foundations of magic.

    The first years standing on the field were thetest batch of students.

    There were a few talented ones among them, but most were fairly average. The only exception was the tall Mendolesa girl standing imposingly in the back of the crowd.

    Professor Ma''s eyes briefly swept over to her position and saw that she was silently munching on some snacks.

    Well¡­ she was the apprentice of an archmage, so Professor Ma quietly turned a blind eye to the breach of discipline.

    He waited patiently for thest students to arrive on the field and then cleared his throat before addressing the crowd in a loud voice.

    "Wee students to the final exam for the mage ss!" Professor Ma roared as he raised his arms to the sky.

    Dark purple runic circles formed along his arms and an enormous magic circle appeared above his body.

    "Quidam frigus effectus!" the elderly wizard roared.

    Fireworks burst out from his fingertips and exploded in the sky with a loud bang.

    The sparkles formed the image of a cheerful smile.

    Professor Ma sped his hands together and stared off into the distance with a cold expression.

    The most important aspect of being a mage was of course¡­

    Presentation!

    Unfortunately, his students did not seem particrly impressed since he could only hear a few scatterings of apuseing from the corners of the crowd.

    Damn it¡­

    Professor Ma let out a light sigh and felt his mood slowly lower.

    He had been working on that spell for a few days now, but no one seemed to appreciate it.

    "Wow that was awesome!" a loud voice came from the back of the crowd.

    Astrid stood on her hindlegs and gave the lecturer arge thumbs up.

    Was the normal mage ss usually this exciting?

    Archmage Hollystorm on a typical day would lock her up in the mage tower library for several hours and then rush her off to the practice field for a sparring session.

    He never once tried to do anything shy with his spells and in fact, he drilled into Astrid''s mind that the best spells were the undetected ones.

    Astrid''s words helped to encourage the elderly professor who resumed his speech with more confidence than before.

    "I am pleased to announce that the final exam for first years will begin now," Professor Ma spoke in a much brighter tone.

    "Mages have two separate paths that they can follow so this exam will reflect that."

    "For those who wish to follow the path of pure research and exploration of the arcane there will be a three-hour written exam."

    "As for the rest¡­ you simply need toe up here and cast a spell that requires four mana circles."

    Four mana circles?

    Shocked gasps echoed through the stadium as the mage students looked at each other with frightened expressions.

    Most students were capable of casting up to three mana circle spells but only a few were confident enough to cast a four mana circle enchantment.

    Tension filled the atmosphere as students discussed among themselves whether it was better to take the written exam or try their hand at the practical demonstration.

    In the midst of their discussions, a lone figure casually walked through the crowd and approached the raised tform where the professor was standing.

    "Just a four mana circle spell, right?" Astrid asked cautiously.

    Professor Ma nodded in acknowledgement and a wide grin spread across the Mendolesa girl''s face.

    "Okay¡­ I''ll try it now," Astrid dered in a confident tone.

    Her figure had already drawn the attention of the students below and now they werepletely spellbound by her confident demeaner.

    Hmm¡­ which spell should she use?

    Astrid closed her eyes and carefully recalled the different four mana circle spells that her mentor had forced her to cast nonstop over thest few weeks.

    The Mendolesa girl slowly opened her eyes and a serious expression shed across her face.

    Although Astrid was a yful person by nature, she still possessed the pride of a mage and her Mendolesa background made her fiercelypetitive.

    She was not someone who relied on just mere talent alone but tried her best to work hard even though the heavy theory stuff about magic bored her to death.

    Astrid may tease her mentor sometimes but deep down she genuinely wanted Archmage Hollystorm to be proud of her.

    She was his first and maybest apprentice, so she had to live up to his great reputation.

    Astrid concentrated and felt her mana heart slowly begin to rotate faster and faster.

    A thickyer of mana formed around her body as Astrid moved her palms in aplicated series of movements.

    "Formare¡­ spatium¡­ discidium," Astrid mouthed silently as she channelled the arcane through her meridians.

    Crack!

    The space in front of her body splintered and arge portal appeared. The air vibrated around this mysterious portal and a sense of danger could be felt.

    Astrid chanted the spell for a second time and another portal formed on the opposite side of the training field.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a shirt. Astrid tossed the red shirt into the portal next to her and it disappeared.

    Momentster an identical red shirt fell out of the portal on the opposite side of the training field.

    Astrid curled up her ws and cut off the flow of mana running into the spell. The portals gradually faded away and then finally disappeared.

    "Pass¡­ PASS!" Professor Ma stuttered in shock as he hurriedly powered on his wristmunicator and recorded full marks for Astrid''s performance.

    The construction of two linked portals was one of the most difficult four mana circle spells to cast properly.

    Astrid smiled in relief and then nodded politely at the teacher. She walked down the raised tform and waved kindly at the students who cheered her performance.

    Now she was basically free for the rest of the day!

    Astrid could not shake the feeling that she had forgotten something but figured that if she couldn''t remember then it probably wasn''t important.

    Little did the Mendolesa girl know that poor Archmage Hollystorm was currently flying over with stacks of exam papers that he had gotten from Mer University.

    He would arrive shortly to the training field and discover that his apprentice had already gone home!

 Chapter 467 - The Mech Controller Princess

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Unnamed Asteroid Field)

    Arge medium sized spacecraft was silently travelling through the universe at a breakneck pace.

    The crest of Zrudread University was painted on its sides and in addition to a powerful defense system, there were two sma cannons mounted on top of the shuttle.

    Pirates roamed the outer regions so any spacecraft that passed through this area of space needed to have sufficient firepower to fight them off.

    Zrudread University''s reputation was enough to scare off most would be attackers but there would always be some who figured that the risk was worth the reward.

    There was a beautiful girl with long curly hair sitting quietly on a bed inside one of the cabins on the starship.

    Her eyes were a piercing green colour, and there was an aura of nobility and ss that surrounded her body.

    Cleo Sisrelis.

    One of thete Emperor''s many children and the only mech controller in the royal family.

    Her talents would have been considered a threat in the war for session were it not for her young age andck of proper connections.

    But none of that bothered the young princess.

    Ruling over the human side of the Earth Federation was an incredibly tedious affair.

    The struggle for the throne was bloody and Cleo had no ns to get involved in that fight.

    Her only goal was to be stronger in order to protect her girlfriend in case her Insectoid heritage ever got exposed.

    Cleo stared silently out of a window with many thoughts running through her mind. Countless stars twinkled and shone in the distance.

    She missed Sophie.

    They had only gotten to spend a few brief days together before the final exams begun.

    Cleo fidgeted slightly and a bright red blush spread across her face as she remembered how Sophie had tossed her on the bed for hours on the night before she left.

    The Mech controller exam would take ce inside an asteroid field that was several light years away from Eleron.

    It was quite the distance so it made sense that Instructor Barrett wanted his students to leave in advance so that they would be able to return for the battle ranking exam.

    The journey had taken over two days to finally arrived at an area in space where hundreds of massive rocks floated aimlessly.

    Cleo powered on her wristmunicator and sent a few messages to her girlfriend before turning it off.

    Cleo: [Hey babe! We finally reached at the exam site, so I won''t be able to talk for a few hours]

    Cleo: [Make sure that you''re eating properly and don''t forget not to allow Moon inside the master bedroom again!]

    Cleo: [Love you¡­]

    The exam would begin shortly so it was important to get in the right frame of mind.

    Cleo closed her eyes and began to rub her temples.

    Using mental force required both concentration and willpower. The objects inside her cabin slowly began to float upwards as Cleo spread her mental force throughout the room.

    Even with her eyes closed Cleo could sense the location of every object inside the room.

    She slowly took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    Ring! Ring!

    A piercing rm red out which was then followed by a robotic voice that came from the speaker in the corner of the cabin.

    [Attention Students! Attention Students!]

    [Please Make Your Way To Your Assigned Hangar!]

    Cleo reopened her eyes and slowly made her way to the bathroom. She took off her casual dress and put on a white battlesuit.

    The princess tied her hair back in a single ponytail and then with one final look at her reflection, she left the room.

    Cleo walked through abyrinth of side passageways and corridors before arriving at a metalloid door.

    She ced her thumb on the fingerprint scanner and a green light shed twice. The door swung open to reveal a massive open space.

    Sevenrge mechs lined up against the walls and numerous robot androids buzzed around the room doing final safety checks.

    Each student was assigned to a different hangar, so Elenora and Drew were probably on the other side of the starship.

    Now which mech should she choose¡­.

    Cleo furrowed her brows as she grabbed a tablet from the hands of the nearest droid and checked the details of each mech.

    Three of the mechs were in the lightweight ss, two were specialised for exploration and the final two were heavy juggernauts with immense firepower.

    Instructor Barrett had been intentionally vague about the details of the final exam, so Cleo had no idea what was going to happen.

    It could be abat mission to eliminate a band of pirates, extract a certain metal from the asteroids or safely navigate through the field.

    The possibilities were endless.

    Was this the first part of the test?

    Instructor Barrett''s smug appearance shed across Cleo''s mind as she gave the matter some more thought.

    Although the elderly man usually resembled a crazy scientist, he was a wily old fox who delighted in tricking his students.

    Mech controllers were all a bit mad, so his bad personality really wasn''t an exception in the field.

    One could not meditate inplete silence for hours or even days on end without being slightly insane.

    "I think I''ll stick to my strengths¡­" Cleo muttered to herself as she approached a mech at the end of the line.

    This mech was part of the Phantom series. It was a sleek, lightweight humanoid mech that specialised in aerialbat and scouting.

    It didck firepower whenpared to others in its weight ss but possessed high maneuverability and speed.

    Those two qualities would be very important when navigating through a dense asteroid field.

    Cleo was confident in her ability to escape if an unexpected situation arose.

    The purpose of scouts was not to engage directly with enemies and fight to the bitter end but rather to bring back information.

    Cleo wrapped her mental force around her body and slowly floated upwards in the air.

    The Phantom mech was over fifty feet in height but it didn''t take long before she arrived at the cockpit that was located near the chest region.

    The doors to the cockpit slid open and a small space with a single chair could be seen inside. Cleo entered without hesitation and waited for the initialisation process.

    Two metalloid wires came to life inside the cockpit, and one mmed itself inside the base of Cleo''s neck.

    The other one tightly wrapped itself around her body and held her in ce. Cleo closed her eyes and allowed her mental force to flow into the wire.

    The lights inside the mech''s helmet switched on and Cleo could feel her body be one with the machine.

    A cold metallic voice echoed through the cockpit.

    [Connecting¡­ connecting¡­ Connection Established!]

    Cleo stretched out the arms of the mech and spent a few moments familiarising herself with her new metallic body.

    Every movement felt natural and right.

 Chapter 468 - An Unexpected Ambush

    (Hydra Star System ¨C Outer Regions)

    (Unnamed Asteroid Field)

    Bang!

    A colossal hunk of space rock shattered into tiny pieces as Cleo swung an enormous energy sword with reckless abandon.

    Cleo had gotten used to piloting the over fifty feet tall mech and now the machine felt like an extension of her own body.

    Mental force constantly flowed from her brain into the robotic exoskeleton, but Cleo did not feel any strain.

    Years of improving her mental force pool meant that she had more than enough energy tost for at least two days straight.

    Phantom Series mechscked heavy firepower but were able to hold sma energy swords so Cleo was satisfied with her a melee build.

    Three hours had passed since the assignment had begun, but she was no closer to reaching her objective.

    When Cleo first heard of the requirement to pass the final exam, she really thought that it was too easy.

    Clearly, she had been incredibly naive.

    Professor Barrett wanted his students to find a hidden colony of rogue androids that were located deep inside the asteroid field.

    Their mission was to capture or destroy the colony using any means that they deemed necessary.

    What made the mission seem simple at first nce was the fact that all three of his students could work together.

    In fact, teamwork was highly encouraged since the destruction of the colony would ensure that everyone passed the exam.

    Cleo, Drew and Elenora had discussed amongst themselves and decided to form a team.

    Although Drew had an arrogant attitude, he ced his ego aside since searching through an entire asteroid field for an android colony was like finding a needle in a haystack.

    A holographic window popped up in the cockpit as Cleo received a few messengers from her fellow ssmates.

    Elenora: [Anyone found the colony yet?]

    Cleo: [No.]

    Drew: [Yes¡­ but there is a bit of a problem¡­]

    Drew: [Can you alle to me? I''m sharing my location right now.]

    Cleo: [Sounds good¡­ I''m on my way.]

    She received an iing transmission from Drew''s mech and saw a location highlighted on the map.

    Wait¡­ this didn''t make any sense¡­

    Drew was supposed to search the northern region of the asteroid field, but his current location was somewhere in the south.

    In fact, he was only around a few hundred kilometers away from Cleo''s position.

    The princess furrowed her brows as she cautiously double checked the information.

    Something wasn''t right¡­

    "Reroute all avable power to the back up systems and raise the defenses," Cleo spoke loudly.

    There was a humming noise as her voice activated the mech''s internal systems and carried out her will.

    The enormous energy sword held in the palm of Cleo''s mech buzzed with power as the princess controlled its movements.

    She activated the lower thrusters at the back of her mech and shot forward in the direction that Drew had sent.

    Cleo sent a message through the neuralwork since one question was constantly on her mind as she shuttled through space.

    Cleo: [Drew I don''t understand¡­ weren''t you supposed to be in the north?]

    Cleo: [Hello?]

    Elenora: [Cleo what are you talking about? He is currently in the western region with me¡­]

    Cleo: [Wait¡­ what? No on my screen it shows¡­]

    [Connection Lost]

    The neuralwork suddenly copsed, and a strong bacsh flowed into Cleo''s mind. The princess vomited as blood leaked out of her ears.

    There were rm bells ringing out in Cleo''s mind, so she decided to return to the starship instead of going to the strange location.

    Something had gone terribly wrong¡­

    Cleo was unsure if this was a part of the final exam but either way, she decided to follow the scout protocols when dealing with an unknown danger.

    The first step was to return to base with a report of the situation and then allow highmand to decide whether the risk was worth it to investigate.

    Cleo could only hope that her fellow students would not be reckless enough to check out this mystery on their own.

    Just as Cleo was about to leave¡­

    Something emerged from the shadows of a nearby asteroid.

    Dozens of small fighter ss spacecrafts flew out of an opening in the rock and headed right for her location.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    sma cannons mounted on the top of these vessels fired an endless barrage of shots at Cleo''s mech.

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    [Shield systems down 5%... 10 %...]

    A translucent forcefield bubble appeared around Cleo''s mech and absorbed all of the iing sts.

    Red shing light constantly blinked in the cockpit and Cleo instantly thought about several countermeasures.

    She turned around and was about to flee when a wave of more fighter ss starships appeared in the distance.

    She was surrounded.

    Cleo did not know how these starships had managed to slip through the surveince and radar systems onboard her mech but now was not the time toin.

    These new starships also began to fire relentlessly on her position and the forcefield bubble around her mech gradually weakened.

    At times of danger, Cleo''s world slowed down to a dull crawl. She could see her body automatically move and the energy sword in her palm shed forward.

    Dozens of starships exploded as her de tore through their fragile metalloid hulls. Cleo''s chest throbbed as the pink mark on her body softly glowed.

    She could feel the connection between herself, and Sophie begin to strengthen.

    A faint pinkish mist covered one of Cleo''s eyes as the princess felt a surge of power flow through her meridians.

    Cleo dashed forward and used the cover of the nearby asteroids to duck and weave through the endless barrage of sma fire.

    She ced theser sword back in the mech''s storage space and grabbed a sma rifle the size of a two-story building.

    While the firepower of the Phantom series mechs wascking.

    That was onlypared to other lightweight mechs.

    A mech was the ultimate weapon on the battlefield and even the weakest could devastate entire armies.

    "Bind to the weapon!" Cleo roared loudly. The palm of her mech crackled with electricity as the rifle slowly began to charge.

    The princess jumped behind another asteroid since the one she was hiding behind just moments prior exploded into tiny pieces.

    BOOM!

    A thick wave of energy shot out from the muzzle of the rifle and mmed right into the leading starship converging on her position.

    This beam of light continued uninterrupted through hundreds of spacecrafts and left a trail of devastation and death in its wake.

    There was a short cooldown time before the weapon could be used again so Cleo repeated her strategy of hiding behind cover and only peeking out when it was time to attack.

    Some might call this a cowardly tactic¡­ and Cleo would call them idiots.

    The enemy fleet suffered heavier and heavier losses as the fighting continued until eventually, they turned around and fled.

    Cleo was tempted for a brief moment to give chase but there was a risk of a trap or ambush ahead.

    The princess tried to establish a link to the neuralwork but received nothing but silence.

    The fates of Drew and Elenora were unknown.

 Chapter 469 - Cleoâ€™s Desperate Fight For Survival

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Unnamed Asteroid Field)

    "Keep moving¡­ keep moving¡­" Cleo softly whispered to herself. She could feel beads of sweat running down her forehead.

    Mental force flowed out of her mind and into the enormous mechanical structure covering her body.

    Boom!

    A thick wave of energy shot out from the muzzle of her sma rifle and obliterated the iing enemy fleet.

    What was happening?

    Cleo frowned as she was once again forced to hide behind arge asteroid as a barrage of sma fire rounds shot towards her location.

    The first wave of attacks had not been thest.

    Despite the heavy losses that they had suffered, the unknown enemies targeting her mech did not stop.

    Their temporary retreat had just been a ruse to get her to drop her guard and it had almost worked¡­

    As she shot down one starship, two more would emerge from inside one of the nearby asteroids and take its ce.

    Cleo''s left eye glowed pink as she felt another surge of power course through her veins.

    This had never happened before, but the princess was not going to question her good fortune.

    She would have plenty of time to sit down and discuss the matter with Sophie once she returned to Eleron.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Cleo activated the left side thrusters on her mech and rerouted additional power to the defense systems.

    Her mech lurched to the side and narrowly avoided a few beams of light that were shot from a vessel significantlyrger than the other spacecrafts in the fleet.

    The princess prepared her mech tounch a fierce counterattack when something unexpected happened.

    Cleo''s eyes widened as she saw a wormhole portal open up a mere two hundred feet away from her current position.

    The portal was a dark blue colour, and one could see the space rippling around the edges of the spatial rupture.

    Five enormous destroyer ss spacecrafts emerged from the portal and their size made Cleo''s mech seem tiny inparison.

    Heavy mounted sma cannons, several barrier devices and a wide array of weapon systems could be seen on the top of the mysterious starships.

    No¡­ what the hell was this?

    If there was doubt in Cleo''s mind before then the arrival of these starships only served to confirm her suspicions that what was going on was definitely not part of the exam.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Surprisingly the small fleet of fighter spacecrafts that were originally hunting her down turned their attention to the iing armada ofrge starships.

    Two separate groups?

    Unfortunately for the small fighter spacecrafts, their firepower was not enough to break the heavy forcefield bubbles that surrounded the destroyer ss spacecrafts.

    The five destroyer ss vessels separated into three groups.

    One flew towards an unknown location deep inside the asteroid field while two stayed behind to deal with the pesky fighter spacecrafts.

    The final two spacecrafts faced Cleo''s mech and the princess saw the mounted cannons on the top of their vessels begin to glow.

    BOOM! BOOM!

    Two colossal beams of light fired at Cleo''s position and obliterated everything in their path.

    The asteroids in the way of the energy attacks were instantly disintegrated.

    Cleo desperately forced her mech to dive to the side and the beams of light passed mere inches away from the left arm of her mech.

    The shockwaves from the st sent her mech hurtling through space and it eventually mmed heavily against a nearby asteroid.

    Red shing lights blinked rapidly in the cockpit as multiple hologram screens appeared in front of Cleo.

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    [Shield systems¡­ 45% remaining¡­ 35% remaining¡­]

    "Cut off the power supply to the weapons and send all the avable energy to the thrusters!" Cleo roared as she quickly made a decision.

    The enormous sma rifle held in the palm of her mech returned to her storage space just as the engines began to hum.

    Fighting back against those two starships would be pure lunacy.

    Cleo did not forget that the small fighter ss spacecrafts were also targeting her just a few moments ago.

    The saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend was useless since Cleo did not know the identity of either party.

    "Fuck¡­ fuck¡­ fuck!" Cleo yelled in frustration as her mech pushed off against the asteroid just as two more beams of light wereunched at her position.

    BOOM! BOOM!

    The asteroid disappeared into nothing more than dust particles.

    Cleo shuddered as she felt the shadow of death loom over her.

    The more dangerous the situation was¡­ the more her connection to Sophie strengthened.

    Cleo found that although her mental force was being consumed rapidly it was being reced by an unknown energy through the bond.

    Her left eye shone with an eerie light as she felt a wave of calmness flow through her body. Cleo took a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    Now was not the time to panic. She would have to make a risky decision but there was no other choice in this perilous situation.

    Phantom Series mechs were known for their speed so Cleo nned on elerating at full force even though it would damage the mech.

    Her life was more important.

    She needed to return safely and see her girlfriend again.

    The mech shot forward with startling speed and disappeared into the distance. Cleo recklessly mmed her mech into the iing asteroids that burst into tiny piece.

    [Shield systems¡­ 35% remaining¡­ 27% remaining¡­]

    [10% remaining¡­ 5% remaining¡­]

    Perhaps the two destroyer ss vessels did not expect Cleo to use such a suicidal move to escape since they did not give chase for a few minutes.

    And that was all the time she needed.

    Cleo tossed all the safety rules that Instructor Barrett had drilled into her mind and kept flying wildly towards the direction of the university''s starship.

    The outer exterior of her mech dented and crumbled as Cleo kept mming it directly through the asteroids in her path.

    BOOM! BOOM!

    Beams of light shot towards her ever changing position but now Cleo could easily avoid them since the distance between herself and the enemy starships was growing.

    Eventually with only five percent of her shielding system left, Cleo was able to escape their fierce pursuit.

    The princess let out a sigh of relief and then froze in shock as she saw a holographic screen pop up inside the cockpit.

    [Connecting¡­ connecting¡­ Connection Established!]

    [Iing Messages! Iing Messages!]

    "Is the neuralwork working again?" Cleo muttered cautiously as she clicked the message to see who had sent it.

    Drew: [Guys where are you? I found the objective of your mission! Let me share the location now¡­]

    Cleo: [What is the name of our professor?]

    Drew: [Excuse me?]

    Cleo: [Answer the question. What is the name of our professor?]

    Drew: [Don''t be silly! Do you want to pass the exam or not? This is the location! Come quickly or I''ll finish the job myself!]

 Chapter 470 - The Dukeâ€™s Daughter Must Be Among Them!

    (Hydra Star System- Unnamed)

    (Headquarters of the Calypso Brotherhood)

    "Theon you need to tell the young master to stop this madness!"

    "Half of our fleet has already been destroyed!"

    "For some reason our men have not retreated to safety!"

    Loud voices ofint echoed through the war room as several holographic screens projected the current status of the battlefield.

    A middle-aged man sat down on a flimsy wooden chair and let out a heavy sigh.

    He was clearly out of shape and his belly jiggled and wobbled as he reached for the cup of wine on the table.

    He wore a simple pair of brown pants and a faded shirt that had several stains on it.

    His men whined andined but Theon could not rebuke their concerns since he also had no clue about the young master''s true objective.

    Kohli had ordered thest surviving pirates of Calypso tounch an all-out assault on the intruders who had appeared inside the asteroid field.

    But there was no logical reason for this.

    The where they were currently hiding on was several thousand kilometers away from the nearest mech and would not be easily detected.

    By attacking first, they were essentially broadcasting their location and any faction capable of producing mech controllers was not a force that they could trifle with.

    However, the biggest mystery was how on earth did Kohli inspire such loyalty in the men sent out to fight the mechs?

    Theon was aware of the type of folks who lived on Calypso¡­

    Murderers, thieves and rapists.

    The kind of men who would desert the second that their lives were in any sort of danger.

    Bullying the weak and fearing the strong was the only way to survive in this cold universe.

    And yet¡­

    Theon watched the holographic screens in amazement as those same cowardly pirates kept engaging with the mechs without the fear of death.

    Even as the starships around them exploded or were destroyed¡­ they kept fighting.

    The situation was made even moreplicated by the unknown enemies that appeared from a mysterious wormhole.

    Five destroyer ss spacecrafts? What was happening?

    This sector of space was in the outer regions of the Hydra Star Systems and had nothing of note for any organisation to desire.

    Now suddenly there were multiple mechs, destroyer ss space crafts and God knows what else¡­

    "Please sir¡­ we can''t afford any more losses," a soft voice pleaded desperately.

    Theon turned towards the direction of the voice and saw an elderly man with a long flowing beard sping his palms together.

    He recognised him as the former leader of the ckaren Gang on Calypso.

    The former gang leader stared at a certain screen as he saw the familiar model of his organisation''s starship go up in mes.

    Theon furrowed his brows as he came to a decision.

    There was no need to fight enemies vastly superior in both raw firepower and defenses. The young master''s judgement was wrong.

    He opened his mouth and was about to give the order to retreat when the doors to the war room swung open.

    A man stood at the door.

    No¡­ perhaps he was no longer just an ordinary man.

    The heavy scent of blood filled the air as the room was instantly silenced. Expressions of fear appeared on the faces of every pirate in the room.

    An average looking young man strode into the roompletely naked with his genitals loosely hanging downwards.

    His skin was a pale and sickly colour, and his eyes were ck as the night''s sky. Nasty boils and moles covered his body from below his neck.

    These fleshy growths oozed yellowish pus that sizzled with a dull hiss as it hit the ground.

    "We can''t afford any losses?" Kohli hoarsely whispered as he raised up his right hand.

    The elderly man who hadined just moments ago fell to the ground and began to convulse.

    Blood leaked out of his orifices and the steady steam of crimson liquid flowed towards Kohli''s body and was absorbed into his skin.

    "My God has spoken to me¡­" Kohli spoke gently as though his monstrous disy of strength had never urred.

    "He senses the divinity of the target that I seek. It appears as though Duke Peterlor was foolish enough to let his daughter run around without protection."

    "These losses are nothing more than a necessary evil."

    "Under mymand¡­ the Calypso Brotherhood will rule the stars!"

    Kohli''s eyes shone with an almost religious fervor as the blood inside his body stirred.

    A heavy pressure descended on the room which forced the weaker pirates to their knees.

    Theon was barely able to hold on by tightly gripping the side of his chair.

    He did not understand what Kohli desired and could not stop the curiosity burning in his heart.

    "Young master¡­ why are you looking for the duke''s daughter?" Theon hesitantly spoke as he felt his hands slightly tremble under the pressure.

    Kohli smiled warmly as madness shed across his eyes. His voice dropped to a quiet whisper and the pressure in the room intensified,

    "Why? Why?... hehe¡­ hehehe¡­ do you remember the power that destroyed our? Duke Peterlor''s strength¡­ we were all mere childrenpared to him¡­"

    "I seek revenge¡­ but I am not foolish enough to think that we can possibly face him... at least not yet¡­"

    "The barrier to the void stage will be broken if I manage to kill and absorb his daughter''s cultivation."

    The convulsing old man on the floor finally died with an expression of terror on his face.

    Kohli approached the lifeless corpse and began to stroke it as a sickening blush spread across his cheeks.

    He bent down and opened his mouth to devour the corpse piece by piece. The sounds of feeding filled the room and some of the pirates could not stop themselves from vomiting.

    Kohli got up from the ground and used his fingernails to cut a wound in the palm of his hand that reached the bone.

    Blood floated upwards and formed the shape of a rectangr screen. In the middle of the screen was the image of a humanoid figure.

    Four ded appendages sprouted out of her back and her ears were slightly pointed.

    "The daughter of Duke Peterlor will be killed by my hand!" the young leader of the pirates roared in ecstasy.

    "She must be here! My god senses the divinity that has been gifted to her by a second-rate being from beyond the void!"

    "It is a bit weaker than he expected! Clearly the duke''s daughtercks the ability to be a proper vessel."

    "All avable starships must leave the immediately to track her down! I will not rest until her head is served to me on a golden tter!"

 Chapter 471 - Captured Prisoner Or Traitor?

    (Hydra Star System- Unnamed Asteroid Field)

    Cleo turned off themunicationwork and fell into silent contemtion. The person on the other side was clearly pretending to be Drew.

    There was only one of two possibilities.

    The first was that there was a hacker on the enemy side who was capable of infiltrating the neuralwork.

    And the second and far more darker option was that Drew had either been captured and someone was operating themunication systems on his mech or¡­

    He was a traitor.

    Cleo furrowed her brows in confusion as she continued to pilot her mech through the vast expanse of space.

    The speed of her mech was not as fast as before since Cleo was now forced to avoid contact with the iing asteroids.

    Only five percent of the shield systems remained. It was undoubtedly a dangerous situation to be in.

    A few extra hits and the barrier device would fail and leave Cleo''s mech open to attacks that would directly strike the metalloid exterior.

    Fortunately, she appeared to have lost the five destroyer ss spaceships and none of the smaller fighter spacecrafts could be seen on the radar.

    Cleo activated the storage space inside the mech and pulled out a thick energy sma sword that was around the size of a two-story building.

    She swung the de forward and easily sliced therge iing asteroid that was heading right towards her mech.

    The space rock split into two separate pieces but Cleo was unaware that it was actually a trap.

    BOOM!

    An explosion erupted from the piece closest to her mech''s body and white-hot mes mmed into the exterior of her mech.

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    [Shield systems¡­ 5% remaining¡­ 2% remaining¡­ 1% remaining¡­]

    "Fuck¡­ fuck¡­ FUCK!" Cleo cursed as red lights continued to sh rapidly inside the cockpit.

    The bad situation only got worse as Cleo saw a squad of twenty small spacecrafts emerge from behind arge asteroid in the corner of her vision.

    How did they keep finding her?

    "Reroute any avable power to the scanner systems and scan the exterior and interior of the mech for any trackers," Cleo roared angrily as she mmed her fist against the wall.

    Cleo''s left eye glowed pink as numerous thoughts and countermeasures shed across her mind within the span of a second.

    The shield system could not endure another hit.

    There was still a significant distance between herself and the rtive safety of the university''s spaceship.

    Drew and Elenora were missing.

    There were two hostile enemy factions inside the asteroid field and one of them was actively hunting her down for some unknown purpose.

    The odds were against her, and a weary smile shed across Cleo''s face.

    The princess leaned back against the cockpit resting chair and allowed her mental force to flow into the inner systems of the mech.

    The squad of twenty fighter spacecrafts began to fire upon her position but Cleo never felt so alive in that moment.

    The power flowing through her body got even stronger and unbeknownst to Cleo a few hundred light years away, a certain hybrid girl felt her qi being sucked away to an unknown location.

    Cleo navigated her mech behind an asteroid and used the robotic legs to kick the asteroid in the direction of the iing enemy fleet.

    She activated the thrusters on the lower half of her mech and the rock hurtled towards the fleet with surprisingly high eleration.

    Three of the spacecrafts could not react in time and the rock tore through their hulls and killed them all.

    But Cleo wasn''t finished yet.

    She ducked and weaved through the asteroid field while avoiding the endless barrage of sma rounds in her direction.

    The princess repeated her strategy and kept using the space rocks as both cover and a devastating attack.

    A few spare shots passed perilously close to her mech, but Cleo used her mental force to scan her immediate surroundings.

    She had never used so much mental force at once but surprisingly it appeared as though her mental force was bottomless.

    The power flowing into her body through the bond constantly replenished and strengthened the mental force inside her mind.

    Eventually one by one the enemy starships were destroyed, and the results of the scan waspleted.

    [Showing Results Of Scan¡­ two unidentified devices found¡­]

    Cleo frowned when she saw the location of the devices.

    They were both embedded deep within the right arm of her mech and would be impossible to delicately remove in her current situation.

    But she needed to get rid of them now before more enemies appeared.

    Cleo did not want to take such an extreme measure, but she had no other choice.

    The princess overloaded the energy sword and small sparks danced along the edges of her de.

    With a ruthless glint in her eyes, Cleo used the weapon to slice off the right arm of her mech.

    She grabbed the floating mechanical appendage and flung it in the opposite direction of her destination.

    Hopefully it would buy her some time.

    Cleo took one final look at the floating arm and then piloted her mech towards the location of the university starship.

    [INCOMING EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION!]

    A holographic screen popped up in front of Cleo''s face which startled the princess.

    She piloted her mech downwards and just narrowly avoided an iing asteroid headed for her direction.

    The screen turned into a video feed and a crazy looking old man appeared in the center of the screen.

    He wore a simple pair of overalls and a white shirt that barely covered his extremely muscr chest.

    His hair was wild and untamed, and he more resembled a madman than a former mech controller in the Imperial Army.

    "Instructor Barrett?" Cleo asked cautiously when she saw the familiar figure.

    "Cleo? Thank god you are alright!" Instructor Barrett hurriedly spoke as he wiped beads of sweat from his brow.

    "Can you tell me about the situation?"

    Cleo froze in ce but did not allow the sudden appearance of her instructor to cause her to drop her vignce.

    She needed to test him to make sure that the iing transmission was not part of the enemies'' n.

    "Sir¡­ before I answer¡­ what ss of mechs gives me the most difficulty to pilot?" Cleo softly asked.

    "Heavy armour ss. Thest time that you flew an artillery unit¡­ you managed to crash twice and almost blew up a building," Instructor Barrett immediately replied.

    He was the real one.

    Cleo put away her suspicions and sorted out the events that had just urred in her mind.

    "I was attacked by a group of small fighter spacecrafts and then a wormhole opened up and five destroyer ss vessels appeared," Cleo exined calmly.

    "These two unknown factions seem to be hostile towards each other, but I am unsure of any details of their dispute."

    "I suspect that Drew''s mech has beenpromised and I have not heard from Elenora for several hours¡­"

 Chapter 472 - A Shocking Vision

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University- Principal''s Office)

    "Sir! We have just received an urgent distress call from Instructor Barrett!" a youthful voice rang out from amunicator on the desk.

    Principal Malik stirred in his chair and his brows furrowed in confusion.

    The elderly Mendolesa man was the current head of Zrudread University and oversaw the major and minor incidents that urred.

    He had quite the unique appearance whenpared to others of his race. His fur was a soft white colour that matched his scarlet red eyes.

    Mendolesa males typically had darker fur, shorter tails and slightly bulkier bodies but the principal had a lean physique.

    He pressed a button on themunicator and read the report sent by Instructor Barrett about the current situation.

    Principal Malik scowled fiercely as he saw the details in the report.

    An unknown enemy fleet of fighter ss space crafts, a wormhole, missing students and destroyer ss vessels¡­

    What the hell had happened?

    Instructor Barrett was supposed to take his students to a nearby asteroid field for a light training exercise.

    There weren''t supposed to be any unexpected issues since that region of space was rtively quiet and had no habitables nearby.

    But now was not the time to ponder such questions.

    Although Zrudread University encouraged their students to gain real lifebat experience, they had the responsibility to protect them during school sanctioned events.

    Of course, the exception to this was students who were in the assassin major.

    Principal Malik pursed his lips together and softly blew to create a piercing whistle that echoed through the office.

    Two heavily cloaked figures stepped out of the void with space rippling slightly around their bodies.

    Their genders, race and even appearances werepletely hidden.

    "Rescue the students and neutralise any threats in the area," Principal Malik hoarsely growled at the two mysterious figures.

    The one on the left nodded in acknowledgment and then they both disappeared as if nothing had just happened.

    Principal Malik pressed his furry paw against themunicator and sent out a message to the fleetmander stationed near the docks.

    [Sent out the alpha, gamma and zeta squad to this region in space.]

    This was not just an opportunity to rescue the students but also to disy the might of Zrudread University to warn the pirates in the region.

    Every so often, one needed to show a disy of force in order to strike fear in the hearts of those ruthless bastards.

    The fleet of starships should arrive in around three hours but the cultivators that he had dispatched should get there much faster.

    One of them was mage who specialised in spatial magic while the other was a god stage cultivator who studied the de.

    Principal Malik was confident that any threat in the area would be immediately neutralised upon their arrival.

    He could only pray that the students would be able to survive before help arrived. The loss of any potential mech controller would be devastating.

    The elderly Mendolesa man let out a heavy sigh and then turned his attention back to thetest reports on his desk.

    Apetition between the four major universities was nned to be held during the summer vacation.

    The top one hundred brightest students of each year would be selected to represent their respective university.

    Principal Malik had already finalised the list for the second, third and fourth year students and was just waiting for the battle ranking exam for the first years to start.

    He did have a few profiles on his desk showing the faces of certain students who stood the best chance of qualifying to represent the college.

    One profile in particr stood out¡­ Astrid Lockhart.

    A Mendolesa who studied the path of magic and was personally trained by Archmage Hollystorm who was one of the strongest mages in the Earth Federation.

    Principal Malik bared his fangs as a twisted smile shed across his face. He looked forward to seeing her performance in the uing battle ranking exam.

    And of course, there were other names as well that he would keep a close eye on.

    Like the young daughter of Duke Peterlor¡­

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    Sophie staggered slightly as her vision turned dark. She fell to the ground with a heavy thud and banged her head against a nearby rock.

    Moon hurriedly flew over andnded on her body. His tail swayed back and forth frantically as he nuzzled Sophie''s face with his furry cheek.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! Are you okay?!)

    "Yeah¡­ I''m alright baby," Sophie weakly replied as she tried her best to get up from the ground and sit up.

    What was going on?

    She was doing some light training with Moon since thebat beast exam was tomorrow when a sudden weakness struck her body.

    It was unlike anything that Sophie had ever felt before.

    Someone or something was sucking the qi out of her dantian, and it was going to a mysterious ce.

    Sophie tried to stop the qi from escaping her body, but it was like her dantian had been ruptured since no matter what she did¡­

    She could not stop the loss.

    The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out a syringe filled with a greenish-yellow liquid.

    Without hesitation, Sophie jabbed the needle inside her leg and pushed down to force the liquid inside her body.

    She had to use extra force since her flesh was much stronger now that she was a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    Sophie sighed in relief as she felt a surge of energy.

    This was a rare substance that acted as an adrenaline substitute.

    It was not perfect, but it would at least allow her to return to the apartment and rest without copsing on the way.

    "Moon! Let''s go back sweetie!" Sophie called out to her naughty frostwing bat.

    Moon stopped teasing the little furry creatures scurrying around the ground and flew over.

    He carefullynded on Sophie''s shoulders with much gentler movements than usual. Clearly, he was still worried about his mommy''s health.

    Sophie smiled warmly and reached into her pocket to pull out a few small treats for Moon to enjoy.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings happily and leaned forward to grab the sugary snacks from out of Sophie''s hand.

    The hybrid girl started walking towards the direction of the elite student housingplex when a sudden image shed across her mind.

    It was the perspective of an unknown individual inside an enormous mech but somehow Sophie instinctively knew that it was Cleo.

    The pulling force inside her dantian increased rapidly and Sophie felt more of her qi being sucked away.

    Wait a minute¡­

    Sophie closed her eyes and focused on the connection between herself and Cleo.

    She did not notice at the time, but a faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corner of both of her eyes as the mark on her chest glowed.

    Cleo''s memories flowed into her mind and Sophie''s expression changed when she saw what was happening.

    Her girlfriend was in danger!

 Chapter 473 - A Price Is Paid

    (Hydra Star System ¨C Outer Regions)

    (Unnamed Asteroid Field)

    The captain of the leading vessel in the fleet wiped the sweat from his brow as he realised what his target had done.

    The mech that they were chasing had been hit by two tracker missiles but clearly their clever n had been figured out.

    Dozens of fighter ss spacecrafts surrounded a mechanical arm floating aimlessly through space.

    Inside each spacecraft were vicious pirates who were wanted across the Earth Federation for crimes that included murder, rape and theft.

    But there was something strange about them¡­

    The atmosphere inside each spacecraft waspletely silent and the pirates slowly moved like puppets dancing on strings.

    Their eyes werepletely bloodshot and thick veins beneath their skin wriggled and squirmed as if they were alive.

    "Sir¡­ we have lost her¡­" the captain respectfully whispered to the figure in the middle of the holographic screen.

    On the other side of the video feed was an average looking man whose body was covered in disgusting pus-filled blisters that oozed a foul yellowish liquid.

    His eyes were soulless, and he stared at the captain with an expression of both rage and iprehension.

    Kohli knew that he would be unable tomand the loyalty of a group of criminals, so he settled for the next best thing.

    Complete control.

    The otherworldly entity that gave him the ability to transfer the cultivation of lifeforms to himself had also bestowed other dark gifts.

    Only the captains of each vessel retained a thin thread of consciousness, but their minds had already been rewritten to obey their overlord.

    Unfortunately, Kohli''s ability did note without a price and after a few days most of his men would be turned into fools.

    But it was worth it.

    Sophie Peterlor¡­ the duke''s daughter was his only goal from the start.

    He could always recruit desperate men to his side, but the hybrid girl was a one-of-a-kind opportunity.

    Her divine power¡­ it called out to him¡­ it begged him to take it¡­

    "What do you mean¡­ you lost her?" Kohli asked calmly as a pir behind him shattered into dust as traces of his killing intent leaked out.

    The pirate captain trembled as the part of his mind not yet lost to Kohli''s power screamed at him to end the call and flee.

    "Sir¡­ she removed the tracking chips by slicing off the arm of her mech¡­ we have no way to find her anymore¡­" the captain hesitantly spoke.

    There was aplete silence on themand deck.

    The puppets that Kohli had created all turned to face the captain at the same time.

    Their bloodshot eyes gleamed with madness as they slowly approached the shivering man who cowered behind a chair.

    "No¡­ please¡­ forgive me¡­" the captain pleaded desperately.

    Kohli held up his right palm and his minions leapt at the captain in a feeding frenzy.

    Like a group of vicious piranhas, they tore the flesh and meat off the captain''s body using only their teeth.

    The captain was eaten alive and died in agonising pain.

    Kohli stared dispassionately at the scene of carnage and then exited the call.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Hidden- Underground Temple)

    A grand open hall had been constructed beneath a temple with a throne made from human bones ced in the center of the room.

    The hall was dimly lit by a wall of torches that barely illuminated their surroundings.

    Dozens of corpses were wrapped up in iron chains and scattered around the room.

    All the flesh from their bodies had been stripped away and yet blood still leaked from somewhere inside their bones.

    Kohli stood in front of the throne in quiet contemtion as the heavy metallic scent of blood entered his nostrils.

    He silently stared off into the distance as numerous ns and countermeasures shed across his mind.

    So far only one of the mech''s had been captured.

    His men were still trying to breach the barrier surrounding the cockpit, but it was only a matter of time.

    A particrly gifted hacker named Alexander Polis had even managed to infiltrate theirmunicationwork.

    It should have been easy to hunt down the remaining two mechs and find the one that belonged to Duke Peterlor''s daughter.

    But now there wereplications.

    Kohli was unsure why five destroyer ss starships had suddenly appeared in his territory and what their purpose was.

    He did not want to have conflict with them, but they seemed to be looking for his hidden base.

    The problem was that he did not have sufficient manpower to deal with them and pursuit the two mechs at the same time.

    Kohli let out a sigh of frustration as things were not proceeding ording to n.

    Should he leave the and personally make a move?

    The current head of the Calypso brotherhood could not decide what was the best course of action to take.

    Kohli was by no means a shrewd tactician and his previous n to just throw starships at the mechs until their shielding systems went down was an incredibly destructive one.

    Why wasn''t anything going right? He was the protagonist!

    He was the one who would kill Duke Peterlor!

    Why¡­ why¡­ WHY WAS THE DUKE''S DAUGHTER GOING TO GET AWAY?!

    Kohli furiously itched and scratched at the boils on his chest, and they burst open with a sickening popping sound.

    He continued to stab his fingernails into his flesh until his hands were covered in blood and pieces of his muscle tissue.

    Kohli screamed like a mad dog and rushed towards the corpsesying helplessly on the ground. He used his hand to slowly crush them into pieces in a fit of rage.

    [Do you need my help?]

    A cold voice entered Kohli''s mind that sounded inhuman and sinister. It was a voice that Kohli recognised since it belonged to his dark patron.

    The stone tablet carefully ced next to the throne buzzed slowly with power as the scarlet letters carved onto its surface glowed with an eerie light.

    The mysterious writings glowed with a hypnotic light that mesmerized the insane leader and caused him to walk over to the tablet.

    He touched the tablet reverently and ced a soft kiss on the top of the stone.

    The dark whisper inside his mind chuckled yfully and Kohli felt a surge of power enter his body.

    [My child¡­ just this once¡­ I will bend the rules¡­]

    [But beware¡­ I will no longer be able to offer assistance once the fates discover my involvement in this matter]

    A dark red portal emerged from a pool of blood created from the corpses scattered across the floor.

    Kohli stared at the portal and instinctively knew that it led to the source of divinity that was nearby.

    A sadistic grin spread across Kohli''s face, and he thanked his dark patron for this generous gift.

    The whispers disappeared from his mind and unbeknownst to Kohli, the entity who created the portal suffered an enormous bacsh.

    But it was a risk that it was willing to take in order to make its vessel stronger.

 Chapter 474 - Power Has A Price...

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Zrudread University Spacecraft)

    A crimson red portal appeared in the middle of a corridor and a naked man stepped out of it with a confident grin on his face.

    His body was covered in horrific pus-filled boils that oozed and blistered with every step that he took.

    Kohli stretched out his arms and tiny holes began to appear on his palms. Bloods flowed out of these holes and floated in the air around him.

    The leader of the Calypso Brotherhood looked around curiously as he carefully took note of his immediate surroundings.

    Where had the portal sent him?

    Where was Duke Peterlor''s daughter?

    He was surrounded by metalloid walls, so the murderous pirate had no idea that he was currently on a starship.

    While Kohli remained frozen in ce, a green light burst out of a nearby scanner and quickly swept his body.

    A piercing siren began to sound out as red shing lights filled the corridor.

    The starship''s AI unit had been monitoring the unusual energy readings and had found a mysterious intruder.

    Ring! Ring! Ring!

    [Intruder Detected! Intruder Detected!

    [Location¡­ Second Floor¡­ Second Floor¡­ Corridor A-23]

    [Deploying Security Forces¡­]

    Kohli looked around in shock as the floor beneath his feet began to tremble.

    Hundreds of robotic androids appeared at the end of the corridor, and each held a sma rifle in their hands.

    They opened fire without hesitation. Instructor Barrett had ced the starship on high alert which meant that all intruders were to be eliminated.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Kohli ced one palm in front of his body and began to mutter iprehensible words as a strange aura surrounded him.

    The blood floating around his body morphed into the shape of a shield and the rounds of sma fire could not prate its defenses.

    Kohli was a cultivator at the peak of the qi tide stage so he could easily track and observe the trajectory of the sma shots in the air.

    He bent his knees and the qi inside his body violently flowed through his meridians.

    His figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    He reappeared in the middle of the androids and the dark power coursing through his veins begged to be unleashed.

    Blood sea!

    Kohli screamed in agony as several blisters popped simultaneously and yellowish pus oozed out of the open wounds.

    An illusory sea of blood surrounded his body and crashed into the nearby androids. The mechanical soldiers were instantly crushed under the weight of the fearsome attack.

    Kohli leapt forward and used his monstrous strength to rip the heads off the remaining androids before they could deal with him.

    The pirate stood in the middle of the carnage as his chest gently heaved up and down. His mind was a mess as the sweet allure of destruction sent shivers down his spine.

    More¡­ more¡­ I need more¡­

    Kohli could feel his bloodlust begin to grow but it could not be sated by mechanical lifeforms.

    He needed to find the duke''s daughter quickly before he suffered a bacsh.

    No power in the universe was given for free and his patron''s gift required the lifeforce of organic beings in order to be casted safely.

    If Kohli did not find someone in time, then his own lifeforce and vitality would be drained away to pay the cost.

    But there was one small issue.

    Kohli could not sense the divinity anymore. It was only thanks to his dark patron that he knew that the duke''s daughter had entered the asteroid field but now¡­

    "His holiness¡­ please lend me your strength¡­" Kohli respectfully prayed.

    He sped his hands together and waited for the mysterious entity to give him more power.

    An eternity seemed to pass¡­

    Kohli opened his eyes in confusion as he heard no response. What made matters even worse was that it appeared as though his connection to the entity had been temporarily weakened.

    Wait a minute¡­ had the fates discovered his master already?

    Kohli furrowed his brows as sirens continued to re out in the background. The ground rumbled once more, and the pirate knew that reinforcements were going to arrive soon.

    Kohli ran away from them without a second nce. He could not let his master''s hard work go to waste.

    Once he attained a void stage cultivation level then it would be a simple matter to be the ruler of the Hydra Star System.

    Duke Peterlor¡­

    Madness gleamed in Kohli''s eyes as he tore through an iing squad of robotic androids and narrowed avoided the sudden traps that sprung up.

    He nced out a nearby window and saw the vast expanse of space with hundreds of stars blinking in and out of existence as if they were mocking him.

    Kohli screamed in rage and the blood inside his body boiled in a frenzy.

    There was a reason why most space battles ended with destruction rather than an attempt to capture the enemy spacecraft.

    Spacecrafts were filled with traps and monitored by AI units which made them extremely difficult to sessfully infiltrate.

    Kohli''s knew that his movements were most likely being broadcasted to the captain of the vessel.

    The blood floating around his body darkened and the boils on his body seemed to throb with anger.

    Where was she? Where was she? WHERE WAS SHE?

    Eventually Kohli''s confidence crumbled as he spent hours searching through the starship withouting in contact with a simple living person.

    The pirate searched through an endlessbyrinth of metalloid doors, corridors and rooms but without exception every single one was empty.

    The starship was perfectly tracking his movements so even if there were people in his path then it would have most likely warned them to move to another section.

    What Kohli didn''t know was that there were only two people currently on the starship and they were both watching him from themand deck.

    Instructor Barrett was a mech controller, so it was a simple matter for him to spread his consciousness into the bodies of multiple androids and pilot arge spacecraft on his own.

    Otherwise, this medium sized vessel would usually require hundreds of people.

    "Fuck¡­ this can''t go on like this¡­" Kohli muttered as the blood floating around him morphed into the shape of a sword.

    He swung the de forward and the wall in front of him split in two. Kohli''s breath quickened as he felt his heart race.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    The pirate clutched his chest in pain as he felt the bacsh slowly spread from his dantian.

    Wrinkles appeared on the young man''s face and in a moment, it seemed as though he had aged twenty years.

 Chapter 475 - The Mad Dog Desperate To Hunt

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Zrudread University Spacecraft)

    Cleo sat quietly on a chair in the corner of themand deck and in front of her body were numerous holographic screens showing the live video-feed of the intruder.

    Her left eye was still glowing pink and waves of mysterious energy kept flowing through her meridians from an unknown source.

    The princess tapped her wristmunicator and powered it on.

    She opened her inbox and saw half a dozen unread messages from Sophie.

    Sophie: [Babe! Are you okay? I just saw a vision¡­]

    Sophie: [Answer? Hello? Fuck¡­ I''m going to the principal now¡­ stay tight¡­ I''ming to rescue you¡­]

    Cleo: [It''s okay¡­ I managed to escape¡­]

    Unfortunately, her message did not receive a response since Sophie''smunicator was either turned off or she was not paying attention to it.

    Cleo furrowed her brows thoughtfully and decided to try something.

    She closed her eyes and focused on the connection between herself and her beautiful girlfriend.

    The mark on her chest throbbed slightly and her pink eye glowed with an eerie light.

    Cleo recalled the events that had just urred and willed those memories to travel through the bond and enter Sophie''s mind.

    Cleo could feel the connection between them strengthen but had no idea if her n worked or not.

    Suddenly there was a loud ringing noise and Cleo saw a notification sh across hermunicator''s screen.

    Ring! Ring! Ring!

    [Iing Video Call- Sophie Peterlor]

    "Excuse me sir¡­ would it be alright if I talked to my friend?" Cleo politely asked her professor who was currently sitting down on a mat.

    "Use the private room in the back¡­ make sure that you don''t leave themand deck since we have no idea if more intruders will enter the ship," Instructor Barrett replied.

    Cleo nodded her head gratefully and then rushed towards the metalloid door in the corner of the room.

    She wanted to make sure that her girlfriend didn''t worry too much since the only people in danger were her ssmates.

    Neither Drew nor Elenora had yet to return and there were mysterious threats lurking everywhere in the asteroid field.

    Instructor Barrett waited until his student had disappeared in the side room before turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

    The elderly man closed his eyes and allowed his consciousness to spread across the length of the entire starship.

    A mech controller was a terrifying opponent to face especially when an enemy had no idea where their physical body was hidden.

    The mysterious intruder was only in the qi tide stage, but Instructor Barrett was not going to let down his guard.

    Anyone could clearly see that his techniques were both dangerous and strange.

    Instructor Barrett was not prepared to take any chances.

    His only goal now was to make sure that his students returned to the university unharmed. There was no need to take any additional risks.

    Instructor Barrett stretched out his palm and made a series of mysterious hand gestures. Several robot androids located inside different rooms on the starship made identical movements.

    The elderly man took in a deep breath and then gently exhaled.

    He directed the androids and coordinated with the starship''s main AI unit in order tounch a simultaneous assault.

    The intruder saw the iing robots and the blood around his body formed the shape of a reaper''s scythe.

    He lunged forward the robots in his path were neatly bisected in half. What Kohli didn''t know was that Instructor Barrett expected him to easily destroy the androids.

    "Overload their energy cores¡­" Instructor Barrett whispered softly. A cold metallic voice answered hismand.

    [Override confirmed¡­ overloading¡­ overloading¡­]

    The fallen androids began to glow as the energy source inside their chests overheated right next to Kohli''s body.

    BOOM!

    An enormous explosion rocked the corridor, and a disheveled figure could be flying ungracefully through the air.

    It was a cat and mouse game.

    Kohli got up from the ground with a faint hiss as he felt several of his ribs crack. The leader of the Calypso brotherhood was now feeling desperate.

    With every passing minute, it was more likely that reinforcements from Zrudread University would arrive and then he would have no chance to seed in his mission.

    There was no possibility of fighting above his current cultivation level since he needed the divinity from another vessel in order to break into the void stage.

    Kohli stumbled forward as he felt his mind slowly begin to crumble. More wrinkles appeared on his face and his hands began to shrivel up.

    An unpleasant look of disgust shed across Kohli''s face when he saw his transformed fingers.

    For a brief moment he was tempted to cut off his own arm so that he didn''t have to see those vile wrinkles.

    Wait a minute¡­ there was a solution!

    Kohli''s eyes widened in shock, and he had to resist to curse.

    Although he was unable to track down the duke''s daughter by her divinity, there was another method.

    Blood was the answer¡­ it had always been the answer, but he was too stupid to realise it sooner¡­

    He still possessed the ability to hunt down biological organisms and drain away their lifeforce using their blood.

    All he had to do was extend his senses and he would be led to the members of the crew onboard the starship.

    Kohli rushed forward and kept sniffing the air asionally like a mad dog.

    Saliva leaked out from the corner of his mouth as the pirate eagerly kept moving through an endlessbyrinth of metalloid corridors and side rooms.

    He had to fight of numerous waves of robotic androids and eventually his condition got worse and worse.

    Power could not be wielded without the appropriate price.

    Kohli now resembled an elderly man in histe eighties and the hair on his head was nowpletely grey.

    The boils covering his body throbbed with every step that he took and the madness behind his eyes slowly faded away.

    Just as Kohli was about to give up in despair¡­ a warm refreshing scent entered his nostrils. He tentatively stepped forward and sniffed a few times.

    "There you are¡­" Kohli darkly muttered as a sadistic grin spread across his face.

 Chapter 476: The Clever Professor

    <h4>Chapter 476: The Clever Professor</h4>

    (Zrudread University Spacecraft)

    (Twentieth Floor- Command Deck)

    Something was wrong¡­

    Instructor Barrett stared at the holographic screens in front of him and soon a solemn look appeared on his face.

    ¡°Reroute all additional power to the security bots and raise the barriers in the western section of the ship,¡± Instructor Barrettmanded in a firm tone.

    [Rerouting¡­ rerouting¡­ rerouting¡­]

    The starship¡¯s AI unit immediately obeyed hismands and metalloid barriers rose up from the ground all around the intruder.

    Instructor Barrett frowned as he realised something strange.

    The intruder for thest few hours had been running around in different directions with no clear goal or objective.

    He only attacked the robot androids sent to kill him and did not target any of the critical infrastructure on the starship like the warp core room or the internal barrier device.

    He was looking for something and Instructor Barrett could only assume that either him or his students were the target.

    Instructor Barrett continued to watch as the floating blood surrounding the mysterious intruder surged forward in a crimson tidal wave that instantly destroyed the barriers in his path.

    The intruder was now heading directly for themand deck.

    Instructor Barrett just couldn¡¯t figure out how did he suddenly find out that this is where they were located.

    Did he know all this time?

    But then what purpose did he have by running around randomly?

    The mysteries surrounding the intruder only deepened as Instructor Barrett saw his appearance begin to change.

    From an average looking man in his twenties, the invader now resembled a middle-aged warrior with heavy wrinkles on his face.

    Despite his seemingly weakened body, the intruder¡¯s speed and fearsome abilities were not diminished and if anything, they grew even stronger.

    Instructor Barrett furrowed his brows and decided to try a mental attack. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

    Psychic attacks were dangerous both for the victim and the one unleashing the technique.

    The slightest mistake could leave you trapped in the mind of your victim or driven insane.

    These risks were reduced when targeting cultivators below the qi spirit stage but got exponentially more difficult when unleashing mental techniques on high level cultivators.

    It was for this reason why Instructor Barrett was so hesitant to y this card.

    Mental spike- Full Body Possession!

    Instructor Barrett saw an astral image of himself detach from his body and slowly float towards the location of the intruder.

    It was almost like being in two ces at once. His physical body was sitting down on a mat in themand deck while his mind was free to explore.

    Unshackled by the limitations of his flesh¡­

    Instructor Barrett soon found the intruder fighting off a wave of attackers on the fifteenth floor and madlyughing.

    The boils on his body were truly disgusting and the mech controller professor had to resist the urge to recoil.

    He dove straight into the mysterious intruder¡¯s forehead which caused the invader to briefly freeze in ce.

    Instructor Barrett entered Kohli¡¯s mind and saw a fracturedndscape.

    The pirate leader of the Calypso Brotherhood had a psyche that had been shattered into hundreds of pieces.

    This was the worst kind of mind to attack.

    People with a slim grip on reality had ironically the strongest mental defenses since their devotion to their delusions bordered on the point of madness.

    Instructor Barrett spread out his mental force from the center of Kohli¡¯s mind and a wave of memories poured into his head.

    The vile and repulsive acts that Kohli hadmitted on Calypso and since bing the head of a pirate organisation sickened the professor.

    Kohli had defiled the corpses of his victims after sucking the blood and transferring the qi from their bodies to his own.

    He was a mad dog and needed to be put down.

    Certain memories were covered in a fuzzy grey fog which made it difficult for Instructor Barrett to ess them.

    Those memories included the source of Kohli¡¯s peculiar powers as well as his true purpose for boarding their vessel.

    In the real world, Kohli started to violently convulse as he felt a presence other than his dark patron inside his mind.

    His powers violently erupted as he screamed in agony.

    The blood floating around his body shot forward in the shape of thin needles.

    These seemingly fragile needles ripped through the metalloid exterior of the androids and continued unhindered until they mmed into the walls of the corridor.

    Kohli gripped his forehead in pain and began to m his head on the ground over and over again as if he were possessed.

    This was not good.

    Instructor Barrett barely had any time to react before he found himself kicked out of Kohli¡¯s mind and returned to his own body.

    The professor got up from the ground with a barely disguised look of panic on his face.

    How had he been repelled so easily?

    The intruder¡¯s cultivation level was only in the qi tide stage, but Instructor Barrett had no doubt that if they actually fought then he would probably die.

    Unless he used his mech¡­ but it was not a good idea to have a mech battle in the middle of a spaceship.

    No¡­ there was a solution.

    If the mysterious intruder could somehow track their location, then there was only one possible path left to take.

    A game of cat and mouse.

    ¡°Keep a constant eye on the intruder¡¯s location and power on the teleportation device in the nearest transport room immediately!¡± Instructor Barrett roared.

    A cold metallic voice answered hismands as the starship¡¯s AI unit executed the tasks which it had been assigned.

    [Understood Sir! The transport room is now fully functional!]

    This solution only worked because Instructor Barrett noticed one important detail during thest few hours.

    Kohli did not use any teleportation techniques. Sure, he was fast and powerful, but he had to run through each floor on his own two feet.

    Combined with the constant waves of robot androids and the mechanical barriers ced in his path, the pirate was inevitably slowed down.

    ¡°Cleoe with me now! We need to leave themand deck,¡± Instructor Barrett loudly called out.

    The metalloid door in the corner of the room opened and the princess walked out with hermunicator still on.

    She had just finished talking to Sophie and barely managed to convince her panicked girlfriend that everything was okay.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong professor?¡± Cleo asked seriously when she saw the determined glint in her teacher¡¯s eye.

    ¡°The intruder now possesses a way to track us down so what I am going to do is link the transport rooms and teleport us to the opposite side of the spacecraft,¡± Instructor Barrett exined.

    ¡°Every time that hees close, we will teleport to another section of the starship in order to evade his pursuit.¡±

    Cleo nodded in understanding and followed her professor through a few winding corridors until they arrived in a wide-open space.

    There was a disc-shaped mechanical device in the middle of the room that was around the size of a small bedroom.

    A sma energy source hummed with power and was attached to the device via small tubes made from certain alloys.

    Instructor Barret checked hismunicator to see the current situation and to his shock, the intruder was now on the neenth floor.

    There was now no time to waste.

    He pressed a few buttons on the console and stepped on the device. Cleo followed suit and a blinding white light filled their vision.

    Cleo felt her body dissolve into light particles and her vision slowly faded away to darkness.

    When she reopened her eyes, she found herself standing on a simr device next to arge storage warehouse.

    A mischievous grin shed across Instructor Barrett¡¯s elderly face when he saw the image disyed on hismunicator.

    The mysterious intruder was now shaking his head and looking around in confusion.

 Chapter 477: Internal And External Troubles

    <h4>Chapter 477: Internal And External Troubles</h4>

    (Zrudread University Spacecraft)

    (Fourth Floor- Cargo Bay)

    Keeping moving.

    We need to keep moving¡­

    Instructor Barrett continued to nce at hismunicator and pull up the video feed of the intruder¡¯s current location.

    It was almost unthinkable for a mere qi tide cultivator to possess such a high level of strength, but Instructor Barrett had encountered far deadlier foes during his time in the Imperial Army.

    The elderly man closed his eyes and allowed his consciousness to spread throughout the starship.

    His mental force prated the bodies of several androids, and each robot simultaneously opened their eyes.

    In the meantime, Cleo was keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings and making sure that no sudden threats appeared.

    The cargo bay waspletely empty with the exception of the teleportation pad and therge metalloid crates that housed numerous supplies.

    These supplies ranged from nutrient pellets to weapons.

    Food, water, mechanical parts and other essentials necessary for long voyage space flights.

    Cleo¡¯s left eye itched and the pinkish glow finally disappeared.

    She could feel the strange power flowing through her body cease and a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

    Cleo stumbled and barely managed to stop herself from copsing on the ground. She yawned sleepily and had to fight off the urge to go take a nap.

    Instructor Barrett did not notice her strange state since his mind was currently inside the robot androids battling the mysterious intruder.

    The princess sat down on the ground and leaned against the nearest wall while thinking about the events that had just urred.

    Five destroyer ss spaceships¡­ a mysterious fleet of small raider vessels¡­ a dangerous intruder who appeared out of thin air¡­

    This final exam had been extremely eventful so far¡­ to put it mildly.

    Cleo could not help but worry about her fellow ssmates.

    Neither Elenora nor Drew had made contact and it was not hard to imagine that they could both potentially be in danger.

    Cleo could only pray that the university¡¯s reinforcements would arrive soon. She did not want her ssmates to die.

    There were only three students enrolled in the mech controller major, so Cleo had spent a lot of time with both of the missing students.

    Suddenly a loud piercing rm echoed through the cargo bay and the starship slightly lurched to the side.

    A cold metallic voice rang out from the nearest loudspeaker and the message was anything but good.

    [Warning! Warning! We are currently under attack!]

    ¡°What?¡± Instructor Barrett eximed in shock as he opened both eyes and hurriedly pulled up the monitoring systems.

    Their starship was currently surrounded by dozens of small fighter ss spacecrafts that were unleashing a barrage of sma fire rounds.

    The barrier device inside the starship automatically activated a forcefield bubble that surrounded their ship.

    ¡°Of all the fucking¡­¡± Instructor Barrett cursed loudly as he realised that he would now have to deal with both internal and external troubles.

    [Shielding systems¡­ 99% remaining¡­ 98.8% remaining¡­]

    Fortunately, the defenses of a medium ss spacecraft were not something that small fighter vessels would be able to easily prate.

    ¡°Activate the radar and sweeper systems and divert all avable power to the sma cannons mounted on the hull,¡± Instructor Barrett called out.

    ¡°Initiate defense pattern- situation Alpha twelve.¡±

    [Understood.]

    The AI unit carried out the relevantmands and soon the sma cannons mounted on the top of their vessel began to glow.

    BOOM!

    Thick energy beams of light shot out of the tip of the cannons and directly struck the leading starships.

    The defense systems of the fighter ships could not withstand a direct attack and those in the path of the beam were directly disintegrated into specks of dust.

    A fierce battle erupted outside the starship, but Instructor Barrett was forced to turn his attention back to the mysterious intruder.

    Kohli was rampaging through the mid level floors and was now getting closer and closer to the cargo bay.

    Nothing seemed to stop him.

    Any stray shots thatnded on his body were instantly negated by his impressive regenerative ability.

    Instructor Barrett furrowed his brows as he saw arge gaping wound in Kohli¡¯s chest instantly heal as though the injury had never urred.

    There were two reasons why the professor continued tounch wave after wave of robot bodies at the intruder.

    The first was that it was a stalling tactic to buy more time for himself and his student to teleport to different locations across the starship.

    As for the second reason¡­

    Instructor Barrett watched closely as the skin of the intruder was covered in more wrinkles and his physique became thinner and more fragile.

    Every power had a price. Every technique had a cost.

    Instructor Barrett refused to believe that the intruder¡¯s regenerative ability was endless.

    The professor walked towards the disc shaped mechanical device in the middle of the warehouse and pressed a few buttons on the console next to the device.

    He gestured towards Cleo who got up from the ground and walked towards the disc-shaped machine.

    The pair stood in the center of the machine and the professor pressed the button to activate the teleportation.

    Cleo¡¯s body dissolved into light particles and this time when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the warp core room.

    Instructor Barrett had already stepped off the device and was monitoring both the battle outside the spacecraft and the situation with the intruder.

    Cleo found an empty chair in the corner of the room and sat down.

    She could feel her eyes slowly begin to close as another wave of tiredness hit her.

    The princess was about to take a brief nap when Instructor Barrett¡¯s excited voice echoed through the room.

    ¡°They¡¯re here! The reinforcements from the university have finally arrived!¡± the professor eximed in joy.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Kohli¡¯s POV)

    What the hell was going on?

    Kohli screamed in rage as he mmed his fist into the nearest android with so much force that the robot flew across the corridor and crashed into a wall.

    The blood floating around his body formed the shape of a reaper¡¯s scythe and the boils on his skin oozed a foul yellowish liquid.

    This was the second time¡­ the second time¡­ second time¡­

    Kohli sniffed the air to confirm and furrowed his brows in confusion.

    He definitely sensed two lifeforms in a certain location but then they would suddenly disappear and reappear in a new spot.

    The pirate leader¡¯s broken and shattered mind could not understand why his prey were able to escape.

    He howled at the sky like a mad dog and began to furiously scratch the boils along his chest with such fury that his skin tore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you¡­ I¡¯ll get you¡­¡± Kohli hoarsely whispered. He repeated the same phrase over and over again like a broken record.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you¡­ I¡¯ll get you¡­ I¡¯ll get you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you¡­ I¡¯ll get you¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ ARGGHHH!¡±

    Kohli screamed in pain as a narrow beam of sword qi nearly bisected his body into two separate pieces.

    The air in front of the copsed pirate shimmered slightly and two heavily cloaked figures stepped out of the void.

    Their genders, race and even appearances werepletely hidden but there was one thing that Kohli knew for certain.

    Their blood smelled dangerous.

 Chapter 478: Thereâ€™s Always A Bigger Fish

    <h4>Chapter 478: There¡¯s Always A Bigger Fish</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Unnamed Asteroid Field)

    (Zrudread University Starship)

    Disgusting blood tendrils burst out of Kohli¡¯s severed body and connected the two pieces of meat together again.

    The pirate leader shakily got to his feet and stared warily at the two mysterious cultivators standing in front of him.

    They were both fully cloaked and wore masks but Kohli could somehow tell that they were both watching him carefully.

    Death was near¡­

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Kohli snarled fiercely and tried to look for a way out of this perilous situation.

    Neither one of the cloaked figures responded to his question so Kohli decided to try to use his gift to absorb their cultivation.

    While Kohli was unable to boost his own cultivation level using his gift, he was still capable of draining the lifeforce and vitality from others.

    He quietly extended a tendril of his qi outwards and tried to make contact with their bodies.

    All he needed was one opportunity and then he would counterattack¡­ one chance¡­ one chance to strike¡­

    Now!

    Kohli narrowed his eyes and the tendril of qi split into two spear-like weapons that stabbed forward at the cloaked figures.

    Unfortunately, his qi tendril was not able to prate the flesh of the unknown cultivators and enter their meridians.

    Kohli tried again and again but no matter what he did¡­ his gift could not take their cultivation away.

    This meant one of two possibilities.

    They were somehow immune to his ability¡­ or their cultivation levels were too high.

    And right now, Kohli was leaning towards thetter option since it was the one that made the most sense.

    Who were these people? Reinforcements from the university?

    Were they associated with the mysterious attackers who deployed five destroyer spacecrafts to hunt him down?

    ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck¡­ fuck¡­¡± Kohli hoarsely cursed as he felt the boils on his body start to itch uncontrobly.

    A particrlyrge blister on his chest burst and sickly yellowish liquid oozed out of the open wound.

    Things were looking bad.

    He had yet to find the duke¡¯s daughter and his skin was now covered in wrinkles.

    Kohli could feel his vitality slowly drain away as he continued to manipte and control the mass of blood floating around his body.

    Maybe it was time to retreat.

    Even in his state of madness, Kohli still retained a semnce of his sanity and knew to preserve his own life.

    He only needed a distraction and then he would run towards the crimson portal that was only two floors away.

    Blood Reaper Wave!

    Kohli stretched out his right palm and the floating blood around his body formed a gigantic reaper¡¯s scythe.

    He was about to fling the attack forward when one of the cloaked figures vanished from the spot.

    Not good¡­ NOT GOOD!

    Kohli¡¯s instincts red up and he tried to avoid the source of dangering from behind, but it was not possible for a mere qi tide stage cultivator deal with such powerful enemies.

    For a god stage cultivator dealing with him was almost akin to a fully grown adult man being sent to beat up an infant.

    sh!

    A wave of sword qi burst out of the tip of the unknown foe¡¯s longsword.

    Kohli did not have time to react before his body was sliced into a million pieces. The floating blood surrounding his body crashed to the ground.

    ¡°Adolebitque illud descendit,¡± the other cultivator whispered. Runic symbols floated in the air around his body as a magic circle appeared around Kohli¡¯s corpse.

    The blood tendrils squirmed and tried to reconnect the broken pieces of their master¡¯s body, but it was toote.

    An enormous pir of fire rose up from the magic circle andpletely incinerated what was left of Kohli¡¯s body.

    Even in his final moments, Kohli could not believe that this was his fate.

    He was the protagonist¡­ he should have gotten revenge¡­ the duke¡¯s daughter¡­ she needed to die¡­

    The fearsome leader of the Calypso brotherhood and the vessel for an otherworldly entity from beyond the void died without a trace.

    The stone tablet that he had hidden inside the temple beneath the headquarters of his organisation suddenly cracked.

    The mysterious red writings on its surface dulled and in a ce beyond the void, a colossal eldritch entity screamed in pain as it felt its powers weaken.

    Nothing remained except for ashes.

    The sword wielding cultivator stepped forward and took out an empty test tube from his storage ring.

    He scooped up some of the ashes and ced them inside the empty vial for further testing before turning to face hispanion.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the pairmunicated using a spiritual sound technique.

    No one knows what the content of their conversation was but by the end of it both figures disappeared from the corridor.

    Instructor Barrettughed happily as he saw the intruder die quickly after being subdued by the cloaked cultivators.

    Cleo watched the video feed curiously and yed back the footage to take a closer look.

    The cultivator with the sword did not even bother to use a technique.

    The raw power from the sword qi surrounding his de and the speed of his attack was enough to take Kohli down.

    A faint shiver ran down Cleo¡¯s spine as she realised how quickly the powerful intruder was killed.

    It was another reminder of the dangerous truth of the universe.

    There was always someone or something out there who was stronger than you.

    The universe was infinite and even the mighty intergctic empires such as the Insectoid, Unovan or even the Federation were but specks of dust whenpared to its vastness.

    Who knows what kind of monstrous creatures lived just beyond the observable universe¡­

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Instructor Barrett¡¯smunicator rang out and the elderly man checked his messages and saw several iing transmissions.

    He read the messages carefully and the grin on his face widened when he heard about the good news.

    Thest few hours had been incredibly tense but now there appeared to be a light at the end of the dark tunnel.

    Instructor Barrett looked up from hismunicator and ryed the good news to Cleo who standing at the side.

    ¡°The two cultivators who helped us before and going to look for Drew and Elenora so they will be rescued soon,¡± Instructor Barrett spoke happily.

    ¡°Also, in the case of an emergency, Principal Malik has ordered the alpha, gamma and zeta squads to reinforce our position.¡±

    ¡°The fleet should arrive in around two hours so all we have to do is hold on until then.¡±

 Chapter 479: Mysteries And Unknown Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 479: Mysteries And Unknown Secrets</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Unknown Asteroid Field)

    ¡°Help¡­ stay away! STAY AWAY!¡± Drew screamed as he desperately grabbed the door of the cockpit and tried to keep it from moving.

    His mech was missing both its upper and lower limbs and the barrier systems were nowpletely out of power.

    Who could have expected the sudden ambush?

    At first Drew was confident that he could deal with the fighter spaceships that mysteriously appeared but as their numbers increased¡­

    He panicked.

    He made one of the biggest mistakes in mechbat by turning his back to the enemies and not rerouting all avable power to the shields.

    It did not take long before the barrage of sma fire damaged the central engine core and turned his mech into a floating pile of mechanical junk.

    Now his mech was broken and surrounded by a fleet of enemies with sma cannons aimed directly at his position.

    If the situation was not already bad enough¡­

    Drew had been forced to watch in horror as several humanoid figures wearing spacesuits flew towards his location.

    It was hard to see their faces through the heavy polycarbonate helmets that they wore, but Drew could faintly observe that their eyes were bloodshot, and their movements were unnatural.

    It may sound strange, but it was almost as though they were puppets dancing in the palm of someone¡¯s hand.

    Each figure held a small handheldser rifle in their palms which they pointed at the entrance to the cockpit.

    With impressive precision they shot multiple beams of harsh light towards each corner of the cockpit door.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Drew quickly turned his body into a liquid form and slid down from his chair so that the shots passed harmlessly above his head.

    He returned to his human appearance and could do little beside watch as his enemies slowly approached.

    Maybe if he pleaded more¡­ they wouldn¡¯t hurt him too badly?

    Drew shrunk away in the far-left corner of the cockpit and stared at the door.

    Quafes did not have internal organs, but Drew briefly had the illusion that his heart was beating frantically.

    The first figure reached for the door and easily pulled it open.

    The oxygen inside the room instantly escaped and Drew was forced to grab the nearest handle to prevent his body from flying out.

    [Warning! Warning! Breach In The Cockpit!]

    A cold mechanical voice rang out as a harsh red light blinked on and off. Drew raised one hand up in surrender, but the figure simply stood there.

    ¡°I give up!¡± Drew tried to shout but his voice did not travel through the vacuum of space.

    He could see the other figures frozen in ce outside of the cockpit.

    Drew closed his eyes and waited for the end. This was not the way that he expected to die.

    His entire life shed before his eyes, and he was filled with endless regret. Why had he decided to be a cultivator?

    Was it worth the risk? Absolutely not.

    Drew curled his fingers up into a fist and decided to shift his appearance onest time.

    His blonde hair turned light ck, and his originally handsome face was now slightly disfigured. He had a hooked nose and one of his eyes were slightly bigger than the other.

    This was the first human form that Drew had ever taken back when he was a young Quafes who did not know how to properly adjust his facial features.

    It seemed like a fitting appearance to have at the end.

    Drew waited for death but¡­ nothing happened.

    Seconds and then minutes passed without anything happening.

    The Quafes boy tentatively opened his eyes and saw that all of his attackers were nowpletely motionless.

    Huh? Was this some kind of trick? No¡­ that didn¡¯t make sense¡­ what was the point of tricking him now?

    What Drew did not know at the time was that behind the helmet¡­

    All the pirates wereatose.

    Kohli¡¯s death had severed the mental bond between himself and his subordinates, but his mental control had been so deeply ingrained in their minds that they could not function without it.

    Drew was still scared but as time continued to pass with no reaction, he summoned thest bit of courage left in his heart.

    Drew hesitantly stretched out his foot by several feet and gently pushed the motionless figure out of the cockpit.

    The figure in the spacesuit floated away and eventually mmed against a nearby asteroid.

    Throughout the entire process, he did not react in even the slightest way.

    Drew turned his attention to the fighter spaceships surrounding his position and saw that they were also strangely silent.

    The Quafes boy did not understand what was happening and did not know if his mysterious attackers would suddenly start moving again.

    It may seem useless, but Drew manipted the mass on his arm and extended his limb to grab the floating metalloid door.

    He ced it back in its original position and floated over to hold it in ce. All he could do now was wait and hope that Professor Barrett would eventually find his position.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Unnamed)

    (Headquarters of the Calypso Brotherhood)

    Chunks of rock floated through space. What was once a was now nothing more than an apocalyptic wastnd.

    The had been destroyed by the fleet of five destroyer ss vessels surrounding it.

    Every single person on the had been cooked alive or directly killed when a barrage of sma fire bombarded the¡¯s surface.

    The remaining fleet of pirate vessels werepletely annihted by the massive sma cannons mounted on the top of the enormous starships.

    Inside the leading starship was a special room. There was a single alien meditating quietly inside the room with several metalloid tubes attached to its body.

    The alien¡¯s skin was dull greyish-white colour, and its figure was vaguely humanoid with a long spiky tail that extended from its rear.

    Thousands ofpound eyes were scattered across its t face, and it seemed to be looking in multiple directions at once.

    The alien had two mouths ced along the sides of its cheek and one of its mouths opened up to reveal rows upon rows of razer sharp teeth.

    ¡°The vessel has been killed¡­ the conduit for the ancient one¡¯s power is now useless,¡± the alien hoarsely spoke.

    His voice echoed through the empty room and was transmitted to a simr looking alien standing in themand deck.

    ¡°All units will be given the order to immediately retreat,¡± the alien leader growled in frustration as he mmed a webbed palm against the ground.

    The space in front of the destroyer ss spaceships rippled and soon an enormous portal appeared in the void.

    The starships entered the portal one by one and soon the rift closed.

    Not a single trace of the unknown alien race was left behind and as for their true purpose¡­ it would remain a mystery.

 Chapter 480: The Will To Get Stronger

    <h4>Chapter 480: The Will To Get Stronger</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Zrudread University Starship- Main Hangar)

    A battered mech crashed onto the floor with a dull thump. It was missing one arm and the sma cannons mounted on the top of its shoulders were badly damaged.

    The cockpit in the center of the mech slowly opened and a furry paw could be seen slowly reaching out from inside the space.

    Elenora let out a sigh of relief as she summoned thest of her strength to crawl out of the cockpit and used her ws to scale down the machine.

    She had barely made it.

    Elenora had been lucky enough not to encounter any of the destroyer ss space vessels, but she had been attacked several times by the pirates.

    The Mendolesa girl had tried her best to fight them off, but she had been greatly outnumbered and forced to retreat.

    Ironically enough, she was saved by stumbling onto the hidden base of the androids that were the original objective of the exam.

    The androids engaged with the iing fleet of fighter ss spaceships, so Elenora had been able to slip away during the heated battle.

    The Mendolesa girl felt her feet touch the solid ground and at that moment there was no better feeling in the world.

    This was the first time that she had been in a life and death situation and Elenora could not stop her paws from trembling.

    Every warrior assumed that they would rise to the challenge when faced with a powerful foe but when actually faced with the possibility of death¡­

    There were few who would be able to maintain theirposure.

    Elenora powered on hermunicator and checked the unread messages in her inbox.

    She was not surprised to see a few messages from the professor since he was probably alerted to her return thanks to the starship¡¯s AI unit.

    Instructor Barrett: [Stay where you are¡­ I will send a droid to meet you.]

    Instructor Barrett: [Do you require any immediate medical attention?]

    Elenora: [No¡­ I¡¯m just feeling the strain of mental overexertion.]

    Instructor Barrett: [That¡¯s good to hear¡­ Cleo is with me, but Drew is still missing.]

    The Mendolesa girl turned off hermunicator and sat on the ground with no regard for her image.

    Elenora felt a bit worried as the professor¡¯sst message shed across her mind.

    She was relived that Cleo was also safe, but she had seen firsthand just how dangerous the situation was inside the asteroid field.

    Drew could be in a perilous situation and there would be no one to help him.

    It was not as though Elenora was particrly close to the arrogant Quafes youth, but it was hard not be concerned about her fellow ssmate.

    Elenora was suddenly struck by a wave of exhaustion as she felt her eyes slowly begin to close.

    Her vision gradually turned dark, and she fell to the ground in an unconscious state.

    Two robot androids walked into the hangar room and with a series of smooth motions, they picked up the fallen Mendolesa girl and carefully carried her to the medical bay.

    They ced her on a table and a small floating metalloid cube hovered over her body. The cube was dull purplish colour with several buttons scattered across its exterior.

    Multiple beams of green light swept over Elenora¡¯s body a few times and a set of data began to appear on a nearby screen.

    A transparent tube rose up from beneath the table and dug itself into the girl¡¯s arm. Nutrients and healing serum flowed through the tube and entered Elenora¡¯s veins.

    The Mendolesa girl sighedfortably and shifted her body into a more rxed position as she begun to heal.

    Professor Barrett spread his consciousness throughout the starship, so he was able to constantly monitor the situation.

    Elenora was fine and just needed some rest after using too much of her mental force in a short period of time.

    In ordinary circumstances, this would be seen as a reckless move, but Instructor Barrett knew that what happened over thest several hours was an emergency.

    Cleo sat in the corner of the warp engine room and watched her professor as he closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing.

    She was too weak to detect what her professor was currently doing but could somehow sense a thick mental fog flowing out of his mind.

    The princess turned her attention back to hermunicator and continued to message Sophie and her other friends.

    Qiana and Astrid were both equally shocked by her news of the attack.

    Qiana in particr wanted to know more details about the destroyer ss vessels.

    Those kinds of starships were heavily regted in the Earth Federation and even high noble families had a limit on the number of vessels that they were allowed to own.

    Thinking back on their designs¡­ Cleo could not recall ever seeing those particr models before.

    The technology that the mysterious spacecrafts used was simr to Federation starships but there was a subtle difference that she just could not put her finger on.

    ¡°Cleo you should also go down to the med bay and get a general checkup,¡± Instructor Barrett suddenly spoke.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Cleo replied respectfully as she nodded at her professor.

    She walked out of the room and checked hermunicator for a map of the starship¡¯s interior.

    The med bay was located on the floor above her current position so it would only be a short five-to-ten-minute walk to get there.

    Cleo wandered through the metalloid corridors and halls while quietly observing the destruction that had taken ce.

    Blood stains were sttered across the floor and the ceiling, shards of the robot androidsy on the ground and several thick metalloid barriers had been sted into pieces.

    The intruder had been a powerful foe.

    Cleo knelt down and touched one of the robot androids that had been neatly cut in half.

    Its once shining metalloid eyes were now lifeless and its mechanical body was now nothing more than scrap junk.

    One did not need an active imagination to know what the oue would have been if Cleo hade face to face with the intruder.

    She would have been killed.

    That thought alone made the princess furrow her brows as a frown appeared on her face.

    She needed to get stronger¡­

 Chapter 481: All That Mattered

    <h4>Chapter 481: All That Mattered</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University- Principal¡¯s Office)

    Tap! Tap! Tap!

    Principal Malik leaned back against his chair and tapped his ws against the top of his desk. The elderly Mendolesa warrior was in a bad mood.

    ¡°At least the students are safe¡­¡± Principal Malik muttered quietly as he got up from his chair and took a walk around the room.

    As the head of one of the four top universities in the Earth Federation, it was not issue for the principal to decorate his office however he liked.

    However, the principal was a simple man.

    Only one painting hung on the wall and it was a white canvas with a strange symbol ced in the middle of the picture.

    The floor was covered in a thick brown carpet and apart from the desk and chair in the corner of the room, there was only one long couch for guests to sit down.

    Principal Malik reached into his storage bag and pulled out an unopened sk.

    He twisted off the stopper and poured the greenish liquid into his mouth with one smooth motion.

    A familiar burning sensation could be felt in his throat as the principal drank a rare wine brewed using the heart of a me beast.

    For cultivators at his level, it was difficult if not impossible to get drunk, so alcohol was merely consumed for the vour.

    Principal Malik walked around the length of his office multiple times before finally returning to his desk once his head had cleared.

    He picked up themunicator tablet on the desk and essed the reports that had just been sent.

    The lead admiral of the space fleets sent to the rescue the students was now leading the operation to escort them back to the university.

    They were expected to arriveter together.

    ording to the report, no one seemed to be seriously injured but one of the students told Instructor Barrett that he wished to drop out of college.

    Hmm¡­. it would be a heavy loss¡­

    Principal Malik frowned slightly since this was bad news.

    It was rare to get mech controllers toe to Zrudread University and each one of them was a precious seedling.

    But if the student no longer wished to pursue the path of cultivation, then the principal was not going to stop him.

    Temperance and willpower were just as important as talent.

    The reality was that not everyone was able to be a cultivator.

    The constant battles and encounters with death were not issues that could easily be shrugged off.

    Even the Mendolesa race known for their savagery in battle knew members of their species that decided to give up life on the battlefield and settle down with a family.

    Principal Malik gathered his thoughts and sent the student¡¯s profile to the guidance counselor to have a look.

    Hopefully Mrs. Kerona would be able to change his mind but somehow the principal doubted that it would happen.

    Now on to the more serious matter at hand¡­

    Principal Malik opened the other message in his inbox but this time he had to enter a special password in order to ess its contents.

    The tablet in his palm vibrated twice and then the message was unlocked.

    Principal Malik scanned the report and furrowed his brows in confusion.

    This was the joint report written by the two powerful cultivators whom he had dispatched to deal with the enemies threatening the students.

    And what they wrote waspletely shocking.

    The first paragraph mentioned an unknown intruder who was capable of using some kind of blood-based attacker.

    The intruder appeared to be human but the possibility of it being a species that could mimic the human form could not be ruled out.

    That fact alone should have been the highlight of the report but what the two cultivators discovered next made Principal Malik feel quite rmed.

    The fleet of pirate starships had already beenpletely annihted by the third party that one of the students had mentioned.

    What was truly peculiar was that not a single trace of the five destroyer ss vessels could be found in the region.

    The only evidence of their presence were the broken spaceships and a destroyed located in the inner region of the asteroid field which the cultivators spected belonged to the pirates.

    Five destroyer ss vessels¡­.

    Which faction would be foolish enough to show their hand to deal with mere pirates?

    Principal Malik ced the tablet back down on the table and stroked the white fur underneath his chin.

    The elderly Mendolesa warrior was left in a daze for the rest of the afternoon as he desperately tried to figure out the identity of the mysterious third party.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (St. John¡¯s Main Spaceport- Terminal Four)

    ¡°Cleo!¡± a loud voice called out happily.

    Cleo had just walked through the gate when arge body mmed into her. A pair of warm arms wrapped around her body and Cleo¡¯s face was pressed against two soft mountains.

    Sophie warmly embraced her girlfriend and refused to let go.

    For once she did not care about the people watching from the side and simply wanted to hug her lover.

    Every day had been a nightmare since seeing that vision inside her mind.

    Sophie had barely slept and even with Cleo¡¯s constantmunication over the Virtual Net she could not help but worry about her safety.

    In fact, at one point it had gotten so bad that she was forced to call Doctor Reynolds for an emergency session.

    It was fortunate that Moon was able to mostly get through thebat beast exam by himself because Sophie at the time was not in the right frame of mind to perform at her best.

    The hybrid girl squeezed the princess even tighter in her arms and pressed her lips against the top of Cleo¡¯s head.

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes as she had to resist the urge to let her hands wander downwards.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ I¡­ can¡¯t¡­ breathe¡­¡± Cleo gasped as she felt the air escaping her lungs.

    ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m sorry!¡± Sophie eximed in shock as she hurriedly loosened her grip. Cleo squirmed out of her arms and stared at her with an expression of mock anger.

    ¡°Do you want to choke me to death?!¡± the princess teased with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    Not to be outdone, Sophie leaned in closer and softly whispered in her ear at a volume that only the princess could hear.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t mind choking thest time we¡­.¡±

    Cleo suddenly stood on her tiptoes and sealed Sophie¡¯s mouth with a kiss.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s eyes widened in shock, but she immediately stuck out her tongue and explored her lover¡¯s mouth.

    Cleo was back and that was all that mattered.

 Chapter 482: Sweet Chocolate Cake

    <h4>Chapter 482: Sweet Chocte Cake</h4>

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456 Y)

    It was a beautiful day.

    The elite student housingplex was an area ofnd with several massive vis built a short distance away from each other.

    It was here where the elite ss students were housed and could enjoyforts and privileges not given to the other students in the university.

    Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand as the pair walked towards a massive three-story building that was only a few meters away.

    The hybrid girl would asionally stop to press a kiss against Cleo¡¯s cheek and enjoyed watching her girlfriend blush.

    Cleo was finally back.

    Sophie could not stop herself from taking constant nces at her girlfriend as if to make sure that she was still there.

    ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡± Cleo teased softly as she leaned in closer.

    ¡°No¡­ you are as beautiful as always, my princess,¡± Sophie replied with a warm smile as she stroked Cleo¡¯s back.

    Sophie approached the scanner next to the entrance to their mansion and lightly pressed her hand against the screen.

    A green light shed twice and then the metalloid door swung open to reveal the familiar interior of their mansion.

    Sophie led Cleo to the living room and sat down her girlfriend on the couch before finally letting go of her hand.

    ¡°Stay right there¡­ I got a special surprise¡­¡± Sophie teased as she rushed off to the kitchen.

    Cleo smiled gently as she waited for her girlfriend to return. It was cute how excited she sometimes got.

    The hybrid girl quickly arrived in the kitchen and headed for the oven. As the saying went¡­

    ¡®The only way to a person¡¯s heart was through their stomach!¡¯

    Sophie was not exactly the best cook, but she could easily make delicious desserts full of sugary goodness.

    She opened up the oven and took out a small tray where arge gooey cake jiggling slightly from side to side rested on its surface.

    One of Sui Meng¡¯s memories contained a recipe for a simple chocte cake and Sophie had modified the form to make it even sweeter.

    Cultivators at their level no longer had to worry about blood pressure or developing cavities so Sophie was quite generous with the sugar that she poured in the cake batter.

    Sophie grabbed a knife from one of the drawers and two tes.

    She carefully cut the cake into multiple pieces and ced three slices on each te.

    She held the tes in her hand and walked back to the living room. She ced the food down on the table in front of the couch and then prepared to sit down next to Cleo.

    ¡°Oh wait¡­ I forgot the spoons!¡± Sophie eximed in shock. She ran back to the kitchen and grabbed two stic spoons.

    When she returned Cleo was already eating the cake using her fingers. The corners of the princess¡¯ mouth had small chocte crumbs but in Sophie¡¯s eyes it made her seem adorable.

    ¡°Wow¡­ this is delicious!¡± Cleo whispered softly as she grabbed another piece. Sophie smiled proudly and handed her a spoon.

    ¡°Thanks babe! I made it using an old recipe,¡± Sophie bragged as she ced one arm around Cleo¡¯s shoulders.

    The pair made light conversation for several minutes while avoiding the topic of Cleo¡¯s experiences over thest few days.

    They had already talked over themunicator and Sophie did not want to bring up their conversations¡­ at least for now.

    However, Cleo had no problem with mentioned the one issue that was still at the back of her mind.

    ¡°By the way¡­ I didn¡¯t mention it over the Virtual Net, but I have something important to tell you,¡± Cleo solemnly spoke.

    ¡°During the battle one of my eyes started to glow pink just like yours. I felt a constant surge of energy flowing through my body which replenished my mental energy.¡±

    ¡°Really? That exins it then. When I was training Moon in the park¡­ it felt as though my qi was getting sucked away to an unknown location,¡± Sophie replied with furrowed brows.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­ did you know that you could do that before?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ it was the first time that I¡¯ve used the connection between us for anything other than sharing memories ormunication,¡± Cleo exined as she continued to eat.

    ¡°Maybe we should test it out tomorrow? Or should we wait until the end of the battle ranking exam?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say to put it off until after the tournament. Usually, my powerse with some kind of bacsh, so we need to be careful,¡± Sophie warned sternly.

    Cleo nodded in understanding and the pair returned to lighter topics of conversation.

    Sophie talked about her experiences during thebat beast pet exam where Professor Ward had made her students control their pets to travel through a maze.

    What was difficult about the exam were the hidden enemies that roamed through the maze and the endlessbyrinth of side passageways and dead ends.

    There were multiple ways to deal with the enemies and the professor graded the students differently depending on their method.

    Some students used their pets to engage with the enemies directly while others used stealth or avoidance tactics to sneak by.

    Moon used a mixture of both since Sophie at the time wasmanding him with thoughts of Cleo¡¯s safety still upying a lot of her thoughts.

    It was fortunate that the months of training that Sophie had put Moon through during the semester paid off handsomely.

    He was unable to grab the top spot but was able to secure a ce in the upper middle ranking of the ss.

    ¡°So¡­ basically I gave Moon a few days off to rx before we start training together for the tournament,¡± Sophie continued her story.

    ¡°Professor Macabre spoke to me privately yesterday and told me not to use my venom nds to enhance my poison.¡±

    ¡°Apparently it may put my ssmates in serious danger so I¡¯m still on the fence whether I¡¯ll use poison at all or just fight normally.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ there are serious limitations on what cultivation techniques students can use during the tournament,¡± Cleo replied with a small yawn.

    ¡°I mean the assassination ss specialises in killing techniques so most of them end up skipping the tournament since they can¡¯t use them.¡±

    ¡°And then for us mech controllers¡­ we can¡¯t use our mechs, so ites down to only using psychic techniques.¡±

 Chapter 483: A Peaceful Gathering

    <h4>Chapter 483: A Peaceful Gathering</h4>

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456 Y)

    ¡°So¡­ babe¡­¡± Sophie hoarsely whispered as she leaned in closer to Cleo¡¯s soft body.

    ¡°Shall we take this upstairs?¡±

    She gently blew in the princess¡¯ ear as her hands naughtily roamed Cleo¡¯s lower half.

    Sophie pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s cheek and kissed her girlfriend over and over again.

    The princess furiously blushed as her girlfriend began to toy and y with her body.

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes as she felt an overwhelming surge of lust begin to rise.

    Now that Cleo was back there was only one thought in Sophie¡¯s mind. She wanted to feel the warm embrace of her girlfriend and drown her in pleasure.

    The atmosphere in the living room soon turned ambiguous as Cleo¡¯s face flushed a bright red colour.

    ¡°Not¡­ here¡­¡± Cleo moaned as Sophie gently cupped her breasts and started to tease and y with her soft mountains.

    Just as Sophie was about to take off her girlfriend¡¯s shirt, she was interrupted by a loud knocking sound.

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Sophie cursed as a look of annoyance shed across her face.

    She forcibly suppressed the feelings of lust coursing through her body and tried to regain control.

    Rx¡­ let the feelings fade¡­ deep breaths¡­ inhale¡­ exhale¡­

    The hybrid girl took a few deep breaths and slowly counted to ten over and over until she finally calmed down.

    Sophie quickly withdrew her hands and helped Cleo to tidy up her appearance before walking over to the door.

    She pressed her hand against the scanner and the metalloid door swung open to reveal Qiana and Astrid standing in front of the mansion.

    ¡°Sophie!¡± Astrid called out happily as she walked forward and wrapped Sophie in a tight bear hug that it made it hard to breathe.

    ¡°We thought we would swing by and see Cleo since she came back today,¡± Qiana exined as she handed over a in brown bag.

    ¡°Thank you for the gift,¡± Sophie spoke politely as she opened the bag and saw fresh pastries from a well-known bakery in the city.

    The smile on her face widened and the feeling of annoyance at being interrupted soon faded away.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you alle inside? Cleo is sitting down in the living room and I¡¯m sure that she will be happy to see you,¡± Sophie suggested as she gently broke out of Astrid¡¯s tight embrace.

    She led the two girls to the living room where Cleo was elegantly sitting down on the couch with a regal expression.

    There was an aura of elegance and nobility surrounding her body and it was impossible to tell that just a few moments ago her face was flushed with arousal.

    ¡°Qiana! Astrid! It¡¯s good to see you!¡± Cleo spoke warmly as she gestured towards them. Sophie headed for the kitchen as her friends began to talk and catch up.

    She ced the brown bag on the counter and took out the items inside.

    Qiana was truly generous and had bought an entire box of pastries along with a few sausage rolls.

    Sophie grabbed two more tes and some spoons from the bottom drawer and ced the remaining slices of cake on the tes.

    She brought the tes over to the living room and saw that Cleo and Qiana were happily talking about their exams while Astrid was listening cheerfully.

    ¡°I made dessert,¡± Sophie boasted proudly as she handed over a te to her friends.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Astrid joyfully replied as she took the te from Sophie¡¯s hands.

    The Mendolesa girl¡¯s tail wagged back and forth furiously as she dug into the cake using the stic spoon.

    ¡°Mhmmm¡­ delicious!¡± Astrid gave a furry thumbs up as she went in for another bite.

    Sophie smiled indulgently and felt secretly happy that her friend was enjoying her food so much.

    Qiana and Cleo were still in the middle of their conversation about the exams, so Sophie decided to eavesdrop.

    ¡°At least ten students were hospitalised by the end of my final exam¡­ three of them were in critical condition,¡± Qiana seriously spoke.

    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t the teacher stop the test before anyone was seriously hurt?¡± Cleo asked in shock.

    ¡°No¡­ in the assassination major you need to sign a special waiver saying that the university is not responsible for any deaths that ur during the exam,¡± Qiana exined.

    ¡°We need to go through actual life and death situations which is why our fatality rate is much higher than the other departments.¡±

    ¡°Sounds incredibly dangerous¡­¡± Cleo noted as she leaned back against the couch. The princess yawned sleepily as she stretched out her arms.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ the prisoners that we were supposed to hunt down were well known criminals with a bounty of at least two million Enas each,¡± Qiana whispered softly.

    The studious girl adjusted her sses before moving on to a lighter topic.

    Apparently, a new virtual reality game wasing out that was based on ancient Earth society.

    Thepany behind it was a famous financial group but no details about the project had been revealed yet.

    Rumors and spections were rampant across the gaming forums on the Virtual Net with some guessing whether the game would gain a mature rating.

    ¡°But if the game is set on ancient Earth, then what will it be about?¡± Sophie questioned as she powered on hermunicator.

    ¡°Who knows?¡± Qiana shrugged her shoulders and replied.

    ¡°Information about the ancient Earth era and the societies that lived before the age of the Interster are pretty scarce.¡±

    ¡°Most games based in that time simply create a fantasy world and loosely tie it to the events in our history books.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I remember one! It was called ¡®The Young Hero From Earth¡¯,¡± Astrid quickly interjected as she finished thest piece of cake on her te.

    ¡°My little sister was obsessed with it! You basically y as a nameless protagonist and use a special mental power to defeat the fearsome animals on the.¡±

    ¡°Let me send you the link¡­¡±

    The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur as the four girls spent most of the time talking andughing with one another.

 Chapter 484: An Ounce Of Compassion

    <h4>Chapter 484: An Ounce Of Compassion</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

    ¡°Good morning my dear! How are you today?¡± a hoarse voice echoed through theboratory.

    Dr. Valenna slowly walked towards a reinforced metalloid container in the back of the room that housed the most valuable specimen on the.

    The creature inside the container was an Insectoid and a member of the race known as the Serpentinea.

    It was a humanoid alien with stic and stretchy skin that bore a striking simrity to rubber.

    Yellowish scales covered certain areas of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder des.

    Three bright pink eyes that stared directly at the female scientist were located along its torso and one could see a mysterious orifice near its posterior region.

    Dr. Valenna smiled warmly as she approached the container and gently touched its cold metallic surface.

    She rapped her knuckles against the metal, but the specimen continued to remain motionless as if it could not hear her.

    The lead scientist chuckled lightly to herself as she opened up hermunicator and jotted down some notes.

    Today was an important day.

    It was going to be the start of the new set of human trials using the blood and DNA from the Insectoid in front of her.

    Of course, this was just going to be a few preliminary experiments, so Dr. Valenna was not expecting great results.

    Dr. Valenna sent out a few messages to the members of her team and then powered off her wristmunicator.

    There was arge, raised button next to the metalloid container which she pressed.

    The trapped Insectoid finally reacted, and its eyes showed a trace of panic.

    A cold smile shed across the scientist¡¯s face as she observed green gas begin to rise up from a small opening in the bottom of the container.

    The Insectoid rushed forward and began to furiously bang on the walls of its prison but after being intentionally starved for weeks, it simply did not have the strength to break out.

    Dr. Valenna patiently waited for the poison gas to take effect and soon the Insectoid copsed motionless to the ground.

    Two heavily armed guards walked into theboratory from the entranceway as Dr. Valenna opened the doors of the container.

    The guards wore protective gear that included severalyers and had sma rifles attached to their hips.

    They roughly grabbed the unconscious Insectoid and held it upright as the scientist approached its body.

    Dr. Valenna pulled a few empty syringes from her storage bag and jabbed them against the Insectoid¡¯s neck.

    She filled the empty vials with the Insectoid¡¯s blood and then gestured towards the guards holding the alien.

    The guards returned the Insectoid back to its enclosure and then Dr. Valenna locked the door using her fingerprint.

    She left theboratory while apanied by the guards and headed towards a certain area.

    The Insectoid that they had left behind was still asleep but judging from its furrowed brows, it was clearly suffering from a nightmare.

    Dr. Valenna slowly walked through a windingbyrinth of side passageways and corridors to get to the gene-splicing testing zone.

    Guards could be seen patrolling up and down the length of the corridors and several robot androids were carrying out daily cleaning tasks.

    The noble patrons behind Project Rhat¡¯ets had injected new funds into the project so the facilities had received several upgrades.

    Dr. Valenna was grateful to her employers but could not help but feel an increased sense of pressure.

    There would be no second chances.

    The previous attempts to create the ultimate soldier had failed and the me had been ced on the low-level Insectoid species that were used in the experiments.

    Now that would no longer be an excuse.

    Serpentinea were ssified as high-level Insectoid species and had intelligence that was on par with that of humans.

    If she failed again¡­

    Dr. Valenna shuddered as the thought briefly shed across her mind.

    She was aware of the price of failure. In fact, the researchers who were killed instantly were the fortunate ones.

    Dr. Valenna rubbed her fingers nervously as she finally saw a translucent dome-shaped structure that surrounded arge pit.

    Inside the pit were a monstrous worm-like creaturesposed of humanoid bodies sown together to create filthy abominations.

    These were the Tarkkankan- human hybrids that had abat power roughly in the early stages of the qi spirit realm.

    They were failed products but there was still value in researching them to get a better understanding of Insectoid biology.

    Next to the pit were several tent-shaped buildings and she could see men and women wearing whiteb coats rushing from one building to the other.

    Guards escorted naked test subjects inside the buildings.

    The test subjects were in various states of health, but most were generally in good condition.

    These test subjects were heavily shackled since having drugs in their systems would affect the gene-splicing process.

    That ruled out the use of sedatives or anesthesia in the process. Loud screams and cries of agony could be hearding from the buildings.

    Dr. Valenna entered a tent in the further corner of the dome and saw three elderly men waiting patiently for her arrival.

    ¡°I have acquired multiple samples so please extract the pure DNA by the end of the day,¡± Dr. Valenna coldly ordered.

    She handed over the vials of blood and expressions of excitement appeared on the faces of the elderly men in the room.

    ¡°When can we begin the testing process?¡± one of the men suddenly asked.

    ¡°I will be reviewing the list of avable test subjects to determine who is most suitable for the preliminary experiments,¡± Dr. Valenna spoke solemnly.

    The elderly man did not seem satisfied by her answer, but Dr. Valenna¡¯s authority made it difficult for him toin.

    The lead scientist left the tent and wandered over to the edge of the pit.

    She looked down and saw several of monsters begin to rub their oily white flesh against one another in some kind of mating ritual.

    Dr. Valenna stared at the process unblinkingly and wrote down notes during the process. There was nothing more important than the pursuit of knowledge.

    She finally turned away when the ritual finished and pulled up the video-feed of the containment unit on hermunicator.

    The Insectoid was now awake, and it sat on its knees with a depressed and lonely atmosphere surrounding its body.

    If Dr. Valenna had an ounce ofpassion, then the sight of the depressed alien may have stirred some kind of emotion in her heart.

    But she merely nced at the video-feed and then turned it off.

 Chapter 485: Preparations For The Battle Ranking Exam

    <h4>Chapter 485: Preparations For The Battle Ranking Exam</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Arge open field covered in a thinyer of grass has undergone a remarkable transformation over thest few days.

    Strange rocks had been scattered across the edges of the field with eerie runic symbols carved onto their surface that glowed a dull blue colour.

    One could see faint purplish threads connected each rock to one another and creating a peculiar pentagram-like shape.

    Four tiny Servies zipped around the field carefully checking the mana patterns to ensure that the formation was working properly.

    asionally they would wave their tiny arms and small mana circles floated behind their bodies as they channeled the art of the arcane.

    ¡°Horologium contra tempus!¡±

    ¡°Tempus revertendi vivere!¡±

    ¡°Speciali tempore agri!¡±

    Loud chants echoed through the open space as the Servies casted spells and enchantments to strengthen the formation.

    Principal Malik stood quietly on a raised tform overlooking the arena with a proud smile on his face.

    The battle ranking exam had been temporarily dyed by a couple of days in order to prepare a temporal reversal formation.

    This particrrge-scale spell required at least three archmages and an active mana field that had to be constantly maintained.

    Archmage Hollystorm had generously reached out to Mer University and four archmages had been dispatched to help set up the formation.

    This year¡¯s battle ranking exam would be unlike the previous years.

    A temporal reversal formation was capable of turning back time within a localised zone.

    What this essentially meant was that this year¡¯s battle ranking exam would have no restrictions and students would be free to go all out.

    Any resulting deaths or debilitating injuries could be instantly reversed once the formation activated.

    It was just a shame that this spell required days of preparation and the active zone was too small for it to be effective or practical to use on a battlefield.

    Principal Malik rubbed his furry paws together in glee as he tilted his wrist upwards to check hismunicator.

    Most professors had already finished marking the exams and the grades had already been approved by the deans of their departments.

    Principal Malik had instructed the heads of each department to send him a list of the most promising students of each grade.

    The elderly Mendolesa warrior decided to check the poison cultivation major first and casually opened up the file.

    There was one name that stood out in particr since her grade was eleven points higher than the second highest mark in the ss.

    Sophie Peterlor¡­

    ¡°Duke Peterlor has one talented daughter,¡± Principal Malik muttered approvingly as he checked the information next to her profile.

    Professor Macabre had described Miss Peterlor as a once in a generation talent when it came to both practical techniques and a solid grasp of the theoretical fundamentals of the poison arts.

    Principal Malik bared his fangs as a satisfied grin shed across his face.

    He opened up the other files and saw more promising students from across the different majors.

    This batch of first year students were truly impressive!

    He couldn¡¯t remember thest time that so many students had won the approval of their professors.

    Even that stubborn old man Instructor Barrett had nothing to say but praises for the mech controller students in his ss.

    ¡°Good! Good! Good!¡± Principal Malik excitedly spoke. He was so overjoyed that he repeated the same word three times.

    The nextpetition between the four great universities would be in a few months¡¯ time so this was fantastic news.

    Although the four great universities stood at the pinnacle in terms of resources and teaching methods in the Federation¡­

    At the end of the day, they were allpetitors or to put it in a better way¡­

    Rivals.

    The winner of thepetition would most certainly publish their victories across the Virtual Net.

    Principal Malik was an ambitious man who was not satisfied with Zrudread University¡¯s second ce finishst time.

    Hopefully this talented crop of first year students would be able to win glory for the college!

    He especially had high hopes for the daughter of Duke Peterlor who must surely be training desperately at this very moment!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456 Y)

    ¡°Moon! I know you stole my newly baked cake that I left in the freezing unit!¡± Sophie roared in anger as her figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    Her frostwing bat squeaked in terror and tried to fly away but he was no match for Sophie¡¯s enhanced speed and reflexes.

    Sophie caught her naughty pet by the scruff of his furry neck and stared at him with a cold expression.

    ¡°Now¡­ what do you have to say for yourself?¡± Sophie slowly growled as a crimson colour shed across her eyes.

    Moon trembled slightly and took a brief moment to gather his thoughts.

    He needed to prepare an excuse to get out of this perilous situation.

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! Listen¡­ I¡­ I¡­ the cake was outside¡­ and I thought that you left it for me¡­)

    Moon¡¯s forked tail swayed from side to side as he tilted his head and gave Sophie a puppy-eyed expression.

    ¡°Nah. Not this time mister,¡± Sophie fiercely muttered as she leaned in closer.

    ¡°Not when I spent three hours baking the perfect dessert only to find it gone when I came downstairs!¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to worm your way out of this one¡­

    Sophie¡¯s scolding was interrupted by a sleepy voice that came from the upstairs bedroom.

    ¡°Babe¡­ when are youing back?¡± Cleo¡¯s hoarse voice echoed through the mansion.

    The princess stepped out of the bedroom wearing what could only be described as a loose-fitting white shirt and ck silky leggings that emphasised her gorgeous figure.

    Purplish hickeys covered her neck, and her face was still flushed from Sophie¡¯s previous acts of intense passion.

    Cleo tried to take a few steps forward, but her legs were trembling too much to even move properly.

    She weakly leaned against the frame of the door and stared at Sophie with a lustful expression.

    The tense atmosphere between Moon and Sophie was instantly shattered as a faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    Moon saw that Sophie was distracted so he quickly wiggled himself out of his mommy¡¯s tight grip and flew towards his bedroom on the third floor.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! I¡¯m sorry!)

    Despite giving out an apology, Moon did not slow down his pace and soon the door to his private bedroom mmed shut.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

    She wanted to punish her mischievous frostwing bat, but it seemed as though fate had other ns in mind.

    The hybrid girl walked towards her girlfriend and gently scooped her up in a princess carry. She closed the bedroom door behind them as she walked inside their room.

    As for what happened next¡­.

    Let¡¯s just say that Moon was grateful that Cleo had bought soundproofing materials to cover his walls.

 Chapter 486: Last Minute Sparring Sessions

    <h4>Chapter 486: Last Minute Sparring Sessions</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Private Training Field No.23)

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and vanished from the spot as she ducked and weaved through an endless barrage of sma fire.

    Both of her eyes were nowpletely crimson, and Sophie could feel the bloodlust in her body slowly begin to rise.

    Instead of suppressing the feeling, Sophie took in a few deep breaths and allowed the urges to flow through her body.

    Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as her vision shifted into a world of orangish-red colour.

    Sophie clutched a whip tightly in her right hand as she began to channel her qi in a certain pattern.

    Asura Whip Art- Form Seven

    Hellfire Rain!

    Sophie stretched back her arm andshed out her whip with as much force as she could muster.

    Illusory shadowy mes surrounded the body of her weapon and the temperature inside the training field rose up to an unbearable level.

    The whip mmed into the body of the enormous mechanical android in the center of the field and easily tore through its metalloid exterior.

    The robot android stumbled backwards but that split second of weakness was enough for Sophie to finish the fight.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie appeared in the air above the robot and punched out using her left hand in one simple motion.

    A shockwave erupted from the tip of her fist and the powerful blow shattered the core of the robot instantly.

    The hybrid girl gracefullynded on the ground and her eyes slowly returned to their normal golden hue.

    A floating holographic screen was projected against a wall in the back of the room. Sophie¡¯s results from her training session were clearly disyed on the projection.

    [Stage Seven Cleared¡­ Calcting Time¡­]

    [One minute fifteen seconds¡­]

    ¡°Not bad¡­ not bad at all¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she rubbed her chin.

    She walked over to the console device in the center of the training room and adjusted some of the settings to raise the difficulty.

    Two more days remained until the start of the battle ranking exam, so Sophie wanted to do somest-minute sparring sessions.

    Tomorrow she would spend the day with Cleo, Astrid and Qiana since they all made ns to go visit the beach for a day of rxation.

    Sophie ced the whip back in her storage ring and took out several vials that contained a deep greenish liquid.

    This was the poison that she had decided to use for the exam. It was called ¡®The Old Soldier¡¯s Sorrow¡¯.

    ¡°Activate the next stage please,¡± Sophie politely called out to the AI unit that was monitoring the training room.

    [Stage Eight Will Now Begin¡­Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡­]

    [Good Luck!]

    A gigantic pit opened up in the far-left corner of the training field and a shadowy figure leapt out of the hole.

    The creature¡¯s appearance vaguely resembled that of a powerful bull, and it had five horns on the top of its head.

    If Sophie had to roughly guess its size, then she would assume that it was around thirty feet in length.

    Its fur was a dark ck colour with streaks of bright red that seemed out of ce and yet harmonious at the same time.

    Sophie flung one of the vials at the bull-like monster, but the creature opened its mouth and a wave of fire poured out.

    The hybrid girl created some distance between herself and the mes that were beginning to spread across the training field.

    The creature stared disdainfully at Sophie as it made no attempt to get closer and instead turned its immediate surroundings into a sea of hellfire.

    A sadistic smile shed across Sophie¡¯s face as her hands began to make a series of gestures and the qi in her body started to circte in a certain pattern.

    Poison Cultivation Art- The Sleeping Dragon!

    The vial of toxins on the ground shuddered as the greenish liquid suddenly burst out of the container.

    This liquid rapidly turned into a gas that formed the shape of arge imposing dragon that towered over the creature.

    The bull-like monster wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, but its sense of danger made it attempt to turn around and run back to the pit.

    It would never get the chance to escape.

    Sophie mmed her fist in a downwards motion and the floating cloud of poison followed her movements exactly.

    The poison dragon swallowed the bull-like monster and then disappeared leaving behind a very confused creature.

    Huh? It was alright?

    The monster cautiously took a step forward and a steady flow of blood began to pour out of its orifices.

    Sophie casually uncorked another one of the vials and downed the contents in one smooth gulp.

    Her venom nds swelled, and Sophie¡¯s fangs increased by at least two inches as she let the poison flow into her ns.

    The monster was on the floor groaning in pain, but Sophie was not going to show it any mercy.

    Chomp!

    Sophie¡¯s incisors easily prated the flesh of the weakened monster and delivered a fatal dose of lethal venom.

    The light in the monster¡¯s eyes gradually disappeared and two robots rushed into the training room to dispose of its corpse.

    The holographic projection changed once more to disy Sophie¡¯stest results on its translucent surface.

    [Stage Eight Cleared¡­ Calcting Time¡­]

    [One minute forty-five seconds¡­]

    Sophie decided to take a break, so she sat down on the ground and powered on hermunicator to send a few messages to Cleo.

    She nned on going back to their mansion in about two hours from now to pick up Moon for his own training session.

    Thatzy frostwing bat needed to get some training done so that he wouldn¡¯t be rusty by the time the battle ranking exam started.

    Sophie: [Hey babe! I¡¯me over to pick up Moon in like two hours from now¡­]

    Cleo: [Sure that¡¯s no problem¡­ I¡¯ll be out for a bit this afternoon since Instructor Barrett wants to talk to me and the rest of the ss.]

    Sophie: [Oh? What for?]

    Cleo: [Well¡­ basically I think that Drew is going to drop out which means that there will be only two of us in the entire ss¡­]

 Chapter 487: A Relaxing Day At The Beach

    <h4>Chapter 487: A Rxing Day At The Beach</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Western District- St. Lisa¡¯s Beach)

    The sun was shining brightly in the sky and a cool breeze was flowing from a northeastern direction.

    Students could be seen walking in groups along the beach or ying in the water without a care in the world.

    St. Lisa¡¯s Beach was a popr destination to just unwind and rx after a hard day of sses and it was only a few hours away from the main campus.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ it feels good to rx,¡± Cleo softly whispered as she stretched out her armszily.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your drink,¡± Qianaughed as she passed over a ss full of a deep purplish liquid that slightly bubbled.

    Cleo thanked her friend and then brought the ss to her lip.

    The liquid inside the ss tasted almost like honey except it fizzled and popped like a carbonated drink.

    ¡°So¡­ why are you wearing that?¡± Qiana teased as she stared at Cleo¡¯s outfit.

    The princess was wearing a long skirt that covered her entire body as well as her arms.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly the kind of outfit that one would usually wear when going to the beach.

    Even Qiana was wearing a ck one-piece bathing suit that showed off her slender but muscr legs.

    Cleo rolled her eyes since she knew that her friend had probably guessed the reason why she was forced to cover up.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ got a bit excitedst night¡­¡± Cleo spoke tiredly as she tilted her neck and briefly pulled on the side of her cor.

    Deep purplish hickeys could be seen along her neck before the princess adjusted her clothes so that her bare skin could no longer be seen.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell mest time that you were going to talk to Sophie about taking things a little bit easier?¡± Qiana questioned with a confused expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I swear every time I want to bring it up¡­ you know what¡­ let¡¯s just move on,¡± Cleo stammered slightly as a faint red blush spread across her cheeks.

    Qiana smiled when she saw the embarrassed expression on her friend¡¯s face.

    She picked up a rock near her feet and tossed it into the ocean.

    Itnded with a dull plop and Qiana could see some kind of tiny organism emerge from the seafloor to investigate the sudden disturbance.

    The pair continued to walk along the beach and only stopped asionally to admire the waves as they crashed against the shore.

    ¡°How do you feel about the battle ranking exam? I heard that mages from Mer University will be maintaining a temporal reversal formation,¡± Cleo gossiped as she dipped her toes in the water.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think a lot of my ssmates in the assassination major are now pretty excited about the exam,¡± Qiana thoughtfully replied.

    ¡°Most of them have only been trained in killing techniques that aren¡¯t exactly appropriate for a university spar.¡±

    ¡°But there is still a difference between killing in some isted location and killing someone in front of thousands of spectators.¡±

    ¡°Still¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the top fifty spots were mostly taken by the assassination students,¡± Cleo stated confidently.

    Qiana frowned as a certain thought shed across her mind. The in girl adjusted her thick sses before replying to Cleo¡¯s statement,

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I heard that thebat beast kids are going to be allowed to bring their pets so they might have an advantage.¡±

    ¡°Although if you defeat the master¡­¡±

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Archmage Hollystorm¡¯s Mage Tower)

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she stared at the seemingly broken wooden shack in the middle of nowhere.

    They were going to bete!

    The four friends had nned to visit the beach today, but Archmage Hollystorm had summoned Astrid for somest-minute training.

    Sophie had decided to stay behind and wait for her while Qiana and Cleo went on ahead to get them a good spot.

    The hybrid girl found a nearby boulder and sat down. She powered on hermunicator and sent a quick message to her girlfriend.

    Sophie: [Hey babe! I might be a few hourste so feel free to eat or grab yourself some drinks if you get hungry]

    Sophie: [Love you¡­]

    She powered off hermunicator and leaned back against the boulder. The archmage¡¯s tower was surrounded by a dense forest with tall trees that blocked out the sunlight from above.

    As a result, the forest floor was quite dark, and the temperatures were also low.

    Fortunately, Sophie¡¯s golden eyes could easily prate the darkness, so she did not have any issues seeing the tiny furry creatures scurrying around.

    Well¡­ that¡¯s what the surroundings looked like today¡­

    ording to Astrid, her mentor would asionally change the area around his tower depending on his whim.

    Once it was a murky swamp, then a harsh snowfield, and there was even a time when it was surrounded by an endless desert.

    Archmage Hollystorm was truly an entric character but that wasn¡¯t surprising considering that most mages were to put it nicely¡­

    A bit weird.

    ¡°Well¡­ staying in a tower all day and pouring over some dusty tomes would drive me mad,¡± Sophie muttered quietly.

    ¡°Do you really think so?¡± a voice softly asked.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ its no wonder that Astrid always wants to escape. Even on the day before the battle ranking exam¡­ she has to¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s voice trailed off as she realised something.

    Wait a minute¡­

    Sophie quickly turned around and saw a handsome elderly Servie staring at her with an expression of mock anger on his face.

    His translucent wings pped gently up and down and blue runes were floating above his tiny fairy-like body.

    ¡°Archmage Hollystorm¡­ I didn¡¯t see you there!¡± Sophie eximed in shock as she hurriedly adjusted her tone.

    ¡°I hope you can forgive me for my rude statements¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just waiting outside for Astrid but don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not going to rush her¡­ she can take as much time as she wants!¡±

    Archmage Hollystorm snapped his fingers and the space behind him rippled.

    Without even chanting a spell, the mana around his body surged and automatically created a rift pathway between time and space.

    Astrid dropped out of the portal with a surprised expression on her face. She was still holding several heavy tomes with titles such as¡­

    ¡®Eisteren Theory on the Quantum Maic Flux of Runic Cycles,¡¯ ¡®Blood Magic and the Third Law of Caster Conversation¡¯ and ¡®How To Properly Incant.¡¯

    ¡°Alright myzy apprentice¡­ I was originally nning to have you study for a few more hours but¡­ I¡¯m feeling a bit generous,¡± Archmage Hollystorm spoke casually.

    ¡°Enjoy your day at the beach but don¡¯t forget that I expect you to return here immediately after the battle ranking exam.¡±

    The powerful Servie mage snapped his fingers once more and he vanished along with the books that were in Astrid¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Sophie! Did you manage to persuade him to let me go?!¡± Astrid excitedly spoke.

    ¡°Err¡­.¡±

    Sophie could only make a bewildered expression since she had no idea what had just happened.

 Chapter 488: The Battle Ranking Exam Begins!

    <h4>Chapter 488: The Battle Ranking Exam Begins!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    The training field had been transformed into a barely recognisable dense jungle with tall trees that stretched out towards the heavens.

    A translucent barrier covered the entire area of the field and blue runes could be seen floating above the barrier.

    The Servie mages constantly monitored the situation and would regrly inject their mana into the formation to ensure that it was safely maintained.

    Archmage Hollystorm stood on the raised tform with the principal and the other teachers and stared down at the arena.

    Large crowd stands had been constructed along the edges of the arena and they were packed with first year students eagerly waiting for the battle ranking exam to begin.

    There were even some curious upperssmen who came over to take a look at the new freshmen.

    Sophie was sitting quietly next to Celestia who was gossiping non-stop in her ear about thetest boy band on the virtual.

    The Servie girl seemed not to worry about the uing exam and her nonchnt attitude really helped Sophie to rx a bit.

    It was unfortunate that the students were separated into their different majors before the exam begun but at least she could see Cleo and her other friends in the distance.

    Principal Malik approached the small microphone in the center of the raised tform and cleared his throat twice.

    ¡°Greetings my dear students! Wee to the battle ranking exam!¡± Principal Malik dered proudly as he stretched out his furry ws.

    ¡°Zrudread University believes in practical exams and personal strength above all else. Those in the elite ss while be provided top quality cultivation resources but they must earn them!¡±

    ¡°This battle ranking exam is an opportunity for you ordinary students to turn over your life and be a member of the elite ss!¡±

    Principal Malik¡¯s words echoed through the arena and set off an excited atmosphere as ordinary students looked at one another with expressions of determinism.

    Sophie quietly observed the dismissive looks on the faces of her fellow elite ss members but she did not understand the source of their arrogance.

    Everyone who was able to attend Zrudread University was a genius.

    Even the ordinary students would have cultivation talents no lower than A level.

    It was true that with the increased resources of the elite ss, they would have an advantage, but that gap was not apparent until second or third year.

    Sophie smirked as she imagined the shocked looks on their faces when some of these proud sons and daughters of heaven dropped out of the elite ss.

    The principal continued his speech for around ten more minutes before finally stepping back and allowing Instructor Selvon to walk up to the mic.

    The grump Mendolesa professor sneered as he roughly grabbed the mic and stared at the students with an unpleasant gaze.

    ¡°Alright listen up maggots because I¡¯m only going to say this once,¡± Instructor Selvon spoke casually as he yawned.

    ¡°There will be three rounds and the top two hundred students at the end of the exam will be members of the elite ss for second year.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately for you¡­ the mages of Mer University were kind enough to deploy a temporal reversal formation so you can fight to your heart¡¯s contents.¡±

    ¡°Any injuries or deaths will be reversed so¡­ you lucky maggots don¡¯t even have to take a free trip to the hospital!¡±

    Instructor Selvon stepped away and grinned savagely at the ordinary students who now seemed a bit terrified.

    Sophie had to struggle to contain herughter when she heard the words of the bad-tempered professor.

    The boot camp before the start of university had been several months ago but Instructor Selvon had truly made himself an unforgettable figure.

    Principal Malik sensed that the mood wasn¡¯t quite right and quickly took over the microphone to talk to the students,

    ¡°Okay¡­ we will begin the exam now¡­ please check yourmunicators for more details.¡±

    Ding!

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and checked out the iing message on the screen.

    Apparently the first round was a group battle that was points based.

    There would be one hundred students in each group and only the top ten would proceed to the next round.

    One could earn points in two ways.

    The first was by surviving till the end of the thirty-minute timer while the second was to eliminate the other students.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes and worked out a strategy in her mind.

    She didn¡¯t want to reveal her cards so early in thepetition so she wouldn¡¯t use Moon¡­ at least not yet.

    Should she use poison? Hmm¡­ a massive area of effect attack was an option, but Sophie decided against it.

    The blood in her body was surging and she wanted to have a good old-fashioned spar.

    Sophie saw that she had been assigned to group one so hopefully that meant that she would be fighting first.

    ¡°Could the members of group one please proceed to the arena?¡± Principal Malik spoke loudly.

    Sophie hurriedly checked hermunicator and saw that a few messages had arrived in her inbox.

    Qiana: [What groups are you girls in?]

    Sophie: [Group one¡­ I¡¯m up now¡­ :D]

    Cleo: [Good luck babe! I¡¯ll be cheering you on!]

    Qiana: [Can you two stop flirting in the group chat?]

    Astrid: [I¡¯m group seven¡­ urghhh¡­ I wanted to fight now!]

    Sophieughed softly and powered off hermunicator. She said a quick goodbye to Celestia and then walked down the stairs to the arena.

    She was not the only one and a few other students from the elite poison cultivation ss followed her footsteps.

    However, the expressions on their faces were not good.

    The ordinary students may not be familiar with Sophie¡¯s skills since she had vanished for most of the year, but her fellow ssmates knew exactly how dangerous the hybrid girl was.

    There was a reason why Sophie¡¯s position as the number one student in the poison cultivation major hadrgely gone unchallenged.

    Sophie reached the arena and stepped inside the translucent barrier. It was hard to describe how it felt to enter the formation.

    It was like briefly walking underwater but everything around you was slowed down to a crawl.

    Fortunately, this peculiar feeling passed once she entered the dense forest.

    A holographic screen was projected in the air above the forest with words written on its green surface.

    [The Battle Ranking Exam Will Begin Shortly¡­ Five minutes¡­]

    [Four minutes¡­ three minutes¡­ two minutes¡­]

    More students entered the forest and began to head towards favourable positions with plenty of cover to duck behind.

    Sophie remained in ce and simply took the carbon fibre whip out of her storage ring in preparation for the fight ahead.

    She could theoretically pass to the next round by just surviving but where was the fun in that?

    No¡­ she wanted to hunt.

    [Thirty seconds¡­ twenty seconds¡­ ten¡­ nine¡­]

    [Start!]

    Swish!

    Sophie tilted her head to the side and narrowly avoided the arrow that passed mere inches away from her skin.

    There was a Mendolesa girl standing on the opposite side of the field holding a heavy crossbow that was pointed in her direction.

    She was not the only one to begin immediately attacking as Sophie could hear the sounds of other students fighting desperately.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    Sophie swayed from side to side with minimal movements and avoided every single shot that was fired at her position.

    A sinister grin spread across the hybrid girl¡¯s face and her golden eyes darkened before slowly turning to a crimson red colour.

    The battle ranking exam had begun.

 Chapter 489: The Predator In The Hunting Ground

    <h4>Chapter 489: The Predator In The Hunting Ground</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°Run! Run! Holy shit!¡±

    ¡°Mark you bastard! Don¡¯t push¡­¡±

    ¡°Fuck! Don¡¯t bring that monster over here!¡±

    Loud screams and cries echoed through the forest as a group of students fled towards the deeper parts of the arena.

    The first round of the battle ranking exam was intended to be a battle royale with every student fighting for themselves.

    But¡­

    Sophie¡¯s crimson eyes glowed eerily in the dark as the hybrid girl slowly followed the panicked students.

    Asura Whip Art- ck Dragon!

    Sophie flung out her whip and mmed it against the back of the nearest student.

    An illusory dragon appeared above the edges of her weapon, and it roared with enough force to knock down several trees.

    Her victim was instantly crushed to death under the blow. His corpse crashed to the ground motionless, and his eyes stared emptily towards the sky.

    Sophie crouched down and examined the corpse curiously as she waited to see what was going to happen next.

    She knew that the other students in the group would take this opportunity to run away but she could always hunt them downter.

    Momentster a blue runic circle appeared around the corpse¡¯s body and time began to rewind.

    The torn off pieces of flesh came back together, and life returned to those empty eyes.

    The Mendolesa boy returned to life, and he stared at Sophie with a frightened expression.

    There was now a strange purple rune hovering over his body which indicated that he was now out of thepetition.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ I know that you¡¯ve just been eliminated,¡± Sophie reassured him kindly as if the person who had just killed him was not her.

    The Mendolesa boy frantically backed away while trembling from head to toe.

    Sophie stretched out her hand to help him up, but the boy jumped to his feet and ran away.

    The hybrid let out a dark chuckle as she felt the familiar surge of bloodlust coursing through her veins.

    This was a hunting ground¡­

    And she was the predator.

    Sophie faded away into the shadows as she searched for her next victim. Her vision turned into a world of orangish-red and she could make out humanoid figures in the distance.

    The hybrid girl circted her qi towards her leg meridians and activated her movement technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared behind two students who were locked in a life and death battle.

    The female student was swinging a longsword confidently while the male student wasmanding an enormous lizard-like creature to fight her off.

    Sophie did not recognise their faces, so she assumed that they were both from the ordinary ss.

    ¡°Give it up Luke! You can¡¯t beat me!¡± the girl said confidently as she clutched her weapon with a tight grip.

    Sword qi burst out of the tip of her de and headed directly for the panicking male student whomanded his pet to block the attack.

    The lizard-like creature leapt into the air and the sword qi attack mmed directly into its armored chest.

    Fortunately, it seemed as though her blow was not strong enough to prate the thick scales on the lizard-like creature¡¯s body.

    The female student gritted her teeth in frustration and prepared tounch another attack.

    But it was toote¡­

    Sophie jumped down from her hiding spot and with one smooth motion she grabbed the head of the sword cultivator and crushed it.

    Blood sttered across her face and pieces of brain matter fell to the ground along with the headless corpse.

    The male student did not even have any time to react before Sophie was upon him. She easily brushed his pet aside and bit into his arm.

    He vomited twice as Sophie¡¯s venom nds injected a deadly toxin into his veins. He fell to the ground and begun to convulse.

    It didn¡¯t take long before he also died.

    Sophie nced at the corpses and turned to the lizard-like creature who was now staring at her in horror.

    The hybrid girl ignored it and headed towards a northeastern direction where she could see another batch of students.

    Momentster the process from earlier repeated and the two students were brought back from the death with no obvious injuries or scars.

    They seemed to bepletely unaffected from what had just happened earlier.

    Except of course for the immense mental trauma.

    The girl was feeling rtively okay since her death had been instant, but the boy could still vaguely feel the pain of his entire body shutting down.

    Purple runes floated over their heads and the holographic screen projected over the training arena suddenly changed.

    [Remaining Students¡­ 45¡­ 44¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Sophie Peterlor- 20 Eliminations]

    Sophie nced upwards and a twisted smile shed across her face. Only ten students could pass the first round but what would happen if she eliminated everyone else?

    She was curious to find out.

    The hybrid girl moved even faster, and her body was now a blur that shuttled through the forest at a breakneck pace.

    Sophie knew that there was a gap behind herself and regr students, but she had no idea that it was this big.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ get away!¡± a Mendolesa girl cried out in fear as Sophie slowly approached her with bared fangs.

    Sophie raised her arm and prepared to strike when her instincts suddenly red up.

    Without hesitation, she immediately jumped to the side and narrowly avoided a dagger that was aimed for her heart.

    Someone from the assassination ss!

    The Mendolesa girl tried to flee the scene, but Sophie absentmindedly flung out her whip and neatly bisected her body in half.

    Sophie quickly scanned the treetops but saw no one. She looked around her immediate surroundings, but it was as though the forest was empty.

    Swish!

    Sophie tilted her head and a dagger passed mere centimeters away from her exposed neck. The hybrid girl sniffed the air twice and her pointed ears twitched.

    Swish! Swish!

    More daggers came at her from an unknown location, but Sophie closed her eyes and extended her spiritual senses outwards.

    She easily ducked and weaved through the barrage of des until she finally detected a lifeform hiding in the bushes to her right.

    ¡°Not bad¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she dashed towards her attacker.

    The enemy student saw that his cover was exposed and tried to run.

    Unfortunately, once Sophie found his location¡­ it was over.

    Sophie grabbed his neck and hoisted the struggling student into the air. Her fingernails were more akin to ws as they pierced his soft skin.

    The hybrid girl put a bit of force into her grip and with a sickening crack, the male student¡¯s neck was broken.

    [Remaining Students¡­ 42¡­ 41¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Sophie Peterlor- 22 Eliminations]

 Chapter 490: The End Of The First Round

    <h4>Chapter 490: The End Of The First Round</h4>

    [Remaining Students¡­ 15¡­ 14¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Sophie Peterlor- 73 eliminations]

    Sophie nced upwards at the floating holographic screen before turning her attention to the figure fleeing in the distance.

    Her crimson eyes darkened, and a surge of bloodlust began to run through her veins.

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as she ran forward at a breakneck pace.

    ¡°Come on! The first round is nearly over!¡± Nathan yelled loudly at his pet who was following closely by his side.

    Hisbat beast was an eighty-foot-long serpent-like creature with two heads that both let out soft hisses.

    Despite the creature¡¯s fearsome appearance, Nathan had no faith in its ability to actually help him defeat any students that crossed his path.

    Why did he think that way?

    Well¡­ hisbat beast was afraid of strangers.

    Nathan let out a heavy sigh as he continued to run forward while keeping a close eye on his immediate surroundings.

    He didn¡¯t know why or how so many students were being eliminated so quickly but at least that was good news for him.

    Only the remaining ten students would move on to the next round so the end was in sight.

    ¡°Hey¡­ why have you stopped move¡­ OH SHIT!¡± Nathan¡¯s voice ended in a shriek of terror when he saw the figure directly in his path.

    It was a hybrid girl.

    She was over seven feet tall and had a lean muscr physique.

    Four ded appendages with sharpened edges extended outwards from her back and her fangs gleamed under the sunlight.

    Nathan barely had any time to react before one of the ded appendages shot forward and dug into his ribcage.

    He felt his vision slowly fade away to darkness as blood leaked out of the open wound.

    He could vaguely see his terrifiedbat pet immediately leave the scene and had to resist the urge to let out a curse.

    Grade S? That cowardly thing was a grade S?

    Nathan spat out a mouthful of blood and copsed on the ground with a broken heart. He felt as though he had been tricked by the smooth-talking salesman in the Imperial Pet Store.

    Hisst thought was that he was definitely going to head to a different pet store immediately and pick up a new beastpanion.

    Sophie pulled her ded appendage out of the corpse and ran her fingers along the length of the sharpened barb.

    The hybrid girl sniffed the air twice like a dog as her pointed ears twitched slightly.

    Sophie still retained a thin thread of sanity, but she was now beginning to fall under the influence of her bloodlust state.

    [Remaining Students¡­ 13¡­ 12¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Sophie Peterlor- 74 eliminations]

    A bloodthirsty grin spread across Sophie¡¯s face as she searched for her next victim. There was no suspense to be had in her group.

    No student was capable of matching her strength.

    Sophie¡¯s vision shifted into a world of orangish red, and she soon spotted two students fighting desperately a few kilometers away.

    This time the hybrid girl jumped into the air andnded on the treetops.

    She used her ded appendages to stab into the trunk of the trees and leapt from one branch to the other.

    ¡°Stop fighting! We can both pass!¡± Sia yelled in frustration as she dodged the dagger that was thrown in her direction.

    ¡°Hell no! You think I don¡¯t know that you¡¯ll stab me in the backter? You¡¯re such a fucking snake¡­¡± Ellen retorted with a sullen expression.

    ¡°Snake? Bitch I know you didn¡¯t just¡­¡±

    ¡°So what? Fight me then!¡±

    The two girls continued to trade barbs as they flung weapons at each other with reckless abandon.

    Neither seemed to notice the threat that was rapidly moving towards their location.

    Perhaps if they had paid more attention to their surroundings, they would have been able to react in time.

    Boom!

    Sophie¡¯s fist hurtled towards the girl on the left and the force of her blow caused the girl¡¯s ribs to instantly shatter.

    Ellen screamed painfully as her body flew forward and mmed against a nearby rock. She slid down to the ground and moaned in agony.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Sia trailed off in shock as the hybrid girl directly met her startled gaze.

    Sophie lunged forward and used her ded appendage to easily stab into the girl¡¯s chest and rip out her still beating heart.

    She tossed the heart to the side and turned around to finish off the barely alive Ellen when a harsh ringing noise echoed through the arena.

    RING! RING!

    Sophie furrowed her brows and took one step towards the injured girl before forcing her body to freeze in ce.

    She closed her eyes and focused on the steady beating of her heart. Now was not the time to lose control and go on a rampage.

    Not when she had made so much progress over thest few months.

    RING! RING!

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. She began to count silently in her mind until the feeling of bloodlust faded away.

    The hybrid girl slowly reopened her eyes which had now returned to their normal golden luster.

    Sophie looked up at the holographic screen and saw that the lines of text floating in the air had changed.

    [ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS IN GROUP ONE- THE FIRST ROUND IS NOW OVER!]

    [PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ANY FURTHER COMBAT!]

    [Leaderboard: 1st ce Sophie Peterlor- 75 eliminations]

    [2nd ce Hallie Collins- 3 eliminations]

    [3rd ce Marcus Young- 2 eliminations]

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [10th ce Michael Hart- 0 eliminations]

    ¡°What the¡­ when did our university have such a powerful freshman?¡±

    ¡°That girl is a monster¡­ it wasn¡¯t even close¡­¡±

    ¡°Did you she how she killed them? By the gods¡­ I¡¯m praying that I don¡¯t have to face her in the next rounds¡­¡±

    ¡°Face her? Listen if we get matched¡­ I¡¯ll just give up.¡±

    Whispers filled the crowded stands as the students discussed amongst themselves the shocking scenes that they had just witnessed.

    They were not alone and even some professors were staring at the screen with a variety of expressions on their faces.

    Their reactions of course werepletely understandable.

    The gap between first and second ce was an insurmountable chasm that could not be exined bymon sense.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter had caused twenty-five times more eliminations than second ce who paled inparison.

    Only Professor Macabre seemed to be unfazed by Sophie¡¯s disy of strength and a gentle smile shed across her scarred face.

    She knew that Sophie had actually been hiding most of her strength in the first round.

    If she had used poison¡­

    Then there was no doubt in Professor Macabre¡¯s mind that her star pupil would have ended thepetition within three minutes.

 Chapter 491: Qiana Shows Off Her Skills...

    <h4>Chapter 491: Qiana Shows Off Her Skills¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°Wow! You were like¡­ super scary!¡± Celestia gleefully yelled as she circled around Sophie¡¯s head beforending on her shoulder.

    The other students in the poison cultivation ss were subtly keeping their distance away from the hybrid girl but the energetic Servie didn¡¯t seem to notice the strange atmosphere.

    ¡°When you crushed that guy¡¯s head! It was like¡­ POP!¡± Celestia cackled merrily as she powered on hermunicator device.

    She began to show Sophie the different videos and pictures that she had taken of the first round.

    Celestia had already posted these clips on the university¡¯s open forum, and they were going viral with thousands ofments below the videos.

    Sophie nced at thements and was surprised to find that many of them were quite positive especially the ones written by the Mendolesa students.

    Strength and battle prowess were integral parts of the Mendolesa culture, so Sophie¡¯s strength had won her the admiration of many.

    Of course, not everyone was thrilled with her performance and certainments mentioned her violent disy in a negative light.

    ¡°What group are you in?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Oh¡­ group three¡­ I¡¯m not too worried though¡­¡± Celestiazily replied as her wings gently pped up and down.

    ¡°I brewed a fresh batch of poisons and¡­. just keep this between us but I recently learned a super ultra powerful technique!¡±

    The Servie girl attempted to lower her voice to appear mysterious but everyone in the immediate vicinity could hear her prideful boasts.

    Sophie chuckled lightly and listened as her friend continued to brag about her dangerous new techniques and skills.

    Celestia might appear to be a bit of an airhead but there was a reason why she was a member of the elite ss.

    Despite her harmless appearance, Sophie knew that her friend had the skills to back up her bold ims.

    Ring! Ring! Ring!

    A piercing rm red out which echoed around the arena. The holographic screen briefly disappeared and then reappeared with new lines of floating text.

    [ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS IN GROUP TWO!]

    [The Battle Ranking Exam Will Begin Shortly¡­ Five minutes¡­]

    Sophie leaned back against the bench and stared at the field below. A few students from her ss got up and made their way to the arena.

    Celestia jumped up from her shoulder andnded on the top of her head for a better view of the forest below.

    The buzz and excitement in the air was palpable since the students had just witnessed such a shocking sight in the previous round.

    Everyone was eagerly waiting to see if any other students would have stand out performances in the uing round.

    [Four minutes¡­ three minutes¡­ two minutes¡­]

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed twice, and she saw a message from Qiana appear in the group chat.

    Qiana: [Alright it¡¯s my turn now¡­]

    Sophie: [Good luck! You can do it!]

    Cleo: [Watch out for any sneak attacks or surprise ambushes.]

    Astrid: [Wooo! GO QIANA! GO! GO! GO!]

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened, and she could clearly see a ck-haired girl melting into the crowd and heading towards the arena.

    Qiana wore a simple greyish cloak that concealed most of her slender physique and her unremarkable appearance made her seem just like an ordinary passerby.

    Perhaps the only unique aspect of her outfit was the heavy frame sses that she wore on her face.

    There was no reason for a cultivator in the qi tide stage to wear sses and yet Qiana stubbornly continued to wear the same pair.

    As for the reason why¡­ well she had never mentioned it and Sophie had been toozy to bring it up.

    Qiana entered the forest and walked towards the inner regions before the exam had officially begun.

    [Thirty seconds¡­ twenty seconds¡­ ten¡­ nine¡­]

    [Start!]

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes were tracking Qiana¡¯s movements but then something unexpected happened.

    Dark shadows surged around Qiana¡¯s body from the surrounding darkness, and she vanished from Sophie¡¯s sight.

    What? My vision is supposed to be perfect¡­

    Sophie channeled her qi into her eyes which began to shine with a golden luster.

    Her vision was enhanced several times over and yet she still could not find Qiana.

    ¡°Hmm¡­. What a strange technique¡­¡± Sophie muttered as she continued to look for her friend without much sess.

    Fighting had already broken out between the students in the arena but unlike the group with Sophie, there was no one who was taking the lead.

    Instead, it appeared as though students were grouping up with those that they were familiar with and generally avoiding confrontation.

    Qiana seemed to havepletely disappeared since she did not participate in any of the initial fights or show a trace of her current location.

    [Remaining Students¡­ 86¡­ 85¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Jason Mercury- 2 eliminations]

    .

    .

    .

    .

    A team of five students were currently roaming the outskirts of the arena hoping to bump into any stragglers or isted targets.

    ¡°Damn it! There are still eighty-five students left,¡± Tia growled fiercely as she mmed her ws against a nearby tree.

    ¡°Should we start picking off the weaker ones?¡± a hoarse voice suggested.

    It belonged to the Quafes boy whozily leaned against a nearby rock while picking his teeth with a twig.

    His appearance would change ever so slightly as he shifted between various ethnicities out of sheer boredom.

    ¡°Stay alert¡­ would you rather have that monster fromst round in our group?¡± Jason snarled as he cautiously nced around.

    He was at the back of the group, and it was his responsibility to detect any enemiesing from the rear.

    Jason was a sword cultivator whose spiritual senses were far beyond his peers. In fact, it was more akin to a kind of foresight.

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor? Listen¡­ I could beat her with one hand,¡± Tia scoffed as she puffed out her chest.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re just talking a load of shi¡­¡± Jason¡¯s voice suddenly trailed off as if he had just gotten cut off by something¡­

    Or someone.

    The other members of the group turned around curiously and immediately froze in ce.

    Jason had disappeared.

    Tia sniffed the air twice using her enhanced sense of smell but could not detect a trace of Jason¡¯s body odour.

    ¡°What? Jason this isn¡¯t funny bro¡­e out¡­¡± the Quafes boyughed as he assumed that this was some kind of joke.

    ¡°Tia¡­ can you believe this¡­ Tia?¡±

    The Quafes boy looked around in shock as he discovered that his otherpanions had also vanished without a trace.

    The forest was nowpletely silent.

    It was as though he was trapped in a different world.

    He could not hear the sounds of the crowd and even the fightinging from the distance seemed muffled and distorted.

    The Quafes boy failed to notice that the shadows behind him seemed to twist and contort eerily as if they were alive.

    A slender hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed the back of the Quafes boy¡¯s cor before pulling him inside the shadows.

    He did not even have any time to scream before a de sliced his inner core and destroyed his vital organ.

    [Remaining Students¡­ 80¡­ 79¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Qiana Abazin- 5 Eliminations]

 Chapter 492: The Mysterious Technique

    <h4>Chapter 492: The Mysterious Technique</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°What is that technique?¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she focused her attention on the screens that showed multiple reys of Qiana¡¯s actions.

    From the beginning to the end, none of the students that the quiet girl targeted had been able to react before a sharp de sliced their throats.

    If Sophie was a bloodthirsty beast, then Qiana was a silent ambusher.

    Her methods were quick, efficient and deadly.

    Celestia hummed happily as she powered on her wristmunicator and began to take several pictures of the arena below.

    The Servie girl¡¯s fingers moved like lightning as she uploaded more videos to the Zrudread University forum along with some writtenmentary.

    Meanwhile Qiana had once again disappeared into the shadows, and no one could tell where she had gone.

    A team of three sword cultivators were currently walking along the outskirts of the arena while searching for any easy targets.

    ¡°Is it just me or is there like¡­ no one here,¡± Parker frowned heavily as he rested his hand on the hilt of his longsword.

    ¡°Maybe they all went deeper inside the forest?¡± Anyazily suggested as she swung her de forward to chop a tree in half.

    ¡°Should we take a break then?¡± Kyle asked softly as he pointed towards a nearby boulder.

    He received nods of approval from his teammates and soon the trio sat down near therge rock.

    Anya closed her eyes and whistled softly. Her voice echoed through the empty forest as she whistled a simple nursery rhyme.

    Parker pulled a well-worn cloth out of his storage ring and began to polish the tip of his de with familiar movements.

    He was obsessed with cleanliness and hated to even see a speck of dust on his most prized possession.

    Sword Cultivators treated their weapons as an extension of their own bodies.

    The way of the de was one of extremity.

    Sword Qi was incredibly painful to train and only those with strong willpower would be able to persevere and continue on that path.

    Kyle looked up at the floating holographic disy and discovered that the floating lines of text had suddenly changed.

    [Remaining Students: ¡­ 72¡­ 71¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Qiana Abazin- 8 eliminations]

    ¡°Are any of you familiar with Qiana?¡± Kyle questioned with a solemn expression on his face.

    ¡°Nope¡­ never heard of her¡­¡± Anya replied with a casual shrug.

    Parker remained silent but it was clear that he also didn¡¯t know.

    But as he gave the matter some more thought, Parker assumed that Qiana was probably the leader of a hunting party and taking the final blows for herself.

    ¡°Well, we probably don¡¯t need to worry¡­ she¡¯s probably in arge group¡­ we will be able to detect theming from a mile away,¡± Parker boasted arrogantly.

    ¡°Can you shut up? I¡¯m trying to rest not listen to your bullshit,¡± Anya teased yfully as she continued to whistle.

    The familiar sounds of arguing erupted between the pair and Kyle shook his head helplessly as he saw his teammates¡¯ antics.

    The three of them were all students in the ordinary ss who had been invited to the training camp before the semester began.

    They had just missed the cut-off to be members of the elite ss and none of them were reconciled.

    Together they had formed a pact and trained hard every day in order to cement themselves as the brightest talents in the freshman year!

    Well¡­ right now Kyle would settle for iming a spot in the elite ss.

    Their dream of bing the top students would be a reality if they could pass the first round and then excel in the following rounds of thepetition.

    Kyle opened his mouth to tell hispanions that it was time to move out when he noticed something strange.

    All sounds in the forest had ceased.

    The crowd in the background could no longer be heard nor could he hear the noise of his teammates fighting.

    Kyle unsheathed his de and nced around with a cautious expression. The proud swordsman did not realise that the shadows inside the forest seemed to darken.

    A humanoid figure slowly emerged from behind Kyle¡¯s body with silent movements and an aura that could not be detected.

    Kyle¡¯s instincts red up and he hurriedly ducked his head just as a knife narrowly passed mere inches away from his neck.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Kyle stuttered in shock, but his opponent did not give him the opportunity to counterattack.

    Shadow Art- Cursed Palm of Death!

    Qiana¡¯s palm shot forward and mmed into the center of Kyle¡¯s chest with a heavy thud. An illusory figure in a ck cloak appeared in the air around her body.

    This figure held a deadly scythe in their right hand which gleamed eerily under the sunlight.

    Kyle spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered forward. He dropped his weapon as he felt his vision slowly fade away to darkness.

    Not¡­ not¡­ not like this¡­

    Kyle summoned thest of his strength andshed out a kick backwards in the direction where he assumed his attacker was lurking.

    Qiana¡¯s easily dodged his reckless attack and her de shed forward. Kyle fell to the ground motionless with a thin red line around his neck.

    His dream of entering the elite ss died in under two minutes.

    ¡°Good instincts,¡± Qiana quietlyplimented as she took onest nce at the corpse before returning to the darkness.

    The forest returned back to normal except now there were three corpsesying on the ground with shocked expressions.

    A few minutes passed and then the temporal reversal formation took effect.

    Blue runic circles appeared around their bodies and time began to rewind.

    Blood and chunks of flesh came back together, and life returned to those empty eyes. The three students all gasped as they sat up from the ground.

    There was now a strange purple rune hovering over each of their bodies which marked them as being out of thepetition.

    They stared at each other with crestfallen expressions when they realised what had just happened.

    ¡°As the team leader¡­ I will take responsibility for my negligence,¡± Kyle quietly spoke as he walked towards his sword and picked it up.

    ¡°No! We were all killed by that strange girl!¡± Anya retorted firmly as she stood by his side.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it was just some bad luck¡­ we¡¯ll train even harder and get revenge next year,¡± Parker vowed as he stared with hatred at the floating holographic screen.

    [Remaining Students: 68¡­ 67¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Qiana Abazin- 11 eliminations]

    In the stands above the arena, several students began to pay more attention to what was happening in the forest below.

    Sophie¡¯s power and strength was terrifying but as least they could see that the reason why she was able to defeat so many students was by relying on her high cultivation level.

    Qiana on the other hand¡­

    Only a few elite students in the assassination ss were able to recognise her technique which brought a frown to their faces.

 Chapter 493: The Gossip On The Forum

    <h4>Chapter 493: The Gossip On The Forum</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456 Y)

    ¡°Move over babe¡­ let me get a spot,¡± Cleo gently spoke as she bent down and kissed Sophie¡¯s lips.

    Sophie immediately shifted her body slightly to the right and made room for her girlfriend to lie down on the couch with her.

    Night had fallen and a cool breeze blew through a partially open window.

    The living room was dimly lit and both girls fell into afortable silence.

    ¡°So, the first round of the battle ranking exam is over,¡± Sophie quietly whispered as she yed with Cleo¡¯s curly hair.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ yeah¡­¡± Cleozily replied as she closed her eyes.

    Sophie saw that her girlfriend was feeling a bit tired and thoughtfully begun to massage her temples.

    Cleo hummed in satisfaction as Sophie¡¯s soft fingers lovingly pressed against the sides of her head and rubbed in a circr motion.

    The princess had used quite a bit of mental force during her group stage fight, so she was currently suffering from a mild headache.

    Unfortunately, even with the temporal reversal formation, mech students were not allowed to use their mechs so they were forced to rely on psychic techniques.

    To be fair they were still quite powerful, but it definitely took a toll having to fight waves of students in a short period of time.

    Sophie stroked her girlfriend¡¯s soft cheeks and could not resist tilting her head and nibbling on her ears.

    ¡°Stop it¡­ stop it¡­ I¡­ I won¡¯t be able to fight if you get in the mood¡­¡± Cleoined reluctantly as she pushed Sophie¡¯s head away.

    The hybrid girl let out a sigh of disappointment and the pinkish mist that was beginning to spread across her golden eyes receded.

    Cleo felt a wave of exhaustion hit her body and gradually her breathing became steadier and more peaceful.

    Sophie looked down with a warm smile when she saw that her girlfriend had fallen into a deep slumber.

    She picked up Cleo in her arms and brought her up the stairs to the bedroom in a princess carry.

    Sophie opened the bedroom door and carefully ced the sleeping girl on the mattress while taking care not to wake her up.

    She reached for the nket at the bottom of the mattress and covered Cleo¡¯s body.

    Sophie pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s forehead and turned around to leave the room.

    ¡°Good night, babe,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she closed the door behind her. Sophie headed for the kitchen and opened the freezer to grab a drink.

    She unscrewed the top of a bottle and drank the pleasant-smelling fruit wine that was inside the ss.

    It was a real shame that her Arachnais physiology instantly broke down all toxins that entered her body, so it was impossible for her to get drunk.

    Sophie enjoyed the taste of the purplish liquid and stared out of the window at the other mansions in the housingplex.

    She was clearly not the only one awake in the early night since lights were on in most of the houses across the street.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened, and she could make out vague figures moving around behind the curtains.

    It was just a casual nce since Sophie had no interest in spying on her neighbours.

    Honestly, she had not interacted with any of them since moving into Mansion 456 Y in the first semester.

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed twice, and she opened it to see a few notifications pop up on the screen from the University¡¯s open forum.

    Out of curiosity, Sophie clicked the link and was brought to the main page of the forum where dozens of videos and threads were currently going viral.

    [Shocking news! The mysterious dark horse among the freshmen!]

    [The brutality of this year¡¯s battle ranking exam! Is this a loss of morality and ethics?!]

    [Freshmen: The hottest babes and sexiest guys tier list!]

    Thatst headline had the highest number ofments below it and Sophie saw that it included pictures of most of her ssmates.

    ¡°What?! I¡¯m outside the top three hundred?!¡± Sophie eximed in mock anger as she browsed the thread.

    Apparently, her hybrid looks were a turn off to the creator of the unofficial tier list, so she was not included.

    Sophie chuckled lightly but still gave the post a thumbs up since it ranked Cleo as one of the prettiest girls in the college.

    That was a fact that Sophie could agree with!

    The hybrid girl began to browse the other threads and saw that most were talking about the first round of the exam that had urred earlier today.

    It was not a surprise that this was such a hot topic since quite a few students had managed to stand out from the rest.

    Sophie Peterlor the daughter of the famous Duke Peterlor was perhaps the brightest, but others were not far behind.

    Outside of her immediate friends, Sophie opened up the footage of a few students who had caught her attention.

    One of them was a boy from thebat beast ss who controlled an enormous fiery bird that resembled a phoenix.

    Another was a human girl with cybeic prosthetic limbs who used her deadly appendages in a uniquebat style.

    There was even a Quafes student who used charm techniques and shifted between genders to confuse and tempted the students in his group.

    Although his technique may seem weak¡­ Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed when she saw its effects on the students in his group.

    The Quafes boy managed to turn his enemies into allies and despite it being an exam, the students under the control of his charm desperately tried to defend and protect him.

    ¡°Impressive¡­.¡± Sophie solemnly whispered as she made a mental note in the back of her mind.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Hermunicator suddenly rang twice, and Sophie saw an iing message arrive in her inbox.

    It was from Principal Malik, and the contents of the message was about the next round of the exam.

    Sophie hurriedly opened up the message but as she read the lines of text her brows slowly began to furrow, and a frown appeared on her face.

    [Congrattions to all students who passed the first round! The next stage of the exam will begin tomorrow.]

    [The next stage will involve livebat with an unknown enemy in a hostile environment. More details will be revealed when the round starts.]

    [Please select your chosen arena from the list of options below. If no selection is made, then an arena will be randomly assigned.]

    [Time Remaining For Selection: 10 hours 59 minutes¡­ 10 hours 58 minutes¡­]

    [Forest] [Desert] [Grasnds] [Swamp] [River/Lake] [Ind] [Tundra]

    A list of options?

    Sophie hovered her finger over the different arenas as a few thoughts ran through her mind.

    She finally decided to tap the [Desert] option since it reminded her of her experiences in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Honestly it didn¡¯t matter which she picked since Sophie was confident in her ability to handle any challenge thaty ahead.

    In fact, just knowing that the next stage tomorrow involved mysterious and powerful enemies made the bloodlust in her body surge.

 Chapter 494: Astridâ€™s Warm Family

    <h4>Chapter 494: Astrid¡¯s Warm Family</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Family Unit #45)

    ¡°Come you brats! Breakfast is ready!¡± Astrid loudly shouted as she set down a few tes on the dining table.

    Bright sunlight streamed in through an open window in the far corner of the room as the Mendolesa girl walked towards the kitchen to observe arge pot on the heater.

    Inside the pot was a meaty soup with a healthy amount of fruits and vegetables.

    The soup was still bubbling, and Astrid closed her eyes and sniffed the tantalising scent that rose up from the bottom of the pot.

    After the death of Astrid¡¯s parents, she had be the primary caretaker of her three younger siblings, so she was very familiar with their voracious appetites.

    There was no such thing as leftovers in their household.

    The sounds of footsteps could be heard in the distance and soon the rtive peaceful and tranquil atmosphere inside the kitchen was broken by loud voices.

    ¡°Big sister! Emma took mymunicator!¡±

    ¡°No! I didn¡¯t! Look it¡¯s right there!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t fool me! I saw you use it to watch that stupid show!¡±

    ¡°Stupid?! STUPID?! NO! YOUR SHOW IS STUPID!¡±

    Two quarrelling Mendolesa children ran into the kitchen while pushing and shoving against one another.

    A third child walked closely behind them but unlike the other two she was content to just watch in the background with a quiet smile on her face.

    Astrid closed her eyes and counted to ten silently.

    Hopefully the gods would give her the patience and strength to deal with this nonsense so early in the morning.

    The minutes slowly passed, and the arguing only got louder and louder.

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Astrid angrily roared as she pointed towards the dining table.

    ¡°I have to leave in thirty minutes, so I¡¯ll deal with you all tonight. Do I make myself clear?¡±

    Emma and Jackson looked at each other sheepishly and then both apologised to Astrid at the same time.

    ¡°Yes¡­ big sis¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do better next time¡­¡±

    I rushed forward and hugged Astrid tightly. Astrid¡¯s bad mood was instantly improved as she rubbed her paws against her younger sibling¡¯s back.

    I was the youngest of the triplets and she had always been a bit fond of getting extra love and attention from her elder sister.

    ¡°Okay¡­ go to the table¡­ I¡¯lle shortly,¡± Astrid spoke in a much gentler tone.

    She turned her attention back to the pot as she heard her siblings rush to the dining room.

    Astrid picked up a metallicdle and stirred the mixture a few times before tasting the soup. Her wolfish ears twitched slightly, and a warm smile began to spread across her face.

    It was perfect.

    Well¡­ maybe it could use a bit more spices.

    Astrid reached for an unopened packet of seasoning in the drawer below the counter and tore open the packaging.

    She sprinkled a handful of ck seeds in the soup and stirred twice until they melted under the high heat.

    Astrid easily lifted up the enormous pot and brought it to the dining room where she carefully scooped some of the soup onto each te.

    ¡°Enjoy¡­ I woke up early this morning to make this for you¡­¡± Astrid proudly boasted as she puffed out her chest.

    She received a chorus of praises from her siblings who were now beginning to drool as they stared at the food in front of them.

    ¡°Thank you!

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Astrid smiled gently and rubbed Emma¡¯s pointed ears since she was the closest one to her seat.

    The Mendolesa girl poured out a bit of soup for herself and then began to eat.

    While eating Astrid essed her wristmunicator and checked out the unopened message in her inbox.

    She didn¡¯t have the habit of checking hermunicator regrly, so it was easy to miss the message that arrivedst night from the principal.

    Selecting an arena?

    Astrid furrowed her brows as she put down her spoon and checked the options curiously.

    [Time Remaining For Selection: 45 minutes¡­ 44 minutes¡­]

    [Forest] [Desert] [Grasnds] [Swamp] [River/Lake] [Ind] [Tundra]

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Jackson asked curiously as he leaned over to get a better look at Astrid¡¯s screen.

    ¡°Concentrate on eating you little brat,¡± Astrid teased softly as she rapped her knuckles gently against his forehead.

    Well, the exam would begin shortly so if she was going to pick an arena then now would be her final opportunity.

    There were two options that stood out to Astrid, and they were [Grasnds] and [Tundra]. The problem was that she could not decide which one was the better option.

    ¡°Big sister can I have seconds?¡± I called out sweetly. Astrid nodded and reached for thedle to give her younger sibling some more food.

    ¡°Ohhh¡­. I choose this one!¡± a loud voice suddenly called out. Astrid felt a small hand grab her wrist and quickly press hermunicator.

    Somehow Jackson had managed to sneak behind her and read the lines of text on hermunicator screen.

    Astrid was about to check which option he had touched when the options disappeared and were reced by a single sentence.

    [Selection Confirmed!]

    ¡°Which one did you pick?¡± Astrid asked curiously.

    ¡°Tundra! I love the snow!¡± Jackson grinned broadly as he cheekily smiled at his older sister.

    Astrid let out a light sigh and shot her mischievous sibling a look of mock anger.

    She definitely needed to punish himter but that could wait until the second round finished.

    ¡°Big sister! I heard that you are the strongest person in first year!¡± Emma suddenly spoke as she looked at Astrid.

    ¡°Oh? Where did you hear that?¡± Astridughed as she spoke.

    ¡°One of my friends told me that her cousin is in the mage ss! He says that you are the most powerful wizard in the university!¡± Emma eximed in admiration.

    Family members of elite ss students were entitled to free education at the affiliated elementary and high school of Zrudread University.

    Astrid had also applied for a schrship program so that her siblings¡¯ living expenses would be covered by the university for the duration of her study and beyond

    Just by going to the Zrudread University¡¯s affiliated elementary school was a massive advantage and Astrid hoped that her siblings would one day also attend the same university as herself.

    This was a significant part of the reason why Astrid was determined to maintain her ranking as a member of the elite ss.

    It was not just for herself but for the future of her family. She wanted her younger siblings to have the opportunity to be whatever they wanted to be.

 Chapter 495: The Second Round Begins!

    <h4>Chapter 495: The Second Round Begins!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    There was a metallic bubble covering the entire length of the training field and the stands were located outside the structure.

    A raised tform floated in the air above the bubble and overlooked the thousands of students who were currently filling up the stands.

    ¡°Good morning and wee to the second round of the battle ranking exam,¡± Principal Malik loudly shouted as he stretched his arms outwards.

    ¡°I would like to congratte the five hundred students who passed the first stage and mustmend them on their ability.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, there are only two hundred spots avable in the elite ss, so you need to perform at your best!¡±

    Astrid hurried over to an open seat and sat down as the principal¡¯s words echoed through the crowded stands.

    There were more people in the stands today than the previous day and Astrid observed that most were upperssmen.

    It was likely that the video clips on the university¡¯s open forum had roused their curiosity about the powerful first years.

    Astrid¡¯smunicator buzzed twice so she quickly nced at the screen and saw a few messages in the group chat.

    Sophie: [Which biome did you all select? I chose the desert option¡­ but now I¡¯m kind of regretting it]

    Qiana: [Ind¡­ it seemed like an interesting choice¡­]

    Cleo: [ I also chose ind! Maybe we¡¯ll see each other in the arena.]

    Astrid: [Oh¡­ I picked tundra! Well not me¡­ my little brother tapped my screen when I wasn¡¯t looking¡­]

    Principal Malik continued to talk for several more minutes, but Astrid¡¯s attention was on the messages in the group chat.

    She didn¡¯t even notice the tiny figure stealthily creeping up behind her until it was toote.

    p!

    Astrid rubbed her head as she felt a light hand smack against the back of her head.

    She growled hoarsely and turned around to see Archmage Hollystorm staring at her.

    ¡°Pay attention!¡± her mentor lightly scolded as he pointed at principal.

    ¡°But he¡¯s so boring¡­¡± Astrid whined as she pursed her lips together and put on a puppy eyed expression.

    Archmage Hollystorm looked away and secretly cursed his apprentice for pulling out the one move that usually softened him.

    ¡°Look just¡­ at least pretend that you are listening¡­¡± Archmage Hollystorm finallypromised before flying away in a certain direction.

    Astrid let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly closed the group chat.

    She propped up her head using her furry paws and stared at the principal.

    ¡°This great university has long had a tradition of both excellence and ambition! I hope that you all may continue to exhibit the characteristics of¡­¡± Principal Malik droned on.

    Time slowly passed and Astrid was not the only one who gradually began to either yawn or tune out from the speech.

    Eventually the principal finished and stepped back from the raised tform. A holographic projection rose up in the air above the arena with lines of text.

    [Now Selecting Stage: Tundra]

    [yers: 46]

    [Difficulty: Medium to Hard]

    The metallic bubble surrounding the arena suddenly disappeared to reveal a frozen wastnd of ice and bitter cold.

    Large ciers could be seen along the edges of the arena and snow was falling down from a blue runic portal in the sky.

    Someone had clearly manipted the spatial dimensions of the arena using a spell since the frozen wastnd seemed to be muchrger than what would be expected.

    The temperature rapidly plummeted and Astrid saw that her breath had now turned into a white wisp of smoke.

    The Tundra arena¡­

    Astrid¡¯s tail began to wag furiously as she stared down at the arena with excitement running through her veins.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Astrid checked her wristmunicator and saw a message from the principal detailing the information about the second round.

    Apparently, this time they would not be attacking fellow students but rather hunting down the dangerous animals that lurked in their chosen arenas.

    Students could team up in groups or go solo but either way points would only be awarded on an individual basis.

    The professors would review the footage of the exam and award points based on a variety of factors such as the strength of the animal, the method used, and the length of time taken to defeat the beast.

    Astrid looked up at the holographic screen and saw that new lines of text had been added to the bottom of the disy.

    [The Battle Ranking Exam Will Begin Shortly¡­ Five minutes¡­]

    [Four minutes¡­]

    Astrid quickly made her way down a flight of stairs and nodded at the other students that she was somewhat familiar with in the mage ss.

    A fearsome smile shed across the Mendolesa girl¡¯s face as she lightly stepped on the snow and watched her feet sink.

    It was hard to get a good grip on the ice since her shoes didn¡¯t have cleats.

    Astrid took off her footwear and used her ws to dig into the ground and stabilise her posture.

    She could hear the sounds of other studentsining as they arrived one by one to the entrance of the arena.

    Astrid¡¯s wolfish ears pricked up as she eavesdropped on the conversations happening between the students.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ this is stage is so cold¡­ I knew I should have brought a winter jacket!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to team up? I¡¯m a decent swordsman¡­¡±

    ¡°Team up? Sorry I¡¯m a lone cultivator¡­ I don¡¯t do teams¡­¡±

    The snow began to fall even faster and soon Astrid¡¯s body was lightly covered by white flecks of ice.

    [Thirty seconds¡­ twenty seconds¡­ ten¡­ nine¡­]

    [Start!]

    A bloodthirsty howl erupted from somewhere in the deeper parts of the arena which sent a shiver down the spines of most students.

    Astrid bent her knees and leapt forward as she rushed towards the direction of the sound.

    ck tattoo-like symbols appeared beneath her fur as she felt the mana coursing through her body in a state of excitement.

    Astrid nced behind her and saw that there were several students rushing in the same direction as her.

    The Mendolesa girl chanted a spell under her breath and a blue runic symbol hovered above her right palm.

    ¡°Spatium paucis metris deinceps!¡± Astrid roared as she thrust her right hand forward.

    The space around her body rippled and she vanished from the spot.

    The students who were following her from the distance looked around in confusion since they could not understand where she had suddenly gone.

    Astrid reappeared several thousand meters away and nearly mmed into a huge chunk of ice that rose up from the ground.

    ¡°Woops,¡± Astrid muttered as she tilted her body sideways and narrowly avoided crashing into the chunk of ice.

    Clearly, she still had some work to do regarding her ability to recover after using a spatial spell.

    ROAR!

    A loud cry pierced through the rtive quietness of the frozen tundra once more and Astrid could vaguely make out a creature in the distance.

    The beast was around the size of arge house with three snake-like heads that extended outwards from a slender body.

    The beast possessed ferocious ws with sharp pointed talons that gleamed under the light.

    Its flesh was a dull grey colour and certain sections of its skin appeared to be rotting.

    One of its heads would asionally sniff the air while the other two sniffed the ground. Astrid held her breath and hid behind a pile of snow.

    She stared at the creature while numerous battle ns ran through her mind.

    This beast was hers to kill!

 Chapter 496: The Fierce Battle In The Snow

    <h4>Chapter 496: The Fierce Battle In The Snow</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°Speculum illusion,¡± Astrid softly whispered as she felt the mana flow through her body.

    Blue runes floated above her right palm as the Mendolesa mage closed her eyes and felt the steady beating of her heart.

    When she reopened her eyes, Astrid saw four mirror images of herself that werepletely identical.

    She gestured using a series of simple hand signals and the mirror images nodded in acknowledgement.

    These images were mere illusions and did not have any offensive capabilities. However, they could serve as a useful distraction.

    They rushed forward and approached the beast that was still roaring loudly amidst the snowstorm.

    Astrid jumped up on a nearby rock to get a better position to view the uing fight.

    In ordinary circumstances, the headstrong girl would have been the first to dive into battle, but this exam was too important.

    Astrid knew that she could not afford to drop out of the elite student ss, so she was prepared to act more cautiously.

    The beast¡¯s three snake-like heads turned in the direction of the iing figures and fiercely hissed in a hoarse growly voice.

    It crouched down and then leapt forward. Its middle head opened up wide and an enormous torrent of blue fire emerged from its maw.

    This fire made the temperature drop even further and Astrid could feel the chill from a few hundred meters away.

    One of her clones was instantly frozen and with a casual swing of the beast¡¯s tail, it was shattered to pieces.

    The remaining three clones ran off in different directions, so the beast was left momentarily confused and disoriented.

    It roared several times as if to say toe back here.

    Eventually it focused on the mirror image running to the north and its slender body slithered on the ground towards its target.

    ¡°Spatiummina!¡± Astrid chanted as she stretched out her left palm.

    The space around her fingers rippled slightly and an invisible wave shot forward.

    This wave continued uninterrupted and mmed into the creature¡¯s exposed back. It roared in fury as a long gaping wound was opened up in the middle of its back.

    It turned in the direction of the attack and saw a clone waving at it with a teasing expression.

    The beast lost its mind and rushed forward with green blood spilling out of the open wound.

    Astrid quietly shifted her body behind therge rock and moved towards a different location before firing off another attack.

    This time she took several minutes to gather the mana flowing through her body as she prepared to invoke a high order spell.

    ¡°mma¡­ gehennae¡­¡± Astrid softly muttered as she felt the hair on her arms begin to stand up.

    ¡°Eum¡­ conburet¡­ ad¡­ mortem!¡±

    Arge red circle appeared below the body of the animal. The beast barely had any time to react before a massive pir of me rose up from the ground.

    The beast screamed in pain as it felt its dull and rotted skin burned away under the high temperature of Astrid¡¯s mes.

    Astrid continued to channel her mana into the spell but just as the beast was about to die, she quickly jumped to the side and cut off her mana.

    Swish!

    A thin needle passed mere inches away from Astrid¡¯s neck. The Mendolesa girl turned around and saw dozens of tiny furry creatures staring at her with thin red beady eyes.

    These furry enemies had long spikes along their backs with sharp barbs that gleamed dangerously under the sunlight.

    They were around the size of her paw and had faces that resembled the rodents on ancient Earth.

    ¡°Spatiumnuae!¡± Astrid quickly chanted as she wrapped her body with disrupted space.

    Her figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    She reappeared quite a significant distance away and kept a wary eye on the tiny furry creatures that began to sniff the air.

    They immediately found her new position and a barrage of sharp spines were hurled in her direction.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    Astrid ducked and weaved through the endless barrage and quickly casted a barrier spell to deflect the ones that she could not avoid.

    The three headed monster nowy helplessly in the snow with its green blood spilling on the ground.

    It was approaching death, but Astrid could not spare any extra energy to finish it off.

    Hopefully if it died then she would still get the maximum number of points.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    Astrid let out a low growl as she turned her attention to the wave of tiny enemies scurrying towards her location.

    The spines of their backs seemed to be regenerating rapidly so there was no end in sight to the barrage.

    ¡°Ignis p omnia conburet!¡± Astrid roared in anger. Dozens of floating balls of me appeared around her body.

    She pointed her finger at the iing wave of enemies and numerous fireballs flew towards them.

    A loud explosion erupted when the fireballs came in contact with the ground.

    Astrid dashed forward and quickly pulled out a crossbow from her storage ring. She loaded the bolt in the weapon with familiar motions and aimed it at therge fallen monster.

    The Mendolesa mage gritted her teeth and fired the bolt.

    She enchanted the bolt with death magic, so its sharpened end was covered in a thinyer of ck haze.

    Astrid bent her knees and jumped forward several meters. She used the cover of the chunks of ice and snow piles to conceal her figure.

    It was hard to know what the criteria was for gaining points when it came to defeating the enemies inside the tundra biome.

    Were all creatures worth the same number of points? Or was it based on size or perhaps the danger rating?

    Astrid¡¯s fireball spell had eliminated most of the furry animals but dozens more were emerging from the ice and staring at her with hungry expressions.

    It was time to get out of here.

    Normal mage apprentices did not possessrge enough mana pools to sustain constantly casting spell after spell.

    Even Astrid was beginning to feel the strain of casting so many spells in a row.

    The Mendolesa mage pulled a ss bottle out of her storage ring and swallowed its blue contents in one smooth gulp.

    She could feel her mana pool slowly begin to regenerate.

 Chapter 497: The Marvelous Misadventures Of Astrid

    <h4>Chapter 497: The Marvelous Misadventures Of Astrid</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°Okay so the two of us will engage from the front while you stay at the back and cast spells to distract it,¡± Mark softly whispered as he gestured to hispanions.

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Astrid replied as she focused on the mana flowing through her body.

    The other Mendolesa warrior in the group growled hoarsely and gripped the wooden staff in his right w.

    His name was Aidan and like Mark they were both students in the ordinary ss who had been fortunate enough to make it to the second stage.

    Mark gestured towards him, and the pair slowly made their way towards a round-shaped creature who was currently sleeping.

    The beast was around the size of a small dog with rough, bumpy skin that was a dull grey colour.

    A yellowish-green liquid oozed out of the creature¡¯s lower orifices and an unpleasant scent filled the air that made Mark want to throw up.

    He turned around and saw Astrid staring at them with an encouraging smile.

    Mark could have sworn that a cunning glint briefly surfaced in the mage¡¯s eyes but when he looked again there was nothing wrong with her facial expression.

    Astrid focused on her breathing and turned her attention to the uing fight.

    She had encountered Mark and Aidan a few hours ago after fleeing from the horde of furry creatures.

    With low mana levels in her pool, Astrid offered to team up with them and showed off just a small taste of her power.

    They were both surprised at first to learn that the fearsome Mendolesa girl holding a crossbow was a mage, but Astrid soon convinced them of her strength.

    Now the trio were temporarily teaming up together to gain more points and hunt down the creatures that roamed the tundra.

    ¡°Three¡­ two¡­ one¡­ NOW!¡± Mark suddenly yelled as he rushed forward. He thrusted his palm outwards, and a golden light surrounded his fingertips.

    Mountain Breaking Palm!

    His palm mmed into the body of the creature with enough force to crack steel. A confident look shed across Mark¡¯s face, but it soon turned to horror.

    The hand that he had used to strike the creature sunk into its gtinous body and no matter how hard he tried¡­ it was stuck!

    ¡°I got you!¡± Aidan roared as he swung his wooden staff forward with as much force as he could muster.

    The creature stirred and hundreds of miniature eyes suddenly appeared on the surface of his skin.

    These eyes were almostpletely ck with purplish pupils that glowed eerily under the sunlight.

    ¡°Lanuae ei awat!¡± Astrid chanted as she felt a chill run down her spine.

    The space around Aiden¡¯s body rippled and he vanished from the spot.

    It was not a moment too soon as several beams of purplish light shot out of the creature¡¯s eyes towards his previous location.

    Mark was unable to avoid the attack and a few beams hit his body directly. He froze in pain as his skin gradually hardened and turned grey.

    He opened his mouth to scream for help, but his words died down in his throat as his entire body turned to stone.

    Aiden stumbled as he emerged from a portal a few hundred meters away from Astrid¡¯s position.

    The Mendolesa mage was staring at the creature with a serious expression.

    Astrid had never seen such a beast before, and it seemed almost unthinkable that an animal had developed such a powerful defense mechanism.

    Turning organic matter to stone?

    It reminded her of an old folktale in the Mendolesa culture, but she just could not remember the details.

    What was it about¡­ urgh¡­ wait¡­ WAIT!

    Astrid¡¯s ears pricked up and she hurriedly dove to the ground and narrowly avoided the beams of purplish light that passed mere inches away from her head.

    ¡°Aiden don¡¯t just stand there! Fucking move!¡± Astrid yelled furiously as she saw herpanion frozen in ce.

    The Mendolesa warrior was clearlycking experience or perhaps the pressure of taking part in the battle ranking exam was affecting his judgement.

    Either way he barely reacted to Astrid¡¯s warning and one of the beamsnded squarely in the middle of his chest.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ sorry¡­¡± Aiden gasped with hisst breath as his body also turned to stone.

    Astrid furrowed her brows and crawled on the ground almost like a dog. There was no use for pride in a life and death battle.

    She could hear the sounds of the creature moving from its position and slowly making its way towards her.

    ¡°Come on¡­ think¡­ think¡­¡± Astrid muttered quietly as she readied several spells in her mind.

    Blue runic circles floated in the air above her body and strange dark tattoos appeared beneath her fur.

    As the beams of purple light passed above her head, Astrid was suddenly struck with an idea for how to beat the beast.

    ¡°Spatium portae reditus mittentis,¡± Astrid whispered quietly as she raised her right hand in the air.

    The space around her fingertips rippled and a portal emerged in the air. Another portal appeared behind the creature who turned around curiously to look at it.

    The beast continued to use the eyes on its back to fire at its enemy, but this was all part of Astrid¡¯s calctions.

    One of the beams of light that it fired entered the portal above Astrid¡¯s fingertips and disappeared.

    It exited the portal behind the creature and mmed right into the beast¡¯s body.

    Astrid¡¯s tail wagged furiously from side to side as she watched her ne to fruition.

    The creature froze in shock as the beam hit its body but then its sides began to shake uncontrobly.

    A hoarse wheezing sound came from its long maw which Astrid eventually realised was the sound ofughter.

    Damn it!

    Astrid was slightly annoyed as she cut off the mana connection to the spell and the two portals instantly copsed.

    The Mendolesa girl checked her mana pool and saw that a decent amount has recovered after drinking the blue potion.

    It was probably enough to cast a tier two spell, but the only issue was that she would be defenseless after killing the creature.

    There were still several hours left in the exam, so Astrid reluctantly crept away from the creature with a heavy heart.

    She did want to kill the beast for mocking her efforts and ying herpanions, but it was important to take a long-term view of the situation.

    It made more sense to hunt down weaker creatures using normal cultivation methods and saving her magic for the tougher foes once she recovered a bit more mana.

    Astrid kept to the ground and walked on all fours as she hid behind snow piles and chunks of ice in order to conceal her figure.

    Fortunately, the creature was not particrly fast, so Astrid was able to lose it after five minutes of moving.

    The Mendolesa girl stopped for a moment to catch her breath, but she could hear the faint sound of something rustling in the snow pile a few meters away.

    A cute and adorable furry creature rolled out of the snow pile and stared at Astrid with a warm expression.

    The Mendolesa girl and the furry creature looked at each other for a brief moment before the spines on the creature¡¯s back slowly raised upwards.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

 Chapter 498: A Quiet Moment Of Peace

    <h4>Chapter 498: A Quiet Moment Of Peace</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Sophie leaned forward and stared at the holographic screen floating silently in the air above the arena.

    Several hours had passed since the beginning of the exam and it was only now that the second stage had finally ended.

    The lines of text on the holographic screen briefly disappeared and were reced by the results of the second round.

    [Remaining Students- 25]

    [Calcting Score¡­ calcting score¡­ calcting score¡­]

    [Leaderboard: Astrid Lockhart ¨C 97 points, Ben Davies- 93 points, Vinnie Rose- 85 points¡­]

    Astrid¡¯s performance had been quite impressive.

    She may not have had a massive gap between herself and the second-ce student, but her intelligence and cunning were on full disy.

    Actually, this was the first time that Sophie had seen her friend fight like that since Astrid usually rushed headfirst into battle.

    Scattered apuse broke out from the crowd watching in the stands as the students who passed walked off the field.

    Sophie stood up and pped as well as she waved at Astrid cheerfully.

    The Mendolesa girl spotted her appearance in the crowd and gave her a beaming smile.

    ¡°Ohh¡­ I got some nice clips!¡± a melodic voice suddenly spoke.

    Celestia flew from somewhere behind Sophie andnded on her head as the hybrid girl sat back down.

    The Servie girl was fiddling with her wristmunicator and uploading clips of the second round to the University¡¯s Open Forum.

    The clips were already going viral especially the shots of the fearsome monsters that lurked inside the Tundra biome.

    ¡°Hey Celestia¡­ what arena did you pick?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she tilted her head to give the Servie girl a better ce to sit.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t bother to pick. I just figured that I¡¯ll take whatever arena they randomly assign me,¡± Celestia exined nonchntly.

    Sophieughed and focused her attention back on the arena while Celestia kept chatting away with the students nearby.

    The arena was suddenly covered by a thick bubble that waspletely solid. The metalloid barrier was a dark grey colour, and it was impossible to see what was happening inside.

    Principal Malik stepped up to the mic and opened his mouth,

    ¡°I would like to congratte all the students who passed the first arena of the second round and now we will be moving on to the next biome.¡±

    ¡°It will take around thirty minutes to set up the new environment so please be patient during this time.¡±

    ¡°The next biome will be the desert.¡±

    The Mendolesa warrior finished his exnation and returned to the raised tform. Sophie furrowed her brows and stared eagerly at the arena.

    She was up next!

    Celestia yawned sleepily and jumped off Sophie¡¯s head to gossip with some of the other students in the poison cultivation ss

    Speaking of poison¡­

    Sophie was still undecided if to use her poison skills this time or not¡­

    She was definitely going to save Moon for the final round but whether or not to use poison in the middle of the battle ranking exam was a question that she had to ponder.

    Ring! Ring!

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed twice, and she saw an iing message from Cleo in her private chat.

    Cleo: [Want to take a walk before the next round begins?]

    Sophie: [Sure babe! I¡¯ll meet you by the northeastern stand.]

    The hybrid girl powered off her device and got up from her seat. She made her way through the crowd and headed for the stairs at the back of the stand.

    Fortunately, Sophie¡¯s intimidating aura and her actions in the previous round made the students in her way automatically move aside and make space for her.

    Sophie nodded politely and thanked them which brought a look of surprise to their faces.

    While it was unlikely that she would ever be popr, it was always important to leave a good impression on people and maintain the polite dignity of a high noble.

    It took around five minutes for Sophie to walk down the flight of stairs and head towards the northeastern stand.

    Cleo was standing in the distance with an expectant look on her face. The princess wore a simple ck battlesuit with two metalloid devices attached to her temples.

    She saw Sophie approaching her and rushed forward eagerly. Cleo threw herself in Sophie¡¯s arms and gave her girlfriend a light kiss on the cheek.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Cleo warmly asked as she stroked the side of Sophie¡¯s face.

    ¡°Pretty good¡­ I¡¯m d that my arena is up next. I really didn¡¯t expect the second round tost for so long¡­¡± Sophie replied with a gentle smile.

    ¡°If each biome takes as long as the Tundra then the second round will probably end a few days from now¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ I¡¯ll head to our mansionter and pick up some supplies,¡± Cleo softly whispered as she finally left Sophie¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°Shall we go on our walk?¡±

    The princess held out her hand which Sophie took dly. Cleo led Sophie in the direction of the central square on campus.

    Magnificently tall trees were spread along the sides of the path and the warm evening rays lit up the world in a dull orange glow.

    Students could be seen walking in groups of two or three and Sophie spotted a few students from the first-year ordinary ss who didn¡¯t pass the first stage.

    Cultivation was apetition.

    The reality was that resources were finite, so it was impossible for everyone to get an equal cut.

    It was important to be an elite student in first or second year because the gap would be almost insurmountable once third year arrived.

    Sophie spotted a small weed growing under the shade of a muchrger tree and gently tugged on Cleo¡¯s hand.

    She walked over to the weed and picked up the pretty white flower that had been growing on the tip of its stem.

    Sophie plucked the flower carefully and ced it in Cleo¡¯s hair to make the princess be a beautiful flower maiden.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Cleo smiled sweetly as she stared at her girlfriend with love in her eyes. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful between the pair.

    The battle ranking exam was quite intense, so Sophie weed these quiet moments of rxation amidst the storm.

 Chapter 499: An Incredibly Dangerous Place

    <h4>Chapter 499: An Incredibly Dangerous ce</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°Wee back students! The arena has finally been prepared so please make your way to the entrance of the training field!¡± Principal Malik spoke loudly.

    The Mendolesa warrior stretched out his furry paw and gestured at one of the professors standing nearby.

    The professor nodded and pressed a button on the side of the raised tform. Gradually the ck metallic dome covering the training field slid downwards until it was fully underground.

    What was revealed was an area ofnd that was identical to the vast Sahara Desert on ancient Earth.

    Massive sand dunes rose into the sky, and one could see dust storms swirling menacingly in the distance.

    There were a couple of green nts with thorny spikes along their trunks scattered across the desert, but they were few and far between.

    The air was hot and dry which made it difficult to breathe properly. The shadows of serpent-like creatures slithered just beneath the surface of the sand.

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she stared at the stage carefully. The first step of any sessful operation was information gathering.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s golden eyes darkened for a moment as she enhanced her vision to see what lurked beneath the sands.

    ¡°Oh¡­ that might be a problem¡­¡± Sophie whispered to herself.

    There were hundreds if not thousands of deadly foes and creatures moving through the desert.

    In fact, it appeared as though the training field had beenpletely transformed into a fully functional ecosystem.

    A holographic projection suddenly appeared above the arena and lines of text filled up the screen.

    [Now Selecting Stage: Desert]

    [yers: 19]

    [Difficulty: Hard to Insane]

    Was the desert option such an unpopr choice?

    The number of students who picked that option were less than half of those who picked the frozen tundra.

    As for the difficulty¡­ risk and reward went hand in hand.

    Principal Malik exined that the points given to students were partially based on the difficulty of their chosen environment.

    While it was riskier to go for the harder biomes¡­ it was much easier to earn points.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator vibrated twice, and she saw a few messages in the group chat from her friends.

    Qiana: [Good luck! Watch out for the dust storms.]

    Cleo: [I¡¯m cheering you on babe! If you reach the top three¡­ I¡¯ll reward you tonight¡­ :D]

    Qiana: [Please¡­please¡­ keep that kind of stuff in your private chat¡­]

    Astrid: [I came first! Qiana, should I get something?]

    [Qiana has gone offline¡­]

    Sophieughed and shook her head at her friends¡¯ antics. The hybrid girl got up from her chair and began to make her way to the arena.

    The crowd naturally parted and the rtive silence around her gave Sophie a little time to think about her n.

    She wanted to save Moon for the final round so she had the choice to keep using basic cultivation techniques or show off her specialisation.

    Sophie took a few vials out of her storage rings and fiddled with them absentmindedly.

    The one in her left hand contained a repulsive greenish liquid that bubbled as if it were carbonated.

    The hybrid girl brought the vial to her nose and sniffed twice. Sophie slipped the vials in the pocket of her battlesuit and came to a decision.

    It made no sense to conceal some of her strength when she was aiming for the first ce. Fighting with all of her ability would prove that she deserved the top spot.

    Besides¡­ there may be a foe in the desert arena that required her to go all out. Sophie was not arrogant enough to believe that she was invincible in the qi tide stage.

    There was always someone better than you out there¡­

    [The Battle Ranking Exam Will Begin Shortly¡­ Five minutes¡­]

    [Four minutes¡­]

    Sophie arrived at the entrance to the training field and stepped on the sand that had blown over from the desert.

    She spotted the other students who had selected the stage entering the arena one by one with mixed expressions on their faces.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    The ground trembled slightly as an enormous beast made its way from the shadows of the southwestern stand.

    The creature was over a whooping twelve feet in height with dark ck fur and three heads that spewed out mes when it exhaled.

    The massive beast was identical to the rottweiler breed of dogs found in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    It resembled the old Greek legend from ancient Earth about the three headed dog Cerberus that guarded the underworld to prevent souls from escaping.

    A blonde-haired girl wearing an elegant blue battlesuit with red ribbons in her curly hair walked beside the beast.

    She fanned herself casually with a small paper fan. There was an aura of nobility and refinement surrounding her body.

    The other students quickly made some space for the obviously intimidating girl, but Sophie walked right up to her.

    ¡°Luna! I didn¡¯t know that you picked the desert stage,¡± Sophie spoke casually as she waved at ckie whose three heads were staring at her.

    The hell hound crouched down so that Sophie could easily rub the area behind their ears. The hybrid girl smiled gently as she yed with ckie¡¯s middle head.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ it is indeed an unexpected surprise,¡± Luna spoke coldly but she could not hide the excitement in her eyes.

    ¡°Where is Moon? ckie hasn¡¯t seen him in awhile¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saving Moon for the final round¡­ I think I want to use poison cultivation techniques for the second stage,¡± Sophie exined softly.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ I see¡­¡± Luna nodded in understanding. The pair chatted for a few minutes as Sophie continued to y with the hell hound.

    ckie was a grade Sbat beast created from the crossbreeding between a canis lupus and the DNA of a me demon.

    ¡°Shall we team up or do you want to go solo?¡± Luna asked curiously.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t mind forming an alliance with you¡­ we haven¡¯t spent much time together since my return to university,¡± Sophie replied with a small smile.

    Time flew by quicker than either girl expected and soon the lines of text on the holographic screen changed.

    [Ten seconds¡­ nine seconds¡­ eight¡­ seven¡­]

    [Start!]

    Some students rushed off towards the deeper parts of the desert immediately, but Sophie stopped Luna from moving forward.

    She stared cautiously and watched as one of the students ran towards a northern direction and began to climb up a sand dune.

    He reached around the halfway point when something beneath the sand gripped his ankles. The student did not even have the time to scream before he disappeared beneath the sands.

    The sounds of bones crunching could be hearding from the area where the student vanished.

    Sophie stared solemnly as her golden eyes could see hundreds of creatures swarming towards the student and stripping his corpse to the bone in a matter of seconds.

    This ce was incredibly dangerous.

 Chapter 500: The Mysterious Village

    <h4>Chapter 500: The Mysterious Vige</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°What the fuck?! He died so quickly¡­¡±

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ we can¡¯t deal with those monsters¡­¡±

    ¡°I give up! I give up!¡±

    The sudden and brutal death of the male student only a few hundred meters away brought an atmosphere of fear and terror to the remaining survivors.

    Sophie furrowed her brows and stepped to the side for a moment to observe what would happen next.

    Arge blue runic circle appeared above the skeleton of the fallen student and soon time began to rewind.

    Thousands of creatures lurking beneath the sand started to move backwards and opened their mouths involuntarily.

    Bits of flesh, muscle and bone flew out of their orifices and gathered around the corpse. The torn off pieces of flesh came back together and gradually life returned to those empty eyes.

    The student sat up trembling with a strange purple rune hovering over his body. He nced at the thousands of creatures hungrily staring at him and froze in ce.

    Fortunately, a portal opened up by his feet and the student disappeared out of the arena.

    Clearly one of the professors was monitoring the situation to ensure that the students would not be stuck in an endless death loop.

    Well¡­ at least the temporal reversal formation was still working properly¡­

    But even that fact did little to reassure the students who were now awkwardly standing around the entrance to the arena.

    Who would want to be torn apart and eaten alive by thousands of monstrous creatures?

    Sophie nced at Luna and saw that the paper fan in her right hand was slightly trembling.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ I have a n,¡± Sophie leaned over and whispered in her ear.

    ¡°Really? But how can we even get inside with all those monsters guarding the path to the interior?¡± Luna asked in a puzzled tone.

    ¡°Did you notice something strange?¡± Sophie replied with a question of her own before exining what had caught her attention.

    ¡°Why was that student the only one who suffered an attack so far? There were others who are now currently running further inside the interior of the arena and yet they are fine.¡±

    ¡°I think¡­ well at least my hypothesis is that certain zones in the desert biomes are death traps, but we can travel safely around those zones.¡±

    The hybrid girl¡¯s theory did make a bit of sense since it was unreasonable to expect the students to deal with such a numerous swarm of enemies at the start.

    But why did the desert creatures not attack those outside the death trap zone?

    It was a question that Sophie did not know the answer to.

    ¡°Arghh¡­ no¡­ NO!¡± a terrified scream came from the distance.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed, and she could spot two students trapped in a perilous situation.

    The Mendolesa warrior on the right was stuck in ce since her ankle had sunk into the sand.

    Herpanion tried to help but monstrous serpent-like creatures wriggled and writhed towards their location from the other side of arge sand dune.

    Eventually one of the beasts reached the Mendolesa girl who was pulled beneath the sand and disappeared with an agonising cry for help.

    The other student backed away nervously and took several steps away from the sand dune.

    Curiously enough none of the monsters beneath the sand attempted to pursue him.

    The student did not question his good fortunate and quickly escaped.

    ¡°Wow! You were right!¡± Luna eximed in admiration as she pped her hands together. ckie was infected by his master¡¯s excitement and all three of his heads bent down to lick Luna¡¯s face.

    The elegant and dignified appearance of the noble girl soon disappeared after her face was covered in saliva from her enthusiasticbat beast.

    ¡°There should be a visual clue to distinguish the death zones, but I have an idea,¡± Sophie spoke confidently.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and focused on the qi flowing through her body. She nned to use a technique that she had not used in a long time.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred for a moment and then dozens of identical copies of herself appeared where she had been previously standing.

    The mirror images werepletely identical but there was a variety of sullen and angry expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Can we not?¡± one of the clones suddenly spoke up after a moment of silence.

    She was the first mirror image to voice out herint, but she would not be thest¡­

    ¡°Every time you use this technique¡­ nine times out of ten it¡¯s a life and death situation¡­¡±

    ¡°Did you see what happened to that poor kid? We¡¯ll be eaten alive in seconds!¡±

    Sophie¡¯s mirror images voiced theirints but still spread out and walked forward in a fan-shaped formation.

    ckie seemed to be confused by the sudden appearance of more Sophies and his three heads kept trying to figure out which one was the original.

    Eventually the head on the left gave up and fell asleep before it was woken up by a fierce headbutt from the middle head.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Sophie gestured forward. Luna nodded and the pair began to walk a few hundred meters away from the mirror copies.

    ckie followed closely behind, and he was not alone. Some of the other students by the entrance saw what Sophie was doing and began to walk behind them.

    Sophie was tempted for a moment to tell them to find their own route but eventually decided to let them follow.

    It didn¡¯t matter and perhaps there would be some bonus points for working together.

    The points system was intentionally vague, so it was hard to tell what the professors were grading on outside of eliminations.

    Therge group walked for around thirty minutes in the sweltering desert heat. The air shimmered and Sophie feltrge beads of sweat run down the sides of her brow.

    The temperature was quite high, and the air was hot and dry.

    Sand crunched beneath her shoes as she walked endlessly in a sea ofrge sand dunes.

    Sophie was forced to cast her Rsychosis technique two more times since her mirror images could not avoid the death zones that were scattered across their path.

    The crowd of students following them had more than doubled in size since more students saw her strategy.

    ¡°Is that¡­.¡± Luna¡¯s voice trailed off as she stared at the unexpected view.

    There was arge settlement behind the sand dune that they had just crossed.

    It wasposed of hundreds of brown tents, and one could spot vague humanoid shadows moving from one tent to the other.

    An oasis was located in the middle of the tent city and was surrounded by tall leafy trees that stretched out towards the heavens.

    The shadowy figures simultaneously froze in ce and turned their heads to stare at the crowd of students.

    It was an unnerving sight, and their actions made a chill run down the spines of the students who were following Sophie and Luna.

    One of the shadows in the middle of the camp rushed inside a tent and brought out arge golden bone that resembled a tibia.

    He pped the bone on the ground over and over again as if possessed by madness.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

 Chapter 501: The Beast Lurking Below...

    <h4>Chapter 501: The Beast Lurking Below¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Over and over again the shadowy figure kept mming the giant golden bone against the ground which kicked up a wave of sand.

    The other shadowy figures in the vige crowded around him and began to speak in anguage that was iprehensible.

    One by one they turned around to face the crowd of students and several bloodshot eyes appeared across various parts of their bodies.

    They were monsters.

    Even Sophie was creeped out with the eeriness of the situation. It made no sense¡­ how on earth was there a vige inside the desert biome?

    And why were they performing such a strange ritual?

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this¡­¡± Luna whispered softly as she stroked ckie¡¯s hind leg and subtly reached for the sword attached to her hip.

    ¡°I agree¡­ there is something strange about this whole situation,¡± Sophie replied quietly as she uncorked one of the poison vials.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot before appearing only a few hundred meters away from the camp.

    She easily crushed the vial of toxins in her palm and watched its greenish- yellow contents spill all over her fingers.

    Poison Arts- Serpent Fang!

    Sophie lunged forward and stretched out her right hand in the direction of the camp.

    The green liquid instantly turned into a gas and the hybrid girl poured her qi into the gaseous mixture.

    A cloud of green smog rushed forward and took on the shape of an enormous serpent with fangs that gleamed under the sunlight.

    Sophie¡¯s attack hit the residents of the vige directly before they had any time to react. The green fog prated their clothes and went into their orifices.

    The shadowy figures screeched in pain as disgusting pus-filled boils appeared on their skin and their numerous eyes started to bleed heavily.

    They copsed on the ground motionless as Sophie¡¯s poison ravaged their bodies and shut down their internal organs.

    The shadowy figure who was holding the bone saw the death of hispanions and stared at Sophie with a look of hatred in his cold eyes.

    He was also poisoned but somehow mustered up the strength to m the bone into the ground one final time.

    Boom!

    Sophie watched emotionlessly as he too became a lifeless corpse before turning around to rejoin Luna and the rest of the students.

    Sophie took one step before the sand beneath her feet started to tremble.

    A sense of danger the likes of which she had only encountered in life and death situations made the hybrid girl instantly activate her movement technique.

    It was just in the nick of time as an enormous sixty-foot-tall worm-like abomination rose up from the ground and swallowed the entire camp whole.

    The tents, the corpses and every trace of the mysterious shadowy figures vanished in a single bite from the monster.

    The worm had pinkish-red flesh and a body that was snake-like in appearance.

    It had a massive maw with rings of sharp de-like teeth that bore a striking resemnce to a meat grinder.

    ¡°Holy shit! What the hell is that?!¡± one of the students in the crowd shrieked before frantically dashing away.

    She was not the only one to flee as some other students scattered in different directions with the only thought in their minds to preserve their own life.

    Even Sophie froze for a moment as she stared at the monstrous abomination that was around the size of arge skyscraper.

    The worm-like monster turned in the direction of fleeing students andpletely ignored Sophie who was standing a mere hundred feet away from it.

    It dove back into the ground and a wave of sand mmed into Sophie¡¯s body and buried herpletely in the desert.

    She could hear the sounds of muffled screams as the beast pursued the fleeing students and swallowed them one by one.

    Wait¡­ why did it ignore her? Was it an Insectoid?

    Sophie closed her eyes and tried tomunicate with the worm-like monster but received no response.

    No¡­ that wasn¡¯t the case¡­

    The hybrid girl wriggled her body around and slowly climbed out of the sand dune that was now covering her body.

    She could feel sand particles going into her ears and some even managed to slip into her battle-suit.

    Sophie popped her head out of the sand and gradually hoisted the rest of her body out. Luna saw her from the distance and began to rush over with ckie by her side.

    The worm-like monster who was chasing a Mendolesa boy in the distance suddenly turned around as if attracted to the pair running towards Sophie.

    Sophie felt her danger sense activate once more as the shadow of death fell upon her body.

    Her golden eyes gleamed as she went into overdrive to figure out a way out of this perilous situation.

    She observed the worm-like monster carefully as it slithered towards their location and discovered something shocking.

    The beast didn¡¯t have eyes!

    Therge size of the beast had distracted Sophie from taking a closer look, but she suddenly realised why the shadowy figure was mming the bone against the sand.

    The worm-like monster hunted ording to the tremors produced from movement!

    ¡°Luna! Stop moving! The beast doesn¡¯t have eyes!¡± Sophie roared loudly and her voice echoed through the desert.

    Luna skidded to a stop and held out her palm to stop ckie from moving forward. The pair froze in ce as the worm-like creature got closer and closer.

    Beads of sweat ran down the sides of Luna¡¯s cheeks as she could feel the unpleasant warm breath escaping the monster¡¯s mouth.

    ckie¡¯s right head whined softly but it was instantly shut up by the middle head who shot it a fierce look.

    The monster waved its head around as if it was confused before diving into the sand and disappearing.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened, and she focused on a student running in the distance who had not heeded her warning.

    The student frantically ran forward while using a barrier device on his wrist to activate a forcefield to deflect the animals that attacked him from the underground.

    He managed to run a few kilometers before a massive figure emerged from the ground beneath his feet and swallowed him whole.

 Chapter 502: A Natural Leader

    <h4>Chapter 502: A Natural Leader</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    There wasplete silence in the arena as the surviving students froze in ce after just witnessing such a brutal death.

    Sophie¡¯s words of advice were still ringing in their ears and despite every instinct in their bodies screaming at them to flee¡­

    The students remained in ce.

    Minutes slowly passed as not one student dared to take a single step.

    Even Sophie herself remained motionless as she crouched down in a defensive posture.

    ckie¡¯s left head whined softly but was immediately shushed by the middle head that gently headbutted him.

    The holographic screen floating above the arena kept disying the remaining time for the second stage that was gradually ticking down.

    ¡°I think it might be safe now¡­¡± one of the Mendolesa boys in the distance called out nervously.

    He did not have any points and after no movement from the worm-like monster, he assumed that everything was okay.

    Only Sophie would have gotten some points from her actions to wipe out the shadow figures¡¯ vige but everyone else was on zero.

    The Mendolesa boy walked forward a few steps and the ground beneath him trembled.

    A look ofplete shock shed across his face as an enormous maw rose up from the sand and swallowed him whole.

    ¡°What? The monster did not leave?¡± someone eximed in shock.

    ¡°How can we get out of here?¡± another cried out helplessly.

    ¡°Fuck! I knew I shouldn¡¯t have followed the hybrid girl!¡± someone elseined angrily.

    Sophie leaked out a trace of her killing intent and the girl who was about toin even further felt a cold chill run down her spine.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Luna asked softly as she stared at the countdown on the floating holographic screen.

    ¡°Let me think for a moment,¡± Sophie replied as she closed her eyes and thought about the situation carefully.

    The worm-like creature was an ambush predator. It lurked beneath the sands and would strike anything that moved.

    Its weakness was itsck of eyes but clearly it could detect movement above the sand probably due to either ground tremors or psychic means.

    Sophie was currently leaning towards it possessing an ability to sense ground tremors since it would have attacked them already if it had psychic powers.

    There were two options in front of them.

    The first was to either flee which could be done using techniques that enabled flight or teleportation.

    The second and far more risker option was to fight the monster. Clearly a beast that size and dangerous would be worth a lot of points.

    ¡°Luna¡­ do you want to try to hunt it or just run?¡± Sophie softly asked her friend.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think we can give it a try,¡± Luna replied after a bit of consideration.

    Sophie nodded and quickly nced at the remaining students to count the number of people left.

    There were about ten other students nearby and about five in the distance. The hybrid girl cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at them.

    ¡°We are going to try to hunt the monster. If anyone wants to join then say what your cultivation specialty is,¡± Sophie yelled loudly.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to join the hunt then the beast is tracking us using ground tremors¡­ all you have to do is note in contact with the sand.¡±

    ¡°Use movement or flying techniques.¡±

    Sophie recognised a few faces from the elite ss, so this was a good opportunity to earn some goodwill from her ssmates.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out the beast¡¯s weakness so this advice was nothing that they would not eventually discover.

    Several students began floating in the air using a variety of peculiar techniques after hearing Sophie¡¯s suggestion.

    Wings sprouted out from behind someone¡¯s back while another student simply rose into the air and stepped onto what appeared to be invisible steps.

    There was even a student who crouched down before levitating upwards.

    ¡°I¡¯m a sword cultivator,¡± a brave girl with a whip-like de suddenly shouted.

    Clearly some students recognised the value of joining Sophie¡¯s team since it was bing apparent that the desert biome was an extremely dangerous ce.

    Unlike the Tundra biome, teamwork was almost a forced necessity due to the dangerous nature of the monsters lurking beneath the sands.

    ¡°I can use needle techniques¡­¡±

    ¡°Explosions¡­ I packed around five tier one bombs¡­¡±

    ¡°Err¡­ I can manipte water particles¡­¡±

    ¡°Mybat pet can burrow into flesh¡­.¡±

    Sophie listened carefully and mentally noted the more impressive abilities among the students who volunteered.

    Most of the stronger students were from the elite ss but there were a couple from the ordinary ss that surprised her.

    Especially the young Quafes boy whosebat beast pet was a tiny leech that was attached to his forehead.

    ¡°Okay¡­. I can use my clone technique to distract the monster¡­ does anyone have any ns to take it down?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°What if one of your clones carries my bombs so when the beast swallows her¡­ I simply activate the trigger,¡± a student suggested.

    ¡°The monster is over sixty feet tall¡­ will your explosions really cause enough internal damage to harm it?¡± someone retorted.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ that is an interesting suggestion¡­ I can also have my clones hold vials of poison but I¡¯m not sure how effective toxins will be on such arge animal,¡± Sophie freely admitted.

    Still, it didn¡¯t hurt to try.

    ¡°Does anyone have any other suggestions?¡± Sophie asked politely.

    The girl with the whip-like de raised up her hand as if she was standing in a ssroom. Sophie stifled her urge tough and pointed at her.

    ¡°When the worm lunges upwards from the ground for a brief moment it is exposed¡­ I don¡¯t think its natural defenses are very good,¡± the girl exined her deduction.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we use long range attacks to hopefully injure it severely.¡±

    Sophie nodded in approval at her suggestion and then asked a few more times to get everyone¡¯s thoughts.

    Unconsciously she was beginning to emit the aura of a natural born leader and the students were slowly getting used to hermands.

    It was abination of both her impressive strength and the noble aura that surrounded Sophie¡¯s body.

    After finally deciding on a two-pronged attack, Sophie pulled a few vials out of her storage ring and downed their contents into her mouth.

    She could feel a burning sensation in her stomach as the deadly poisons began to circte through her body.

    The poisons gradually arrived at her venom nds where they were transformed into truly horrific biological weapons.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs slowly lengthened, and a greenish liquid began to drip from her hollow teeth.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she prepared for the uing fight.

 Chapter 503: Sophieâ€™s Plan Begins

    <h4>Chapter 503: Sophie¡¯s n Begins</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small ss-like container with a thin film cover stretched over the entrance.

    She lifted the container up with practised motions and bit down hard on the film. The venom inside her nds traveled along hollow tubes and exited her fangs.

    Greenish liquid began to fill up the container and Sophie kept going until she could not produce any more venom.

    The hybrid girl lifted up the container to admire her work for a brief moment before turning her attention back to the matter at hand.

    ¡°We will attack the worm-like monster in several waves. Remember that safety is our number one priority so no matter what happens¡­ do not move,¡± Sophie calmly spoke.

    ¡°The first wave will involve using the explosive method while the long-range attackers fire at the creature from the distance.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully it will give us some idea of how strong the monster¡¯s natural defenses is so we can adjust the n if necessary.¡±

    ¡°The second wave is when I will use the poison and will try to activate my poison techniques once my clone has been swallowed by the beast.¡±

    ¡°Does anyone have any questions?¡±

    A couple students asked about more details so Sophie obliged and told them that she would draw the monster out of the ground at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

    Luna was fiddling with a long sma rifle and adjusting the settings while ckie growled softly in the direction where the worm-like monster wasst seen.

    Sophie closed her eyes and concentrated on the qi flowing through her body.

    She had already used the Rsychosis technique several times earlier but there was still enough energy in her dantian tost for a few more hours.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then reappeared along with eight mirror copies that werepletely identical to the hybrid girl.

    ¡°Err¡­ you with the explosive devices¡­ could you pass them over?¡± one of the mirror copies spokezily.

    ¡°My name is Lucas¡­¡± the boy replied as he pulled out four egg-shaped metalloid devices from his pocket.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t care¡­ just hand them over,¡± the clone responded nonchntly with a casual shrug.

    Lucas frowned slightly but still walked over to the mirror copy and handed over the devices in his palm.

    Each device had a small red light in the middle that was blinking ominously.

    There was a hefty weight to the explosives and Sophie¡¯s clone could almost sense the devastating power that was hidden inside.

    The mirror copy let out a heavy sigh and distributed the devices to her other sisters who were simrly displeased with this turn of events.

    The onlyfort that they had was that the original Sophie would receive all their memories and painful sensations after their deaths.

    Sophie waited until she saw that the other students had finished taking out their weapons.

    This included bows, sma rifles, needles and a variety of throwing weapons.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Sophie asked in an even tone.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Luna replied softly as she stroked ckie¡¯s hindleg.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m ready,¡± the Quafes boy with the tinybat beast pet hesitantly spoke.

    Sophie nodded at her mirror images who shot her a scornful look before activating their movement technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    The clones holding the explosive devices vanished from the spot and appeared several hundred meters away.

    The leading mirror copy took in a deep breath and then began to jump up and down on the spot with enough force to send the sand flying.

    ¡°Come on you bastard! It¡¯s a free meal!¡± the mirror copy yelled as she began to m her fist into the ground.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    A massive body began to slither towards the sound and the mirror copy could not react before it was toote.

    A gigantic sixty-foot-tall worm-like abomination rose up from beneath the sand and swallowed her and her sisters whole.

    This was their chance!

    ¡°Activate the bombs and fire off your attacks!¡± Sophie yelled as she pulled small needles out of her pocket and flung them at the monster.

    The needles gleamed under the sunlight and Sophie used her qi to direct them towards the beast¡¯s flesh.

    Luna adjusted her sight and fired off several shots from her sma rifle. She made a series of secret hand gestures and ckie¡¯s middle head responded.

    The hellhound¡¯s three mouths opened wide, and mes began to gather inside their throats.

    ckie aimed at the worm and a series of fireballs flew out of his open maws and mmed into the monster¡¯s body.

    They were not the only ones to attack as the other students instantly responded to Sophie¡¯s orders and coordinated their assault.

    The girl with the whip-like deshed out her weapon and a burst of sword qi left the tip of her sword.

    Another Mendolesa boy held up a long bow and let loose a series of arrows so dense that they temporarily blocked out the sky.

    Lucas yed with a small trigger device in his right hand and waited for a few moments before pressing the raised button.

    A muffled boom could be heard from inside the worm as the monster let out a bloodcurdling screech of pain.

    The students¡¯ attacks mmed into the worm¡¯s pinkish- red flesh and easily prated its soft hide.

    The creature¡¯s enormous size made their attacks seem like mere mosquito bites but slowly but surely the wounds on its body were increasing.

    ckie¡¯s fireball attacks in particr were quite effective as they burned on the monster¡¯s body with no signs of stopping.

    This was due to the unique me of the hellhound.

    They were quite difficult to put out and were far more deadly than just ordinary fire.

    ¡°Good job everyone! Keep it up!¡± Sophie encouraged them as she dipped her needles into vials of poison.

    Poison Art- Needle Storm!

    Sophie flung the needles outwards and they split into multiple copies midflight each with an illusory tempest surrounding their metallic bodies.

    The needles prated the worm-like monster¡¯s fleshy exterior and this time its size no longer mattered.

    The toxins on the pointed tip of the needles entered the monster¡¯s system and began to insidiously travel towards its organs.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened as she allowed a faint crimson mist to begin to spread from the corners of her eyes.

    The beast thrashed around on the ground in agony as it temporarily lost control of its senses after experiencing so much pain.

    Should she try to take a risk?

    No¡­ there was no need¡­ at least not yet.

    ¡°Move onto the second round of attacks! Keep up the fire power and concentrate it on the same spot!¡± Sophie ordered firmly as she gestured towards the most damaged section.

    She threw the container full of her enhanced venom at one of the surviving mirror copies who caught it easily.

    It was time to finish this.

 Chapter 504: The Great Victory!

    <h4>Chapter 504: The Great Victory!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    A relentless barrage of sma rounds wasunched at the damaged section of the enormous worm-like monster.

    The beast screeched in agony as foul greenish blood burst out of its wounds and stained the desert sands.

    ¡°Keep up the offensive! Use all the firepower that you have left!¡± Sophiemanded as she led from the backlines.

    The hybrid girl flung needles after needle at the monster and their pointed tips sank into its fleshy exterior.

    Sophie closed her eyes and connected her qi to the toxins on the edge of the needles and manipted the poison to flow in a certain direction.

    Rather than attack all the organs at once it was better to concentrate on a singr organ to ensure aplete shutdown.

    ckie¡¯s three heads continued to gather mes within their throats and spit out massive fireballs that raised the temperature of the already scorching desert heat.

    The Quafes boy whispered something softly to hisbat pet and the tiny leech disappeared from his hand.

    Meanwhile the Mendolesa warrior holding the bow concentrated and a burst of qi erupted from his ws.

    The arrow nocked on his bowstring glowed a faint golden colour as he activated a technique using all of his strength.

    Bow Technique- Apollo¡¯s Strike!

    The arrow wasunched from his bow and flew towards the monster at a startling speed.

    The projectile moved so quickly that even Sophie had to narrow her eyes to see its movements.

    It entered the fleshy underbelly on the creature and tore open an enormous gash right below where its stomach should be.

    The worm-like monster let out an ear-piercing shriek that was so loud that several students¡¯ eardrums instantly ruptured.

    Blood leaked out of their ears as they were temporarily deafened. Sophie gritted her teeth in pain as her enhanced senses made the scream feel like torture.

    Fortunately, her eardrum instantly regenerated thanks to her healing factor so she was able to hear once more.

    The worm-like monster rolled on the ground several times before slowly raising its body upright to the sky.

    A section of its chest began to bulge and twist creepily as the beast wriggled and squirmed as if it were possessed.

    Something burst out of the bulge and a spray of greenish liquid fell on some unlucky mirror copies who were standing too close.

    Sophie¡¯s clones that were affected by the sudden attack did not even have any time to react before their bodies instantly dissolved.

    The tide of the battlefield had instantly changed but Sophie realised something important as she gestured for Luna to move back.

    The worm-like monster was desperate. Why else would it use an attack that would harm itself at the expense of hurting its enemies.

    Furthermore¡­ why wasn¡¯t it escaping back underground?

    Could it be that the toxins in its body were interfering with its nervous system?

    Sophie closed her eyes andmunicated with the mirror copy who held the ss container that was filled with her enhanced venom.

    [Run at the monster and jump into its stomach with the container.]

    The mirror copy sent back a mental image of herself giving Sophie the middle finger before breaking out into a mad dash.

    ¡°Move back! You don¡¯t want to get caught in the spray!¡± Sophie yelled loudly and gestured using her hands to signal a retreat.

    Some of the other students were still deaf so she had no choice but to use exaggerated movements to get them to listen.

    ckie¡¯s middle head gently picked up Luna and ced her on his back before running a few meters away.

    Sophie followed him closely while keeping a careful eye on the humanoid figure that was nearing the open wound on the worm-like monster¡¯s stomach.

    The mirror image narrowly dodged a spray of greenish liquid and then crouched down to gather momentum.

    With one powerful leap, she jumped into the air andnded on the monster¡¯s skin.

    Sophie¡¯s clone hung on for dear life as the creature began to shake furiously in an attempt to get her off its body.

    She used the de-like appendages on her back to dig into the monster¡¯s fleshy exterior and get a better grip.

    The mirror copy scuttled up the worm¡¯s body with movements that resembled a spider until she reached the open wound.

    Without a second of hesitation, the clone jumped into the wound while simultaneously unscrewing the top of the ss container.

    [Enjoy the painful memories!]

    Sophie furrowed her brows for a moment as she felt the sensation of her flesh melting away into a puddle of meat.

    She clenched her fist to regain control of her emotions and focused on the matter at hand. It was time to manipte the venom.

    Poison Art¡­.

    Huh?!

    Sophie stopped circting her qi and watched in amazement as the worm stiffened and then copsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

    It twitched once before remaining motionless. A few students fired a couple of shots at its body but there was no reaction.

    Did it die instantly after exposure to her venom?

    Sophie knew that her nds could enhance toxins but even she did not know that her ability had grown to be so powerful.

    ¡°Did we do it? Is the beast dead?¡± someone asked curiously as she nced at the body of the monster.

    ¡°Yeah, it should be dead,¡± Sophie calmly replied as she let out a hidden sigh of relief.

    The faint crimson mist that was slowly covering her golden eyes gradually faded away once the battle had ended.

    Cheers erupted from the surviving students as they nced at one another with expressions of triumph.

    No one had expected that they would actually be able to take down the sixty-foot-tall monster so their respect for Sophie grew considerably.

    The hybrid girl nced upwards and saw that the floating lines of text on the holographic projection had changed.

    The countdown to the end of the stage was now featured front and center on the screen and the time left was not much.

    [Time Remaining: Two hours¡­ One hour fifty-nine minutes¡­]

 Chapter 505: A Mysterious Offer

    <h4>Chapter 505: A Mysterious Offer</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Raised tform)

    ¡°Truly an impressive batch of freshmen,¡± Principal Malik smiled warmly as he continued to take notes on his tablet.

    He reviewed the footage from the previous fight in the desert biome and could not help but be impressed.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter had clearly inherited her father¡¯smanding skills.

    Leadership was something that was rarer than cultivation talent.

    It could not be taught, and effectivemanders needed to use both their intelligence and their ability to improvise ording to the situation.

    The giant worm-like monster was supposed to be an unsolvable trap that the students had to avoid once inside the desert biome and yet¡­

    It was killed.

    Sophie Peterlor¡¯s venom had left quite the impression on both students and teachers alike.

    Only Professor Macabre seemed unfazed by her prot¨¦g¨¦¡¯s skills and a proud smile shed across her face.

    The scarred professor yed with a small ss vial in her hand while muttering something under her breath.

    ¡°If shees in the top three¡­ I¡¯ll give me two of my favourite toxins¡­ no¡­ maybe she deserves three instead¡­¡± Professor Macabre whispered.

    Everyone on the raised tform could hear her words but no one wanted to antagonise one of the most dangerous women in the Federation.

    Even Sophie¡¯s impressive feat paled inparison to what Professor Macabre had done on a certain battlefield where she unleashed a toxin so potent that it wiped out two interster armies within hours.

    Principal Malik took a few steps away from the woman who was talking to herself and turned his attention back to the arena.

    The barrier had been casted over the training field once more as a new biome was being prepared.

    If he recalled correctly, it should be the grasnds biome that was next.

    It was the most popr choice since most students wanted the advantage of being on a t in.

    Well¡­ they were in for a nasty surprise.

    Principal Malik grinned as he slowly rubbed his paws together and chuckled. This year¡¯s battle ranking exam had far exceeded his expectations.

    There was a genuine chance that Zrudread University would be able to win the uing tournament against the other universities¡¯ representatives.

    He couldn¡¯t wait to brag about his victory to that stuck up old fool from As University who always talked nonstop about the quality of education in the human-controlled systems.

    ¡°I have automatically failed all the students who hung back and did nothing but follow Sophie around,¡± Instructor Selvon¡¯s cold voice suddenly spoke.

    The tough Mendolesa instructor drew arge ¡®X¡¯ on several profiles of students without hesitation.

    Usually, some points would be given for surviving until the end, but instructor simply gave them all a zero.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that bit harsh? They weren¡¯t going to pass on to the next round anyways¡­ why give them no points?¡± one of the assistants spoke up.

    ¡°If they had used techniques to conceal their location then I would have given them points for surviving,¡± Instructor Selvon exined calmly.

    ¡°But they didn¡¯t. They merely followed Sophie and survived due to mere chance. Luck is important on the battlefield, but it cannot be graded in a training exercise.¡±

    The assistant wanted to argue further but the cold gleam in Instructor Selvon¡¯s eyes made the words of protest die down in his throat.

    Principal Malik did not even bother to look up from his tablet because Instructor Selvon¡¯s reasoning while a bit extreme¡­ made sense.

    Rewarding the students who did not contribute would just encourage others to follow their example and flock to a strong individual to be protected.

    That wouldpletely defeat the purpose of the battle ranking exam.

    Zrudread University wanted their students to be able to survive on the battlefield without the assistance of others.

    The universe was a cold merciless ce and dangers lurked around every corner. The vastness of space was hard toprehend.

    Even the Earth Federation that epassed dozens of star systems in its empire was nothing more than a speck of dust on the grand cosmic scale.

    Principal Malik let out a heavy sigh as he saw an iing message appear on hismunicator.

    Unknown Number: [Have you considered our offer?]

    The principal cklisted the number directly and deleted the message from hismunicator.

    He turned to the nearest professor and began to engage in some light conversation but could not mask the troubled expression on his face.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Elite Student Housing Complex)

    (Mansion 456Y)

    ¡°Congrattions Sophie!¡± Cleo yelled happily as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and gave her a fierce kiss.

    ¡°I think you broke the record!¡±

    Sophie smiled lovingly at the princess who seemed to be more excited than her at the news that was on the university forum.

    With a total of two hundred and fifty points, Sophie¡¯s performance hadpletely overshadowed everyone else¡¯s so far.

    The clip of the worm-like monster¡¯s death had gone viral with over two million views and newments kept appearing under the video.

    She was now officially famous.

    Well¡­ at least a bit more famous with the general public.

    It was not like Duke Peterlor¡¯s hybrid daughter was someone who was not known among the noble society.

    ¡°Should we celebrate?¡± Sophie softly whispered as she reached into her storage ring and pulled out an expensive looking ss bottle.

    She walked towards the kitchen with Cleo still tightly in her arms since her girlfriend refused to let go.

    ¡°Come on babe¡­ let me get some cups,¡± Sophie teased as she ticked the sides of Cleo¡¯s stomach.

    The princess slid out from her arms and shot her girlfriend a fierce look that made Sophie¡¯s heart melt instantly.

    She could not resist leaning down and capturing Cleo¡¯s lips in a soft lingering kiss than seemed tost for hours.

    Cleo closed her eyes and focused on the steady beating of her heart that only got more rapid as the minutes passed.

    Eventually Sophie broke the kiss, and a thin thread of saliva connected the pair who stared at each other with passionate gazes.

    The hybrid girl turned away since she could not be sure if she would be able to control herself if she looked at Cleo for a bit longer.

    Her girlfriend still needed toplete the second stage so she would need to hold back and not tire her out.

    Sophie opened a drawer and took out two red cups with cute little animal pictures stered on their sides.

    She opened up the bottle of fruit wine and a sweet tangy smell filled the kitchen. Sophie poured the golden liquid inside the cups and handed one over to Cleo.

    ¡°Cheers babe! I¡¯ll be rooting for you,¡± Sophie raised up her cup and spoke.

 Chapter 506: The Experiments Will Continue...

    <h4>Chapter 506: The Experiments Will Continue¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

    ¡°Good morning¡­ how are you doing today?¡± a cold feminine voice echoed through a mostly empty room.

    Dr. Valenna stood in front of arge container that was reinforced with thick metalloid walls until it was virtually impossible to destroy.

    The head scientist yfully stroked the outer surface of the container and stared at the specimen inside with a look of almost fanatical worship.

    The alien inside the container was a humanoid creature with stic and stretchy skin that bore a striking resemnce to rubber.

    Yellowish scales covered certain parts of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder des.

    Some of the creature¡¯s yellowish scales were cracked and bled slightly whenever the Insectoid moved his limbs.

    Three bright pink eyes were located along its torso and there was a mysterious orifice near its posterior region.

    Scars could be seen along the alien¡¯s back and they resembled puncture wounds.

    Dr. Valenna waited patiently for a reply but did not receive one from the Insectoid who merely curled up in a fetal position.

    Although his appearance may seem defeated there was nothing inside his heart except hatred towards the humans who had captured and experimented on him.

    He was a member of the Serpentinea race!

    One of the four higher order Insectoid species in the empire and yet now he was nothing more than livestock to these two-legged abominations.

    A hoarse growl unconsciously leaked out from his throat, but Dr. Valenna merely smiled when she saw his reaction.

    She pressed a button near the left side of the container and soon a hissing sound could be hearding from the vent beneath.

    Thick purplish gas flowed out of the vent and entered the container.

    The alien fought desperately to stay conscious but gradually felt his vision fade away to darkness.

    Dr. Valenna put on a mask before opening the container and pulling out several syringes from herb coat pockets.

    She mercilessly drove their sharpened ends into the creature¡¯s skin and extracted the DNA samples that she needed for the uing experiment.

    When it was done, she closed the door to the container and locked it securely. The lead scientist powered on her wristmunicator and began to record her notes.

    ¡°The subject still appears to be hostile, but it can be contained quite easily as long as it continues to be fed a heavily medicated diet,¡± Dr. Valenna spoke quietly.

    ¡°Progress has been slow on the project but using the blood of a higher order Insectoid has produced some spectacr results.¡±

    ¡°While a viable hybrid has not been created yet¡­ it is only a matter of time before the perfect soldier will be born from the splicing of human DNA with insectoids.¡±

    ¡°The second round of human testing will begin tomorrow once another batch of products is brought from the outer regions.¡±

    The lead scientist stopped recording and pulled up the experiment results from the rest of her team members.

    She carefully reviewed the data and numerous future experiments and hypotheses shed across her mind within seconds.

    Dr. Valenna was a genius.

    There was a reason why she was chosen as the lead scientist on Project Rhat¡¯ets.

    But being a genius alone was not enough to satisfy the hungry nobles who were sponsoring her great work.

    They wanted results and especially now that thepetition for the throne had already begun in the dark.

    The doctor had no interest in paying any attention to politics but even she knew that the crowning of a new emperor or empress was a monumental affair.

    Cultivators lived for hundreds if not thousands of years so the ruler of the human part of the Earth Federation would have significant influence over the government for a very long time.

    Still¡­ those were merely distracting thoughts.

    Dr. Valenna tossed her musings to the back of her mind and walked out of the room without sparing a nce at the Insectoid who had just woken up.

    The Serpentinea growled hoarsely at the doctor¡¯s departing figure and swore darkly that he would rip that bitch from limb to limb.

    A hidden camera in the room carefully captured his threatening movements and connected to a video-feed that was on Dr. Valenna¡¯s personalputer.

    She would be foolish not to predict that her specimen would eventuallye to hate her.

    Dr. Valenna walked through an endlessbyrinth of metalloid corridors and side passageways while apanied by two heavily armed guards in white uniforms.

    The workers who crossed her path nodded respectfully or stood frozen in ce with expressions of terror shing across their faces.

    The lead scientist eventually arrived at arge, enclosed arena with an enormous pit that was ced in the center.

    Dozens of scientists were running around the edges of the pit looking down at what was below and taking notes.

    Dr. Valenna walked overzily and peered downward at hertest creation.

    The monster inside the pit was one of the first generation of Human- Serpentinea hybrids.

    He looked rtively like a normal human male, but multiple pink eyes had appeared across different parts of his body.

    His mouth had changed to be a massive maw with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth that gleamed under the artificial lighting.

    He was currently biting down on the flesh belonging to some unknown animal and the heavy metallic scent of blood filled the air.

    asionally the hybrid monster would tilt his head upwards and howl at the sky like some kind of mad dog.

    Dr. Valenna scowled as she stared at that failure. While he may look terrifying, that abomination was no stronger than someone in the qi spirit stage.

    In fact, one could argue that he may be even weaker since injuring the numerous eyes that covered his body would cause him great pain.

    The lead scientist stepped away from the pit and walked towards the gene-splicing facility while touching the samples of DNA in her pocket.

    Perhaps in the next round of testing instead of only using adults¡­

    She should start using children.

 Chapter 507: Cleoâ€™s Desire

    <h4>Chapter 507: Cleo¡¯s Desire</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    The sun was brightly shining as if weing the students in the arena to a fresh start and a bright new day.

    The second stage of the battle ranking exam was now mostly finished, and there were only two biomes left.

    Principal Malikzily rxed and chatted with the other professors on the raised tform as they stared at the students below.

    Cleo, Qiana and around fifteen other students were standing on a boat that was gently rocking from side to side.

    The boat sat in the middle of an artificial ocean with realistic waves and endless water that stretched out to the horizon.

    Roughly five kilometers away from their location was an archipgo of inds each with a different environment.

    Some had volcanoes that grumbled and rumbled as hotva flowed down from their open mouths.

    Others had vast dense forests with mysterious shadowy figures moving just out of sight of the students.

    There were grasnds, deserts and even swamps!

    This arena was truly a mesh of the other biomes and hence that was the reason why its difficulty rating fluctuated greatly.

    [Now Selecting Stage: Ind]

    [yers: 17]

    [Difficulty: Very Easy to Insane]

    Each student received a map on their wristmunicators with the danger rating of each ind in the archipgo.

    Points were allocated ording to the difficulty of the ind chosen and the performance of the students once theynded on its shores.

    There was a hidden objective on each ind that could only be cleared by a single student, so teamwork was not encouraged.

    In fact, this biome would probably be the mostpetitive so far since students had to race against each other in order to secure the objective.

    However, they were still forbidden from attacking each other so fighting between the students was pretty unlikely.

    Cleo considered each choice carefully before deciding on a tiny ind towards the northeastern side of the chain.

    Its danger rating was ¡®Medium¡¯.

    Cleo nned to gradually explore the more difficult sections, but it was important to secure points first and foremost.

    The princess gently massaged her temples and a sweet smile shed across her face when she recalled Sophie¡¯s passionate kiss of good luck.

    In fact, her lips still felt as though they were tingling slightly.

    Cleo knew that without her mech she would be at a significant disadvantage, but she was not helpless.

    Mental force was a mysterious power, and few could effectively mount a defense against an attack that struck the mind.

    Cleo closed her eyes and extended her senses outwards.

    She could feel the mental force in her mind manifest as fragile threads that wrapped around her body.

    She could manipte those threads to enter the minds of the numerous psyches surrounding her body but held herself back.

    Attacks on other students were forbidden and Cleo did not intend to break the rules.

    ¡°What ind did you pick?¡± a soft voice asked calmly.

    Qiana walked over and adjusted her sses as she yed with a de in her right palm.

    ¡°I was thinking of this one¡­¡± Cleo replied gently as she pointed to a certain ind.

    Qiana hummed softly and the de in her hand moved faster and faster until it was as though the weapon was dancing at her fingertips.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that this biome does not allow us to team up,¡± Qiana noted as she let out a heavy sigh of disappointment.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ but don¡¯t worry¡­ I¡¯m sure that we will both pass,¡± Cleo replied confidently as she ced her arm around Qiana¡¯s shoulders.

    The girls chatted for a few minutes until Qiana waved goodbye and headed for the opposite side of the boat.

    The boat briefly trembled, and an electromaic pulse was emitted from the metallic transmitter attached to the mast.

    Numerous smaller ships emerged from the ocean and headed for the boat.

    Each contained automatic navigation systems so the students only had to input their desired location and the boat would transport them.

    Cleo waved at Qiana and gave her a thumbs up before confidently jumping off the boat andnding on the nearest ship.

    The students from the elite ss were the first to react since they realised that gaining a head start would provide a huge advantage.

    Cleo quickly inputted the coordinates for the ind that she had chosen, and the ship set off at a brisk pace.

    She turned around and saw other students quickly jump down from the boat as well but not everyone was as fortunate as she was tond smoothly.

    Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!

    Several bodies fell into the water and one particrly unlucky student banged his head against the side of the ship as hended.

    Cleo couldn¡¯t see which ship Qiana had jumped on but assumed her friend was already on her way to whichever ind she had selected.

    The princess closed her eyes and waited patiently as the ship continued its journey in a northeastern direction.

    It was honestly quite the pleasant experience.

    The ship was outfitted with a single wooden bench with afortable mattress ced on top of it.

    Cleo was even tempted to take a nap. Clearly the instructors had kept the students¡¯fort in mind when designing their sea faring vessels.

    The journey to the ind was rtively smooth since no hidden sea monsters or deadly leviathans emerged from the calm ocean.

    Clearly the only challenge would be the ind itself.

    There was a faint humming sound and Cleo opened her eyes as she heard some noises in the distance.

    She turned around and saw four other boats heading in the same direction as her. They were a fair distance away, but a frown appeared on Cleo¡¯s face.

    She didn¡¯t know that the ind she had chosen was such a popr choice¡­

    Cleo yed with her fingers as a fiercepetitive spirit burned inside her. Sophie had wowed and impressed everyone with her skills, and she could not fall behind.

    This time the princess was determined to reach number one and let the whole university know what a power couple they were.

 Chapter 508: The Epic Quest Begins!

    <h4>Chapter 508: The Epic Quest Begins!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°Come on¡­ go a bit faster¡­¡± Cleo muttered softly as she nced back and saw the four other boats maintain their pursuit.

    The ind in front of her was getting closer and closer and its white sandy beach looked quite inviting.

    Most of the ind was covered in a dense tropical forest and there was arge volcano in the center of the ind that appeared to be dormant.

    The boat stopped around two hundred meters from the shore so without hesitation Cleo jumped into the water.

    The ocean was quite warm, so the princess actually enjoyed her brief swim since it had been a long time since she had gone to the beach.

    She reached the shore quickly and took a cautious look at her immediate surroundings for anything suspicious.

    The difficulty rating of the ind that she had chosen was ¡®Medium¡¯ but who knows what could be lurking inside the dense jungle terrain.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± a soft voice called out.

    The bushes in front of her shifted slightly and arge android man walked out from behind the shrubbery.

    He wore a casual white shirt and a pair of boxer shorts with a pair of ck sunsses on his forehead.

    The android waved at Cleo cheerfully and headed towards her.

    ¡°Can you please help me? My daughter has been kidnapped by the fearsome N¡¯grean tribe and I need your assistance,¡± the android pleaded desperately.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Cleo¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed twice, and a few messages appeared in her inbox.

    [Hidden Objective Found!]

    [Rescue The Missing Girl Or Defeat The N¡¯grean Tribe]

    [Difficulty: Medium]

    This was quite different to the previous second stage rounds, but Cleo enjoyed the prospect of a challenge.

    Clearly the professor in charge of the ind biome stage was fond of videogames because this seemed exactly like a quest.

    ¡°Sure¡­ but what can you tell me about the N¡¯grean tribe?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she tried to probe for more information.

    ¡°They are terrible!¡± the android cried out as he used his metallic hands to cover his face.

    The sounds of hoarse human-like crying came from the voice box attached to the bottom of his neck.

    ¡°My poor daughter¡­ she was taken away by those bastards! I will never forgive them for deceiving her!¡± the android man yelled furiously.

    He continued to rant for several minutes about the longstanding blood feud between himself and the N¡¯grean tribe.

    What made Cleo feel a bit frustrated was the fact that despite rambling on for so long¡­

    The android did not provide even a hint of useful information.

    Whenever she brought up questions about the N¡¯grean tribe¡¯s physical characteristics orbat abilities, the android man wouldpletely ignore them.

    Cleo rubbed her temples and took in a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down. At least she had some idea about the clear condition.

    She had the choice to either defeat the tribe or rescue the missing girl. Cleo heard footsteps and turned around to see four other students walking towards her location.

    Three of them were Mendolesa warriors while the fourth was a human girl who was holding a golden pocket watch.

    Cleo had never seen that girl before but there was something about her watch that made her feel a bit uneasy.

    She quickly left the scene and the android man stopped talking and turned his attention to the iing students.

    ¡°Can you please help me? My daughter has been kidnapped by the fearsome N¡¯grean tribe and I need your assistance,¡± the android spoke the familiar request.

    Cleo wandered into the jungle and decided to use her mental force to scan the surrounding area for any clues.

    She closed her eyes and concentrated. Mental threads left her mind and spread out in all different directions.

    These mental threads stretched outwards and covered a distance of around five hundred meters.

    It was not much but Cleo did not want to overexert herself and waste her mental force.

    She could see an image of the ind in her mind that was almost as clear as if she saw it with her own eyes.

    Strange thoughts that did not belong to her flowed into her mind. Cleo furrowed her brows as she heard the thoughts of the other students.

    (Where did she go? Fuck¡­ why is this stupid machine not saying anything useful!)

    (She clearly got a head start¡­ I¡¯m going to try to follow her)

    (This request¡­ should I team up and betray themter?)

    Cleo ignored their voices and focused on sweeping the area ahead for any members of the N¡¯grean tribe.

    She waited patiently for over two minutes but not a single thought could be found. There were only two exnations for this.

    The first was that there was no tribe, and the robot was lying but that made no sense.

    The second and more reasonable assumption was that the tribe and the android¡¯s daughter were machines so Cleo¡¯s mental force could not affect them.

    The princess opened her eyes and reached inside her storage bag for a sma rifle. Her marksmanship skills were decent, and a rifle would be enough to protect her from most threats.

    With no clue about where to go next, Cleo decided to pick a random direction and head deeper inside the ind.

    She left one of her mental threads in the minds of the other students in order to eavesdrop on their thoughts.

    If they found the tribe first, then she would know.

    It was a bit underhanded, but this was apetition and one needed to use all the skills that they possessed.

    Cleo wandered through the jungle and had to constantly clear the thick vines that blocked her path.

    The forest was a natural environment that did not appear to have ever been disturbed before, so it was quite difficult to traverse.

    Cleo wiped some sweat off her brow with a handkerchief as the temperature suddenly rose to an unbearable level.

    She had gotten a bit closer to the massive volcano in the center of the ind and now the soil beneath her feet was an ashy ck colour.

    Wisps of steam could be seen gently floating upwards from the mouth of the volcano and the temperature continued to rise.

    Cleo leaned against a nearby tree and took a small sip of water. She looked at the floating holographic screen and saw that the leaderboard was still empty.

    No one hadpleted a hidden objective yet¡­ not even the students who had chosen the easier inds.

    The princess was about to continue her search when a sudden noise attracted her attention. She quickly hid behind the tree and stared in the direction of the noise.

    Arge hole opened up in the ground near the side of the volcano and two small figures left the entrance.

    They were around two feet in height and wore oversized brown cloaks that concealed most of their physical features.

    Short swords were attached to their hips and beneath their cloaks were suits of armour that resembled what medieval knights on ancient Earth used to wear.

    The hole instantly closed as soon as they left as the entrance and once againpletely blended in with the scenery.

    Cleo¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she saw the strange sight. She adjusted the aim of her sma rifle and pointed it at the figure on the left.

    Bang!

    A shot from her rifle instantly prated its left leg and caused the creature to fall to the ground with a heavy thud.

 Chapter 509: Current Objective: Survive!

    <h4>Chapter 509: Current Objective: Survive!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Cleo emerged from the bushes and slowly approached the creatures with her rifle pointed directly at them.

    The tiny figure kneeled down and gripped his left leg in pain since Cleo¡¯s shot had directly struck him.

    ¡°Wretched foe you have shot my friend!¡± the other creature yelled as he saw Cleo approach from the distance.

    He hopped up and down in rage and the words that flowed out of his mouth were all in rhyme.

    ¡°You better watch out because violence will be your end!¡±

    ¡°Those who face our tribe better hide¡­ because they have all died!¡±

    ¡°Your foolish actions¡­ you have no idea what you¡¯ve done¡­¡±

    ¡°On this ind we are the number one!¡±

    The creature tore off his brown cloak to reveal a diminutive body that was covered by a heavy suit of medieval armour.

    The armour was a bright white colour and there was a symbol of a volcano painted in the center of the breastte.

    ¡°You cowardly foe¡­ you better beware. It is time for a duel, so you best be prepared!¡± the creature roared in fury.

    He unsheathed his dagger and ran at Cleo with fury burning in his eyes. He did not get far before Cleo fire a shot at his leg.

    Bang!

    The creature crashed to the ground and cried out in pain. Cleo narrowed her eyes as she observed a metallic endoskeleton beneath the torn off flesh.

    The creature opened his mouth once more but this time instead of rhymes what came out was¡­ a bit more colourful.

    ¡°Holy fucking shit! You shot off my fucking leg! You coward! Don¡¯t you know that a duel is meant to be done with swords?!¡± the creature hollered in anger.

    ¡°Fuck! Do you know how long it takes to mend an injury like this? Are you going to provide me with anypensation?¡±

    ¡°My life insurance is going to go up for sure! Do you think that I can afford increased premiums in this economy?!¡±

    Tears ran down the creature¡¯s eyes as it rolled on the ground and sobbed with its entire frame shaking uncontrobly.

    Cleo lowered her sma rifle and the creature¡¯s demeaner instantly changed. The crying noises immediately stopped, and he flung several metalloid discs at the princess.

    Cleo jumped backwards just as the discsnded on the ground in front of her.

    BOOM!

    An enormous explosion erupted from the discs that sent rocks and dirty flying into the air. Cleo covered her face and narrowly avoided a chunk of rock that was shot in her direction.

    Oh, that clever little¡­.

    Cleo waited for the dust to clear before finishing off both of the creatures with two quick shots from her rifle.

    She had a serious look on her face as she stared at the enormous crater created from the explosion.

    The creatures themselves may not be a threat but it was clear that they had both cunning and possession of dangerous weapons.

    It was quite thebination.

    This challenge was already far trickier than Cleo had initially anticipated and the fact that the enemies on the ind were machines meant that she was faced with a handicap.

    None of her mental abilities would work on them and she was not allowed to attack the other students.

    Cleo slowly walked towards the spot where a hole had opened up in the ground and reached into her storage bag.

    She pulled out three explosive devices and set them an equal distance apart.

    She yed with the trigger device in her left hand and moved to a safe distance away.

    ¡°Three¡­ two¡­ one¡­¡± Cleo silently muttered as she pressed the red button on the trigger.

    BOOM!

    The enormous hole reappeared once more and this time dozens if not hundreds of the brown cloaked figures rushed outside.

    They got into a straight-line formation and stared at Cleo with bemused expressions.

    Cleo readied her sma rifle and prepared for the uing fight when someone walked out of the hole.

    She was a female android with long silvery hair and a slender physique.

    She wore a simple grass skirt and a pair of oversized ck sunsses that loosely hung on her face.

    ¡°Did my daddy send you to find me?¡± the android asked sweetly.

    ¡°Yes¡­ he told me¡­ to rescue you¡­¡± Cleo replied hesitantly as she clearly realised that the situation was a bit different than what she initially anticipated.

    The android man¡¯s daughter did not look like a prisoner and in fact she appeared to be quite friendly with the N¡¯grean tribe.

    ¡°Urgh! I told him not to send anymore bounty hunters after me!¡± the female android stomped her feet in rage.

    ¡°He never listens! I told him that I don¡¯t want to take over the family business¡­ I want to be a queen and rule over my people!¡±

    ¡°Do you know what it feels like to be a ruler?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ not really,¡± Cleo spoke after thinking for a moment.

    She was princess but she was only one of thousands of heirs to the throne, so it was not like she had any significant chance to be the next sessor.

    ¡°To be a queen is to hold life and death in the palm of your hand¡­ for the decisions you make to affect the livelihoods of all the subjects you control¡­¡± the female android whispered darkly.

    ¡°That power¡­ it is addicting¡­ one cannot help but desire more¡­ tell me¡­ do you want to be my subject as well?¡±

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Cleo¡¯s wristmunicator vibrated twice, and a few new messages appeared in her inbox.

    A knowing smile shed across the female android¡¯s face as she watched the princess read the messages.

    [Hidden Objective Found!]

    [A New Choice Is Offered!]

    [Pledge Allegiance To The Queen]

    [Difficulty: Easy]

    This stage was truly unique, and Cleo did not expect that the hidden objective could change depending on the actions of the NPCs.

    The difficulty of this new mission was only easy so the points granted would be considerably less than what the android man had offered.

    And there was an even more important reason why Cleo was hesitant to follow the android queen¡¯s wishes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I take my loyalty very seriously so I cannot pledge myself to someone who I don¡¯t know,¡± Cleo politely refused.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the android queen stared at her with a cold glint in her robotic eyes.

    ¡°Very well then¡­¡± she hoarsely growled with a slight tremor in her voice.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Cleo nced down at her wristmunicator and her expression instantly changed as she read the messages.

    [Hidden Objective Found!]

    [Survive The Wrath Of The Queen]

    [Difficulty: Hard]

 Chapter 510: An Unexpected Plan

    <h4>Chapter 510: An Unexpected n</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Loud explosions erupted nearby but Cleo refused to look behind her since she knew that her enemies were closing in.

    There was a reason why this new quest was ssified as ¡®hard¡¯.

    Cleo could not count the number of times that she had narrowly escaped from the N¡¯grean tribe who were now hunting her down like she was prey.

    The princess jumped forward just as a metalloid dided where she had been running just a moment ago.

    BOOM!

    A fiery explosion erupted from the disc and Cleo felt a wave of heat m against her back.

    Her body flew forward under the impact of the explosion, and she mmed against a nearby tree.

    Cleo groaned in pain as she heard a cracking sound. One of her ribs had either broken or been significantly damaged.

    She fumbled around in her storage bag and pulled out a syringe that was filled with a greenish liquid.

    Cleo injected the healing serum into her body and bit her hand to prevent herself from screaming as her ribs gradually shifted back into ce.

    She could hear the sounds of footsteps. The android queen was not happy that she had declined her offer to be her subject.

    But Cleo was never going to kneel.

    A cold glint shed across the princess¡¯ eyes as she picked up her sma rifle and aimed it at the direction of the sound.

    She was unable to use any mental techniques on the N¡¯grean tribe since they were machines, but she was not powerless.

    Desperate times called for desperate measures, so Cleo did something that was quite unthinkable¡­

    She closed her eyes.

    Cleo¡¯s world turnedpletely ck but there was not a trace of panic on her face.

    She focused on her breathing and extended the mental threads inside her mind outwards.

    Cleo manipted her mental force and soon a map appeared in her mind of the surrounding area, this map included seven suspiciously quiet spots that were slowly moving towards her.

    The princess adjusted her sma rifle while her eyes were still closed and trusted her body to respond to the mental images flowing into her mind.

    She carefully lined up her weapon and ced her finger on the trigger.

    The world waspletely silent as if all the sounds had disappeared.

    In that moment Cleo only focused on the shots that she needed to make. Everything else was merely a distraction.

    ¡°Not yet¡­ not yet¡­ one¡­ one more¡­ moment¡­¡± Cleo muttered quietly to herself as she remained frozen in ce.

    The leading figure stepped on a twig only a few hundred meters away and that was the signal that Cleo had been waiting for.

    Bang!

    Cleo pressed the trigger repeatedly and seven shots were fired off at her pursuers. Each shotnded in the center of their skulls with pinpoint uracy.

    The princess mercilessly executed every single one of the android queen¡¯s subjects and a quiet smile shed across her face.

    Cleo opened her eyes and resumed her journey to the beach. Her current objective was merely to survive so escaping from the ind should fulfil that condition.

    She walked through the dense jungle while keeping a careful eye on her surroundings for any hidden threats.

    The dense vines wrapped around the trees slowly moved as Cleo approached and some of the braver ones even attempted to strike at her body.

    Cleo easily dodged to the left and avoided the vines.

    These vines were a bit strange¡­ they were a greenish colour and somehow possessed tiny mouths filled with razor sharp teeth.

    She had been walking through the jungle for several minutes and aside from the asional vine attack, the journey had been rtively uneventful.

    This lull in action did not rx Cleo¡¯s vignce but instead made her even more wary.

    There was no way that a ¡®hard¡¯ difficulty rated quest would not have more challenges ahead.

    Still as the minutes passed¡­ Cleo still saw nothing out of the ordinary as if this jungle was merely a picturesque and natural ce.

    Even the vines no longer bothered her as she walked past them.

    Eventually the beach came within view on the horizon and Cleo could not resist moving forward a bit faster.

    BOOM!

    The princess quickly halted as the area in front of her erupted suddenly and arge clump of dirt flew into the air.

    Cleo watched in shock as a hole opened up in the ground and dozens of cloaked figures emerged from the hole and formed a neat line formation.

    ¡°Stop right there! Don¡¯t attempt to escape your fate!¡± the creature in the front yelled confidentially as he pulled out a short sword.

    ¡°Today will be your death date!

    ¡°You have made our queen unhappy for your actions are a disgrace!¡± another chimed in with a sneer on his face.

    ¡°Now we will show you the fury of our race!¡±

    Cleo quickly reacted and moved back to create some distance between herself and the cloaked figures.

    She pointed her sma rifle at the N¡¯grean tribesmen and fired off a round of shots at their location.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    One of the creatures stepped forward and shouted iprehensible words in anguage that she could not understand.

    He raised up his right hand and a glowing shield appeared on his wrist. This shield suddenly extended and created arge barrier.

    Cleo¡¯s shotsnded in the barrier and were quietly absorbed.

    The creatures grinned triumphantly at her with smug expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Silly human. Our queen has gifted us with the means to defend,¡± the shield bearer yelled pridefully.

    ¡°You do not want to face us in an honest duel¡­. then prepare to meet your end!¡±

    Cleo was irritated by the constant rhyming but that wasn¡¯t her biggest concern at the moment.

    How was it possible that the android queen had made countermeasures so quickly?

    If she possessed that shield the entire time, then why wait to use it now?

    Something wasn¡¯t adding up¡­

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    From behind the rtive safety of the barrier, the creatures kept lobbing their explosive devices at the princess who was forced to dodge awkwardly to avoid them.

    Cleo scowled fiercely as she shot a hateful look at the figures in brown cloaks who were hiding like rats behind a shield.

    No¡­ now was not the time to let her emotions get the best of her¡­

    Cleo¡¯s mind quickly raced as she thought about possible countermeasures and ns to deal with this unexpected danger.

    She had to make a decision quickly because Cleo had the sneaking suspicion that the longer, she waited¡­ the more disadvantageous the situation would be.

    Wait¡­ that was it!

    A sudden n shed across her mind and for the first time since the exam had begun, a genuine smile spread across the princess¡¯ lips.

 Chapter 511: Quest Completed!

    <h4>Chapter 511: Quest Completed!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Cleo continued to jump and move around unpredictably as the hooded figures flung explosive devices in her direction.

    Large areas of the forest were instantly destroyed in the fiery explosions and the once lush greenery had now be ckened and burnt.

    The princess stared at the barrier shield as a thought shed across her mind.

    She had never attempted something like this before but there was a first time for everything.

    Mental force could be used to manipte objects in the real world. It was known as telekinesis and Cleo was decently proficient at using her mental force to pick up small objects.

    What if she controlled the sma shots that came out of her rifle?

    Cleo narrowed her eyes as she began to gather up the mental force inside her mind.

    It was quite the difficult task.

    She had to constantly avoid the iing attacks while ignoring the thunderous booms that were produced from the explosions.

    Sophie¡¯s face shed across Cleo¡¯s mind, and she felt a sudden burst of determination to implement her risky n.

    The princess took in a few deep breaths and lined up her rifle above the top of the barrier shield. Her finger gently stroked the trigger before she pulled it with a soft touch.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three sma rounds were fired off from the tip of her rifle and flew slightly above the enormous barrier.

    Cleo concentrated and felt a sudden burst of pain in her temples as she wasted a decent chunk of her mental force.

    The three bullets flew in a straight line above the shield before plunging downwards at a ny degrees angle and striking the creature who controlled the device.

    The N¡¯grean tribesmen could not believe what had just happened and were only able to look at each other with expressions of shock as the barrier disappeared.

    Cleo was not going to waste this opportunity and her finger continued to mercilessly press the trigger.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Each of her shots were subtly guided by her mental force and struck the creatures in the middle of their foreheads.

    They copsed on the ground one after the other and soon the forest returned to its peaceful atmosphere.

    Well except for the fires that were currently raging in the background.

    Cleo wiped a few beads of sweat from her brow and staggered towards a nearby tree where she took a short two-minute break to recover her strength.

    She had to keep moving since the quest wasn¡¯t over yet.

    Cleo nced up at the leaderboard and saw that Qiana had alreadypletely a medium difficulty quest.

    She was in first ce and was joined by a handful of students who had justpleted easy difficulty quests.

    Cleo forced her body to move forward, and she walked through the jungle with a steely glint of determination in her eyes.

    First ce was hers¡­

    It was fortunate that she had chosen to wear a battlesuit to the arena since the vines in her path were covered in thick spiky thorns.

    Cleo trekked through the forest and eventually returned to the beach where the robotic android man was still standing.

    ¡°Did you rescue my daughter from that wretched tribe?¡± the android man hurriedly asked as he rushed over.

    ¡°No¡­ your daughter didn¡¯t need rescuing¡­ she is their queen and from what I saw¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure that she is their beloved ruler,¡± Cleo hesitantly replied.

    The android man froze in ce and an expression of rage shed across his metalloid face as he stared at Cleo.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you fulfil my request?! I thought that I gave you an assignment toplete,¡± he roared in anger.

    Cleo was toozy to care about his reaction and simply ignored him as she ran towards the sea and jumped into the water.

    The android man trembled in fury and stretched out his right arm. His hand was transformed into a miniature sma cannon which he then aimed that the figure of the princess.

    BOOM!

    An enormous wave of blue light flew towards Cleo at a frightening speed.

    She quickly ducked beneath the waves and barely avoided the beam as it passed mere inches away from her head.

    A qi tide cultivator was able to hold their breath for hours at a time, so Cleo decided to stay underwater and swam for around ten minutes in a northern direction.

    She resurfaced once she saw the faint outline of her boat above the waves. The princess hurriedly climbed into the sea faring vessel and the boat hummed to life.

    The boat began to sail away from the ind and the android man¡¯s energy attacks could no longer reach Cleo from that distance.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Cleo¡¯s wristmunicator vibrated, and she saw that a notification had appeared in her inbox with details about her current quest.

    [Hidden Objective: Survive The Wrath Of The Queen]

    [Difficulty: Hard]

    [Quest Status: Completed!]

    The lines of text that appeared on the floating holographic screen above the arena changed and now Cleo was in first ce.

    The princess smiled proudly when she saw her ranking but knew that there was still quite a bit of time left.

    Every student had been given a map of the archipgo on their wristmunicators, so Cleo pondered her next destination.

    Her original n was to try an ind that was ssified as ¡®insane¡¯ but afterpleting a hard difficulty quest, she decided to take a small break to recover her mental strength.

    Cleo browsed the list of inds and finally found one that was not too far away from her current location.

    It was an ind with a tundra biome and an enormous mountain range with snow capped peaks.

    The difficult was only medium so hopefully it would this would be a much easier experience than herst quest.

    Cleo checked the coordinates on the map and inputted them exactly into the boat¡¯s navigation system.

    The boat sailed automatically as Cleo looked forward to her next adventure.

    The NPCs had been quite unique so far and it was exciting to know that the decisions she made on the inds would affect the kind of quest that she would be offered.

 Chapter 512: Celebration Time

    <h4>Chapter 512: Celebration Time</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (The Jolly w¡¯s Bar and Restaurant)

    ¡°Bring another drink!¡± Sophie yelled happily as she mmed an empty ss against the wooden table.

    The bar waitress walked over with arge pitcher of yellowish-green liquid which she delicately poured into the ss.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Sophie smiled sweetly at the waitress before turning her attention back to her friends.

    Qiana and Astrid were currently leaning on each other¡¯s shoulders while taking small sips from their sses while Cleo was yawning sleepily.

    ¡°Shall we have a toast?¡± Sophie raised up her drink and spoke with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Astrid replied in excitement as her paw curled up against her ss.

    She followed Sophie¡¯s movements and also held up her drink.

    Qiana and Cleo were infected by the jovial atmosphere and exchanged looks of resignation before following Astrid¡¯s lead.

    ¡°To passing the second round! Congrattions everyone!¡± Sophie cheered happily as she toasted to their victories.

    Only two hundred students passed the second round, and those students would be members of the elite ss for second year.

    The final round of the battle ranking exam was merely to determine the individual ranking of the elite ss students.

    Principal Malik also informed them that the top students would be selected to represent Zrudread University at the inter-University fighting tournament.

    It did sound like an exciting prospect.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t wait to see Rachel again and it would be fun topete against her university.

    ¡°Did they release any details about the third round?¡± Qiana asked softly as she gently held and yed with Astrid¡¯s right paw.

    ¡°Well¡­ there are a few rumors flying across the university forums, but no one seems to know for sure,¡± Cleo replied as she opened up her wristmunicator and started browsing.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably just going to be a fight to see who is strongest or something like that?¡± Astrid suggested as she beckoned for the waitress to refill her ss.

    ¡°Not necessarily¡­ I mean there were a few previous years where the students did not have topete directly against each other,¡± Cleo replied with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Babe¡­ don¡¯t wrinkle your gorgeous face,¡± Sophie pouted in mock anger as she lightly brushed her fingers against Cleo¡¯s forehead.

    She leaned in closer in nted a soft kiss on her girlfriend¡¯s cheeks that lingered for a bit longer than necessary.

    There would be a short five-day rest period before the third round started so Sophie was looking forward to returning to their mansion tonight.

    Cleo sensed her girlfriend¡¯s excited mood through the bond and shot her warning look to behave in public.

    Sophie grinned teasingly and one of her hands dropped below the table to y with Cleo¡¯s soft legs.

    She didn¡¯t dare go further but enjoyed seeing the faint reddish blush appear on the princess¡¯ beautiful face.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe that youpleted an ¡®Insane¡¯ difficulty quest,¡± Cleo brushed away Sophie¡¯s naughty hand and turned her attention to Qiana.

    ¡°It was a bit of a miscalction on my part,¡± Qiana freely admitted as she stared off into the distance.

    ¡°How was I supposed to know that epting a request to retrieve a lost treasure and then taking it for myself would unlock that hidden quest!¡±

    ¡°The original goal was simply to find the treasure and then describe it to the people on the ind! They never said that I couldn¡¯t take it!¡±

    Loudughter erupted from their table as Sophie pulled up the video clips of Qiana desperately running around the ind while a pack of hyena-like monsters chased her down.

    Still, it was impressive that she managed to use her darkness ability to iste them in small groups and slowly take them out.

    ¡°Every time I see your ability¡­ it gets even scarier,¡± Sophie confessed as pretended to be absolutely terrified.

    ¡°Oh please¡­ I don¡¯t want to hear that from a girl whose venom killed a monster that was the size of a skyscraper,¡± Qiana fired back with a light smile.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Sophie conceded the battle of words and took another sip.

    The sweet aftertaste of her drink lingered in her mouth as she swallowed the wine.

    The mixture that she was currently drinking was called ¡®Liquid Luck¡¯ and it was blend made from fruit wine and certain spices found on a in the outer regions.

    It was quite expensive, but Sophie decided to treat her friends since she was in a celebratory mood.

    Her months of hard work had finally paid off.

    She had spent hours upon hours every day desperately studying and practising her cultivation techniques in order to stay in the same year group as her friends.

    And she had done it.

    Sophie opened up hermunicator and sent a quick message to Dr. Reynolds to thank him for his support.

    She didn¡¯t receive a reply, but it was probably around midnight in his time zone, so it made sense that he was asleep or resting.

    Oh wait¡­ she had almost forgotten!

    Sophie: [Dad! I passed the second round! I¡¯m still in the elite ss!]

    Dad: [Sweetheart that¡¯s amazing! The gifts that I sent you should arrive tomorrow so pick them up whenever you are free.]

    Sophie: [Gifts? But dad I only got the results a few hours ago¡­]

    Dad: [I always had faith in my little girl!]

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s proud words made Sophie¡¯s heart feel warm. She repeatedly thanked her father and talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.

    What Sophie didn¡¯t know was that the principal was constantly sending her father updates about her current situation, so he actually found out before her that she had passed the second round.

    ¡°Do you all have any ns for the summer?¡± Astrid asked casually.

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh and then replied with a small trace of irritation hidden in her usually calm gaze,

    ¡°I will be working with my uncle to manage a small lunar colony¡­ it¡¯s part of my training to take over as the next heir to House Abazin.¡±

    ¡°Nothing like spending a few months in some backwater region of space with no amenities or decent living arrangements¡­¡±

    ¡°Sounds pretty rough,¡± Sophie joined in the conversation with an expression of sympathy on her face.

    ¡°Now I feel bad to mention that Cleo and I will be spending a few weeks sight seeing across the Sirius Star System in an all-inclusive trip¡­¡±

    ¡°We are?¡± Cleo replied in shock.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ it was meant to be a surprise¡­ err¡­ pretend that you didn¡¯t hear,¡± Sophie hurriedly spoke as she rested a hand on her forehead.

    Cleo giggled at her silly girlfriend and leaned in to press her lips against Sophie¡¯s. The pair seemed to be lost in their own small world.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Cleo hoarsely whispered as she looked at Sophie with deep affection in her eyes.

 Chapter 513: The Crown Prince Feels A Bit Strange...

    <h4>Chapter 513: The Crown Prince Feels A Bit Strange¡­</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Meri¡¯an)

    (Secret Location- Private Estate Of The Crown Prince)

    An opulent mansion had been built on top of a vast mountain range. This entire was the property of the crown prince and had been purchased at an enormous cost.

    It was located in the center of the Alpha Star System and was not far from an interster warp gate that led to the various regions of the gxy.

    Prince Theseus wandered through the halls of his estate in his daze.

    The servants in his path politely bowed with great respect in their hearts as they saw their master.

    He was a rtively handsome young man who had inherited his good looks from his mother who was a business genius and the chairman of the Luna Financial Corporation.

    Wealth was the one thing that the crown prince did notck but that was not his most valuable asset.

    His cultivation talent was rank S and there were few among his peers who could match his skill in battle.

    The crown prince barely acknowledged his servants as he felt as though his mind had been trapped in white foggy haze over thest few months.

    asionally he would get strange memories inside his mind that seemed real and like a dream at the same time.

    He could faintly recall making alliances with several noble houses and factions, but it was as though someone or something else was speaking through his body.

    Today was a rare day without any meetings so the crown prince decided to visit his garden to clear his mind.

    He slowly walked out of his mansion and headed towards the flower garden that was in full bloom.

    Gorgeous flowers of every colour swayed gently in the wind and the sweet scent of honey filled the air.

    Prince Theseus sat on a nearby bench and ran his fingers through his curly ck hair. Maybe it was the stress that was getting to him¡­

    As the person most likely to seed thete Emperor Sisrelis, there were numerous forces both open and secret who were staring at him.

    He had lost count of the number of assassins who infiltrated his mansion after the first dozen or so were executed.

    Clearly there were many who would rather their own puppets be the next leader of the human empire than him.

    Prince Theseus let out a heavy sigh as he absentmindedly waved his hand in a certain direction and a de of wind erupted from his fingertips.

    An invisible killer who was hiding in the bushes a few feet away was immediately bisected in half and his corpse fell to the ground motionless.

    The crown prince ced two fingers to his lips and blew gently. Heavily armed men emerged from the shadows and dragged the body of the killer away.

    Prince Theseus frowned as the scent of blood tainted the holy sanctity of his private garden.

    He was about to summon his personal guards once more when an unexpected visitor arrived.

    The air behind the crown prince shimmered and a mysterious man walked out from behind the veil.

    This person bore an eerily striking resemnce to thete emperor and possessed a charm and beauty that seemed almost unnatural.

    His beauty was both feminine and masculine.

    He wore a ck cloak around his body that was adorned with golden threads.

    ¡°Brother¡­ I¡¯vee to deliver your Kry¡¯en crystals,¡± the man whispered lovingly as he stretched out his palm to reveal several ruby-like gems.

    The crown prince vaguely felt that something was wrong, but his body moved automatically as if he was no longer the one in control.

    He stood up from the bench and reached for the crystals in his brother¡¯s palm. The warm sensation of the jewels in his hand was an intoxicating feeling.

    The Kry¡¯en crystals instantly melted, and the reddish liquid was quickly absorbed into Prince Theseus¡¯ skin.

    The crown prince¡¯s eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning back to normal.

    All the fear and doubt in his heart had suddenly disappeared.

    A pleased expression shed across the mysterious man¡¯s face as he gently stroked the crown prince¡¯s cheek as if ying with a dog.

    ¡°Oh¡­ how the mighty have fallen,¡± the man teased softly as he continued to y with the face of the prince who was rumored to be the next emperor.

    It had not been easy to convert the prince and princesses of the royal family but now at least three hundred had been infected by the Kry¡¯en crystals.

    His master would be pleased with such a result, but this was merely the beginning.

    Certain members of the royal family would be a bit difficult to convert but there was always a way.

    The mysterious man opened his mouth and ryed a set of new orders for the crown prince to follow,

    ¡°My employer wishes for you to form an alliance with House Martin and Drkane¡­ he suggested that you offer them the mining rights to the newly discovered colonies in the Sirius Star System¡­¡±

    ¡°Rumors will spread about your offer, and he wishes for you to take advantage of the sudden increase in momentum to expand your campaign.¡±

    ¡°Here is a list of persons of interest¡­ I trust that you will be able to deliver¡­ an excellent result¡­¡±

    The mysterious man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metalloid device that could plug into a wristmunicator.

    He ced it in the crown prince¡¯s hand and his fingers lingered for a bit longer than what was appropriate as he handed over the device.

    The man pinched Prince Theseus¡¯ cheeks one more time before stepping back into the veil and disappearing.

    The crown prince remained frozen in ce for a moment before blinking twice and looking around with a confused expression.

    Why was he standing here? What had just happened?

    Wasn¡¯t he just sitting down on the bench?

    The whitish fog in his mind got a bit worse for a moment and the crown prince furrowed his brows in confusion.

    He was suddenly struck with the urge to immediately negotiate an alliance with House Martin and Drkane, so he hurriedly left the garden.

    Now how would he get them to join his side?

    Perhaps he should offer them the mining rights to the newly discovered colonies in the Sirius Star System¡­

    Prince Theseus was surprised that the solution came to his mind so quickly and was once again amazed by his fast thinking and problem-solving ability.

 Chapter 514: The Unexpected Gift

    <h4>Chapter 514: The Unexpected Gift</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University Main Campus)

    It was a beautiful day. The two suns shone brightly in the sky and small bird-like creatures soared above Sophie.

    The hybrid girl was currently walking through the city on her way to the drop off office to pick up the gift that her father had sent her.

    ¡°Is that her? She looks really strong¡­¡±

    ¡°Did you ce a bet on her to win? The odds are four to one¡­ not bad for a first year¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course, I did¡­ do you think I¡¯m crazy?! She is definitely going to win! I don¡¯t know why the betting office is using those odds¡­¡±

    Well, if there was something different it was that a lot more students than usual seemed to be staring at her.

    Surprisingly most of the whispers and gossip were quite positive especially from the Mendolesa warriors who were thoroughly impressed by her strength.

    Sophie had already given out a few autographs and it may sound a bit conceited, but she vaguely felt like one of those celebrities in the ancient Earth era.

    Still, she wasn¡¯t allowing this newfound fame to go to her head since she was well aware that in a life and death fight¡­ anything could happen.

    You never know what kind of hidden cards or special tricks would be hidden up the sleeves of your opponent even one who appeared to be weaker than you.

    Sophie hummed a light tune as she approached a tall grey building with several robot androids in uniform walking in and out.

    There was a short line outside the entrance to the drop off office so Sophie joined the back of the queue and waited patiently.

    She didn¡¯t know what kind of gift that her father would send but honestly, she would be grateful for just about anything.

    Sophie opened up her wristmunicator and began to absentmindedly browse the campus open forum.

    Clips of the first-year battle ranking exam had gone viral and she was not the only one whose clips got hundreds of thousands of views.

    All the elite ss students had their performances recorded and their techniques were already being analysed.

    Unfortunately, this was a side effect of modern technology.

    It was almost impossible to keep a technique or fighting style secret in this age of rapid information exchange.

    Zrudread University actually encourage the clips to be shared since it would give the students a taste of what tools their enemies would use.

    The ability to react and win in high pressure situations even if your opponent was familiar with your skills was something that had to be taught.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes widened as she saw some truly impressive cultivation techniques. There was a Mendolesa boy capable of creating wind tornados from his palms.

    A human girl who was an expert swordsman with the ability to cut something hundreds of feet away.

    There were other notable examples as well and Sophie was soon lost in an endless world of different fighting styles and moves.

    Fortunately, being in the qi tide stage meant that her memory had been greatly enhanced so she was able to easily recall the contents of every video that she had seen.

    Sophie closed hermunicator and let out a heavy sigh.

    She was still confident that she would be able to win but it was important not to rest on herurels next year.

    Unless she broke into the void stage which was highly unlikely, the gap between herself and the other students would slowly decrease.

    It was not that Sophie didn¡¯t think that she could eventually reach the void stage, it was just that her cultivation progress was gradually slowing down.

    She could bepletely wrong, but Sophie had the sneaking suspicion that in order to break the barrier to enter the void stage she would need to hunt down another target for the goddess.

    Speaking of the hunter goddess¡­

    Sophie was pleasantly surprised to discover that the mysterious otherworldly entity had not left messages inside her mind for a few months now.

    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for her powers Sophie could delude herself into thinking that she was no longer a vessel.

    But¡­ well¡­ the harsh reality would usually set in a few momentster.

    ¡°Next person please,¡± a robotic voice loudly shouted and broke Sophie from her train of thought.

    She looked up and discovered that she was now in the front of the line and an android was beckoning for her to enter.

    Sophie quickly walked inside and saw a wide-open space with dozens of androids moving back and forth.

    There were metalloid crates, brown packages and small envelopes all travelling around the room on conveyor belts.

    The androids would mark the packages with different numbers and hand the correct ones to the students inside the building.

    ¡°Hello¡­ please verify your identity please,¡± an android approached Sophie and spoke politely. Its cold metallic exterior softly glowed under the light.

    ¡°My name is Sophie Peterlor and here is my student and ID card,¡± Sophie replied calmly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two pieces of identification.

    A p opened up in the center of the android¡¯s chest and a beam of green light was shot from the scanner inside.

    This light scanned Sophie¡¯s documents and then her facial features in order to verify that it was really her.

    An invisible beam also swept her body from an opening in the ceiling, but that scanner was to make sure that she wasn¡¯t a Quafes student pretending to be someone else.

    Eventually the p on the android¡¯s chest closed and he led Sophie to the corner of the room where a small metallic cube was ced on the conveyor belt.

    ¡°Here you go¡­ have a lovely day!¡± the android spoke warmly as it picked up the strange object and ced it in Sophie¡¯s palm.

    The hybrid girl looked at the cube in a bit of a daze since she had never seen anything like it before.

    This was her father¡¯s gift?

    Well¡­ she guessed that it was the thought that counted¡­

    Wait hold on¡­

    Sophie discovered that there was a note attached to the bottom side of the cube. She carefully unfurled the note and read the words written on the sheet of paper.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    My dear daughter,

    I must congratte you on remaining an elite ss student. I am very proud of your hard work and effort throughout the term.

    I know how difficult it was to cover the material that you missedst semester as well as catching up with the lecture notes from this term.

    When you disappeared¡­ my world no longer had meaning.

    You are my only daughter in the whole wide universe, and I would dly trade all my wealth and power to keep you safe for the rest of your life.

    Still, I know that you do not want to be a bird trapped in a gilded cage but rather a soaring eagle that takes flight.

    On a certain side of the device in your palm is a small button. Press it when you are alone, and the true value of this gift will be revealed.

    I love you always,

    Dad.

 Chapter 515: Dad?!

    <h4>Chapter 515: Dad?!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    Warm orange rays of sunlight crept in through the open window and illuminated arge bedroom on the second floor of the mansion.

    Sophie sat on her bed and yed with the metallic cube in her handzily. She pulled out a nutrient vial from her pocket and downed the contents in one gulp.

    Nutrient vials were not particrly pleasant to consume but Sophie had long gotten used to their taste.

    Well¡­ she would have to since her Arachnais physiology demanded a constant intake of nutrients despite the fact that she was cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    ¡°Should I open you now¡­ orter¡­¡± Sophie quietly muttered to herself as she touched the side of the cube.

    She wanted to save opening her gift until Cleo got home from her training session, but it was impossible to resist the curiosity burning in her heart.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by arge furry creature that burst into her private bedroom without knocking.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! Mommy! Can you turn on my show?)

    Moon happily flew around the room and knocked several items off Sophie¡¯s desk onto the floor.

    Fortunately, Sophie had gotten used to her mischievousbat beast so there was nothing valuable ced on her desk.

    ¡°Sure¡­ what do you want to watch?¡± Sophie asked gently as she got up from the mattress and walked over to her desk to pick up the items that fell on the floor.

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    (I want to see Punisherman Fights The Bad Guys!)

    ¡°The kids show?¡± Sophie asked while trying her best not to let Moon know that she was fighting the urge tough.

    Moon nodded his furry little head seriously, so Sophie had no choice but to turn on her wristmunicator and connect it to the monitor in the living room.

    She tapped a few buttons, and one could hear the sound of people fightinging from downstairs.

    Moon quickly stretched out his wings and flew towards the direction of the sound with a happy expression on his face.

    Sophie let out a light sigh and shook her head.

    What was she going to do with such a childishbat pet?

    Well¡­ Moon had grown on her so maybe he wasn¡¯t so bad¡­

    Or perhaps that was the Stockholm Syndrome kicking in.

    Sophie jumped back on her bed and sank into the memory foam mattress that perfectly adjusted itself to fit her unique physique.

    The hybrid girl stared at the ceiling and thought about the uing final round. No details had been given yet, but it was only a few days away.

    That meant that either the professors were going to keep it as a surprise for the day itself or reveal the details so close to thepetition that no one would be able to prepare properly.

    Sophie narrowed her golden eyes as she thought about the previous battle ranking exams that were on the virtual Net.

    Last year the final round involved apetition that was simr to ¡®capture the g¡¯.

    It was a team-basedpetition and students were able to pick and choose their teammates.

    The year before was theplete opposite with a tournament bracket that pitted students against each other until only one was crowned as the victor.

    It was quite the range so Sophie really didn¡¯t know what to expect but she hoped that it would involve teams.

    Teaming up with her friends would make the final round a lot easier and it would be a fun experience for them all.

    Sophie yed with the cube in her right palm and identally pressed the small button on the underside as her fingers touched its metallic surface.

    A green beam of light swept Sophie¡¯s body multiple times to confirm her identity and then the cube emitted a loud hissing noise.

    Sophie ced down the device and watched in amazement as its walls opened up to reveal the contents hidden inside.

    The first gift appeared to be some kind of neural imnt with a sleek silvery design that was around the size of a coin.

    Next to the imnt was a vial of a pinkish-grey substance that bubbled furiously.

    Sophie hesitantly picked up both gifts with a confused expression on her face. There was no letter or exnation for what either of these things were.

    She only knew that one was a neural imnt because there was a small spike on its underside where the device would attach to the user¡¯s head.

    The vial on the other hand was aplete mystery.

    Sophie didn¡¯t know if it was poison, thetest gic serum or perhaps something else¡­

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she lifted up the vial to the light and saw that the colour was gradually changing from a pinkish grey to a much darker hue.

    Had she missed something in her dad¡¯s note?

    Sophie picked up the sheet of paper that was attached to the metallic cube and read the words carefully to see if there was any more information.

    She reread the letter¡¯s contents three times but did not discover anything new.

    The only thing that her father had said was that the true value of the gift would be revealed once the button had been pressed.

    So logically that meant that these two items were extremely valuable.

    Sophie ced the vial on the bedstand next to the mattress and bravely ced the neural imnt next to her forehead.

    The neural imnt vibrated slightly, and the spike burrowed itself into Sophie¡¯s skin. The hybrid girl closed her eyes and her vision faded away into darkness.

    Sophie opened her eyes and found herself standing in what appeared to be an endless white void with no one in sight.

    A floating holographic screen appeared in front of her, and lines of text soon filled the screen.

    [Wee New User¡­]

    [essing Memory Bank¡­]

    [Please Make A Selection¡­.]

    Hundreds of options were ced in front of Sophie who decided to randomly press the one that was closest to her.

    [Selection Chosen- Transferring Memory¡­ 2%¡­ 3%¡­]

    [Memory Transfer Complete!]

    The white void suddenly changed, and Sophie found herself standing in the middle of a starship that was in what appeared to be an active war zone.

    ¡°Reroute all avable power to the weapons systems and fire on mymand,¡± a smooth masculine voice came from Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    Sophie looked down and saw that her body had now been transformed into a handsome young man.

    She was unable to control her body and the experience was like being a passenger in someone else¡¯s mind.

    Sophie could not see the young man¡¯s face since she had a first-person perspective but there was something oddly familiar about him¡­

    The young man was a skilfulmander and his orders throughout the fight were made considering the ever-changing situation in mind.

    Sophie watched in amazement as her new body led his men to aplete victory by pulling off a series of manoeuvres that could only be described as calcted recklessness.

    ¡°Nice work!¡± an elderly man walked up to Sophie and patted her on the shoulder.

    He appeared to be in histe sixties, but the powerful aura hidden behind his benign appearance hinted that he was much older.

    ¡°Nonsense¡­ it was everyone¡¯s hard work¡­ and well¡­ I suppose I can take some credit for my brilliance,¡± arrogant words came out of Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Truly those insectoid fools never stood a chance¡­ humanity will crush them underfoot and reign supreme over the stars!¡±

    Whoever she was possessing appeared to hold his own abilities in high regard as he strutted around themand deck with a prideful grin on his face.

    He powered on hismunicator and turned on the video chat to call one of his superiors to report the result of the battle.

    Sophie nced at his image on the screen and realised why she thought that this man seemed so eerily familiar.

    Dad?!

 Chapter 516: A Painful Selection

    <h4>Chapter 516: A Painful Selection</h4>

    [Memory Fragment Has Been Completed!]

    Sophie blinked twice and found herself back in the endless white void. She let out a heavy sigh and thought about what she had just experienced.

    Virtual reality was so eerily realistic¡­

    It was not that Sophie had never tried virtual reality before, but it was still a technology that one would always be impressed by.

    Besides it was extremely rare for a cultivator to willingly upload their memories for someone else to experience.

    Or perhaps no cultivator would be keen to expose their secrets even to the ones that they trusted.

    Sophie felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart as she realised the depth of love and trust that her father had for her.

    His gift was priceless.

    The memories of the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation were worth more to some people than the value of entires.

    Although she had to say¡­. her dad seemed to be quite different in his younger days¡­

    The text on the floating holographic screen changed suddenly and new lines appeared in the center of the screen.

    [Please Make A Selection¡­]

    The hundreds of options reappeared, and Sophie decided to randomly click another one to see what was hidden inside.

    [Warning! Memory Chosen May Result In Significant Difort!]

    [Confirm Selection¡­]

    [Yes] [No]

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she saw the warning sh across the screen.

    Curiosity burned inside her heart, and she could not resist the urge to tap the [Yes] option just to see what the memory was about.

    [Selection Chosen- Transferring Memory¡­ 2%¡­ 3%¡­]

    [Memory Transfer Complete!]

    Sophie reopened her eyes and found herself standing in what appeared to be the ruins of a mechanical city.

    Huge clouds of ck smoke rose up into the air and hundreds of long slender aliens with pale white skin were kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°We surrender,¡± an alien with a golden crown on her head spoke quietly.

    ¡°Then by the terms of the Imperial Army¡­ we ept your surrender, and you will be treated as prisoners of war¡­¡± cold words came out of Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    She nodded at her men to search the aliens for any weapons which they quickly obeyed.

    The young Duke Peterlor was an imposing figure on the battlefield, and he was rapidly rising up the ranks of the Imperial Army.

    If he did have one w, then it would be that he tended to allow his enemies a chance to surrender and did not attack civilians.

    Officially his actions were in line with the rules and regtions set by the Imperial Army but in practice¡­

    The simplest way to win a war was the most brutal one.

    Sophie watched as her new body wandered through the destroyed city and stopped asionally to stare at the bodies of the defenders who fought so bravely.

    She bent down near one of the corpses and let out a heavy sigh.

    One of the colonies in the Sirius Star System had openly revolted against Federation rule and they were led by a terrorist organisation known as the ¡®Liberators¡¯.

    The Liberators did have an appealing message to the denizens of this, but their actions were extreme.

    You were either with them or against them and they treated their own people almost as badly as the local lord who ruled this section of the gxy.

    Suddenly Sophie¡¯s new body stiffened, and she quickly got up from the ground and her figure disappeared from the spot.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three sma shots echoed through the destroyed city, but they missed the cowering alien who trembled in fear.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± a hoarse growl left Sophie¡¯s mouth as she held a sword to the throat of the officer who just sneered mockingly.

    ¡°General Hawkins¡­ these are my prisoners¡­¡±

    The general was a young man who was of simr age to Duke Peterlor and unlike the duke who was the only surviving member of his family¡­

    He came from a long lineage of powerful noble houses.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny¡­ I thought that our mission was to eliminate Liberator extremists¡­.¡± General Hawkinsughed without a care in the world.

    It was as though the de to his neck was invisible.

    ¡°Yes¡­ but these are the surviving members of the royal family. They cannot be executed or else the uprising will only get worse,¡± Sophie patiently exined as if talking to a child.

    She could barely conceal the irritation in her voice as she resisted the urge to slice the throat of this short-sighted fool.

    ¡°Royals? Don¡¯t make meugh¡­ a mere baron from the Federation is more powerful than these miserable creatures,¡± General Hawkins mocked.

    ¡°But what would a bastard like you know about true nobility?¡±

    ¡°Hehe¡­ are you that jealous of my talent?¡± Sophie¡¯s voice oozed with arrogance and for a second the confident expression on General Hawkins¡¯ face crumbled.

    ¡°Face it¡­ you know deep down that you only got your position because daddy and mommy bribed the higher ups¡­¡±

    ¡°Aww¡­. its almost sweet¡­ their little baby boy gets to pretend to be an officer¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s words were poisonous and she embarrassed the general publicly in front of the other soldiers who struggled to contain theirughter.

    She opened her mouth to mock the general again when he lost control and pointed the sma rifle at her.

    ¡°A bastard like you¡­ a bastard like you¡­ HOW CAN YOU BE SO STRONG?!¡± General Hawkins yelled angrily.

    Sophie¡¯s hand moved faster than she could react and sliced off the general¡¯s right arm. Blood spurted out of the open wound and the general screamed in pain.

    There wasplete silence.

    No one could believe that the young duke would be mad enough to anger the several high noble forces behind General Hawkins.

    ¡°Take the prisoners to the refugee camp and I will submit a report of my actions to the military disciplinarymittee¡­¡± Sophie coldly spoke.

    ¡°Go¡­ I will take full responsibility¡­¡±

    Duke Peterlor remained in the mechanical city and the only sounds that he could hear were the noises that the injured general made.

    ¡°You are so dead¡­ I will¡­ I will kill you¡­.¡± General Hawkins stammered as he clenched his teeth in pain.

    He struggled for a moment but managed to tap a button on the side of his wristmunicator.

    Duke Peterlor didn¡¯t stop his actions because he knew that what was toe could not be avoided.

    A strong force mmed into his back which forced him to the ground.

    Three heavily armed cultivators in the void stage materialised out of thin air and began to rain down heavy blows on his body.

    Sophie felt two of her ribs crack and the pain that flooded her body.

    The pain was realistic, and it felt as though she was the person being battered to the ground.

    Those three void stage cultivators were trying to kill her father as slowly and painfully as possible.

    She felt her father reach into his pocket with great difficulty and pull out a in unremarkable kitchen knife.

    He raised up the weapon and shed it at the nearest cultivator and then a beam of white light erupted from the tip of his de.

    Holy Sword Art- God¡¯s Descent!

    Duke Peterlor screamed in fury as he felt an enormous surge of sword qi travel through his meridians.

    His sword moved so quickly that it formed afterimages.

    The void stage cultivator who was targeted by the attack froze in fear as he felt the shadow of death fall on him.

    Just as Duke Peterlor¡¯s de was about to slit his throat¡­ an elderly man appeared and raised one hand.

    Everyone was frozen in ce as the man who wore the uniform of an Imperial Armymander sighed with disappointment.

    [Memory Fragment Has Been Completed]

 Chapter 517: The Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 517: The Aftermath</h4>

    [Memory Fragment Has Been Completed!]

    [Daily Limit Reached!]

    [Neural Imnt¡­. Disconnecting¡­ Disconnecting¡­]

    Sophie opened her eyes and found herself back in her bedroom staring at the in white walls and the empty ceiling.

    She absentmindedly touched her stomach since the pain that she felt after her ribs were cracked was still clear in her memories.

    It all felt so real¡­

    It was as though in that moment she had be her father rather than just a passenger witnessing a memory.

    Sophie understood why there was a limit put in ce on the device.

    One could easily get lost inside the memories and lost their sense of self.

    The hybrid girl reached for a ss of water on her dresser table and took small sips. She grabbed a pillow and shifted her body until she felt morefortable.

    Sophie gently touched the neural imnt on her forehead and easily pulled it out. She then ced the small metalloid device in her storage bag.

    Those memories¡­

    Sophie knew that the Imperial Army was probably not as perfect as the propaganda on the virtual Net had portrayed them to be.

    And her father¡¯s experience with corruption left a sour taste in her mouth.

    The reality was that despite humanity¡¯s achievements both technological and biological¡­ there was still a great ss divide.

    Cultivation talent and resources had only increased the gap between the haves and the have nots.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and listened to the soundsing from the living room. Moon was watching his show without a care in the world.

    The person who would be the new emperor or empress could potentially influence a great deal of change in society by making things better or worse¡­

    More than likely¡­ they would simply maintain the status quo.

    Sophie tossed those thoughts to the back of her mind and got up from the mattress. She checked hermunicator and saw a few iing messages from her father.

    Dad: [Did you check out my gifts yet? The vial contains an experimental rare poison that I managed to buy from a trader in the Portian System]

    Dad: [As for the neural imnt¡­ I have uploaded some of my memories that I think will help you understand what you will face once you graduate from university.]

    Dad: [Don¡¯t use it too often but I do hope that you can learn from my mistakes and avoid some of the pitfalls that I suffered through once I joined the army.]

    Dad: [Also the neural imnt was specially designed to only be essed using your biological signal so anyone else who tries to use it will cause it to self-destruct.]

    Sophie messaged back her father and thanked him for the gifts.

    She didn¡¯t know that the contents in the vial were a rare poison but now her interest was peaked.

    Sophie walked over to her bedstand and picked up the vial that she had ced down before using the neural imnt.

    The liquid inside the ss tube was a pinkish grey colour but under the light it seemed to shift to a much darker hue.

    Sophie held the vial in her palm and had to resist the urge to unscrew the top and take a sip of its contents.

    It wasn¡¯t everyday that she got to try a new toxin¡­

    The hybrid girl stood still with a conflicted expression on her face. Desire and caution danced around inside her mind but eventually caution won out.

    Sophie put the vial away in her storage bag and decided to save it for an emergency or at least for some testing in theb.

    ¡°Babe¡­. I¡¯m home!¡± a sweet voice came from the entrance. Sophie quickly walked outside her bedroom and saw Cleo standing in the living room with a smile on her face.

    ¡°Look what I got for you¡­¡± Cleo teased lightly as she brought up her hands and revealed the small cake hidden in her palm.

    The princess wore a simple ck coat and a pair of running sneakers. Her messy curly hair fell below her shoulders and her piercing green eyes shed with mischief.

    Sophie stared at her girlfriend with a silly smile on her face and hurriedly walked down the stairs to meet her.

    She stretched out her arms and held Cleo in a warm embrace that seemed tost forever. Cleo¡¯s soft and fragile body made Sophie¡¯s heart race.

    She wanted nothing more than to cuddle with her girlfriend and spend the afternoonzily kissing her face.

    This sweet moment was interrupted by the loud noises that came from the screen in the living room.

    ¡°Jeffery you son of a bitch! How are you still alive?! I watched you die!¡±

    ¡°Crimson bandit¡­ don¡¯t you know my name? I¡¯m Punisherman! I¡¯m here to fight evil and restore truth and justice!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s punishing time!¡±

    Moon pped his wings in excitement as a man dressed in all ck with a in white mask over his face punched another man who wore a red cloak.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Get him Punisherman! Beat him up! Beat him up!)

    Moon loudly cheered and his sudden movements knocked some of his snacks off the table and onto the floor.

    ¡°Moon¡­ pick those up right now,¡± Sophie fiercely whispered as she powered on her wristmunicator and pressed a button.

    The show on the monitor was instantly paused and Moon turned to face his master with a pitiful look in his eyes.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! I¡¯ll clean upter¡­ I promise¡­)

    ¡°No¡­ clean up that mess now or I won¡¯t resume your show,¡± Sophie refused to budge and stared at her naughty pet.

    Moon grumbled and flew towards the kitchen to grab a few wet towels.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t the androids take care of the mess?¡± Cleo softly whispered in a low voice that Moon could not hear.

    ¡°If I allow them to clean up after Moon then he¡¯ll probably never be neat again¡­¡± Sophie exined with a light sigh.

    Cleo giggled at her girlfriend¡¯s crestfallen expression and stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss against Sophie¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Cheer up babe¡­ I have a special surprise for youter¡­¡± Cleo seductively teased as she ran a finger down Sophie¡¯s chest.

    The atmosphere heated up, but Cleo stepped away just as Sophie¡¯s hands were about to roam further downwards.

    ¡°Speaking of surprises¡­ did you pick up the gift from the postal office?¡± Cleo suddenly changed topics just as Sophie was about to respond to her teasing.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ my dad got me a vial of poison and a neural imnt,¡± Sophie spoke casually.

    ¡°Neural imnt? What for?¡± Cleo asked in confusion.

    Sophie exined what was stored inside the neural imnt and Cleo expression turned to one of amazement.

    In the royal family the thought of sharing one¡¯s memories with another family member was basically unthinkable.

    No one would be foolish enough to potentially hand over a weakness to people who would be eager to get rid of a potentialpetitor to the throne.

    Still¡­ Sophie¡¯s strong rtionship with her father was one that Cleo secretly envied¡­ just a little bit.

 Chapter 518: The Final Round

    <h4>Chapter 518: The Final Round</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    The training field was where the final round of the battle ranking exam would take ce.

    An enormous metallic dome covered the entire field and prevented the spectators from seeing what was hidden inside.

    Hundreds of doors were ced along the circumference of the dome and each door had one of two symbols etched onto its exterior.

    The first symbol was what appeared to be a zing sun while the second symbol was a full crescent moon that softly glowed.

    Stands had been constructed along the edges of the arena but today the number of spectators was much less than the previous rounds.

    Well, this was to be expected.

    The students who made it to the third round had already qualified to enlist in the elite ss.

    Therefore, there were certain members of the ordinary ss who did not wish to see this event in person and would rather watch the highlights online.

    Above the arena was a floating tform with several chairs.

    Principal Malik and several other professors sat down on those chairs and waited for the remaining students to arrive.

    ¡°Selvon¡­ you have outdone yourself with your n for this year!¡± Principal Malikughed merrily as he rubbed his paws together in excitement.

    Instructor Selvon smiled wickedly, and his sharp fangs glinted in the sunlight as he stared at the students who were curiously looking at the dome.

    ¡°It was my pleasure¡­ I can¡¯t wait to see the results¡­¡± Instructor Selvon softly replied as he checked his wristmunicator.

    Everything had already been put in ce and now the most unique final round of the battle ranking exam would begin shortly.

    For such a powerful and high potential batch of first years¡­

    They truly deserved a battle ranking exam that would test their limits.

    One could not grow without challenges. Instructor Selvon had enlisted the help of multiple AI units to specially design trials for each individual student based on their results and battle styles.

    The hardest challenge was designing a trial for the daughter of Duke Peterlor but eventually Selvon had settled on modifying a practical exam for third year and fourth year students.

    He had already informed the other judges of his decision so Sophie¡¯s performance would receive an additional boost in score due to the difficulty.

    Principal Malik checked his watch and discovered that it was now midday which meant that it was time for the exam to begin.

    The elderly Mendolesa warrior got up from his chair and walked over to the mic at the front of the raised tform.

    He cleared his throat twice to get the attention of the students who were chatting amongst themselves and then begun his speech.

    ¡°Wee everyone to the final day of the battle ranking exam!¡± Principal Malik shouted loudly into the mic.

    ¡°I must congratte all the students who have made it this far and I hope that in the next couple of hours we can witness the true disy of your strengths!¡±

    ¡°Please give these brave students a round of apuse!¡±

    Principal Malik pped his paws together with great enthusiasm and the crowd below followed his lead.

    Sophie leaned against Cleo¡¯s shoulder and pped a few timeszily. She stretched out her arms and yawned.

    Last night¡­ she made the mistake of getting in the mood without remembering that today was the exam.

    Naturally she could not toss Cleo without tiring out her girlfriend¡¯s body so there was only one solution¡­ spending some time alone in the bathroom until her urges disappeared.

    Sophie rubbed her fingers absentmindedly and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

    The hybrid girl focused her attention back on the metallic dome since she really didn¡¯t want to recall her shameful cries in the bathroom.

    Outwardly the dome appeared to be quite unremarkable save for the hundreds of doors that were ced seemingly at random points.

    Those symbols¡­ a sun and a moon¡­

    What were their significance?

    Sophie furrowed her brows and stared at the symbols but could not recall ever seeing such an art style before.

    ¡°Now I will go over the rules for this exam¡­ don¡¯t worry they are pretty simple,¡± Principal Malik spoke casually but there was a gleam in his eyes.

    ¡°This exam will be solo, and each student will be assigned a door to enter the arena.¡±

    ¡°Within seven hours you must find an exit that corresponds to the symbol printed on the door you were assigned to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it¡­ simple right?¡±

    ¡°Alright well you have an eight-hour window to begin the exam and the timer will countdown for you once you open the door¡­¡±

    Sophieughed when she saw the mischievous grin on the old principal¡¯s face.

    At this point everyone knew that the principal was most likely hiding something about the exam, but it did make the experience quite exciting.

    A crimson mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s golden eyes as she felt the familiar urge of bloodlust rise up her chest.

    She knew that feeling¡­ it was the desire to hunt¡­

    Something dangerous was hidden inside the metallic dome, Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how she knew this but was convinced that her hunch was correct.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator vibrated twice, and she received a location that led to a door on the southern side of the metallic dome.

    ¡°Did you get a location as well?¡± Cleo asked sweetly as she checked hermunicator.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m on the opposite side¡­¡± Sophie replied with an eager grin.

    Cleo clicked her tongue in disappointment and showed Sophie the location on hermunicator which was far away from the hybrid girl¡¯s assigned door.

    ¡°Best of luck babe¡­. let¡¯s celebrate when the exam finishes¡­¡± Cleo leaned in closer and whispered in a seductive voice.

    The princess briefly kissed her girlfriend¡¯s lips but then left before Sophie could pull her in and deepen the kiss.

    Sophie touched her lips in a daze as her girlfriend disappeared in the crowd and headed for a door with a moon symbol painted on its outer surface.

    Cleo turned around and winked at Sophie before opening up the door confidently and stepping inside.

    The door behind her mmed shut and several red iron chains rose up from the ground and locked the entrance.

    Unlike the other rounds of the battle ranking exam there were no holographic screens floating above the arena that disyed what was happening inside the dome.

    Honestly¡­ this round was quite¡­ boring¡­

    At least for the spectators.

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths to steady her nerves and followed the directions on her wristmunicator.

    She asionally stopped to say hello to her fellow ssmates who were walking in the same direction.

    Eventually Sophie reached arge door with the symbol of a zing sun painted on its exterior.

    The sun seemed almost angry, and the paint used to create the symbol faintly glowed as if it were somehow alive.

    Sophie grabbed the doorknob which was very hot and opened the door. She stepped inside and the door mmed shut behind her.

    The room that she found herself standing in was shrouded inplete darkness.

    Fortunately, Sophie¡¯s golden eyes could see in conditions without light but what she saw made the hybrid girl take a step back in shock.

    There was a man dressed in what could only be described as a suit made from old newspapers sitting down quietly in a chair and staring at her.

    He appeared to be in histe fifties with a balding hairline and tiny beady eyes that shifted from side to side erratically.

    There was a de in the palm of his right hand which the man used to casually chop off a piece of his fingertip all the while he continued to stare at Sophie.

    ¡°Survive in this room for three minutes to move on¡­¡± the man suddenly whispered in a hoarse voice.

    He stood up and vanished from the spot.

    The man¡¯s severed fingertip squirmed on the ground and a monstrous creature crawled out of the pinkish flesh.

 Chapter 519: The Twisted Abomination

    <h4>Chapter 519: The Twisted Abomination</h4>

    ¡°Survive in this room for three minutes to move on¡­¡± the man¡¯s voice rang out in Sophie¡¯s mind as the hybrid girl took out a dagger from her storage bag.

    Sophie stared at the severed finger on the ground and slowly took a few steps backwards as she felt her danger sense re up.

    A faint crimson mist was beginning to spread from the corners of her golden eyes and her vision shifted into a world of orangish-red.

    Sophie¡¯s fangs lengthened and the nails on her hands became almost w-like.

    She could feel the bloodlust coursing through her veins as she prepared for the uing fight.

    The severed fingertip on the ground wriggled and squirmed as if it were somehow alive and something inside was trying to escape.

    Its pinkish flesh gradually expanded like a balloon and from inside the flesh one could see a vague human-like shadow expanding slowly.

    Sophie flung her dagger at the rapidly expanding biomass, but her weapon simply sank into its fleshy folds and disappeared.

    She immediately moved on to n B and pulled a vial out of her pocket that contained a faint pinkish liquid.

    The liquid inside the vial was an extremely deadly poison called the Mine¡¯s Rot.

    It was capable of calcifying flesh and turning organic matter into stone-like structures.

    Sophie uncorked the stopper and sent a thread of her qi inside the vial. She activated one of her poison techniques and unleashed a deadly attack.

    Poison Art- Serpent¡¯s Kiss!

    A cloud of pinkish smoke emerged from the vial and formed the shape of an enormous serpent that towered over the gross lump of flesh.

    The serpent plunged downwards, and its fangs prated the outer surface of the fleshy abomination.

    Sophie watched in disbelief as half of the squirming lump of flesh turned to stone before its back exploded and a creature crawled out.

    It was a dark shadowy¡­ thing¡­ it could only be described as a thing¡­

    Chills ran down Sophie¡¯s spine as she witnessed how eerie the humanoid monster looked as it moved almost like a puppet rather than a living creature.

    The shadowy creature warped and twisted until it became an identical image of her reflection.

    The monster reached into its pocket and pulled out a shadowy vial.

    It repeated Sophie¡¯s motions and soon an enormous snake appeared above its right palm.

    Unlike Sophie¡¯s attack, this snake wasposed of wriggling shadows and hundreds of human faces that cried out in pain.

    The sheer horror of this ungodly monstrosity would be enough to terrify even the most battle-hardened veterans.

    The creature gestured with his palm and the serpent formed from its twisted imagination lunged at Sophie.

    She narrowly avoided its open maw by a hair¡¯s breadth and fully gave in to her killer instincts.

    The world slowly down to a crawl and Sophie¡¯s danger sense went into overdrive.

    Her body would move automatically to dodge the iing attacks by the serpent and immediately respond to any threats.

    Sophie used the de-like appendages on her back to stab into the walls and move around unpredictably.

    She scuttled up the walls almost like a spider as she jumped from ce to ce. Each time she was only seconds away from being hit.

    The shadowy figure growled darkly, and Sophie felt something grab her ankle.

    Without hesitation she used her ded appendage to slice off her right leg.

    It was an act of sheer lunacy were it not for the fact that Sophie trusted her regenerative ability.

    When it came to winning a life and death fight¡­

    There was no one among the first years who had more experience that her.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and endured the burning pain as the missing flesh began to grow back rapidly.

    Her severed limb had dropped to the floor and the shadowy creature walked over to it and inspected it curiously.

    The abomination lifted up the limb and dark shadowy tendrils wrapped around the appendage.

    Sophie watched in disbelief as a happy expression shed across the monster¡¯s face as if it could somehow taste her blood and meat.

    Her right leg had already regenerated so Sophie decided to go on the offensive.

    The condition to pass this stage was to merely survive but the battle lust flowing through her body refused to be sated.

    She pulled a whip out of her storage bag and dropped down from the ceiling at a startling speed.

    She twisted her body to avoid the serpent that tilted its head upwards and thenshed out using her whip at the shadowy figure.

    Aura Whip Art- Hell ze!

    Illusory mes danced along the edges of Sophie¡¯s whip as she threw as much force as she could muster into the attack.

    Her whip mmed directly into the shadowy creature¡¯s body, and it flew dozens of feet across the room andnded on the ground with a painful thud.

    The serpent slithered over to its master and snarled fiercely at Sophie who was approaching the pair was slow steps.

    It was time to finish this¡­

    Sophie raised up her whip and the expression on her face changed in an instant.

    She abandoned her weapon and dove to the side just as arge beam of dark light was shot in her direction.

    Her danger sense¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for her danger sense¡­

    Sophie calmed down her beating heart and stared as she saw an enormous hole appear in the wall where the st had struck.

    She had narrowly escaped instant death.

    That feeling that she had just felt was one that she only experienced a few times before.

    No something had to be wrong¡­

    Was the final round of the battle ranking exam supposed to be this hard?

    How was it possible that the other students would be able to deal with such a terrifying foe?

    The shadowy creature raised up both of its palms and gathered tiny streams of dark energy that wrapped around its fingertips.

    A bloodthirsty smile shed across its face that mimicked the expression that Sophie showed when she raised up the whip to finish it off.

    The abomination stretched out its palms andunched several beams of light at the hybrid girl without dy.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Sophie¡¯s crimson eyes shifted to white, and she found herself standing inside a mysterious world as she activated her foresight ability.

    Time seemed to be frozen as she saw future versions of herself make series of movements with each leading to a different oue.

    Two steps to the right¡­ the beam would kill her¡­

    Two steps to the right¡­ one to the left¡­ one to the left¡­ she would lose an arm¡­

    No¡­ rush at the shadowy figure directly¡­ the beam would end her life¡­

    Hundreds if not thousands of possibilities flowed into Sophie¡¯s mind which caused the hybrid girl to furrow her eyebrows in pain.

    She hated using her foresight ability but there was really no other choice to deal with such a powerful foe.

    Time was meaningless inside the strange world, so Sophie wandered through the different future oues looking for the optimal path to victory.

    She could feel a headache beginning to set in which indicated that she was already feeling the side effects of peering into the future.

    Just when Sophie was about to give up, out of the corner of her eye she spotted one future that stood out.

    Two steps to the left¡­ one step right¡­ one step forward¡­ THAT WAS THE ONE!

    Sophie cancelled her ability and her eyes shifted back to a crimson red colour.

    She took two steps to the left and ducked her head just as a beam passed mere inches away from her skull.

    The hybrid girl then followed the movements that she had seen in her vision and easily dodged the barrage of attacks.

    The shadowy figure growled inhumanly but just as it was about tounch another round¡­ the strange man returned to the room.

    ¡°Congrattions¡­ on passing¡­ the first¡­ first stage ¡­¡± the man hoarsely stammered as he snapped his fingers.

    The room vibrated and Sophie felt her body begin to dissolve into particles as she was teleported to an unknown location.

 Chapter 520: Art Requires Passion!

    <h4>Chapter 520: Art Requires Passion!</h4>

    ¡°Fuck¡­ I hate teleportation¡­¡± Sophie groaned in pain as she bent over and tried her best not to vomit.

    It was never a pleasant experience to have your body dissolve into light particles and then be transported to some unknown location.

    The hybrid girl took a moment to steady herself before turning her attention to the new ce that she found herself in.

    The room was around the size of a football field and was surrounded by thick grey walls that extended upwards in every direction.

    It was almost like some kind of cage¡­

    In the middle of the field was a small antique table and Sophie could see two envelops resting on its wooden surface,

    She looked around a few times for any hidden threats, but her danger sense did not activate, nor did she sense that anything was wrong.

    ¡°Okay¡­ so, this is the second stage¡­¡± Sophie whispered to herself as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out two vials.

    Now she was beginning to regret not bringing Moon along to the final round as she originally nned.

    It was just that her mischievous Frostwing bat had spent the night before the exam watching cartoons, so he was fast asleep when it was time to leave for the arena.

    Damn it!

    Sophie silently promised herself to be more strict towards herzybat pet once she returned to the mansion.

    The hybrid girl cautiously walked over to the table and contemted activating her foresight ability but the throbbing in her mind persuaded her otherwise.

    She was not strong enough to use it continuously without suffering from a severe mental bacsh, so it was best to save it as ast resort.

    Sophie stretched out her hand and picked up the two in brown envelopes that seemed quite unremarkable.

    There were words written down on each envelope.

    The words ¡®Open Me!¡¯ were written on the front of the first envelope while the second had the warning ¡®Don¡¯t Open Me!¡¯.

    That was it?

    Sophie furrowed her brows as the envelopes in her palm seemed to be heavier than before.

    She was curious about the second envelope but after thinking about it for a minute¡­ it was probably best to go with the safer option.

    The hybrid girl ced the second envelope back on the wooden table and then opened the first one.

    There was a thin sheet of paper hidden inside the envelope and someone had written out a long paragraph.

    Sophie did not recognise the handwriting style used to write the paragraph, but the words were written quite elegantly.

    Dear Reader,

    One must have the ability to break the rules! Do not limit yourself by following orders but rather allow the creative passion of your inner artist to explode!

    Life is too short! One must have goals! Ambitions! Drive!

    The punishment for ying it safe¡­ well¡­ I¡¯m afraid that you will have to deal with my talented students!

    Art speaks to the heart of living¡­ it is an experience that cannot be replicated by mere machines¡­ one needs to posses a soul¡­

    Allow me to show you what I mean¡­

    Yours Sincerely,

    A passionate artist.

    Sophie hurriedly dropped the piece of paper as it suddenly ignited in a burning me. She saw that the second envelope on the wooden table had also burst into mes.

    Danger! Danger! Danger!

    The hybrid girl ducked down and narrowly avoided a sharp object that passed mere inches away from her head.

    The grey walls surrounding the field trembled and numerous humanoid shaped holes appeared across different locations.

    Hundreds if not thousands of tiny child-like creatures ran through the holes while shouting in anguage that Sophie could not understand.

    These child-like creatures had greyish-ck skin, three eyes and scales that ran across the width of their bodies.

    They were each dressed in in white overalls and held what looked like brushes in one hand while the other held a can filled with an unknown liquid.

    Each brush had been dipped in a different colour of paint, so the overall scene was one of vibrance and colour.

    The floor shuddered twice, and Sophie had to dig her ded appendages into the ground to stop herself from falling down.

    The creatures shrieked and hollered in excitement as they dipped their paintbrushes in the cans that they were holding.

    More creatures came out of the holes in the wall and these neers were carrying nk canvas which they handed over to their brethren.

    The strange aliens formed groups of ten and became to paint the nk canvases whilepletely ignoring the hybrid girl standing in the middle of the field.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how to react and since she was surrounded, it would be unwise to make any sudden movements.

    However, she was far from helpless¡­

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then multiple identical copies of herself appeared out of thin air.

    There were seven mirror clones in total, and each wore various confused expressions as they stared at the creatures.

    ¡°Are they¡­umm¡­ painting?¡± one of the clones asked quietly.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I think so¡­¡± another replied as she stared at the creatures who werepletely engrossed in their art.

    Sophie¡¯s clones huddled together in a group and soon a lively debate started happening between the members.

    ¡°So, what now? Do you want us to kill them? Or¡­¡±

    ¡°Kill this¡­ kill that¡­ what if they are friendly?¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid? This is clearly part of the second stage? God¡­ I swear none of you morons actually pay attention to the memories¡­¡±

    ¡°Stupid? If I¡¯m stupid, then you are as well!¡±

    Sophie coughed twice to get their attention and seven pairs of eyes immediately stared at her.

    ¡°Okay¡­ how about you two go and approach them but don¡¯t make any hostile moves unless they attack first,¡± Sophie suggested as she singled out two mirror copies in the back.

    The two unlucky clones exchanged nces and one of them let out a heavy sigh. Theyzily nodded at Sophie before heading off towards the nearest canvas.

    The ten child-like creatures surrounding the canvas didn¡¯t even seem to notice the clones even as they got closer.

    One of the clones raised up her body using her ded appendages to get a better view and peered at the drawing on the canvas.

    It was some kind of horrific monster with six arms, four of those arms seemed to being out of its back¡­ truly a disgusting sight¡­

    Wait a moment¡­ was that supposed to be Sophie?

    The clone struggled to contain herughter and she immediately sent her memory along the mentalwork to the other mirror copies.

    The mirror copy was about to get a closer look when something lightly tapped her on the leg.

    She looked down to the see that one of the creatures had somehow managed to approach her without being noticed.

    ¡°Hey¡­ little guy¡­ how¡­¡± the mirror clone¡¯s words were suddenly cut off as the creature shoved her with a surprisinglyrge amount of force towards the painting.

    Sophie¡¯s mirror image closed her eyes as she struck the canvas and felt her body suddenly be weightless.

    She opened her eyes and discovered that she had now be trapped inside the painting!

 Chapter 521: The Performance Of An Artist...

    <h4>Chapter 521: The Performance Of An Artist¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Unknown Location)

    Thunderous apuse echoed through the arena as the child-like creatures sped their gnarled hands together and pped.

    Sophie and the rest of her mirror copies exchanged nervous nces as memories flowed into their minds from the captured clone.

    Stuck inside of a painting?

    What kind of cultivation technique was that?

    The other clone that was apanying the captured mirror copy hurriedly rushed forward to grab the painting when something unexpected happened.

    A canvas mysteriously flew towards her body and a dazzling white light erupted from the nk sheet.

    The mirror copy closed her eyes in pain and when she reopened them, she discovered that she was also trapped inside a painting.

    Thunderous apuse once again erupted from the thousands of creatures moving around the edges of the field.

    Sophie took out some weapons from her storage bag and handed them out to the surviving clones who each grabbed one.

    Some mirror copies held daggers while others turned the safety off the sma rifles.

    There was even a clone who decided to grab the spare whip in Sophie¡¯s storage bag.

    Sophie on the other hand decided to grab a sma pistol and two vials containing foul yellowish substances.

    The creatures simultaneously tilted their heads towards a certain direction and loud footsteps could be hearding from one of the holes in the wall.

    Tap¡­ tap¡­ tap¡­

    A man emerged from the hole and his appearance sent chills down Sophie¡¯s spine.

    He wore a mboyant reddish cloak with a mishmash of patchwork colours on his chest.

    The cloak covered his entire body except for his feet. He waspletely barefoot, and each toenail had been painted a different colour.

    A white mask with a crying expression drawn on it was ced over the man¡¯s face and concealed his facial features.

    ¡°My dear audience¡­.¡± the man spoke in a hoarse tone and his words echoed through the arena.

    ¡°The performance¡­. has begun¡­¡±

    He bowed towards Sophie and the other clones before reaching into the pocket of his robe to pull out a simple paintbrush.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie unleashed a barrage of sma fire at his body since it was clear from her danger sense that this mysterious man was a threat.

    The man froze in ce as the sma rounds got closer but beneath the crying mask¡­

    Sophie could somehow tell that he was smiling.

    He was struck by multiple rounds, but his body turned into ck oily paint that fell towards the ground and created arge puddle.

    The mysterious man rose up from inside the puddle of ck ooze and his twistedugh filled the arena.

    ¡°So impatient¡­ good art¡­ requires time to perfect¡­¡± the man whispered softly as he raised up his right hand.

    The brush in his palm trembled and some of the ck ooze travelled upwards and stained the bristles.

    The man waved the brush around and painted arge portal.

    Sophie and her clones kept firing at his position, but the thousands of child-like creatures kept intercepting the sma rounds with their own bodies.

    Corpse after corpse kept dropping to the ground but the creatures kept throwing away their lives as if the man¡¯s safety was more important than their own.

    It was chilling sight.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes shifted red as her vision turned into a world of orangish-red. She could feel the bloodlust flowing through her veins and whispering to her.

    It wanted her to hunt¡­ to kill¡­ to consume¡­

    The hybrid girl growled almost like an animal and her changed state seemed to affect her clones as one by one their golden eyes also shifted to a crimson hue.

    ¡°There¡­ you look beautiful¡­¡± the man praised as he raised up his thumb in an approving gesture.

    ¡°Art¡­ require inspiration¡­ you will be my muse¡­ and this¡­ hehe¡­ this will be my¡­ masterpiece¡­¡±

    The man giggled mischievously and skipped around the ck portal. He raised up the brush to his neck and sliced it across his flesh.

    Sophie watched in disbelief as somehow the soft bristles on the end of his brush managed to slice apart his flesh like a hot knife passing through butter.

    The man¡¯s head dropped to the ground and the mask cracked open to reveal a badly burned face with several scars.

    ck oily blood oozes out of the man¡¯s neck as his corpse remained standing up as if something was controlling it.

    The portal began to spin and from the darkness¡­ something emerged¡­ no¡­ it was someone¡­

    Multiple versions of the man walked out of the portal and each one held a simr looking brush in their right hands.

    The surviving child-like creatures cheered loudly and walked over with nk canvasses. The group of men each headed for a nk canvas and began to draw.

    It didn¡¯t take long for their work to bepleted and this time Sophie did not make any sudden moves since she wasn¡¯t sure what was going to happen.

    One of the men opened his mouth and the words that flowed out seemed to be tainted by the faint feeling of insanity.

    ¡°Art requires a soul¡­¡±

    ¡°Art requires a soul¡­¡±

    ¡°Art requires a soul¡­¡±

    He tossed his canvas in the air, and it flew directly towards one of Sophie¡¯s clones who was holding daggers in her hands.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie shot at the iing canvas and her shots easily pierced through the object, but it did not slow down.

    She could only watch as it mmed into the body of an unlucky clone and once again another person was trapped inside the painting.

    ¡°We need to destroy the whole thing,¡± one of the mirror copies suggested as she clutched the whip in her grasp.

    Sophie nodded at her idea and began to circte her qi in a pattern that was both familiar and a bit strange.

    ¡°Art requires a soul¡­¡± another version of the man joined in the chorus.

    He tossed his canvas into the air and this time it flew towards the clone directly behind Sophie.

    The hybrid girl growled and used the qi technique that shed across her mind. Her right palm ignited into mes, and she punched towards the deadly item.

    Phoenix style- Fire fist!

    An enormous fireball erupted from Sophie¡¯s hand and flew towards the canvas at a startling speed.

    She was not the only one who attempted to destroy the object as the clone using the whipshed out with a vicious attack.

    Asura Whip Art- Hell me!

    The edges of the whip were surrounded by illusory mes that raised the temperature in the arena by several degrees.

    Both attacksnded directly on the nk canvas which instantly disintegrated after being exposed to the high heat.

    All the men in the arena screeched in fury and their inhuman voices became a cacophony of messy sounds.

    ¡°Art¡­ you destroyed art¡­ you monster¡­¡± one of the men whispered softly in an almost seductive tone of voice.

    ¡°Monster¡­ monster¡­ monster¡­¡±

    ¡°Art¡­ soul¡­ monster¡­ I SEE IT! I SEE IT NOW!¡±

    Each man tore off his white mask and ck ooze began to drip out of their facial orifices.

    Their noses, eyes and ears all leaked out the oily ck substance.

    They slowly moved towards the hybrid girl and her mirror copies with jerky puppet-like movements.

 Chapter 522: The Grand Finale

    <h4>Chapter 522: The Grand Finale</h4>

    ¡°Do you hear it?¡± one of the men whispered hoarsely as ck ooze continued to drip out of his eyes.

    ¡°The crowd¡­ the thunderous apuse¡­ this is art¡­¡± another man muttered quietly as he moved towards Sophie and her mirror copies.

    ¡°This is¡­ perfection,¡± the third man added with a twisted grin on his face.

    Sophie felt a chill run down her spine, and she exchanged nervous nces with her clones who also had simr expressions on their faces.

    This was so fucking creepy!

    The men stopped around two hundred meters away and for a brief moment both sides looked at each other inplete silence.

    The tension in the arena was so thick that one could cut it with a knife.

    Sophie¡¯s wasn¡¯t sure who made the first move, but she remembered one of her mirror copies pulling the trigger on the sma rifle in her hand.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three shots prated the body of the man leading the group but as holes appeared in his flesh, a coldugh could be heard echoing through the arena.

    The man staggered but did not fall.

    ck ooze flowed out from the holes in his body andnded on the ground where it bubbled and hissed.

    He raised up his right hand and gripped his paintbrush tightly.

    The other men copied his movements and while Sophie did not know what they were going to do next, she was determined not to let them seed.

    ¡°Attack now!¡± Sophie roared as the crimson hue covering her eyes darkened. She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a whip.

    Asura Whip Art- Endless Dragon Strikes!

    Sophie flung her weapon outwards and channeled her qi into the carbon-fibre whip.

    Thousands of illusory dragons appeared around the edge of her weapon and each gigantic beast roared with a primal fury.

    ¡°Beautiful. Magnificent. My heart trembles¡­. SHOW US MORE! SHOW US MORE!¡± the men shouted out in unison.

    They began to move the paintbrushes in unison and soon a colossal ck shield appeared out of thin air.

    Sophie¡¯s attack mmed against the shield, but her illusory dragons disappeared as if her cultivation technique had never been applied to her weapon.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie¡¯s clones were not idle and the ones holding sma sters and rifles fired round after round at the men huddled behind the shield.

    Unlike Sophie¡¯s attack, these sma shots passed through the barrier easily and pierced the flesh of the men.

    Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion because she couldn¡¯t understand what had just happened.

    Why was her attack stopped by the barrier, but sma rounds could pass through without a problem?

    The men fell one by one and eventually the barrier faded away. ck ooze dripped out of their corpses and the mountain of bodies made the arena seem like a living hell.

    Sophie gestured for one of her clones to approach the mass of bodies and her mirror copy reluctantly walked over.

    She inspected the bodies carefully and even poked one using her de-like appendages but received no response.

    ¡°Did we win?¡± one of the clones hesitantly asked.

    ¡°No¡­ it can¡¯t be that easy¡­ can it?¡± another chimed in with a confused look on her face.

    ¡°Well, I mean¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone could survive a hole in their skull¡­

    ¡°Are you blind? Did you not see that disgusting ck oozeing out of their bodies? These aren¡¯t normal cultivators¡­¡± another mirror copy argued fiercely.

    Sophie raised up her hand to get them to quiet down as she stared at the bodies with a thoughtful expression.

    Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something¡­.

    The ground began to tremble.

    Sophie dug her de-like appendages into the dirt to steady her body and the surviving child-like creatures were unceremoniously tossed around the field.

    The paintbrushes in each of the dead men¡¯s hands vibrated softly as if the tremor was somehow speaking to them.

    One by one they rose up into the air. The tip of each brush began to drip out an ooze of a different colour.

    Red¡­ orange¡­ ck¡­ pink¡­ blue¡­ indigo¡­

    ¡°Shoot them down!¡± Sophie quickly ordered as she pointed at the nearest brush.

    Her clones immediately followed hermand, but it was toote.

    An enormous drawing appeared in the sky that was sorge that Sophie felt like a mere antpared to its vastness.

    It was the drawing of a dragonpletely identical to the illusory ones that surrounded Sophie¡¯s whip but this time¡­

    The dragon came to life.

    First a skeleton appeared, then veins, then muscles and finally flesh and blood filled its hefty frame.

    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± the dragon tossed back its head and howled at the sky.

    The paintbrushes fell to the ground motionless but now Sophie could not even be bothered to pay attention to them.

    The dragon¡¯s wings steadily pped up and down and gusts of wind mmed into Sophie and her clones who barely managed to stay in ce.

    Its maw opened wide and hundreds of razor-sharp teeth could be seen lining the inside of its mouth.

    The dragon growled hoarsely, and one could see that its chest was beginning to swell up almost like a balloon.

    ¡°Hey¡­ um¡­ you don¡¯t think that¡­¡± one of the mirror clones nervously stuttered as she stared at the beast whose ws were bigger than her entire body.

    The dragon roared and a huge wave of fire exited its mouth. The temperature in the arena instantly rose up to a boiling point and Sophie could see the air vibrating.

    She barely had any time to react and could only activate her movement technique to run away as quickly as possible.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot just as a tsunami of mes crashed down where she had been standing just a moment ago.

    Her mirror copies were all immediately burnt to a crisp and their flesh disintegrated into ck particles.

    The dragonnded on the ground with heavy thud and its tail wagged from side to side. It sniffed the ashes, and a long-forked tongue tasted the ck particles.

    It whined softly and turned its attention to the surviving prey that had barely managed to escape its wrath.

    Sophie groaned in pain as she looked down at her body to discover that parts of her battlesuit had melted away.

    First degree and second-degree burns could be seen across her body but fortunately her healing factor kicked in, so the wounds were rapidly being repaired.

    p! p!

    A man walked out of one of the holes in the wall and his face was covered by a white mask.

    The mask was simr to the ones that Sophie had seen before but there was a single ck cross etched in the middle of the mask.

    The mysterious man waspletely unarmed and yet Sophie¡¯s danger sense felt a threating from him that was even stronger than the gigantic dragon.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± the man cheerfully spoke as he bowed deeply until his head touched the ground.

    ¡°For the grand finale¡­.¡±

 Chapter 523: The Curtain Falls...

    <h4>Chapter 523: The Curtain Falls¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    ¡°I mustmend you¡­¡± the mysterious man hoarsely spoke as he continued to bow respectfully in Sophie¡¯s direction.

    ¡°There are few who truly appreciate my art¡­ those who survive this long¡­ will be treated to my grand finale¡­¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that sound exciting? Doesn¡¯t it make your heart race?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it make you tremble and shiver in anticipation?¡±

    The man threw back his head andughed madly. Hisughter was course and guttural as if there was something inhuman beyond the white mask that covered his face.

    Sophie crushed a vial in her right hand and allowed the foul liquid to coat her palm.

    She closed her eyes and focused on the qi flowing through her body.

    Time seemed to slow down to a crawl¡­

    Everything faded away¡­ the mysterious man¡­ the colossal dragon¡­ they were all nothing but distractions¡­

    She had faced worse¡­pared to what she had endured in the Unovan Syndicate¡­ this was child¡¯s y.

    Sophie reopened her eyes that were fully crimson and activated her most dangerous poison cultivation technique.

    Poison Art- Eternal Sleep!

    The hybrid girl stretched out her palm and the toxic liquid coating her fingertips was instantly turned into a gas.

    This gas quickly filled the arena and mmed into the dragon directly. The dragon shrieked loudly in pain as horrific pus-filled boils appeared on its skin.

    It opened its mouth to breathe out another tidal wave of fire at Sophie, but its eyelids began to droop downwards.

    The dragon tried its best to fight the strange feeling but gradually the drowsiness proved too much for it to handle.

    A small piece of the gaseous cloud shot towards the much smaller figure of the man who made no attempts to avoid it.

    The gaseous spear prated the man¡¯s white mask, and he began to breathe in the toxic air which filled his lungs.

    ¡°Oh¡­ darling¡­¡± the man¡¯s voice dropped to a whisper as he reached into his pocket to pull out an oddly shaped pistol.

    ¡°You will have to do better than that¡­ art cannot be stopped with mere fumes¡­¡±

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Four shots one after the other echoed through the arena and Sophie could only stare in shock as four holes appeared in the dragon¡¯s chest.

    The man had killed his own creature without hesitation or remorse.

    The white mask on his face trembled and Sophie got the feeling that he was chuckling quietly.

    ¡°How about another piece of my work?¡± the man suggested calmly as he dropped the gun and picked up a paintbrush.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared just a few meters away from the man and used her ded appendages to stab at him.

    The barbed end of her hybrid appendages directly prated the man¡¯s flesh and exited the other side.

    She followed up the attack by pulling in the man closer and biting his neck with her erged fangs.

    Sophie injected all the venom that was stored in her nds and roughly shoved his body away once she finished her assault.

    Wait¡­ why¡­ did¡­

    Sophie bent over and vomited as a foul taste spread inside her mouth. She crouched down in pain as her body felt as though it was now on fire.

    The man rose up from the ground and ck ooze filled the wounds that instantly healed as if Sophie¡¯s attacks had done no damage.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡­ poison has little effect¡­ on a synthetic lifeform¡­¡± the man admitted casually as he began to draw a new picture.

    Sophie¡¯s body trembled but she rose up from the ground and lunged at the man with her fingernails extending outwards into ws.

    But she was toote¡­

    ¡°Behold! My masterpiece!¡± the man shouted in rapture as sparks of madness danced in his exposed eyes.

    An enormous birdposed entirely of ice was summoned onto the battlefield and the temperature instantly dropped to below freezing.

    Sophie could see a faint white cloud as she gently exhaled.

    The bird resembled a phoenix but instead of fire¡­ it was a creature of ice and snow.

    The bird pped its wings and heavy gusts of wind mmed into Sophie¡¯s body and sent her flying across the field.

    She used her ded appendages to stab into the ground and barely managed to stabilise herself before the next attack came.

    Screech!

    The bird opened its mouth and a piercing cry echoed through the arena that was so loud that Sophie¡¯s ear drums instantly ruptured.

    Blood trickled down Sophie¡¯s ears and the hybrid girl was briefly disoriented.

    The mysterious man looked down at his body in morbid fascination as he realised that he was gradually melting away.

    Sophie¡¯s venom was so potent that itpletely destroyed the biological molecules that made up part of his body structure.

    Impressive¡­ she was truly impressive¡­

    Her venom has surpassed his initial calctions¡­

    The manughed one final time as his body turned into a puddle of ck ooze which fell to the ground.

    Screech!

    The bird cried out in rage and flew towards Sophie with hundreds of ice spears surrounding its massive frame.

    Sophie appeared to be a mere insectpared to the vastness of the ice phoenix and yet there was not a single trace of hesitation or fear on her face.

    She cocked back her fist and mustered up all the strength that she had left.

    Fire Style- me fist!

    Sophie punched outwards and an enormous illusory fist travelled towards the phoenix at a startlingly high speed.

    The mes surrounding her attack shed with the icy aura surrounding the bird and white steam was produced.

    The bird was hit directly by the attack, and it faltered in shock.

    The icy spears disappeared, and Sophie knew that this was her opportunity to finish it off.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and flung as many explosives as she could find in the direction of the bird.

    Her crimson eyes could easily see through the white fog so she was able to urately toss every explosive device.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    Loud explosions erupted in massive fiery balls of destruction and directly detonated on top of the creature¡¯s body.

    Screech!

    This time the phoenix cried out in pain but unfortunately¡­

    Sophie had no mercy.

    The hybrid girl dashed forward and used her ws to tear open the phoenix¡¯s flesh.

    Her body was sttered with blood, but Sophie kept furiously ripping the monster apart piece by piece until its cries faded away to mere whimpers.

    No¡­ she wanted more¡­ more¡­

    Sophie froze in ce and took in several deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

    It was easy to lose control in her bloodlust state, but she was determined to keep her sanity intact.

    ¡°Rx¡­ the fight is over¡­ just rx¡­¡± Sophie whispered softly as she focused on her breathing.

    She was so upied by chanting out loud that she did not notice that a holographic screen had appeared in the middle of the field.

    [Second Stage Completed!]

    [Teleportation To The Next Stage Will ur In¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­]

 Chapter 524: Pick A Card, Any Card

    <h4>Chapter 524: Pick A Card, Any Card</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

    Sophie opened her eyes and discovered that she was now sitting down on a wooden chair in the middle of what appeared to be a small bedroom- sized room.

    A rusty old light bulb hung from the ceiling and illuminated the room with a dull flickering light that casted long shadows on the walls.

    The hybrid girl nervously shifted her body as she waited for something to happen.

    The injuries that she had sustained in the previous stage had already healed thanks to her regenerative ability.

    But still¡­ she was mentally exhausted.

    Sophie blinked and a mysterious table appeared in front of her.

    She looked around to see if anyone was there but did not see anything out of the ordinary.

    On the table were three cards that had been ced face down. Time slowly passed as Sophie did not make any sudden movements.

    Where did that tablee from?

    Was she supposed to flip over the cards? Or did she have to pick one?

    Numerous thoughts shed across Sophie¡¯s mind, and she eventually decided to use her foresight power.

    She assumed that each stage would get progressively harder so it did not make sense to keep some of her strength in reserve when there was a good chance that she could be eliminated.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes shifted to a pale white colour and her vision changed.

    A painfully headache began to throb in her mind as she appeared in the mysterious world of possibilities.

    Sophie saw the different versions of herself performing various actions in the room. In some futures she ignored the cards and tried to find a way out.

    Hours passed and she would remain trapped in the room until the exam ended. There was no escape from this peculiar situation.

    Sophie wandered over to a certain timeline and watched as a future version of herself picked the card in the middle.

    She instantly vanished from the room to some unknown location and the image of aughing clown appeared in the air.

    There were alternative versions of this future path but in each one Sophie would eventually be teleported from the room.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ that was interesting¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she continued to walk through the strange world.

    Another version of herself picked the card on the far right and she also disappeared from the room but this time the image of a regal queen appeared in the air.

    The queen had a cold expression on her face and held a golden scepter in her hand that glowed faintly with power.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense immediately exploded, and she knew that card was definitely not an option to pick.

    Was thest card going to lead to the same result?

    Sophie ran over to another future version of herself and waited in anticipation.

    This version took her time to decide which card to pick and gradually settled on picking up the card on the far left which she did with a hesitant expression.

    Unlike the other two oues, she was not teleported to an unknown location and instead a door was mysterious summoned in the corner of the room.

    The image of a heroic king appeared in the air and smiled warmly at this version of Sophie before cing a golden crown on her head.

    He gestured towards the door with a kind expression on his face before disappearing into tiny golden particles.

    It would have been a heartwarming scene were it not for the fact that this future Sophie¡¯s body gradually stiffened as the particles touched her skin.

    She opened her mouth to scream and tried to get up from the chair, but her movements were slow and jerky.

    Sophie watched in horror as this version of herself was encased in a golden exterior and became a living statue.

    What the hell?

    The hybrid girl gripped her head in pain as she felt her headache gradually worsen. It felt as though her mind was being split apart from the inside.

    The cost of using foresight¡­ she couldn¡¯t bear it for much longer¡­

    Sophie gritted her teeth as she was forced to cancel her ability. Her eyes returned to their normal golden hue, and she found herself back in the small room.

    Damn it! Now what was she going to do?

    Sophie was torn between just waiting it out here until the end of exam or taking a risk and picking one of the cards.

    Surely no one else would havepleted the second stage, right?

    How were first year students supposed to deal with a colossal ice phoenix and a gigantic dragon?

    Not to mention the strange artist who created such terrifying monstrosities¡­

    Sophie tapped the sides of the wooden table impatiently as her eyes kept drifting to the cards.

    No¡­ how could she give up so easily?

    She may not know the future, but Sophie was confident in her skills and ability to get out of dangerous predicaments.

    Plus, it wasn¡¯t as though she was going inpletely blind¡­

    Choosing the king card would lead to her death and only the queen and clown would hopefully lead to the next part of this stage.

    Her danger sense did activate when the queen appeared but truthfully Sophie was a bit creeped out by theughing clown.

    Which one? Which one to pick?

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and decided just to leave it to faith. She closed her eyes and repeated the ancient ritual that she had seen in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    ¡°Eenie, meenie, miney, mo¡­¡± Sophie chanted softly as she pointed her finger at one card and then switched to the other.

    ¡°Catch a tiger by the toe¡­

    ¡°If he¡¯s ready let him go¡­ eenie¡­ meenie¡­ miney¡­ moe!¡±

    Her fingernded on the card in the middle which Sophie then picked up with great trepidation in her heart.

    ¡°AHAHA! WE¡¯RE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN!¡± a loud voice came from somewhere in the room.

    Sophie looked around but the voice seemed to being from everywhere and nowhere at once.

    ¡°Show yourself¡­ don¡¯t make me hunt you down¡­¡± Sophie growled darkly as her eyes briefly shed crimson.

    ¡°Ohhh¡­ scary¡­ SCARY! I¡¯M SHIVERING IN MY BOOTS!¡± the voice cried out in mock fear.

    A hoarse giggling noise that sent chills down Sophie¡¯s spine echoed through the room. The hybrid girl stood up from the chair but the card in her hand began to heat up.

    Before Sophie could react, she disappeared from the room and the floating image of a clown appeared where she had once stood.

    The clown rubbed his hands together in glee as a sadistic smile stretched across his face.

 Chapter 525: The Big Show Begins!

    <h4>Chapter 525: The Big Show Begins!</h4>

    (Unknown Location)

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! Freaks of all nature! Wee to tonight¡¯s big show!¡± a loud voice entered Sophie¡¯s ears and caused the hybrid girl to frown.

    She opened her eyes and found herself standing inside what could only be described as a gigantic tent.

    The walls of the tent were red and white. There were rows upon rows of seats ced along the edges of the tent that formed a ring.

    Sitting on the seats were thousands of identical looking clowns who stared at Sophie with expressions of barely disguised glee.

    One of the clowns floated in the air above the arena and a card danced between his fingertips.

    He giggled madly and hisughter was hoarse and guttural. There was something inhuman about the voice that left his throat¡­

    ¡°Please wee¡­ today¡¯s new challenger! The magnificent! The spectacr! The one and only¡­¡± the clown grandly announced.

    ¡°Sophie Peterlor!¡±

    Loud cheers erupted throughout the arena as the thousands of clowns banged their hands together to create a deafening apuse.

    The temperature inside the tent was well above forty degrees Celsius and Sophie could feel beads of sweat begin to run down the sides of her cheeks.

    She didn¡¯t know how the interior of the tent was so well lit since there did not appear to be a light source anywhere.

    The crowd¡¯s enthusiasm was not dampened by Sophie¡¯s dumbfounded appearance and if anything¡­ they somehow got even crazier.

    ¡°OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOU SOPHIE!¡±

    ¡°WOOO! YEAH BABY! I¡¯VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ALL WEEK!¡±

    ¡°I LEFT MY WIFE AND KIDS TO BE HERE!¡±

    Sophie dodged as a bouquet of red roses was hurled in her direction by a particrly happy fan who shrieked loudly as the flowersnded near her feet.

    The hybrid girl didn¡¯t know what was happening since the atmosphere inside this strange new ce was quite chaotic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let up your guard¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out several needles.

    She cautiously kept an eye on the crowd who were now beginning to push and shove against one another while always keeping in mind the floating clown above her head.

    The floating clown cleared his throat twice and then as if a magic spell had been cast, the arena becamepletely silent.

    ¡°Now¡­ now¡­ we¡¯ve all had our fun¡­ but it¡¯s time to get a bit serious,¡± the clown spoke solemnly as he ced one hand over his chest.

    ¡°Before this show begins¡­ I would like to talk a little bit about today¡¯s sponsor Universal Life Psychedelics Inc.¡±

    ¡°The onlypany in the Earth Federation that uses all natural artificial products to get you buzzed up beyond belief.¡±

    ¡°Four lucky winners in the crowd will receive a free sample and if you use code ¡®Freakshow¡¯ at checkout¡­ you can save up to fifteen percent off your first purchase.¡±

    Sophie nervously backed away from the clown who continued advertising the sponsorship.

    She had never heard of apany called Universal Life Psychedelics Inc. but her danger sense immediately activated when the clown talked about the free samples.

    The floating clown waved his hands and four yellow pills appeared out of thin air.

    He snapped his fingers, and the pills flew towards the open mouths of four clowns scattered across the arena.

    ¡°Damn it! I wanted a taste¡­ she always gets picked¡­¡±

    ¡°Give me! I¡¯LL DO ANYTHING FOR A SAMPLE!¡±

    ¡°HEHEHE! IT¡¯S PARTY TIME BOIS!¡±

    Loud whispers entered Sophie¡¯s ears as the crowd expressed their dissatisfaction with the limited quantity of drugs.

    ¡°Now while we wait for the effects to kick in¡­ why don¡¯t we have a warm- up act?¡± the floating clown giggled as he turned his attention to Sophie.

    He pped his hands twice and arge open pit formed in the center of the arena. A skeletal monstrosity wed its way upwards from the pit.

    This creature was entirely made out of bones with no muscles or flesh on its naked body.

    It appeared to be humanoid and yet its bones were rainbow coloured.

    The abomination wore a purple party hat and a pair of baggy oversized pants that hung loosely on its bony pelvis.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Sophie¡¯s involuntarily cursed as her eyes widened in surprise.

    ¡°WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!¡± the floating clown hollered in rage as he pointed at the hybrid girl.

    Sophie¡¯s felt a strong wave of force crash against her body, and she was sent flying across the arena.

    She mmed to the ground with a pain thump. The force contained in the floating clown¡¯s simple gesture was not something that she could easily handle.

    He had to be in the void stage at least¡­

    No¡­ this exam was definitely too hard¡­ why in god¡¯s name was she facing a void stage cultivator when she was only in the qi tide stage?!

    This was like sending a toddler to fight a fully grown man.

    Sophie opened her mouth to protest when she hurriedly pushed off from the ground using her ded appendages just as a bone-like projectile passed mere inches away from her face.

    Swish!

    A thin line of blood dripped from Sophie¡¯s cheek as the projectile had been covered in a qi technique that sliced her flesh even though it did not strike her directly.

    ¡°And Mr. Chuckles had struck the first blow!¡± the floating clown yelled happily as he snapped his fingers.

    A holographic screen was projected into the air that disyed the current odds of the fight.

    It was three to one with the odds stacks in the bone-like monstrosity¡¯s favour.

    Sophie growled darkly as her golden eyes shifted to a crimson hue. The odds instantly changed to one to one as the floating clown watched her new form with interest.

    ¡°A vessel¡­ hmm¡­ that old man¡­ really made my trip worthwhile¡­¡± the clown whispered quietly as his eyes sparkled with mischief.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared next to the monster and swung her fist at its neck.

    The creature did not react as Sophie¡¯s palm knocked its skull several feet away from its body.

    The hybrid girl grinned savagely but her smile was cut short as spikes were shot out of the monster¡¯s severed neck.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    Sophie hurriedly moved away but could notpletely avoid the rain of needle- like projections that seemed to be endless.

    She cocked back her fist and punched out using as much force as she could muster.

    The shockwave from her attack knocked away most of the needles and only a fewnded on the lower part of her arms and legs.

    The skeletal head rose up into the air and flew over to the body where it quickly became reattached as if nothing had happened.

    ¡°The second blow goes to Sophie Peterlor! Ladies and gentlemen¡­ we have quite the match on disy today!¡± the floating clown enthusiastically cried out.

    Suddenly his voice was cut short as he snapped his fingers, and the monster was sucked back into the pit.

    A strange expression shed across the clown¡¯s face and Sophie¡¯s wasn¡¯t sure if it was horror or excitement.

    Perhaps it was a mix of both¡­

    The clown raised up a hand to his right ear and pretended to be talking to someone on an invisible phone.

    ¡°Wait¡­ what was that? The drugs are finally kicking in?¡± the clown asked in a hushed voice that was still loud enough to be heard around the arena.

    ¡°Well¡­ then¡­ how about we skip the warm-up¡­¡±

    ¡°And move on to the main event!¡±

 Chapter 526: Why do you look normal?!

    <h4>Chapter 526: Why do you look normal?!</h4>

    (Unknown Location)

    ¡°Now can I invite our brave volunteers to make their way to the arena?¡± the clown politely whispered as he stretched out his hands.

    Loud cheers and thunderous apuse echoed through the tent as the crowd pushed and shoved against one another.

    Four clowns slowly walked towards Sophie and each one was spurned on by the jeers andughter from the crowd.

    Sophie¡¯s danger sense kicked into overdrive as she felt a threat stronger than anything that she had felt so far in the exam.

    She hurriedly backed away as the four clowns formed a straight line and stared at her with twisted smiles on their faces.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?! Why do you look so¡­ normal?¡± the host asked with disgust.

    He snapped his fingers and four blue pills appeared out of thin air.

    He waved his right palm, and the pills flew into the open mouths of the four clowns who swallowed them gleefully.

    ¡°And remember folks¡­ this fight is brought to you by Universal Life Psychedelics Inc. They put the ¡®drug¡¯ in drug- fueled excitement!¡± the host yelled happily.

    ¡°Good luck young Sophie Peterlor¡­ you only need to survive for twenty minutes to win¡­¡±

    The floating clown pped his hands twice and the holographic projection changed to be a timer that started ticking down.

    He giggled onest time before vanishing from the air and reappearing among the thousands of identical looking clowns in the stands.

    Sophie cautiously held multiple needles in her palm as she stared at her four opponents. There was a rare moment of silence in the tent.

    One could hear a pin drop.

    Just as the hybrid girl was contemting making the first move¡­ something changed.

    The four clowns dropped to the ground and shrieked in pain as thick wriggling green veins could be seen beneath their skin.

    Their bodies swelled up almost cartoonishly until they were massive lumps of flesh with vague humanoid features.

    ¡°What¡­ what the¡­¡± Sophie stammered in shock as she saw repulsive bright red boils that resembled a clown¡¯s nose appear on their bloated bodies.

    Each boil swelled up and eventually popped to release a foul yellowish liquid that made Sophie want to throw up.

    But the worst was yet toe¡­

    Hundreds of tiny mouths were formed on the fleshy rolls of fat, and each had dozens of sharp teeth and a long pink tongue hidden inside.

    Hoarse, guttural inhumanughter came out of the mouths and Sophie could only watch in horror as the bodies began to roll towards her.

    She ran towards the direction of the stands but was stopped by an invisible barrier that stretched around the narrow space.

    One of the clowns in the crowd swayed his finger back and forth and stared at her with an almost mocking expression.

    Damn it!

    She was forced to fight!

    Sophie growled and the crimson colour in her eyes darkened. The hybrid girl rushed towards the first rolling body and circted her qi towards her legs.

    She jumped up hundreds of feet in the air and then unleashed a fatal technique.

    God¡¯s Eye ¨C Needle storm!

    Sophie threw her needles at the bodies below and wrapped her qi around each pointed tip.

    The needles were covered in a golden aura, and they easily prated the slow-moving bodies.

    But instead of blood, Sophie saw what appeared to be thin strips of confetti burst out of the clowns¡¯ open wounds.

    They were like giant pi?atas¡­

    ¡°Oh¡­ that tickles!¡± one of the clownsughed as his belly jiggled merrily from side to side.

    ¡°BOYS I THINK WE NEED TO GIVE HER A LITTLE SURPISE!¡± another one yelled as the mouths on his body began to tremble with excitement.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    The clowns¡¯ bodies exploded one by one, and a series of shockwaves mmed into Sophie who was still falling downwards.

    The hybrid girl screamed in pain as she felt the heat melt away her flesh and leave horrific wounds all over her body.

    She fell to the ground helplessly and crashed with a painful thud. Thick heavy purple smoke filled the arena and Sophie shakily got up from the ground.

    Ever muscle in her body was screaming out in pain and she felt as though she had just been run over by a truck.

    Sophie¡¯s ultra regeneration kicked in and her flesh knitted itself back together as if the wounds had never urred.

    The hybrid girl could easily peer through the obstruction caused by the smoke and saw four skeletal-like figures walking over with joyful steps.

    The clowns had undergone a second transformation.

    Now their bodies were skinny to the point where it looked unnatural as if they were toys that had been stretched out by some mischievous kid.

    Their eyes had sunken into their sockets, exposed pieces of bone could be seen at the end of their fingertips and the hundreds of mouths were now gasping for breath.

    Wheezing and grunts could be hearding from the clowns¡¯ mouths as they struggled to form a single coherent word.

    Cheers rang out through the arena and Sophie looked up at the countdown timer and saw that only five minutes had passed so far.

    She still had fifteen minutes left¡­

    The hybrid girl crouched down in a defensive position and waited for the clowns to make their first move.

    That sudden explosion had rattled Sophie far more that she would care to admit, and the unsettling nature of this strange ce was getting on her nerves.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then eight identical copies of herself appeared where she had just been standing.

    The eight hybrid girls growled darkly as their golden eyes also turned crimson in response to Sophie¡¯s heightened bloodlust state.

    The four clowns did not seem bothered by their unexpected appearance and looks of excitement shed across their distorted faces.

    They rushed forward and the bony tips of their fingers became long jagged ws that gleamed under the light.

    One of Sophie¡¯s clones did not react in time and the clown tore open her throat with startling ease.

    Of course, the other mirror copies and Sophie herself were not helpless and fought back using their ded appendages to create space.

    Stab!

    Sophie¡¯s upper right appendage prated the throat of the clown in front of her, but it was like stabbing something made out of rubber.

    The pointed barb on the end of her appendage simply sank into the flesh and she had to struggle to pull it out.

    The clown giggled mischievously and began to jump up and down as if he was performing a strange dance.

    Sophie gritted her teeth as she saw his yful antics and furiously shed at him using a knife that she had pulled out of her pocket.

    The clown continued tough even as Sophie¡¯s de sliced open his stomach.

 Chapter 527: The Deadly Conclusion

    <h4>Chapter 527: The Deadly Conclusion</h4>

    [Tick¡­ tick¡­ tick¡­]

    [There are: 15 minutes 49 seconds remaining¡­]

    The timer on the floating hologram projection kept decreasing steadily but Sophie was in no mood to pay attention to it.

    The clown whose stomach she had just sliced open wasughing eerily and the hundreds of mouths on his body stuck out their long pink tongues.

    Sophie jumped away just as the tongues erupted from the clown¡¯s mouths and shot towards her direction.

    The tongues now resembled long wriggling pinkish snakes that oozed a faint yellowish liquid that had an unpleasant scent.

    Sophie had to fight down the urge to vomit as she used her ded appendages to slice the ones that came too close.

    ¡°Help! This feels so fucking gross!¡± one of the mirror clones shouted in horror as the tongue wrapped around her body.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out an explosive device.

    She tilted her head to the side and narrowly avoided one of the tongues before arming the device and throwing it at the captured clone.

    BOOM!

    The mirror copies summoned due to the Rsychosis technique were less sturdy than Sophie¡¯s original body, so the clone immediately died in the st.

    Chunks of flesh rained down in the arena and loud cheers erupted in the crowd as they saw the bloodshed.

    The clown who was also directly struck by the st fell to the ground with his body burnt and ckened beyond recognition.

    The other three that remained seemed to be enraged by theirpanion¡¯s death and savage expressions shed across their faces.

    They mourned the loss of theirpanion, and their heartfelt cries filled the arena.

    ¡°You killed Bob! Why? He was a good boy!¡±

    ¡°He would never hurt a fly! It was only humans that he hated!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s in a better ce now¡­ the big tent in the sky¡­¡±

    The clowns sitting down in the stands began to sob as they heard the words of their depressed brethren in the arena.

    Sophie took the opportunity to slip away to the back of the group and she exchanged a look with her mirror copies.

    They rushed forward at the clowns who seemed distracted, but Sophie¡¯s danger sense immediately red up.

    The clowns¡¯ limbs began to stretch until their arms and legs were now more than ten feet in length.

    Their faces werepletely sunken and now one could barely make out any of their facial features.

    The hundreds of mouths scattered across their bodies slowly disappeared and were reced by rash-like patches of skin.

    The clowns opened their mouths and horrific shrieks echoed through the arena. They leapt to face Sophie and her mirror copies head on.

    The bony tips of their fingers lengthened, and the long-jagged ws were now more akin to short swords.

    Sophie allowed the bloodlust to fully take over and her world slowed down to a crawl.

    She could see the clown¡¯s movements as if they were in slow motion and her body moved automatically to take them down.

    Sophie¡¯s ded appendages sliced off the right hand of the one closest to her before she raised up her foot to kick him in the stomach.

    The clown flew several feet in the air and eventually crashed against the invisible barrier where he fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

    One of the Sophie¡¯s clones screamed in pain as a clown¡¯s bony ws prated her stomach and ripped out her small intestine.

    The clone next to her used this opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the clown as he attacked her sister.

    sh!

    The clone¡¯s ded appendage nearly separated the clown¡¯s head from his neck and his lifeless body crashed to the floor.

    Three down¡­ one to go¡­

    Sophie nced up at the holographic projection and saw that the timer disyed that only seven minutes remained.

    This was going better than she expected so she definitely knew that something was going to happen next¡­

    The surviving clown¡¯s body swelled up like a balloon and he began floating gently in the air as if he nned to ascend to the heavens.

    Sophie threw needles at his body and their pointed ends sank into his flesh but to no avail.

    The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small vial.

    She uncorked the top of the vial and swallowed its contents without a moment of hesitation.

    Sophie could feel the toxins inside the vial enter her body and flow around her meridians before entering her venom nds.

    The clown giggled happily and one by one the bodies of his deadpanions floated up towards him as if they were guided by some mysterious force.

    The monstrous abomination stretched out his arms and hispanions flew into his body where they melted into his fleshy exterior.

    Four had now be one.

    Sophie felt her fangs slowly lengthen as the potent venom in her nds were ready to deliver a fatal dose.

    The clown in the airughed hoarsely and then descended to the ground where it stood on tiptoes and struck a feminine pose.

    ¡°The show¡­ must go¡­ go¡­ on¡­¡± the clown spoke with great effort as his body heaved with every breath that he took.

    Sophie¡¯s body trembled with excitement.

    Maybe it was the effect of using her bloodlust state for too long but there was only one urge in her mind.

    Hunt.

    Hunt.

    HUNT!

    Sophie growled inhumanly and her body blurred and then vanished from the spot. She reappeared next to the massive abomination and her fangs gleamed under the light.

    Madness danced in her eyes as the hybrid girl opened her mouth wide and took arge bite.

    The clown¡¯s flesh was rubbery and chewy with a disgusting aftertaste, but Sophie did not n to eat him.

    Her hollow fangs injected an endless stream of deadly venom inside the clown¡¯s body.

    The clown swung one of his hefty arms at the hybrid girl clinging to his side, but Sophie easily dodged the obvious blow.

    One of Sophie mirror copies dashed forward and pulled Sophie out of harm¡¯s way just as one of the rashes on the clown¡¯s body exploded.

    Purplish ooze sprayed in the direction where Sophie had been standing just seconds ago. The clown frowned and prepared to attack again when his body froze.

    He copsed on the ground and began to convulse. Froth and saliva leaked out of the sides of his mouth as hisrge body trembled.

    Sophie¡¯s venom was liquefying his organs from the inside and eating away at his muscle and fat tissues.

    It was a horrific death thatsted for several long agonising minutes until the clown eventually stopped moving.

    [Tick¡­ tick¡­ tick¡­]

    [There are: 0 minutes 0 seconds remaining¡­]

    [Congrattions! You have passed!]

 Chapter 528: The Battle Ranking Exam Ends

    <h4>Chapter 528: The Battle Ranking Exam Ends</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Training Field No.12- Unknown Location)

    Sophie knelt down on the ground and curled up as she took in a few deep breaths. The bloodlust rushing through her body had not been sated.

    Hunt¡­ hunt¡­ hunt¡­

    Over and over those sinister words echoed through her mind and made the hybrid girl¡¯s eyes darken in colour.

    ¡°Breathe¡­ remember¡­ breathe¡­ and¡­ exhale¡­¡± Sophie whispered quietly.

    She silently counted to twenty and focused on her breathing until those terrible urges gradually faded away.

    Sophie reopened her eyes that were now their normal golden hue and felt a wave of exhaustion crash against her body.

    The non-stop fighting for several hours and her use of qi intensive cultivation techniques had taken their toll.

    The words on the holographic projection continued to shine down on the hybrid girl who felt a small tinge of satisfaction and pride.

    [Congrattions! You have passed!]

    Only a few dozen feet away was the oversized corpse of the monstrosity that she had killed using her venom.

    It had been a tough fight, but Sophie felt relief knowing that she had not just survived for twenty minutes but also defeated the terrible foe.

    One of the clowns in the stands snapped his fingers and all the identical versions of himself vanished as if they had never been there.

    He floated above Sophie and looked down on her like a god staring at an ant.

    The clown chuckled merrily as he stared at the hybrid girl with a strange glint in his eyes.

    ¡°You are truly impressive¡­ daughter of Duke Peterlor¡­ it is clear that your father should be very proud of his offspring,¡± the clown hoarsely muttered.

    ¡°In a few hundred years¡¯ time¡­ I look forward to seeing your feats¡­ I wonder¡­ how far can you go?¡±

    The clown opened his right palm, and a small card flew out from between his fingertips. The card flew towards Sophie¡¯s direction andnded near her feet.

    She picked up the small card and saw that it waspletely nk except for a tiny smiley face painted on the top left corner of the card.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure what to do with the card, so she ced it in her storage bag under the watchful eye of the floating clown.

    ¡°Consider that a gift¡­¡± the clown spoke in a more serious tone as his eyes seemed to stare at something through Sophie.

    ¡°It is not easy being a vessel¡­ I know that all too well¡­¡±

    Before Sophie could ask what he meant, the clown snapped his fingers and Sophie felt the space around her shatter.

    Crack!

    Space fractured like ss and therge, oversized tent that filled the room crumbled away to be nothing more than dust.

    Sophie felt her body begin to dissolve into tiny light particles and knew that she was about to be teleported once more.

    ¡°Wait¡­ how did you know I was a¡­¡± Sophie yelled loudly but the clown just waved at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

    Thest thing that Sophie saw was the clown mouthing the words ¡®good luck¡¯ before her vision faded away to darkness.

    Sophie reopened her eyes to find herself standing in a in white room with two wooden doors attached to the wall.

    One of the doors had the symbol of a zing sun painted in the middle of its outer surface while the other had a full crescent moon that glowed softly under the light.

    Sophie recognised those symbols instantly since she had seen them a few hours earlier on the doors ced along the circumference of the dome.

    What was it that Principal Malik had said?

    Sophie furrowed her brows and remembered that the principal had mentioned that in order toplete the exam¡­

    One needed to find an exit that corresponded to the symbol printed on the door that you were assigned to.

    The door that she had entered had the symbol of a zing sun painted on its exterior.

    So, did that mean that this was the exit?

    Sophie tried to use her foresight ability to peer into the future but the splitting headache that she received forced her to abandon that n.

    Clearly, she was spent.

    The hybrid girl extended her senses and tried to detect if this room had any hidden dangers or threats.

    Her danger sense did not alert her to any potential threats so hopefully her initial guess was correct, and this was the end of the exam.

    Sophie didn¡¯t know what time it was since she had not been keeping track since the exam begun so she quickly powered on her wristmunicator.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ five hours and thirty minutes have passed¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she walked towards the door with the sun painted on it.

    Sophie gripped the metallic handle and took a deep breath before turning it open. Beyond the door was the familiar sight of the training field.

    The hybrid girl stepped out of the dome and looked around curiously as she saw that she had exited in the exact ce where she had entered.

    It felt good to be back.

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator for any missed messages and saw that the group chat was fairly active.

    Cleo: [Just finished the exam about ten minutes ago¡­ I¡¯m sitting in the far-left stand near the stairs]

    Astrid: [Urgh¡­ this anti-mage statue is kicking my ass! Hopefully this is thest fight because this oversized rock is getting on my nerves]

    Qiana: [I¡¯ve been out for three hours now¡­ sorry that I¡¯m now replying¡­]

    Qiana: [I went home to wash the blood off my clothes¡­]

    Speaking of clothes¡­ Sophie looked down and realised that her battle suit was severely burnt and tattered.

    Fortunately, none of the exposed areas were in sensitive ces but Sophie hurriedly pulled a repair patch out of her storage bag.

    She ced the white bundle on the corner of her clothes and the white smart threads automatically moved towards the damaged sections and repaired them.

    It was just a temporary fix, but it would suit her needs for now.

    Sophie waited until her clothes had fully been repaired before typing out a message in the group chat.

    Sophie: [Hey! I just came out! Cleo I¡¯m walking towards the far-left stand now¡­ we can meet up and then go home together to celebrate!]

    Cleo: [Celebrate? Is that what we¡¯re calling it now? wink wink :)]

    Qiana: [Again¡­ please flirt in your private chats¡­ no one needs to know your ns for the evening¡­]

    Sophieughed and began to type out a response to Qiana¡¯sint as she walked towards Cleo¡¯s location.

    It was a lovely day and as the warm rays of sunlight fell on her body¡­

    Sophie felt at peace.

 Chapter 529: A Secret Is Exposed...

    <h4>Chapter 529: A Secret Is Exposed¡­</h4>

    (Canis Major Star System)

    (Outer Regions- Unnamed)

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± a soft silky voice melodically whispered.

    This beautiful voice belonged to a slender snake-like alien with feminine hips and eyes that sparkled under the light.

    She was currently wrapped around a handsome muscr man in histe twenties with a rough unshaven beard.

    ¡°Just looking at some footage from my old school¡­¡± the man replied with a low chuckle as he stretched out his hand to rub the alien¡¯s scaly back.

    The alien purred happily, and a blush appeared on her reptilian face. She leaned in closer, and her forked tongue licked the man¡¯s cheek.

    Strong sexual tension filled the air and just as the man was about to respond to her teasing¡­ the door was suddenly opened.

    ¡°Archer! We need to¡­ oh hell no! What¡­ what¡­ the ¡­ actual¡­ fuc¡­¡± a young boy stammered in shock as he saw the scene on the bed.

    The man on the bedughed hoarsely and waved his hand.

    Blue runic symbols hovered above his fingertips and the boy¡¯s expression gradually turned wooden.

    ¡°You will forget everything that you saw here¡­ I wille downstairs to meet the rest of the crew in ten minutes,¡± Archer whispered softly as his fingers danced to create a strange pattern.

    The young boy¡¯s pupils dted for a moment before returning back to normal.

    He closed the door and the sounds of his footsteps gradually got softer and softer.

    ¡°Sorry babe¡­ looks like we¡¯ll have to cut this short¡­¡± Archer spoke with a crestfallen expression as he gently touched the alien¡¯s tail.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be here waiting for you darling¡­¡± the snake-like alien sensually muttered.

    ¡°Well¡­ as long as you have the credits¡­¡±

    She winked mischievously at Archer who pulled up his pants and fumbled slightly to get his belt on properly.

    He left the room but not before nodding at the alien who was still curled up on the bed and watching him with a seductive glint in her eyes.

    Archer was in such a hurry to leave the room that he forgot his pocketmunicator on the bed.

    The circr metalloid device bleeped twice which alerted the snake-like alien who looked at it curiously.

    She stretched out her long w-like fingers and tapped the screen. A video began to y, and it showed what Archer had been watching just a few moments ago.

    In the video a hybrid girl with four de-like appendages jutting out of her back was ughtering a group of enemies with impressivebat techniques.

    Wait¡­

    A shocked expression shed across the snake-like alien¡¯s face as she looked closer at the features of the hybrid girl.

    Golden eyes?

    de-like appendages? No¡­ surely not¡­

    Those Arachnais cowards never ventured outside of the inner regions of the Insectoid Empire.

    There was no way that one of them would even interact with much less dare to breed with an inferior human.

    Just as the snake-like alien was about to send the video to her own device, the door swung open, and Archer re-entered the room.

    ¡°Darling! Darling! You forgot yourmunicator!¡± the snake-like alien smiled but inwardly she was cursing in her heart.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sometimes I forget¡­ thanks for picking it up for me,¡± Archer smiled gently as he walked over and took the device.

    ¡°Oh? Did you see the video that I was watching?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I must have tapped it by mistake when I was picking it up,¡± the alien lied with no change in her expression.

    ¡°Who was that hybrid girl?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Duke Peterlor¡¯s only daughter¡­ can you believe it? The youngest god stage cultivator and a high noble has a hybrid girl as the heiress to his estate,¡± Archer casually replied.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter¡­

    The snake-like alien narrowed her eyes and made a mental note to herself to investigate a bit further.

    The Canis Major system was not technically part of the Earth Federation, but it was located only a few thousand light years away.

    That was the reason why the gossip among the high noble circles did not spread among the people living here.

    This was the first time that the snake-like alien had heard of this hybrid girl who was the heiress to a dukedom.

    But she suspected that the hybrid girl hid an even darker secret¡­ a parent who was actually a member of a high-level Insectoid species.

    Perhaps a buyer would be interested in her knowledge¡­ for a fair price.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    ¡°Moon! Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re not going to get punished today!¡± Sophie furiously yelled as her frostwing bat sleepily opened his eyes.

    Herbat beast pet stirred from his slumber and looked at his master who stood there with an expression of rage on her face.

    ¡°I cannot believe that you slept through the final round of the battle ranking exam after I spent all those months training with you!¡± Sophie gritted her teeth in fury,

    Moon sensed that something terrible was about to happen and hurriedly flew out from beneath the bedsheets and headed for the door.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Sophie growled darkly as her golden eyes narrowed into tiny slits. Her figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    She reappeared next to Moon and wrapped her arms around the struggling frostwing bat so that he could not escape.

    ¡°Now¡­ what punishment should I give you¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly as an evil grin surfaced on her face.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Cleo! Help! Mommy is going crazy!)

    Moon struggled to escape her grasp, but Sophie¡¯s grip was impossible to leave.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s enhanced strength was more than enough to hold down her mischievousbat pet.

    Just as Sophie opened her mouth to give Moon a fierce scolding, she heard a sweet voiceing from downstairs.

    ¡°Babe, I made some chocte cakes¡­e down when you¡¯re ready,¡± Cleo yelled happily as she walked towards the couch in the living room.

    A silly smile surfaced on Sophie¡¯s face and her anger was directly reduced by half.

    She let out a heavy sigh as she saw the relieved expression that shed across Moon¡¯s face.

    ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll deal with you tomorrow¡­ just know that we are going to do five hours of extra training for an entire week¡­ and if you dare oversleep again¡­¡± Sophie whispered softly.

    ¡°No. More. Late. Night. Shows.¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (You wouldn¡¯t!)

    Moon looked up and saw the serious glint in Sophie¡¯s eyes and knew that his master was not joking.

    He nodded his furry head, so Sophie let him go with one final warning look.

    The frostwing bat dove back under his sheets and refused toe out. Sophieughed softly and closed the door to his bedroom.

    She walked downstairs and headed for the couch where Cleo was waiting patiently for her girlfriend to arrive.

    ¡°Did you manage to punish Moon?¡± Cleo asked with a knowing grin.

    ¡°Shut up¡­. I¡¯ll do it tomorrow¡­¡± Sophie sheepishly replied as she leaned in closer and nted a soft kiss on Cleo¡¯s lips.

    The kiss lingered for several minutes as Sophie stuck out her tongue and explored Cleo¡¯s mouth with a hungry passion.

    Her hands roamed around Cleo¡¯s soft body and gently fondled and squeezed her two plump breasts.

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes and Cleo knew that she was in for a long afternoon¡­

 Chapter 530: Dark Tides Begin To Rise

    <h4>Chapter 530: Dark Tides Begin To Rise</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Duke¡¯s Private Study Office)

    ¡°Excellent¡­ my daughter is truly like her old man,¡± Duke Peterlor whispered proudly as he read the report on hismunicator.

    Sophie had gotten first ce in the battle ranking exam and the news was beginning to spread around some noble circles.

    Power was always respected, and several forces were revaluating their rtionship with House Peterlor.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s daughter had the potential to be a powerhouse just like her father which meant that whether or not she was a hybrid was slowly bing irrelevant.

    The duke stretched out his hand and picked up a cup of coffee on his table that was still gently steaming.

    He raised up the cup and took a small sip as he continued to read through the report.

    Sophie¡¯s abilities were vastly above her peers and in fact she was probably at the level of third year students.

    Duke Peterlor smiled as he saw a picture of his daughter standing proudly on a podium and epting a trophy from the principal.

    Principal Malik was smiling with a wolfish grin as he presented the trophy and posed for a picture with a thumbs up.

    That old man¡­ he was always so surprisingly childish¡­

    Knock! Knock!

    Two soft tapping noises came from the other side of the door and then it opened to reveal an elderly man dressed in a simple ck suit.

    ¡°Pardon my intrusion master,¡± Butler Gerald politely spoke as he walked towards the duke and gave a short bow.

    ¡°Gerald¡­ there is no need for the formalities when it¡¯s just the two of us¡­¡± Duke Peterlor admonished his old friend.

    ¡°Of course, sir,¡± Butler Gerald replied with a light smile.

    He nced at the image disyed on the duke¡¯smunicator screen and a happy expression shed across his face.

    He had known Sophie ever since she was a little baby, and it was reassuring to know that the girl who used to cry quite a bit had now grown up.

    ¡°So, tell me¡­ what is the urgent news?¡± Duke Peterlor asked curiously as he tapped his fingers against the top of his desk.

    ¡°Well, I must inform you of two important developments¡­.¡± Butler Gerald put away his lighthearted expression and spoke seriously.

    ¡°You have received a dozen more invitations from various princes and princesses hoping for your support in the uing fight for the throne.¡±

    ¡°And there is a rumor that the noble families who are part of the Human Supremacy faction have thrown their support behind the crown prince.¡±

    Duke Peterlor leaned back against his chair and slowly digested the information that he had just been given.

    The fight between the Human Supremacy faction and his group of likeminded nobles who supported hybrid rights was currently in a bit of a stalemate.

    The death of the emperor had essentially reset the board and neither side knew what position the next head of state would take in regard to hybrid and alien rights in the Federation.

    Currently both sides taking different approaches to the fight for session with Duke Peterlor¡¯s group taking a more passive approach.

    One could never tell what was going to happen in a life and death fight, so it was risky to throw your support behind a candidate.

    In the worst-case situation, you could end up offending the future emperor and empress and that would be suicide for your political career.

    That is why thest bit of information was extremely shocking.

    Why would the Human Supremacy faction show their hand so early?

    It made no sense from a logical point of view and Duke Peterlor could not understand what the reasoning behind their decision was.

    However, now was not the time to make rash moves in response but rather to n carefully and seize this opportunity to investigate the current situation.

    Duke Peterlor looked at his loyal butler directly and gave out a series of orders in a firm tone,

    ¡°Thank you for informing me¡­ send a message to the heads of house Abazin, Braveheart, ckait, Pitfax, Davenyer and Corgit to schedule an emergency meeting,¡±

    ¡°This will be a small private meeting and then in a few weeks time once more information has surfaced then I will reach out to the other noble families.¡±

    ¡°In addition, tell Katarina that she will be given one billion Enas to pay the ck-market informationworks¡­ I want all their data on the crown prince and the Grand Tutor.¡±

    Butler Gerald nodded solemnly and ced one hand over his chest before walking out of the room.

    He closed the door behind him with a quiet thump and soon the study room fell intoplete silence.

    ¡°The crown prince? But why? There are other candidates with opinions more in line with the Human Supremacy doctrine,¡± Duke Peterlor muttered to himself quietly.

    The crown prince was one of the favourites to be the next emperor, but Duke Peterlor was not particrly fond of his character.

    He was incredibly weak willed and seemed to change his positions based on who he was talking to.

    That made it incredibly difficult to figure out what his true thoughts were on certain matters.

    The only advantage that he had was a powerful mother who was a member of arge financial group with wealth that matched high noble families.

    Still¡­

    Duke Peterlor furrowed his brows and quickly opened up hismunicator to search the private Virtual.

    Prince Theseus had been making a few shocking moves recently.

    He had formed an alliance with House Martin and Drkane and rumors spread that he offered them mining colonies in exchange for their loyalty.

    But the strange thing was that even though the crown prince was offering rights that he was not authorized to give¡­ House Martin and House Drkane still epted his offer.

    The fight for session was both dangerous and murky. It was part of the reason why Duke Peterlor was staying clear of it.

    Greater noble families than his had vanished into the annals of history after supporting the wrong side in the war.

    It was for this reason why the duke had never entertained any of the princes or princesses who came to contact him.

    Princess Cleo was an exception, but no one thought that the duke nned to support her to fight for the throne.

    Still her rtionship with Sophie might make her a target¡­

    The other members of the royal family might see Cleo as a way to gain a connection with Sophie and by extent¡­ himself.

    Duke Peterlor paused for a moment and then began to type out a private message to Cleo telling her about his suspicions.

    He would protect both girls with all his strength and they should be safe as long as they did not get involved in the session war.

 Chapter 531: The Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 531: The Beginning</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Meri¡¯an)

    (Secret Location- Private Estate Of The Crown Prince)

    ¡°Duchess Rosalina¡­ the rumors of your beauty truly do not do you justice,¡± Prince Theseus gently spoke as he pulled out a chair for the gorgeous woman.

    ¡°Oh, save the ttery¡­ I am old enough to be your grandmother,¡± Duchess Rosalina repliedzily as she sat down on the chair.

    She was not fooled by the silver-tongued words of the crown prince as she had heard numerous men and women repeat those same praises hundred of times before.

    Cultivation had the secondary effect of maintain youth so even though the duchess was over five hundred years old¡­ she did not look a day over thirty.

    She wore a low-cut red dress that highlighted her two major assets that trembled violently as she stared at the crown prince.

    Prince Theseus smiled and sat across from her. They were not the only ones in the room and several other high nobles were sitting down or standing around the table.

    Robot androids moved from guest to guest and handed out light beverages and refreshments for them to enjoy.

    The crown prince had spared no expenses for this meeting for this was to be the first step in his n to take the crown.

    Prince Theseus furrowed his brows for a moment as a fuzzy memory surfaced in his mind, but he ignored the strange feeling.

    Maybe it was his nerves¡­

    The crown prince cleared his throat and stood up. His aura spread out and the other nobles in the room could not help but be attracted to his powerful momentum.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen¡­ I would like to thank you all foring here today,¡± Prince Theseus began his speech with great fervor.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone is aware that only a few months remain until the fight for the throne will officially begin¡­¡±

    ¡°I know some of you may be feeling a bit nervous¡­ and some may even bemunicating with other princes and princesses¡­¡±

    Prince Theseus paused his speech and stared at a few individuals in the room who trembled under his stern gaze.

    ¡°But that ends now,¡± Prince Theseus finally spoke with an unspoken threat hidden in his voice.

    ¡°I expect loyalty from those who wish to flock to my side. As emperor I will promise you that everyone in this room will receive a great deal of wealth and power.¡±

    ¡°What are you offering?¡± an elderly man suddenly interrupted. His name was Count Lorena, and he was a minor lord from the Sirius Star System.

    Clearly, he had been chosen as a representative to voice out the concerns of the more powerful noble families in the room.

    ¡°Check yourmunicators¡­¡± Prince Theseus replied with a confident smirk on his face.

    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

    A series of notifications rang out around the room and the nobles slowly powered on theirmunicators and saw an unopened message in their inbox.

    Shocked gasps could be heard as the nobles read the list of assets that the prince was prepared to give away for their support.

    Mining colonies,s, military positions, the ability to raise private armies, the first right to buy any captured alien species¡­

    These were unprecedented gifts that not even the previous emperor had awarded to his loyal ministers.

    ¡°How can we trust you to follow through on these promises?¡± an attractive young woman wearing a pair of heavy sses asked.

    She leaned back against her chair and stared at the prince with confusion and doubt evident in her gaze.

    ¡°Because¡­ I am prepared to pay a deposit,¡± Prince Theseus replied calmly.

    He was in total control of the situation and in that moment, he seemed more like a ruler than what his father could have ever hoped to be.

    The crown prince opened his mouth to talk about his n when he felt his eyes begin to ze over.

    He was suddenly struck with the urge to put his hand inside the pocket of his pants where a small ruby-like gem was resting.

    The prince touched the gem, and the crystal turned into a liquid before being absorbed into his skin.

    Prince Theseus closed his eyes so no one in the room saw that his pupils briefly turnedpletely white before retuning back to normal.

    This entire process only took a few seconds so no one noticed the prince¡¯s strange behaviour.

    ¡°As I was saying¡­ there will be a deposit of five hundred billion Enas and I will also offer my private territories as coteral,¡± Prince Theseus solemnly spoke.

    His mind felt clear and the words that flowed out of his mouth were smooth as if he had prepared this speech thousands of times before.

    The crown prince tapped hismunicator and deposited the funds in the ounts of every member in the room.

    Five hundred billion Enas was not a small sum¡­ in fact it was probably the total wealth of minor noble families.

    Even a duke would be tempted by the offer and the fact that the crown prince was putting up his own private territories as coteral broughtfort to some of the more hesitant nobles.

    A small part of the crown prince was a bit confused about where he gotten the money from to give to all these nobles, but the warmth of the crystal could still be felt in his palm.

    Gradually the doubts in his mind receded away as he focused on the warm and fuzzy feeling.

    ¡°I must say¡­ this is quite the generous offer,¡± Duchess Rosalina remarked as she epted the funds into her ount.

    ¡°House Rosalina will offer our unconditional support¡­ I look forward to seeing you on the throne¡­ my Emperor¡­¡±

    The crafty woman bowed her head and spoke up before the others had the chance to respond.

    The first one to express their loyalty to the new ruler would undoubtedly benefit the most from his generosity.

    Some of the other nobles in the room silently cursed the big breasted woman who had stolen the opportunity from them.

    One by one other voices rang out in support of the crown prince from every direction.

    Minor lords were falling over themselves to loudly voice their allegiance to Prince Theseus while the more powerful nobles were moreposed.

    ¡°Thank you for your kind support¡­ I will not forget what has happened here today¡­¡± Prince Theseus gently spoke as he raised up his hand.

    ¡°This is only the beginning¡­¡±

 Chapter 532: Summer Vacation!

    <h4>Chapter 532: Summer Vacation!</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (SS. Defiance- Main Deck)

    ¡°This is the life,¡± Sophie eximed happily as she clinked her ss against Cleo¡¯s.

    The sounds of waves crashing against the shore could be hearding from the enormous artificialke in the middle of the hall.

    Robot androids walked around the hall and handed out drinks and other light refreshments to the guests onboard the starship.

    ¡°Babe¡­ I think I might get some sleep¡­¡± Cleo whispered quietly as she curled up next to Sophie and closed her eyes.

    Sophie wrapped her arm around her girlfriend as she felt the princess¡¯ soft body snuggle even closer.

    The hybrid girl stared out of a nearby window and saw the vast expanse of space slowly passing by.

    No matter how many times she saw it¡­

    There was something breathtaking about flying through an endless void filled with an uncountable number ofs, civilisations, and stars.

    Sophie took another sip of the warm brown drink in her ss and tasted a sweet aftertaste that had a choctey vour.

    She ced the ss down on the table next to the lounge chair and picked up a nket from the ground.

    She carefully ced the nket on Cleo¡¯s lower body to cover up her exposed legs. Sophie smiled gently and leaned down to ce a kiss on her girlfriend¡¯s forehead.

    The pair were currently on a cruise spaceship that would be visiting severals in the Hydra Star System as part of a tour.

    Summer vacation had started a few days ago, and Sophie wanted to take her girlfriend somewhere special before she had to go back home for training.

    In fact, it was her father who suggested this starship because it was run by a powerful financial group.

    Safety would not be a concern since there were several starships with advanced cloaking systems following the cruise spacecraft to make sure that no pirates got any funny ideas.

    Of course, this level of safety was reflected in the price but for the nobles travelling on tour¡­

    Enas credits were not a problem.

    Sophie turned her attention away from the open window and casually nced at her nearby surroundings.

    The main deck had been transformed into a temporary water park today with numerous slides and attractions that appealed to both kids and adults alike.

    There was an ind in the middle of the swimming pool where tall leafy trees stretched upwards towards the heavens and furry creatures could be seen scurrying about.

    ¡°Excuse me ma¡¯am would you like another drink?¡± a robot android walked over and asked politely.

    ¡°Yes please¡­ why don¡¯t you surprise me?¡± Sophie replied with a warm smile.

    The metalloid robot nodded once then apartment inside its body opened up to reveal several sses with various coloured liquids inside.

    Sophie reached for a ss that contained a green bubbly mixture and thepartment door slowly closed.

    ¡°Enjoy the rest of your stay,¡± the android whispered quietly before departing to talk to another guest.

    Sophie ced her new drink on the table and gently stroked Cleo¡¯s back as her girlfriend began to tremble.

    Maybe it was a nightmare¡­

    Cleo sometimes had trouble sleeping and only the warm touch of her girlfriend could calm her down.

    Minutes slowly turned to hours as Sophie patiently continued to stroke Cleo¡¯s back and whisper sweet words in her ears.

    It was not that boring since she could pass the time by staring at the other guests onboard the starship.

    Most of the guests were Mendolesa warriors but there were quite a few humans mulling about along the shore of the artificialke.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes even spotted a couple flirting inside the forest on the ind in the middle of theke.

    The man changed his appearance to be a gorgeous blonde woman and his partner transformed from a cute brte to a muscr Greek god.

    Oh¡­ they were both Quafes¡­

    Sophie idly continued to look as the couple began heavily making out while asionally shifting through different appearances and genders.

    Dating a Quafes must be quite the experience¡­

    Sophie felt Cleo¡¯s body gradually begin to stir as the princess woke up from her long nap.

    ¡°Good morning sleepyhead,¡± Sophie teased softly as she ran her fingers along Cleo¡¯s stomach and pinched her sides.

    ¡°Stop¡­ stop¡­ how long was I asleep?¡± Cleo asked tiredly as she rubbed her eyes.

    ¡°Just a few hours¡­ want to take a dip in theke to wake you up?¡± Sophie suggested with a quiet smile on her face.

    Her eyes hungrily devoured Cleo¡¯s body as the princess wore a tight ck bikini that showed off her gorgeous physique.

    Actually¡­ Sophie had a better idea¡­

    She quickly wrapped up Cleo in a towel and lifted her up in a princess carry.

    Cleo gasped in shock and Sophie ignored the curious stares as she walked towards the elevator.

    She held out a thin white card and pressed it against the scanner. The metalloid doors swung open, and the hybrid girl stepped inside with Cleo still in her arms.

    ¡°Babe¡­ babe¡­ I know that look¡­¡± Cleo scolded fiercely but the gleam of mischief in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

    Sophie ignored her girlfriend¡¯s words of mock protest and pressed a certain button. The elevator descended downwards until they arrived on the third floor of the starship.

    The hybrid girl walked out of the elevator and headed for a room at the end of a long corridor.

    Sophie¡¯s steps quickened and she went from a casual walk to a jog as she was eager to pleasure the girl in her arms.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Cleo could feel her heart beating furiously as she felt Sophie¡¯s warmth¡­ her scent¡­ everything that made her the most beautiful girl in the universe¡­

    A faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s eyes as she felt a few dark urges surface in her mind.

    She reached a door and ced her hand against the scanner.

    A green light shed twice before a holographic projection popped up.

    [Authorisation Granted!]

    [Wee Back Sophie Peterlor And Cleo Sisrelis!]

    The door opened and Sophie immediately rushed for the bed where she dumped Cleo unceremoniously on the white sheets.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    This time both girls¡¯ hearts could be heard beating furiously as they stared at each other with love and arousal in their gazes.

    The door slowly shut and now¡­ there was nothing that would stop what was about to happen¡­

    Sophie made the first move and leaned down to capture Cleo¡¯s lips in a soft lingering kiss that seemed tost for hours.

    Her hands roamed the length of Cleo¡¯s body until they reached the two soft peaks. Sophie squeezed and fondled the princess¡¯ breasts gently.

    Cleo let out a gasp of pleasure as Sophie lightly teased and yed with her body. She could feel a trace of wetness begin to form between her legs.

    ¡°No¡­ babe¡­ I can¡¯t take¡­¡± Cleo moaned seductively as her breath hitched. Sophie broke the kiss and began to lightly nibble against her girlfriend¡¯s neck.

    Her fangs would gently scrap against Cleo¡¯s skin, but Sophie was incredibly careful to make sure that she didn¡¯t hurt her lover.

    Sophie¡¯s hands stopped feeling up Cleo¡¯s plump mountains and wandered over to the back of her bikini.

    She fumbled for a moment before untying the loose pieces of string.

    Cleo¡¯s beautiful body was now fully exposed, and Sophie felt as though her heart had stopped beating.

    Tonight, she was going to celebrate the first day of their vacation together¡­

 Chapter 533: Cleo Drowns In Pleasure (R-18)

    <h4>Chapter 533: Cleo Drowns In Pleasure (R-18)</h4>

    ¡°You are so beautiful,¡± Sophie whispered softly as her hands slowly roamed around Cleo¡¯s body and explored every nook and cranny.

    She leaned down and pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s neck.

    Sophie nibbled gently on her lover¡¯s neck and yfully licked her soft skin.

    A faint gasp of pleasure escaped Cleo¡¯s mouth as the princess squirmed on the bed.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes were nowpletely pink and the desperate urges inside her mind only got stronger with every passing minute.

    ¡°Babe¡­ take¡­ off¡­ take¡­ off¡­ your¡­¡± Cleo desperately cried out as she could feel her body respond to Sophie¡¯s naughty touches.

    A sweet smile shed across Sophie¡¯s lips as she stood up and towered over the helpless girl on the bed.

    Sophie stretched out her arms and slowly peeled off theyers of clothes on her body. She swayed her body from side to side as she seductively winked at her girlfriend.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Cleo felt as though her heart was about to burst out of her chest as she stared up at her over seven feet tall girlfriend.

    Sophie was wless.

    There was no other word to describe her beauty.

    She had a lean muscr physique with curves in all the right ces.

    Her hybrid features such as her pointed ears, ded appendages and strange eyes only heightened her exotic appeal.

    Soft flowing ck hair fell below her shoulders and Sophie¡¯s high cheekbones and perfect facial features were enough to leave anyone spellbound.

    ¡°See anything you like?¡± Sophie hoarsely whispered as she crawled on the bed and leaned over Cleo.

    The princess¡¯ face was now a bright red colour and she nervously trembled as she could feel a slight wetness between her legs.

    The visual stimtion was too much. Sophie¡¯s scent¡­ her closeness¡­ her warmth¡­

    It was driving her insane¡­

    Sophie stared at her girlfriend and her pinkish coloured eyes darkened as she gazed at the two plump breasts in front of her.

    She reached out her hand and began to rub Cleo¡¯s nipples with slow circr motions.

    Cleo closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation as Sophie touched her body. A few minutes passed and then Sophie decided to take the next step.

    ¡°Mhmmm¡­.¡± Sophie moaned sensually as she brought her mouth to Cleo¡¯s right nipple and began to suck it gently.

    She used her tongue to roll and y with Cleo¡¯s nipple and her girlfriend¡¯s gasps of pleasure echoed through the bedroom.

    Cleo could not stop the heaving of her breasts as she felt a shameful desire rise up in her lower regions.

    She could not think about anything except the beautiful girl who was ying with her body.

    Sophie¡¯s hair fell on her neck and Cleo raised up her hand to brush it to the side.

    She met Sophie¡¯s warm gaze and there was a brief moment of silence.

    Everything seemed to fade away.

    ¡°Kiss me¡­ kiss me¡­¡± Sophie pleaded desperately as she puckered up her lips and leaned forward.

    Cleo smiled lovingly and responded to her girlfriend¡¯s needy request.

    Their mouths met in a hungry passionate kiss that seemed tost for hours.

    Sophie stuck out her tongue and explored Cleo¡¯s mouth. She could taste Cleo¡¯s soft wet lips and her tongue became a tool to disy the erotic feelings in her heart.

    Her hands didn¡¯t stop ying with the princess¡¯ body but now it was time to move on to the next part of the night.

    Sophie broke away from the kiss and smiled as she saw an expression of disappointment sh across Cleo¡¯ face.

    ¡°You just need to rx darling¡­ let me do all the work tonight¡­¡± Sophie promised solemnly as she kissed down Cleo¡¯s body.

    She lingered over her plump breasts for a moment before softly kissing her stomach then her upper thighs until finally she arrived at her destination.

    Cleo¡¯s honeypot waspletely shaven, and Sophie could see small droplets of clear liquid sparkling under the light.

    No matter how many times she saw it¡­ the feeling that she got in her heart remained the same¡­

    Sophie brought her face closer to Cleo¡¯s pussy and briefly admired it for a moment.

    She blew a soft gust of air on those pink folds and could see her girlfriend tremble in anticipation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t¡­ tease¡­¡± Cleo whispered with great difficulty as she saw the mischievous glint in her girlfriend¡¯s eyes.

    Sophie listened to her lover and brought her lips to Cleo¡¯s hungry pussy where she began to lick with great urgency.

    There was no technique¡­ just a raw sapphic hunger that needed to be sated.

    Cleo arched her back and screamed loudly as Sophie¡¯s tongue flicked the small bean inside her flower garden.

    Sophie brought up her hands and tightly gripped Cleo¡¯s legs so that she could spread them apart.

    This was not the first time that she had orally pleasured her girlfriend and with the help of her gift she could see the arousal spots on her body.

    Cleo¡¯s eyes began to roll back as Sophie¡¯s full lips kissed and sucked against the pink folds and her tongue pressed against her aching clit.

    With practised motions, Sophie hands slowly squeezed Cleo¡¯s legs as she dove her tongue even further inside the princess¡¯ honeypot.

    ¡°Please¡­ please¡­ OH MY FUCKING GOD!¡± Cleo cried out in pleasure as she felt her legs begin to spasm.

    Sophie lifted up her head from between Cleo¡¯s legs and seductively licked the traces of wetness that stained her face.

    The taste¡­ was sweet.

    Cleo was gasping for breath and trying her best to recover but unfortunately Sophie was not going to give her the chance to rest.

    Sophie moved her right hand towards Cleo¡¯s wet pussy and began to stroke those sensitive folds.

    She slipped one finger inside and gently swirled it around before taking it out and sucking on it in full view of the blushing princess.

    Sophie pushed her body forward until she was basically lying on top of her girlfriend. Cleo stretched out her arms and received a warm embrace as Sophie hugged her tightly.

    Their breasts rubbed together which sent electric tingles down the spines of both girls.

    Sophie loved the feel of Cleo¡¯s soft body against her more muscr physique.

    It just felt natural and right¡­

    No one knows who made the next move but somehow both girls found themselves violently making out as their nipples pressed against one another.

    Sophie¡¯s body moved subconsciously as she began to gently rub her pussy against Cleo¡¯s legs.

    Sophie saw two arousal spots appear on Cleo¡¯s face, so she broke away from the kiss and began to nibble on her girlfriend¡¯s ears.

    The princess moaned as Sophie¡¯s hands roamed down to her backside and gave her ass a firm p.

    Smack!

    As for what happened next¡­

    Poor Cleo was unable to get out of bed for the next two days.

 Chapter 534: The House Always Wins...

    <h4>Chapter 534: The House Always Wins¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (SS. Defiance- Lower Deck)

    ¡°Let me get two thousand Enas on gold!¡±

    ¡°Are you mad? I¡¯ll take those odds!¡±

    ¡°Five thousand! Five thousand! Bro¡­ STOP PUSHING ME!¡±

    Loud voices echoed through the magnificent hall. This was the gambling section on the starship and hundreds of passengers were mulling about.

    The floor was made from solid gold and numerous statues were scattered across the room.

    Large expensive paintings were hung on the walls and the sweet scent of perfume lingered in the air.

    Sophie gently held Cleo¡¯s hand as the pair made their way through the open doors that led to the gambling den.

    Cleo wore a simple white dress with golden threads interwoven in the fabric.

    Her legs would slightly tremble as she walked, and she asionally shot a resentful look at her girlfriend who pretended that she did not see it.

    Sophie¡¯s outfit was a long sleeveless ck dress with a pair of sturdybat boots that seemed a bit out of ce.

    The hybrid girl had an aura of confidence and strength surrounding her body as she held her girlfriend¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Would you like to exchange Enas for some tokens?¡± a cold robotic voice suddenly asked.

    An android wearing a in green suit walked up to the couple and held out a small metalloid device.

    ¡°Sure¡­ can you exchange ten thousand Enas?¡± Sophie asked politely as she took out a ck card from her pocket.

    The android nodded respectfully and took the ck card from Sophie¡¯s fingertips. He inserted the card into the machine and a bleeping noise was heard.

    The android returned the card to Sophie and then pointed at a small counter tucked away in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Please pick up your tokens there. Have a wonderful evening,¡± the android softly spoke and then bowed.

    Sophie nodded back and then walked towards the counter quickly.

    ¡°Babe¡­ not so¡­ fast¡­ you know I¡­¡± Cleo softly whispered with a blush on her face.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯ll slow down¡­¡± Sophie replied sheepishly as she gently rubbed Cleo¡¯s palm using her thumb.

    Poor Cleo¡­

    Sophie knew that she had been a bit¡­ err¡­ excessive a few nights ago and her girlfriend still needed some time to recover despite being a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    Well¡­ at least this was an opportunity to take a closer look at the gambling hall.

    Sophie¡¯s gaze wandered around the room, and she saw a variety of sights and people.

    In one corner there was what appeared to be a miniature fighting ring with small furry animals holding wooden spears.

    A group of finely dressed humans were crowding around the arena and loudly cing bets on which animal they thought would win.

    Another part had a row of slot machines where yers would pull a lever and wait to see if they got the grand prize.

    There were card games, board games, virtual reality games¡­ this ce was haven for entertainment¡­

    As long as you were prepared to pay the price.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t a regr gambler by any means, but it would be fun to y around for a bit with some money that she could afford to lose.

    At the end of the day gambling was more for entertainment than to actually earn money.

    There was a saying in Sui Meng¡¯s memories that perfectly summed up the situation.

    ¡®The house always wins.¡¯

    Sophie eventually reached the counter and a young human girl dressed in a provocative outfit held out a thin metalloid wrist strap.

    ¡°Just put this over your wrist and press the rectangr part against any of the outlets on the machines if you want to y,¡± the pretty girl spoke with a wide smile on her face.

    Her eyes lingered on Sophie¡¯s face a bit longer than what was appropriate, so Cleo subtly moved her body in between them.

    The girlughed as she saw Cleo¡¯s protective actions and the smile on her face got a bit more genuine.

    Sophie didn¡¯t realise the tension that was building up and just waved goodbye to the girl behind the counter.

    ¡°Come back again sweetie¡­¡± the girl called out as the pair left.

    Cleo stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed the underside of Sophie¡¯s cheek. The princess secretly felt a bit proud as she saw the tips of Sophie¡¯s pointed ears turn red.

    ¡°Where should we go first?¡± Sophie asked casually as she looked around the room.

    ¡°Want to try a card game? I¡¯m not too familiar with the rules though¡­¡± Cleo suggested as she gestured towards a certain direction.

    ¡°Sure, that sounds good!¡± Sophie replied warmly.

    The pair made their way through the crowd and Sophie was grateful for her imposing height and ded appendages since most people gave them a healthy amount of space.

    They eventually arrived at a long wooden table where an alien was currently dealing out some cards to a group of participants.

    The alien was around two feet in height with a sturdy frame. His skin was a pale greenish colour, and one could spot small scales on the edges of his arms.

    His face resembled that of a frog, and he had a long purplish tongue that would asionally pop out of his mouth and lick his upper eyelid.

    ¡°Two¡­ does anyone have a two?¡± the alien asked as he ced three cards face down on the table.

    ¡°Me! Me! Me!¡± a Mendolesa girl excitedly yelled as her tail furiously wagged back and forth.

    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s see your luck!¡± the dealer replied with a smirk. His webbed fingers reached out to flip the cards and there was a tense moment of silence.

    The Mendolesa girl did not even move a single muscle as she stared at those webbed fingers with an expression of expectation.

    The dealer flipped the first card and the symbol of a scythe appeared.

    A shocked gasp escaped the mouth of the person standing next to Sophie.

    The second card that was flipped had the symbol of a man praying on his knees. This time an expression of disappointment shed across the Mendolesa girl¡¯s face.

    The dealer was clearly a master of his craft as his hand hovered over the final card in order to build up anticipation for the eventual reveal.

    Sophie had no idea what was happening but even she was being sucked into the tense atmosphere that was building up.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± the dealer softly asked as his webbed fingernded on the edge of the card.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure who began the chant, but the other passengers crowded around the table started to shout in unison.

    ¡°Show it!¡±

    ¡°Show it!¡±

    ¡°Show it!¡±

    The dealer smirked and his long purplish tongue slithered out of his mouth and lightly touched his cheek.

    He flipped the card, and the symbol of a golden goose could be seen.

    The Mendolesa girl raised up her hands and let out a piercing shriek of excitement that caused Sophie to wince.

    ¡°Oh my god! I won! I WON! I WON!¡± the Mendolesa girl happily yelled as she pressed the strap on her wrist against a device on the corner of the table.

    ¡°Congrattions! Your initial bet of three thousand Enas has now been tripled!¡± the dealer loudly dered.

    He tapped a hidden button on the underside of the table and a shing red spotlight shone on the lucky Mendolesa girl.

    The other passengers surrounding the table pped their hands and Sophie followed suit.

    The Mendolesa girl took her winnings and immediately headed over to the arena to ce arge bet.

    ¡°Would anyone else like to y?¡± the dealer asked with a knowing glint in his eyes.

    There was always money to be made immediately after someone won.

    Sophie was tempted to give it a try but eventually decided to wait a bit to see how to y the game.

    Wait a moment¡­ couldn¡¯t she try¡­

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out arge pair of sunsses that hid most of her face.

    Cleo nced at her with a curious look, but Sophie quietly raised a finger to her lips. Behind those heavy sunsses¡­.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes were slowly turning white.

 Chapter 535: Selecting The Right Future

    <h4>Chapter 535: Selecting The Right Future</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (S.S Defiance- Lower Deck)

    Sophie reopened her eyes and found herself in a strange world of ck and white. Blurry images of her future paths appeared all around her.

    In this peculiar world, Sophie could hear vague whispersing from all directions.

    One could easily get lost in this ce of endless possibilities and oues.

    However, the dull throbbing pain in Sophie¡¯s head reminded her that she needed to move on quickly.

    She didn¡¯t want to suffer a bacsh in the middle of her vacation with Cleo.

    Sophie walked in a certain direction and stared as the frog-like alien called out for a number seven and she saw a future version of herself walk forward.

    The dealer began to flip the cards but judging from the indifferent expression on her face and the disappointed sighs from the spectators¡­

    It was not a good result.

    The hybrid girl turned to look for another path. There were thousands of possible futures, and each led to a slightly different oue.

    The majority ended in a heavy loss but there were futures where she won a huge pot of gold¡­ then got immediately kicked out of the casino because they thought that she cheated.

    She needed to find the sweet spot.

    Win¡­ but not arge amount that would raise suspicion.

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she felt the throbbing pain in her mind intensify.

    There wasn¡¯t much time left.

    Wait¡­

    Sophie spotted a future in the corner of her vision and hurriedly walked over just as tiny cracks began to form along the edges of the mysterious world.

    In this future, Cleo and Sophie had waited for two more rounds to pass before Sophie allowed her girlfriend to pick a card from the deck.

    The dealer would then turn over three cards and Sophie saw Cleo jump up and down with excitement.

    The frog-like alien handed over the chips withoutint and then they walked away from the table without any trouble.

    That was it!

    Sophie clenched her fist as the mysterious world shattered into tiny pieces.

    She found herself back in the real world with Cleo looking up at her with a concerned expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay babe¡­¡± Sophie softly whispered as she raised up her sunsses slightly to reveal her normal golden eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what happened when we go back to our rooms¡­¡±

    Cleo nodded and tightened her grip on her girlfriend¡¯s hand. The pair stood in afortable silence as the dealer begun the game again.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait for two more rounds and then you can pick the card,¡± Sophie suggested as she leaned down and kissed Cleo¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Are you sure? It¡¯s your money¡­¡± Cleo hesitantly replied.

    ¡°Darling¡­ what¡¯s mine is yours. Well¡­ except for the stuff that dad hasn¡¯t passed down yet¡­¡± Sophieughed mischievously as she flirted with her lover.

    The loud voice of the dealer interrupted the sweet moment between the two girls as the frog-like alien stood up from his chair.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but it looks like you lost!¡± the dealer sighed heavily as he ced one webbed hand against his brow.

    ¡°Damn it! Damn it!¡± arge Mendolesa man mmed his paw against the side of the table in frustration as he ced his wrist strap against the scanner.

    Credits were deducted from his ount and a heavy scowl shed across therge man¡¯s face.

    Sophie slowly pushed Cleo behind her body just in case the situation turned violent because the Mendolesa man seemed furious.

    ¡°Better luck next time sir¡­¡± the dealer seemed oblivious to the wolf-like alien¡¯s foul mood and started up a next round.

    The Mendolesa man raised up his paw as if he was going to punch the dealer, but several red dots fell on his body.

    He smiled sheepishly and left the table quickly before the security team decided to knock him out.

    Sophie followed the direction of the red dots and her golden eyes darkened. She could see several humanoid figures crouched down in key positions around the casino.

    Their figures were slightly blurry as if something was concealing their location. However, their camouge was useless against Sophie¡¯s enhanced vision.

    The hybrid girl only nced at them briefly because she didn¡¯t want the security team to find out that their positions had beenpromised.

    A few minutes passed and then it was finally time for Sophie to make her move.

    ¡°Alright¡­ who is ready for a next round?¡± the dealer loudly questioned as he pushed a deck of cards towards the spectators.

    ¡°Go ahead Cleo! I believe in you babe!¡± Sophie cheered happily as she gently pulled her girlfriend towards the cards.

    Cleo smiled warmly at the joyful hybrid girl and stretched out her hand to pick a card from the middle of the deck.

    The card had the image of an elderly witch holding what appeared to be a long white staff. There was a small red ¡®four¡¯ painted on the upper left corner of the card.

    ¡°Has everyone made their selections?¡± the dealer asked as he stared at the crowd who were waiting in anticipation.

    Cleo was not the only one who had drawn a card and several Mendolesa warriors and humans had also selected from the deck.

    The frog-like alien waited for a moment and then took the deck back. He shuffled the deck four times before pressing a button on the underside of the table.

    A holographic window was projected in front of him with the number four prominently disyed in the center.

    ¡°Four¡­ does anyone have a four?¡± the dealer grinned broadly as he spoke.

    ¡°Oh shit! I have a four!¡± Cleo replied in shock as she saw her girlfriend smiling at her with a knowing glint in her eyes.

    ¡°Okay luckydy¡­ all you have to do is wait as I flip the cards¡­ TO DECIDE YOUR FATE!¡± the dealer cried out in glee.

    His excited mood infected the crowd of spectators who were now buzzing in anticipation about the eventual reveal.

    The dealer¡¯s long purplish tongue popped out of his mouth and licked his upper eyelid before he reached for the deck.

    He ced three random cards on the table and slowly flipped them one by one. The first card had the symbol of a young man with a crown on his head.

    The dealer shook his head and there were a few disappointed sighs from the spectators.

    The second card had the image of two hearts intertwined in a loving embrace. This time the dealer looked up in shock and loud cheers erupted from the onlookers.

    Sophie still had no idea about what any of this meant since she still didn¡¯t know the rules of the game.

    But¡­ she knew that they were about to make some money¡­

    ¡°One final card to go¡­¡± the dealer softly whispered as his webbed fingers hovered over the remaining card.

    He paused for a moment for dramatic effect before flipping over the card to reveal the image of a sunken anchor.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a shame¡­¡± the dealer clicked his tongue and let out a heavy sigh.

    ¡°You would have won eight thousand Enas if you didn¡¯t draw the drowned god¡­ now you will only walk away with two thousand¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ I¡¯m just happy that I won,¡± Cleo replied with a small smile as she gently grabbed Sophie¡¯s arm and pressed the wrist strap against the scanner.

    A loud ding was heard as the credits were deposited into Sophie¡¯s ount.

    ¡°Well¡­ can we have a loud round of apuse for the lovely couple?!¡± the dealer spoke up as the pair turned to walk away.

    Scattered apuse followed the two girls before the dealer begun a next round and some more spectators were drawn in.

    Cleo broke away from Sophie¡¯s grip and typed out a message on her wristmunicator. She stared at her girlfriend with a suspicious expression.

    Bleep!

    Sophie¡¯s wrist vibrated so she powered on the metalloid device and saw the iing message from her sweetheart.

    Cleo: [You knew I would win didn¡¯t you¡­ hehe¡­ you naughty girl¡­]

    Cleo: [Future vision? Is that why you¡¯re wearing those awful sunsses?]

    Sophie chuckled lightly and rubbed her fingers against the underside of Cleo¡¯s soft palms. She leaned in closer and whispered in the princess¡¯ ear.

    ¡°You know me too well babe¡­¡±

 Chapter 536: Leaving It Up To Chance

    <h4>Chapter 536: Leaving It Up To Chance</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (S.S Defiance- Lower Deck- Gambling Hall)

    Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand as the pair made their way through a section of the crowded hall where passengers were lined up in front of machines.

    Each machine was a heavy metalloid device shaped like arge rectangle.

    A thin wire flowed out of the device¡¯s center and attached to the wire was a silvery-white helmet.

    This was the section of the hall where the virtual reality games could be yed.

    Sophie didn¡¯t know why the casino used such outdated virtual helmet technology, but she curiously leaned in to get a closer look.

    There was a sign next to each metalloid device that exined what the game was about and the number of credits necessary to y.

    One of the games was called ¡®Survive The Predator¡¯ and the objective was to outrun or outsmart a monstrous creature in a random environment.

    yers could lose or win credits depending on how long theysted in the game.

    It did seem pretty interesting, but Sophie wanted to experience something with her girlfriend.

    ¡°See any games you like?¡± Sophie asked gently as she rubbed her thumb against the underside of Cleo¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ the murder mystery one looks exciting¡­ but I¡¯m really not the biggest fan of virtual reality games,¡± Cleo confessed truthfully as she looked around.

    ¡°Alright why don¡¯t we check out the fighting arena?¡± Sophie suggested yfully as she gestured towards the part of the casino where thergest crowd had gathered.

    Cleo nodded so Sophie led her through the maze of virtual reality devices.

    It was actually quite funny to see the different expressions shing across the faces of the passengers hooked up to the devices.

    Most had terrified or excited expressions¡­. well¡­. except for¡­

    Sophie noticed a few Mendolesa warriors panting furiously with a fierce red blush across their wolf-like faces.

    They were all connected to a virtual reality game called ¡®Pleasure Paradise¡¯ and judging from the description on the sign next to the game¡­

    They seemed to be having quite the good time!

    Sophie chuckled lightly and pointed out the game to Cleo who winked at her with a mischievous glint in her green eyes.

    The hybrid girl stared at her adorable girlfriend and for a brief moment a faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corner of her right eye.

    Sophie wanted nothing more than to return to their bedroom and throw the princess down on the sheets.

    But¡­ Cleo needed some time to recover¡­

    Sophie silently counted to ten multiple times until those dark urges gradually faded away. She smiled warmly at Cleo and then led her towards the arena.

    The arena was a miniature fighting ring with elegantly constructed walls that resembled an ancient Colosseum.

    The fighters inside the pit where humanoid furry animals dressed in medieval armor and holding a variety of tiny weapons.

    Some held bows in their furry paws, others held axes that were too big for their frames and finally the remainder chose daggers that more resembled long swords in their tiny hands.

    The crowd surrounding the arena hollered and screeched in excitement as they watched their chosen fighter engage with multiple opponents.

    ¡°Come on number twelve! I ced a thirty thousand bet! GET UP NOW!¡±

    ¡°Brother you must be crazy! Number ten is clearly going to be the winner¡­¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! The odds that number three will win is nine to one!¡±

    Sophie¡¯s intimidating appearance and ded appendages easily cleared a path through the crowd and the pair eventually found themselves ring side.

    The furry creatures inside the pit were using blunt weapons but there were trackers and scanners ced everywhere that ranked the hits that were scored.

    After ten minutes the creature with the highest point tally would win and the house would pay out depending on the bets made.

    You could bet on anything from who would be first to who would best.

    A fresh batch of creatures woulde in at the start of a new round so it was impossible to bet based on previous performances.

    A handsomely dressed android wearing a ck suit walked up to Sophie and bowed respectfully.

    ¡°Good evening, madams¡­ would you like to bet on the uing fight?¡± the android politely asked.

    ¡°Yes please,¡± Sophie replied with a smile.

    The android reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white booklet. He handed it over to Sophie with a certain page clearly marked.

    ¡°Here is some basic information about the fighters chosen for the next round¡­ if you wish to ce a bet then just press your wrist strap against my port.¡±

    Sophie handed over the booklet to Cleo and the princess began to casually read the marked page.

    The hybrid girl had to admit that she was a bit tempted to use her foresight ability again but eventually decided not to.

    She was here to have some fun and guaranteeing a win every time that she yed a game of chance would get a bit boring after awhile.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I was thinking maybe¡­ number thirteen wille first?¡± Cleo said hesitantly as she gave the booklet to Sophie.

    ¡°Okay we¡¯ll ce a two thousand bet on number thirteen reaching first ce.¡± Sophie confidently replied.

    She pressed her wrist strap against a port on the android¡¯s right shoulder and her strap vibrated twice.

    ¡°Thank you for ying,¡± the android spoke softly as he gave a bow once more.

    The android held out his hand and Sophie gave the booklet back to the mechanical being. He nodded at the two girls and then moved on to another person.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to take a look at the booklet as well?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she stared at her girlfriend¡¯s face hidden behind the pair of oversized sunsses.

    ¡°Or did you¡­¡±

    ¡°Nah¡­ I think I¡¯ll keep things up to chance from now on¡­ well at least while we are still up¡­¡± Sophie giggled as she removed the sunsses from her face.

    Her beautiful golden eyes stared warmly at her girlfriend who blushed under the intense love in her gaze.

    Sophie was about to lean in closer and give Cleo a quick peck on the lips when a loud roar erupted from the crowd,

    ¡°Fuck! That was myst credit!¡±

    ¡°Number four won? No! This has to be rigged!¡±

    ¡°Son of a bitch¡­ I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE BET ON THAT FURRY BASTARD!¡±

    Sophie looked down at the arena and saw a furry creature holding an axe and proudly squeaking in the direction of the crowd.

    Its short stubby tail flicked from side to side as it hopped up and down. A holographic window was projected above the arena and soon lines of blue text appeared on the screen.

    [Points Tally List¡­. generating¡­ generating¡­]

    [First ce: No. 4 ¨C 138 points]

    [Second ce: No. 9 ¨C 110 points]

    .

    .

    .

    [Last ce: No.17 ¨C 2 points]

 Chapter 537: An Unsolved Mystery

    <h4>Chapter 537: An Unsolved Mystery</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Gaia)

    Vrean- Unknown Ruins)

    Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand as the pair wandered through a hot desert with a blue sun shinning brightly overhead.

    The sand was a purplish-grey colour, and one could see dust storms raging in the distance covering vast areas ofnd.

    They were not the only ones currently exploring the desert as dozens of passengers were also mulling about.

    A pretty human woman wearing a brown uniform was currently leading the group towards an unknown location.

    ¡°Do you want some water?¡± Sophie asked lovingly as she took out a white tissue from her storage bag and gently wiped the sweat off Cleo¡¯s face.

    ¡°Sure babe,¡± Cleo replied warmly as she opened up her mouth and stared at her girlfriend in anticipation.

    Sophieughed as it didn¡¯t take a genius to realise with her girlfriend wanted.

    She took arge sip of water from the bottle attached to her hip and then pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s.

    ¡°We are almost there¡­ just ten more minutes!¡± the tour guide loudly shouted as she pointed towards arge sand dune.

    Sophie broke off the kiss and nted another soft peck on Cleo¡¯s cheek before turning her attention back to this mysterious desert.

    Vrean¡­

    It was one of the first stops on the two-week vacation space cruise.

    Passengers were allowed to disembark on the and would be apanied by guides to show them around this peculiar world.

    Of course, this was all optional and many passengers chose to stay behind on the starship, but Sophie wanted to explore a bit with her girlfriend.

    It was always fascinating to visit news and see how life developed.

    The hybrid girl shifted to the right just as a long snake-like creature slithered pass her foot.

    It had thousands of tiny ck legs which it used to scuttle through the sand with awkward movements.

    Amazing¡­

    Sophie tilted her wristmunicator towards the animal and snapped a quick picture using the embedded camera.

    ¡°Do watch your feet¡­. there are a couple of Yacaers roaming about but don¡¯t worry because they are harmless,¡± the tour guide shouted as a few screams could be heard at the back.

    ¡°They look so fucking gross!¡± a finely dressed man shouted as he hurriedly ran away from the snake-like creature.

    ¡°The Yacaers are more scared of you than you are of them¡­ just give them some space and they will not bother you,¡± the tour guide gently exined while trying her best to hide her annoyance.

    By the gods¡­ she hated rich tourists¡­.

    They always panicked at the first sign of something and no matter how many times she tried to warn them¡­

    Someone would inevitable do something stupid.

    ¡°Come on Isabe¡­ just one more year¡­ then you can pay back those stupid student loans,¡± the tour guide muttered under her breath.

    Her quiet whispers went unheard by the other passengers except for Sophie whose pointed ears flicked towards the guide¡¯s direction.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that one week has passed already,¡± Cleo spoke casually as she looked around the desert for any more signs of life.

    ¡°This vacation¡­ it really has been perfect. Thank you¡­¡±

    ¡°Anything for my princess,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she raised up Cleo¡¯s hand and kissed her soft fingers.

    ¡°Anything?¡± Cleo raised up her eyebrow and stared at her girlfriend with mischief dancing in her piercing green eyes.

    ¡°Your wish is mymand your highness¡­¡± Sophie yed along and gave a mock bow.

    The pair continued to flirt uninterrupted until the group finally arrived at the massive sand dune whose top stretched out towards the heavens.

    ¡°Alright everyone! Please gather around and I will tell you about the biggest mystery that has yet to be solved,¡± the tour guide shouted as she stepped in front of the dune.

    Vrean has a colourful and vibrant ecosystem but for hundreds of years the first settlers believed that the had no traces of type three intelligent lifeforms.¡±

    ¡°That all changed one day when a lone settler stumbled upon this¡­¡±

    The tour guide walked towards the sand dune and to theplete shock of the group, she somehow managed to pass through the sand and disappear.

    She returned a few secondster and smiled as she saw the looks of amazement on the faces of the group.

    ¡°Please follow me¡­¡± the tour guide spoke mysteriously as she once again walked into the massive sand dune.

    Sophie tightly gripped Cleo¡¯s hand and the pair were among the first to follow the tour guide into the sand.

    The hybrid girl felt the air vibrate around her body as she stepped towards the dune and for a brief moment, she could have sworn that something brushed against her leg.

    The world went dark for a second and then Sophie opened her eyes to discover that she was now standing on the edge of what appeared to be arge valley.

    The valley had a lush tropical forest hidden inside and the roaring sounds of water could be hearding from the gigantic waterfall at the southern end of the valley.

    ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± the tour guide said proudly as she gestured towards the distance.

    Sophie followed the direction of her hand and saw three enormous ck obelisks that rose up from the ground.

    These ck obelisks seemed out of ce like a speck of darkness on what should be the ultimate paradise.

    Dark red symbols were etched onto the obelisks¡¯ outer surface and these writings glowed eerily under the dim light that wasing from some unknown source.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she stared in wonder at the strange sight.

    The rest of the passengers trickled in one by one, and the tour guide waited until most had arrived before answering Sophie question.

    ¡°This ce is considered the only protected heritage sight on Vrean as it contains ruins that predated the arrival of the first settlers by millions of years,¡± the tour guide exined.

    ¡°This valley¡­. has lush fertile soil, an endless supply of water but somehow there are no living fauna.¡±

    ¡°Of course, over the years many have brought in animals from the outside world for agricultural or scientific purposes but without exception¡­ they have all died.¡±

    The tour guide¡¯s ominous words echoed through the valley and the perfect paradise suddenly became a lot scarier.

    ¡°Come this way¡­¡± the tour guide spoke softly as she walked towards the nearest ck obelisk.

    Sophie nced at her girlfriend and saw that she was looking around the valley with excitement hidden in her gaze.

    Almost like a little kid at a candy store.

    ¡°I love mysteries!¡± Cleo confessed as she met Sophie¡¯s eyes. The princess hummed a quiet song as she powered on hermunicator device.

    She quickly searched on the virtual Net about all the information avable on Vrean¡¯s long lost civilisation.

    ¡°Wow¡­ babe¡­ check this out¡­¡± Cleo suddenly eximed in surprise.

    She titled hermunicator in Sophie¡¯s direction, so the hybrid girl looked at the screen.

    ¡°Wait¡­ what?¡± Sophie replied in shock as she looked at the picture. It was taken a few hundred years ago by a visiting professor who studied inteary archeology.

    Every detail about the valley was exactly the same as the picture but there was one crucial difference.

    The writings on the ck obelisks were purple¡­

 Chapter 538: Danger Hidden In Paradise

    <h4>Chapter 538: Danger Hidden In Paradise</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    Vrean- Unknown Ruins)

    The tour guide was right.

    The only sounds that one could hear other than the noises of the tourists and the crashing sound of water was the wind that gently blew through the valley.

    There was no living fauna in sight.

    Sophie took in a deep breath and gently exhaled as she nced at the ck obelisks with red writings painted across their exterior.

    There was an eeriness to this perfect paradise that was hard to describe. It was as though its natural beauty hid a terrifying secret.

    Sophie yed with Cleo¡¯s fingers as the pair wandered through the forest.

    Cleo stretched out her hand to touch one of the green leaves growing on a vine and a surprised expression shed across her face.

    ¡°Hey babe¡­ try touching one of these leaves,¡± Cleo whispered softly as she pointed at the vine.

    Sophie followed her girlfriend¡¯s instructions and stretched out her free hand to gently brush it against the green leaf.

    ¡°What?¡± Sophie eximed in confusion as she felt a rough jagged surface with bumpy edges.

    The strange thing was that from the outside the leaf visually waspletely t without any lumps.

    ¡°Do be careful when touching the nts!¡± the tour guide called out as she saw Sophie continue to rub her finger on the leaf.

    ¡°There is nothing dangerous about them, but some possess hidden thorns that can prick any exposed skin.¡±

    ¡°The nt species in this valley cannot be found anywhere else on Vrean. In fact, a botanist who came a few years earlier said that¡­¡±

    The tour guide continued her speech but only around half of the tourists in the group were listening as the rest were taken aback by the sheer beauty of this ce.

    Even Sophie couldn¡¯t resist tilting her wristmunicator and snapping a few pictures of the peculiar valley.

    She zoomed in on the nearest ck obelisk and snapped a picture just as the red lettering seemed to glow even stronger.

    Wait¡­ what?

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes narrowed as she stared at the obelisk that was only a few kilometres away.

    The red writings on its outer surface were definitely shining brighter than they had been before and an ominous chill ran down Sophie¡¯s spine.

    Her danger sense had not activated yet, but Sophie could not shake the feeling that she had to get away as soon as possible.

    ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± Sophie raised up her hand and tried to get the tour guide¡¯s attention.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice that the writings on the obelisks are getting brighter¡­ is that normal? Plus, in old photographs the writings were a purple colour¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ well that is actually one of the unsolvable mysteries about this ce,¡± the tour guide chuckled as she gestured towards the enormous structures.

    ¡°The writings have changed colour once every three decades since this ce was discovered by the first settlers.¡±

    ¡°However, the colour change does not seem to affect anything, so most professors seem to agree that it is nothing but a pretty visual.¡±

    Sophie nodded in understanding but could not help but look one more time at the ck obelisk that they were slowly approaching.

    Danger! Danger! Danger!

    Goosebumps rose up along Sophie¡¯s arm and she immediately froze up on the spot.

    No¡­ she needed to get out of here¡­ NOW!

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Sophie cleared her throat and awkwardly addressed the rest of the group.

    ¡°I know this sounds crazy, but I can sense danger and I believe that a threat ising from the obelisks¡­ or something hidden in the valley.¡±

    ¡°I think that we should leave now¡­.¡±

    Sophie words echoed through the valley and got the attention of the group who looked at her with various expressions of disbelief.

    Loud whispers and mutterings erupted from the crowd but not all of the voices were positive towards Sophie¡¯s suggestion.

    What the tourists did not realise was that their quiet words could easily be heard by the hybrid girl.

    ¡°Is the duke¡¯s daughter doing this for attention? Damn¡­ how desperate is she?¡±

    ¡°Crazy! This ce has been a tourist destination for years¡­¡±

    ¡°What danger? I swear these young nobles¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s face was expressionless as she heard their mocking words. She understood why they probably felt like that, but she had to try.

    She opened up her mouth one more time and tried to convince them that it was a good idea to leave.

    ¡°Listen¡­ I know that some of you may have doubts, but I can promise you on the honour of my house that everything that I am saying is the truth,¡± Sophie swore seriously.

    This time her words had a much heavier weight and some of the faces in the crowd showed expressions of hesitation.

    ¡°I have been doing tours here for over ten years and there has never been a problem,¡± the guide suddenly interjected with an annoyed look on her face.

    ¡°If you truly wish to leave then just walk back that way and enter the barrier. It will take you outside the valley.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ and I will say this again¡­ there has never been any problems in all the decades that this ce has been opened to the public.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s brows furrowed as she felt the danger only get stronger with every passing minute.

    She nced at the confused tourists and the angry guide and let out a heavy sigh.

    Hopefully other people would follow but right now her first priority was to get herself and Cleo out of danger.

    Sophie lifted up Cleo by the legs and held her in a princess carry.

    Regardless of how it looked she rushed forward towards the barrier while channeling qi into her leg meridians.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s figure was almost like a blur as she crossed several hundred meters in just a few seconds.

    She turned around and saw a handful of people following them but moving at a much slower pace.

    Sophie eventually reached a patch of shimmering air and without hesitation threw her body into the strange space.

    The hybrid girl felt the air vibrate around her body and the sensation of something brushing against her leg.

    The world went dark for a brief moment and then Sophie opened her eyes to find herself back in the sandy desert.

    ¡°So, what did you see?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she leaned her head against Sophie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t use my foresight ability¡­ I just felt a terrible danger and knew that I had to rush outside as soon as possible,¡± Sophie exined as she walked away from the exit.

    A few momentster more tourists would appear from the other side of the barrier as Sophie took out a nket from her storage bag.

    She ced the nket on the hot desert sand and sat down with Cleo in her arms.

    The extremely hot sun rays fell on their bodies but fortunately Sophie had a tent in her storage bag which she took out for some cover.

    Minutes passed and one of the tourists who exited the barrier suddenly got impatient since nothing was happening.

    ¡°This ce is too hot¡­ I¡­ I can¡¯t believe that I listened to your nonsense,¡± the man scolded fiercely as he rushed back towards the massive sand dune.

    He entered the space without a problem which made the remaining tourists cast suspicious looks in Sophie¡¯s direction.

    Eventually more decided to enter but as the hours passed¡­

    No one came out.

 Chapter 539: A Terrible Fate

    <h4>Chapter 539: A Terrible Fate</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    Vrean- Unknown Ruins)

    ¡°Now this nt seems to have medicinal properties¡­ if you crush the leaf like this¡­¡± the tour guide exined as she held a leaf in her palm.

    She wrapped her fingers around the thin leaf and crushed it mercilessly. Green juice sttered across her palm, but the guide didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    She took out a knife from her pocket and sliced a thin cut across her wrist. She then rubbed the crushed leaf over the wound.

    A few minutes passed and then eventually the wound began to close, and the tissue started to regenerate.

    ¡°Amazing!¡± one of the tourists eximed in surprise as he ced his hands together and pped.

    Isabe smiled politely at the enthusiastic man and continued to wander through the lush tropical forest while pointing out some other notable sights.

    The tour was going much better than she anticipated after that hybrid girl decided to cause a scene and then leave.

    Two hours has passed since she left, and nothing had happened. The small trace of worry in Isabe¡¯s heart had all but disappeared.

    There were even some tourists who came back from the other side of the portal since they must have realised that the hybrid girl was an attention seeker.

    As for the rest¡­.

    Isabe hoped that they were enjoying the scorching hot desert rays.

    A satisfied smile spread across her face, and she began to walk with a bit of spring in her steps.

    ¡°Now we are going to head towards Maracas Falls which is one of thergest waterfalls on the¡­¡± Isabe loudly spoke so that everyone could hear her.

    ¡°There is a nice pool just at the bottom of the waterfall and the water is safe to swim or even drink if you wish to try it.¡±

    ¡°Just let me know in advance who wants to swim so that I can record it in my notes¡­¡±

    Isabe continued on the tour as normal and failed notice that the red writings on the obelisks were gradually getting darker with every passing minute.

    A cold wind blew through the valley which sent a shiver down the spines of everyone who wasn¡¯t wearing a jacket.

    Their guide did not seem bothered by the strange wind, so everyone did not panic or wonder where it came from.

    As the group approached therge waterfall that was over several hundred meters tall, the loud crashing noise that the water made drowned out their conversations.

    Isabe waved her hands to get their attention and then used her wristmunicator to project a message.

    [Alright¡­ everyone who wants to swim¡­ I will be here on the shore supervising]

    [If you wish to explore further then I only ask that you do so in groups and use the waterfall as a reference in case you get lost]

    The guide waited until she got a few nods of understanding before pping her hands and gesturing towards the water.

    The water in the pool was crystal clear and one could see a beautiful white sandy bottom that looked straight out of a nature magazine.

    Small bubbles could be seen rising up from the bottom since there were thermal vents that kept the water nice and hot.

    It was the perfect natural hot spring.

    Some of the tourists jumped in straight away without caring that their clothes would get wet while others wandered off into the nearby forest to change.

    Isabe sat down on a rock overlooking the pool below and kept a close eye on the tourists that were happily swimming in the warm waters.

    The words of the hybrid girl briefly surfaced in her mind, but an irritated frown appeared on Isabe¡¯s face.

    She had gotten some pretty awful tourists before, but this was the first time that someone had spoken up and disrupted the group with such nonsense.

    But the look in her eyes¡­ was a noble girl so proficient in acting?

    ¡°No¡­ why am I dwelling on that¡­¡± Isabe muttered as she tried to banish the image of Sophie¡¯s serious gaze as she told them about the mysterious danger.

    BOOM!

    Enormous energy fields erupted from the tip of the ck obelisks and rapidly spread across the valley.

    The shockwaves from the eruption caused Isabe to lose her bnce and fall to the ground ungracefully.

    Panicked shouts and cries for help came from the tourists who did not expect something to m into their bodies with great force.

    The ones in the water were quite fortunate since the shockwaves passed over their heads. The energy waves travelled until they reached the edge of the valley.

    A purplish barrier was formed around the valley that blocked off every single entrance and exit that led to the outside world.

    Isabe immediately nced in the direction of the obelisks as she heard a low humming noiseing from the inside of the mysterious structures.

    A door opened up in the middle part of the structure and thousands of flying creatures emerged that darkened the skies.

    The red writings on the outer surface of the obelisks no longer glowed as if they were already spent.

    The creatures that emerged from inside of the obelisks were around eight feet tall with slender whip-like bodies.

    They were covered in heavy ck scales that resembled armour and possessed four arms each with a pointed needle at the end of their palms.

    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

    The creatures rushed downwards with the sharpened end of their needles gleaming ominously under the light.

    One of the tourists barely had any time to react before he was split open in half.

    One side of his body crashed to the ground motionless while the other was picked up by the creature who began to devour his corpse.

    ¡°What the hell?!¡±

    ¡°Run! We have to run!¡±

    ¡°She¡­ she was right¡­ FUCK I KNEW I SHOULDN¡¯T HAVE COME BACK!¡±

    Horrific screams and agonising cries of pain echoed through the valley and Isabe could only watch in horror as everyone died.

    Blood, guts and chunks of fleshy scattered across the ground and the scene was one straight out of a nightmare battlefield.

    A creature turned its attention to the trembling guide and flew over.

    Isabe opened her mouth to scream but the monster¡¯s needle prated her throat and tore out her vocal cords.

    No one survived.

 Chapter 540: Welcome To The Apocalypse

    <h4>Chapter 540: Wee To The Apocalypse</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    Vrean)

    ¡°Does the tour usually take so long?¡± Sophie asked hesitantly as she leaned against Cleo¡¯s shoulder.

    Quite a few hours had passed since she had taken her girlfriend out of the mysterious ce where she sensed an impending danger.

    Some of the tourists who had left with her had returned to the barrier and crossed into the valley while others decided to just rx in the sun.

    Cleo powered on her wristmunicator and opened up a tab with a screenshot of the itinerary for the day.

    ¡°No¡­ something is wrong¡­ we should be walking back to the teleportation site by now¡­¡± Cleo replied in shock.

    Her voice was not particrly quiet so the other tourists around them also heard the concern in her tone.

    ¡°Wait? What is going on?¡± someone asked in confusion.

    ¡°Well let¡¯s not overreact¡­ the guide has probably lost track of time¡­¡± another chimed in.

    ¡°Lost track of time by three hours? I¡¯m definitely going to leave a negative review on my blog!¡± a pretty brte said with a huff of annoyance.

    Sophie stared at the massive sand dune and her golden eyes darkened. Her vision was immediately enhanced and suddenly the scenery changed.

    She could see what appeared to be a shimmering patch of air where the barrier should be but there was a dark ck energy coating the exterior.

    That ck energy¡­

    It did not activate her danger sense but looking at it gave Sophie a sense of unease that she had not felt in a long time.

    ¡°Look why don¡¯t I go in and see what is happening inside?¡± a brave Mendolesa man spoke up and walked towards the barrier.

    ¡°No! There¡¯s something strange covering it¡­¡± Sophie hurriedly yelled but it was toote.

    The Mendolesa warrior confidently stepped into the barrier and was flung several feet away as his body bounced back.

    He fell on the sand with a dazed look on his face. His greyish-ck fur was now covered in dirt, and he looked quite haggard.

    ¡°What¡­ what the hell?¡± the Mendolesa man got up and groaned as he felt as though all of his ribs had been bruised.

    ¡°I can see some kind of ck energy covering the barrier¡­¡± Sophie exined in an uncertain tone as she continued to stare at the shimmering air.

    A middle-aged woman stepped forward and muttered a few indecipherable words under her breath.

    Blue runes appeared in front of her eyes, and she followed Sophie¡¯s gaze towards the ce where the barrier was located.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I can see an energy signal there as well¡­¡± the mage replied with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Is that normal?¡± someone asked curiously.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think so¡­ I mean there was no mention of the barrier being blocked in any of the notes¡­¡± the mage responded as she casted another spell.

    This time one of the snake-like creatures that were native to Vrean rose up from the ground and was suspended in mid air.

    The mage waved her hand, and the creature was shot forward towards the barrier with a tremendous amount of force.

    Instead of passing through the barrier, the poor animal wasunched several feet away andnded on its head with a sickening crunch.

    ¡°Huh¡­¡± the mage muttered indifferently as she walked towards the animal¡¯s corpse and poked at it with her finger.

    Sophie essed the emergency number on her wristmunicator and sent a message to the starship¡¯s response team.

    She urately wrote down as many details about this strange incident that she could remember which included the order of events.

    The response team was on twenty-four-hour alert, so Sophie received an immediate reply from the head operator.

    ¡°Okay everyone¡­ I just contacted the response team, and they are going to send a team to pick us up in around fifteen minutes to take us back to the teleportation site,¡± Sophie loudly spoke.

    ¡°Another team will arrive after we leave to investigate the situation on the other side of the barrier.¡±

    ¡°The operator said that we should move towards a position a few hundred meters away just in case something unexpected happens¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s calm and collected tone reassured the tourists who were getting a bit worried. The hybrid girl stood up and stretched out her hand to pull up her girlfriend.

    Cleo smiled sweetly but her eyes would asionally flick towards the barrier.

    Sophie packed up the tent and the nkets on the ground in her storage bag.

    She began walking in a northern direction with Cleo in hand and the other tourists decided to follow them.

    Some used to doubt Sophie¡¯s initial warning but after seeing the strangeness that surrounded the barrier¡­ they had nothing but respect for the hybrid girl.

    No one knew whaty beyond the barrier so she may have saved their lives!

    Sophie counted her steps and finally stopped when they arrived at the top of a medium sized sand dune that overlooked the desert.

    They would be easily spotted by the rescue team here and just in case Sophie decided to turn on the location tracker in the wristmunicator.

    BOOM!

    An enormous cloud of sand flew out of the ground almost like a bomb had detonated. Sophie had to close her eyes as an enormous pile of dirt fell on her body.

    She leaned over Cleo and shielded the princess with her much bulkier frame. A horrific series of shrieks came from the center of the explosion.

    When the dust had finally settled, Sophie saw what could only be described as a scene straight out of a nightmare.

    The massive sand dune that hid the barrier was nowpletely gone. The valley was now fully visible to the outside world and surrounded in a purplish energy field.

    But that wasn¡¯t the scary part¡­.

    Hundreds of thousands if not millions of alien creatures were currently mming their bodies against the dome and tiny cracks were beginning to form.

    These monster were around eight feet tall with slender whip-like bodies. They were covered in heavy ck scales that resembled armour.

    And their hideous appearances were madeplete with four arms each with a pointed needle at the end of their palms.

    Crack! Crack! Crack!

    Tiny spider-like webs began to spread out from the point of contact as the monsters kept mming their needles into the purplish energy field.

    Danger!

    Sophie grabbed Cleo without hesitation just as a certain section of the forcefield suddenly shattered like ss.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s body moved automatically as she lifted Cleo up in her arms and carried her in a princess carry.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot just as a horde of the flying monsters erupted from the hole in the field.

    They were so numerous that their slender whip-like bodies ckened the sky and shrouded the desert in shadows.

    Screech!

 Chapter 541: Sophie Just Wants A Normal Vacation...

    <h4>Chapter 541: Sophie Just Wants A Normal Vacation¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    Vrean)

    ¡°What? What the hell are those?! This¡­ this makes no sense!¡±

    ¡°No! No! Stay¡­ ARGHHHH!¡±

    A horrific scream echoed through the desert as a handsomely dressed man was split open by a swarm of the flying monsters.

    Blood, guts and chunks of flesh stained the desert sands as the monsters feasted on his remains.

    The wet chewing noises that they made as they ripped apart his body piece by piece were enough to send a chill down the spines of the remaining tourists.

    ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ please¡­¡± a woman sobbed as she backed away from a monster that was flying towards her.

    She desperately turned around and tried to run but it was already toote. The creature¡¯s needle-like arm prated her lower back and tore out her spine.

    The woman copsed on the ground and screamed as the monster lingered over her paralysed body.

    These eight feet tall abominations bore a striking resemnce to demons crawling out of hell.

    The monster hovering over the woman slowly descended and ced its needle just above the woman¡¯s fragile neck.

    With slow, almost gentle movements it used its needle to prate the woman¡¯s neck and sever her head from the rest of her body.

    Sophie quickly nced back and saw the carnage taking ce. Her heart was beating faster than ever as she held Cleo tightly in her arms.

    Thousands of creatures were still pouring out of the hole in the barrier with no end in sight.

    There were so many of them that the sky itself was turning ck as they blocked the rays of sunlight.

    This was the sight of an apocalypse. The end times for this and for those who were foolish enough to remain.

    ¡°Cleo¡­ open your map and tell me which direction is the teleportation site,¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she leapt to the side.

    A needle swished pass her cheek andnded on the sand mere inches away from where her body had been seconds earlier.

    Thanks to her quick reaction, Sophie was able to put a decent amount of distance between herself and the monsters but apparently, they had other tricks up their sleeves¡­

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    Dozens of needles were fired off from the creatures¡¯ hands and were shot in the direction of the fleeing hybrid girl.

    Sophie gritted her teeth as she saw what appeared to be an endless tsunami of sharp objects hurled in her direction.

    Fuck! Why couldn¡¯t she just have a normal vacation for once?

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred along with the princess in her arms.

    When she reappeared there were twenty additional copies of herself each holding what looked to be a version of Cleo as well.

    ¡°You know what to do!¡± Sophie yelled angrily as she narrowed her eyes.

    One of the clones sighed unhappily before positioning herself behind the original Sophie¡¯s back.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    The needles finally arrived, and Sophie tried her best to avoid them.

    She was able to dodge most and the ones that she couldn¡¯t were handled by her mirror copies who threw themselves in the path of the sharpened des.

    Sophie stumbled slightly as she received the unpleasant memories from the clones¡¯ demise but continued running.

    She nced back and saw something that was quite curious.

    All the creatures that had flung their needles at her were now falling to the ground in a state of apparent unconsciousness.

    Were they simr to bees?

    Once the stinger was removed¡­ would they die?

    It was an interesting observation but unfortunately with the sheer number of monsters pouring out of the hole¡­ the hundreds that died barely put a dent in the swarm.

    Cleo powered on hermunicator and hurriedly tapped a series ofmands. Soon a holographic window was projected from her metalloid device.

    It showed a map of the along with a red dot that was a few dozen kilometers away from their current location.

    Sophie looked at the map and gritted her teeth. Now was not the time to conserve her strength and she knew that she needed to go all out.

    The hybrid girl briefly closed her eyes and felt the qi strands flowing through her body. She redirected them to the meridians in her legs and felt a sudden burst of energy.

    Sophie¡¯s speed rapidly increased and her figure was now a lightning-fast blur.

    Some of the creatures in the swarm broke away from the pack to chase her down but Sophie was too fast for them to catch.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    The surviving mirror copies died one after the other as the needles prated their flesh and severely damaged their inner organs.

    Rsychosis!

    Again, Sophie used the ancient technique from the Arachnais tribe and more mirror images of herself and Cleo appeared.

    It was quite tiring to use that technique twice in a row, but Sophie had enough qi in her dantian to force herself to continue.

    ¡°Lanuae me hinc!¡± a voice shouted in panic.

    There was a blinding sh of light and Sophie saw a body appear a few hundred meters ahead.

    It belonged to the mage in the group, but she was not in good shape.

    One of the needles was stuck in the center of her chest and she began to cough violently. Heavy flecks of blood stained her lips and she copsed on the sand motionless.

    Sophie wanted to help her, but she had to keep moving.

    The swarm was an ever-present threat loaming in the distance, and she could not afford to stop for any reason.

    The hybrid girl gritted her teeth and forced herself to look away as she ran pass the mage¡¯s body that was still warm.

    ¡°How much further?¡± Sophie asked softly as she continued to run.

    ¡°Fourteen more kilometres¡­ I managed to send a message to the team in charge of the teleporter but I¡¯m not sure if they believed me¡­¡± Cleo yelled with great difficulty.

    The princess¡¯ body could barely handle the high speed that Sophie was running. Winds and sands constantly mmed into her face and her hair was now aplete mess.

    Still¡­ there was something that she could do to help.

    Cleo closed her eyes and slowly rubbed her temples as she extended the mental tendrils in her mind.

    Mental Boom!

    An enormous shockwave of mental energy burst out of Cleo¡¯s mind and headed straight for the monsters pursuing them.

    The first creature that was hit froze in ce as its mental capacity waspletely destroyed.

    It forgot how to fly, and its wings gradually stopped beating.

    One after the other, the monsters fell out of the sky andnded on the desert sands with a sickening thud.

 Chapter 542: The Final Boss Appears...

    <h4>Chapter 542: The Final Boss Appears¡­</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    Vrean)

    Cleo closed her eyes and saw hundreds of invisible tendrils slowly extend outwards from her mind.

    It had been quite some time since she had used mental techniques, so she feeling was a bit rusty.

    Psychic Art- Mass Bacsh!

    Pulsating waves of energy burst out of her mind and headed right towards the horde of flying monsters swarming towards their location.

    The creatures froze in ce as their minds were overloaded with numerous thoughts, sensations and emotions that made little sense.

    The dendrites in their neuralworks burst under the pressure and one by one the creatures fell out of the sky.

    Cleo opened her eyes and hissed softly in pain as she felt a raging headache begin to form.

    Sophie nced down at her girlfriend and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt yourself babe¡­¡± Sophie gently whispered as she continued to direct the qi in her dantian towards her leg meridians.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s speed rapidly increased as her figure became a blur. Horrific screams and cries of pain echoed through the open desert.

    Sophie felt a chill run down her spine as those sounds were often apanied by the noise of something chewing.

    Cleo¡¯s wristmunicator continued to project a holographic screen with the current distance between themselves and the teleportationunchpad.

    Thirteen more kilometres¡­ twelve¡­ eleven¡­

    The desert was a harsh and lonely environment. Massive sand dunes rose up from the ground almost like waves on an ocean.

    But perhaps the most unpleasant part of travelling in a desert was the dust.

    Sophie was forced to narrow her eyes as she bravely ran headfirst into an iing dust storm.

    There was no other option.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    More silvery needles were shot in her direction from the thousands of pursuers that still persisted in their hunt.

    Fortunately, they had not narrowed the gap between themselves and the two girls, so their attacksnded several feet away.

    Sophie growled hoarsely and for a brief moment the corners of her golden eyes started to turn red.

    She was suddenly struck by an overwhelming urge to drop Cleo and turn around to fight the monsters that were hunting them down.

    Kill them¡­ kill them¡­ KILL THEM ALL!

    Sophie gritted her teeth in pain as she used her sharp fingernails to dig into the soft fleshy underbelly of her palms.

    Blood dripped down from her palm andnded on the hot sands where it quickly disappeared amidst the dust.

    No¡­ Cleo¡¯s safety took priority over everything.

    Sophie did not realise it at the time but as her desire to protect Cleo filled her mind, her left eye turnedpletely pink.

    She discovered that running became a bit easier as if the weight of her body no longer applied.

    Sophie was now moving even faster than before.

    The hybrid girl focused on the floating map and mentally counted down the number of kilometres left as they neared the teleportation site.

    Ten kilometres¡­ nine kilometres¡­ eight kilometres¡­

    The end was near¡­

    Screech!

    A deafening roar came from the direction of the swarm and Sophie could not help but turn around to take a quick nce.

    What she saw sent shivers down her spine¡­

    A massive creature kept mming against the barrier until the remaining part of the dome shattered into tiny pieces almost like ss.

    This beast had an identical appearance to the other monsters with a slender whip-like body that was covered in heavy ck scales that resembled armour.

    Except there was one crucial difference¡­

    This creature was over seventy feet tall. It was a colossal titan unlike anything that Sophie had ever seen before.

    The swarm of monsters immediately flew over to the giant version of themselves and used their needles to tear out their own throats in some bizarre ritual.

    Screech!

    The creature opened its mandibles and unleashed a series of guttural cries that made the ground itself shake under the pressure.

    Sophie wobbled slightly and barely managed to avoid falling over as she almost lost her footing.

    She met Cleo¡¯s eyes and both girls exchanged silent looks that basically tranted to¡­

    What the actual fuck?!

    Every single flying creature returned to the colossal beast and tore out their throats.

    Their greenish-yellow blood stained the desert sands and their bodies crashed to the ground motionless.

    The gigantic beast roared once more and then positioned itself with its crotch pointed in a certain direction.

    Before Sophie and Cleo¡¯s horrified eyes, a feminine slit opened up just at the bottom of the creature¡¯sher regions.

    Screech!

    The monster cried out in what appeared to be a mix of both pain and pleasure as hundreds or maybe even thousands of eggs shot out of its slit.

    These eggs had rough, bumpy outer surfaces and were purplish- grey in colour. Each egg was around the size of an adult human male.

    These eggs piled up intorge mountains and were covered by a sticky green mucus that coated each egg in its slime.

    ¡°Gross¡­ I¡¯m going to be sick¡­¡± Cleo gagged as she turned away from the disgusting sight.

    Even Sophie was not doing much better as she continued to look with an almost morbid fascination.

    The colossal monstery down on the sand and closed its eyes as it seemed to be exhausted from giving birth multiple times in the space of a few minutes.

    Crack!

    One of the eggs at the bottom of the pile gradually broke and one could see a fully formed creature crawl out from behind the eggshell.

    Its body got covered by the mucus and it moved unsteadily as it took its first steps outside and saw the sun.

    It sniffed the air twice and then unfurled its thick translucent wings. The mucus coating its body fell off as the creature trembled violently.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure what happened next as she turned around and continued to run in the direction of the teleportation site.

    All she knew was that as the first creatures hatched from the eggs¡­ her danger sense activated immediately.

    Goosebumps appeared on her arm and the heavy scent of death lingered in the air. Sophie narrowed her eyes and just focused on running.

    She needed to make sure that Cleo was safe¡­

    She needed to protect her girlfriend¡­

    Sophie ran up a massive sand dune and when she got to the other side, she finally saw the teleportation site in the distance.

    It was a massive metalloid ring surrounded by a series of tents and vehicles. Dozens of employees were running about in a seemingly panicked state.

    Some of the guests who had chosen to stay behind and not go on the tour to the hidden valley looked a bit confused as they were rushed into the teleportationunchpad.

    Their bodies gradually disintegrated into golden particles as they were teleported back to the starship.

 Chapter 543: No Good Options Left

    <h4>Chapter 543: No Good Options Left</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    Vrean)

    Sophie ran with all her might towards the massive metalloid ring as she felt a cold chill run down her spine.

    Her danger sense kept screaming at her to leave immediately.

    It was hard not to remember the colossal beast that emerged from the other side of the barrier.

    That alien beast was a titanic monstrosity unlike anything that Sophie had ever seen before.

    As the hybrid girl neared the teleportation site, she could hear the panicked voicesing from the staff members running around the ce like headless chickens.

    ¡°Go! Go! Go! We need to evacuate all the guests now!¡±

    ¡°Fuck! Someone call for back-up! There are still some VIPs scattered across the¡­ we can¡¯t afford to let any harm befall them!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir¡­ but you really need to move! No time to exin!¡±

    This emergency had caught everyone off guard. Vrean had been a tourist destination for space cruises for thest couple of decades without any issues.

    It was impossible to predict that such a terrifying threat lurked in this seemingly destendscape.

    Cleo groaned as her body was jostled back and forth as Sophie held her tightly in her arms.

    The princess furrowed her brows in pain as her headache got worse.

    Using mental techniques without practising was definitely a bad idea¡­

    The princess silently vowed to redouble her training when she got back on the starship from tomorrow.

    ¡°Hey! We¡¯re here!¡± Sophie yelled loudly as she waved one of her hands to get someone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Oh! The daughter of Duke Peterlor! Thank goodness you are alright!¡± a inly dressed middle-aged man hurriedly ran over and bowed respectfully.

    ¡°You must leave immediately! It is not safe on this!

    The middle-aged man gestured towards the teleportation ring, so Sophie walked over and let out of a heavy sigh of relief.

    They had made it¡­.

    Sophie confidently stepped onto the interior of the metalloid ring and gently ced Cleo down with careful movements.

    ¡°Prepare for transport!¡± the operator shouted as he pressed a button on the console next to the machine.

    Sophie felt her body be much lighter and she looked down to see herself begin to dissolve into sparkling particles of light.

    Her vision slowly faded away to darkness¡­

    .

    .

    .

    .

    As the hybrid girl and her girlfriend finally disappeared, the operator checked the monitoring device and gave a thumbs up gesture to his supervisor.

    Both girls had made it safely back to the starship which meant that they were now out of harm¡¯s way.

    ¡°How many are left?¡± the operator asked hesitantly.

    His supervisor pulled out a t metalloid tablet and essed a page with the information of the guests currently on the.

    ¡°There are at least three hundred people missing¡­ at least half of them are presumed dead¡­¡± Supervisor Markus whispered hoarsely.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ we¡¯re ruined¡­ we are absolutely ruined¡­ thewsuits¡­¡±

    A heavy rumbling noise came from the distance and soon dozens of hoverbikes appeared with each carrying passengers dressed in expensive clothing.

    The drivers were the security officers sent to pick up some of the survivors who were scattered across the desert.

    ¡°Hurry up and ready the transporter!¡± Supervisor Markus whispered fiercely at the operator.

    ¡°Yes sir! Right away!¡± the operator gave a salute and tapped out a series ofmands on the monitor interface.

    SCREECH!

    A horrific cry echoed through the desert that made everyone wince in pain. Some of the weaker individuals even passed out as their ears bled profusely.

    The sound came from the distance but that brought littlefort as the supervisor received an image on hismunicator from the starship¡¯smand officer.

    It was an aerial shot of the and more specifically¡­ an enormous seventy feet tall abomination that appeared to be¡­ying eggs?

    Supervisor Markus was not a religious man by any means but after seeing that creature¡­. he could not help but mutter a quick prayer to the old gods.

    Curiously enough in the picture of the monster, the beast was staring in the direction of the starship as if it could somehow see the spacecraft thousands of miles away.

    No¡­ that had to be impossible¡­

    ¡°What to do¡­ what to do¡­¡± Supervisor Markus muttered quietly to himself as he began to impatiently tap the side of his knee.

    He was left with only two options now and both would end with either a resignation or even an imprisonment.

    The first option was to leave now. Take the passengers who were at the site and the crew along with them.

    The second option of course was to wait a bit longer for the rest of the security team to return and hopefully they would be able to rescue more passengers.

    Of course, the second option was the more risker one.

    The reason why supervisor Markus was so conflicted was there were some guests with sensitive identities that had not been ounted for.

    If an investigationter revealed that he left them on the to die, then the forces behind them would not let him go.

    Supervisor Markus groaned as he felt beads of sweat begin to run down his brow. He had never experienced such pressure before.

    One bad choice¡­ and it was all over.

    ¡°Evacu¡­. Evacuate immediately!¡± Supervisor Markus hesitantly yelled as his voice cracked a little bit.

    ¡°But sir¡­ what about the other¡­¡± someone spoke up in disbelief.

    ¡°Shut up! I am the team leader and I say that we need to leave now!¡± Supervisor Markus replied in a confident tone.

    He tried to mask his fear with bravado, and it was fortunate that no one noticed just how badly his hands were trembling.

    The teleportation ring hummed to life and the recently arrived passengers were escorted onto the metalloid device.

    They dissolved into golden particles and then the process was repeated again for the crew that remained.

    One by one the employees were sent back to the starship until only the supervisor and the operator remained.

    SCREECH!

    Another loud cry echoed through the desert and this time it came from a location much closer than before.

    ¡°Go! I¡¯ll be right behind you!¡± Supervisor Markus gently spoke as he gestured for the young operator to step on the teleportation ring.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ve set it to automatic mode¡­¡± the operator nervously replied as he stepped on the machine and his body dissolved into particles.

    Thest thing that he saw was the reassuring smile on Supervisor Markus¡¯ face as he stared off into the distance.

    The supervisor waited until the operator had disappeared before reaching into his pocket and taking out a small knife with an edge that gleamed under the sunlight.

    There was a ck cloud rapidly approaching from the distance and it was made up of thousands of whip-like creatures with armoured scaled.

    Supervisor Markus sat down on the warm desert sands and casually raised the knife to his neck before the monsters arrived.

    Slice!

 Chapter 544: A Long Awaited Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 544: A Long Awaited Reunion</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (S.S Defiance- Medical Bay)

    ¡°So¡­ our vacation isn¡¯t exactly going as nned¡­¡± Cleo whispered cheekily as she raised up her palm to stroke Sophie¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°I was thinking some sand, some rxation, some fun times¡­ I must say¡­ this wasn¡¯t what I had in mind¡­¡±

    She was currentlyying down on a white bed in the medical bay with a tube connected to her upper thigh.

    Every single person who had gone down to the visited the starship¡¯s hospital in order to make sure that there was nothing wrong with them.

    Sophie¡¯s regenerative ability had healed all of the damage that she had suffered but Cleo was still dealing with the aftereffects of using mental techniques.

    The hybrid girl pulled the chair a bit closer to her girlfriend¡¯s bed and smiled gently as she caught Cleo¡¯s hand.

    ¡°No¡­ but we do seem to get into trouble quite a lot¡­¡± Sophie confessed softly as she rubbed her fingers on the underside of Cleo¡¯s palm.

    ¡°Did you check out the news on the incident yet?¡± Cleo asked curiously.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I messaged my dad to let him know that we are okay, but I haven¡¯t checked the virtual Net since we came back,¡± Sophie muttered thoughtfully.

    She let go of Cleo¡¯s hand and powered on her wristmunicator. The screen slowly blinked to life and Sophie tapped a button on its side.

    A holographic window was projected into the air above hermunicator with the front page of the virtual Net.

    Sophie quickly looked up the  Vrean Incident¡¯ and the results were disyed on the projection.

    The financial organization in charge of the cruise were unable to cover up the incident due to the nature of the people involved.

    Powerful nobles, businesspeople and others who were equally important had died on a seemingly safe vacation.

    The various factions and powers behind these dead individuals had informationworks that easily found out what had happened.

    Now it was currently the most talked about incident on the virtual Net.

    Sophie browsed through thements and found everything from people sympathising with the dead to those who mocked the victims due to their wealthy statuses.

    The reportsing from the incident were mainly about those who died so even though Sophie was the one to first alert the security team that something was wrong¡­

    She was not featured anywhere in the reports.

    Or perhaps that was due to her father¡¯s influence¡­

    ¡°Do you think they will cancel the rest of the cruise?¡± Cleo asked softly as she watched the information on the holographic projection.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t see how the cruise can continue after so many people have died¡­ actually I think that the financial group is definitely going to go bankrupt¡­¡± Sophie replied seriously.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t their fault because no one could have predicted what was on the but¡­ I am sure that they are going to be tied up inwsuits for decades¡­¡±

    ¡°And that isn¡¯t even the worst possibility¡­ the factions behind some of the people who died may try to seek revenge in ways outside thew.¡±

    The two girls fell into an uneasy silence as Sophie¡¯s words echoed through the empty room.

    Sophie was not an innocent person by any means and was well aware of the darkness hidden in the noble society.

    Rules did not apply to those with power and wealth especially in a society with a caste system where the nobles stood on the top.

    ¡°Anyways¡­¡± Sophie cleared her throat and tried to change the subject.

    ¡°Are you feeling better? Do you want to go back to our room?¡±

    ¡°Sure babe¡­ I think I just need some sleep,¡± Cleo yawned sleepily and blinked twice. She reached for the tube attached to her thigh and pulled it out.

    The princess swung her feet over the bed and stretched out her arms. Sophie held her gently in a warm embrace and helped her girlfriend to stand.

    The pair left the room, and an android came in a few minutes after to clean up the ward and prepare for the next set of guests.

    Sophie and Cleo wandered through an endlessbyrinth of side passageways and halls on their way back to their room.

    They encountered several passengers on their way to Sophie¡¯s private suite but the atmosphere inside the starship had nowpletely changed.

    The people that they came across had worried, angry, and scared expressions on their faces. It was clear that word of the incident had spread across the starship.

    Everyone talked in hushed whispers and the staff who were scattered across the starship were currently being swarmed by irate passengers.

    Sophie used her ded appendages to clear a path through the crowd and the pair continued walking until they arrived at the familiar hall.

    The hybrid girl walked up to her room and ced her palm against the scanner. A green light shed twice and then the metalloid doors slid open.

    Sophie entered inside and headed for the bathroom to wash her face while Cleo walked towards the bed and plopped down on the mattress.

    Sophie pressed a button above the sink and warm water began to flow out of a faucet. She scooped up a healthy amount of water and began to wash her face.

    Cleo taken a shower in the private bath attached to the medical ward, but Sophie was still a bit dirty from the desert.

    Sand fell down in the sink and Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she realised that she probably needed to take a shower before going to bed.

    ¡°Babe I¡¯m going to shower!¡± Sophie yelled loudly from the bathroom.

    She received a muffled reply of acknowledgment from Cleo who was already beginning to drift off.

    The hybrid girl peeled off theyers of her clothing and then ced then in a bag near the entrance to the bathroom.

    Sophie nced in the mirror and saw a seven-foot-tall hybrid girl staring back at her. The young woman in the mirror was incredibly pretty with a lean muscr physique.

    Wait¡­ when did¡­.

    Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion as she realised that her knife-like ears seemed a bit pointier than usual.

    She absentmindedly touched the tips of her ears, but nothing seemed to be amiss. Sophie shrugged her shoulders and headed for the shower area.

    There was an option to take a light shower or use water instead. Sophie pressed the water option and soon a gentle drizzle of water came down from the ceiling.

    The hybrid girl grabbed some soap from next to the shower and began to wash her body with slow careful movements.

    Sand¡­ was a real pain the ass to deal with.

    Those tiny particles got everywhere especially the hard-to-reach parts of her body. Sophie hummed a soft tune as she continued to clean herself.

    Eventually she turned off the water and stepped outside.

    Sophie grabbed a towel and wiped down her body and was extra careful as she used the towel to dry off her ded appendages.

    The sharpened barb at the end of her appendages could easily tear the soft fabric used to make the towel.

    Sophie pulled out a simple white nightdress from her storage bag and took a few minutes to put it on.

    She left the bathroom and turned off the lights. Cleo was already sleeping on the bed with her chest gently rising and falling with every breath that she took.

    Sophie smiled warmly at her girlfriend¡¯s sleeping body andy down on the mattress next to her.

    She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Cleo before falling asleep as a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit her all at once.

    Sophie reopened her eyes to find herself floating in an endless void. An ancient inhuman voice echoed through the space that was eerily familiar.

    (Wee my child¡­ it has been quite some time¡­)

 Chapter 545: A Simple Request

    <h4>Chapter 545: A Simple Request</h4>

    Darkness

    Nothingness

    A never- ending void.

    Sophie found herself drifting through a new ne of existence that was both familiar and incredibly strange.

    Soft whispers could be hearding from all around her in anguage that she could not understand.

    The void was incredibly cold and lonely and yet Sophie could swear that a warm presence was wrapped around her body which prevented her from feeling cold.

    ¡°Hunter goddess¡­ is that you?¡± Sophie called out hesitantly as she stretched out her hands and made a pulling motion.

    ¡°Yes, my child¡­ it is good to see you again¡­¡± an enchanting feminine voice echoed through the void space.

    In another ce far beyond the reaches of space and time, a mysteriousdy was staring at Sophie with a look of pride and adoration.

    It was hard to describe her appearance as it seemed to be constantly shifting between two forms at the same time.

    She possessed eight golden eyes that were sat deeply within their sockets and softly glowed. Her figure was quite well endowed with a pair of plump breasts.

    Six de-like appendages jutted out of her back with several purplish stingers attached to their ends.

    Her ears were pointed just like Sophie¡¯s with thick greenish veins that covered most of their outer surface.

    The mysteriousdy had physical characteristics that matched those of the ancient Arachnais ancestors from eons ago.

    As for the other form¡­

    It was a cosmic horror in the image of a colossal spider-like beast with massive limbs that seemed to stretch out endlessly with no end in sight.

    The space around the creature was warped and twisted as if reality itself was affected by the beast¡¯srge size.

    ¡°It has been some time¡­ err¡­ how have you been?¡± Sophie asked politely.

    ¡°Oh? It is quite rare for a vessel to be concerned about their patron¡­¡± the hunter goddess chuckled softly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ on the time scale that the gods operate¡­ this current moment is merely a blip in our eternity¡­¡±

    Sophie nodded her head and pretended to understand as the hunter goddess talked about events that were far beyond her understanding.

    ¡°Perhaps I am boring you with petty details¡­¡± the hunter goddess whispered gently as she stretched out one of her many hands.

    The space around her palm rippled and a soft glowing beam of light erupted from her fingertips.

    This beam of light mmed into Sophie¡¯s body and her golden eyes began to change colour under its influence.

    First Sophie¡¯s golden eyes shifted to a crimson red colour then pink and then finally the pale white with no pupils.

    Sophie gasped in pain as her emotional state underwent a rapid change with every shift in her eye colour.

    Eventually she returned to normal as the hunter goddess snapped her fingers and the beam of light vanished instantaneously.

    ¡°I am very pleased with the progress that you have made¡­¡± the hunter goddess spoke gently with a hint of pride in her voice.

    ¡°There have been very few vessels throughout history who have managed to unlock two or more of my abilities without goingpletely insane¡­¡±

    ¡°Although it is perhaps only a matter of time¡­¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sophie eximed in horror.

    ¡°Rx my cute little hybrid¡­ I am only teasing you¡­¡± the hunter goddess raised up her hand to cover her mouth as she giggled.

    ¡°Forming a soul bond with your chosen mate will help you to maintain your sanity and sense of self¡­¡±

    ¡°The bond anchors you to your mate.¡±

    The hunter goddess stared off into the distance and for a brief moment a human-like expression of sadness and loss shed across her face.

    Even after millions if not billions of years¡­ there were some things that even the gods wished to forget¡­

    ¡°You may be wondering why I have invited you here on such short notice,¡± the hunter goddess finally spoke.

    ¡°It is to deliver both a warning¡­. and an opportunity¡­.¡±

    ¡°Forces unseen are fighting a war beyond your reality¡­ they seek to gain control of the ninth dimension and bring order to the realm¡­.¡±

    ¡°Order¡­ they are nothing but fools¡­ the universe breeds chaos¡­ order is merely stagnation and rot¡­¡±

    The hunter goddess smiled, and her beast form made a simr expression. She was not a particrly kind entity and got bored quite easily.

    It was for this reason why Sophie was her favourite vessel.

    Due to some unknown power, the threads of fate seemed to wrap around her precious vessel which meant that her life would be quite¡­ eventful.

    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Sophie asked reluctantly as she could not help but anticipate what manner of terrible task the hunter goddess would assign her to perform.

    ¡°Just stay alive,¡± came the simple reply.

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Sophie raised her eyebrow with a puzzled expression on her face,

    ¡°Priestess Raphi¡¯elle seems to have taken a liking to you and scolded me quite fiercely for sending you on thatst hunting mission¡­¡± the goddess spoke casually.

    ¡°Something about you barely surviving¡­ having to fight to the death¡­ she was not very happy¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen my loyal servant so upset¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyways¡­ you don¡¯t need to worry¡­ it should be at least a few years if not decades before I get bored¡­ so do your best to live until then!¡±

    The hunter goddess bared her fangs and then muttered a few iprehensible words under her breath.

    The void space shattered into a million pieces and Sophie found herself hurtling through the unknown space at a breakneck speed.

    She opened her mouth to scream but her body dissolved into a million particles through the long rivers of time.

    Sophie opened her eyes and sat up on the mattress.

    She felt a warm body stir gently next to her and looked down to see Cleo sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

    The hybrid girl flicked on the light switch and stared at the cabin room with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    What a strange encounter¡­

    Well, every meeting with the hunter goddess was a bit peculiar but this definitely had to be one of the oddest.

    Just stay alive¡­

    Was there a hidden meaning behind that phrase? Or was the goddess merely stating the obvious?

    Damn it!

    Sophie gritted her teeth in frustration and turned off the light before she woke up Cleo.

    The hybrid girly down on the bed but found herself unable to sleep as she could not help but recall the encounter over and over again in her mind.

    Being a vessel to a powerful entity beyond the normal dimension was a blessing but, in many ways, it was also a curse¡­

 Chapter 546: The Long Journey Home

    <h4>Chapter 546: The Long Journey Home</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (L¡¯rean Transit Station- Unnamed Local Restaurant And Bar)

    ¡°Let me get your strongest drink,¡± Sophie said happily as she swiped her card against the reader to transfer some credits.

    The Mendolesa warrior behind the counter nodded and then headed for the back of the bar where he picked three bottles from the wall.

    He used his furry paws to easily slice open the top of the bottles before pouring all three into arge metalloid mixer.

    He shook the mixer a few times before pouring its contents into arge ss that was around two feet tall.

    ¡°Here you go¡­ be careful¡­¡± the Mendolesa man growled as he handed the drink over to the hybrid girl.

    Sophie politely thanked him and then headed over to the seat in the corner of the room where Cleo was currently sitting.

    She could hear the whispersing from the other patrons inside the restaurant as she walked pass them.

    ¡°Damn¡­ why is it so crowded today?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? A bunch of rich folks got killed on Vrean so now most of the survivors are going home¡­¡±

    Vrean? Where the fuck is that?¡±

    ¡°Bro¡­ you¡¯ve been living in this sector for twenty years¡­ learn some basic geography¡­¡±

    This unnamed local restaurant was right in the middle of a busy transit station where dozens of starships would visit to refuel and pick up new passengers.

    This is where Sophie, Cleo, and the other passengers onboard the S.S Defiance were dropped off as the remainder of the cruise was cancelled.

    The two girls had booked a flight to the alpha star system which would leave in the next few hours.

    So, in order to kill some time, Sophie had to decided to take her girlfriend out so that they could enjoy themselves.

    This restaurant may not be particrly big, but it was quite clean and the atmosphere inside wasn¡¯t rough.

    ¡°What did you get?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she stared at the enormous drink in Sophie¡¯s hand with an expression of disbelief.

    ¡°I told the barkeeper to make me the strongest drink¡­¡± Sophie confessed as she held up the ss with a wink.

    She sat down opposite to her girlfriend and gently ced the two-feet tall ss on the table.

    The liquid inside the ss was an angry red colour and it would asionally bubble.

    ¡°We got about four hours left until the starship arrives¡­ should be wander around for a bit or stay here?¡± Sophie asked casually.

    ¡°I think we should stay¡­ there aren¡¯t really many sights to explore on a transit station¡­ plus I¡¯m feeling a tadzy¡­¡± Cleo yawned sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

    Sophie lifted up the enormous ss and took arge gulp of the liquid inside.

    Her throat immediately felt as though it was on fire, and she could feel the powerful drink slide down into her stomach.

    The hybrid girl waited in anticipation of a small buzz or even a minor indication that she would be affected by the alcohol¡­

    But got nothing.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and continued to drink with a crestfallen expression on her face.

    There were some disadvantages to having a physiology that broke down all toxins that entered her system.

    It was impossible to get drunk!

    ¡°Have¡­ have you been in contact with your mother recently?¡± Sophie hesitantly asked as she saw Cleo staring at her wristmunicator.

    ¡°No¡­ she disappeared shortly after Emperor Sisrelis died¡­ I¡¯m guessing that she realised that her investment wasn¡¯t going to pay off¡­¡± Cleo spoke coldly as a harsh glint surfaced in her eyes.

    ¡°She is still alive¡­ that I¡¯m pretty sure about¡­ but I think that I most likely will never hear from her again¡­¡±

    Cleo reached for a piece of chocte on the te in front of her and took a small bite. The sweet taste of the chocte contrasted with the bitter feeling in her heart.

    Her mother was undoubtedly a terrible person, but a small part of Cleo wished that it was possible to have some closure.

    Sophie leaned forward and gently held Cleo¡¯s hands. She looked her girlfriend directly in her piercing green eyes and nted a soft kiss against her lips.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry babe¡­ I¡¯m always here for you¡­¡± Sophie promised lovingly as she stroked the underside of Cleo¡¯s palm.

    The princess gave her sweet smile before picking up a piece of chocte and pushing it in her lover¡¯s mouth.

    Sophie chewed slowly and took another gulp from the drink in front of her. The fiery heat from the drink went surprisingly well with the chocte.

    Four hours soon passed as the pairughed and made light conversation.

    Sophie had told Cleo about her strange dream the night before and it was a topic that both girls were intentionally avoiding.

    To put it mildly, Cleo was not a big fan of the mysterious entity that had caused so many problems in Sophie¡¯s life.

    Finally, Sophie checked her wristmunicator and gestured towards her girlfriend that it was time to leave.

    ¡°Thanks for the drink!¡± Sophie yelled at the Mendolesa barkeeper behind the counter.

    The Mendolesa warrior smiled, and his sharpened fangs gleamed under the dim lighting in the restaurant.

    ¡°Come back soon!¡± the barkeeper replied cheerfully.

    Sophie nodded at him and then held Cleo¡¯s hand as they walked out of the restaurant.

    There was a bit of a crowd outside, but Sophie¡¯s ded appendages managed to create a decent amount of space around their bodies.

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s see¡­ gate forty-five¡­ gate forty-six¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she checked the map of the station on hermunicator.

    The transit station was a massivebyrinth of metalloid corridors and passageways that led to various teleportation rooms.

    Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand tightly as the pair made several turns before arriving at arge door with the number fifty etched onto its outer surface.

    The hybrid girl essed her wristmunicator and pulled up the digital receipt of the tickets that she had bought.

    She tilted her wristmunicator in the direction of the door and a beam of blue light shot forward and entered the device on her wrist.

    The door swung open to reveal a state-of-the-art teleportation facility with a Mendolesa girl who was fiddling with a few buttons on a console.

    The teleporter had golden rings around the transfer zone and each ring had numerous strange symbols painted along its edges.

    ¡°Are you two here for starship No.135?¡± the Mendolesa girl asked politely without looking up from the console.

    ¡°Yes¡­ it is the spacecraft that is heading for the Alpha Star System,¡± Sophie exined softly.

    ¡°Alright just step on then¡­ you are quite fortunate since that starship is scheduled to leave in ten minutes,¡± the Mendolesa girl replied.

    Sophie led Cleo to stand in the middle of the golden rings and then a powerful humming noise filled the room.

    The rings slowly levitated upwards from the ground and gradually Sophie and Cleo¡¯s bodies began to dissolve into particles of light.

    It was time to begin the long journey home¡­

 Chapter 547: Problems In The Nephilim Church

    <h4>Chapter 547: Problems In The Nephilim Church</h4>

    (Alcorae Star System- Inner Regions)

    Zyanora- Branch Of The Nephilim Church)

    ¡°Demon knight scum¡­¡± a beautifully dressed young woman with long flowing white hair scowled as she saw a group of heavily armored knights enter the room.

    She wore a in brown robe with a silver metallic cross that was hung around her neck.

    The demon knights had simr unpleasant looks on their faces as they stared at Saintess Nadia with disgust.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have some poor innocent soul to bother to death?¡± one of the knights mocked as he reached for his sword.

    ¡°Original joke¡­ but tell me¡­ do you really think that you can draw a sword against me¡­ and live?¡± Saintess Nadia snarled.

    The tips of her fingers ignited, and two ming wings sprouted out from behind her back. The demon knights recoiled in fear as Nadia¡¯s eyes turned golden.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough¡­¡± a cold voice echoed through the room.

    A inly dressed middle-aged man slowly stepped out of the darkness and snapped his fingers.

    Immediately the mes that covered Saintess Nadia¡¯s fingertips were extinguished and the heavy holy pressure disappeared.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Saintess Nadia muttered quietly as she stepped back.

    ¡°The new converts will be arriving soon and here you are squabbling amongst yourselves like petty children¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius whispered softly.

    He did not raise his voice and yet his tone sent a shiver down the spines of everyone in the room.

    No one dared to meet his gaze.

    ¡°Clean up this mess and meet me in the congregation hall¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius hoarsely spoke before his figure blurred and then he vanished from the room.

    Saintess Nadia clenched her fingers into a fist as her body trembled.

    She refused to look at the demon knights as she took out a rag from her storage ring and began to clean the benches.

    The demon knights exchanged nces and then left the saintess to clean up the room on her own.

    As they departed, they could feel Saintess Nadia¡¯s cold gaze fall upon their backs with a strong killing intent hidden in her stare.

    She would let them live¡­ for now¡­

    Archbishop Lucius let out a heavy sigh as he walked through abyrinth of side passageways and corridors that led to the congregation hall.

    The tension between the demon knights and the archangel faction was always a pain in the ass to manage.

    It did not help that both groups channeled their supernatural abilities from opposing forces which meant that there was a natural sense of rivalry.

    Archbishop Lucius rubbed his temples as he imagined the look on the new converts¡¯ faces if they saw the sight of demon knights fighting with the saints and saintesses.

    ¡°Rachel¡­ how many times do I have to tell you?! You cannot sleep with the nuns! They took a vow of celibacy!¡± a frustrated voice could be heard from around the corner.

    ¡°No! I swear¡­ look¡­ all I did was wink a few times and she practically threw herself on me! It¡¯s not my fault!¡± a young female voice argued back.

    ¡°Please¡­ please¡­ I can¡¯t deal with anotherint¡­ you¡¯re going to get yourself expelled from the church!¡± the older sounding voice groaned.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ next time¡­ I¡¯ll go for the ones who haven¡¯t made a vow yet¡­¡± the female voice said reluctantly.

    Archbishop Lucius recognised the pair of voices and felt his ongoing headache get even worse.

    Speaking of problems¡­

    The archbishop turned the corner and saw a hulking six feet tall muscr man with sickly pale skin next to a girl dressed in white battle armour.

    The girl had dark skin, messy curly hair and deep ck eyes that seemed to contain endless passion and lust.

    She had a slim, muscr physique and dark tattoos with strange symbols could be seen on her exposed hands.

    ¡°Saintess Rachel¡­ Bishop Walsh¡­ it is a pleasure to see you all so¡­ vigorous as usual¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius politely spoke.

    ¡°Archbishop it is an honour to be in your presence,¡± Bishop Walsh humbly replied as he gave a short bow.

    He stretched out his palms and one could see horrific wounds on the underside of both of his hands that bled profusely.

    Oddly enough, the blood that dripped constantly to the floor would vanish immediately as if nothing had ever happened.

    ¡°Hi! Archbishop Lucius!¡± Rachel eximed cheerful as she walked over and gave the middle-aged man a big hug.

    It waspletely inappropriate and disrespectful behaviour and yet the archbishop could not bear to scold her.

    Saintess Rachel was¡­ unique among the saintesses.

    She was the host of the Archangel Raziel who was one of the most powerful beings in heaven.

    One would expect her to be pious¡­ a beacon of righteousness¡­ and yet¡­ in some ways¡­

    She was more sinful than a normal demon knight.

    However, it was undeniable that she was an incredibly kind girl who always did what she believed was right.

    Archbishop Lucius lightly patted the young girl on her back and then cleared his throat.

    ¡°Look my child¡­ the higher ups in the church have suggested that you take up some additional responsibilities¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius tentatively spoke.

    ¡°They understand your¡­ um¡­ lifestyle¡­ but¡­ it does not reflect well on the church when one of our most powerful saintesses¡­ is holding orgies¡­¡±

    Saintess Rachel nodded seriously but the archbishop could not tell if she was taking his words seriously or if it was going in one ear and out of the other.

    Bishop Walsh stood quietly behind his young charge like a protective hen guarding its offspring.

    ¡°Look why don¡¯t youe with me to greet the new converts¡­ it could be good for them to see a powerful warrior of the Nephilim Church,¡± Archbishop Lucius suggested.

    ¡°Sure! I don¡¯t mind! I love seeing those pure and innocent faces,¡± Rachel spoke happily as she fidgeted with her hands.

    Archbishop Lucius smiled warmly and then continued walking towards the congregation hall.

    He missed the look of warning that Bishop Walsh shot towards Rachel as the old man knew exactly what was running through the saintess¡¯ mind.

    The trio walked for several minutes until they arrived at arge golden door with the symbol of a cross painted over its outer surface.

    Archbishop Lucius pushed the door gently and it swung open with a heavy creak. On the other side of the door was arge open hall with rows upon rows of wooden benches.

    Sitting on the benches were young men and women from across the Alcorae Star System which meant that most of the individuals in the room were Quafes.

    Their appearances and genders could change at will since their true form was a liquid biomass capable of shape shifting.

    ¡°Wee new converts to the Nephilim Church!¡± Archbishop Lucius spoke in a sonorous tone as he entered the room.

    Bishop Walsh and Saintess Rachel strode in quietly behind him.

    The saintess was instantly the center of attention as Rachel made sure to appear to be the real deal.

    Tworge golden wings sprouted out from behind her back while a golden halo floated gently above her head.

    One could hear the sounds of trumpetsing from an unknown location in the distance and her eyes shone with purity and righteousness.

    Rachel¡¯s face was cold and expressionless almost like a statue as the holy aura surrounding her body brought a heavy pressure to the new converts in the hall.

    It was impossible to tell from her pious appearance that she was currently scanning the room and secretly noting down all the handsome guys and pretty girls.

    Hmm¡­ no that one¡¯s nose is too big¡­

    Eww¡­ why did she choose that hair to go with that look¡­.

    Wait seriously¡­ fuck¡­ the things I would do to him¡­

    Saintess Rachel gently smiled, and her cold appearance was shattered. Golden light surrounded her body and she appeared to be an angel sent down to the mortal realm.

 Chapter 548: The Unworthy Saintess

    <h4>Chapter 548: The Unworthy Saintess</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Inner Regions)

    Zyanora- Branch Of The Nephilim Church)

    ¡°Wow¡­ a real saintess¡­¡±

    ¡°She looks so beautiful¡­ I can¡¯t believe my eyes¡­¡±

    ¡°An angel¡­ she has to be an angel¡­ bless my heart¡­ I¡­ wow¡­¡±

    Whispers filled the hall as the new converts stared in rapture at the gorgeous angel who stood proudly in the middle of the room.

    Rachel smiled warmly and the soft golden light that surrounded her body gradually faded away.

    She kept the wings and the halo that floated above her head but now the intense spiritual pressure was gone.

    Archbishop Lucius cleared his throat and walked towards the raised tform at the front of the hall.

    He walked confidently up the steps and stood in front of arge altar with the symbol of an upside down cross next to a pair of white wings.

    Rachel and Bishop Walsh took a seat at the back of the hall and quietly watched the proceedings.

    It was hard for the saintess not to recall her wee ceremony to the church.

    Rachel had grown up in the foster care system as her parents had decided to put her up for adoption when she was only a few years old.

    She had gone from home to home without much stability in her life. Some of her guardians were kind and others were¡­ less so¡­

    But without exception for one reason or the other, she would find herself being returned to the orphanage like a used present that no one wanted anymore.

    Of course, that all changed when the Nephilim Church discovered that she had an immense talent for cultivation.

    Rachel was not a particrly religious person but without a doubt she was grateful to the church for providing her with a permanent home.

    It seemed like just yesterday she was sitting in this hall along with other young Quafes and nervously paying attention to every word that the archbishop spoke.

    At that time, her only wish was to stay at least for one year¡­ now she had been part of the church for more than five.

    Rachel smiled as she leaned against the wooden bench. Life really had a funny way of working out for the best.

    Being the saintess of Archangel Raziel was honestly quite the wonderful experience so far.

    Archangel Raziel was a pretty rxed entity and did not demand that she adhere to a strict moral code or perform certain actions.

    ¡°Hey¡­ stop daydreaming¡­¡± Bishop Walsh scolded under his breath as he ced a hand on Rachel¡¯s shoulder to get her attention.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Rachel whispered back as she shook her head and focused on the archbishop who was now reading from a tiny ck book.

    ¡°New converts¡­ I understand that you may be feeling a bit nervous¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius softly spoke as he touched his beard.

    ¡°The Nephilim Church will not force you to stay if you do not want to¡­¡±

    ¡°I implore you all to spend the next three years exploring the different roles in the church and see which one is right for you¡­¡±

    ¡°Whether you be a demon knight or saint¡­ a nun or priest¡­ or even a clerk or missionary¡­ every role is important¡­¡±

    ¡°For it is the Lord who created us¡­ and we are tasked with carrying out his will¡­ not through fire and war but through peace and understanding¡­¡±

    The door leading to the back of the hall slowly creaked open and a beautifully dressed young woman with long flowing white hair entered quietly.

    The only ce avable to sit was next to Rachel and Bishop Walsh so the young girl walked over quickly.

    Her facial expression immediately changed as she saw Rachel and a heavy frown shed across her face.

    ¡°Nadia! Come¡­ you can sit by me¡­¡± Rachel kindly whispered as she moved to the side to make space for her fellow saintess.

    Nadia reluctantly sat down next to Rachel and crossed her arms with an unpleasant look on her face.

    Rachel shrugged casually at her rude gesture and focused her attention back on the archbishop who was now chanting religious scriptures.

    She knew that most of the other saintesses were not¡­ overly fond of her to put it mildly but Nadia was by far the worst.

    Bishop Walsh sensed the tension in the air and shot Nadia a warning look as he did not appreciate her foul attitude towards his charge.

    Despite the fact that she was a saintess, there was just something about the look in Bishop Walsh¡¯s eyes that sent a shiver down Nadia¡¯s spine.

    Rachel did not notice the tense moment as she leaned forward and quietly watched the crowd of new converts.

    Two people caught her eye in particr.

    One of them was a tall handsome young man with a pentagram engraved in the middle of his forehead while the other was a pretty girl with a pearly white smile.

    She could sense demonic energy lingering around their bodies which meant that they would most likely be future demon knights.

    That handsome man in particr caught Rachel¡¯s eye and she could not help but give him a flirtatious wink which he did not see.

    Ahh demon knights¡­ now they knew how to enjoy themselves¡­

    Rachel recalled a few pleasant memories and the smile on her face gradually got bigger.

    The expression on the saintess¡¯ face bore a striking resemnce to a seductive demoness rather than a pure holy angel.

    ¡°Demon knight filth¡­ they should be kicked out immediately¡­¡± Nadia muttered darkly as she noticed the direction of Rachel¡¯s stare.

    ¡°Nadia¡­ rx¡­ the Nephilim Church was founded on the principle of bnce¡­ light and darkness coexisting and all that¡­¡± Rachelzily retorted as she yawned.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ you would say that wouldn¡¯t you¡­ you are such a disgrace¡­¡± Nadia snarled angrily.

    Rachel paid her no attention to her mocking words which seemed to make the other saintess even angrier as her fingers tightly curled up into a fist.

    In Nadia¡¯s eyes, Saintess Rachel was a ck stain on the purity and grace of the saints and saintesses of the church.

    She was unlike any of the other vessels of the archangels and Nadia could not understand how or why archangel Raziel had chosen her as a conduit for his will.

    She was lustful. She was prideful.

    She was¡­ she was¡­ unworthy.

    Rachel sensed the animosity radiating from Nadia, but she merely leaned against the wooden bench and did not turn her head.

    Fortunately, Nadia was soon distracted by the loud booming voice that echoed through the hall as the archbishop reached the middle of his sermon.

    ¡°For the Lord on the seventh day¡­ he did not rest¡­ but rather¡­ the creation of angels and demons were nned from the beginning¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius shouted passionately.

    ¡®The Nephilim Church is based on the ancient religion of Christianity from hundreds of thousands of years ago¡­ but¡­ in those years the faith has changed¡­¡±

    ¡°We had made contact with the beings behind those stories¡­ we have conversed with entities beyond this mortal realm¡­¡±

 Chapter 549: An Ominous Whisper

    <h4>Chapter 549: An Ominous Whisper</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Inner Regions)

    Zyanora- Branch Of The Nephilim Church)

    Rachel pressed her hand against a scanner and a beam of green light swept over her fingertips.

    The door slid open to reveal a wide-open training hall with dozens of dummies, androids, and holographic projectors.

    There was no one currently in the training hall because the pope was holding a grand weing ceremony for the new converts.

    Rachel had opted to skip it because she really didn¡¯t want to have to sit down next to the other saints and saintesses and deal with their unpleasant stares.

    It didn¡¯t really bother her¡­ okay maybe it did just a little bit¡­

    Rachel let out a heavy sigh as she walked over to one of the android units standing motionless against the wall.

    The Nephilim Church was the first ce that she had ever called home but outside of Bishop Walsh there was really no one that she would consider as her family.

    The petty spates and disputes between the archangel faction and the demon knights were just tiring to deal with.

    Rachel did not feel the urge to pick a side and besides since she was a saintess it was just assumed that she was a member of the archangel faction.

    Maybe she needed to take a break away from the church¡­

    Rachel opened up hermunicator and scrolled down the hundreds of contacts until she saw a familiar name.

    Sophie Peterlor¡­

    The saintess didn¡¯t feel like messaging any of her casual hook-up partners and just wanted to spend a few weeks with her friend.

    Rachel: [Hey Sophie! I¡¯m free for about two weekster this month¡­ can Ie over to stay for a bit?]

    Truthfully Rachel felt a bit nervous messaging her friend out of the blue like this, but it didn¡¯t take long for Sophie to reply with a positive response.

    Sophie: [Sure! I¡¯m on a starship heading back to Gaia right now and I should be back by this Friday]

    Sophie: [Just message me what day that you want toe, and I¡¯ll meet you at the transit station]

    Sophie: [I look forward to seeing you!]

    A warm smile spread across Rachel¡¯s face as she sent Sophie a few more messages before closing themunicator.

    She nned to talk to Qiana and Astrid as well to see if they were avable any time within the next few months.

    The summer vacation between semesters was the perfect time to catch up with her old friends since they were attending a different university than her.

    Rachel was in a much better mood as she stared at the metallic android standing menacingly in front of a wall.

    She took out a in longsword from her storage ring and held it in front of her body. Rachel took in a few deep breaths and gradually calmed herself down.

    Quafes didn¡¯t technically need to breathe but mimicking human behaviour was something that most would try to copy.

    ¡°Hear my cry Lord¡­ your humble servant seeks to drown my enemies in a sea of holy fire and fury¡­¡± Rachel chanted slowly as she felt holy aura surround her body.

    ¡°Raziel¡­ keeper of secrets¡­ he who watches the threads of fate¡­ the eternal eye that sees all under the heavens¡­¡±

    ¡°Lend me thy strength.¡±

    Archangel¡¯s Descent!

    Rachel screamed as her body was engulfed in white mes and cracks appeared on the floor beneath her feet.

    It was a though she was undergoing a baptism of mes as the loud sounds of trumpets could be hearding from some unknown location.

    The white mes gradually dissipated to reveal a beautiful girl with dark skin and ck messy hair that fell below her shoulders.

    She wore golden armour that gleamed under the dim lighting of the training room and her in sword was now covered in intricate runes.

    Two magnificent wings sprouted out from behind her back and a golden halo hovered gently over her head.

    Rachel slowly opened her eyes and a piercing white light shot out which swept the entire length of the training hall.

    There was small golden runes floating in the middle of her pupils that glowed softly with an ominous light.

    Power. Strength. Domination.

    Rachel could feel something flowing through her body from a ce beyond the void. It was an incredibly addicting feeling that she could not help but indulge.

    Archangel Raziel was the keeper of secrets and Rachel could now hear whispers entering her ear as she channeled his power.

    Most of these whispers were too soft or in anguage that she could not understand but some were as clear as day.

    (Traitors¡­ traitors¡­ in¡­ the royal family¡­)

    (Sin! Sin! Sin!)

    (Unnatural! Abominations! They are¡­ being born¡­ from human¡­ hubris¡­)

    Rachel furrowed her brows as she tried to ignore the whispers. She was not strong enough to understand the meaning behind the cryptic messages.

    ¡°Android number ten¡­ activate kill mode¡­ voicemand override¡­ Rachel¡­¡± Rachel loudly yelled as she approached the giant robot.

    The android¡¯s eyes slowly turned red as its fingers curled up into a fist. Rachel had barely any time to react before dozens of turrets popped up on its body.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Rachel took to the skies and flew around the hall desperately trying to avoid the endless barrage of sma fire that was shot towards her direction.

    White mes coated Rachel¡¯s longsword as she casually swung it in the direction of the android and an arc of fiery light erupted from the tip of her de.

    The android raised up its hand and a translucent sma shield was generated around its fingertips which sessfully blocked the attack.

    Rachel clicked her tongue impatiently and ignored the whispers that were getting louder and louder in her ears.

    (Watching you¡­ the pope¡­ he¡­ is¡­ watching you¡­)

    (Some¡­ want¡­ you¡­ gone from¡­ the¡­)

    (Enemies closing in¡­ closing in¡­)

    Rachel focused on the qi flowing through her meridians even as her mind could not help but focus on the whisper that said that the pope was watching her.

    That was a bit¡­ concerning.

    The Quafes girl continued to fly just out of the range of the android¡¯s attacks and several sma shots passed over her head.

    Rachel began to circte her qi in a certain pattern that ended with her qi flowing into the sword held in her hand.

    Holy Sword Art- God¡¯s Judgement!

    An enormous illusory golden sword surrounded Rachel¡¯s de and she swung it forward with as much force as she could muster.

    Half of the training hall was instantly destroyed, the android was cleaved in two and arge cloud of smoke rose into the air.

    When the smoke and debris cleared, Rachel saw that there was now a massive hole in the wall and dozens of robot partsy scattered on the ground.

    Oh boy¡­ Bishop Walsh was not going to be happy about this¡­

 Chapter 550: A Date In A Bookstore

    <h4>Chapter 550: A Date In A Bookstore</h4>

    (Alpha Star System ¨C Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- Mall of Vntis)

    ¡°It feels good to be back¡­¡± Sophie sighed happily as she held Cleo¡¯s hand.

    The pair were walking through the mall and spending an afternoon window shopping for new clothes and other items.

    Most clothes and goods could be ordered online through the virtual Net but there was just something special about walking and inspecting the clothes yourself.

    ¡°I was thinking about getting some¡­ sexy underwear¡­¡± Cleo whispered seductively as she stood on her tip toes and pressed a soft kiss against Sophie¡¯s lower chin.

    She wanted to kiss her girlfriend¡¯s lips but unfortunately it was a bit difficult to meet the lips of someone who was around seven feet in height.

    Cleo was not a short girl but damn¡­ she sometimes felt tiny as she walked next to her girlfriend, and it was not a good feeling.

    ¡°Babe¡­ don¡¯t tempt me like that¡­ we just go back yesterday¡­¡± Sophie replied with a warning glint in her eyes.

    She had to push down the urges that were starting to rise up in her body as she became more aware of Cleo¡¯s soft fingers that were grazing her palm.

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths to calm down and then gestured towards a shop that was right around the corner.

    ¡°Do you want to take a look at the bookshop?¡± Sophie asked sweetly as she tilted her head to the side.

    ¡°Sure¡­ I don¡¯t mind checking it out,¡± Cleo replied as she walked with an additional spring in her steps.

    The two girls neared the tiny store that was squeezed between arge jewellery store and a weapons shop.

    A sign was stered across one of the ss windows with the words ¡®Rose¡¯s Library¡¯ printed out in a bold front.

    The door was open and only one employee could be seen standing behind the cash register with a bored look on his face.

    He was an average looking man in his early twenties with a crop of fiery red hair that was neatlybed to the side.

    ¡°Wee to the¡­. um¡­ wee to the Rose¡¯s Library!¡± the young man stammered as he was a bit taken aback by Sophie¡¯s hybrid appearance.

    To his credit, he recovered quickly and gestured towards the back of the shop where rows upon rows of bookshelves could be seen.

    This store was like a relic from a bygone era. Each book that was on the shelves was made from paper and ink.

    The atmosphere inside the store was very quiet andfortable.

    Oddly enough there was not a single android in sight, nor any signs of technology save for the cash register in front of the young employee.

    Clearly whoever was the owner of this store was a bit entric and probably didn¡¯t expect to earn a significant amount of profit.

    With the ease and ess of the virtual Net, physical books were a rarity that were mainly collected by the upper ss.

    Sophie nodded politely at the young man behind the counter and then led Cleo to the back of the store.

    ¡°What genre do you like to read?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she saw her girlfriend walk over to a small directory map.

    ¡°I love fantasy and romance novels¡­¡± Cleo replied casually as she ran her fingers along the map and hummed quietly to herself.

    ¡°I used to read them a lot when I was younger¡­ and well I guess that I¡¯m still a bit nostalgia for them to be honest¡­¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    Sophie thought about the question for a moment and then gave a reply, ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m a decent fan of horror.¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­ I like reading adventure and fantasy stories as well but I¡¯m not really the biggest fan of romance¡­¡±

    ¡°The main characters are always so unlikeable¡­ I get so irritated when their love interest starts abusing or hurting them and it¡¯s written as a sign of affection.¡±

    ¡°Or just a troublesome bump in the journey to a happy ending.¡±

    Cleo nodded her head in agreement and then quickly darted off to a certain section as a book caught her eye among the sea of titles present on the bookshelves.

    ¡°Check this out!¡± Cleo said excitedly as she pulled a book from the shelf and handed it over to Sophie.

    ¡°The watchmaker chronicles?¡± Sophie raised an eyebrow and asked with a puzzled tone.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time travel! This girl gets sent back to the ancient Earth era and falls in love with a local warlord!¡± Cleo exined as she flipped over the book and read the back.

    Sophie listened with an indulgent smile on her face as her girlfriend walked from bookshelf to bookshelf and picked up more books.

    Every time that she selected a new one, Cleo would turn around and exin to Sophie just how amazing the book was or how she was a big fan of the author.

    Truthfully this was the first time that Sophie had seen this side of her girlfriend and frankly speaking¡­

    She looked quite adorable.

    Even Sophie herself was infected by Cleo¡¯s enthusiasm and decided to grab a book of her own that she saw in the horror section.

    It was called ¡®The Psylock Experiments¡¯ and the cover had the illustration of a young woman attached to a bizarre looking torture device with several needles inserted into her body.

    The description on the back imed that it was based on a true story, but Sophie scoffed as she read that line.

    Every cheesy horror novel or movie had that same tagline. Sophie picked up her book and followed behind her girlfriend as she wandered around the bookstore.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I think that¡¯s enough¡­¡± Cleo finally spoke after thirty minutes had passed.

    ¡°You think? Look at how many books are in your hand?!¡± Sophie teased with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    Cleo was currently holding over eleven novels in her palms and was awkwardly trying to stop the pile from falling over.

    Sophie shook her head and reached out with her arms to take half of the books away from her girlfriend.

    ¡°Thank you, babe¡­¡¯ Cleo smiled sheepishly as Sophie leaned in and nted a soft kiss against her forehead.

    ¡®Anytime honey¡­ what else are girlfriends for?¡± Sophie chuckled lightly as she walked over to the counter.

    The young man behind the counter held up a small metalloid device and a beam of red light shot out which then scanned the books in front of him.

    A small monitor popped out from behind the desk with the total cost of the books which was around three thousand Enas.

    ¡°Are you paying separately or¡­¡± the young man politely asked.

    ¡°Put it on my card,¡± Sophie quickly interrupted him as she saw Cleo open her mouth to offer to pay.

    The young man nodded and then held out the payment device. Sophie reached into her storage bag to pull out a thin ck card which she then inserted into the device.

    It only took a few second for the payment to process and then a soft bleeping noise was heard.

    ¡°Thank you for shopping at Rose¡¯s Library¡­ would you like a bag?¡± the young man asked softly as he pushed the books towards Sophie.

    Sophie shook her head to decline his offer and then ced the books one by one in her storage bag for safekeeping.

    It was really useful to have a pocket dimension especially when on a shopping trip.

    The pair walked out of the bookstore and Cleo turned to face her girlfriend with a stern expression on her face.

    ¡°Babe¡­ you can¡¯t pay all the time¡­ it¡¯s not right¡­¡± Cleo said firmly as she nted her hands on her hips and stared at Sophie.

    ¡°You know I get a stipend from the royal treasury so I can afford to treat you and buy you gifts so please let me¡­¡±

    ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t want you to spend¡­¡± Sophie hesitantly replied as she could tell that her girlfriend was feeling a bit annoyed.

    ¡°And is it right for you to pay for everything?¡± Cleo quietly retorted in a calm tone.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ I am grateful that you want to treat me all the time but our rtionship¡­ I want it to be equal¡­¡±

    ¡°You can pay sometimes, and I can pay sometimes¡­¡±

 Chapter 551: Fond Memories

    <h4>Chapter 551: Fond Memories</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex- Royal Hall)

    Tap! Tap! Tap!

    Heavy footsteps echoed through the room as Prince Theseus wandered through the great hall and quietly looked around at his surroundings.

    The royal hall had recently been renovated and now it was even more glorious than its former self.

    It was arge open space around the size of two football fields with a raised tform at the end of the room.

    There were two thrones in the center of the raised tform and Prince Theseus¡¯ eyes could not help but linger on therge of the two before turning away.

    Large pirs of white marble held up the hall and the floor itself was made from solid gold which shone under the dim lighting in the room.

    Statues of dragons and phoenixes could be seen scattered across the four corners of the hall and their life-like appearances were straight out of the ancient mythology.

    Prince Theseus walked towards the raised tform and could hear his heart softly beating in his chest as he neared the throne.

    He¡­ he¡­ wanted it¡­ all his life¡­ he wanted it.

    The throne was his. He was the most talented among the younger generation of princes and princesses.

    Only he had the strength and the will to be the next emperor.

    Prince Theseus froze in ce as his eyes slightly zed over.

    There was a tiny voice in his head screaming at him, but the prince could not understand the words that the voice was saying.

    ¡°I need my medicine¡­¡± Prince Theseus muttered quietly to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red crystal that shone eerily under the light.

    The handsome prince crushed the Kry¡¯en crystal in his palm which instantly melted into a liquid form.

    This reddish liquid was quickly absorbed into Prince Theseus¡¯ skin. The crown prince¡¯s eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning to normal.

    He could no longer hear the tiny voice screaming at him.

    ¡°Crown prince it is an honour to see you here¡­¡± an ancient sounding voice echoed through the hall and startled the prince.

    Prince Theseus quickly turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw an old man looking at him with an indecipherable expression on his face.

    He wore a simple white robe, and his grey hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail. Heavy wrinkles could be seen on his elderly face.

    Yet Prince Theseus did not dare to underestimate the elder in front of him. The old man may seem weak, but the crown prince could not see through his cultivation level.

    It was like instead of a person, he was staring at a bottomless source of qi that had somehowe to life.

    ¡°Honoured elder¡­ I did not expect to meet someone here¡­¡± Prince Theseus replied politely as he bowed towards the man.

    ¡°No need for the politeness¡­ you will probably be dead soon and I¡¯d hate to receive respect from a walking corpse¡­¡± the elderly man said nonchntly.

    He shrugged his shoulders and stared at the prince with indifference in his eyes.

    Elder Mathias was one of the few Ascension stage cultivators in the Federation and he had seen hundreds if not thousands of so-called sessors to the throne.

    As for how many would seed¡­ well¡­ only a handful.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Prince Theseus could not help but ask as he took a step towards the elder.

    A friendly smile spread across the elder¡¯s face and for a brief moment Prince Theseus felt as though the old man¡¯s appearance resembled that of a kind grandpa.

    ¡°I think part of you knows¡­¡± Elder Mathias cryptically responded as he raised up his hand and pointed at the prince¡¯s pocket.

    Prince Theseus¡¯s expression changed as he felt the overwhelming urge to fight the elder to death immediately.

    He could not be allowed to live! Those crystal they were¡­ they were¡­ they¡­

    Snap!

    Elder Mathias merely snapped his fingers and the world around him shattered into a million tiny pieces of light energy.

    Prince Theseus blinked twice as he found himself alone in the royal hall once more.

    He had the vague memory of meeting someone but could not for the life of him recall that person¡¯s appearance or what the encounter was like.

    The crown prince shook his head as even this blurry memory faded from his thoughts, and he continued onwards to his original goal.

    He walked towards the throne on the raised tform and stood in front of it. Prince Theseus felt another urge, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ss vial.

    Inside the vial was a deep purplish-ck liquid that bubbled and oozed ominously. Even the prince himself wasn¡¯t sure what was inside.

    He casually took off the stopper and poured the liquid all over the throne. Madness gleamed in his eyes as he watched the liquid stain the throne in an inky ck colour.

    The master would be pleased¡­ this mission had gone far better than he had anticipated¡­

    Wait¡­ who was the master?

    Prince Theseus furrowed his brows in confusion but the influence of the Kry¡¯en crystal made his fear and doubts melt away into nothingness.

    He soon left the room and paid no attention to the frail old man standing right in the open. It was as though the crown prince was unable to see him.

    Elder Mathias stared at the throne andughed. His deep throatyughter echoed through the hall but even this sound wasn¡¯t enough to alert the prince.

    Beings in the Ascension Stage were one step away from godhood.

    They could not be judged onmon sense and their abilities could affect entire intergctic empires.

    Elder Mathias watched the crown prince leave the room and then teleported in front of the throne.

    He waved his hand and the liquid that stained the throne rose up in the air and formed a floating ball.

    The old man yed with the ball before sending it inside his storage bag.

    The person behind the crown prince¡¯s loss of self had clearly realised that his puppet had beenpromised.

    This act of defilement was enough to warrant the prince¡¯s death from the Ascension stage cultivator stationed in the Imperial Complex.

    However Elder Mathias was not going to kill the young prince. At his age those petty schemes were merely small ripples in the ocean of time.

    It would be far more amusing to see how the unknown party behind the prince would react when his sacrifice returned alive.

    Elder Mathias shivered as he felt a surge of excitement enter his long dead heart as he imagined how brutal the fight for session would be.

    It was just a pity that some of the more notable upper echelon noble families had decided not the participate.

    There was nothing like a civil war to get the blood flowing¡­

    A sadistic smile shed across the kind old man¡¯s face as he found himself reminiscing on memories from hundreds of thousands of years ago.

    Ahh thest civil war¡­ now that was a bloodbath. The nobles back then were far more stupider and greedier.

    One side was led by House Balorn while the other flocked under the banner of House Elysen.

    Those two fools had nearly caused the Federation to split in half with their petty ambitions.

    They had even managed to get the other three races involved in the human civil war which made the conflict even bloodier.

    Elder Mathias teleported to his private room deep below the Imperial Pce Complex and opened up a small wooden drawer.

    Inside the drawer were the preserved heads of a handsome young man and a woman who appeared to be in her early fifties.

    ¡°Ohh Duke Balorn and Duchess Elysen¡­ you were both truly magnificent¡­¡± Elder Mathias gently spoke as he lightly touched the heads with a sweet smile on his face.

 Chapter 552: A Scandalous Affair!

    <h4>Chapter 552: A Scandalous Affair!</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- Central za)

    ¡°Here you go babe¡­¡± Cleo said sweetly as she handed a frozen treat over to her girlfriend who was looking off into the distance.

    The central za was located in the middle of N¡¯rean city, and it was arge open square with a magnificent fountain constructed in the center.

    This fountain had an enormous statue of a knight standing above a faceless warrior who bled out from his neck.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t actual blood that flowed out but rather crystal-clear water that sparkled under the sunlight.

    It was said that tossing a coin inside the fountain¡¯s waters would grant a wish to the owner of the coin.

    A silly rumor but judging from the number of tourists mulling around the fountain¡­ it was clearly a decent source of wealth for the city council.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she reached out her hand to take the frozen red popsicle from Cleo¡¯s fingers.

    She leaned in closer and captured her girlfriend¡¯s lips in a soft intimate kiss that lingered on for what seemed like eternity.

    A few hours had passed since their argument at the bookstore and now the mood was much warmer than before.

    Sophie reluctantly allowed Cleo to buy her random stuff as they wandered through the city and while it felt a bit strange.

    It was a good feeling to be pampered by your lover.

    ¡°Should we sit down?¡± Cleo suggested as she pointed at a bench that was located beneath the shade of a nearby tree.

    ¡°Sure¡­ that sounds like a great idea,¡± Sophie replied with a soft smile as she gently held Cleo¡¯s hand.

    She led her girlfriend over to the wooden bench and the two girls sat down in the shade. Sophie held the popsicle to her lips and casually took a bite.

    Her sharpened fangs easily tore through the ice and a sweet sugary taste spread inside her mouth.

    Chomp!

    The hybrid girl hummed softly in pleasure as she quickly finished off the treat in a couple of quick bites.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly how the popsicle was supposed to be eaten but Sophie did not have anyints.

    The sun was now beginning to drift towards the horizon and warm orange rays of light fell down on the central za.

    ¡°Do you want to read your new book?¡± Sophie asked casually as she reached into her storage bag and took out one of the novels.

    Cleo nodded her head, so Sophie handed her a novel with the title ¡®The Brave Alpha And Her Fiery Omega¡¯.

    She quickly nced at the cover and saw that it featured a heroic looking muscr woman with her arms around a delicate beautiful man.

    Huh¡­ her girlfriend really did like those strange romance novels¡­

    Cleo took the book from her hand and opened the first page. She leaned against Sophie¡¯s shoulder as she began to read quietly.

    Sophie rxed under the shade of the tree and enjoyed this moment of peace and quiet as her girlfriend read her book.

    Sometimes quietpany was just what one needed on azy afternoon like today.

    The hybrid girl let out a light sigh as she stretched out her arms and pulled Cleo a little bit closer.

    It still felt strange to be back. Even after all these months there were times when Sophie could not believe that she had returned from the Unova Syndicate.

    When she thought about her life and death encounters on those foreigns, a chill ran down the hybrid girl¡¯s spine.

    There was no one who was not afraid of death and Sophie was no exception.

    In fact, she was even more desperate to survive since she wanted to see her family and friends again.

    Sophie¡¯s pointed ears tilted slightly as she heard a couple voicesing from the fountain that seemed quite argumentative.

    It was probably not polite to do so but Sophie could not help using her enhanced vision and hearing to get a better look at the situation.

    She turned towards the fountain and saw two men fiercely ring at each other while a third man stood at the side with a helpless expression on his face.

    ¡°Oliver you son of a bitch! What did you use to threaten Nathan to go on a date with you? You know that he loves me!¡±

    ¡°Nothing! Nathan had been my secret lover for years! We were together before you and we will be together long after you¡­¡±

    ¡°So just back off Adrian! Why would Nathan choose to be with a mere baron?¡±

    Sophie gasped in shock as she heard the details about this scandalous affair. Apparently the two men Adrian and Oliver werepeting for the affection of the third man Nathan.

    Nathan was apletely ordinary looking man as well, so Sophie was impressed by his ability to fish in multiple ponds.

    Just as it looked as though the two men were about toe to blows, another man rushed over wearing an expensive looking suit.

    ¡°Nathan my love! I havee to rescue you!¡± this new man shouted as he ran over and grabbed Nathan by the hand.

    Sophie watched inplete disbelief as the man picked up Nathan in a princess carry and ran away.

    Oliver and Adrian quickly followed the pair and the group of men soon disappeared into the inner regions of the city.

    Sophie had to resist the urge to get up and see how the situation unfolded.

    She may not be the biggest fan of romance, but she was a huge fan of drama!

    ¡°Cleo! Cleo!¡± Sophie excitedly whispered as she nudged her girlfriend¡¯s shoulder. The princess raised her eyes from her book and Sophie leaned in closer to speak in her ear.

    ¡°You won¡¯t believe what I just saw!¡±

    A few minutester, Sophie had exined the unbelieving story to Cleo who listened carefully to the twists and turns.

    ¡°Nathan¡­ why is that name familiar¡­¡± Cleo muttered to herself.

    She could have sworn that she had heard that name before, but she just could not remember where or when.

    ¡°Anyways¡­ do you want to get something to eat before we head back to the hotel?¡± Sophie asked casually as she stood up from the bench.

    The pair where currently staying in a five-star hotel in N¡¯rean city. Sophie had booked arge suite and was looking forward to spending the night and doing some naughty things with Cleo.

    It was possible to take a hovercar back to the Peterlor estate, but Sophie wanted to spend some private time with her girlfriend.

    ¡°Okay! Where did you have in mind?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she grabbed Sophie hand and pulled herself up.

    ¡°Follow me¡­¡± Sophie said mysteriously as she began to walk in a certain direction.

    The pair walked for about forty-five minutes through a few streets, back alleyways, and side passages until they arrived at arge restaurant.

    This restaurant had thick wooden walls and was built in the shape of a treasure chest.

    A gold-ted sign hung on the front door with the phrase ¡®The Golden Anchor¡¯ elegantly engraved on the sign.

    Finely dressed men and women in luxurious outfits walked into the restaurant and were immediately greeted by the waiters who rushed over to serve them.

    Sophie and Cleo were in rtively inexpensive clothing, but the hybrid girl still led her girlfriend into the restaurant with confidence.

    ¡°Good evening, ma¡¯am¡­ how may I help you today?¡± one of the waiters walked over and spoke politely.

    He treated them just as well as the any other guest in the restaurant despite their noticeably out of ce attire.

    There were too many nobles with the strange habit of pretending to be poor so all the service members in the restaurant did not dare to take any chances.

    It was impossible to know if the beggar wandering inside wearing nothing, but rags wasn¡¯t some mischievous rich second generation noble with too much time on their hands.

 Chapter 553: A Relaxing Dinner Date

    <h4>Chapter 553: A Rxing Dinner Date</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City ¨C The Golden Anchor Restaurant)

    ¡°Please follow me this way,¡± the waiter said politely as he gestured towards a table in the far corner of the room.

    Sophie held Cleo¡¯s hand loving as they followed behind the waiter.

    It was impossible not to notice the stares being directed at her as she moved through the restaurant, but Sophie was not bothered by them.

    She was the daughter of a duke and probably a higher ranked noble than everyone else present in the room.

    There was no need to be cowered by the stares and whispers. Sophie held up her head high and moved with a great deal of confidence.

    Soon the waiter arrived at the table and Sophie was pleasantly surprised to see that it was next to a giant aquarium.

    The enormous ss container was filled with crystal clear water and the bottom of the aquarium was covered in brightly coloured rocks.

    Tiny snake-like fishes swam merrily from side to side in the aquarium and would asionally bump into one another.

    Sophie leaned in a bit closer and noticed that each fish had a tiny number carved onto the surface of their skin.

    Cleo gently squeezed her fingers, so Sophie¡¯s attention turned to the princess standing next to her.

    The hybrid girl quickly realised that the waiter was still waiting patiently for them to be seated so she gave an embarrassed cough.

    Sophie pulled out one of the chairs and gestured for Cleo to sit down before pulling out a chair for herself.

    ¡°Here are the menus and I will return shortly with drinks¡­ please take as much time as you need,¡± the waiter calmly spoke.

    He carefully handed out two sheets of cream-coloured paper with the food menu printed out in an elegant font.

    On the back of the paper was the drinks menu which included a variety of cocktails, rare concoctions, and shots of wine.

    ¡°What are you having?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she held up the menu in front of her face.

    She knew that ¡®The Golden Anchor¡¯ was a seafood restaurant but the problem was that she barely recognised any of the names of the animals on the menu.

    Fortunately, her wristmunicator was connected to the Virtual Net, so a quick search gave her images of each item on the menu.

    ¡°I think that I might have this soup¡­¡± Cleo thoughtfully spoke as she pointed at a certain item at the top of the page.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ good choice¡­ I was thinking of getting¡­¡± Sophie hummed softly as she pointed out several items in a row.

    Despite being a cultivator in the qi tide stage, Sophie was still eating food quite regrly just like a normal person.

    It must have something to do with her Arachnais physiology, but Sophie hoped that herrge appetite would disappear when she eventually reached the void stage.

    There was a band in the corner of the restaurant and soon a soft gentle beat echoed through therge room.

    The leader of the band was a beautifully dressed woman wearing an elegant silver gown that sparkled under the dim lighting of the room.

    Her dress matched the crystal ss chandelier than hung from the ceiling the center of the room that shone brightly.

    The other members of the band were in the background and ying musical instruments that loosely resembled guitars.

    Soon the woman opened her mouth and began to sing a sweet love song that was both melodic and heartbreaking.

    ¡°Darling please¡­ it used to be just you and me¡­. from your soft lips to your elegant kiss¡­¡±

    ¡°My heart races on! The shifting sands of time¡­ I wish that you could have still been mine¡­¡±

    ¡°Baby! You drive me crazy! You are my one and only soulmate¡­¡±

    Sophie closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy this rxed atmosphere that was being produced by the song.

    The leader of the band was an excellent singer, and her voice was full of passion which clearly showed in her singing.

    The hybrid girl reopened her eyes as she heard the sound of footstepsing over from the distance.

    Those footsteps belonged to their waiter, and he was walking over holding arge metallic tray with several items on top of the te.

    ¡°Here you go¡­ these are on the house,¡± the waiter politely spoke as he ced two wine sses on the table that were filled with a light green liquid.

    ¡°This is a delightful fruit wine cocktail that has been aged for sixty years in an underground cer beneath our feet¡­¡±

    Sophie thanked him and reached for her ss. She took a small sip, and the sweet tangy taste of the wine filled her mouth.

    The hybrid girl smiled happily and took another sip. Cleo noticed that her girlfriend was enjoying the drink, so she pushed over her ss.

    ¡°Have you decided what you wish to order?¡± the waiter asked curiously as he took out an old-fashioned pen and notepad.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I will be having the seafood special soup and a small ss of Rexnelis wine please,¡± Cleo replied as she handed her menu over.

    ¡°And I will be having¡­ this¡­ this¡­ and¡­¡± Sophie rapidly pointed at a series of items on the menu and the waiter to his credit managed to keep up with her fast pace.

    He finished writing down on his notepad and then took the menu from Sophie¡¯s hands. He politely bowed at both girls and then headed back to the kitchen to inform the chefs.

    ¡°Are you sure that you didn¡¯t want to try the fruit wine?¡± Sophie askedzily as she reached for Cleo¡¯s drink.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay¡­ you can have it,¡± Cleo replied sweetly as she stretched out her hand and gently brushed it against Sophie¡¯s leg.

    The hybrid girl shot her girlfriend a warning look, but Cleo only giggled as she saw the effect that she was having on her lover.

    Sophie and Cleo fell into afortable silence as they stared at each other with love in their gazes.

    It had been a long day so far but not an unpleasant one. Sophie hoped that she would be able to enjoy it some more once they returned to their hotel room.

    Just the mere thought of some of the things she wanted to do to Cleo made the corner of her golden eyes turn pink.

    ¡°Babe¡­ your eyes¡­¡± Cleo whispered softly as she saw that the pink colour was beginning to spread rapidly.

    The princess knew better than anyone what would happen when her girlfriend¡¯s eyes turnedpletely pink.

    And while the process was quite pleasurable¡­ this was neither the time nor the ce to indulge in her carnal desires.

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled in order to calm down. Soon her eyes returned to normal, and the incident passed.

    Just as Sophie was about to open her mouth to start up another conversation with Cleo, the doors to the restaurant swung open and a couple of familiar faces walked inside.

    ¡°Nathan my love¡­ let me take you¡­¡± a man hoarsely growled.

    ¡°Adrian, you need to get away from him! He will never love you the way that he loves me!¡± another man retorted angrily.

    ¡°Are you clowns going to continue to embarrass yourself in public?¡± a third voice calmly spoke, and it belonged to the man who had his arms wrapped around Nathan.

    Sophie was grateful that the waiter had given them a table in the far corner of the room, so she was able to watch the drama unfold with prime seating.

 Chapter 554: The Merciless Scientist

    <h4>Chapter 554: The Merciless Scientist</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

    ¡°Another failure¡­ another¡­ ANOTHER FAILURE!¡± Dr. Valenna shouted in rage as she mmed her slender fist against the top of the table.

    It was a rare loss ofposure for the lead scientist on the project who usually had an ice-cold demeanor.

    Dr. Valenna let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the chair next to her. She took off her sses and absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair.

    Two months¡­ two months had passed since she had started the next rounds of testing using the Insectoid specimen that was captured.

    Despite her best efforts¡­ little progress had been made.

    Well, there had been some progress on the research of the anatomy of that particr Insectoid species.

    But that was not the main purpose of this project.

    The noble sponsors who financed Project Rhat¡¯ets wanted to breed the next generation of super soldiers for the Imperial Army.

    Hybrid warriors made from crossing human DNA with various Insectoid species. Dr. Valenna ced her face in her hands as she felt as though a massive headache wasing on.

    She needed results and soon.

    The lead scientist stayed in her private office for around ten minutes before slowly rousing herself from her depression.

    She could not afford to give up now. Not when she had bet her own life toplete this project on time.

    Perhaps there was an alternative way to satisfy the noble backers.

    The Human- Insectoid hybrids may not be viable yet so why not try to cross breed them with more species?

    She could try to create chimeras¡­

    Human DNA was quite unique among the species across the universe due to the fact that it was gicallypatible with almost any intelligent lifeform.

    Dr. Valenna¡¯s eyes sparkled as a few ideas shed across her mind.

    With newfound determination she walked out of her office and headed for the containment center.

    She wandered through abyrinth of side-passageways and metalloid corridors until finally arriving at a heavily guarded door at the end of a hallway.

    Dr. Valenna nodded at the squad of privately trained mercenaries standing outside and received short bows of respect.

    She ced her hand on the scanner next to the heavy metalloid door and a green light shed twice.

    The door slowly swung open to reveal what looked to be a high-tech jail. Rows upon rows of containment cells had been ced one next to the other.

    Inside each cell were the Human- Serpentinea hybrids who stared at her with a variety of expressions on their faces.

    There were some who maintained traces of their former intellect and they were not fans of the woman who had imprisoned and tortured them in the name of science.

    The hybrids looked like normal humans, but multiple pink eyes could be seen across different parts of their bodies.

    Their mouths were massive maws with dozens of razor-sharp teeth that gleamed eerily under the artificial lighting.

    Dr. Valenna raised up her hand and lightly tapped on the ss. Her movements attracted the attention of the hybrid in the cell closest to her.

    The lead scientist checked the notes on her wristmunicator and quickly pulled up the history of the middle-aged hybrid in the cell.

    Apparently, he used to be a famous pirate in the Hydra Star System, but he was captured by bounty hunters and sold on the ck market as a human ve.

    The once fearsome pirate was now little more than an animal who drooled as he approached the ss.

    Dr. Valenna frowned as she saw his saliva hit the ground and the dull whimpers that left his throat made the lead scientist feel disgusted.

    She could tolerate his gruesome appearance, but theck of strength disyed by this hybrid during testing could not be epted.

    He should be immediately scheduled for termination¡­

    Dr. Valenna turned away from the cell and made her way further inward.

    She would asionally stop to nce at the inhabitants of the other cells but moved on after failing to see anything noteworthy.

    The highest level of strength that these hybrids reached was around the upper echelons of the qi spirit stage.

    And that was hardly enough to warrant such a high investment by the noble backers of the project.

    Dr. Valenna knew exactly what would happen to her should she fail to deliver results in theing months.

    The clock was slowly ticking, and she could feel her life slipping away with every tick as she neared the date of her death.

    There was an unassuming door at the end of the containment zone. This time Dr. Valenna had to scan multiple parts of her body and enter a password in order for the door to open.

    She stepped forward into the room and the door swung shut behind her with a heavy ng. The lead scientist found herself in a wide-open space with a cell in the back of the hall.

    ¡°How has your day been?¡± Dr. Valenna asked coldly as stared at the creature inside the reinforced ss container.

    The alien inside the prison cell was a humanoid creature with stic and stretchy skin that bore a striking resemnce to rubber.

    Yellowish scales covered certain parts of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder des.

    Three bright pink eyes were located along its torso and there was a mysterious orifice located near its posterior region.

    Long painful scars could be observed along the alien¡¯s back and they resembled puncture wounds that were still healing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t want to answer?¡± Dr. Valenna slowly muttered as she pressed a button near the wall of the cell.

    The alien screeched in pain as thick green gas rose up from the floor and his rubber skin began to blister and burn.

    ¡°Stop¡­ stop¡­ I answer¡­ I answer¡­¡± the alien groaned painfully as he slumped to the ground and curled up in a fetal position.

    ¡°I must say¡­ I am quite impressed that you managed to learn themonnguage of the Federation so quickly,¡± Dr. Valenna muttered quietly.

    ¡°Most see insectoids as nothing more than mindless animals but you higher order species¡­ you truly are something special¡­¡±

    The insectoid in the prison cell turned away from Dr. Valenna because he was afraid that the merciless scientist would see the hatred in his eyes.

    ¡°So¡­ tell me¡­¡± Dr. Valenna suddenly spoke, and her words echoed through the room.

    ¡°Are higher order Insectoid species capable of cross breeding?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the Insectoid whispered as his face twisted in an expression of disgust. Members of the Serpentinea race would never breed with those outside of their species.

    Dr. Valenna hummed softly as she wrote down a few notes and observations on her notepad.

    There was a tense moment of silence as the alien inside the cell waited to see what the scientist would ask next.

 Chapter 555: Humanityâ€™s Cruelty

    <h4>Chapter 555: Humanity¡¯s Cruelty</h4>

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Hidden Location ¨C Secret Laboratory)

    The young Serpentinea curled up in a fetal position as he winced in pain. The burns and blisters on his skin were now throbbing painfully.

    Dr. Valenna had an emotionless mask on her face, so it was impossible to tell what she felt as she gazed at the alien who was suffering.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we do something different today?¡± Dr. Valenna¡¯s cold voice echoed through the containment room.

    ¡°Tell me about the other higher lifeform Insectoid races. I wish to learn more about your culture and your people.¡±

    ¡°Never¡­ why¡­ why¡­ would I¡­ betray¡­¡± the Serpentinea gritted his teeth as he spoke. He raised up his head and stared at the scientist with nothing but hatred in his gaze.

    This disgusting two-legged creature¡­ he wanted to kill her.

    He would kill her and all of her kind for this humiliation. These humans¡­ they were monsters¡­ beasts¡­

    Dr. Valenna absentmindedly tapped the side of the ss, and she did not seem to be fazed by her prisoner¡¯sck ofmunication.

    This alien¡­ hecked the ability to resist heavy torture, but she would prefer for the situation to not reach that point.

    However, she was always willing to do what was necessary for results even though there was always a chance that torture could damage the merchandise.

    Dr. Valenna did not see the Serpentinea as an intelligent lifeform¡­ she saw him merely as a test subject.

    The equivalent of ab rat.

    Being the lead scientist on a project such as this meant that Dr. Valenna had no use for so- called passion¡¯ or ¡®morality¡¯.

    What her investors wanted were results.

    She would give them results no matter the cost because otherwise¡­ her fate would not be pleasant.

    ¡°Are you sure that you wish to not answer my question?¡± Dr. Valenna whispered softly in a tone that was almost sweet.

    The Serpentinea felt chills run down his spine as he saw the scientist smile at him with a friendly expression as if she was talking to an old friend.

    He did not know what she had in mind but clearly it was nothing good.

    For a moment the Serpentinea was tempted to talk but he curled up his appendages into a fist and remained silent.

    Dr. Valenna walked up to the wall next to the containment cell and pressed arge button. The alien cried out in agony as thick green gas rose up from the floor.

    Blisters and burns appeared on his rubbery skin, but this time Dr. Valenna did not stop the process.

    First degree burns¡­ then second-degree burns¡­ third degree burns¡­

    This torture onlysted for around five minutes before the alien was on his knees begging and crying out for mercy.

    Dr. Valenna narrowed her eyes and allowed the gas to linger in the cell for a minute longer before pressing another button.

    A vent opened up in the ceiling of the containment cell and all the thick green gas was sucked into the hole.

    ¡°Why¡­ what¡­ did¡­ please¡­ let¡­ me¡­ go¡­¡± the alien pleaded desperately as one could see yellowish blood flowing out of his open wounds.

    ¡°Are you going to answer my question now?¡± Dr. Valenna nonchntly replied as she reached into her storage bag for a simple pen and notepad.

    The Serpentinea hesitated for a moment as he was caught between the desire to remain loyal to the Insectoid Empire and the desire to never experience that kind of pain again.

    He closed his multiple pink eyes and muttered a prayer of forgiveness to his ancestors for what he was about to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting¡­¡± Dr. Valenna¡¯s cold voice cut the alien¡¯s prayers short. He opened his eyes and looked away from his captor.

    He didn¡¯t want to see the look of victory and satisfaction in her eyes as he obeyed her bidding without question.

    ¡°There are four higher order races¡­ Naslitsers, Serpentinea, Fayera and the Arachnais¡­¡± the alien spoke in a voice no louder than a whisper.

    ¡°Each race generally keeps to their own sector of the empire¡­ I have only seen a Naslitsers before¡­¡±

    Dr. Valenna wrote down a few notes on her notepad and hummed softly as she listened to the prisoner talk.

    Naslitsers, Serpentinea, Fayera and Arachnais¡­

    The information that she had just received could be sold on the dark for a significant sum of money if she so desired.

    The Earth Federation had only encountered lower-level Insectoid lifeforms and rtively intelligentmanders during the border skirmishes.

    ¡°And what are some of the characteristics of these Naslitsers?¡± Dr. Valenna asked curiously as she held up a pen in her slender fingers.

    ¡°They¡­ they look ugly¡­ beast-like creatures with narrow mouths and long noses. They always have an angry expression on their faces,¡± the prisoner spoke quietly.

    ¡°They have no limbs and slither on the ground¡­¡±

    The Serpentinea bowed his head in shame as he continued to sell out his people to the disgusting human that he hated.

    If word of this got back to the elders of his race, then he would immediately be executed on the spot if he was lucky.

    ¡°So, you have no idea what the Fayera and Arachnais look like?¡± Dr. Valenna questioned harshly as she stepped closer to the containment cell.

    ¡°No¡­ I was too young¡­ I never stepped foot in their territories¡­¡± the alien hesitantly replied as he rubbed his fingers together nervously.

    ¡°Pity¡­¡± Dr. Valenna muttered quietly under her breath as she wrote down some more notes on the notepad.

    There was a tense moment of silence as the lead scientist gazed at the badly injured Serpentinea with callous indifference.

    She eventually turned around to walk out of the room when a weak voice came from behind her which caught her attention.

    ¡°The Insectoid Empire¡­ will¡­ never fall to such a low-ss lifeform¡­¡± the Serpentinea gathered up his courage and spat out a sentence.

    Dr. Valenna¡¯s sides trembled as herughter filled the room. She approached the shivering alien and a sadistic smile shed across her face.

    ¡°Kreyano, Leviantusus, the Federineas, A.Q.R syndicate¡­¡± Dr. Valenna muttered a series of names that meant nothing to the prisoner in the cell.

    ¡°What?¡± the alien asked in confusion.

    A brief smile shed across the lead scientist¡¯s face as she leaned in closer and whispered in a dangerous tone,

    ¡°Those are some of the names of the intergctic civilisations that thought the same as you¡­ that we human are too short, too delicate, too stupid, and too weak to be a threat.¡±

    ¡°They are right of course. Humans may possess strong cultivation talents, but we are not the strongest, smartest, or even the fastest.¡±

    ¡°And yet¡­ each of those civilisations are now nothing more than lines of text on our history books.¡±

    ¡°We have yet to meet an alien race who can match us on perhaps the most important trait to be conquerors¡­¡±

    ¡°Cruelty.¡±

 Chapter 556: An Invitation Or A Trap?

    <h4>Chapter 556: An Invitation Or A Trap?</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- Grand Royal Hotel)

    ¡°Babe¡­ do you want me to go down to the kitchen and pick up some breakfast?¡± Sophie quietly whispered as she grabbed the nket covering Cleo¡¯s body.

    The princess groaned and opened her eyes. She shot a resentful look at her girlfriend who just smiled guilty.

    Sophie pulled away the nket and Cleo¡¯s exhausted body came into view.

    Cleo was smeared with love juices, her two plump breasts were heaving slightly, and dozens of reddish marks covered her body.

    What stood out the most to Sophie were Cleo¡¯s nipples that had turned from a light pink colour to an angry red after she had yed and sucked on them for hoursst night.

    Cleo did not look like a royal princess but rather a fair maiden who had been ravaged endlessly by a beast.

    ¡°Seen enough?¡± Cleo hoarsely whispered as she felt her legs tremble slightly.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes were beginning to turn pink, but she quickly looked away before the temptation proved to be too much to resist.

    ¡°Sorry honey¡­ I may¡­ have gone a bit too farst night¡­¡± Sophie apologised profusely as she leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss against Cleo¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Go get me that breakfast and I¡¯ll forgive you,¡± Cleo teased lightly as she raised up her hand and stroked Sophie¡¯s cheek.

    The hybrid girl gave a mock salute and then headed for the bathroom to put on some clothes.

    Cleo leaned back against the bedrest and let out a heavy sigh. She could not believe that she was still not a match for Sophie¡¯s insatiable lust in bed.

    Clearly, she needed to increase the speed of her cultivation and start working out more.

    Well¡­ it¡¯s not like there were no benefits to have an overly passionate girlfriend.

    Cleo bit her lips as a few pleasant memories shed across her mind. She remembered screaming out her lungs as one orgasm hit after the other.

    How was Sophie so good at sex?

    The princess made a silent vow to herself to look up some techniques on the Virtual Net to hopefully turn the tide of battle next time.

    ¡°Okay babe I¡¯m leaving now!¡± a cheerful voice broke Cleo out of her stupor.

    She looked up to see Sophie waving at her from the front of the room. The hybrid girl wore a simple white blouse and a pair of dark green track pants.

    It was a simple outfit and yet Cleo could not help but think that she looked devastatingly beautiful almost like a queen.

    ¡°See you soon,¡± Cleo replied with a warm smile. The door opened and then closed as Sophie left the hotel room.

    The princess yawned sleepily and reached for her wristmunicator that was on the bedstand next to her.

    She absentmindedly powered it on, and a notification appeared on the screen. Cleo furrowed her brows as she saw that the sender was one of her siblings.

    Cleo did not trust the members of her family and for good reason.

    She had grown up in the Imperial Pce Complex and saw exactly how brother would turn against brother for that stupid throne.

    The princess hesitated for a moment and then decided to at least open up the message to see what was inside.

    Cleo tapped the screen and a holographic projection appeared in mid air. In the middle of the screen was a handsome young man with a crop of curly ck hair.

    He looked very familiar, and it only took Cleo a few seconds to realise that this person was the crown prince.

    The crown prince in the recording wore an expensive ck suit with a in green tie that matched the colour of his eyes.

    ¡°Greetings my dear sibling,¡± Prince Theseus softly spoke.

    ¡°If you have received this message then I would like to formally invite you to a private ball that will be held on my estate.¡±

    ¡°This will be a small affair with only members of the royal family so please do not bring any uninvited guests.¡±

    ¡°I look forward to hearing your reply.¡±

    The recording ended with the prince cing a hand across his chest and staring at a certain direction.

    Cleo reyed the message a few times and a frown shed across her face.

    Thepetition to decide the future leader of the human side of the Federation would begin next year.

    Every member of the royal family technically had the chance to be the next emperor or empress unless they chose not to participate.

    Why would the crown prince want to gather some of hispetitors together in one ce?

    Even if he was looking for allies¡­

    His first choice should be other nobles instead of the Imperial Family.

    Cleo was not a stupid person and the more she looked at the invitation, the more she thought that it seemed like a trap.

    She was self-aware enough to realise that her connection to Duke Peterlor because of his daughter was probably enough to attract the crown prince¡¯s attention.

    But Cleo had no ns on being used a link to drag House Peterlor into the fight for session. Especially since the duke was maintaining a neutral position.

    Cleo tried to sit up, but her body was still exhausted from the night before, so she eventually gave up trying to move.

    She tapped the recording to make a copy and then sent that copy to Duke Peterlor with a short message exining her thoughts.

    It would be impolite to ignore the crown prince¡¯s message and Cleo wasn¡¯t sure what words to use to politely turn him down.

    Just as the princess was waiting for the duke to reply, the door to the room swung open and Sophie entered holding arge metallic tray in her hand.

    ¡°Cleo! I¡¯m back!¡± Sophie cheerfully spoke in a sing-song voice as she showed off the breakfast on the tray.

    Fourrge slices of bread, a reddish soup with bits of vegetables floating around, two scrambled eggs, some sausages, and a tiny cake.

    It was truly arge breakfast.

    At least for a person with a normal diet, Sophie wasn¡¯t going to tell her girlfriend that she had already eaten five simrly sized meals in the kitchen earlier.

    ¡°Babe are you alright? Is something on your mind?¡± Sophie asked as she noticed that her girlfriend was noticeably silent.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I just received a message from the crown prince,¡± Cleo exined as she smiled sweetly at Sophie.

    ¡°Your brother?¡± Sophie asked in confusion as she raised one eyebrow.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ but I¡¯ve never talked to him before. I wasn¡¯t exactly important enough to mingle with the more powerful princes and princesses,¡± Cleo said calmly as she yed with her fingers.

    ¡°Now he apparently wants to invite me to a private banquet at his estate¡­¡±

    Sophie ced the tray down on the table next to the couch in the middle of the hotel room and then walked towards her girlfriend.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡± she asked curiously.

    ¡°Politely decline¡­ this is clearly a ploy to get your dad involved in the struggles for the throne and I want no part in it,¡± Cleo whispered softly.

    Sophie listened carefully as her girlfriend exined her suspicions about the event and nodded appropriately during the conversation.

    Sometimes she forgot that Cleo was a member of the royal family which meant that she had to deal with petty schemes and politics.

    Sophie knew that her girlfriend had no desire for the throne, but she could not help but think that Cleo would make a good queen¡­

 Chapter 557: The Peculiar Shop

    <h4>Chapter 557: The Peculiar Shop</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- Residential District)

    The sun was now beginning to peak over the horizon and warm orange rays of light brightened up the busy city.

    Sophie powered on hermunicator and opened up a virtual map of the city and all of its major sites.

    Cleo was still in the hotel room, and Sophie nned on surprising her girlfriend with a gift in the morning.

    Today was their final day in the city. It had been quite the pleasant experience so far since Sophie loved spending time with her favourite princess.

    The only wrinkle in their perfect vacation was that invitation from the crown prince to attend his private banquet.

    The death of Emperor Sisrelis had massively affected the politicalndscape of the human side of the Federation.

    Now the fight to find his sessor would undoubtedly lead to certain noble houses vanishing from the annals of history.

    Sophie did not feel the urge to participate in that bloody game and she was never going to let her girlfriend get caught up in the other princes and princesses¡¯ petty schemes.

    Fortunately, her father was powerful and well connected enough to maintain a neutral stance in the war for session.

    Other noble houses were not as lucky¡­

    The hybrid girl was lost in her own thoughts as she wandered through the city towards an unremarkable building that was squeezed between two family-sized homes.

    The building itself was quite ordinary with cream-coloured walls, a dull grey roof and a simple wooden gate that seemed to be a relic from a different era.

    A sign was hung on the door with the simple word ¡®Open¡¯ written across in a bright red colour that would hurt the eyes of anyone looking at it.

    Sophie nced at the building and checked her wristmunicator to make sure that this was the right ce.

    She walked up to the front door and knocked lightly before pulling on the handle. The door easily swung open to reveal a long corridor with a single metalloid door at the end.

    Sophie entered the building and the door automatically closed behind her with a heavy thump.

    This was quite the peculiar store, but Sophie¡¯s curiosity made her continue onwards until she reached the second door.

    This time the door swung open by itself to reveal a tiny room. Arge table had been ced in the center of the space and two chairs were across from each other.

    Sitting on one of the chairs was a light green alien with a massive body that jiggled slightly from side to side.

    He had three mouths scattered across his face and two grey horns that jutted out from the top of his head.

    He bore a striking resemnce to an enormous mass of jelly and his skin was rough as if he had spent a lifetime doing hardbour.

    ¡°Wee to my humble abode,¡± the alien gently spoke as a tendril extended from his body and pulled out the chair for Sophie.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ your house is quite unique,¡± Sophie spoke politely as she sat in the chair and faced the alien.

    The blob¡¯s body shivered back and forth, and it took Sophie a moment to register that the creature wasughing.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I suppose that my tastes can be a bit strange to outsiders,¡± the alien chuckled as a few eyes bubbled up from inside his body.

    ¡°How may I help you today?¡±

    ¡°I am looking for a gift for my girlfriend. I saw on your website that you can procure many items from across the universe,¡± Sophie exined calmly as she tapped her wristmunicator.

    A holographic screen was projected outward that disyed a simple advertisement for a store named ¡®Frankie¡¯s Emporium Of Strange Oddities¡¯.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ interesting¡­ what item would you like to acquire?¡± the alien dropped his lighthearted act and spoke seriously.

    Sophie hesitated for a moment as she seriously considered what kind of gift, she would like to give her girlfriend.

    Cleo had many expensive jewellery and nice clothing, so those options were out. A few days ago, they had gone to the bookstore, so novels were also not an option.

    Sophie rubbed her chin as the invitation from the crown prince shed across her mind. She furrowed her brows and finally decided on what she wanted to gift Cleo.

    The hybrid girl opened her mouth and exined to the alien seller what she was hoping to buy in his shop,

    ¡°I want something that will protect her in case of emergencies. A second life¡­ a chance to escape any situation.¡±

    The alien immediately nodded and one of his mouths unleashed a series of harsh ringing noises that echoed through the room.

    A few minutes passed and then a hole opened up in the middle of the table. A dark grey hand emerged from the darkness and ced three fully sealed boxes in front of the salesman.

    The hand retreated back into the hole and soon the gap in the table was closed just as quickly as it had appeared.

    ¡°What is your price range?¡± the alien asked curiously as two tendrils emerged from his blob-like body and began to rub together.

    ¡°Unlimited¡­ my girlfriend¡¯s safety is worth any price,¡± Sophie replied with a strong sense of conviction in her tone.

    The creature hummed thoughtfully and then picked up the box to the far left. He pushed it towards Sophie and then pulled the remaining two boxes towards him.

    ¡°This is what you require¡­¡± the alien whispered softly.

    ¡°Can I not buy all three?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she stared at the remaining two boxes.

    ¡°No¡­ one customer¡­ one product¡­¡± the strange shopkeeper whispered in a low tone.

    Sophie was affected by the tense atmosphere and also lowered her voice, ¡°Well¡­ um¡­ what does this do? Also, I would like to know the price.¡±

    The blob-like alien jiggled slightly and then produced a in white card from somewhere beneath the table.

    He handed the card over to Sophie and then waited patiently for his customer to make a decision on whether or not to buy his product.

    Sophie began to read the card and the first line that stood out to her was the price. The shopkeeper had been upfront about the cost and boy¡­ it was high!

    Whatever was in the box was worth around one and a half billion Enas which was enough to buy a small-scale mining colony.

    Sophie checked her reserve funds and realised that she barely had enough money to buy this expensive item.

    She clearly needed to go on some bounty hunting missions for her guild in order to replenish her lost funds after this.

    Sophie pursed her lips together and began to read about the details about the item that could allegedly save Cleo¡¯s life in an emergency.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s mouth fell open as she finished reading the card and she looked up at the shopkeeper with an expression of disbelief.

    ¡°Are these ims true?¡± Sophie asked quietly.

 Chapter 558: The Purchase Is Made

    <h4>Chapter 558: The Purchase Is Made</h4>

    (N¡¯rean City- Residential District)

    (Frankie¡¯s Emporium Of Strange Oddities)

    ¡°Of course, there will be some side-effects,¡± the alien shopkeeper exined as extended a tendril outward from his gtinous body.

    ¡°But I can guarantee that it will save your loved one¡¯s life no matter the circumstance or whatever threat that she encounters¡­¡±

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she continued to read the words on the small white card that the shopkeeper had given her.

    Apparently, what was inside the box was a small crystal ne filled with an incredibly rare substance mined from a in the Unovan Syndicate.

    All one would have to do to activate the item would be to crush the crystal and the bluish-liquid inside would immediately cover their body.

    This blue liquid would form a natural barrier capable of withstanding a single blow from a god stage cultivator.

    If this was true, then this ne was well worth the price and in fact it could even be sold for a bit higher depending on the buyer.

    ¡°How many of these have you sold before?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she gently tapped the box using her fingers.

    ¡°Zero. In this store every item is unique and will not be sold again¡­¡± the alien mysteriously whispered as his body swayed from side to side.

    ¡°We always have the product that the customer needs¡­ for a certain price. Some pay in credits while others pay¡­ in a different way.¡±

    Sophie raised an eyebrow at the alien¡¯s ominous words. Fortunately, she had the money to pay otherwise who knows what this strange shopkeeper would demand as payment.

    The blob-like alien reached under the table and pulled out a simple card reader. He ced in on the table and pushed it towards Sophie.

    The hybrid girl nced at the wooden box in her hand and made a decision in her heart. This purchase would exhaust her savings, but it was worth it.

    Being a cultivator meant that one would be exposed to dangerous situations, and it was unfair to lock away in Cleo in a cage in order to keep her safe.

    Sophie wanted her girlfriend to spread her wings and fly.

    She let out a heavy sigh and reached into her storage bag to pull out a in ck card with gold engravings on the side.

    Sophie swiped the card against the reader and then pressed her left thumb against the top of the card.

    A small beam of green light shot out from the scanner built inside the card that verified Sophie¡¯s biological readings.

    Within a few seconds the purchase was made, and Sophie had spent more money than most in the Federation would ever see in their lifetime.

    ¡°Thank you for your purchase¡­ please leave the building,¡± the shopkeeper politely spoke as he gestured using his tendril for Sophie to exit the room.

    The hybrid girl was a bit surprised to be kicked out so soon, but she thanked the alien and then left.

    Sophie opened the metalloid door and found herself back in the long corridor that led to the exit of the building.

    She ced the wooden box containing the ne inside of her storage bag and then headed outside.

    It was bright and sunny day with not a single cloud in the sky.

    This part of N¡¯rean City was very quiet, and Sophie only encountered a few joggers as she walked absentmindedly in the direction of the hotel.

    Her goal of buying a life saving card for Cleo had been aplished but honestly Sophie would be fine if her girlfriend never needed to use it.

    But somehow, she got the feeling that was just wishful thinking on her part.

    Should she buy something for herself? Sophie contemted for a moment and then checked the remaining bnce in her ount.

    Well¡­ looks like she would not be going shopping anytime soon.

    There was a grand total of three thousand Enas in her ount which was enough to pay for around six months of minimal expenses.

    Sophie felt the strain of an empty wallet for the first time. She could always ask for money from her father, but she decided not to.

    It would be better to earn the money through bounty hunting missions. There was a greater feeling of aplishment when spending money that you earned.

    Sophiezily walked towards the hotel and encountered a peculiar sight along the way.

    There were two lean and skinny men leaning against the wall with their backs turned to the street.

    No one seemed too concerned about their strange behaviour as most pedestrians just walked past them.

    The man on the left began to tremble violently and Sophie saw the glint of a needle hidden in his palm.

    Without hesitation the man stabbed himself in the knee and a thick viscous liquid entered his body.

    He moaned loudly in pleasure and then copsed on the ground. Hispanion knelt down and began to shake him violently to no avail.

    ¡°Help! Someone please help!¡± hispanion screamed loudly as the man on the ground started to twitch uncontrobly.

    Most people averted their eyes and tried to avoid making eye contact with the man pleading for assistance.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and notified the local authorities about the incident.

    She reached into her storage bag and took out a small healing serum which she then tossed at the unconscious man¡¯spanion.

    ¡°That¡¯s a healing serum¡­ pour it down his throat,¡± Sophie yelled as the man caught the vial that she had thrown.

    A suspicious look shed across the man¡¯s face as he looked at Sophie¡¯s hybrid appearance and it was obvious that he did not trust her words.

    Sophie shrugged slightly and then continued on her journey back to the hotel room without looking back to see what choice the man made.

    She had done all she could in the situation.

    It was up to the authorities to arrive and deal with the drug overdose or perhaps the man would actually use her healing serum.

    Still, it was a surprise to see drug usage in a major tourist city on Gaia. Usually, drugs flowed through the poorer districts or the slums.

    It was not that the drug trade was impossible to regte on the contrary it was incredibly easy with the use of AI and surveince drones.

    The issue was that certain local city councils allegedly took a cut from the profits in that dark industry.

    Sophie remembered her dad making an off-handment about it when they had passed a man throwing up in a garbage can a few years ago.

    Power corrupts which is why Duke Peterlor exined to his daughter there needed to be strong regtions andws in her future territories.

    Sophie hummed softly as she approached the hotel room and nodded at the twodies by the front desk.

    She decided to get some exercise, so she walked up the stairs to the seventh floor which only took around five minutes.

    The hybrid girl ced her hand on a scanner and a green light shone on her palm.

    The door in front of her swung open to reveal Cleo still sleeping peacefully covered in a thick fuzzy nket

    A gentle smile surfaced on Sophie¡¯s face as she watched her sleeping girlfriend.

 Chapter 559: A Special Gift For Her Princess

    <h4>Chapter 559: A Special Gift For Her Princess</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- Grand Royal Hotel)

    Sophie gently tapped twice against the door to let Cleo know that she was outside before pressing her finger against the scanner.

    A green light swept over her thumb and the door swung open to reveal a luxurious hotel bedroomplete with arge mattress in the middle.

    Cleo was currently leaning against a pillow with a book in her hand. The princess wore a simple white nightdress and her messy curly hair fell below her shoulders.

    She did not wear any make-up and yet Sophie was briefly stunned when she saw how beautiful her girlfriend was.

    Cleo¡¯s piercing green eyes were an ocean that she would happily drown in.

    The princess looked up from her book and carefully ced her novel down on the bedside table when she saw Sophie at the door.

    She yawned sleepily and stretched out her arms before slowly getting out of the bed and walking towards the hybrid girl.

    ¡°Hi darling¡­ where were you this morning?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she walked over to Sophie and wrapped her arms around her lower back.

    Sophie bent down and pressed a soft kiss against Cleo¡¯s forehead. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the sealed box.

    ¡°Here¡­ I got this for you from a shop¡­¡± Sophie said mischievously as she handed the box over to Cleo.

    The princess furrowed her brows in confusion and looked at her girlfriend who refused to give her any hints as to what was inside.

    Cleo took the box from Sophie¡¯s hands and carefully opened it while taking care not to damage the contents inside.

    Inside the box was a metalloid ne with a small transparent crystal hanging from the center of the pendant.

    The crystal contained a bluish liquid that flowed back and forth without Cleo even moving the ne.

    The ne was honestly a bit in, but Cleo was happy to receive any gift from her girlfriend, so she stood on her tip toes and nted a kiss against Sophie¡¯s lower jaw.

    ¡°Thanks babe! I love it!¡± Cleo cheerfully spoke as she held up the ne and ced it over her neck.

    She struggled for a brief moment with thetch, so Sophie walked behind her girlfriend and helped her to put it on.

    ¡°This is actually quite the expensive item¡­¡± Sophie exined warmly as her fingers lightly brushed against Cleo¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Inside the ne is a rare substance from the Unovan Syndicate¡­ if you are ever in danger then crush the crystal and the liquid will spill out.¡±

    ¡°It will form a natural barrier capable of withstanding blows from cultivators up to the god stage¡­¡±

    ¡°Sophie¡­ I can¡¯t ept something precious like this¡­¡± Cleo hesitantly spoke as she stared at her girlfriend¡¯s warm eyes.

    ¡°You should keep it for yourself¡­ don¡¯t give me such a valuable life saving card¡­¡±

    ¡°Keep it. I bought it for you to keep you safe. I don¡¯t know what I would do if I lost you,¡± Sophie interrupted her girlfriend¡¯s shy words.

    Cleo looked as though she wanted to argue some more but seeing the determination in Sophie¡¯s eyes, she decided not to say anything.

    The princess thanked her girlfriend once more and lightly pulled on Sophie¡¯s shirt to get her to bend down slightly.

    She pressed her lips against Sophie¡¯s in a soft lingering kiss that seemed tost for hours. Cleo poured all of her emotions and gratitude into the kiss.

    A faint trace of pink began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s golden eyes, but the hybrid girl quickly got her unstable emotions under control.

    ¡°Babe¡­ don¡¯t tempt me¡­¡± Sophie hoarsely whispered as the pair finally broke apart.

    Cleo merely giggled and pulled down part of her nightdress to reveal the hickeys on her neck and upper chest.

    Sophie¡¯s fingers curled up into a fist and she had to take several deep breaths in order to prevent herself from flinging her girlfriend on the bed and having a repeat ofst night.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the n for today?¡± Cleo asked softly as she adjusted her clothing.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we grab something to eat and then we can spend the rest of the day walking through the city,¡± Sophie suggested casually.

    Cleo nodded in agreement and headed for the bathroom to take a shower and put on some clean clothes.

    Sophie absentmindedly walked over to the mattress and sat down. She powered on her wristmunicator and sent out a few messages in the group chat.

    Sophie: [Hey girls! How is the vacation going?]

    Qiana: [Just terrible¡­ territory management training is from 11am to 11pm every single day of the week¡­ I can¡¯t get a break¡­]

    Qiana: [My tutor is a super strict nobledy from the Alpha Star System who just keeps droning on and on about taxes, public services, and other stuff that I know already]

    Qiana: [Ugh¡­ kill me now¡­]

    Sophie sighed at her friend¡¯s misfortunes and quickly typed a few words offort. Astrid did not seem to be online but that wasn¡¯t surprising considering the time zone difference.

    The Mendolesa mage was still on Eleron with her siblings and was undergoing a sort of internship with Archmage Hollystorm.

    The Servie professor wanted his star pupil to be ahead of the sybus so poor Astrid had to attend multiple days of summer school.

    Sophie chatted for around fifteen minutes with Qiana before her friend said that her training was about to start so she bid the hybrid girl farewell.

    It was just in time as well since the door to the bathroom slid open and Cleo stepped outside wearing a light cream blouse and a pair of dark skinny jeans that cling to her shapely behind.

    Sophie felt her heart stop as Cleo ran her fingers through her messy her and shot her a seductive wink.

    ¡°Like what you see babe?¡± Cleo teased as sparkles appeared in her piercing green eyes.

    ¡°Always¡­¡± Sophie replied seriously as she walked over to her girlfriend and stretched out her hand.

    Cleo gently grabbed her palm, and the two girls locked their fingers together. Sophie led the princess out of the hotel room and locked the door behind them.

    The hotel was rtively busy in the morning, and one could see guests being escorted by the staff throughout the building.

    Fortunately, Sophie¡¯s hybrid appearance and therge de-like appendages jutting out her back easily cleared a path through the crowd.

    She did get a couple of strange looks from the wealthy individuals who usually stayed in five-star hotels like this one but at this point she was used to it.

    It would be a lie if she said that she didn¡¯t miss being on Eleron where the Mendolesa people didn¡¯t seem to treat her any different from the other humans.

    In fact, they were very impressed by her battle strength, and she was actually quite popr since she got first ce in the battle ranking tournament.

    Sophie finally reached outside the hotel and turned to face her girlfriend who looked back at her with a gentle smile.

    ¡°Where do you want to eat?¡± Sophie asked lovingly.

 Chapter 560: Duke Peterlorâ€™s Humble Origins

    <h4>Chapter 560: Duke Peterlor¡¯s Humble Origins</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Study Room)

    Duke Peterlor hummed softly as he sat behind his desk and shifted through the different reports that had piled up.

    The mining colonies in the Hydra Star System were predicting a lower output of materials this year due to several strikes and unexpected shipping issues.

    Allurena was going to be sold at action by House Markues and the starting price was roughly one billion Enas.

    For a high noble family that amount of money was merely a drop in a bucket. Duke Peterlor tapped away at hismunicator and sent out a few messages to his subordinates.

    Being the head of a noble family was a lot less exciting than what people usually assumed.

    Most of your days would involve managing the different properties and territories that your family owned.

    Engaging in politics with other noble houses and trying to maintain a neutral or positive rtionship with the royal family.

    It was honestly quite exhausting.

    Duke Peterlor leaned against his chair and reached for the steaming cup of tea that was on his desk. He raised the cup to his lips and enjoyed the bittersweet taste of the tea.

    It was a quiet and peaceful morning.

    Duke Peterlor took a small break from his work and looked around his study absentmindedly.

    Rows upon rows of bookshelves filled the room, expensive paintings hung on the walls and a crackling firece was located in the corner.

    He nced down at his desk and saw the photo of his daughter that he always kept close at hand.

    It was a picture of Sophie smiling at the camera just before she had left for Zrudread University.

    The sparkle in her eyes and the cheerful grin on her face brought a warm feeling to the duke¡¯s heart as he stared at his daughter.

    She was very cute. In fact, that was a bit of an issue¡­

    Rokan used to worry about his little girl since she had inherited her beautiful looks from her mother and would attract all sorts of people.

    But the person who she ended up dating was¡­ a decent choice.

    Duke Peterlor would never say it out loud, but he was grateful that it was obvious that princess Cleo loved his daughter fiercely.

    Sophie deserved someone who loved her just as much as she loved them back. It didn¡¯t really matter the gender of the person that she picked.

    The duke got up from his chair and decided to take a walk around the estate in order to clear his mind.

    He walked towards the door and left his private study.

    The mansion was unusually quiet today since the only workers were the androids moving around and cleaning the furniture.

    Butler Gerald was taking the day off to visit his family while Sophie and Cleo were still in N¡¯rean City and would returnter in the evening.

    The duke wandered through the estate and eventually arrived at an unremarkable door that was at the end of a long corridor.

    He ced his hand on the scanner next to the door and a green light shed twice. A holographic screen popped up and the duke typed out a password.

    Ding!

    The metalloid doors swung open, and the duke entered his secret room. The ground was covered by a thickyer of dust since Rokan did not allow the cleaning androids to enter this ce.

    Inside the room was a luxurious bedroom that had clearly seen much better days. The bedsheets were torn, the curtains were ripped, and the pillows were deted.

    One could see old bloodstains sttered across the floor along with some weapons that were already beginning to rust.

    Duke Peterlor slowly moved towards the bed and touched the corner of one of the bedsheets with an unreadable expression on his face.

    This was the only room in the Peterlor Estate that he had not renovated or changed. It belonged to the former patriarch of House Peterlor.

    His father.

    The man who had once almost destroyed his entire lineage and legacy.

    House Peterlor could trace their ancestors all the way back to the early years of the Earth Federation.

    Of course, in those chaotic days they were little more than minor nobles.

    However, they were given their own private territory which was an entire moon called Luna-137 that orbited around the Jupiter.

    Eventually over the centuries House Peterlor rose in prominence until they became upper rank nobles.

    But this endless growth in political influence would notst forever¡­

    Rokan¡¯s father was nothing more than a drunken fool who preferred to spend his days whoring and gambling away the wealth of his house.

    Despite being married and with two potential heirs to House Peterlor, he would eventually die under mysterious circumstances in a pleasure bar at the young age of thirty-five.

    And that was when all hell broke loose.

    The former patriarch had written up a will that legitimised every one of his outside children much to the shock and horror of his wife who didn¡¯t know.

    One of those bastards was a poor street urchin named Rokan¡­

    Duke Peterlor let out a heavy sigh as he touched the bloodstained sheets. He was not present at the time but had heard that one of his siblings was killed here.

    And he kept this bedroom preserved as a reminder.

    He never wanted to forget those dark days when assassins lurked in the shadows and the other noble families watched the spectacle with sadistic glee.

    He was unlike the other heads of dukedoms who had grown up in wealth and luxury.

    Rokan still remembered the days when he was on his knees begging on the street for a loaf of bread.

    His clothes would be torn, his face would be covered in dirt and the outline of his ribs could clearly be seen against his chest.

    Growing up in poverty, he would have traded anything to be one of the nobles who walked around with enough food to eat.

    And¡­ he got his wish.

    The duke moved away from the bed and walked out of the room without looking back. He returned to the well-lit corridor with his mood slightly lower than before.

    Duke Peterlor walked for around ten minutes before he arrived at the lush garden that was nted outside the mansion.

    He sat down on a nearby bench and quietly observed the flowers as they swayed back and forth.

    Sophie had nted some of those nts before she had left for university and now, they were in full bloom.

    Colourful shades of red and purple filled the garden bed and made the world bright and vivid.

    Duke Peterlor smiled softly as he leaned back against the bench and felt a gust of wind brush against his grizzled face.

    Perhaps it was time to stop dwelling on the past.

 Chapter 561: An Important Decision To Be Made

    <h4>Chapter 561: An Important Decision To Be Made</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Hologram Suite #04)

    ¡°This proposal ispletely ridiculous! Diverting the central river will lead to the destruction of protected wildlife reserves!¡±

    ¡°And how do you want to solve our water crisis? The poption in Neuraon city keeps expanding and the water synthesis machines cannot keep up with the increased demands¡­¡±

    ¡°Look both of you are missing the point¡­ the water should be given to the industrial sector to improve our economic output!¡±

    Sophie was sitting down on a chair in the middle of what appeared to be arge open hall with massive stone pirs jutting up from the ground.

    Several elderly men and women were arguing fiercely in the room and they each brought up points that made sense.

    Sophie nced at her dad who was leaning casually against one of the pirs without saying a single word.

    This was the first day of her territory management training and her father had thrown her into the deep end within the first hour.

    They were currently in a hologram suite and running a simtion of a conflict between varying factions on the local council.

    The objective that Sophie had to aplish was to reach some kind of agreement and decide what should be done with the water from the river.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows and continued to listen as the arguing voices in the room got louder and louder.

    The simtion was shockingly realistic as it disyed the petty grudges and disputes among the council members in the hall.

    One elderly man got so worked up in a frenzy that he cocked back his fist and prepared to drive it in the face of the man standing in front of him.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Sophie coldly spoke as she raised up one hand. Her golden eyes briefly shed crimson and a terrifying pressure descended on the hall.

    There was a tense moment of silence as the voices ceased immediately. Sophie impatiently tapped her fingers against the side of her chair as she thought about what to do next.

    Her father hadn¡¯t given her any hints about how to solve this problem, so she was on her own.

    At least this was just a simtion so she could always restart and try again if things went south in the meeting.

    ¡°I would like a representative from each faction to present their case on if the central river should be diverted and where the extra water should go to,¡± Sophiemanded in a firm tone.

    There were a few hushed whispers and then finally three people stepped forward and bowed deeply towards Sophie.

    The group consisted of an old woman with long grey hair and heavy wrinkles across her face, a balding man with a sly grin and a frail elderly man whose hands trembled slightly.

    ¡°State your name and then present your case,¡± Sophie demanded sternly as she powered on her wristmunicator to jot down some notes.

    ¡°My liege¡­ my name is Aurora Carter. I have been serving as an environmental consultant for over twenty years at yourpany,¡± the old woman spoke respectfully.

    ¡°The central river feeds into severalkes in the national park which falls into the protected zone.¡±

    ¡°By diverting the river, there is a strong possibility that the park will suffer from ecological damage and thousands of unique animal species may be affected.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Sophie muttered thoughtfully as she wrote down a few notes and then gestured for the next person to present their case.

    The balding man with a sly grin on his face stepped forward and rubbed his palms. He shot a dismissive nce at the old woman and then turned to face Sophie.

    The man opened his mouth and began to heap endless praises on the hybrid girl sitting on the chair,

    ¡°Mydyship, my name is Victor Hall, and I must say that you look absolutely stunning today! Truly your power and beauty have left me in both shock and awe!¡±

    ¡°You are indeed the daughter of the youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation and with your talent and I believe that you will eventually surpass him!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°Can you get to the point please,¡± Sophie rudely cut off the balding man who had been speaking for over three minutes without saying anything useful.

    ¡°Yes of course mydy,¡± Victor immediately spoke as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin sheet of paper.

    ¡°Currently the profits from the industrial sector are around one hundred million Enas per year which is quite good, but it could be improved.¡±

    ¡°I have run some numbers with the ounting department and by diverting the river we should be able to set up at least twenty morerge scale factories.¡±

    ¡°This will directly lead to an increase in profits by roughly forty five percent.¡±

    The sly smile on Victor¡¯s face never left as he tried his best to convince the young ruler of the to follow his grand ambitions.

    Profit. Profit. Profit.

    As the head of the financial sector, Victor¡¯s responsibility was to grow the local economy of the as much as he could.

    ¡°Thank you for your time,¡± Sophie finally spoke as she looked at thest person who had yet to speak.

    The frail elderly man stepped forward and had to use a cane to steady his body. His hands trembled uncontrobly, and he seemed as though he was on the verge of copse.

    ¡°My name is Noah Pearce¡­ I have been a member of the Neuraon city governing body for over fifty years now¡­¡± the elderly man whispered softly.

    ¡°Lady Peterlor, the poption of our capitol city continues to expand at a rate that is much higher than what we initially predicted.¡±

    ¡°The river water must be diverted in order to meet the needs of the residents in ourmunities or else there will be enormous socio-economic repercussions.¡±

    ¡°Thousands of people in the lower ss will not have ess to safe drinking water and we may see some form of uprising or protest.¡±

    Sophie nodded thoughtfully and typed out the key points of Noah¡¯s speech.

    She gently massaged her temples and was about to read over her notes when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

    ¡°Mydy, please do not listen to that old fool¡¯s nonsense! If the poption rebels, then all we have to do is send in the security forces and any uprising will be quelled!¡± Victor loudly spoke.

    ¡°The water synthesis machines can produce more than enough drinking water¡­ do not listen to that rmist!¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! The data clearly shows that the poption needs more water!¡± Noah yelled angrily as he lost his temper.

    ¡°The river should not be diverted in the first ce! The wildlife reserve has been protected for decades!¡± Aurora chimed in with a heavy scowl on her face.

    The loud arguing resumed once more, and Sophie could not help but feel as though she had a massive headacheing on.

    Was dealing with territory matters always so difficult?

    Sophie looked at her father who continued to quietly stand in the background as if he was a mere bystander.

    The hybrid girl let out a light sigh and then raised up her palm. The room instantly quieted as everyone waited to see what decision the young noblewoman had made.

 Chapter 562: Sophieâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 562: Sophie¡¯s Decision</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Hologram Suite #04)

    Sophie sat down on the chair and mused thoughtfully over the information that she had just been given.

    There were three very good points presented by the advisors.

    By diverting the river, it was true that the national park could be affected by the loss of water.

    And of course, the unprecedented explosion in poption growth meant that Neuraon City had greater need for water.

    Finally, there were the economic considerations of the industrial sector that required more water in order to expand the number ofrge-scale factories.

    These factories could serve as a stimnt for the local economy and provide more job opportunities for the lower ss.

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she checked Sui Meng¡¯s memories for any ideas or solutions to her dilemma.

    Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t find anything useful because Sui Meng did not take any economic sses and only knew some basic theories.

    The hybrid girl remained silent for around five minutes and the tension inside the hall slowly grew with every passing second.

    This simtion was shockingly realistic and the people inside the hall appeared to be real. They exchanged nervous nces as they waited for Sophie toe to a decision.

    Sophie was a soft-hearted person and did not want the citizens of her territory tock their basic needs such as food, water, and shelter.

    The head of the financial sector mentioned using violence to quell any uprisings, but Sophie did not want to resort to such a measure unless it was ast resort.

    Finally, after some time had passed, Sophie cleared her throat and stood up from her chair. The over seven feet tall hybrid girl towered over the advisors in the room.

    ¡°I have given careful consideration to each of your points, and I have made a decision,¡± Sophie confidently spoke as her golden eyes swept over the faces of everyone in the hall.

    ¡°The river will only be partially diverted in order to maintain the protected wildlife reserve further down the stream.¡±

    ¡°As for the excess water¡­ it will be fed into a reservoir near Neuraon City and used for the needs of the poption.¡±

    ¡°What?! Mydy please reconsider!¡± a voice interrupted Sophie¡¯s speech.

    The hybrid girl frowned in displeasure but allowed Victor to walk forward and speak his objection to her decision.

    ¡°ording to my estimations, the twentyrge-scale factories will be able to increase our profits dramatically!¡± Victor pleaded desperately.

    ¡°I know¡­¡± Sophie nodded her head and coldly replied.

    ¡°I agree with your point that it is possible to expand our industrial sector however now is not the time to be hasty.¡±

    Cultivators worked in decades and centuries rather than years so Sophie decided to introduce a certain policy in order to reduce the water demand.

    ¡°Noah¡­ can I see the data on the poption in Neuraon City?¡± Sophie suddenly asked as she stretched out her hand.

    The frail elderly man stepped forward and reached into his pocket to pull out a thin sheet of paper with trembling hands.

    Sophie gently took the sheet of paper from him and browsed the data quickly to confirm her assumption.

    She handed the paper back to the old man and then informed the advisors in the hall about her new policy.

    ¡°The poption growth at the current rate is not sustainable. The fact that we have to divert a river to meet the demand speaks to a bigger issue,¡± Sophie calmly spoke.

    ¡°We need the growth to slow down until eventually the reservoir of water is not longer needed.

    ¡°After we have reached that point then the water will be channeled to the industrial sector for the construction of new factories.¡±

    Victor still looked unhappy as did Aurora who was clearly not pleased that part of the river would be split.

    Noah on the other hand looked slightly confused as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick pair of spectacles.

    ¡°Mydy¡­ how do you suggest that we slow down the growth?¡± Noah asked softly as he stared at the tall hybrid girl.

    ¡°Introduce new tax legition and increase the taxes of those who have more than two children,¡± Sophie replied smoothly as she exined her logic.

    ¡°The recement birth rate for a poption is around two point one but currently the birth rate in the city is around two point eight.¡±

    ¡°In addition to the tax, we will have to reduce the number of immigrants in the next couple of decades so that the poption will not increase.¡±

    ¡°Lady Peterlor, this increase in taxes will be greatly unpopr. I fear that there will be some who would be unable to ept it,¡± Noah hesitantly exined.

    ¡°Regardless of the pushback, I expect these new policies to be put in ce as soon as possible,¡± Sophie harshly spoke as she looked down at the trembling old man.

    Noah opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly frozen in ce. It was not just him, every other advisor in the hall remained motionless and then the scenery disappeared.

    Sophie found herself standing in a white room with metallic lines running above the floor and on the ceiling.

    ¡°So how do you feel?¡± Duke Peterlor asked as he approached his daughter from the corner of the hologram suite.

    ¡°Nervous¡­ did¡­ did I make the right decision?¡± Sophie replied with a cautious smile.

    Duke Peterlor did not answer her question and instead handed over a small orb-shaped device to Sophie.

    ¡°Inside this orb is a high spec simtionputer, I have already input the details about your and the decision that you made,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke

    ¡°This device will predict the impact of your decision on the local economy, wildlife, and poption.¡±

    Sophie chewed her lip as the orb-shaped device in her palm suddenly felt a lot heavier than before.

    ¡°You can take a break now ande back here in the afternoon. Feel free to look at the simtion device before we return,¡± Duke Peterlor warmly spoke.

    Sophie nodded and then left the room. The duke waited until his daughter had gone and then powered on hismunicator.

    He typed out a series of notes about Sophie¡¯s performance and the proud smile on his lips never left his face.

    His daughter had done much better than he had initially expected.

 Chapter 563: Puppets And Their Master

    <h4>Chapter 563: Puppets And Their Master</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Meri¡¯an)

    (Secret Location- Private Estate Of The Crown Prince)

    An opulent mansion had been built on top of a vast mountain range with peaks that extended outwards thousands of feet in the air.

    This entire was located in the center of the Alpha Star System and was not far from an interster warp gate that led to various sectors of the gxy.

    Inside the mansion was arge open spaced hall where a long wooden table had been ced in the center of the room.

    The table was covered in delicious meals that were cooked by five-star chefs from across the Earth Federation.

    Mouth-watering roasted meat, fresh and crisp sds, delectable appetizers, and hearty soups with bits of vegetables floating around.

    It was truly a feast fit for royalty.

    Light ssical music gently echoed through the open hall as a band was ying in the corner of the room.

    There were over two dozen princes and princesses in the hall and the atmosphere was quite rxed and pleasant.

    No one sat down to eat yet because the host of this event had not arrived. It would be considered impolite to start the feast without the crown prince.

    Plus, all of the royal offsprings in the hall were cultivators so it was not a big deal to supress their hunger and natural urges.

    Elsewhere in the mansion, Prince Theseus looked at the security feed disyed on the monitor in front of him.

    An elegant smile shed across his lips as he saw more guests arrive and be led inside the hall.

    This was the perfect opportunity to gain more influence and power.

    Then his master would¡­.

    Master? What master?

    The crown prince furrowed his brows as a faint voice began to whisper in his mind once more.

    He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red crystal before crushing it in his palm. The crystal melted away into a liquid form which was then absorbed into his skin.

    Prince Theseus let out a heavy sigh as the annoying voice in his head disappeared and he felt a sense of rity and peace.

    There was no need to question.

    All he had to do was obey¡­

    As more guests arrived, Prince Theseus powered on his wristmunicator and checked the list of invitations that he had sent out.

    Obviously not everyone that he had invited had shown up and in fact some were even bold enough to decline his offer.

    Prince Theseus felt an unusual amount of rage as he nced at the messages that politely stated that they would not be attending.

    How dare they¡­. HOW DARE THEY!

    Sparks of madness briefly surfaced in the crown prince¡¯s eyes as his psyche had long been fractured after months of being influenced by the crystals.

    The crown prince gradually got his mood under control and left the monitoring room.

    He barely spared a nce at the nervous servants as he walked towards the banquet hall.

    His steps were slow, steady, and methodical. He disyed an aura of confidence and charm that one would expect from the frontrunner to be the next emperor.

    It was shame that he was nothing more than a puppet.

    Prince Theseus eventually arrived at therge white doors that led to the hall and gestured for a nearby servant to open it.

    The servant was an elderly man wearing a sharp ck tuxedo that was perfectly fitted for his slender physique.

    He quickly walked over to the white door and grabbed its golden handles with both hands. With a fierce push, the door opened to reveal the interior of the hall.

    ¡°Now announcing the arrival of Crown Prince Theseus! Long live his name!¡± the servant shouted loudly before retreating back to the shadows.

    Prince Theseus warmly smiled as he entered the hall and began to mingle with his fellow members of the royal family.

    ¡°Princess Rosie, it has truly been a long time¡­ how is your mother doing? Lady Cox is truly a mechanical genius¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahh¡­ I understand your concerns. Do not worry¡­ House Webb has little influence in the Hydra Star System. Let me contact some people to help you out.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions on your marriage! Duke Ryan is truly a lucky man to have gotten a handsomed like yourself.¡±

    The gentle smile never left Prince Theseus¡¯ face as he walked from person to person and talked briefly to them.

    He had a great deal of knowledge about their private and public life.

    On one hand it made the younger members of the royal family feel important that the crown prince himself was taking an interest in their affairs.

    The older princes and princesses on the other hand recognised the crown prince¡¯s true intentions.

    He was delivering an unspoken warning.

    The information that he was casually revealing proved that the crown prince had an informationwork that should be feared.

    Princess Anissa sipped on a ss of wine and stared at Prince Theseus who was currently chatting away with a prince from a backwater colony.

    The invitation list for this banquet made no logical sense. It included individuals of great political standing and those with little power or influence.

    The princess just could not understand what the crown prince¡¯s goal was. The band continued to y in the background as the sun gradually set towards the horizon.

    The roof of the hall was a transparent ss dome so one could see thousands of stars winking and blinking in the night sky.

    It was a beautiful sight.

    Prince Theseus cleared his throat and sat down on the chair at the front of the long table in the middle of the hall.

    This was the unspoken signal that indicated that the feast was about to begin. The crown prince reached for a ss and held it up in the air.

    ¡°My fellow brothers and sisters. The uing fight for session is a tremendous opportunity to reshuffle the bnce of power in the Federation,¡± Prince Theseus calmly spoke.

    ¡°I swear to you today that those who flock to my banner will receive untold wealth, influence and power.¡±

    ¡°I will always remember my friends and I hope that some of you will consider bing mine¡­¡±

    The crown prince finished his brief speech and scattered apuse filled the hall. It was not particrly loud and there was a feeling of hesitancy.

    Some of the royal children were more enthusiastic than others about the offer of riches and power but if the crown prince was offended then he did not show it.

    He simply reached for the nearest fork and began to elegantly cut off slices of meat from the roasted animal in front of him.

    The rest of the night passed rtively quietly as the crown prince did not talk about political matters but rather made small talk.

    In fact, if it were not for the location, one would even assume that this was a normal gathering among the princes and princesses who loved to eat and have a good time.

    Prince Theseus was polite and respectful throughout the night and had made a positive impression in the minds of his siblings.

    Eventually the banquet hall finally emptied as thest princess was escorted by a servant to the teleportation room where she would be sent back to her starship.

    Prince Theseus gestured at the band members for them to leave, and the music finally stopped.

    He walked over to the corner of the hall and leaned against the wall with a cold, inhuman expression on his face.

    He felt a light tap on his shoulder and knew without even looking who it belonged to. His puppet master had finally arrived¡­

 Chapter 564: The New Targets

    <h4>Chapter 564: The New Targets</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Meri¡¯an)

    (Secret Location- Private Estate Of The Crown Prince)

    An obedient smile spread across the crown prince¡¯s face as he felt the warm hand on his shoulder and the fingers that lightly brushed against his shirt.

    His puppet master had finally arrived, and it was time to greet him.

    Prince Theseus turned around and knelt down on the floor without hesitation until his eyes were level with the strange man¡¯s knees.

    ¡°Get up my dear brother,¡± a soft melodic voice echoed through the hall.

    Prince Theseus rose up from the ground and looked at the man standing before him.

    He bore an eerily striking resemnce to thete emperor and possessed a charm and beauty that seemed almost unnatural.

    His beauty was a walking contradiction with both feminine and masculine charm that was hard to ignore.

    A ck cloak that was adorned with golden threads was draped casually over his right shoulder and an easy-going smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°You have worked hard my dear brother,¡± the man whispered lovingly as he stretched out his hand and gently stroked Prince Theseus¡¯ cheek.

    The crown prince closed his eyes and enjoyed his reward.

    It was a peculiar sight and it seemed unthinkable that the frontrunner to be the next emperor would behave this way.

    The mysterious man¡¯s eyes were filled with love as he touched his brother¡¯s cheek. It was neither familial nor romantic love but rather¡­

    It was the way that one would look at an obedient dog.

    ¡°The date of the session ceremony ising soon, and the master is grateful for all the hard work that you have done,¡± the man softly whispered.

    Prince Theseus basked in his praise as he felt a surge of pleasure and happiness flow through his body.

    It felt good to be praised. It felt good to obey orders.

    He no longer needed to think. He no longer needed to care. All his worries and stress seemed to just fade away to nothingness.

    The crown prince reached into his pocket and pulled out a red crystal that was around the size of his fingernail.

    Under the watchful eye of the mysterious man, the crown prince crushed the crystal in his palm and the reddish liquid was then absorbed into his skin.

    The crown prince¡¯s eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning back to normal as if nothing had just urred.

    A pleased expression shed across the mysterious man¡¯s face as he watched his loyal dog put a cor around his own neck.

    ¡°But your work is not done¡­¡± the man¡¯s melodic voice sent a chill down Prince Theseus¡¯ spine as he felt another surge of pleasure.

    ¡°Here are your new targets. They will all be valuable chess pieces in the palm of my master, so it is very important that you seed.¡±

    ¡°His ns require them, and you will be handsomely rewarded for your efforts¡­¡±

    The mysterious man took out a small metalloid device with a t monitor in the center. He handed it over to the crown prince and the screen flickered to life.

    A list of names and pictures were disyed on the screen and the crown prince quickly took a nce at some of the faces.

    Princess Gamora¡­ Prince Lucas¡­ Prince Alexander¡­

    ¡°There should not be any problems,¡± the crown prince hesitantly spoke before one name in particr caught his attention.

    Princess Cleo.

    He vaguely remembered inviting her to today¡¯s banquet, but his memory seemed to be getting worse over thest few months.

    The crown prince tapped her name on the list and additional information was pulled up.

    This princess was not particrly well known since she was young and had no significant aplishments.

    It said that she had talents in mech controlling and attended Zrudread University.

    That was a bit surprising since all the other members of the royal family around her age were currently enrolled in As University.

    The only noteworthy thing about the young princess was the fact that she was currently dating the daughter of Duke Peterlor.

    Wait¡­

    The crown prince furrowed his brows as a sudden memory briefly surfaced in his mind. He powered on his wristmunicator and opened his inbox.

    ¡°Princess Cleo¡­ politely declined my offer toe to the banquet¡­¡± Prince Theseus stuttered slightly as he spoke.

    He was afraid to disappoint the mysterious man standing in front of him, but the crystalpelled him to be honest and tell the entire truth.

    ¡°Duke Peterlor is determined to maintain a neutral stance and I believe that he must have warned princess Cleo about attending the banquet,¡± Prince Theseus stated inly.

    A frown appeared on the mysterious man¡¯s face as he listened to the new information. It would be too great a risk to approach Cleo if she stayed at the Peterlor estate.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s senses were far stronger than those of a typical god stage cultivator so using his teleportation technique was not an option.

    Well¡­ she couldn¡¯t stay there forever¡­

    The man rubbed his fingers together as he stared off into the distance.

    Yes¡­ all he had to do was nt spies around the notable locations across Gaia.

    As soon as the princess stepped out of the mansion¡­ he would appear. Then it would be a simple matter to inflect her with the Kry¡¯en crystals.

    ¡°You can ignore that name for now. Focus your attention on the easier targets and inform me if anything goes wrong,¡± the mysterious manmanded in a firm tone.

    Prince Theseus ced his right hand on his chest and nodded respectfully as the air began to shimmer behind the man standing in front of him.

    The handsome man stepped into the shimmering air and then disappeared into the veil. There was a brief moment of silence as the crown prince stood silently in ce.

    He remained frozen for what seemed like hours before turning as attention back to the small metalloid device in his palm.

    Princes Theseus ced the device in his storage bag and walked out of the hall with slow steadfast steps.

    Night had fallen and most of the servants in the mansion were fast asleep. The crown prince absentmindedly touched the side of his cheek where the beautiful man had touched him.

    He wanted to feel that touch again.

    There was a small voice inside his head that kept screaming that something terrible was happening, but that voice grew smaller by the day.

    Why would he listen to that irritating voice when one simple word of praise from his puppet master brought him such ecstasy?

    And soon¡­

    Princess Cleo would be just like him¡­

 Chapter 565: A New Look

    <h4>Chapter 565: A New Look</h4>

    (Alcorae Star System- Inner Regions)

    Zyanora- Branch of The Nephilim Church)

    ¡°Alright¡­ so I packed my swimsuit, evening dresses, extra shoes¡­¡± Rachel muttered quietly to herself as she stared at the items on the bed.

    She may have overpacked just a tad bit¡­

    The saintess nned on staying with Sophie and Cleo for about a month but had enough clothes on the bed tost for at least a year.

    Fortunately, everything could be stored in her spatial bag so there was no need to worry about taking up extra room.

    Rachel hummed softly to herself as she walked over to arge mirror in the corner of her room and stood in front of it.

    Maybe it was time to change her avatar.

    The Quafes girl powered on her wristmunicator and quickly pulled up an image of what she had in mind.

    Rachel stared into the mirror and her body briefly turned into a golden liquid. It only took a few seconds for apletely different girl to appear.

    A beautiful dark-skinned woman with long flowing curly hair smiled happily at her reflection in the mirror.

    Her eyes were a pretty light blue colour, her lips were full and kissable, and her facial features were sharp and angr.

    Mysterious tattoos with strange symbols could be seen on her exposed hands and a few small scars could be observed on her legs.

    Rachel furrowed her brows and modified her physique to make herself a bit leaner and added some extra muscles on her arms just for fun.

    Perfect.

    Some Quafes usually stuck with one appearance or gender for most of their lives, but Rachel loved to experiment with various forms.

    A light tapping noise came from outside the room and soon the door swung open, and someone rudely strode in.

    ¡°Rachel¡­ the archbishop has requested your¡­ who the hell are you?¡± Saintess Nadia asked with a scowl on her face.

    The saintess wore a in brown robe with a silver metallic cross that was hung around her neck.

    Her long flowing white hair swayed from side to side as she looked around the room for Rachel but had no luck locating the missing saintess.

    ¡°It¡¯s me¡­¡± Rachel casually said as she walked over to saintess Nadia and pushed her body out of her bedroom.

    She could have sworn that she locked the door earlier¡­

    ¡°Why do you constantly¡­ sigh¡­ you know what¡­ never mind,¡± Saintess Nadia shook her head as she spoke.

    ¡°Listen I don¡¯t want to be here either¡­ thest time the archbishop sent me to get you, I remember walking in on¡­¡±

    Saintess Nadia didn¡¯t finish her sentence because her cheeks had turned bright red.

    Rachel slyly winked at the upright saintess as a pleasant memory surfaced in her mind. Oh boy¡­ that day¡­ was one to remember.

    Those innocent nuns¡­

    Nadia took in a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down before continuing her speech.

    She opened her mouth andints in her heart flowed out,

    ¡°You¡­ you are a disgrace to all the saintesses¡­ I don¡¯t understand how a sinful creature like you who only knows about the carnal pleasures of the flesh managed to get chosen¡­¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you at least pretend to be a proper saintess instead of a disappointment!¡±

    ¡°Disappointment?¡± Rachelughed loudly and her chuckles echoed through the room.

    ¡°I have made a contract with one of the most powerful archangels in heaven. I would be unable to channel his power if I wasn¡¯t worthy to wield it.¡±

    ¡°Who are you to judge me?¡±

    ¡°Look just go¡­ I don¡¯t want to stay here any longer¡­¡± Saintess Nadia harshly spoke before turning around and walking away.

    Rachel stretched out her arms and yawned as the figure of the saintess gradually disappeared in the distance.

    That was actually one of her more pleasant interactions with Saintess Nadia.

    The tense atmosphere in the church over thest few weeks was beginning to reach a boiling point.

    This always happened when new converts arrived at the temple and the angel and demon factions fought over iming the new believers.

    It was all so terribly boring¡­

    Rachel had actually spent most of her time training and avoiding the conflict as much as possible.

    She had even stopped having casual hook-ups because she just wasn¡¯t in the mood.

    Hopefully when she arrived at Gaia there would be some handsome men and smoking hot babes to flirt with.

    Rachel smiled mischievously as she nced at the mirror and struck a variety of poses using her new body.

    She was hot!

    The saintess admired herself for a few minutes and then reluctantly tossed on a white cloak and attached a longsword to her hip.

    She walked out of her room and this time she made sure to lock the door properly so that she wouldn¡¯t get any more unexpected visitors.

    Rachel¡¯s room was located deep within the main temple in a rtively remote location. Bishop Walsh had pulled some strings to get her this peaceful spot.

    It did take awhile to walk to the more popted areas of the temple, but Rachel didn¡¯t mind the distance.

    She always treated it like exercise.

    The saintess smiled politely at the servants as she passed by and told them good morning.

    She said this regardless of whether they wore the white robes of the angelic faction or the ck robes of the demonic.

    Rachel whistled happily as she wandered through abyrinth of side passageways and corridors until she arrived at a in wooden door.

    This wooden door had a golden cross hung over its entrance that glowed slightly with an eerie light that was slightly unsettling.

    Rachel strode up to the door and knocked twice. She heard a rustling noiseing from the other side and a hoarse voice whispered for her to enter.

    ¡°Hi archbishop¡­ did you want to see me?¡± Rachel cheerfully spoke as she walked into the room.

    There was a inly dressed middle-aged man sitting behind a desk and shifting through endless piles of papers and reports.

    He was an average-looking man with a face that would be immediately lost when ced in a crowd.

    But one would be unable to ignore the massive amounts of holy aura that was casually leaking out from his body.

    ¡°Ahh saintess Rachel¡­ please take a seat,¡± Archbishop Lucius politely spoke as he gestured towards the empty chair in front of him.

    Rachel sat down and admired the rest of the study room. Rows upon rows of holy texts lined the walls and a crackling firece had been built in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Now I understand that you wish to take one month leave¡­ is that correct?¡± Archbishop Lucius asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes, I n to visit my friends on Gaia,¡± Rachel exined as she leaned back on the chair.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ well in ordinary circumstances you wouldn¡¯t be allowed to leave during the month when new converts enter the temple but¡­¡± Archbishop Lucius paused for dramatic effect.

    ¡°I have the authority to grant you special permission. I believe that your hard work deserves a reward¡­¡±

    Rachel smiled happily and thanked the archbishop. They chatted a bit more for the next few minutes before the saintess left the room.

    Archbishop Lucius lightly tapped the top of his desk as he stared off into the distance with an indecipherable expression on his face.

    There was a secret reason whey he wanted Rachel to leave the temple as soon as possible.

 Chapter 566: A Rough Day Of Training

    <h4>Chapter 566: A Rough Day Of Training</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Training Room #005)

    Cleo took in a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. The princess was currently sitting down in the middle of a wild open field with hundreds of robot droids floating around her location.

    Each drone was roughly the size of arge dog with multiple sma cannons attached to their metallic frames.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    The only sound that Cleo could hear in this quiet ce was the steady beating of her heart and the dull humming noiseing from the machines.

    Cleo was not someone who neglected her training and mech controllers had to constantly use their mental force in order to improve it.

    The princess focused her mind and felt the thin threads of energy circling around inside her head.

    She stretched out her right palm and dozens of these threads exited her mind and extended outwards towards the drones.

    Cleo bit her lip as each thread split multiple times until an invisible spider web of mental energy covered the entire room.

    These mental threads prated the metallic bodies of the drones and soon the hum of the machines got louder and louder.

    The princess opened her eyes and began her practice session in earnest.

    She pped her hands and thousands of targets appeared on the wall on the opposite side of the room.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The drones immediately began to fire at the targets and Cleo gritted her teeth in pain as she felt a massive headacheing on.

    Using so much of her mental energy to control hundreds of drones was quite the exhausting task but she had to push forward.

    Cleo knew that objectively she was weaker than her girlfriend.

    It was not a fact that bothered her usually, but the thought had been on her mind over thesest few days.

    What if Sophie reached a high cultivation level but she remained in the same ce?

    Cleo couldn¡¯t stand the thought of being useless in a fight and being unable to protect the one she loved.

    Of course, part of her knew that this kind of thinking was ridiculous, but Cleo couldn¡¯t help how she felt.

    Blood slowly dripped down from the corners of Cleo¡¯s eyes as she continued tomand the drones to fire for an additional six minutes.

    Eventually she was forced to withdraw her control and the drones hovered silently in ce as the sound of sma shots firing disappeared.

    Cleo reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and a healing serum. She injected the serum into her upper arm and winced in pain.

    The princess raised the handkerchief to her eyes and wiped them slowly to get rid of the blood.

    Fortunately, she managed to clean herself up without leaving a trace.

    Thest thing that she wanted was for Sophie to find out that she was pushing herself too hard during training.

    Cleo stretched out her arms and let out a heavy sigh before walking towards the targets to see the results.

    The princess approached the wall at the back of the training room and observed the state of the multiple targets pinned against the wall.

    ¡°Okay¡­ not bad¡­ definitely some room for improvement¡­¡± Cleo muttered quietly as she stared at the results.

    Most of the shots hadnded near if not directly at the targets and some had even hit them right in the center.

    But there were a few sections where not a single shot hadnded near the target and a bitter sense of disappointment filled Cleo¡¯s heart.

    She needed to work harder.

    Cleo powered on her wristmunicator and took a quick picture of the target wall. She ced the picture in a folder and named it ¡®Day 3 Results¡¯.

    The princess walked out of the training room and found herself in the middle of a long winding corridor.

    Cleo checked hermunicator and saw a few missed messages from her girlfriend, so she immediately opened her inbox.

    Sophie: [Hey babe! Lessons with my dad finished early today so I¡¯m out in the garden]

    Sophie: [Do you want to spend an afternoon together?]

    Cleo: [Sure honey¡­ just send me your location]

    The princess had to ask because there were multiple greenhouseplexes and gardens scattered across the underground city.

    The vibrant flora helped to make the underground city feel alive and more pleasant to live in.

    Plus, the duke knew how much his daughter loved nts, so he was quite happy to build multiple spaces for them to thrive.

    Buzz!

    Cleo checked hermunicator and saw the spot where Sophie was currently located. It was only around a five-minute walk away which wasn¡¯t too bad.

    The princess hummed softly as she wandered through the enormous mansion and finally arrived at the exit.

    From there it only took an additional three minutes to walk around to the back of the mansion and reach the flower garden.

    A gentle smile shed across Cleo¡¯s lips as she saw a gorgeous seven feet tall hybrid girl sitting downzily on a bench.

    She was surrounded by a field of colourful flowers that only served to enhance her otherworldly beauty and charm.

    The sweet scent of nectar lingered in the air, and one could hear a faint buzzing noiseing from the tiny insects that hopped from flower to flower.

    ¡°Hey babe!¡± Sophie cheerfully spoke as she raised up her hand and waved. Cleo walked over and sat down on the bench next to her.

    The princess gently rested her head against Sophie¡¯s lower arm and enjoyed the warm, soft feeling of her girlfriend¡¯s body.

    ¡°How was the leadership training with your dad?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she snuggled closer.

    Sophie wrapped her arm around her girlfriend as she furrowed her brows. The training session today had been quite the tough one.

    Duke Peterlor had increased the difficulty of the simtion and the one today in particr seemed to be designed to be unsolvable.

    ¡°So today he put me in a situation where I had to rule a with various tribes that all hated each other,¡± Sophie softlyined.

    ¡°No matter what decision I made¡­ at least half of the tribes would be unhappy which led to a rebellion.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes their objections didn¡¯t even make sense! Like for example there was drought, so I suggested cing a dam on thergest river to build a reservoir¡­¡±

    ¡°And then several of the tribes began to curse at me because apparently the river was sacred and the reincarnation of their goddess.¡±

    ¡°They were willing to die in order to protect the river! And of course, other tribes believed in different Gods so that was a whole mess¡­¡±

 Chapter 567: The Hunterâ€™s Instincts

    <h4>Chapter 567: The Hunter¡¯s Instincts</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Outside Flower Garden)

    Sophie leaned against the top of the wooden bench and gently yed with Cleo¡¯s wavy hair as she enjoyed the view.

    She was currently surrounded by an entire garden of brightly coloured flowers that swayed from side to side.

    The sweet scent of honey and nectar filled the air, and one could see tiny insects hopping from flower to flower.

    ¡°So, when is Racheling to visit?¡± Cleo asked quietly as she pressed a light kiss against Sophie¡¯s lower arm.

    ¡°Hopefully in two week¡¯s time. I think she ns to stay for a month before heading back to the church,¡± Sophie replied casually as she hummed a soft tune.

    ¡°I¡¯m still impressed that you managed to befriend a saintess from the Nephilim Church. They tend to be rather¡­ stand- offish¡­¡± Cleo hesitantly whispered.

    ¡°Still¡­ I have to thank her in person for getting the church to help rescue you¡­¡±

    The princess was someone who repaid favours and she owed Rachel a great deal for helping her girlfriend to return home safely.

    Of course, she had already thanked Rachel numerous times over the virtual Net but meeting her in person was a different story.

    Maybe she should get her a gift¡­

    Cleo furrowed her brows as she powered on her wristmunicator and checked her funds.

    She had a decent amount saved up and would regrly receive some money from the Imperial fund but honestly it wasn¡¯t that much.

    There were far too many princes and princesses sired by thete emperor.

    There simply wasn¡¯t enough money to go around!

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I remember¡­ sneaking in past the Imperial Army¡¯s blockade¡­ that was honestly quite the experience,¡± Sophie muttered as a few memories resurfaced in her mind.

    Her months spent in the Unovan Syndicate and her subsequent journey back home seemed almost like a lifetime ago.

    She had worked through most of her traumas with Doctor Reynolds, but psychology problems weren¡¯t something that one could just ¡®solve¡¯ and be done with.

    Even now Sophie felt a bit reluctant to discuss the dangerous life and death situations that she had found herself in.

    It was honestly a miracle that she had managed to survive, and justice would never be delivered since thete emperor was dead.

    And none of the noble houses who lost their heirs wanted to pursue the matter with the royal family.

    ¡°But I¡¯m here now¡­¡± Sophie whispered solemnly as she tilted her head down and pressed a kiss against the top of Cleo¡¯s head.

    ¡°I know,¡± Cleo warmly replied as she gently grabbed Sophie¡¯s shirt and pulled her girlfriend in closer for a kiss on the lips.

    The princess closed her eyes as she felt the sweet taste of her lover¡¯s lips. Her tongue darted forward and cheekily pried open Sophie¡¯s mouth.

    Sophie¡¯s hands roamed downwards and cupped Cleo¡¯s plump behind before gently giving her cheeks two light squeezes.

    Eventually the hybrid girl had to break away from the kiss first because a faint pink mist was beginning to spread from the corners of her golden eyes.

    ¡°Tonight¡­ babe¡­ I¡¯m going to make you unable to walk¡­¡± Sophie growled seductively as she took in a few deep breaths.

    Cleo felt her cheeks heat up as her girlfriend stared at her with a look of both hunger and desire that made chills run down her spine.

    That unspoken promise¡­ would most likelye true.

    Sophie continued to take in deep breaths and gently exhale until her excited mood gradually calmed down.

    Maybe one day she would be able to kiss her girlfriend without fearing that she would trigger her lust state.

    Hopefully that day woulde sooner rather thanter¡­

    There was afortable moment of silence between the two girls as they rxed in the beautiful garden.

    Sophie stretched out her arm and plucked a gorgeous red flower from a nearby bush before cing it in Cleo¡¯s hair.

    The princess now looked like a forest spirit and her mischievous green eyes captivated Sophie in a way that words could not describe.

    She was a dangerous woman who had stolen her heart.

    Despite being together for over a year, Sophie never got tired of looking at her girlfriend and every day with her still felt special.

    ¡°Since our vacation got interrupted do you want to go somewhere else next month?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you¡­ I¡¯m pretty happy just to spend time training and rxing on Gaia,¡± Cleo replied after giving the matter some thought.

    ¡°Actually, speaking of training¡­ I heard that you were chosen as the first-year representative for the uing inter universitypetition.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Principal Malik mentioned something like that after the battle ranking exam ended,¡± Sophie replied with a proud smile.

    The hybrid girl straightened out her shoulders and yawned as she recalled the meeting between herself and the principal.

    Every couple of years the four great universities would hold apetition between themselves to adjust the rankings.

    There would be students from other universities in attendance as well, but they were mainly there as spectators for the four great universities to disy their prodigies and geniuses.

    The nextpetition was going to be held at the end of August right before the new batch of freshmen entered the university.

    The top students from each year would have to go to the location of thepetition andpete for the glory of their university.

    Principal Malik had high expectations for Sophie and wanted her to lead the Zrudread students to victory.

    It all sounded¡­ quite fun actually.

    Maybe it was the hunter¡¯s instincts ring up in her chest, but Sophie actually looked forward to facing strong peers from other universities.

    She was not arrogant enough to assume that she was the strongest buting in first ce in the battle ranking exam did give her confidence quite the boost.

    ¡°Well, if they allow the mech students to use mechs then it might be game over,¡± Sophie joked as she stroked Cleo¡¯s hair.

    ¡°I think they are allowing weakened mechs or at least putting some restrictions on the weapon systems that can be installed,¡± Cleo responded with a sweet smile.

    ¡°You better watch out¡­¡±

    The princess grinned and her piercing green eyes sparkled with mischief. Sophie¡¯sughter echoed through the flower garden as she grabbed her girlfriend¡¯s hand.

    These moments of peace¡­ she wished that they couldst for a lifetime.

 Chapter 568: My Beautiful Child...

    Chapter 568: My Beautiful Child¡­

    (Alpha Star System- Unnamed Ex)

    (Hidden Location- A Strange Door)

    A man coughed heavily as he opened a door and dust fell on his shoulders. He stared at the dirt with an expression of disgust on his face.

    The interior of the room waspletely devoid of light, so it was impossible to see who or rather what was lurking inside.

    ¡°Master¡­¡± the man stood by the door and whispered softly. He did not receive a response and yet a cold chill ran down his spine.

    The sounds of chains rustling could be hearding from somewhere inside the darkness along with the faint cries of young children.

    ¡°Wee back,¡± a hoarse voice gently spoke.

    The man standing in front of the dark room shivered as he felt an invisible presence wrap around his body.

    Invisible hands tore off the ck cloak that was covering his body and revealed his true features.

    The man standing in front of the door bore a striking resemnce to thete emperor and possessed a charm and beauty that seemed almost unnatural.

    His beauty was both feminine and masculine. His hands were a pale white colour and free of any calluses or scars.

    He was the exact image of a delicate prince who had never known a day of suffering in his life.

    A member of the royal family who had grown up in endless privilege and excess wealth.

    ¡°You are just as beautiful as the day I created you¡­¡± the voice whispered with a trace of pride.

    The man nodded respectfully and knelt down to the ground. He gently ced his forehead on the dirty floor and remained frozen in that humble position.

    His master¡­ was not someone who tolerated any form of rebellion no matter how slight.

    The invisible hands that were wrapped around the man¡¯s body gradually vanished and a dark chuckle echoed through the room.

    ¡°You may speak¡­¡± the voice gently whispered. The faint criesing from the darkness had now turned into screams of agony.

    One could hear the sound of something chewing in the darkness. Something that was inhuman¡­ monstrous¡­ unnatural¡­

    The screams eventually stopped but the chewing noises continued, and it almost sounded like bones were being crunched.

    The man kneeling on the ground did not even dare to raise his head since he had no desire to gaze into the abyss.

    Only once before had his master allowed light to enter his private room and what he had seen inside still gave him nightmares to this day.

    Those young children¡­ the bits and pieces of flesh¡­

    ¡°Master¡­ I have establishedmunication with the crown prince and his loyalty is being reinforced using the Kry¡¯en crystals,¡± the man finally spoke with a faint tremble in his voice.

    ¡°He was able to invite most of the targets but there were a few who rejected his invitation. In addition, there are some nobles who are beginning to doubt the prince¡¯s new attitude.¡±

    ¡°I worry that eventually someone will realise that he is being controlled¡­¡±

    ¡°Someone already has¡­¡± the voice inside the darkness spoke.

    ¡°The crown prince¡­ I would not be surprised if that old man in the royal family knows about our schemes¡­ nothing escapes his eyes¡­¡±

    ¡°But still¡­ he has no idea about my true goal¡­ he probably assumes that I wish to influence the Imperial Family¡­¡±

    The voice stopped talking and there was a brief moment of tense silence. The man kneeling on the ground fidgeted slightly as he waited for his master to continue.

    A good tool did not ask questions.

    A good tool would always obey.

    He was just as much a puppet as those who were infected by the Kry¡¯en crystals.

    He owed his master his life.

    Everything that he had¡­ everything that he was¡­.

    All belonged to his master.

    ¡°Did the crown prince manage to get a connection with House Peterlor?¡± the voice whispered softly.

    ¡°No¡­ princess Cleo seems to have been influenced by Duke Peterlor¡¯s decision to stay neutral during the fight for session and declined,¡± his subordinate immediately replied.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ a pity¡­ Cleo, was it? I think I remember her¡­ no¡­ I remember her mother¡­ a brutal woman with one single desire¡­ to get her daughter on the throne,¡± the voice muttered quietly.

    ¡°Shame she disappeared¡­ her tenacity and viciousness¡­ such qualities are to be admired in one so young¡­¡±

    The man kneeling on the ground furrowed his brows as a dark surge of jealousy rose up in his heart.

    His master had never praised anyone else before.

    What was so special about a former concubine who belonged to thete emperor?

    She was nothing but a greedy whore who spread her legs to create an offspring who could inherit the throne.

    The man took in a few deep breaths and then spoke in what he hoped was a confident tone,

    ¡°Master¡­ I promise that within two weeks I will have princess Cleo under our control and soon even the youngest god stage cultivator will be under our influence.¡±

    ¡°Your name will resound throughout the universe. Allow me to be the de that you will wield in order to tear the Federation apart from the inside¡­ I¡­ I¡­

    The man¡¯s voice cut off abruptly as a thick fleshy tendril of meat wrapped around his ankle and pulled him inside the dark room.

    He opened his mouth to scream but another tendril entered his mouth and slowly wriggled around inside his jaw.

    The fleshy tendrils felt wet and mushy and there was a faint scent of blood that lingered in his nostrils.

    The man tried his best to escape the tight grip of the tendrils, but it was no use.

    He was dragged along the ground for what seemed like hours until his head bumped against a hard surface.

    He groaned in pain and raised up his right hand to touch the back of his head. He could feel a wet liquid which meant that his skull had cracked under the impact.

    ¡°My beautiful child¡­ your form¡­ it is too recognisable¡­¡± a hoarse voice echoed through the darkness that seemed toe from every direction all at once.

    ¡°Please¡­ let me unmake you¡­ allow me to rebuild you¡­ better than before¡­ more suited for your mission¡­ I¡­ love you¡­¡±

    A soft hissing noise filled the dark room, and the man could feel his eyelids slowly begin to close under the influence of the gas.

    No¡­ he had to stay awake¡­

    Why would his master do this? He obeyed all of his orders! No¡­ No¡­ NO!

    Thest sensation that the man felt was the cold metallic edge of a knife as it slowly dug into the flesh on the underside of his arm.

 Chapter 569: Enjoying Life To The Fullest

    Chapter 569: Enjoying Life To The Fullest

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (International Spaceport Terminal ¨C Gate 045)

    ¡°Please show me your identification card please,¡± a voice tiredly spoke from behind a counter.

    Rachel reached into her pocket and pulled out her travel documents. She handed them over to the outstretched hand and the person behind the counter hummed softly.

    ¡°Purpose of visit?¡± the man askedzily.

    ¡°Spending time with my friends and just a vacation in general,¡± Rachel replied with a small smile on her face.

    It didn¡¯t take long for her identity to be verified and with a casual wave of his hand, Rachel was able to continue on her journey.

    She nodded politely at the man before walking towards the exit at the back of the open hall.

    ¡°Next please!¡± the man behind the counter yelled and an alien with green skin walked forward to present his travel documents.

    All non- citizens of Gaia were required to go through this extra screening process.

    Rachel¡¯s flight had actuallynded around two hours ago but she had only now finished verifying her identity with the authorities at the spaceport.

    The saintess sent a quick message to Sophie and Cleo using her wristmunicator and then looked up to check the signs hanging from the ceiling.

    ¡°Okay¡­ so it says that gate three is this way¡­¡± Rachel muttered softly as she walked down a passageway.

    She nearly bumped into a young man who was running in the opposite direction carrying arge luggage bag.

    ¡°Move out of the fucking way idiot!¡± the young man cursed as he dragged a heavy suitcase around with great difficulty.

    Now an ordinary saintess would forgive the man and just ignore his harsh words but Rachel was not someone who appreciated getting cursed at.

    She stuck out her foot and tripped the man as he ran past, this led to the man falling down like a sack of bricks.

    Rachel whistled softly and then ran away before the angry man realised that it was her foot that caused him to fall.

    Soon the saintess found herself standing in the middle of a crowded area with numerous exits leading to different zones inside the spaceport.

    The international spaceport terminal on Gaia was a particrly busy port with hundreds of thousands of peopleing and going through the building.

    Rachel took in a deep breath and then modified her body so that she became a bit skinner. This was one of the many advantages of being a shape shifter.

    It was incredibly easy to walk through crowded ces.

    Rachel slowly made her way towards the exit and soon arge sign with the words ¡®Gate 3¡¯ appeared within view.

    The saintess stretched out her arms and yawned as she reverted her physique back to its original shape.

    A lean, muscr body type with some nice curves.

    Rachel walked towards the seating area and saw two girls sitting down patiently.

    ¡°Sophie! Cleo!¡± Rachel yelled excitedly as she waved her hands in the direction of the couple.

    ¡°Rachel!¡± Sophie replied happily as she ran up to her friend and gave her a big warm embrace thatsted for a few minutes.

    ¡°How was the flight?¡± Cleo asked quietly as she walked up to the saintess and ced a soft hand on Rachel¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Quite boring actually,¡± Rachel replied as she broke away from the hug and turned to give Cleo a quick squeeze.

    ¡°There weren¡¯t any exciting incidents¡­ well I mean there was a cute girl in the cabin next to mine, but she was with her family¡­¡±

    ¡°I mean I still could have tried but I didn¡¯t want things to be awkward if it didn¡¯t work out if you get what I¡¯m saying¡­¡±

    Rachel felt arge weight off her shoulders as she chatted andughed with her two friends.

    After spending weeks in the church where there was a constant sense of tension in the air, this was a rxing experience.

    ¡°So where are you going to take me?¡± Rachel asked curiously as she saw Sophie begin to head for the exit.

    ¡°I was thinking that we could grab something to eat and then head towards my house,¡± Sophie replied with a smile.

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Rachel said cheerfully.

    Sophie led the way and the three girls wandered through the spaceport until they arrived at the main street outside the port.

    Rachel noticed that a lot of eyes were constantly following them as they moved through the city and at first, she assumed that it was because of her good looks.

    However, she soon came to realise that most of the bystanders were staring at the seven feet tall hybrid girl confidently walking through a rich area of the city.

    The expressions on their faces ranged from curiosity to outright disgust. Rachel even heard a few whispers mocking Sophie¡¯s appearance.

    The saintess frowned as she felt the urge to walk up to one of those morons and hit him on the head with her fist.

    Sophie was a very beautiful girl! It didn¡¯t matter if she was a hybrid or not!

    ¡°So how do you feel about seafood?¡± Sophie¡¯s happy voice cut through Rachel¡¯s unpleasant thoughts.

    ¡°Seafood? I¡¯ve rarely tried it¡­ I think thest time that I went to a seafood restaurant was around three years ago¡­¡± Rachel confessed.

    Sophie gasped in mock disbelief and ced a hand on her chest as if she was about to faint.

    Rachel smiled at her friend¡¯s antics and Cleo rolled her eyes, but she had an indulgent smile on her face.

    The princess held her girlfriend¡¯s palm and gently yed with her fingertips.

    Her small movements did not escape Rachel¡¯s eyes and for a brief moment she felt a pang of jealousy.

    She may have had too many romantic encounters to count but in terms of an actual genuine connection¡­ well Rachel wasn¡¯t sure if she had met the right person.

    Cleo and Sophie¡¯s strong rtionship was something that she truthfully envied a little bit. Maybe one day she would settle down with one of her flings¡­

    Of course, that day would be very far off in the future since Rachel nned to enjoy life to the fullest.

 Chapter 570: A Brief History Lesson

    Chapter 570: A Brief History Lesson

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    Two days had passed since Rachel arrived on Gaia and the saintess was enjoying her vacation so far.

    Staying in an enormous mansion and getting meals prepared by five-star chefs was something that she never experienced before.

    The Nephilim Church was by no means poor, but the meals provided in the main temple were pretty basic.

    One might ask why the taste would even matter when Quafes didn¡¯t need to eat but that was beside the point!

    Ever since she was a little girl, Rachel dreamed of being able to live a life of luxury and excess.

    It may sound a bit shallow, but she knew better than anyone else the value of money.

    The people who said that money didn¡¯t bring happiness were all liars! Or they clearly had too much¡­

    Rachel also enjoyed sleeping on the warm fluffy bed that was prepared in the guest room.

    There was even a massive full-length mirror inside the room so she could make small adjustments to her avatar.

    Sophie and Cleo had done their best to help her settle in and today they were taking her out to a museum.

    Rachel smiled happily as she stood in front of an enormous white building made of marble with stone pirs jutting out from the ground.

    The National History Museum was a public attraction that was paid for by the taxes collected from the local businesses nearby the building.

    It was entirely free and open from around nine in the morning to twelve in the night.

    Of course, one could pay extra for guided tours, but Sophie thought that it would be more fun to explore the museum on their own.

    There was a steady flow of people walking in and out of the entrance.

    ¡°Shall we go inside?¡± Sophie yawned sleepily as she pointed in the direction of the open doors.

    ¡°I¡¯m so excited! I love learning about history!¡± Rachel replied cheerfully as she grabbed both girls¡¯ arms and dragged them along.

    Cleo smiled warmly and grabbed Sophie¡¯s hand to give it a quick squeeze. Her girlfriend winked at her flirtatiously when Rachel wasn¡¯t looking.

    The three girls walked into the museum and were immediately blown away by the massive hall that greeted them.

    It was called ¡®The Hall Of The Conquered¡¯.

    A fitting name for the disys that were scattered around the room.

    Numerous relics, artifacts, clothing, and other traces of civilisations were ced in front of pictures of different alien races.

    Some of the aliens were painted in light grey colours which signified that their species were extinct.

    Next to each disy was a small que with information written down on its metallic surface.

    Every picture in this room represented a race that the Earth Federation had gone to war with and won.

    To put these objects in more crude terms¡­ this was a trophy disy.

    A reminder of how powerful the alliance between Humans, Quafes, Mendolesa and Servies was.

    The atmosphere was surprisingly rxed with people walking from disy to disy looking at the objects curiously and then moving on to the next ones.

    There was no sense of reverence for the cultures that had been lost to the sands of time but perhaps that was simply due to the fact that these alien races were long gone¡­

    Or reduced to second ss citizens.

    Sophie walked up to one of the disys and saw a crudely fashioned wooden spear with a sharpened rock attached to the tip.

    It was wrapped in a g that had been painted using some form of natural nt dye and the colours were already beginning to fade away.

    The picture at the back of the disy showed an alien race dressed in simple rags and warming themselves in front of a fire.

    They were clearly quite behind on the technology tree and would have posed little threat to the Federation.

    The aliens had light blue skin and bodies that were slender and noodle-like. They possessed three yellow eyes andrge warts could be seen on their upper arms and legs.

    Their jaws were unnaturallyrge and the teeth inside their mouths were sharp and jagged.

    The que next to the disy briefly summarised the history of these aliens and what had happened to them.

    They called themselves the ¡®Freanse¡¯ and they were first discovered by a financial corporation that was looking for new mines in the outer regions of the Alcorae Star System.

    The that they inhabited eventually became a mining colony and it was decided by the financial corporation that the locals were an inconvenience that had to be eliminated.

    They hired private mercenaries and within the span of two weeks the poption was reduced from around two million to little more than a thousand.

    The remaining aliens were captured and sent to a owned by the financial corporation to work as ves.

    Justice was eventually delivered when the story broke on the Virtual Net and the executives of the corporation were given heavy fines.

    ¡°That was justice?¡± Rachel scowled heavily as she stared at the g. There was genuine anger in her tone as she stared at the words on the que.

    ¡°No¡­ it wasn¡¯t. They breached international Federationw by attacking an alien race without provocation,¡± Sophie replied solemnly as her fingers curled up into a fist.

    ¡°They should have been thrown in prison and left to rot for the rest of their lives.¡±

    ¡°I would have killed them,¡± Rachel growled angrily as she memorised the story in her head and vowed to find the name of the financial group.

    ¡°Unfortunately, justice isn¡¯t really something that is applied to the rich and powerful,¡± Cleo calmly spoke in a matter-of-fact voice.

    ¡°If you only knew what some of the princes and princesses have done¡­ and yet none of them are in prison.¡±

    Cleo was well aware of the inequalities inherent in their society, but the princess had no idea how to fix them.

    Plus, to be fair she would be hypocritical not to acknowledge that she herself was one of the people who benefited from the structure.

    Cultivation meant that a certain percentage of the poption were inherently stronger than the rest which was difficult to remedy.

    And of course, those strong people mostly consisted of nobles since they had the wealth to enjoy significantly higher cultivation resources.

 Chapter 571: A Work Of Art

    Chapter 571: A Work Of Art

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    The three girls were oddly silent as they moved from exhibit to exhibit in the hall of conquest.

    The remains of the different alien civilisations were put on disy like trophies on a collector¡¯s shelf.

    Sophie nced at a broken thermal weapon used by a race of bio-mechanical creatures and furrowed her brows.

    She was not ignorant and knew that the Federation could not have be an intergctic superpower without wiping out the civilisations that posed a threat to its existence.

    And yet¡­ as she wandered through the hall where hundreds of relics stood motionless in front of disy cases¡­

    It was hard not to feel sick to her stomach.

    Some of these alien races were aggressive towards the Earth Federation, but many others were simply destroyed because they lived on resource richs.

    The crime of having wealth but not the strength to protect it.

    The universe was a cold and heartless ce where the winner took all.

    Sophie approached a que and read the words on its metal surface. It described the race of the aliens whose tattered uniforms were pinned against the wall.

    This alien civilisation had no name and primarilymunicated via telepathy. They appeared to share one singr consciousness which they referred to as ¡®X¡¯ron¡¯.

    A hive- mind race. They were moremon that one would expect since strong individuality was not a winning survival trait.

    ¡°Should we go further inside? I really don¡¯t want to see anymore,¡± Rachel said softly as she turned away from one of the disys.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s probably for the best¡­¡± Sophie replied solemnly as she led the way to the back of the hall where a door was open.

    She stretched out her hand and captured Cleo¡¯s palm. The princess¡¯ hand was soft, and Sophie needed thefort right now.

    She hoped that whatever happened in the future¡­ she would be able to protect her girlfriend and the ones that she loved.

    Cleo squeezed her fingers gently and gave Sophie a small smile to let her lover know that she was okay.

    Growing up in the royal family meant that Cleo was exposed to more of the darkness of the Federation that the average citizen or even noble.

    Sophie walked through the door and found herself standing at the entrance of a long corridor with multiple doors leading to different locations.

    There was a floating holographic disy of a map in the middle of the corridor with exnations of where each door led.

    ¡°Do you want to check out the art gallery first?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she stepped forward and peered closer at the map.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind¡­ I¡¯ve actually never been to one before,¡± Rachel responded casually as she reached into her pocket to pull out a small mirror.

    She held up her finger to let the girls know that she needed a minute and then raised up the mirror until it was level with her face.

    Rachel frowned slightly and then adjusted her eyebrows to make them a bit thinner.

    She wanted to shorten her curly hair as well but decided against it for the time being.

    ¡°I can¡¯t get over how crazy it is that you can just change your looks, height, appearance at will,¡± Cleomented with awe in her tone.

    ¡°Thank you! Is my avatar cute?¡± Rachel coyly replied as she fluttered her eyelids and struck a pose.

    ¡°Very cute,¡± Sophie chimed in casually and then stiffened as she felt Cleo pinch her sides.

    The princess grinned at her girlfriend who smiled sheepishly and then whispered something naughty in her ears.

    ¡°Of course, you are the cutest,¡± Sophie hoarsely growled as she lowered one of her hands and brushed it against Cleo¡¯s hip.

    While the couple flirted, Rachel walked towards the door on the left that led to the art gallery, she opened the door and entered a in ss elevator.

    ¡°Come on you two! We don¡¯t have all day!¡± Rachel yelled in mock anger as she saw Sophie tilt her head down and capture Cleo¡¯s lips.

    Sophie broke off the kiss and then blushed as she saw her friend rolling her eyes. For a brief moment she had forgotten that this wasn¡¯t a private date.

    But who could me her?!

    She had basically been by Cleo¡¯s side every day for the past month so randomly kissing her girlfriend was something that she was used to.

    ¡°Coming!¡± Cleo said cheerfully as she dragged Sophie over to the elevator and then pushed the button.

    The ss doors mmed shut and then the elevator slowly descended downwards to the fourteenth floor.

    Sophie hummed a soft tune under her breath since there was no music in the elevator and she didn¡¯t want an awkward silence.

    The tune that she hummed along was based on a song in Sui Meng¡¯s memories called ¡®Baa baa ck sheep¡¯.

    It was a nursey rhyme that her mom used to sing to her when she was having trouble falling asleep.

    ¡°What¡¯s the name of that song?¡± Rachel asked curiously as she tilted her head and stared at Sophie.

    ¡°Oh¡­ err¡­ it doesn¡¯t have a name¡­ I¡¯m still writing it,¡± Sophie stuttered slightly and then replied since she didn¡¯t expect the sudden question.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you wrote songs!¡± Rachel replied in shock as she gave Sophie a look of admiration.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ just in my spare time,¡± Sophie nonchntly replied. Her casual attitude was able to fool Rachel, but Cleo had a confused expression on her face.

    Fortunately, the elevator had reached its destination and a loud ding echoed through the crowded space.

    A soft feminine voice came from the speaker and wee the three girls to the art gallery in the museum.

    Rachel bravely stepped out of the elevator first and gasped in amazement as she saw arge room that was entirely white.

    From the walls to the floor to even ceiling. Everything was bright white colour that slightly hurt her eyes since the lighting was a bit strong.

    This strange ce made the paintings that hung on the wall stand out amidst the sea of whiteness.

    ¡°Who designed this awful room,¡± Sophie muttered quietly as her golden eyes narrowed. She yawned sleepily as she stretched out her arms.

    ¡°Come on¡­ it might be good to experience some culture,¡± Cleo sweetly whispered as she walked over the closet painting.

    Rachel and Sophie followed behind her and soon all three girls had different expressions on their faces.

    The painting that was on disy¡­ well¡­ if you could call it a painting was a single red dot in the middle of a nk canvas.

    ¡°Wait¡­ what?¡± Sophie eximed in confusion as she tried to see if there was something on the canvas that she had missed.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ it¡¯s definitely¡­ something¡­¡± Rachel nodded and pretended to understand.

    ¡°This is an original painting done by Senor Valseuq! I had no idea that his works were avable to be seen by the general public!¡± Cleo could barely contain the excitement in her voice.

    ¡°He is an artistic genius!¡±

    Sophie listened to her girlfriend exin why Senor Valseuq was one of the greatest painters in the modern era but the confused look on her face didn¡¯t go away.

    Was there something that she was missing?!

    The painter just poked a canvas with the tip of his brush!

 Chapter 572: Sophie Is Not A Noble Of Culture And Refined Taste

    <h4>Chapter 572: Sophie Is Not A Noble Of Culture And Refined Taste</h4>

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    ¡°Senor Valseuq is perhaps one of the most talented painters in modern times!¡± Cleo eximed with admiration in her voice.

    ¡°His out of the box thinking and ability to disyplex ideas using only simple brushwork is pure genius!¡±

    ¡°Usually, his paintings can only be seen at high end auctions or in private collections, so I¡¯m really surprised that one is in a public museum.¡±

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she stared at the painting in front of her. No matter how hard she looked, she only saw a single red dot in the middle of a nk canvas.

    Complex idea?

    What in god¡¯s name wasplex about a dot?

    The hybrid girl channeled qi to her golden eyes to enhance her vision to see if there was something that she missed.

    Nope.

    The painting really was just a single red dot.

    ¡°Look babe¡­ that¡¯s just a spot of red¡­ I mean¡­ anyone can paint that¡­¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke as she turned to face Cleo.

    ¡°A spot of red?!¡± Cleo gasped in shock and clutched her chest in disbelief.

    ¡°This painting is a work of art unlike anything that the world has ever seen!¡±

    ¡°Senor Valseuq went to art school for twenty years in order to gain the technical skills to paint such an impressive piece of work.¡±

    ¡°To insult him is to insult all artists!¡±

    The princess covered her mouth so that her girlfriend would not see the mischievous grin on her face.

    ¡°My bad¡­ my bad¡­¡± Sophie raised up her hands in mock surrender and smiled helplessly.

    She was about to apologise some more when she realised that there was a certain twinkle in Cleo¡¯s eyes that she recognised immediately.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sophie giggled softly as she stepped forward and removed Cleo¡¯s hands from her face and saw the wide grin beneath her palms.

    ¡°Sorry you should have seen the look on your face,¡± Cleo teased cheekily as she stood on her tip toes and pressed a light kiss against Sophie¡¯s bottom jaw.

    ¡°So, is that painting really impressive or not?¡± Rachel asked in confusion.

    Cleo shrugged her shoulders and replied nonchntly,

    ¡°I mean¡­ it looks a bit stupid¡­ but I have seen simr paintings to it in around the pce so who knows¡­¡±

    Sophie stroked the side of her girlfriend¡¯s cheek before lightly pinching her soft flesh as payback for her little prank.

    The three girls wandered from painting to painting in this strange room where everything waspletely white except for the canvases on the walls.

    Some of the paintings were just singr dots while others were merely sshes of colour on a canvas seemingly at random.

    Sophie knew that she wasn¡¯t exactly the most cultured noble, but she just could not understand the appeal of such strange works.

    For example, the painting in front of her just had the word ¡®Wealth¡¯ written on the canvas in what looked like ordinary ink.

    And yet a crowd had gathered around the painting and were chatting amongst themselves in hushed tones.

    ¡°Brilliant a true work of art!¡±

    ¡°I wonder what the hidden message of this painting is¡­¡±

    ¡°Magnificent! Truly something that the world has never seen before!¡¯

    Sophie could not help but wonder if they were staring at the same painting as her. Unlike Cleo the crowd in front of the painting were entirely serious.

    ¡°Should we move on to another room?¡± Rachel asked with a yawn as she looked at the paintings with a bored look on her face.

    The saintess was feeling quite underwhelmed by the quality of the art in the room and was eager to continue the tour to another ce.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind¡­ how about you babe?¡± Sophie asked gently.

    ¡°Yeah, this ce is a bit too pretentious for my tastes,¡± Cleo replied with a soft click of her tongue.

    They made their way back to the ss elevator and not before long they were once again standing in the long corridor.

    Cleo walked over to the floating holographic map and hummed lightly as she checked out the different exhibits that one could visit.

    Meanwhile Sophie and Rachel made small talk as they rxed on one of the benches that were ced along the side of the corridor.

    ¡°So how is life in the church?¡± Sophie asked curiously as her eyes drifted to the holy long sword attached to Rachel¡¯s hip.

    ¡°Honestly¡­ kind of sh*tty at the moment. We had new converts enter the church so there is some tension between the two factions,¡± Rachel exined as she yed with her fingers.

    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t help that the other saints hate me¡­ I swear it¡¯s actually getting quite irritating how they lecture me whenever we meet.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why do they hate you?¡± Sophie asked with confusion evident on her face.

    Rachel was such a cheerful and sweet girl that she couldn¡¯t imagine anyone disliking her personality.

    ¡°They say that I¡¯m ¡®too sinful¡¯ just because I asionally have romantic flings,¡± Rachel rolled her eyes and exined.

    ¡°Wait¡­ but I thought that saints of the Nephilim Church could marry¡­¡± Sophie furrowed her brows and spoke.

    ¡°Yeah, we can¡­ but having a series of one-night stands is seen as immoral by those stuck-up assholes,¡± Rachel sighed heavily as she spoke.

    Sophie ced a warm hand on her shoulder and whispered a few words offort.

    Yep, if half of the stories that Rachel shared with her in private messages were true then she could understand why some of the saints were not happy.

    Still, it wasn¡¯t as though Rachel had spent those nights with people without their consent and she wasn¡¯t hurting anyone.

    Plus, there was zero risk of contracting any sexual diseases since her true form was a puddle of liquid biomass.

    The two girls chatted some more and as the conversation went on, Rachel¡¯s unpleasant mood gradually faded away.

    She really enjoyed having a friend like Sophie. The hybrid girl was very pretty and yet Rachel oddly enough never saw her as anything more than a sister.

    Cleo eventually returned and sat down next to Sophie on the bench. She raised up her hand and pointed at one of the doors at the end of the hall.

    ¡°There is an exhibit about life on ancient Earth if you all want to check it out,¡± Cleo said casually as she leaned against Sophie¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Ancient Earth? That sounds exciting!¡± Rachel eximed as she quickly got up from the bench.

    ¡°Yeah. It should be interesting to see what historians think about the time before humanity became an interster race,¡± Sophie thoughtfully added.

 Chapter 573: A Shocking Discovery

    Chapter 573: A Shocking Discovery

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    Sophie secretly felt a bit excited as she walked toward one of the doors at the end of the hall.

    Having Sui Meng¡¯s memories meant that she felt a connection to the ancient Earth era and it would be fascinating to see some relics from that long ago time.

    The hybrid girl hummed softly as she got closer to the door.

    Cleo was also in a good mood as she held her girlfriend¡¯s hand and squeezed her fingers lightly.

    ¡°I actually don¡¯t know much about ancient Earth,¡± Rachel truthfully confessed as they neared the door.

    ¡°I always skipped history ss during high school so¡­ I can¡¯t really remember all of the details. I just remember the teacher vaguely talking about high levels of radiation¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ are you referring to the high concentrations found in the northern hemisphere?¡± Cleo asked curiously.

    ¡°I believe themon consensus is that the radiation is from primitive nuclear weapons that exploded after years of no maintenance.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s actually crazy to think that our ancestors were capable of splitting apart atoms and yet had no knowledge of cultivation.¡±

    Sophie listened to their conversation with mixed feelings in her heart.

    Before the Draxes arrived and enved humanity, there was a very real possibility that humans could have wiped out each other in an apocalyptic nuclear winter.

    The girls eventually arrived at the door which opened automatically since there was a sensor hanging from the ceiling.

    Sophie entered the elevator first and was then followed by Cleo and Rachel who were not far behind.

    The elevator slowly began its descent and the pleasant sound of music echoed through the container.

    It came from the speakers attached to the top of the elevator.

    ¡°Sophie are you curious about how those ancient humans lived?¡± Rachel asked casually as she yed with her curly hair.

    ¡°Yeah.. I mean they considered themselves to be the center of the universe. The only intelligent species in the gxy,¡± Sophie replied with a strange look on her face.

    ¡°Little did they know how wrong they were¡­¡±

    Humanity should have taken hundreds of thousands of years to finally venture forth and colonise the neighbourings in the milky way gxy.

    Instead, they were captured and enved by the Draxi empire and forced to live as second-ss citizens and ves like the Mendolesa, Quafes and Servies.

    Fortunately, after the violent revolution had seeded, humanity took their ce as one of the most fearsome races in the universe.

    The ss elevator stopped moving and then the doors opened up to reveal a maze-like room with dozens of objects disyed.

    Each object had a que in front of it which described the use of the object and its historical significance.

    Sophie looked around the room and saw recreations of animals during the ancient Earth era, paintings that showed what the buildings would have looked like and other oddities.

    This was truly a treasure trove of information.

    ¡°Let¡¯s check out the buildings first!¡± Cleo eximed excitedly as she dragged Sophie along to one of the disys.

    When humanity eventually returned to Earth, all of the buildings and traces of civilisation were all little more than dust.

    There were some traces left behind but nothing substantial.

    Most of the research done today was based on spection and educated guesses.

    Sophie gazed at the painting and saw a ¡®skyscraper¡¯. The artist had painted an enormous structure that extended upwards until it reached the stratosphere.

    There were tiny ant-like humans moving around the building which appeared to be made from¡­ stic?

    ¡°Why did they assume that the buildings were made from stic?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    Cleo bent down and read the que in front of the painting before replying to her girlfriend¡¯s question.

    ¡°It says here that therge amounts of stic in the ocean must havee from humanity¡¯s magnificent buildings,¡± Cleo exined quietly.

    ¡°The sheer volume of stic found scattered around the means that it must have been a valuable material in the lives of the ancient humans.¡±

    Sophie raised an eyebrow and said nothing. She supposed that stic was important but it was not used for buildings.

    Instead, therge amount of stic in the ocean probably came from poor waste management or just the dumping of trash into the ocean.

    ¡°Girls check this out!¡± Rachel¡¯s voice came from the far side of the room.

    The saintess had wandered over to one of the disys and saw something that she could not believe.

    Rachel didn¡¯t care if her loud voice made the other people in the room look at her with funny expressions.

    Sophie and Cleo quickly walked over and found Rachel standing in front of what appeared to be a statue depicting a peculiar animal.

    ¡°Err¡­ what the hell is that?¡± Sophie asked in disbelief.

    ¡°This is a cat! The ancient humans used to worship it. I can¡¯t believe that it looks so¡­ so¡­ err¡­¡± Rachel¡¯s voice trailed off as she couldn¡¯t find anything good to say.

    The statue in the disy case was modelled after a ¡®cat¡¯ but it was unlike any cat that Sophie had seen in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    The creature was roughly two feet tall and the basic body shape was correct. It had four paws, one head and a tail.

    Now what really stood out¡­ was the face.

    The ¡®cat¡¯ had a long-pointed snout almost like rat with t stubby teeth that would not look out of ce on an herbivore.

    Its eyes werepletely white and one could see thick fleshy whiskersing out of its face that were a pinkish- red colour.

    Honestly¡­ it looked fucking disgusting.

    ¡°This model was based on drawings that were sketched during the dark era of envement,¡± Rachel read the que out loud.

    ¡°Clearly those artists had no idea what they were doing¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly under her breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m d that they went extinct¡­ imagine one of those things roaming around your home,¡± Cleo whispered as she stared at the statue.

    Looking at those fleshy coloured whiskers made her skin crawl. She could not believe that the ancient humans worshipped such monsters.

    The princess opened up her mouth toin some more when a confident voice echoed through the room.

    A tour guide was leading a group of ten wealthy tourists and showing them a disy that was covered by a thick purple cover.

    ¡°Well actually that¡¯s not true¡­ a recent archaeology dig made a shocking discovery,¡± the guide said loudly before reaching for the cover and pulling it off from the disy.

    Shocked gasps echoed through the room as what was revealed had the potential to rewrite human history forever.

    Sophie nced in the direction of the disy and her expression was¡­ confused.

 Chapter 574: Behold! The Shocking Display!

    Chapter 574: Behold! The Shocking Disy!

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    ¡°Behold!¡± the guide yelled excitedly as the tourists immediately raised up their wristmunicators and began to snap photos of the disy.

    ¡°An authentic recreation of the clothes that the ancient humans used to wear!¡±

    Sophie nced over at the disy and the confusion on her face was obvious for anyone to see.

    However, the only person who noticed her expression was Cleo who softly giggled at her girlfriend¡¯s face.

    The hybrid girl was currently looking at the disy and seeing a beautiful female model who was dressed in what could only be described as arge garbage bag.

    The clothes if one could call them clothes was a stic wrapping that covered the female model from her neck to her toes.

    She posed in a variety of different positions as the tourists in the group began to take photos and record videos of her appearance.

    The guide on the other hand puffed out his chest and stretched out his palm to point at the disy.

    He opened up his mouth and continued to exin,

    ¡°Professor Victor Von Hoeff has proposed a radical new theory that the excess amounts of stic found on Earth are because the ancient era humans used stic to make their clothes!¡±

    ¡°stic is extremely flexible and would be a great material to create unisex clothing that could fit all body types.¡±

    Sophie furrowed her brows since the guide wasn¡¯t technically wrong, but she could not resist the urge to speak up.

    ¡°But stic clothing would not be able to protect them from temperatures changes right?¡± Sophie inadvertently said out loud.

    ¡°I mean you can¡¯t go out in extremely cold weather wearing nothing but a stic bag,¡±

    ¡°Foolish¡­ foolish¡­¡± the tour guide shook his head in disapproval.

    ¡°The ancient humans most likely only lived near the equator and in the tropical regions so they would not need winter clothes in their daily lives.¡±

    The other people in the hall nodded and agreed with the guide¡¯s logic. Sophie on the other hand decided not to argue further.

    She turned away from the disy and felt a small tug on the bottom of her shirt. She looked down and saw Cleo staring at her with a cheeky grin.

    ¡°So how wrong is Professor Victor¡¯s guess?¡± Cleo whispered yfully as she stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against Sophie¡¯s lower jaw.

    ¡°Completely wrong¡­ stic wasn¡¯t some sort of precious material¡­ I mean it was used everywhere don¡¯t get me wrong but¡­¡± Sophie hesitantly replied.

    ¡°All that stic in the ocean is probably from trash.¡±

    Cleo nodded as she listened to her girlfriend talk about the uses of stic back during the time of the ancient Earth era.

    Honestly there was a small part of her that did not believe it at first when Sophie had confessed about the extra set of memories inside her head but¡­

    Would it really be that strangepared to her link with some eldritch entity who lived beyond the fourth dimension?

    Rachel lingered at the edge of the crowd and looked at the model on the stage with a bit of envy in her heart.

    She wanted to wear the clothes that ancient humans wore as well!

    The saintess vowed to immediately go to the Virtual Net when she got back and custom design her own set.

    Quafes were obsessed with human culture and their appearances. The reason why they chose to look like humanity was because humans were their ideal ascetic.

    There was just something about rtively hairless bipedal organisms with a variety of skin tones andplexions that appealed to them.

    Rachel was no exception, but she did prefer basing her avatar on humans who were descended from the south American and African continent.

    Sophie and Cleo wandered off to the far corner of the hall and stopped in front of another disy.

    ¡°So, is this one urate?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she took a step forward to get a better look.

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not far off,¡± Sophie replied as she took a closer look at the weapon that was mounted on the wall.

    It was a recreation of the thermal weapons used on Earth.

    Those primitive humans did not rely on sma energy cores but rather used powder in order for their weapons to work.

    There was a small object next to the weapon and it resembled a triangr cone. Sophie eventually realised that it was supposed to be a bullet.

    The shape of the bullet was obviously wrong but for a recreation it actually wasn¡¯t that far off from what an assault rifle looked like.

    ¡°Well technology is usually easier to work backwards from unlike culture, society and the way of life,¡± Cleo said thoughtfully as she moved away from the disy.

    ¡°Hey Sophie¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah? What¡¯s wrong babe?¡± Sophie asked with concern.

    ¡°What were they like? Were they any different from us?¡± Cleo whispered softly as she gently squeezed Sophie¡¯s palm.

    The hybrid girl gave the matter some thought before answering her girlfriend¡¯s question. She essed Sui Meng¡¯s memories and soon had an answer for Cleo.

    ¡°I think¡­ they were not as united as we are but that¡¯s probably because humanity has had to deal with external threats for hundreds of thousands of years,¡± Sophie exined calmly.

    ¡°But humans are still incredibly greedy, ambitious and ruthless as well as kind, intelligent and willing to work towards amon goal.¡±

    ¡°Honestly¡­ we are prettyplex. I¡¯m not sure how the ancient era humans behaved when they first explored the stars, but I¡¯d like to imagine that they would be simr to us.¡±

    Besides their talent for cultivation, humanity was unique among the different races that roamed the universe.

    Humanity possessed a ruthlessness and edge that few races could match. They were capable of sacrificing two thousand soldiers to kill one thousand enemies.

    That kind of self- destructive behaviour made the other species of the universe both fear and admire them.

    ¡°Oh wait¡­ I forgot one thing¡­ the royal families during that era were basically little more than symbolic figureheads,¡± Sophie teased lightly.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ so I would have been an ordinary girl then?¡± Cleo mused with a strange glint in her eyes.

    ¡°You? No, you could never be ordinary,¡± Sophie giggled happily as she gently held Cleo in her arms and leaned forward to nt a soft kiss against her lips.

    The pair made out for a few minutes until Sophie felt the urges inside her body gradually stir to life.

    She slowly lowered Cleo to the ground and pressed one more kiss against her incredibly soft cheek.

    ¡°Cough¡­ cough¡­ so are you all done?¡± Rachelined in mock anger as she rolled her eyes at her friends who could not go one minute without expressing affection.

 Chapter 575: Cleos Sister Makes An Appearance

    Chapter 575: Cleo¡¯s ¡®Sister¡¯ Makes An Appearance

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    Sophie leaned against the back of her chair as she stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily.

    Noise and conversation echoed through the massive open space from the other tourists in the room.

    The hybrid girl reached into her pocket and pulled out two small nutrient vials. She twisted the cap off the first vial and swallowed its contents with a single gulp.

    It didn¡¯t take long before she lifted up the second vial and swallowed its contents as well.

    These were both Grade S nutrient vials with each capable of sustaining a person with enough nutrients and calories for two days.

    Unfortunately, Sophie was still hungry even after swallowing two.

    Cultivation was supposed to make one free of desires, but it seemed as though her Arachnais- human physiology demanded a lot of calories to sustain itself.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes wandered around the room as she waited for Cleo and Rachel to return.

    She was currently sitting down in front of a long white table with several empty chairs next to her.

    This was the cafeteria inside the National History Museum and there were several stalls and restaurants located along the walls.

    The other two girls wanted to grab something to eat after exploring the Ancient Earth disy room and Sophie couldn¡¯t agree more.

    She wanted to line up with them, but Cleo insisted that she grab the seats instead. Sophie agreed after her girlfriend kissed her on the cheek and promised to bring back a surprise.

    Damn¡­ she was really a pushover for that princess¡­

    A gentle smile shed across Sophie¡¯s lips as she could not help but picture Cleo¡¯s beautiful face and the mischievous twinkle that usually appeared in her eyes.

    Spending time with her girlfriend and Rachel was such a pleasant experience. This vacation may have not started off peacefully but now it was nothing but rxing.

    Sophie¡¯s thoughts wandered over to what she had seen in the Ancient Earth era disys and her brows furrowed.

    There were some close guesses but the majority of the items on disy were never used by the humans in Sui Meng¡¯s time.

    But it wasn¡¯t surprising that so much culture, history and art was lost.

    The Draxes had enved humans for such a long time that when they returned to Earth there was basically no traces of their civilisation left.

    All of those skyscrapers, stadiums, cultural centers¡­ the achievements of humanity were all lost to the sands of time.

    It really made one think about life and mortality.

    How many other alien civilisations were out there that lived,ughed, and created amazing inventions only to eventually disappear without a trace.

    Sophie tapped her fingers against the side of the table as she lost herself in those thoughts. It was a rare moment of contemtion for the hybrid girl.

    In a way she was thest remnant of the ancient Earth humans since she possessed Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    Should she spread the knowledge inside her mind? The only issue was that she would sound absolutely crazy.

    Honestly, she didn¡¯t understand how Cleo believed her when it sounded so insane that another person had travelled through time and taken over her body.

    Sophie¡¯s train of thought was eventually interrupted by the soft hand that rubbed gently against her shoulder.

    She turned her head and saw Cleo smiling at her with a grin that resembled a Cheshire cat.

    The princess was holding arge tray with several bowls of steaming hot soup and noodles.

    ¡°Surprise babe!¡± Cleo said cheerfully as she rested the tray down on the table in front of Sophie.

    ¡°Honey¡­ you know that they say the way to a woman¡¯s heart is through her stomach,¡± Sophie replied with a teasing smile.

    ¡°Consider me captured¡­¡±

    Rachel rolled her eyes and giggled as she saw her friends flirting with one another. She sat down next to Sophie and unwrapped the sandwich that was in her palm.

    Cleo sat down on the other side and soon the girls began to talk about their ns for the rest of the day.

    ¡°Is there anywhere else in the museum that you want to visit?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she reached for the spoon next to the bowls.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I was thinking that we could explore the hall where they show the records about the brave men and women who fought against Draxi empire,¡± Rachel replied quietly.

    ¡°I think that it might be interesting to see if I can recognise some of the names¡­¡±

    ¡°The hall of heroes, right? I heard that there is an enormous holographic que in the middle of the room with the names of the major revolutionary leaders,¡± Cleo chimed in.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for them, we would all still be ves to our Draxi overlords,¡± Sophie muttered thoughtfully as she lifted up the spoon to her mouth.

    The bowl in front of her was still steaming and inside was a warm orange liquid with bits of vegetables and meat floating around.

    Sophie blew on her spoon gently and then tasted the liquid. Mhmmm¡­. it was extremely delicious.

    The meat was cooked thoroughly and melted away in her mouth while the vegetables provided a freshness and crunch.

    ¡°Excuse me is this table upied?¡± a sweet voice asked.

    Sophie lifted up her head and saw an attractive girl standing in front of her table holding a tray with a simple meal on it.

    This mysterious girl had piercing green eyes that were identical to Cleo¡¯s and there was a faint resemnce in her appearance that was obvious for all to see.

    She also possessed ck hair, a lean physique and sharp angr features thatbined to create a great beauty that was hard to ignore.

    Her demeanor resembled a member of the imperial family or a highborn noble since she carried herself about with dignity and ss.

    ¡°Sure¡­ that¡¯s no problem,¡± Sophie hesitantly replied. The girl sat down across from them and rested her tray delicately on the table.

    ¡°It is an honour to meet you sister,¡± the mysterious girl spoke.

    ¡°Oh? Are you also one of my siblings?¡± Cleo smiled politely but her piercing green eyes swept up and down the length of the girl¡¯s body.

    There was a clear warning in her gaze, but the girl seemed to be unaffected by Cleo¡¯s subtle hint.

    ¡°You may not remember me, but I saw you for the first time a few years ago when you were practicing your mental force in the pce gardens,¡± the girl said with a strange tone.

    ¡°My name is Princess Ana Sisrelis, and it is a pleasure to meet you again.¡±

 Chapter 576: A Sense Of Danger

    Chapter 576: A Sense Of Danger

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- National History Museum)

    ¡°Oh? And who is yourpanion?¡± Princess Ana asked curiously as she lifted up her head and stared directly into Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°A hybrid? My¡­ my sister¡­ you truly are¡­ brave¡­ I heard that some of them are savages¡­ do be careful¡­¡±

    ¡°Fuck off,¡± Cleo said bluntly as she leaned back against her chair.

    The princess did not mince her words and for a moment Ana froze in shock as she could not imagine that such vulgar words came from the mouth of a member of the royal family.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of game you want to y here, but I¡¯m not interested,¡± Cleo firmly stated as she grabbed Sophie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Sister¡­ that¡¯s no way to talk!¡± Princess Ana harshly replied as she crossed her arms and stared at Cleo with a look of mock disapproval.

    ¡°You have clearly not learnt from the royal tutors if you are willing to behave in such an uncouth manner!¡±

    ¡°Darling, you seem pretty uptight¡­ why don¡¯t you realise that you aren¡¯t wanted here and as Cleo said¡­ fuck off¡­¡± Rachel spoke up as she yed with the food on her te.

    ¡°And it is poor manners to talk ill of someone right to their face, so I guess you also have something to learn about proper etiquette,¡± Sophiezily chimed in.

    Princess Ana¡¯s fingers curled up into a fist as she opened her mouth to insult the arrogant hybrid who dared to talk to her in that way.

    Just as she was about to insult Sophie, a sense of terror enveloped her body.

    The hybrid girl sitting down on the chair did not move a single muscle and yet Princess Ana found herself frozen in ce.

    Those dangerous golden eyes were staring directly at her, and a hint of crimson red was beginning to spread from the corners of her pupils.

    A heavy bloodlust radiated from the hybrid girl¡¯s body and for the delicate princess it was like standing across from a mountain of corpses.

    That hybrid girl¡­ she was a predator.

    Princess Ana¡¯s face whitened, and her fingers trembled slightly. Sophie immediately withdrew her bloodlust and the princess almost copsed on the ground.

    Princess Ana stumbled slightly as she turned around and walked away trying to maintain some of her royal dignity but failing miserably.

    Sophie watched her go away and could not help but furrow her brows. What was the point of that random interaction?

    Was it by chance? It seemed to be nothing more than an arrogant princess trying to insult her sister but¡­

    Sophie¡¯s sense of danger had red up with Princess Ana¡¯s hand drifted towards her pocket as if there was a threat inside.

    The hybrid girl frowned slightly as she tried to recall what exactly about the arrogant princess seemed dangerous.

    ¡°There are too many of my brothers and sisters who believe that being a member of the royal family is the same as having real power,¡± Cleo muttered quietly.

    ¡°Too self-centered and stupid to realise that ourte father sired hundreds if not thousands of heirs so being a prince or princess doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡±

    ¡°Well, they do all have the chance to be the next leader of the human side of the Federation,¡± Rachel stated inly.

    ¡°Only a handful of candidates actually stand a chance. Everyone else is just going to die horribly during the process,¡± Cleo replied with a distant look on her face.

    Concubine Sisrelis¡­ her mother¡­ she always wanted to have her offspring sit on the throne one day.

    It is just that no one could have predicted that thete emperor would choose to kill himself.

    But maybe there was a small part of Cleo that actually felt relieved.

    Since she was only in the qi tide stage her mother had abandoned her ns to have her daughter be on the throne and fled.

    Cleo could not be happier not to participate in the meaningless political struggles to be the next leader of the human side of the Federation.

    Being the empress just sounded exhausting.

    ¡°Wow you really showed her!¡± a cheerful voice interrupted Cleo¡¯s train of thought.

    Another person had wandered over to their table and this time the voice belonged to a handsome young boy with a cheeky grin on his face.

    He wore an expensive white shirt, dark ck pants and a leather belt with tinum engravings etched onto its surface.

    There was a grace and charm to his movements that spoke to years of proper training in learning how to conduct oneself in public.

    His hair was a dirty blonde colour, and his eyes were a brilliant shade of green almost identical to Cleo¡¯s.

    Another one of her siblings?

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± Cleo asked politely but there was a clear sense of indifference in her tone.

    ¡°No, I just came over to briefly chat and meet the famous princess who managed to capture the heart of Duke Peterlor¡¯s sessor,¡± the boy happily spoke.

    ¡°I must say that she is truly beautiful¡­ you are one lucky girl¡­ wait where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself¡­¡±

    ¡°My name is¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s in your pocket?¡± Sophie¡¯s cold voice cut through the mysterious prince¡¯s pompous self- introduction.

    The hybrid girl stared at the prince whose speech briefly faltered. There was an expression of bewilderment and confusion on his face that appeared to be genuine.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes did not drift from the pocket on the prince¡¯s pants because her danger sense was once again going into overdrive.

    ¡°Is this some kind of joke?¡± the prince finally asked.

    ¡°No¡­ don¡¯t let me repeat myself. What. Is. In. Your. Pocket?¡± Sophie¡¯s tone did not change as the de-like appendages on her back shifted menacingly from side to side.

    One false move and she would skewer the prince like a piece of meat on a rack.

    The prince¡¯s hand drifted towards his pocket and Sophie did not stop him.

    This was not out of arrogance that he would not attack in public but rather it was because her sense of danger had disappeared.

    And sure enough¡­ there was nothing dangerous to be found in the prince¡¯s pocket.

    He turned out the inside of his pant¡¯s right pocket and there was nothing inside except for a well-worn handkerchief and some Enas credits.

    ¡°Err¡­ I can empty my other pockets if you want¡­¡± the handsome boy said with hesitation evident in his voice.

    ¡°Sorry I think that it¡¯s best if you just go,¡± Sophie eventually replied as she waved her hands to dismiss the prince who had a disbelieving look on his face.

    ¡°Goodbye. It was a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,¡± Cleo backed up her girlfriend immediately.

    The prince sensed that his presence was not wanted and took his leave with more dignity than Princess Ana.

    ¡°Wait¡­ we didn¡¯t even get his name!¡± Rachel whispered softly as the back of the prince disappeared in the crowd.

    The saintess thought that the cheerful prince was actually quite cute¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother¡­ there was something off about him,¡± Sophie replied as a small frown shed across her face.

    Were her instincts wrong?

 Chapter 577: Another Dangerous Encounter

    Chapter 577: Another Dangerous Encounter

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City)

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she walked outside the museum and felt the warm rays of sunlight brush against her face.

    The rest of the museum tour had been a blur as the only thing on her mind were the two incidents that urred in the cafeteria.

    Her danger sense had red up twice when Cleo¡¯s siblings approached their table and both times, she felt a threating from the direction of their pockets.

    Especially that prince¡­

    Sophie did feel a bit doubtful at first, but her instincts had saved her more times than she could count.

    There must have been something inside their pockets¡­

    ¡°Are you feeling, okay?¡± Cleo¡¯s gentle voice cut through Sophie¡¯s train of thought.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry¡­ I just can¡¯t help but rey what happened in the cafeteria in my mind,¡± Sophie truthfully admitted.

    ¡°Those guys really were douchebags,¡± Rachel chimed in with a lighthearted grin.

    ¡°No¡­ well they were but¡­ my danger sense red up when they came close to us but then it suddenly disappeared,¡± Sophie frowned as she told the girls what happened.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ well in that case we can only be careful and avoid them if we see them in the future,¡± Cleo said thoughtfully.

    The princess hummed softly as she stretched out her hand and grabbed Sophie¡¯s fingers. She squeezed her girlfriend¡¯s palm and felt her warmth transmit to her hand.

    Cleo was not as concerned as Sophie about the encounter because her siblings trying to kill each other was just part of being a member of the royal family.

    Especially now that there was a power vacuum.

    Emperor Sisrelis¡¯ death was the perfect opportunity to eliminatepetition and increase one¡¯s power.

    But Cleo had no interest in such matters, so she was surprised that two of her siblings purposefully sought her out.

    Cleo was not arrogant enough to believe that she had a genuine chance of taking the throne for herself, so she didn¡¯t understand why she was so popr.

    Actually, she did have an inkling¡­

    Most likely her siblings wanted a connection to Duke Peterlor and she was the only link between the powerful noble and his faction.

    ¡°So where do you all want to go to now?¡± Cleo suddenly asked to break the quiet mood.

    ¡°I¡¯m down to check out the street stalls, grab a bite to eat and then we can head back to my ce in a few hours,¡± Sophie suggested as she yed with Cleo¡¯s fingers.

    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Rachel enthusiastically replied.

    The saintess happily moved her head from side to side to check out all the cute humans that were walking around the city.

    Ohh¡­ maybe she should try that nose next time¡­ wait¡­ that hair¡­

    The saintess looked at the different facial features of the humans in the crowd and made a mental note to herself.

    Her avatar was still new so she didn¡¯t n to rece it just yet but the next time she changed form it would be interesting to give herself some additional features.

    The three girls wandered through the city where tall metalloid buildings extended upwards towards the heavens.

    Hovercars and mechanical hoverbikes floated gently in the air and zipped quickly between the spaces between the buildings.

    One could see cleaning androids sweeping the city regrly and sucking the dust into specialpartments located in their bodies.

    Holographic screens would asionally be projected in the air that disyed ads for thetest shows on the virtual or products.

    There was even an ad for a new boy band that had been created by a well-known entertainmentpany.

    Sophie still marvelled at how advanced technology was in this era.

    Maybe it was a side effect of possessing Sui Meng¡¯s memories, but everything felt very impressive despite the fact that she had grown up with this technology already existing.

    The hybrid girl checked hermunicator and tapped out a series ofmands. A virtual map appeared on the screen with directions to the tent city that was located to the north.

    The famous tent city was a collection of street stalls in the middle of a beautiful park.

    One could only set up a stall if they possessed a special licence and the authorities cracked down hard on anyone who illegally set up a shop.

    It was said that you could purchase anything in the tent city but obviously that was an exaggeration.

    Most likely you could only purchase some nice souvenirs that were more expensive than they should be.

    Sophie frowned as her body moved automatically. She pulled Cleo to the side just as an ordinary man wearing a business suit almost mmed into her girlfriend¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Sorry I wasn¡¯t looking where I was going!¡± the man apologised profusely as he genuinely looked upset.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ just watch where you are going next time¡­¡± Sophie politely replied but her free hand was drifting towards her pocket where a dagger was hidden.

    Again¡­ she sensed danger again¡­

    The man took one step closer but the cold gaze in Sophie¡¯s eyes let him know that his presence wasn¡¯t necessary.

    ¡°Is there anything that I can do topensate?¡± the man pleaded desperately with sincerity overflowing from his eyes.

    ¡°Dude¡­ it¡¯s not that serious¡­ you didn¡¯t even bump into her,¡± Rachel casually chimed in as she crossed her arms.

    The man opened her mouth to offer some form ofpensation, but Sophie politely declined him and then walked away with Cleo firmly in her embrace.

    They turned the corner and the strange man disappeared from their sight.

    ¡°Man¡­ I didn¡¯t know people were that friendly,¡± Rachel said with a small smile.

    ¡°I think¡­. I think that we should call it a day and turn back,¡± Sophie softly whispered as she nced back and tried to find the man in the crowd.

    But he was already gone¡­

    ¡°Did your instincts re up again?¡± Cleo softly whispered with concern evident in her voice.

    ¡°Yeah. There was something in that man¡¯s palm when he was about to crash into you but then just like before¡­ it disappeared,¡± Sophie admitted in frustration.

    She didn¡¯t understand what was happening. It made no sense that whatever was dangerous inside the strange man¡¯s palm could suddenly disappear into thin air.

    ¡°Do you want me to use my ability?¡± Rachel asked softly as she rubbed her eyes.

    The saintess closed her eyes for a brief moment and muttered a quick word of prayer.

    When she reopened her eyes, her pupils werepletely golden, and one could see a faint ck cross in the middle of her eyeballs.

    The gaze of truth.

    Archangel Raziel was the keeper of secrets and using his powers meant that nothing could escape her eyes.

    Rachel had the ability to see the inner good and evil of those around her. This ability was her trump card.

    It may not be as strong as some of the other abilities given to the saints and saintesses of the Nephilim Church, but it was certainly unique.

 Chapter 578: The Gaze Of Truth

    Chapter 578: The Gaze Of Truth

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City)

    Rachel could feel something flowing through her body from a ce beyond the void. This feeling¡­ it was incredibly addicting.

    A silly smile spread across the face of the saintess as she indulged herself in the pleasurable sensation that filled her body with joy.

    Familiar whispers began to enter her ears as she channeled her patron¡¯s power. Archangel Raziel was the keeper of secrets.

    Nothing could escape his dark gaze¡­

    Rachel¡¯s eyes were now fully golden with a ck cross where her pupils used to be. She struggled to prevent the rest of her body from undergoing a full angelic transformation.

    Focus¡­ focus¡­ I have to focus¡­

    She could hear hoarse guttural whispersing from the people around her that were in anguage that she did not know but yet could understand.

    These whispers represented secrets or the hidden thoughts inside their minds. They ranged from the mundane to darker affairs.

    (I hate my wife¡­ I can¡¯t wait to meet my secretary after work today¡­)

    (That pet is very cute¡­ I should buy one for my daughter¡¯s birthday)

    (The society meets at midnight. We must aplish our goal¡­)

    (The targets are Lucian, Elenore, and Michael¡­ they will be dead by tomorrow. The virus has already infected them¡­)

    Rachel furrowed her brows in pain as she felt a massive headache begin to form. She was still unable to handle Archangel Raziel¡¯s power.

    The saintess took in a deep breath and began to focus on the qi that was travelling through her meridians.

    The whispers were still entering her mind but now she was able to concentrate a bit more on the world around her.

    Rachel had yet to meet someone who was fully good orpletely evil.

    When her gaze lingered on the people in the crowd, she saw their bodies as different shades of grey.

    Some approached the darker shades, but the majority of the crowd ranged from white to light grey colours.

    The saintess touched her cheek and felt a wetness below her eyes. She raised up her hand and saw a few droplets of golden liquid on her fingertips.

    Damn¡­ she didn¡¯t have enough time.

    It appeared that using the gaze of truth was causing her body to be unstable and revert back to her natural state.

    Rachel quickly turned around and ran towards the direction of the mysterious man who had almost bumped into Cleo.

    ¡°Hey¡­ where are you going?¡± Sophie yelled as she saw her friend head towards a certain direction.

    The hybrid girl and the princess quickly followed behind Rachel as she ran frantically towards the museum.

    Rachel clicked her tongue impatiently as she could hear the whispers get louder and louder in her head.

    She even heard voicesing from Cleo¡¯s and Sophie¡¯s bodies that told her secrets about her friends that she didn¡¯t know.

    Sophie¡¯s secret involved someone called Sui Meng while Cleo on the other hand¡­ symbiotes¡­ royal family¡­

    (Danger looms¡­ danger looms¡­ princess trapped within a cage¡­)

    (Death approaches¡­)

    Rachel stumbled slightly as she heard a whisper that was clearer than the other voices loudly shrieking in her mind.

    The saintess raised up her head and finally saw the in looking man in a business suit standing innocently near a grey building.

    She opened her eyes wide, and the dark crosses were tinged with red as she activated the archangel¡¯s ability to the fullest extent.

    Rachel froze in ce as she saw an incredible sight that she didn¡¯t think was possible.

    Nothing.

    She could not see in any colours on the man¡¯s body but what was stranger was the fact that she could heard whispersing from everyone else in the crowd except for him.

    It was like the man was a void in the middle of a crowded street.

    The archangel¡¯s gaze of truth did not work on non-living things or inanimate objects, but that man was clearly just a normal human.

    Wasn¡¯t he?

    Rachel didn¡¯t understand what was going on. She didn¡¯t understand how the man did not have a nature of good or evil.

    And why didn¡¯t he have any secrets?

    Wait¡­ there was one card that she had left to y. Rachel bit her lip nervously as she rubbed her fingers together.

    The saintess opened her mouth and words of prayer flowed out, ¡°Hear my cry Lord¡­ your humble servant seeks knowledge¡­ allow me to receive enlightenment.¡±

    ¡°Raziel¡­ keeper of secrets¡­ he who watches the threads of fate¡­ the eternal eye that sees all under the heavens¡­¡±

    ¡°Lend me thy strength¡­¡±

    Rachel coughed violently as she felt her body convulse from the sharp bursts of pain that seemed toe from every part of her body.

    She needed to hold on¡­ just a little bit longer¡­

    The saintess stretched out her hand and saw that her fingers were beginning to melt away. Rachel didn¡¯t have a mirror, but she could feel the wetness running down her face.

    And judging from the ufortable nces that she was getting from those passing by, she was clearly not looking too good.

    Rachel swayed and would have fallen were it not for the strong pair of hands that caught her body just as she was about to copse.

    The saintess was about to thank Sophie for her help when she heard a tired old voice in her mind that was very familiar.

    (My dear¡­ why are you pushing yourself so hard?)

    (Your body can¡¯t handle my gift yet so please don¡¯t be so reckless in the future¡­ sigh¡­ my vessels are always so impatient)

    (And I quite like you so please don¡¯t follow in the footsteps of those fools who decided to use my gift until it consumed them)

    (Don¡¯t worry I already know what you¡¯re going to ask and the reason why you can¡¯t see anything is because that man has no will¡­ he is a mere puppet of another power)

    Rachel¡¯s body trembled violently as her eyes returned to normal and the parts of her body that were melting away gradually stabilised.

    The words of Archangel Raziel echoed through her mind and Rachel could not help but shoot a wary look at the man who appeared to bepletely normal.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Sophie asked with concern evident in her voice.

    Cleo appeared to be equally worried as she reached into her pocket and gave Rachel a healing serum.

    Rachel took the serum from the princess and quickly injected the needle into her body.

    She let out a quick sigh of relief as the healing liquid travelled through her biomass and repaired her damaged organelles.

    ¡°That man¡­ he¡¯s a puppet¡­¡± Rachel softly whispered as she pointed at the man who was now walking away.

    ¡°A puppet?¡± Cleo asked in confusion.

    ¡°Yes¡­ my vision couldn¡¯t see into his true nature because he has none¡­ he is just a hollow shell¡­ I don¡¯t know how to really exin it properly,¡± Rachel hesitantly replied.

    The saintess frowned in pain as she felt her headache get worse with every passing minute.

    Archangel Raziel was right¡­ she could not handle using his gift at least not yet.

 Chapter 579: A Peculiar Situation

    Chapter 579: A Peculiar Situation

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City)

    Rachel coughed violently as she felt another wave of bacsh m against her mind. It took everything she had not to faint immediately from the pain.

    The massive headache was getting worse¡­

    Sophie furrowed her brows and secretly made a series of hand gestures. Two inly dressed men stepped out from the shadows and approached her with their heads bowed.

    ¡°Escort us back to the estate immediately and keep an eye out for anyone suspicious who approaches,¡± Sophie ordered calmly as she wrapped her arm around Rachel¡¯s body.

    The two men nodded and then disappeared once more. Sophie helped her friend to maintain her bnce as they walked towards the transport hub of the city.

    ¡°It does make sense that your dad sent shadow guards to protect us¡­¡± Cleo muttered quietly as she nced around the za.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ ever since I returned from the Unova Syndicate. He¡¯s made sure that multiple teams are by my side at all times on Gaia,¡± Sophie replied calmly.

    ¡°They don¡¯t interfere unless a threat is posed to my life. This is actually the first time that I¡¯ve been in contact with one of the protection squads.¡±

    The princess nodded in understanding while Rachel closed her eyes tightly and tried to ride out the sharp bursts of pain that were entering her mind.

    ¡°Now the only problem is figuring out why you were the target and not me,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she moved through the crowd.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ no one should hold a grudge against me and I¡¯m not really politically or economically powerful,¡± Cleo replied with a puzzled look on her face.

    Sophie was the daughter of a duke while she was just a princess.

    A prince or a princess may sound powerful but with the sheer number of royal offsprings they were merely wealthy second-generation kids.

    While Cleo was lost in her thoughts, Sophie¡¯s golden eyes kept scanning the people walking by with a serious expression on her face.

    She made sure to pay attention to her body so that as soon as her instincts red up, she would be able to respond to the threat.

    The words of the hunter goddess echoed in Sophie¡¯s mind as the distance between herself and the transport hub narrowed.

    There would be great dangering her way¡­.

    Sophie rubbed her fingers together nervously but none of her emotions were disyed on her face.

    Instead, the hybrid girl resembled a cold predator as her de-like appendages extended outwards and forced a path through the crowd.

    Rachel had closed her eyes and was now groaning in pain, so Sophie decided to lift up her body and hold her in her arms.

    If she knew that Rachel¡¯s abilities had such a tremendous cost on her body, then she would have tried to persuade her not to use them.

    That was probably a bit hypocriticaling from her, but Sophie did not want to see her friend get hurt.

    Finally, after ten minutes of walking, the group approached the city¡¯srge transport hub that consisted of hovercarunchpads, bullet train stations and teleportation portals.

    Aerodynamic machines constantly flew overhead with passengers heading to various locations across Gaia.

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator vibrated slightly, and she received a message from one of the shadow guards.

    [Gate 03. Ready for departure]

    It was a simple message.

    ¡°Okay looks like we have to go to gate three and then we can head home,¡± Sophie told the girls as she straightened out her back.

    This was the final stretch of the journey, but Sophie was not going to rx her vignce. Anything could happen¡­

    Sophie gave Cleo a look and the princess walked a bit closer to her girlfriend. Sophie checked her wristmunicator and pulled up a map of the transport hub.

    Rachel was now fully unconscious and only the slight twitching of her brow gave any indication that she was still alive.

    As the group made their way through the crowd, argemotion suddenly happened in the corner of the central hall.

    Arge muscr man was pulling the palm of a little girl who could have been no older than seven.

    The man had a vicious scar across his face and wore dark grey clothing that made him seem both sinister and terrifying.

    ¡°Help! Help me! I don¡¯t know this uncle!¡± the little girl screamed desperately as she tried to get away from the man.

    The people passing by stopped and some looked at the situation with expressions of hesitation and concern.

    ¡°Rx¡­ she is just joking¡­¡± the manughed heartily but he applied more pressure to little girl¡¯s hand until her fingers turned red.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes narrowed and she was about to step in when her foot froze in ce. No¡­ what was this situation?

    Something was a bit peculiar about this¡­

    Why would a kidnapping attempt take ce so openly and in the middle of a ce where there were cameras everywhere?

    Cleo was also upset by the situation and took a few steps forward before a warm hand gripped her upper arm.

    ¡°No¡­ something isn¡¯t right here¡­¡± Sophie hoarsely whispered as she removed her hand from Cleo¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Help please! Can someone help me?! I want my mommy!¡± the little girl¡¯s heart wrenching cries echoed through the central hall.

    ¡°Sir get away from her!¡± a brave man ran towards the thug and attempted to help the child but was sent flying from a punch to the stomach.

    The thug¡¯s attack only took a few seconds, but Sophie was able to determine that his cultivation level should be around the qi tide stage.

    Okay¡­ then he won¡¯t be a problem for her hidden guards to deal with.

    Sophie made a series of hand gestures but this time her index finger was pointed in the direction of the child.

    A slender pale-faced woman emerged from the shadow beneath the little girl¡¯s feet and dragged her into the darkness.

    The thug noticed that the child had disappeared and looked around the hall like a madman who was possessed.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ no!¡± the man screamed in rage as he walked around like a mad bull. He destroyed the nearby benches and chairs before madly charging at the crowd.

    Somehow his seemingly random charge was in the direction of Sophie and her friends.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s facial expression did not change even as the thug pulled out a sharpened knife from his back pocket.

    Bang!

    A shot rang out through the central hall and an enormous hole appeared in the middle of the thug¡¯s chest.

    Therge scary looking man crashed to the ground and the only sounds that left his throat were gargles as he began to cough up blood.

    Loud screams came from the bystanders and soon there was chaos in the station as everyone attempted to flee the scene.

 Chapter 580: Sophies Terrible Instincts

    Chapter 580: Sophie¡¯s Terrible Instincts

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (N¡¯rean City- Transport Hub)

    Therge scary looking man was now nothing more than a warm corpse with a smoking hole in the middle of his chest.

    Bright scarlet blood formed a thick pool under his body and the scent of death lingered in the air.

    Sophie¡¯s fingers curled up into a tight fist as she could feel her bloodlust react to what had just happened.

    Two inly dressed men appeared out of thin air beside the group with one of the men still holding a sma rifle.

    ¡°We¡¯ll handle the clean-up and inform the master,¡± one of the men respectfully spoke before bowing his head in Sophie¡¯s direction.

    The hybrid girl nodded, and the two men immediately walked towards the corpse and began to cordon off the area from the frightened bystanders.

    It would be only a matter of time before the local security forces arrived but there should be no issue.

    Everything had been clearly recorded on the cameras and there were plenty of witnesses to describe the thug¡¯s erratic behaviour.

    And besides¡­ they were servants of a high noble family.

    It was unlikely that they would be charged even if they had killed the thug without reason.

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed slightly, and she received a message from the woman who had rescued the girl.

    [Youngdy¡­ what would you like to do with the child?]

    Sophie quickly tapped out a response and told her shadow guard to take the little girl to the nearest police station to try and find her guardians.

    Seeing that little girl vaguely reminded her of Lily and the times that they had spent together in the Unovan Syndicate¡­

    Actually, that little girl¡­ her features¡­ they were oddly simr to Lily¡¯s¡­

    The bad feeling in Sophie¡¯s heart got even stronger as she could not help but analysis the strange situation that had just urred.

    There were so many unanswered questions.

    Why was there a kidnapping attempt taking ce in broad daylight?

    Why would the killer charge at them holding a knife and not a deadlier weapon? No¡­ there was something wrong about all of this.

    ¡°Babe¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡± Cleo gently whispered as she saw Sophie¡¯s eyebrows gradually furrow.

    ¡°I think¡­ I think we need to head to gate three as soon as possible and get out of here,¡± Sophie replied to her girlfriend with a tense expression on her face.

    She began to walk quickly in the direction of the gate with long strides.

    Rachel was still in her arms, so Sophie made sure not to jostle her body and wake up her tired friend.

    The scenes of chaos inside the transport hub were beginning to calm down as employees wearing light grey uniforms spoke gently to the panicked crowd.

    Sophie¡¯s tall physique and the de-like appendages jutting out of her back allowed her to easily create space to pass through the people in her way.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s golden eyes constantly shifted from side to side as every muscle in her body tensed up and was prepared to strike.

    Although Sophie knew that there were shadow guards protecting her safety from a nearby distance, one could never be too careful.

    Eventually after fifteen minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at arge open space where a luxurious hovercar was parked.

    The hovercar was around the size of a small apartment with a sleek ck glossy exterior and two mounted sma cannons on its topside.

    In addition, that there was a barrier device installed on the back end of the car that pulsated slightly.

    The doors swung upwards to reveal afortable interior equipped with expensive couches, a mini kitchen, an open bar, and a few beds.

    Two women dressed in in ck uniforms walked out through the door and bowed respectfully to Sophie.

    ¡°Wee youngdy,¡± one of the women spoke politely.

    ¡°Are you ready to depart?¡± the other questioned softly.

    The hybrid girl nodded her head and the two women gestured with their hands for them to enter first.

    Sophie lifted up Rachel¡¯s body slightly as she entered the hovercar. She walked to the back of the vehicle and ced her friend down on one of the beds.

    Cleo followed closely behind the pair and pulled up the nket on the bed so that it covered Rachel¡¯s lower body.

    Rachel groaned in pain and her eyelids briefly fluttered as she felt an unexpected warm feeling on her legs.

    She was still unconscious, and Sophie did not know how long the side effects of using her ability wouldst.

    Maybe she should send a message to Bishop Walsh¡­

    The two pilots entered the hovercar and headed towards the cockpit where they began to press a series of buttons.

    The hovercar¡¯s engines roared to life with a dreadful humming noise and soon the vehicle began to float a few inches off the ground.

    The doors leading to the outside world slowly closed but were not quick enough to stop a ck clothed figure from slipping in.

    Sophie immediately reached for the ster pistol in her pocket but rxed when she saw that it was the shadow guard who had rescued the child.

    ¡°Did you manage to find her parents?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    The pale-skinned woman rubbed her fingers and then reached into her pocket to pull out several bright red crystals that shone mysteriously.

    ¡°Yes¡­ they were two rich merchants who were very grateful that their child had been rescued by a kind person,¡± the shadow guard slowly spoke in an odd tone.

    ¡°These are called Kry¡¯en crystals¡­ they are very valuable¡­¡±

    ¡°Kry¡¯en crystals? That is too precious of a gift!¡± Cleo eximed in shock as her eyes widened.

    The princess could not believe what she was seeing in front of her eyes, but the glow of the crystals reassured her that what she was seeing was real.

    Kry¡¯en crystals were incredibly rare and could only be found on a particr in the Alpha Star System.

    They were the centerpiece of any rare gem collection, and their prices could go upwards of five hundred million at auction.

    ¡°Well, they do look very nice¡­¡± Sophie remarked as she walked over to her shadow guard and observed the gems.

    ¡°Yes, mydy. Legends say that a beautiful princess gifted one to her beloved and they stayed together for all eternity,¡± the shadow guard whispered sweetly.

    The pale-skinned woman nced in the direction of Cleo so that Sophie could understand what she was hinting at.

    This would be the perfect gift for her lover.

    Sophie ced a warm hand on the shadow guard¡¯s shoulder and smiled. Then without warning one of the ded appendages on her upper back shot forward.

    Pierce!

    Blood leaked out of the corner of the shadow guard¡¯s mouth as she looked at Sophie with an expression of disbelief.

    She opened her mouth to speak but Sophie pulled out the ster pistol from her pocket and fired two shots at her face.

    Bang! Bang!

    The shadow guard crashed lifelessly to the ground and therge crystals in her palm rolled on the floor until they mmed against the nearby chairs.

    ¡°Mydy¡­¡± one of the pilots eximed in a shocked tone.

    ¡°Keep flying,¡± Sophie¡¯s cold voice echoed through the vehicle.

    The shadow guard was right¡­ those Kry¡¯en crystals would have been the perfect gift for Cleo were it not for the fact that her danger sense kept activating whenever she looked at them.

 Chapter 581: The Little Girl?!

    Chapter 581: The Little Girl?!

    Sophie''s cold words echoed through the vehicle as she stared at the corpse that was still bleeding out on the floor.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she approached the body and cautiously prodded it using her de-like appendages.

    "What happened?" Cleo asked softly as she stepped in Sophie''s direction.

    "Watch out for the crystals on the ground!" Sophie immediately shouted as her girlfriend froze in ce.

    Cleo''s foot was mere inches away from one of the bright red Kry''en crystals that had spilled from the palm of the shadow guard.

    "My danger sense keeps going off whenever I look at those crystals," Sophie exined in a much calmer tone as she walked towards Cleo.

    She looked down on the ground and tookrge steps to avoid the crystals that were in her path.

    It was impossible to know what would happen if her body or clothes made contact with the rare mineral and Sophie was not taking any chances.

    "I don''t know what''s happening but clearly someone is aiming for you," Sophie spoke seriously as she lifted Cleo up and walked towards a nearby chair.

    She sat down on the chair with Cleo still her arms. The warmth of her girlfriend''s soft body made the hybrid girl subconsciously rx.

    The two pilots were still driving the hovercar, but it was obvious that they were listening in to what Sophie was saying.

    "But who? And for what purpose? I don''t think that I''ve made any enemies who would be interested in taking my life¡­" Cleo eximed in a puzzled tone.

    "They didn''t even attempt to kidnap me¡­ if your danger sense is correct then they just want to murder me which makes no sense¡­"

    Sophie nodded since she understood her girlfriend''s confusion.

    The most logical reason for someone to target Cleo was her connection to House Peterlor but in that case, there would be no benefit to her death.

    With her death there would be no other strong connection to the high noble house controlled by the youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she tilted her wristmunicator upwards and sent a quick message to her father.

    Sophie: [Hey dad¡­ we''reing back now. There were three attempts on Cleo''s life including one by a shadow guard]

    Sophie: [She was a pale-skinned slender women with the ability to travel through shadows¡­ I don''t understand why she suddenly betrayed us]

    Not even two seconds passed before Sophie''s wristmunicator vibrated twice and she received a quick reply from her father.

    Dad: [Okay I will investigate immediately. Are the servants in the hovercarpromised in any way?]

    Sophie: [No my danger sense is reading them as normal¡­ there should not be any issues]

    Dad: [Listen carefully princess, in case of the worst-case situation I want you to¡­]

    The hybrid girl nced at the screen as her father typed out a few lines of text detailing a n for her safety.

    The conversation between the father-daughter pair went on for around five minutes and Sophie made sure to mention the strange crystals.

    Cleo was following along the conversation since the princess was on herp, but Sophie didn''t mind.

    Finally, she closed the messenger app and leaned back on the chair.

    Why couldn''t she just have a simple and rxing vacation?

    "Hey babe¡­ don''t be so upset¡­" Cleo whispered softly as she tilted up her head and captured Sophie''s lips in a soft and lingering kiss.

    "I''m just grateful that my knight in shining armour is always there to protect her princess."

    Cleo''s green eyes sparkled with affection as she raised up one hand and gently stroked the side of Sophie''s cheek.

    "I''m just worried about your safety¡­ I don''t know what I would do if something happened to you¡­" Sophie hesitantly confessed as she stared into her girlfriend''s eyes.

    "I''m not going anywhere," Cleo promised solemnly as she spoke with a rare seriousness in her tone.

    The hybrid girl cracked a small smile, but it was clear from her facial expression that she still felt worried.

    Meanwhile Rachel was shifting slightly on the bed while asionally letting out a low groan of pain.

    The saintess was still asleep but the sharp bursts of pain that kept hitting her head were making it impossible to befortable.

    "Excuse me youngdy but would you like the cleaning bot to tidy up the room," one of the pilots suddenly spoke.

    "Oh? We have an android on the hovercar? In that case tell it to ce all the Kry''en crystals in its storage space," Sophie ordered calmly.

    The pilot nodded and then pressed a series of buttons next to the dashboard in front of her. A hidden white door slid open from behind the bar and a metallic robot rolled out.

    The cleaning android was no bigger than two feet and had a round cylindrical body with two long slender arms.

    "Clean up the red crystals on the ground and ce them in your storage space," Sophie spoke softly to the bot.

    The android hummed in acknowledgement and then its yellow eyes shifted in the direction of the ground.

    A burst of bright light came from its sockets which quickly scanned the room and lingered on the location of all of the crystals.

    The robot moved from one reddish crystal to the next and used its arms to pick up the crystals and deposit them in its back cache.

    Soon the floor waspletely spotless with the exception of the corpse of the shadow guard that was still warm.

    The cleaning android returned to its private room and the white door slid shut. Sophie visibly rxed as the source of her danger sense activation was finally tucked away.

    It was hard to describe how difficult it was to have a small voice in her head constantly screaming ''Danger! Danger! Danger!'' along with a sense of impending doom.

    Still, she was grateful for her ability to detect trouble because it had saved her life more times than she could count.

    "Wait Sophie I''ve just thought of something¡­" Cleo spoke in hushed tone as she nced in the direction of Rachel''s sleeping body.

    "Remember Rachel said that the man who almost bumped into me was like a puppet with no will of his own?"

    "What if something happened to your shadow guard to turn her into a puppet? The reason why I think that''s the case is because you didn''t feel a sense of danger from her before right?"

    Sophie frowned as she realised that her girlfriend had raised a very important point.

    She did not feel anything was wrong when the shadow guard had appeared in the transport hub.

    But what had changed? Wait¡­ no¡­ it couldn''t be¡­.

    "The little girl!" Sophie eximed in shock.

 Chapter 582: The Aftermath

    Chapter 582: The Aftermath

    There was no proof just yet that the little girl was the one responsible for turning the female shadow guard into a puppet.

    But Sophie¡¯s suspicion was based on Cleo¡¯s theory which made sense.

    Something must have happened to the shadow guard after she had rescued the child since Sophie did not detect any dangering from her body.

    As far as Sophie knew, the shadow guard should have taken the child to the police station to find her parents and then somewhere along the way she was attacked.

    Or maybe she was attacked on the way back to the hovercar?

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she realised maybe her guess was not a foolproof as she initially assumed.

    It was impossible to know how many people the shadow guard encountered or who they were now that she was dead.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ I should have controlled myself,¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she stared at the corpse on the ground.

    Her instincts were honed from the months that she had spent in the Unovan Syndicate and now she responded to any threat by immediately trying to eliminate the danger.

    She did work on her response with Doctor Reynolds but clearly, she still had a long way to go.

    The hybrid girl leaned against the chair and reached into her storage bag to pull out two Grade S nutrient vials.

    She needed something to eat to get those unpleasant feelings to go away¡­

    Sophie unscrewed the top of one of the vials and downed its contents into her mouth without hesitation.

    She repeated the process with the second vial and then ced both empty vials in her storage bag.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry babe¡­ I¡¯m fine,¡± Cleo softlyforted her girlfriend who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

    ¡°I know¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ sigh¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I feel as though my life has just been a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire,¡± Sophie whispered tiredly.

    ¡°Out of the frying pan and into the fire? What does that mean?¡± Cleo asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

    Sophie didn¡¯t understand why Cleo didn¡¯t know such a simple idiom but then she realised that the saying came from Sui Meng¡¯s memories and not her own.

    Sometimes this would happen¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s an old saying from¡­ you know¡­ it basically means from one bad situation to another,¡± Sophie exined calmly.

    ¡°Oh! I understand¡­ it¡¯s pretty cute,¡± Cleo replied with a charming smile. Sophie smiled back at her girlfriend whoy in her arms.

    The hybrid girl couldn¡¯t resist lowering her head and lightly pecking the side of Cleo¡¯s cheek.

    As she got closer to the princess there was a light vani scenting from her girlfriend¡¯s body that was incredibly irresistible.

    Adrenaline was still flowing through Sophie¡¯s body, and it was causing her thoughts to veer off in a naughty direction.

    A trace of pinkish mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s right eye, so the hybrid girl was forced to take a few deep breaths in order to calm down.

    She looked outside the window and saw numerous tall metalloid buildings getting further and further away.

    Not every part of Gaia had been turned into an urban area and there were plenty of protected wildlife reserves.

    Sophie watched as they flew above a magnificent forest with trees that rose up hundreds of feet into the air with trunks the size of small apartment buildings.

    The leaves of the trees were dark purple in colour, so the forest seemed like an endless sea ofvender.

    One could observe tiny ant-like people walking through the forest apanied by android guides that exined the differentndmarks.

    ¡°Want to go on a trip here? I read up about it on the virtual Net, apparently one of the trees is supposed to be sealing some sort of demon,¡± Cleo whispered mysteriously.

    ¡°Nope. Knowing our luck, the seal that has stood firm for millions of years will immediately break when we visit,¡± Sophie teased with a light smile on her face.

    The two young girls casually talked for the next few minutes with neither paying attention to the corpse that was gradually turning cold.

    Sophie had seen too much death to be affected by a body on the ground while Cleo on the other hand was being distracted by her girlfriend.

    The hovercar quickly exited the forest and Sophie checked hermunicator to see how far away House Peterlor¡¯s underground city was.

    Oh¡­ not bad¡­ they were only around twenty minutes away¡­

    Suddenly a loud groan of pain interrupted the conversation between Sophie and Cleo. It came from the direction of the bed where Rachel was lying down.

    The saintess was tossing and turning on the bed and her legs kicked away the nket that was covering her lower body.

    She reached for the closest pillow and wrapped her arms around its soft fluffy exterior in a warm embrace.

    ¡°Argh¡­ damn it¡­ my¡­ head is killing me,¡± Rachel¡¯s hoarse voice echoed through the vehicle.

    The saintess slowly opened her eyes as she stirred from hera. She still had a headache, but it was now much better than before.

    ¡°Where are we¡­ holy shit is that a dead body?!¡± Rachel eximed in shock as she saw the corpse of the shadow guard on the ground.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s a long story,¡± Sophie replied as she gently got up from the chair and walked over to her friend who had an expression of surprise on her face

    ¡°What happened was¡­¡±

    Sophie gave Rachel a quick recap about the events that had just transpired and the implications of one of her shadow guards beingpromised.

    ¡°I must apologise as the host for making you experience danger,¡± Sophie sincerely apologised as her noble etiquette training kicked in.

    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s not your fault. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Rachel reassured her friend as she silently digested what she had just heard.

    A little girl and a thug who tried to kidnap her in the middle of a crowded transport station¡­

    Red Kry¡¯en crystals that were a source of danger?

    Someone aiming for Cleo¡¯s life? It was all too much information all at once!

    The saintess stretched out her arms and gave a small yawn in an attempt to seem nonchnt andposed.

    Unlike Sophie, Rachel had not experienced many life and death situations, so she was still slightly affected by the presence of a dead body.

    ¡°So, would it be safer if we stayed at your ce for the next few weeks? At least until your dad investigates this situation?¡± Rachel eventually asked.

    Sophie thought about her friend¡¯s questions for a moment and then opened her mouth to reply,

    ¡°I think that¡¯s the n right now. I mean I do have to talk to him but at the moment it seems like too high a risk to go out without knowing where the enemy is or their motive.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not all that bad¡­ there are a few sights that I would like to show you all in the underground city and we can always just chill and enjoy the holosuite.¡±

 Chapter 583: Return To The Underground City

    Chapter 583: Return To The Underground City

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hidden Location- Peterlor Estate)

    The rest of the journey back to the underground city was uneventful and yet Sophie did not rx her vignce for even a single second.

    Her golden eyes kept looking around the interior of the hovercar for any unexpected threats and she kept a firm grip on her ster pistol.

    Cleo tried her best to get her girlfriend to rx but Sophie refused firmly.

    The months of living in the Unovan Syndicate meant that her body would easily slip into fight or flight mode.

    It didn¡¯t help that the corpse of the shadow guard on the ground was a grim reminder that someone or something was trying to hurt Cleo.

    Sophie finally let go a bit of her guard as the hovercarnded on an apparently abandoned field in the middle of nowhere.

    ¡°Thank you taking us back,¡± Sophie spoke politely to the two pilots.

    ¡°Our pleasure youngdy¡­ but what should we do with¡­¡± one of the pilots gestured towards the body on the floor.

    ¡°Leave it alone for now¡­ I think my father will want to send people to inspect the body for any clues,¡± Sophie replied calmly as she stepped over the corpse.

    She stretched out her hand and Cleo grabbed her palm.

    The warmth of her girlfriend¡¯s touch helped to calm down the dark thoughts running through her mind.

    If anything had happened to Cleo¡­

    Sophie shuddered as she even imagined such a horrific possibility. She wasn¡¯t even sure how she would react if Cleo died.

    Maybe she would gopletely mad¡­

    A door appeared in the middle of the wall and slowly lowered to reveal a staircase made from a flexible metalloid material.

    Sophie walked down the staircase first followed by Cleo and then Rachel who winked flirtishly at the female pilots.

    ¡°It feels good to be home,¡± Sophie remarked as she stepped onto the solid ground and took a moment to appreciate the grass beneath her feet.

    ¡°Definitely¡­ I mean this headache is freaking killing me¡­ I need a nap or a long sleep¡­¡± Rachel chimed in with a slight smile.

    The saintess reached into her storage bag and pulled out a healing serum which she quickly injected into her body.

    This serum was specially modified to work on Quafes physiology, and soon Rachel felt as though her headache had eased somewhat.

    If anyone was observing the three girls from a distance, then they would see them standing in the middle of a seemingly empty field.

    However, that was not the case¡­

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes darkened, and she saw a translucent dome projected over a certain area in the middle of the field.

    There was a wooden run-down shack in the dome that seemed to be on the verge of copsing.

    Several metalloid scanners were buried in the ground, and they would asionally sweep

    the area for any unexpected visitors.

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go¡­¡± Sophie softly whispered as she walked towards the barrier.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she felt a tingling feeling wash over her body.

    This was the feeling that one would get when they stepped into the illusion barrier that protected the estate.

    Several beams of light shone on her figure before switching their attention to herpanions.

    These were the first line of defenses guarding the hidden underground city that belonged to House Peterlor.

    There were other defenses of course but Sophie wasn¡¯t aware of them yet. She just knew that they existed.

    The three girls walked towards the wooden shack and Sophie ced her hand on the doorknob when they arrived.

    She felt a light electric buzz wash over her fingers as she pulled the door open to reveal a dusty interior littered with cobwebs.

    Sophie led her friends deeper into the shack until they reached a in door at the end of a long corridor.

    Beyond the door was a room with a teleportation pad that hummed softly as the lights slowly turned on.

    A holographic screen was projected into the air in front of the pad with instructions to enter a password.

    Below the holographic screen a simple console rose up from the ground with a keypad with several numbers to press.

    Sophie quickly tapped her fingers on certain keys in a rhythmic pattern and the holographic screen gradually faded away.

    A cold robotic voice came from a speaker hidden somewhere in the room.

    [Authority Verified- Wee back Sophie Peterlor¡­.]

    [Authority Verified- Wee back Cleo Sisrelis¡­]

    [Authority Verified- Wee back Rachel¡­]

    One by one the girls stepped on the teleportation pad that led directly to the city and their bodies dissolved into particles of light.

    Sophie opened her eyes and stumbled slightly as she stretched out her hands and ced them on the nearest wall.

    Fuck¡­ she hated teleportation¡­

    The hybrid girl took in a few deep breaths and tried her best not to throw up on the spot since she felt quite nauseous.

    She shot a quick nce at Rachel and Cleo and discovered that her friend and her girlfriend were both perfectly fine.

    This was so unfair!

    ¡°Are you okay babe?¡± Cleo whispered with concern evident in her voice. The princess walked over to her girlfriend and began to rub her back with circr motions.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ just give me a moment¡­¡± Sophie tried to smile but what appeared on her face was more of a grimace.

    While she struggled to recover, Rachel was absentmindedly looking at the massive underground city in front of her.

    Tall metalloid buildings that were hundreds of feet tall, androids moving around the ground performing mai

    ntenance tasks and the numerous hovercars flying about.

    It was a disy of wealth that few nobles possessed.

    Rachel was well aware of the gap that existed between herself and Sophie when it came to wealth, but she could not help but think about it as she stood in front of the city.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I should be fine now¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s voice snapped the saintess out of her musings. Rachel turned her attention to her friend whose face looked a lot better now.

    The hybrid girl took a few small steps and internally let out a sigh of relief as she was able to walk in a straight line.

    It was time to see her father¡­

 Chapter 584: Raw Materials

    Chapter 584: Raw Materials

    (Alpha Star System- Unnamed Ex)

    (Hidden Location- Secret Base)

    There was a in wooden door attached to the side of a massive rocky mountain whose jagged tip extended upwards towards the heavens.

    This seemingly out of ce door could not be seen by any scanning device nor could most people observe it using their eyes.

    Layers uponyers of magic runes were carved onto its wooden surface.

    These runes were written in an ancient arcanenguage and the letters softly glowed blue.

    But whaty beyond the door was their of a monster¡­

    Behind the door was arge open hall with no lighting. It waspletely dark and the darkness itself seemed to be alive.

    The sounds of chains rustling softly could be hearding from somewhere inside the darkness along with the faint cries of young children.

    Their screams would continue even as the voices of the children grew hoarse.

    Guttural twisted noises escaped their throats and yet they kept screaming.

    What horror were they experiencing in the dark? It was impossible to know¡­ nor would one wish to find out.

    The rattling of the chains grew louder and louder as a figure walked towards a containment chamber that had been ced in the back of the hall.

    The figure was barely humanoid with a thick bulky frame and tiny shrivelled up arms that hung uselessly at his sides.

    His face if one were able to see in the darkness was equal parts horrifying and attractive with a charm that would make it hard not to look away.

    Thick fleshy bumps grew on different areas of his skin.

    These bumps were pus-filled sores that oozes foul smelling liquid as the creature intentionally popped them.

    Thick chains made from a dark ck metal had been driven through the monster''s legs and dragged along the floor.

    There were mysterious runes inscribed on the chains that faintly glowed red. The creature winced in pain whenever the runes got brighter.

    He let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion as he approached the containment chamber and saw someone floating helplessly in a golden liquid.

    The person inside the chamber looked exactly like thete Emperor Sisrelis but there was something off about his appearance.

    He was handsome to the point where it was actually off putting. There was something about his good-looking facial features that resembled a mask.

    The monster raised up his shrivelled-up palm and lightly tapped it against the ss to get his servant''s attention.

    The man floating inside the containment chamber did not respond since he was still asleep.

    For a moment the monster was tempted to drag his experiment out but that would ruin the process, so he decided to take a step back.

    He stepped away from hisboratory and headed towards a small open hole in the corner of the hall.

    Beyond that hole was awork of underground side passageways and hallways that created aplexbyrinth.

    Any intruders that broke into his domain would easily get lost as they dealt with numerous fake walls, dead ends, and deadly traps.

    The monster walked for around twenty minutes until he arrived at a room where a pool of crimson liquid bubbled softly.

    He lowered himself into the liquid and a satisfied smile shed across his face as he finally felt some relief from the painful sores all over his body.

    "The n is not working as smoothly as I would have hoped," the monster quietly muttered as he reached down to the bottom of the pool and pulled out a reddish crystal.

    "That hybrid girl¡­ her instincts are very impressive. Or perhaps she possesses a precognition ability¡­"

    "As far as I know Duke Peterlor is just a swordsman¡­"

    The monster frowned slightly as he thought about what he had seen through the eyes of his puppets.

    A few days ago, Princess Cleo had finally left the safety of the Peterlor Estate along with the duke''s daughter and a saintess from the Nephilim Church.

    It was the perfect opportunity to implement his n to infect the princess and gain a connection to the duke.

    The monster had ordered several individual puppets to move towards N''rean City and gift the princess one of the Kry''en crystals.

    It should have been a simple operation.

    Those three girls were merely qi tide cultivators so their senses should be incapable of detecting that anything was amiss.

    And yet¡­ it had all gone wrong.

    One or two failures could be chalked up to coincidence, but it was the hybrid girl''s reaction to her shadow guard that convinced the monster that she somehow knew of his n.

    Or at least she was able to tell that there was a danger hidden in the seemingly valuable crystals.

    She killed her shadow guard without hesitation¡­ the monster was honestly a little bit impressed since it was clear that Duke Peterlor''s daughter had inherited his ruthlessness.

    One did not be the high-levelmander of the Imperial Army with a soft heart¡­

    The monster yed with the red crystal in his palm and whispered a few words under his breath in anguage that was impossible to decipher.

    Mana circles appeared in the air above his twisted and deformed body and beams of light erupted from the center of the circles.

    These beams of light entered the crystal and its reddish colour darkened even further until it becamepletely ck.

    When the process wasplete, the monster began to cough violently, and specks of blood could be seening out of his mouth.

    This damn curse¡­

    The monster rxed in the pool for several more minutes and then slowly got out of the crimson liquid.

    He walked towards hisboratory once more but along the way he stopped in a certain room to pick up some raw materials.

    Inside of a small, cramped room were dozens of children. Humans, Mendolesa, Quafes and even one Servie huddled together in the room since the temperature was low.

    They wore tattered clothes that were falling apart, and their ribs could clearly be seen against their chests.

    What was extremely disturbing were the signs of torture on their fragile bodies.

    Fingernails had been pulled out, some were missing limbs while other were missing an eye or an ear.

    Whip and burn marks could be observed along delicate parts of their bodies and a Mendolesa girl had an open wound on her forehead that was still bleeding.

    They could hear footstepsing from outside the room and expressions of terror shed across their young faces.

    Chains softly rustled, and the children trembled uncontrobly. After months of torture the mere sound of those chains was enough to send them into shock.

    The door gradually opened a tall bulky figure stood in front of the room. It was impossible to see his face in the darkness and yet every child could feel his gaze linger on their bodies.

    There was no emotion in his gaze. The monster looked at the children as if they were mere pieces of meat.

    Invisible hands grabbed the nearest human child who screamed just once before one of the hands covered his mouth.

    He kicked and screamed as he was dragged out of the room and the door swung shut with a heavy bang as his figure disappeared.

    The monster looked down at the raw material and a sadistic gleam lingered in his eyes.

 Chapter 585: A Change In The Amulet Space

    Chapter 585: A Change In The Amulet Space

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hidden Location- Underground City)

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she leaned against the back of her bed with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    She could not help but think about what had just happened a few hours ago.

    Somehow a simple trip to the museum had led to multiple assassination attempts on Cleo''s life.

    The hybrid girl turned on hermunicator and checked the news on the Virtual Net to see if any reporters had covered the incident.

    There was an article floating around about the incident at the transport hub, but it was not major news.

    The problem with an interconnectedwork between the different colonies of the Federation was that news that only affected one would rarely go viral.

    Still there were somements underneath the article specting about the incident.

    Some said that it was a kidnapping attempt that had gone wrong while others leftments that were more conspiratorial.

    Everything from a government cover up job to the return of the Draxi Empire¡­ there was even someone whomented that Gaia was t.

    Sophie browsed through thements but seeing that there really wasn''t any useful information she closed the page and powered off hermunicator.

    The sounds of faint humming and water falling could be hearding from behind the door that led to the bathroom.

    Cleo was currently taking a shower and while Sophie was tempted to join her girlfriend in the bathtub, she decided to stay in bed.

    She had already talked to her dad about the incident when they returned to the mansion, and he promised to look into the matter immediately.

    It was unfortunate that the shadow guard who attacked them was dead but at least those strange red crystals had been collected.

    Kry''en crystals¡­

    Sophie was vaguely aware that they were quite valuable but have never heard that they were dangerous or would pose a threat.

    Unless they were fake¡­

    Still, that was a question that the scientists in House Peterlor''s privateboratory would have to answer because they were the ones investigating the crystals.

    The hybrid girl yed with her fingers as she reyed the events that had urred in her mind for the umpteenth time.

    There was one observation in particr that bothered her the most about the incidents that were targeted at Cleo.

    If those individuals were on a mission to assassinate the princess, then why was in done in such an inefficient way?

    Those crystals may have activated her danger sense, but it was high unlikely that they were more lethal than a sma rifle, explosive device or even poison¡­

    No¡­ those crystals must have been for another purpose¡­ but what?

    Sophie furrowed her brows slightly as she felt as though she was on the verge of figuring out something, but the thought escaped her mind.

    Maybe she should do some cultivating in order to calm down her anxious mood¡­

    The hybrid girl got up from the bed and walked towards the training mat in the corner of her bedroom.

    She sat down in a cross-legged position and closed her eyes. The amulet that hung from around her neck glowed slightly as Sophie focused on the qi flowing through her meridians.

    In and out¡­ breathe in¡­. and¡­. breathe out¡­

    Sophie felt her heartbeat begin to slow down as she concentrated on her qi as it travelled through the pathways around her body.

    She opened her eyes and found herself floating aimlessly in the dark void hidden inside her amulet.

    The void waspletely empty except for the massive stone tablet that appeared to be frozen in time in the middle of this strange ce.

    Sophie willed herself to move forward and her body began to travel towards the tablet inch by inch.

    It was an incredibly slow process, but Sophie did not have a trace of impatience on her face.

    She could feel the amount of liquid qi in her dantian increase with every second that she spent in the void.

    The barrier between the qi tide stage and the void stage was a significant hurdle for most cultivators.

    There were some who would remain in the qi tide stage for the rest of their life despite trying desperately.

    Sophie knew that her cultivation journey had been quite smooth so far but even she could tell that something was stopping her from reaching the next level.

    The hybrid girl looked around the space and to her surprise she saw the faint outlines of two figures in the far corner of the void.

    They weren''t there a moment ago¡­

    The figures both appeared to be humanoid with six de-like appendages jutting out of their backs.

    The outlines were made from what appeared to be stardust and Sophie felt a mysterious connection to both figures that she could not describe.

    Her feeling of connection was particrly strong to the figure on the right.

    Sophie furrowed her brows slightly since she had never encountered something like this before.

    She continued on her journey towards the stone tablet but could not shake off the curiosity in her heart as she asionally nced at the two figures.

    Wait¡­ the one on the left¡­

    A memory surfaced in Sophie''s mind, and she quickly realised that the body shape of the figure on the left matched perfectly with her aunt Rai''lle.

    The ''Spider Whisper Art'' was currently only being practiced by three members of the Arachnais Royal Family which meant that the figure on the right was¡­

    "Mom?!" Sophie inadvertently eximed in shock as she willed her body to move quickly towards the mysterious figure.

    The stone tablet was nowpletely forgotten as Sophie could only focus on the figureposed of stardust.

    Princess Thai''lle¡­ the exiled royal¡­ her mother¡­

    Sophie didn''t know how she felt as she approached the figure. There was equal parts excitement and nervousness in her heart.

    Was there some kind of connection between those who practice ''The Spider Whisper Art''?

    Does this mean that it would be possible to make contact with her mother soon?

    Sophie stretched out her hand towards the figure and her fingers trembled slightly.

    There was no trace of a battle-hardened warrior in Sophie''s demeaner, instead she appeared like a scared young girl who wanted to see her mom for the first time.

    The hybrid girl took in a deep breath and then touched the figure. It felt warm to the touch almost as though she was touching skin.

    Crack!

    The void immediately shattered, and Sophie barely had any time to react before her consciousness was transferred to unknown location.

 Chapter 586: A Mysterious Connection

    Chapter 586: A Mysterious Connection

    (Insectoid Empire- Lo''vrean Gxy)

    (Unknown Location- Prison R-812)

    Prison R-812 was well known as the most dangerous ce in the Lo''vrean Gxy.

    Only the most dangerous killers were trapped in the prison that some nicknamed the death pce.

    The prison was a sectioned off area of space that consisted of fives, a few moons, and an asteroid belt.

    The entire region had arge spatial barrier encircled around its location as well as thousands of heavily armed starships and guards.

    Not a single prisoner had escaped once they had been tossed in the prison and most of them were probably dead.

    The guards did not interfere with any of the infighting that urred among the inmates and in fact... they relished the sight.

    Only the worst of the worst ended up here.

    Murderers, rapists, terrorists and one prisoner who was especially famous...

    The exiled princess of the Arachnais tribe.

    Thai''lle frowned slightly as she stepped over a corpse that was still warm with blood leaking out of the massive hole in his chest.

    The former member of the royal family seemed out of ce and yet oddly well suited for the carnage that surrounded her.

    She was roughly six feet tall with long slender legs and beautiful golden eyes that shone brightly in the darkness.

    She possessed plump kissable lips and a seductive figure with two twin peaks that would attract the attention of both men and women.

    Six de-like appendages jutted out of her back, and one could see razor sharp fangs in her mouth that gleamed slightly.

    Thai''lle''s facial features were almost identical to her daughter''s except she looked like a grown-up version who was in her early thirties.

    Her beauty did not diminish with her age but was enhanced to a level that was almost unnatural.

    "Boring..." Thai''lle hissedzily as she wandered through the battlefield and used her appendages to finish off her dying foes.

    Yet another attack by the Murdock gang...

    She hated newbies who didn''t know their ce.

    Prison R-812 had long been divided into different areas that were controlled by the gangs that formed over time.

    Only Thai''lle had been able to secure an entire for herself and as a result she constantly had to deal with challengers.

    When she first arrived at the prison, a certain gang leader wanted to ''taste'' the royal princess and share her with his brothers.

    This used to be his territory....

    Thai''lle''s lips gradually curled upwards as she remembered the look of shock and horror on the leader''s face when she ripped out his heart.

    If the criminals in here were expecting a soft and delicate princess, then they quickly discovered that their assumptions were incorrect.

    Thai''lle was a monster... a beast that was capable of killing just like the rest of them...

    The former princess yawned sleepily and then headed for her base. Although calling it a base was stretching the truth...

    At the bottom of a nearby mountain was a cave and inside the cave was a makeshift bed made out of grass and leaves from the nearby nts.

    Thai''lle may be good at fighting but when it came to building shelters... let''s just say that her talentsy elsewhere.

    Well... it wasn''t exactly afortable home, but it was good enough.

    The former princess did notin as she walked past the ''bed'' and headed for the underground river.

    She needed to wash the blood off her body before she entered a berserk state.

    Already one could see faint traces of crimson along the corners of her golden eyes.

    Thai''lle lowered her body into the river and hissed softly as the blood on her body washed away to reveal horrific open wounds along her arms and stomach.

    The prisoners in here were not ordinary individuals and many were void stage cultivators or even in the god stage...

    The former princess winced slightly as the wounds on her body gradually began to regenerate piece by piece.

    Still there were some advantages to fighting constantly... she could feel the barrier to the ascension stage get weaker and weaker the more she fought.

    Thai''lle worshipped the hunter goddess and there were several worthy preys to be found inside the prison.

    The princess opened her eyes and stared in a certain direction.

    She remainedpletely still but her muscles tensed up. Thai''lle resembled a viper that was about to strike.

    The shadowy figure creeping along the edge of the wall must have been confident in her cultivation technique to remain unseen.

    It was a shame that she didn''t ount for Thai''lle''s instincts that were sharp enough to be called a precognition ability.

    Thai''lle reached into her pocket and flung a de at the intruder. The sharpened weapon flew so quickly that it produced a sonic boom.

    The mysterious ambusher did not even have any time to react before the de prated her skull and exited the other side.

    Brain matter and blood sttered across the wall as Thai''lle golden eyes shone with cruelty and sadistic glee.

    The technique that the intruder used to disguise herself slowly faded to reveal a lizard-like creature with a long slender whip-like tail.

    A Roxane ended up in here?

    Thai''lle was always under the impression that the Roxane were a peaceful species, but she supposed that there were always exceptions.

    The former princess finished washing up and then dragged the corpse out of her shelter so that it wouldn''t stink up the ce.

    She tossed it several hundred meters away and then returned to her makeshift bed. Thai''lle looked outside the cave and realised that night was about to fall.

    It was time for her daily ritual.

    Thai''lle reached under her bed and pulled out a nk sheet of paper with only a few lines of text written down at the top.

    There was a feather under her bed along with a container filled with a ck liquid. Thai''lle dipped the nib of the feather in the liquid and then began to write.

    ''Dear my beloved Sophie,

    ''How are you today? Your mom had to deal with some nasty guys who wanted to take over her territory but don''t worry... they are dead now.''

    ''I can feel my cultivation getting stronger by the day so hopefully it won''t be long until I escape this ce and find you.''

    ''I look forward to seeing how you''ve grown up. I hope you take after me because let''s be honest... your dad is bit of a softie.''

    ''He''s cute though... but don''t tell him I said that!''

    A small smile shed across Thai''lle face as she pictured the adorable soft baby that she held in her arms.

    She was so weak and helpless... and yet the former princess had never seen anything more precious in her entire life.

    Thai''lle stopped writing and prepared to put the sheet of paper back under her bed when her instincts red once more.

    The former princess immediately nced in a certain direction but this time she could not see any lifeform or threat.

    It was quite strange... her instincts were ring up, but she did not feel any sort of dangering from the direction where she was looking.

    Instead... it was almost like a connection...

 Chapter 587: Sophie?!

    Chapter 587: Sophie?!

    Sophie opened her eyes and found herself standing in a strange ce. Well standing was not quite the right word¡­

    The hybrid girl looked down and discovered that she was floating a few feet off the ground. That was not the only peculiar part about her current state.

    Sophie nced at her body and saw that her skin was now vaguely translucent and there seemed to be stars blinking in and out of existence inside her body.

    What the hell was going on?

    She appeared to be floating in what seemed to be arge cave with stctites growing down from the ceiling.

    The interior of the cave was quite dark, but one could see a thin beam of light illuminating the darkness.

    This source of light came from arge circr object that hung high on the wall opposite to her.

    This object was unlike anything that Sophie had ever seen before.

    It appeared to be split in half. A neat vertical cut as if someone had torn it apart using a de.

    The two halves were now connected by thick fleshy threads that prevented the halves from falling away from each other.

    Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion and tried to think about what to do next.

    One minute she was cultivation in the amulet space and the next second she was somehow a¡­ a¡­ ghost?

    Wait¡­ was she dead?

    If this was the afterlife, then honestly¡­ it was kind of shitty¡­

    Sophie panicked slightly as she waved her hands around and saw that they passed through the wall of the cave.

    No¡­ no¡­ calm down¡­ calm down¡­

    The hybrid girl took in a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. No air entered or left her body, but the familiar routine helped her regain control of her emotions.

    There was nothing she could do except explore the nearby surroundings and see if there was a way that she could return home.

    Sophie floated aimlessly in a certain direction.

    The cave was muchrger than she initially assumed with hundreds of side passageways and hidden rooms.

    This interconnected undergroundwork was like abyrinth. Sophie floated around for what seemed like hours with no end in sight.

    Was she going to be trapped here for all of eternity?

    Suddenly Sophie felt a warm feeling in her chest that got hotter and hotter with every passing minute.

    She felt something calling her in a northern direction that was slightly upwards.

    The hybrid girl felt a bit wary about this strange feeling but seeing as there was no other alternative except to wander forever in the cave¡­

    What other choice did she have?

    Sophie floated upwards and passed through the ceiling of many of the cave rooms.

    She kept floating in the direction of the feeling where something or perhaps someone was calling out to her.

    Time seemed to have no meaning in this strange state and Sophie could not tell how long it took her to finally reach what appeared to be the entrance of the cave.

    She looked around and saw a figure lying down on a messy bed poorly made from grasses and leaves.

    The figure had her back turned to Sophie, but one could see six de-like appendages jutting out from her back.

    Someone from the Arachnais tribe?

    Sophie was about to float a bit closer to get a better look when the mysterious Arachnais turned around.

    "What? Mom¡­ is that you?" Sophie muttered in shock as she stared at the Arachnais who had very simr facial features to her.

    The Arachnais woman lying down on the bed bore a striking resemnce to her.

    Of course, there were obvious differences in their body physiques since the woman was¡­ more developed but their faces were almost identical.

    "Mom?! Mom It''s me!" Sophie cried out excitedly as she waved her ghostly hands and tried to get the woman''s attention.

    Thai''lle stopped writing and prepared to put the sheet of paper back under her bed when her instincts red up once more.

    The former princess nced in Sophie''s direction, but it was like she knew something was there but could not see it.

    Sophie smiled happily when her mom stared at her, but her smile gradually faded when she realised that Thai''lle was unable to observe her in this strange state.

    What could she do? What could she do?

    The hybrid girl willed her body to float down to the ground and attempted to write something using the dust.

    She didn''t know if it was possible for parts of her body to turn solid, but it was worth a try if she couldmunicate with her mother.

    In Sui Meng''s memories there were stories of ghosts lifting up objects so maybe it was possible¡­

    Sophie stretched out her palm and attempted to use her fingers to write out a message that her mother could read.

    She tried for around a minute until finally giving up. Alright so it was clear that she could not touch anything when she was in this form.

    Sophie fingers curled up into a fist as she felt a surge of frustration and annoyance rise up in her heart.

    She finally got a chance to meet her mother, but it was impossible to talk or even interact with her.

    "Who are you?" Thai''lle coldly spoke as she approached the direction where she sensed a being was lurking.

    She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sharpened de with an edge that gleamed under the light of the moon.

    Her instincts told her that the mysterious being was not a threat, but Thai''lle refused to let down her guard in this dangerous ce.

    "Mom! Mom! It''s me¡­" Sophie whispered softly as she saw her mother approach with wariness and caution in her eyes.

    The hybrid girl floated towards her mother even though she had a weapon clenched tightly in her palm.

    Sophie stared at Thai''lle face that seemed to be an older version of her own. If this was how she would look in the future, then she really had nothing toin about.

    Her mom was a big beauty!

    The hybrid girl stretched out her palm to touch her mother''s cheek when her hand sank into Thai''lle skin.

    It was aplete ident but soon Sophie realised that something unexpected was happening.

    Sophie jolted in shock as she felt a strong bond or connection instantly form between the two of them.

    Thai''lle froze in ce as she felt a warm feeling enter her body from her left cheek. She closed her eyes and when she reopened them, she saw¡­ she saw¡­

    No¡­ this was impossible¡­

    "Sophie?" Thai''lle eximed in disbelief.

 Chapter 588: Thaille Gives Some Advice

    Chapter 588: Thai''lle Gives Some Advice

    (Insectoid Empire- Lo''vrean Gxy)

    (Unknown Location- Prison R-812)

    Thai''lle''s eyes widened in shock as she saw a mysterious girl suddenly appear right before her eyes without warning.

    The girl appeared to be a member of the Arachnais tribe, but she was quite different to others of their species.

    Firstly, she was quite tall, Thai''lle wasn''t sure about her exact height since she was floating slightly above the ground, but she had to be seven feet at least...

    Her ears were slightly pointed but not as sharp as her own, the girl''s mouth had tiny fangs and the most significant difference...

    The mysterious girl had four de-like appendages jutting out of her back instead of the usual six. These four appendages were longer and had sharp hooked barbs on their ends.

    "Sophie?!" Thai''lle blurted out in shock. The only member of the Arachnais race with such bizarre features had to be her long-lost daughter.

    Wait... this didn''t make any sense...

    Thai''lle frowned heavily and she began to look at the mysterious girl a bit more critically. The girl appeared to be solid, but the edges of her body were slightly translucent.

    She resembled... what did Rokan say they were... ahh... yes... a ghost!

    There was clearly something strange going on especially considering that the mysterious girl''s palm entered her cheek.

    "Nice trick," Thai''lle smirked as she yed with the knife in her hand. The sharp de fluttered between her fingertips until one could only see a sh of steel.

    "Illusion? Mental influence? Psychic attack? I must say you are very impressive to mimic what I subconsciously imagined my daughter would look like, but you made one mistake..."

    "When my daughter was born, she was a normal human except for her eyes."

    Thai''lle grinned as she saw the look of shock sh across the mysterious girl''s face. Yep... her precious child didn''t inherit her features except for her eyes.

    This was clearly a fake...

    "No... mom! I am your daughter... I used to look like a normal human but when I started practising the cultivation technique in the amulet you gave me..." Sophie hurriedly exined.

    "Oh?! Can you use my memories to make the illusion more realistic? Not many know about the Star of Ethnaise..." Thai''lle asked with a bored expression on her face.

    "I must say this is quite the curious technique... shame it isn''t lethal or dangerous... but I''ll humor you... if you are my daughter then how did you end up here in that state?"

    Sophie was a bit surprised at her mother''s reaction.

    It wasn''t exactly the warm reunion that she also imagined but thinking about it... she could understand her mom''s concerns.

    If a strange girl appeared out of thin air and imed to be your daughter who was currently hundreds of thousands of light years away...

    It would be hard not to be suspicious.

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. She calmed herself down and then began to think of what to say.

    It was impossible to prove her identity with just words alone, but she had to try and the only way she could convince her mother was to be honest.

    "Mom... I''m honestly not sure how I ended up here," Sophie confessed truthfully as she looked at Thai''lle directly in her eyes.

    "I was cultivating in the amulet space when I saw something strange. There were two humanoid outlines made of stardust."

    "One of the outlines resembled aunt Rai''lle so I assumed that the second belonged to you. I touched it and then the space shattered."

    "When I woke up, I was inside this cave, but I got a feeling inside my chest that guided me to float towards a certain direction."

    "I don''t know how or why but my body became invisible as well as weightless. I tried getting your attention, but it was like you could not hear me..."

    Thai''lle listened patiently as the girl who imed to be her daughter finished her exnation and a contemtive look shed across her face.

    It was true that she felt a connection to the girl standing in front of her but that wasn''t enough to ay her suspicions.

    The former princess stretched out her hand and her fingertips entered the Sophie''s stomach. She directed a thin strand of qi into the mysterious girl''s body.

    It sounded like her so-called daughter was currently in an astral form but that didn''t mean that her qi would not react with her meridians.

    If she really practiced the ''Spider Whisper Art'' then there should be proof in her meridians. Thai''lle closed her eyes and focused on what she felt as her qi travelled around Sophie''s body.

    Finally, she opened her eyes and the expression on her face turned to that of one of disbelief mixed with hope.

    "You... you... you really are my daughter," Thai''lle stuttered for the first time in her life. This should be impossible and yet she felt that the girl in front of her cultivated using the ''Spider Whisper Art''.

    "Yes mom... it''s me," Sophie smiled warmly as she floated even closer to her mother and tried to wrap her ghostly arms around her to give her a hug.

    It didn''t really work but just being close to her mother was enough for Sophie to be satisfied. She always wanted to meet the woman who had given birth to her.

    "But I also sensed a familiar power in you... did you also sign a contract with the hunter goddess? What gift did she give you?" Thai''lle asked curiously.

    "Contract? I didn''t sign a contract... she just dered that I was her vessel..." Sophie hesitantly spoke.

    "A vessel? My daughter is... by the goddess... you are amazing!" Thai''lle eximed happily as she looked at her daughter with pride.

    No member of the Arachnais tribe had been chosen to be a vessel for the Hunter Goddess for hundreds of thousands of years.

    Even Thai''lle for all of her talents was only given a single gift and had not met the goddess herself but her messenger priestess.

    But now... her daughter was the vessel.

    "Tell me everything... I want to know everything about my baby girl," Thai''lle excitedly spoke as she led Sophie towards the bed.

    The former princess sat down on the poorly grass mattress and stared at Sophie with stars sparkling in her eyes.

    Even now it was hard to believe that her daughter was really there.

    "Sure mom... what do you want to know first?" Sophie asked curiously as she tried to sit down as well but her body would not lower to the ground.

    "How is your father? He hasn''t taken another mate, has he?" Thai''lle asked with a trace of worry in her voice that even she didn''t notice.

    "No. Dad is waiting for you toe back... he has not chosen another wife," Sophie replied immediately.

    Thai''lle''s lips gently curved upwards and she silently promised herself to reward her favourite human when she reached the Federation.

    "Okay... I wasn''t worried... he would not dare to cheat on me," Thai''lle waved her hands and pretended to be nonchnt.

    "Now how about you? Are you happy? Are the humans treating you like the princess you are?"

    "Well not really as a princess but dad is a powerful noble, so most people treat me with respect. When I was younger... I was bullied a bit because of my looks but now..." Sophie spoke quietly.

    "I have good friends by my side and someone special as well."

    Thai''lle immediately opened her mouth to warn her daughter about those sneaky humans,

    "Someone special? My daughter... Don''t be fooled by those humans! They are incredibly cunning! I remember your father tried to escape from me numerous times before he eventually gave up."

    "You must make sure to capture them directly! Then once they are imprisoned, you can court them using these techniques."

    "Now first you need to challenge them to a duel..."

 Chapter 589

    Chapter 589: Showing Off

    (Insectoid Empire- Lo¡¯vrean Gxy)

    (Unknown Location- Prison R-812)

    ¡°And of course, you cannot only punish your mate¡­ one must give them the asionally sweetness so that they keeping back for more.¡±

    ¡°The most important part of the training process is to make sure that they always associate your face with happy thoughts or pleasure.¡±

    ¡°Now how I aplished this is by¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s face blushed bright red as her mother began to describe her techniques for capturing a mate.

    Which to be perfectly honest sounded more like crimes than a romantic pursuit. Sophie felt a strange sense of sympathy for her father.

    The hybrid girl floated closer to her mother and looked at her face.

    It was definitely strange to see someone who looked like the older version of herself. Still, she was grateful to her mom for passing on her gorgeous looks.

    ¡°Are you listening baby? These are very important tips!¡± Thai¡¯lle warmly spoke.

    ¡°Err¡­ mom¡­ my mate¡­ Cleo¡­ she is already mine. We have a pretty strong rtionship,¡± Sophie confessed truthfully.

    ¡°She?¡± Thai¡¯lle asked with confusion evident on her face.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Cleo is a girl¡­¡± Sophie spoke honestly.

    She did feel a bit worrieding out to her mom in their first meeting, but she didn¡¯t know when she would see Thai¡¯lle again.

    Besides something like this shouldn¡¯t be hidden from her mother.

    ¡°And this Cleo¡­ who is she?¡± Thai¡¯lle asked curiously. The former Arachnais princess was a bit taken aback but frankly who was she to judge.

    If her daughter liked a human female, then there was nothing she could do about it except¡­

    Make sure that this Cleo never hurt her precious baby.

    ¡°She is a member of the Imperial Family. A princess to be exact but the royal offsprings don¡¯t exactly have a tremendous amount of power or influence,¡± Sophie replied casually.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ one day I have to meet this Cleo character. I have to make sure that she isn¡¯t taking advantage of my innocent girl,¡± Thai¡¯lle frowned slightly as she focused on Sophie¡¯s face.

    ¡°You clearly seemed to have inherited some of your father¡¯s kindness and I know that other humans can be very cunning.¡±

    ¡°Make sure to always be on your guard!¡±

    Thai¡¯lle voice was filled with a mix of concern and love as she gave Sophie some more advice on how to deal with her enemies.

    There was not a single day that went by that Thai¡¯lle did not regret that she did not have the chance to watch her daughter grow up.

    There were just so many things that she wanted to teach her. She wanted to be a part of her daughter¡¯s life¡­

    ¡°I have always made sure to kill my enemies before they are a threat, if they are too powerful then bid your time and wait until you are ready before you strike,¡± Thai¡¯lle whispered softly.

    ¡°Mercy has no ce on the battlefield. Kill or be killed. That is the only motto that you should follow.¡±

    ¡°Your father to his credit understood that honour means nothing in a fight for survival. When we fought, he used dirty tricks and ambushes to throw me off my guard.¡±

    ¡°It didn¡¯t work of course¡­ but I knew that I had made the right choice in picking him as my lifelong mate.¡±

    Thai¡¯lle lips gently curved upwards as she reminisced on the time, she had spent together with Rokan.

    Those months were the happiest period of time in her life. She never expected to fall in love with a human, but she was d that it was him.

    ¡°Mom¡­I¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s words were interrupted by a soft rustling noise that came from somewhere outside the cave¡¯s entrance.

    Both Sophie and Thai¡¯lle¡¯s faces turned in the direction of the noise at the same time.

    Thai¡¯lle frowned slightly as she got up from the bed and took out her knife from the sheath attached to her hip.

    ¡°Sweetie just give me a moment to deal with the trash and I¡¯ll be back soon¡­¡± Thai¡¯lle spoke nonchntly as she walked towards the noise.

    She walked out of the range of Sophie¡¯s outstretched arm, so she was unable to see her daughter once more.

    However, Thai¡¯lle could vaguely sense her location due to the connection between the two of them.

    Sophie floated slowly after her mother because she was curious about what kind of enemies her mom faced in this strange ce.

    Thai¡¯lle walked outside and felt a cold breeze brush against her face.

    She would usually be upset if someone or something came to bother her at night, but she was still in a good mood after talking to her daughter.

    The former princess stepped forward and unleashed the full might of her spiritual aura.

    The ground cracked beneath her feet and an intense pressure sent the ambushers in the grass to their knees.

    With great difficulty they managed to crawl on their hands and legs out of the nearby bushes and their appearances could be seen under the light of the full moon.

    They were Tyrieons.

    Beast-like monsters with twisted deformed bodies covered in thick brown hair. The possessed five legs, two heads and jaws filled with razor sharp teeth.

    The leader of the pack opened hisrge mouth and words began to flow out, ¡°Kill¡­ this¡­ ce¡­ is¡­ ours¡­ get¡­ out¡­¡±

    No sooner had the words left his mouth, Thai¡¯lle¡¯s figure had already vanished from the spot.

    She reappeared behind the leader and two of her ded appendages shot forward.

    The leader copsed on the ground with blood leaking out of the two horrific wounds in his chest area.

    The rest of the pack howled to the sky and rushed forward at Thai¡¯lle with madness burning in their gazes.

    Thai¡¯lle looked in the direction where she sensed her daughter and slowly closed her golden eyes. She reopened them and they were nowpletely crimson.

    Bloodlust lurked behind her crimson gaze. Sophie looked at her mother and even she felt a shiver run down her spine.

    If Sophie¡¯s bloodlust was a river, then her mother¡¯s bloodlust was the ocean itself. The aura around Thai¡¯lle¡¯s body was as though she was sitting on a mountain of corpses.

    She was a reaper.

    Death and destruction would follow wherever she went.

    The Tyrieons rushing towards the former princess slowed down and began to whimper as they faced such a terrifying foe.

    But it was toote¡­

    Thai¡¯lle walked towards them with slow purposeful steps. Even though she seemed to be moving slowly, it was as though time itself had been frozen.

    She stretched out her hands and ripped out the creatures¡¯ still beating hearts.

    The beast-like monsters were so cowed by her aura that they did not resist even as they watched theirpanions die one by one in horrific ways.

    When thest creature fell lifeless to the ground, Thai¡¯lle stood in the middle of the battlefield with a bored expression on her face.

    She wanted to show off a bit more in front of her daughter¡­

 Chapter 590

    Chapter 590: A Sad Farewell

    (Insectoid Empire- Lo¡¯vrean Gxy)

    (Unknown Location- Prison R-812)

    The heavy scent of blood hung in the air. Thai¡¯lle stood in the middle of the corpses with eyes that werepletely crimson.

    With every step that she took, cracks appeared on the ground and her six de-like appendages slowly swayed from side to side almost like snakes.

    The former princess nced at her hands that were covered in the blood of the dead Tyrieons and raised her fingers to her lips.

    She licked the ck blood and tasted it before an expression of disgust shed across her face.

    These useless things didn¡¯t even have any proper nutrients¡­

    Sophie floated over to her body and extended her hand outwards until her fingers touched her mother¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ my baby¡­ did you see how I dealt with them?¡± Thai¡¯lle smiled gently as she saw her daughter once again appear out of thin air.

    ¡°You must never treat your enemies with mercy. Always remember that the universe is a harsh and dangerous ce.¡±

    ¡°Your prey can never be given a chance to escape your grasp.¡±

    ¡°Mom¡­ are you often attacked?¡± Sophie asked softly with concern evident in her voice.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ not as much as before. My reputation has spread across the prison, so I only get bothered by the new guys who don¡¯t know any better,¡± Thai¡¯lle replied casually.

    ¡°They rarely use their brains¡­ I remember one in particr was under the impression that I had a to myself just because I used to be a princess.¡±

    ¡°Like the scum in here would care¡­ don¡¯t worry though¡­ I eventually corrected his false assumption when he decided to pay me a ¡®wee¡¯ visit¡­¡±

    Thai¡¯lle lips gently curved upwards as the bloodlust surrounding her body got even heavier. Sophie¡¯s body trembled involuntarily as she felt the intense pressure.

    It was like she was standing before an apex predator. Her mom in her berserker state was genuinely terrifying in a way that was hard to describe.

    Thai¡¯lle noticed that her daughter shivered slightly and quickly withdrew her aura so that Sophie wouldn¡¯t get scared.

    Thest thing that she wanted was for her precious baby to be afraid of her.

    It had been quite some time since she bothered to control her bloodlust, so she was a bit rusty when it came to stopping herself once she got in the mood.

    Thai¡¯lle took in a few deep breaths and then the crimson tide gradually receded to reveal her normal golden eyes.

    ¡°Sorry about that honey. I didn¡¯t mean to¡­ Sophie?!¡± Thai¡¯lle voice abruptly cut off as she stared at her daughter in shock.

    Sophie looked down and saw her body fading in and out of existence. There was something tugging on her stomach as if it wanted to pull her somewhere.

    This feeling got more painful the longer she resisted but Sophie clenched her teeth and tried her best to stay in the moment.

    Her mom was right there¡­ there were so many things that she needed to talk to her about.

    She hadn¡¯t told her about her university life, growing up on Gaia, her experiences in the Unovan Syndicate¡­

    ¡°Just give me some more time¡­¡± Sophie groaned painfully as she felt as though her body was being torn apart.

    ¡°Sophie are you okay?¡± Thai¡¯lle eximed in shock as she hurriedly reached for her daughter only to see her hands pass through her ghostly form.

    ¡°Mom¡­ I think my astral body is returning to the amulet space¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯m trying to stop it¡­ urghhh¡­¡± Sophie muttered in a hoarse tone.

    ¡°I¡­ it¡¯s too strong¡­ Mom¡­ I¡­ I LOVE YOU!¡±

    Those were thest words that Sophie managed to say before she disappeared from the spot leaving her mother alone in a field of corpses.

    ¡°I love you too¡­¡± Thai¡¯lle softly whispered as she stretched out her hand and touched the air where her daughter had been just moments ago.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Sophie¡¯s Bedroom)

    ¡°Mom?!¡± Sophie shouted loudly as she opened her eyes and found herself back in her bedroom.

    Wait¡­ what just happened? Why was she back here?

    The hybrid girl cautiously got up from the ground and stumbled slightly as her foot got caught on the rug.

    She could hear the sounds of water fallinging from the bathroom attached to her living quarters which meant that Cleo was still showering.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and checked the time. Only a few minutes had passed since she had sat down and mediated.

    But she had clearly spent over half an hour with her mother¡­

    Did time work differently because they were so many light years apart? Or was there another reason that had to do with the amulet itself?

    Sophie didn¡¯t know but there was something that she had to do urgently. She got into her bed and closed her eyes.

    The hybrid girl focused on the qi that was running through her meridians and eventually her consciousness sunk into the amulet on her chest.

    Sophie opened her eyes and discovered that she was once again floating in the endless ck void.

    There was the familiar sight of the stone tablet hovering in the middle of the space, but Sophie couldn¡¯t care less about it right now.

    She quickly turned in the direction where she had seen the two faint humanoid outlines made from stardust and found¡­

    Nothing.

    Both outlines had disappeared as if they were something that she had just made up.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Sophie¡¯s enhanced memory, she would have thought that her encounter with her mother had just been a dream.

    Okay she needed to think about what had just happened.

    Clearly based on her previous encounters with her aunt, there was a connection that existed between the practitioners of the ¡®Spider Whisper Art¡¯.

    They were able to ess the space inside the amulets known as the Stars of Ethnaise and her mom was able to confirm her identity based on her qi.

    Now somehow, she was able to teleport to her mom¡¯s side in an astral form when she touched her outline.

    But now the outlines were gone.

    Sophie frowned slightly since she didn¡¯t know how they mysteriously appeared, nor did she know how to get them toe back.

    At times like this she really wished that she could speak to her aunt Rai¡¯lle but her rtive had not entered her space for months now.

    ¡°Well¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be ungrateful,¡± Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she floated in the void.

    It had actually been an unexpected blessing to be able to see her mother even though she was entire gxies away.

    Seeing the woman who gave birth to her made Sophie¡¯s chest feel warm and fuzzy. Her mom was just as amazing and badass as she always dreamed that she was.

    Hopefully she would one day be able to visit her once more.

 Chapter 591

    Chapter 591: Morning Training

    Sophie reopened her eyes and found herself back in her bedroom with the faint sounds of water fallinging from the shower where Cleo was bathing.

    Truthfully even though she tried tofort herself that at least she got the chance to see her mother¡­ Sophie felt a bit disappointed.

    There was just so much that she had left to say.

    She wanted her mom to know about her friends, her life, her teachers¡­ everything.

    Although her dad had always treated her with love and care, Sophie would be lying if she said that she didn¡¯t wonder about what life would be like if she had both parents with her.

    The hybrid girl let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the nearest pillow.

    Her head sunk into the soft fluffy material and an overwhelming wave of exhaustion struck her body.

    Today had been such a long day.

    First, she had to deal with assassins targeting Cleo for some unknown reason then she had somehow been given the ability to teleport to her mother¡¯s side in an astral form but then the ability vanished.

    Sophie could feel her eyelids slowly closing as she struggled to stay awake. The corners of her vision were turning ck as she shifted her body into a morefortable position.

    No¡­ she wanted to¡­tell Cleo what had just happened¡­

    The water finally turned off which meant that Cleo had finished her bath. Sophie tried to turn her head to see her girlfriend, but her sleepiness finally won.

    She closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful and dreamless slumber.

    Cleo stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel that barely hid her slender frame as she seductively swayed towards the bed.

    Her messy ck hair fell below her shoulders and her piercing green eyes sparkling with mischief as she walked towards Sophie.

    ¡°Hey baby¡­I¡­ Sophie?¡± Cleo¡¯s quiet whisper faded away as she realised that her girlfriend was fast asleep on the bed.

    The princess raised a brow in disbelief since Sophie rarely fell asleep before she did and never when she promised some sexy time between the two of them.

    Cleo raised up her hand and gently touched the side of Sophie¡¯s cheek.

    She looked down at her girlfriend and the corners of her mouth gradually curved upwards.

    Well so be it¡­ guess tonight would just be cuddling.

    Honestly, she needed a quiet night after the events of today so maybe this was for the best.

    The princess walked over to the nearby closet and pulled out a white nightie that was made from a silk-like material.

    She removed her towel and changed into her bed clothes without caring if her girlfriend saw her body or not.

    Cleo finished changing and walked over to the bed. She moved over to the other side of Sophie and snuggled in her arms.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as her arms moved subconsciously to wrap tightly around Cleo¡¯s body.

    The princess felt the warmth of her girlfriend¡¯s body as she leaned in even closer and softly pecked her lips.

    ¡°Good night, babe,¡± Cleo whispered sweetly as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of being hugged.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (The next morning)

    (Peterlor Estate- Training Field No.12)

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Sophie ducked and weaved to the side as she tried to avoid the iing wave of sma fire directed at her body.

    She was currently training in the fighting arena against an army of one hundred drones.

    These robot weapons were circr metalloid devices with two ster rifles attached to the top of their bodies.

    The heavy-duty engine attached to their underside allowed them to move quickly in the air and change positions rapidly.

    A faint crimson mist was beginning to spread from the corners of Sophie¡¯s golden eyes as the world gradually slowed down to a crawl.

    Her five senses got stronger and stronger until she felt as though she could smell, taste, see, hear, and touch everything within a ten-kilometer radius.

    Sophie¡¯s body moved automatically as her instincts took over. The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out five needles.

    The tips of the needles gleamed under the sunlight, and one could see a foul greenish liquid on the edge of her weapons.

    Sophie cocked back her arm and flung the needles at the nearest drones. The needles flew forward so quickly that a sonic boom could be heard in the air.

    The drones in their path did not stand a chance.

    The needles entered their metalloid bodies and sliced them neatly in half before continuing to travel forward.

    Sophie grinned and tilted her head to the side just as a beam of sma light narrowly brushed against the side of her cheek.

    She felt a wetness on her skin and knew that she was bleeding slightly.

    The safety mode was intentionally turned off since Sophie found it easier to enter her berserker state when she was in a life and death situation.

    The hybrid girl activated her movement technique and her figure vanished from the spot before appearing right in the middle of the drones.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie¡¯s body blurred and then two dozen perfectly identical copies of herself appeared where she had just been standing.

    Twenty-four clones in total.

    Her understanding of the Rsychosis technique had increased by leaps and bounds since her time in the Unovan Syndicate.

    ¡°Hey¡­ wait¡­ why me?!¡± a clone yelled in frustration as Sophie grabbed her and flung her into the wave of iing sma fire.

    The clone¡¯s body was then riddled with holes as she absorbed most of the sma rounds. Sophie winced as the memory of her death entered her mind.

    The hybrid girl connected her mind to the mentalwork that linked herself and all of her clones before sending out a message.

    (Attack all at once)

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out an assortment of weapons which she quickly threw towards her mirror copies.

    This fight was about to get interesting¡­

    Forty minutes passed before thest drone fell to the ground with smoke leaking out of its metalloid exterior.

    Sophie stood in the middle of the training field with blood covering her entire body.

    Of course, this blood did not belong to her but rather it belonged to her poor mirror copies who were now all dead.

    That was to be expected considering that she cranked up the difficulty settings as soon as the fight reached its crescendo.

    The hybrid girl slowly walked towards the exit door and took out a towel from her storage bag to wipe her face.

    The reason why she had decided to do some morning training was because she had woken up early and Cleo was still asleep.

    Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed twice, and she saw a message from her father appear on the screen.

    Dad: [Hey honey¡­ I just finished my meeting. Want to grab something to eat?]

    Sophie: [Sure dad¡­ actually I have something to tell you at breakfast¡­ you aren¡¯t going to believe this¡­]

 Chapter 592

    Chapter 592: An Honest Conversation

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Dinning Room)

    Duke Peterlor leaned back against a wooden chair and looked out of the window. In front of him was a steaming cup of hot tea with a small purplish-green leaf inside.

    Icathain tea was his favourite.

    It was made from feeding a certain cat-like animal a specialised diet of specific types of nuts and berries only found on Ryenarics.

    The cat-like animal¡¯s saliva would then be used to fertilize a young Icathain nt which would bear a single leaf.

    The process was long and arduous and hence the price for the tea was quite expensive as a result, but Duke Peterlor was a man who did notck money.

    He reached for the cup and raised it to his lips. The duke took a small sip and enjoyed the bitter taste that filled his mouth.

    His lips gently curved upwards as he felt a quiet moment of peace.

    The duke had been quite busyst night since he had to investigate who dared to attack his daughter and Cleo.

    Progress had been slow so far but there were certain rumors floating around the underground market that seemed quite promising.

    Whispers that someone or an organization were looking to take advantage of the uing fight for session.

    Unfortunately, those rumors were quite general and there were numerous organizations that had a vested interest in who would be the next emperor or empress.

    Duke Peterlor took another sip as he waited for his daughter to arrive.

    As a god stage cultivator there was honestly no reason for him to consume any food or drink and many didn¡¯t since it was seen as being attached to the mortal ways.

    A load of bullshit in the duke¡¯s opinion.

    What was the point of living if you simply holed yourself up in some far away cave and just cultivated every single hour of every single day for decades if not centuries.

    Life had to be lived otherwise there was no reason to seek immortality.

    ¡°Send word to the kitchen to prepare a standard breakfast feast. Extra eggs and fish today,¡± Duke Peterlor spoke quietly to the android standing nearby.

    The machine¡¯s red eyes blinked twice and then it rolled off towards the back of the hall where a simple metalloid door led to the kitchen.

    Duke Peterlor hummed quietly as he nced at his wristmunicator and replied to a few messages that were piling up in his inbox.

    Being the head of a high noble house well¡­ at least a responsible one meant that there was a lot of work to be done to maintain business rtionships and fill the coffers.

    The duke was a hard-working individual because he had grown up with very little in life and knew that wealth could disappear if not managed correctly.

    Tens of thousands of noble houses had disappeared in the sands of time for one reason or the other.

    Nobles were not inherently better than the general poption, they merely had ess to better and more resources.

    Those resources and advantages had to be maintained or improved with every sessive generation in order for a house to survive.

    ¡°Dad!¡± a cheerful voice interrupted the duke¡¯s musings.

    He nced in the direction of the sound and saw Sophie walking towards him with a warm smile on her face.

    The hybrid girl gave her father a tight hug and then sat down in the chair next to him. She was currently wearing some ck track pants and a simple white tee shirt and jacket.

    The outfit that she wore to training had gotten covered in blood, so Sophie was forced to change before she went to the dining room.

    ¡°How was the training this morning?¡± Duke Peterlor gently asked as he lifted up his hand to brush a stray strand of hair from his daughter¡¯s face.

    ¡°Not too bad¡­ I managed to beat the tenth level of difficulty with the safety caps off,¡± Sophie replied proudly as she stretched her arms and yawned.

    ¡°Safety caps off? Well, I hope that you had a medical bot on standby in case of any idents,¡± the duke sternly warned.

    ¡°And remember that level thirteen and above are for void stage cultivators so do not even try to activate those.¡±

    ¡°I know dad¡­ you don¡¯t need to remind me,¡± Sophie casually replied.

    The father daughter pair spent the next few minutes engaging in small talk as the robot android rolled back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room table.

    It carried tes of food using its multiple mechanical arms that were built specifically for this task.

    Large tes of mouth-watering food arrived on the table, and one could see small wisps of steam rising up from the tes.

    There were over half a dozen loaves of bread, eggs in many different styles from hard boil to scrambled, sausages both vegan and made from animals and finally an assortment of soups.

    This was a breakfast feast.

    Sophie looked down at the food and heard her stomach rumble.

    She shot her dad an embarrassed look and the duke pretended that he did not notice to save his daughter¡¯s pride.

    ¡°Enjoy,¡± Duke Peterlor warmly spoke as he passed the nearest te to Sophie. The hybrid girl immediately reached for a fork and began to dig in.

    The eggs were soft and fluffy, and they paired well with the warm loaves of bread that simply melted in her mouth.

    After a hard morning of training, Sophie¡¯s body needed some nutrients even though she was a cultivator in the qi tide stage.

    She cut a piece of a sausage link and bit on its crispy exterior. A sharp burst of vour filled her mouth from its delicious juices.

    The hybrid girl continued to eat while asionally ncing in her father¡¯s direction. Sophie didn¡¯t know how to bring up the events that had urredst night.

    Obviously, her dad needed to know that his wife was still alive and well but how could she say that her mom was in prison¡­

    Would it be better to conceal that detail, so her father didn¡¯t worry? Sophie didn¡¯t know what the right answer to her dilemma was.

    Okay think about it from my perspective¡­

    Sophie furrowed her brows and thought about how she would feel if Cleo went missing and someone knew what happened to her but didn¡¯t say.

    She would be fucking pissed and probably torture that person until they confessed everything that they knew.

    ¡°Dad¡­ I have something to tell you,¡± Sophie put down her fork and addressed her father seriously.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Duke Peterlor asked curiously as he mimicked his daughter by putting down his cup of tea.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she thought about the words that she wanted to say. She opened her mouth and exined everything as honestly as she could,

    ¡°I was somehow able to meet momst night. I was cultivating inside the amulet¡¯s space when I saw a humanoid outline made out of stardust.¡±

    ¡°When I touched the outline, I was suddenly teleported to a mysterious ce¡­¡±

 Chapter 593

    Chapter 593: The Duke¡¯s Decision

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Dining Room)

    ¡°Dad are you okay?¡± Sophie quietly asked with concern evident in her voice.

    Duke Peterlor leaned back against his chair and picked up the cup of tea that was in front of him. He took a small sip and tasted the bitter liquid inside the cup.

    He opened his mouth to say something but slowly closed it since he couldn¡¯t find the right words to say.

    Sophie had met his wife.

    Duke Peterlor¡¯s fingers trembled slightly and the tea inside the cup shook from side to side. The youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation had never felt so powerless before.

    Thai¡¯lle was trapped in some far-away prison in some god forsaken corner of the Insectoid Empire.

    She constantly had to fight criminals and other prisoners to control her territory. Clearly her life would be in danger on a regr basis.

    What if she was scared?

    Thai¡¯lle bloodthirsty smile shed across the duke¡¯s mind and his lips gently curved upwards. No, he was probably worrying too much.

    His wife¡­ she was probably d that people were brave enough to step foot in her territory. She was always a savage little beast.

    His savage little beast¡­

    Duke Peterlor stared off into the distance as he lost himself in the memories that surfaced in his mind.

    Despite being captured by Thai¡¯lle and losing every fight to her thereafter, the duke did not regret the experience.

    Meeting Thai¡¯lle gave him the second-best memories of his life and she was the one who gave birth to the most important person in the universe.

    Their daughter Sophie Peterlor.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry baby¡­ I was just thinking¡­¡± Duke Peterlor finally spoke as he ced down the cup on the table with a dull thud.

    ¡°Your mother does not have to worry¡­ I have not cheated on her with anyone else. No one else has ever entered my heart in the same way that she did.¡±

    ¡°In simple terms, Thai¡¯lle is simply unforgettable. As she once told me¡­ I¡¯m just a helpless prey trapped in her web of love.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Arachnais are a bit strange when ites to flirting¡­ the stories I can tell you when you get a little bit older¡­¡±

    Duke Peterlor chuckled slowly as he got up from his chair and ced a warm hand on his daughter¡¯s shoulder.

    This was a blessing.

    He never expected that he would be able to contact his wife again after he fled from the Insectoid Empire but now there was a chance.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will be possible to meet her again but I¡¯m d that you at least got the opportunity to speak to your mother,¡± Duke Peterlor gently spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she was very proud to see the amazing woman that you¡¯ve grown up to be.¡±

    ¡°Thanks dad¡­ I love you,¡± Sophie replied with a sweet smile. She got up from her chair and hugged her father in a tight embrace.

    The pair stood still for a brief moment before Sophie broke away from the hug and checked hermunicator.

    Rachel: [Hey where are you guys? I¡¯ve been wandering around the mansion, and I can¡¯t seem to find anyone]

    Sophie: [Sorry I just finished a meeting with my dad and I¡¯m pretty sure that Cleo is still asleep. Want to meet me in the back garden? I¡¯ll send you a map]

    Rachel: [Oh¡­ no worries. Take your time!]

    The hybrid girl tapped hermunicator a few times and sent Rachel a map of the mansion with the location of the gardens highlighted.

    After her surprise encounter with her mom, Sophie had temporarily forgotten about her friend who were staying with her.

    ¡°Heading out now?¡± Duke Peterlor asked softly.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m going to meet up with Rachel and see if she¡¯s recovered from using her ability yesterday,¡± Sophie replied casually.

    ¡°Here take this¡­ I owe her a great deal for helping you out during the assassination attempts,¡± the duke solemnly spoke.

    Duke Peterlor reached into his storage bag and pulled out a vial of a purplish-grey liquid that bubbled slightly.

    The markings on the sides of the vial indicated that it was a grade A plus healing serum which currently sold on the ck market for around three million Enas.

    Sophie cheerfully thanked her dad before walking away towards the doors at the back of the dining room hall.

    Duke Peterlor sat back down on his chair and watched as his daughter left the room. He let out a heavy sigh as his thoughts wandered back to his wife.

    He missed her. He missed her a lot.

    If only he had been stronger back, then¡­ if only he had been more powerful then his wife wouldn¡¯t have chosen to chase him and Sophie away.

    He would have been able to protect his family instead of running away like a coward.

    Duke Peterlor touched the hilt of the longsword attached to his hip and a determined expression shed across his handsome face.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Peterlor Mansion- Garden)

    Rachel walked along a stone path and admired the colourful flowers that were swaying from side to side in the wind.

    The gorgeous saintess wore a short ck cropped top and a pair of pants that clung tightly to her firm ass.

    Her appearance resembled that of an attractive model rather than a holy member of the Nephilim Church.

    Dark brown skin, mellow ck eyes and curly hair that fell below her shoulders. Her body was slender with two small bumps in the middle of her chest.

    Sharp angr facial features, a cute button nose and a seductive smile that yfully surfaced as she stopped to nce at the nts around her.

    She kneeled down and took a small sniff of the red poppy-like flower that caught her eye. It smelled like a mix between marshmallows and freshly cut grass.

    Oddly enough the two conflicting scentsbined to produce a fragrant odour.

    She got up from the ground and headed towards a wooden bench that had been ced towards the back of the garden.

    Rachel sat down on the wooden bench and enjoyed the cool breeze that brushed against her cheek.

    She still had a mild headache from overusing her powers yesterday, but her difort was overshadowed by the excited feeling in her chest.

    The saintess could sense that using her gifts had caused her to make a breakthrough of some kind but she wasn¡¯t sure exactly what that breakthrough was.

    Unless she used her powers again, it would remain a mystery¡­ at least for now. Rachel hummed quietly as she stretched out her hand and touched the nearby flowers.

    Hopefully Sophie woulde soon so that she would be able to ask her if she had any news about the attackers that targeted Cleo.

    Rachel heard a soft rustling noise and nced in the direction of the sound. She saw Sophie walking over with a strange vial in her right palm.

 Chapter 594

    Chapter 594: The Conviction Of A Saintess

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Garden)

    ¡°Hey Rachel,¡± Sophie called out as she waved to her friend. The hybrid girl walked over to the wooden bench and sat down next to the saintess.

    ¡°Are you feeling better today?¡±

    ¡°A little bit¡­ I mean the headache is mostly gone and I only feel exhausted like I¡¯m about to fall asleep again,¡± Rachel replied in an easy-going tone.

    ¡°Thanks again for using your ability yesterday,¡± Sophie whispered solemnly as she reached into her pocket and took out the vial that her father had given her.

    ¡°Nah you had it¡­ I must say your instincts¡­ phew¡­ really scary. I wouldn¡¯t want to face you in a fight,¡± Rachel chuckled as she touched a nearby flower and yed with its golden petals.

    Sophie smiled at her friend¡¯s teasing words and tapped her on her shoulder yfully. She handed over the vial and gestured for Rachel to take a look.

    What was this?

    Rachel had a puzzled expression on her face as she took a vial from her friend¡¯s hand that was filled with a purplish-grey liquid that bubbled slightly.

    Honestly its contents looked rather suspicious¡­

    The saintess turned the vial over and saw that markings had been engraved on the other side of the ss vial.

    She nced at the markings and her fingers trembled slightly. A grade A plus healing serum was currently being held in her palm.

    ¡°Wait¡­ this is too precious,¡± Rachel hesitantly spoke as she pushed the vial back in Sophie¡¯s direction to return it.

    ¡°No¡­ you deserve it. Trust me¡­ my family has money so we can afford it. Besides I owe you a massive debt for saving my life when I was trapped in the frontier region,¡± Sophie firmly replied.

    ¡°You saved the life of the heir of a high noble family. I know you did it because you¡¯re my friend by that doesn¡¯t change that fact that I will repay that debt.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s following words cut off the response that Rachel had in mind. The saintess let out a light sigh and thanked her friend before unscrewing the top of the vial.

    She tossed its contents in her mouth and felt a warmth slowly travel around her body. The effects of the high-ss healing serum could be felt immediately.

    The faint headache that she had was beginning to disappear along with the feelings of general exhaustion and weakness across different parts of her body.

    Rachel closed her eyes and allowed the serum to do its work. Her thoughts wandered over to what Sophie had just said.

    She vaguely knew that certain noble families followed an ancient honour code, but she didn¡¯t know that House Peterlor was one of them.

    Well to be fair it¡¯s not like she was exposed to the upper ss of society during her childhood and teenage years at the orphanage.

    Hell on certain days her biggest concern was where her next meal woulde from rather than worrying about the differences in culture between the noble families.

    Rachel opened her eyes and stretched out her hands. It was funny how life changed so quickly¡­

    If it weren¡¯t for her cultivation talent maybe she would still be on that shithole.

    Desperately trying to survive day by day.

    Unpleasant memories briefly surfaced in the saintess¡¯ mind, but she shook her head and tried to forget about them.

    ¡°Did it work?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she turned to look at her friend.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it was fantastic. Was the serum modified to work on Quafes physiology or do high ss healing serums work regardless of race or biology?¡± Rachel replied with a question of her own.

    ¡°You know that¡¯s a great question¡­ I¡¯m actually not sure of the answer. Let me check the virtual and see what it says,¡± Sophie responded with a light smile.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and did a quick search on the Virtual Net for the answer to the question.

    She found a trustworthy university website and screenshotted a few articles. Sophie sent them over to Rachel and then turned off her device.

    Apparently high-ss healing serums were so strong that they were able to work on multiple species.

    This was because of the specialised qi strands and rare materials that were present in the final product.

    Rachel nced at hermunicator and checked her messages before closing it as well.

    The saintess leaned back against the wooden bench and enjoyed the cool breeze that brushed against her face.

    Being exposed to all this wealth did not make her feel ufortable or envious but it did fuel her desire to own a little piece of paradise for herself someday in the future.

    Maybe one day she would be able to afford arge private underground city filled with androids and pretty servants.

    Ohh¡­ cute maids and handsome butlers¡­

    Rachel blushed as a certain fantasy shed across her mind. It wasn¡¯t exactly a holy thought, but it was definitely a fun one!

    ¡°So, Rachel¡­ what are your ns for the rest of the vacation after the end of the month?¡± Sophie asked casually.

    Rachel opened her mouth and tried to sound cheerful, but one could hear a faint trace of irritation in her voice,

    ¡°Probably going to have to return to the church and asionally check in on the new recruits who recently joined.¡±

    ¡°I am sure that the other saintesses and saints will be thrilled to see me again¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahh¡­  I see¡­ that bad huh?¡± Sophie gently replied as her friend stared off into the distance with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like¡­ real bullying¡­ no one has dared to try to beat me up but it¡¯s definitely a pain in the ass,¡± Rachel confessed truthfully.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why every single time we get some new recruits it turns into a mini civil war between the angelic and the demonic factions.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t bother to participate so I get branded as a faction traitor¡­ it¡¯s honestly pretty tiring because every ¡®war¡¯ always ends the same way.¡±

    ¡°One of the archbishops will show up and scold everyone and then the whole feud temporarily disappears.¡±

    ¡°Until the following year¡­¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­ do you regret joining the church then? I hope that I¡¯m not offending you with that question,¡± Sophie hesitantly spoke.

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t regret it. There may be some annoying things about being a saintess butpared to how my life was before I won¡¯t trade it for anything,¡± Rachel firmly replied.

    There was a conviction and belief in the saintess¡¯ voice that made her reply utterlypelling.

    Rachel rarely resembled an ideal saintess but in that moment Sophiepletely understood why an archangel had chosen her as its vessel.

    She genuinely believed in the teachings of the Nephilim Church and was grateful that she was a member.

 Chapter 595

    Chapter 595: A Fun Beach Trip

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Rohsan Province- Private Beach)

    ¡°Any luck Cleo?¡± Sophie askedzily as she leaned against a nearby tree and tugged at the fishing rod in her hand.

    ¡°Nope¡­ nothing yet babe,¡± Cleo replied cheerfully as she reeled in her line and prepared to attach another piece of bait to the hook.

    Rachel narrowed her eyes and focused on the waves that were gently crashing on the shore. She tentatively walked towards the water and dipped her toes.

    It was a beautiful day.

    The two suns of Gaia were shining brightly in the sky and a nice cool breeze brushed against the girls¡¯ faces.

    Small waves crashed against the sandy shoreline, and one could see marine life in the distance briefly surfacing to take in some air before diving back underwater.

    One week had passed since the incidents in N¡¯rean City and nothing had really happened.

    Duke Peterlor was still investigating the mastermind behind the attacks, but it appeared as though the person or organization responsible for the attempts had gone quiet.

    It was probably only a matter of time before they got caught so Sophie wasn¡¯t feeling too worried.

    Besides Rachel was only here for a few more weeks so it would be a shame to force her to stay in the Peterlor mansion for the entire vacation.

    It would be too risky to return to public spaces so soon after the attacks, but private beaches and usually inessible locations should be fine.

    Plus, Sophie was sure that her father had sent some guards to ensure their safety.

    Those guards were nowhere in sight, but the hybrid girl could sense their presence nearby.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ we really don¡¯t seem to be getting any fish today¡­¡± Sophie whispered casually as she walked over to Cleo.

    The hybrid girl nced at Rachel and saw that she was ying in the water and not paying attention to the two of them.

    A mischievous glint surfaced in Sophie¡¯s eyes as she suddenly kneeled down and grabbed Cleo¡¯s face to give her a passionate kiss.

    ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± Cleo groaned slightly as she felt a warm tongue enter her mouth while a hand pinched her backside.

    Sophie quickly broke away from the kiss and stood up as if nothing had happened.

    She smiled teasingly at her girlfriend and then returned to her fishing spot leaving Cleo with a face that was bright red.

    It wasn¡¯t often that she got the chance to be the one who did the teasing in their rtionship, so Sophie cherished these moments.

    Sophie sat back down under the shade of arge leafy tree with thick heavy branches that provided decent shade against the harsh sunlight.

    ¡°Enjoying the water, Rachel?¡± Sophie cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. The saintess looked back and gave her a thumbs up.

    Rachel walked a bit further into the ocean until the water reached her chest area. She closed her eyes and her cup size reduced from B to A.

    In the ocean she preferred to have her body as slender as possible. Rachel took in a deep breath and then ducked her head underwater.

    It wasn¡¯t necessary for her to breathe, but Rachel had seen humans do it in the videos she had seen on the Virtual Net.

    The saintess opened her eyes and stared in amazement at the beautiful sight. The floor of the ocean was made from white sand that felt soft to touch.

    One could see small marine nts on the ocean floor with small fishes darting between them.

    Rachel watched as one fish opened its mouth and a thin needle-like spear exited its orifice before stabbing a nearby fish of simr size.

    The saintess gazed in wonder as she stretched out her arms and began to swim downwards to get a better look.

    Rachel had always loved the ocean as a child.

    She had never gotten the chance to visit one since she grew up in the city but something about the water had always fascinated her.

    It was apletely different world underwater and mosts had the greatest biodiversity in their oceans.

    Life could not survive without water.

    While the saintess was enjoying herself, Sophie was roused from herzy mood by two sharp tugs on her fishing line.

    Holy shit she had gotten one!

    ¡°Cleo! Cleo! Cleo!¡± Sophie eximed excitedly as she grabbed the handle of her fishing rod and began to reel in the line.

    ¡°Got a bite?¡± Cleo asked curiously as she gently put down her fishing rod and walked over to her girlfriend.

    Sophie gritted her teeth as the fishing rod trembled in her palm. This was clearly a big catch and whatever had bitten the bait was not going down without a fight.

    The hybrid girl secretly channeled some qi to her palms and then yanked the fishing rod upwards with all of her strength.

    Crack!

    Cleo grabbed her sides and giggled uncontrobly at the look on Sophie¡¯s face when her fishing rod snapped in half.

    ¡°Too much force babe,¡± Cleo smiled sweetly as she flicked her girlfriend on the forehead.

    ¡°Gee¡­ you think?¡± Sophie replied sarcastically as she held one piece of the fishing rod in her hand because the other had been dragged into the water.

    ¡°Want to use mine?¡± Cleo suggested as she stretched out her hand. Sophie grabbed the princess¡¯ palm and lifted herself up from the ground.

    She walked over to Cleo¡¯s fishing spot hand in hand with her girlfriend. Even after dating for several months¡­ heck it was almost a year now¡­

    Sophie still felt her heart race as she held her girlfriend¡¯s hand. Cleo was the most beautiful girl in the universe.

    The hybrid girl squeezed Cleo¡¯s palm twice and a faint pinkish mist began to spread from the corner of her right eye.

    No¡­ calm down¡­ calm down¡­

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. It really was tough to have to dial it back sometimes when her love threatened to trigger her lust state.

    Thest thing she needed was to do was throw down Cleo and rip off her clothes right in front of an audience of all the hidden shadow guards and Rachel.

    Cleo¡¯s naked body could only be seen by her.

    Possessiveness surfaced in Sophie¡¯s eyes as she gently pressed her lips against the side of her girlfriend¡¯s cheek.

    Eventually the two arrived at Cleo¡¯s fishing spot. There was a small stream only a few hundred feet away that flowed directly into the ocean.

    Arge furry brown animal was currently drinking from the water. Its three eyes nced in the direction of Sophie and Cleo before deeming them not a threat.

    It swayed its furry tail from side to side before vanishing into the nearby forest without a trace.

    Sophie snapped a picture of the departing animal using her wristmunicator and stored it in her photo album.

    She nned on asionally taking pictures of their vacation and making aption to send to her friends.

    ¡°You know¡­ fighting is good and all, but I¡¯d be lying if I said that I didn¡¯t enjoy peaceful days like this,¡± Sophie confessed quietly as she leaned against Cleo¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Want to run away then?¡± Cleo replied in a semi-serious tone.

    ¡°Settle down on some far-away where no one knows us and live out the rest of our lives together¡­¡±

    ¡°Maybe one day¡­ honestly that doesn¡¯t sound too bad,¡± Sophie mused as she couldn¡¯t resist the urge to kiss Cleo again.

    These peaceful moments¡­ she wished that they couldst a lifetime.

 Chapter 596

    Chapter 596: Resetting The Board

    (Alpha Star System- Meri¡¯an)

    (Secret Location- Private Estate Of The Crown Prince)

    Prince Theseus frowned slightly as he stared out of a window and observed the rain that was falling quite heavily outside.

    There was a cold chill in the air.

    The crown prince stretched out his hand and grabbed a bottle of wine from the table next to him.

    He slowly opened the bottle and cork flew out with a small popping noise.

    Prince Theseus did not bother to pour the wine in a ss but instead chose to drink straight from the bottle.

    A bittersweet fruity taste lingered in his mouth as he swallowed the purplish-red liquid.

    This wine was a special gift from an ambassador to the Kassian star system who wished to gain the mining rights to certain exos.

    Being the crown prince was exhausting and Prince Theseus could not help but fear the possibility of one day bing emperor.

    It was strange but ever since he had met his mysterious brother and been given those wonderful red crystals¡­

    It was as though his mind had been shrouded by fog.

    Prince Theseus frowned slightly as a small voice in his head kept shouting that something was wrong.

    That voice¡­ was so damn annoying.

    The handsome prince tossed the empty wine bottle to the floor where it instantly shattered into hundreds of pieces of ss.

    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ruby-like crystal. This was the only thing that could make him feel at peace.

    The crown prince vaguely felt a sense of difort as the crystal melted away in his palm and the reddish liquid entered his skin.

    But the feeling soon passed.

    Prince Theseus¡¯ eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning back to normal. The fear and doubts in his heart had mysteriously disappeared.

    He knew his mission¡­ he needed to be the emperor¡­ he needed to¡­

    A robot android entered the room and began to clean up the mess on the ground while the crown prince stood motionless.

    The android opened a vent near the lower region of its body and pulled out a tiny vacuum which it then used to suck up the shards of ss.

    Its metallic frame suddenly trembled as it looked down and discovered a long de sticking out of its chest.

    A person walked out of the shadows and stepped over the broken android¡¯s body.

    This person bore a striking resemnce to thete emperor and possessed a charm and beauty that seemed almost unnatural.

    His beauty could only be described as transcendent as it went far beyond the boundaries of femininity and masculinity.

    He wore a in ck cloak around his body that was adorned with golden threads in the shape of mysterious patterns.

    The crown prince turned to face the intruder but there was not a hint of panic or surprise on his face.

    ¡°Brother¡­ how are you?¡± the crown prince asked with a smile.

    The man slowly walked up to the crown prince and without saying a single word he thrust his sword forward into Theseus¡¯ body.

    Prince Theseus groaned in pain as the sharpened edge of the de entered his guts and slowly travelled deeper inside his body.

    He was a void stage cultivator with a physique that was imprable to normal weapons and yet this simple de cut through his flesh like it was butter.

    The beautiful man grinned savagely and leaned in closer until his lips were mere inches away from the crown prince¡¯s.

    ¡°You have outlived your uselessness¡­ my sweet brother. The master has decided to reset the board and has no need for liabilities,¡± the man whispered softly.

    He reached into the crown prince¡¯s pocket and took out the Kry¡¯en crystals that remained. His master would be pleased by his performance.

    Prince Theseus coughed out specks of blood as he offered up no resistance. He wore a nk expression on his face when he heard his mysterious brother speak.

    He had failed his master.

    Therefore, he deserved to die.

    It was a simple logic that made sense in the crown prince¡¯s mind since he had long been unable to think for himself.

    The crown prince closed his eyes as the sword in his stomach twisted and a dark beam of energy erupted from the tip of the weapon.

    This beam of energy entered the prince¡¯s dantian and shattered itpletely.

    Wrinkles appeared on Prince Theseus¡¯ face as he felt the qi in his body slowly escape his mortal vessel.

    He died in a few minutes.

    The mysterious man allowed his corpse to fall to the ground and then knelt down to examine the body.

    The crown prince¡¯s heart was still beating. It throbbed slightly as the man carefully extracted it from the prince¡¯s corpse.

    He stared at the heart for a brief moment and then opened his jaw. His mouth stretched much further than what was physiologically possible for normal humans.

    The man swallowed the heart whole and fell to the ground as sharp bursts of pain began to erupt in multiple different parts of his body.

    The biological modifications that his master had forced him to undergo were reacting to the heart that he had just swallowed.

    He began to thrash and spasm uncontrobly on the ground as if he were possessed.

    The crown prince¡¯s empty eyes seemed to stare into the void as the man¡¯s body began to twist and change.

    After what seemed like hours, but it really may have only been a few minutes, the man got up from the ground and looked at a nearby mirror that hung on the wall.

    His appearance was nowpletely identical to thete crown prince. Not just his appearance but even his DNA itself had been altered.

    There was no difference between himself and the crown prince. No¡­ he had be the crown prince¡­

    ¡°Theseus Sisrelis,¡± the man whispered in a softly.

    Blood was pooling out on the floor from the real Theseus¡¯ corpse that was beginning to get cold.

    The man touched his face a few times as he got used to his new appearance. It felt extremely natural and familiar as if he had been born with this handsome visage.

    He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a small vial filled with a dark purple powder.

    He sprinkled the powder over the crown prince¡¯s corpse and the body gradually melted away into a pool of brown liquid.

    This was a new beginning¡­

 Chapter 597

    Chapter 597: Finally A Catch!

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Rohsan Province- Private Beach)

    Small wisps of smoke filled the air as Sophie tried her best to get the bonfire going. She frantically mmed two pieces of stone together hoping to produce a spark.

    No luck.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows and then cocked back her fist. She allowed some of her qi to flow towards the meridians in her right palm.

    me fist- Inferno!

    Sophie¡¯s arm glowed red and she punched forward using very little of her true strength.

    A tiny me erupted from the tip of her knuckles andnded on the pieces of dry wood.

    Finally!

    It was technically cheating to use a cultivation technique but honestly Sophie wasn¡¯t going to tell the other girls what she had done.

    ¡°Alright I got the fire started!¡± Sophie yelled cheerfully. Her voice reached the two girls sitting by the edge of the water and they turned around.

    Sophie felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Cleo¡¯s gorgeous appearance. The princess wore a tight two-piece bikini that highlighted her fit physique.

    Curly messy hair fell below her shoulders and her piercing green eyes sparkled with mischief and love.

    That was not to say that Rachel was unattractive it was just that Sophie only had eyes for her girlfriend.

    ¡°Come let¡¯s see if we can catch any fish for dinner,¡± Cleo replied back with a smile.

    Sophie quickly walked over and pulled out a fishing rod from her storage bag.

    She sat down next to Cleo and reached for a piece of bait from the bucket near their feet.

    The suns were slowly beginning to set on the edge of the horizon and warm orange rays of light illuminated the beach.

    Sophie sighed contently as she felt the waves crash gently against her feet while the cool ocean breeze brushed against her face.

    ¡°Hey Rachel¡­ how did you enjoy the swim?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she attached a piece of bait to the hook.

    ¡°It was amazing¡­ you should see the beautiful nts that are underwater. I saw one that could walk! Well, I guess technically it swam but you know what I mean,¡± Rachel replied happily.

    ¡°And there were these cute tiny furry animals that would briefly hide under the sand whenever my shadow approached.¡±

    ¡°Honestly¡­ this ce is amazing. I¡¯m surprised that there aren¡¯t any people here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I agree. This is a lovely ce and I think the only reason why it hasn¡¯t be a proper tourist attraction yet is because it is a private beach,¡± Cleo chimed in thoughtfully.

    Sophie hummed a soft tune under her breath as she listened to her girlfriend and her friend debate on whether or not the beach should be open to the public.

    She felt a small tugging sensation on the line which meant that hopefully a fish had taken a bite of the bait.

    The hybrid girl narrowed her eyes and focused. This time she was determined to reel in her catch and impress both Cleo and Rachel.

    Sophie quickly pulled on the fishing rod and began to reel in the line. The tugging sensation got even stronger as the fish desperately tried to escape.

    Just a little bit more¡­ have patience¡­ don¡¯t use your enhanced strength¡­

    The seconds felt like minutes as Sophie carefully reeled in the line and eventually saw a thrashing fish on the other end.

    ¡°I got one!¡± Sophie excitedly yelled as she held up the fishing rod and showed off her catch to the other two girls.

    The fish that was on the line was around six kilograms with a long sleek body and silver scales that gleamed under the light.

    ¡°Put it in the bucket!¡± Cleo replied cheerfully as she pointed at a bucket underneath the shade of a nearby tree.

    Sophie walked over and saw that the bucket was filled with saltwater from the ocean so the fish wouldn¡¯t die immediately.

    She grabbed the fish and carefully removed the hook from its jaw. Small flecks of blood stained her fingertips, but Sophie was not bothered by the reddish liquid.

    She ced the fish in the bucket and then walked back over to Cleo and Rachel with a proud smile on her face.

    Rachel raised up her palm and Sophie gave her a high five. Cleo on the other hand leaned in and kissed her briefly on the cheek.

    ¡°Well done,¡± the princess whispered softly. Sophie winked at her girlfriend and had to resist the urge to make out with her on the spot.

    ¡°Alright should we start setting up the tents for tonight?¡± Rachel suggested as looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark.

    ¡°Sure¡­ do you all want to do it the old-fashioned way or use the intable tents?¡± Sophie asked casually.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we try setting them up ourselves and then if it doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll take the easier option,¡± Cleo said thoughtfully.

    Sophie grabbed her girlfriend¡¯s palm and led her over to the bonfire that was still burning brightly. She tossed a few pieces of dry wood into the ze and the fire got even bigger.

    The three girls had all packed properly for their camping trip and Sophie was given lots of equipment and food from her dad.

    Her storage bag waspletely filled to the brim with every single piece of camping equipment that one could possibly need.

    Everything from rope to tents to even weapons¡­ just in case of course. Sophie always made sure that she was armed.

    Actually, right now there were two knives strapped to her hip. Her experiences in the Unovan Syndicate had given her the habit of always carrying des.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s get started then¡­¡± Cleo¡¯s soft voice interrupted Sophie¡¯s musings. The princess stared at therge green bag on the ground that contained the disassembled tent.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I mean¡­ how hard could it be?¡± Rachel scoffed as she unzipped the bag and pulled out the differentponents.

    ¡°Tent poles, clips, pegs, tie-out points, rain fly, tent body¡­¡± Sophie held up the instruction manual and began to read it out loud.

    ¡°It says that first step is to¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the booklet¡­ look it¡¯s justmon sense,¡± Rachel casually spoke as she reached for one of the pegs.

    ¡°Okay¡­ let¡¯s do it your way first,¡± Sophie ced the booklet on the ground and joined her friend.

    Twenty minutes passed and now the suns hadpletely vanished over the horizon.

    Pale moonlight washed over the beach, but Sophie wasn¡¯t bothered since her golden eyes could see perfectly well in the darkness.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ this was a bad idea,¡± Cleo chuckled softly as she gazed at the ¡®tent¡¯ that had just been assembled.

    Well assembled was a bit of a stretch. Half of the tent had copsed while the other side was barely standing.

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure how the ground sheet had ended up on the ceiling of the tent but there it was.

    ¡°Time to use the instruction manual?¡± Cleo narrowed her eyes and turned to face Sophie and Rachel who both looked sheepishly at the ground.

    They both replied at the same time with simr words.

    ¡°Yep¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

 Chapter 598

    Chapter 598: Ghost Stories

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Rohsan Province- Private Beach)

    Night had fallen and now only the pale light of the moon illuminated the crashing waves that fell against the shore.

    Sophie, Cleo, and Rachel were currently sitting around the fire and enjoying the warmth provided by the flickering mes.

    asionally Sophie would toss in a piece of dry wood in order to keep the fire from going out.

    Tiny red embers fell on the grass nearby and blinked out of existence.

    ¡°Are you all ready for something to eat?¡± Sophie askedzily as she reached into her storage ring and took out some small metalloid containers.

    There was a small red button on the side of each container which she pressed before putting the containers on the ground.

    The metalloid containers vibrated slightly before they began to heat up. The technology used to create self-heating devices was quite useful.

    ¡°How long does it take to cook?¡± Rachel asked curiously as she stretched out her arms and gave a small yawn.

    ¡°I believe sometime between twenty to thirty minutes,¡± Sophie replied as she checked the instructions on the side of one of the containers.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s twenty minutes¡­¡±

    The hybrid girl leaned against her girlfriend¡¯s shoulder and absentmindedly yed with Cleo¡¯s messy hair.

    Today had been a fun day.

    There were no other visitors or tourists in sight, so the three girls had the beach all to themselves for the entire day.

    Plus, she had managed to catch a fish!

    Sophie wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to properly cook fish, so she decided to bring it back to the mansion and see if one of the chefs knew what to do.

    ¡°This vacation is just flying by so fast,¡± Rachelined as she checked her wristmunicator and saw the date.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you have to enjoy every day¡­ but yeah¡­ I can¡¯t believe how quickly September is approaching¡­¡± Sophie replied with a small groan.

    ¡°At least sses won¡¯t start before the end of the inter-university tournament¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ aren¡¯t you the captain of the freshmen? Have you been researching strategies and guides?¡± Cleo mischievously spoke.

    ¡°Look¡­ I¡¯ll do all of that in thest week of vacation¡­ right now my only goal is to rx and unwind,¡± Sophie replied with a sweet smile.

    A cool breeze blew across the ocean and Sophie could smell the saltwater in the air. Being in the middle of nature was such a pleasant experience that very few things could match.

    The hybrid girl raised up her wristmunicator and took a few phots. She ced the photos in an unnamed album and then turned off her device.

    ¡°You know what would be perfect¡­ ghost stories¡­¡± Cleo softly whispered as she turned her head and nced at Sophie.

    ¡°Ghost stories? That sounds fun!¡± Rachel chimed in as she suddenly sat up straight.

    ¡°Who wants to go first? Because I don¡¯t know any¡­¡±

    ¡°Neither do I¡­¡± Cleo truthfully admitted.

    ¡°So why did you suggest it?!¡± Sophie teased yfully as she brushed her fingers against the side of Cleo¡¯s cheek.

    The princess did not say anything but stared at her girlfriend with a pleading expression clearly written across her face.

    Sophie let out a light sigh and quickly essed Sui Meng¡¯s memories to see if there was anything that she could use.

    She just couldn¡¯t say no to Cleo¡­

    Oh wait¡­ yeah that would be a good story¡­

    Sophie moved away from her girlfriend and sat on the outside of the bonfire. The light of the mes casted long shadows on her face as her expression changed to one of seriousness.

    Rachel and Cleo were inadvertently affected by the solemn mood and they both paid attention to Sophie¡¯s every move.

    The hybrid girl opened her mouth and began to tell herpanions the tale of the mysterious shop down the road.

    ¡°It is said that there exists a shop like no other¡­¡± Sophie began her tale in a hushed tone.

    ¡°No one knows where the shop is or how to find it. It is said that the shop moves¡­ almost as if it were alive¡­

    Those who have seen it im that it appears as an old rundown shack with cobwebs, dust and filth covering its exterior.

    But once you step inside¡­ you will see a mysterious old man sitting down behind a wooden counter.

    The shop ispletely empty.

    The shelves are bare, the merchandise has not been stocked and the man behind the counter does not seem the care.

    He will not speak, nor will he bother to wee you into the shop.

    Instead, he waits patiently as if he already knows the request that you will ask before you even say it.

    For the man knows that the only people who enter his shop are the ones who were called to it and very few decide not to purchase anything.

    Because in this shop¡­ everything is for sale.

    Riches, dreams, power, immortality¡­ anything that your heart desires can be bought for the appropriate price.

    The price varies from person to person and none who have paid it have ever said what it was.

    Once an item has been bought, the store slowly disappears, and the customer will find themselves back where they were standing as if the shop had never existed.

    The story I have to share involves a man called Martin and his encounter with the shop¡­

    Martin was a good man who lived his family. He had a beautiful wife who bore him two lovely little boys.

    The family was perfect.

    Martin was an ountant while his wife worked from home and looked after the children. It was an ideal life and one that he would never change.

    Then one day tragedy struck.

    His wife was walking with his children to the yground when a drunk driver crashed into the family of three.

    The young girl behind the wheel had been drinking heavily and had lost control of the vehicle at precisely the wrong moment.

    A single mistake was all it took for Martin to lose everything. He arrived at the hospital, but it was toote.

    He could only watch helplessly as his wife and children were dered dead. Martin cursed and screamed in agony but nothing he did would bring them back.

    The driver who killed his family came from a wealthy background and was able to escape going to jail thanks to thewyer that she hired.

    Martin was denied even justice as he sat there in court and watched as the driver¡¯swyer argued that his client was a young woman with a bright future.

    After the judge sentenced the woman tomunity service, Martin got up from his seat and left the courtroom.

    He went straight to the nearest bar and began to drink.

    Vodka, whiskey, rum¡­ he needed the poison to forget the pain that threatened to overwhelm him.

    Martin stayed at the bar until night had fallen. He staggered to his feet and paid the bartender in cash.

    He walked out of the bar and wandered the city in a daze. Martin¡¯s eyes were nk and unfocused as he swayed unsteadily from side to side.

    Truthfully, he felt as though he had no reason to live. The broken man saw an empty alleyway and decided to wander inside.

    Something was calling him, but he wasn¡¯t sure what it was. Perhaps he had already gone mad¡­

    At the end of the alleyway was a small run-down shop with vague writings on the signboard that hung right above its entrance.

    The writings were in anguage that Martin could not recognise but he was instantly struck with the urge to enter inside¡­¡±

 Chapter 599

    Chapter 599: The Ending Of The Dark Tale

    Sophie sat up straight and paused for a moment. She observed the interested expressions on Rachel and Cleo¡¯s faces as they waited for the story to continue.

    A small smile shed across the hybrid girl¡¯s face as she leaned in closer to the fire. The dark shadowy atmosphere of the night was the perfect time to tell a ghost story.

    ¡°There was a small part of Martin that knew that something was wrong,¡± Sophie whispered in a hushed tone.

    ¡°Why would he walk towards what clearly seemed to be an abandoned shop? And yet¡­ his feet kept moving in the direction of the shack.

    Martin¡¯s fingers trembled slightly as he grabbed the doorknob and twisted. The door to the shop swung open and a cloud of dust mmed into his body.

    The poor man coughed violently as the dust stained his clothes and went down his throat.

    Martin¡¯s vision was blurry, and his movements were unsteady since he had been drinking for several hours prior.

    He staggered through the open door and found himself in the strangest shop that he had ever seen in his life.

    The shop vaguely resembled his favourite toy store when he was a child, but every single counter, shelf and disy was empty.

    There was an eerie quietness inside the store and Martin could swear that someone or rather¡­ something was observing him.

    The young man cleared his throat and curiously walked around the shop trying to see what had drawn him to enter inside.

    He wandered around for several minutes but found nothing of note.

    ¡°Hello? Is anyone here?¡± Martin cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. His voice echoed through the empty store.

    Martin shook his head andughed. He clearly had too much to drink and was losing it. The best thing to do now would be to go back home and rest.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± a seductive voice whispered.

    Martin turned around in shock and saw a pale-skinned man standing right behind him. The man wore an expensive ck tuxedo and had a short hat on his heat.

    There were strange metallic rings on his fingers that sparkled under the moonlight that entered through the store¡¯s windows.

    The man was incredibly handsome.

    Sharp angr facial features, high cheekbones and lips that were bright red. He appeared to be a Greek gode to life.

    Martin was so dazed by the man¡¯s beauty that he did not even question how the man had managed to sneak up on him.

    ¡°Wee to my shop dear customer?¡± the man smiled sweetly as he gestured with his hands towards a seemingly random location.

    ¡°This is your shop? But¡­ why aren¡¯t there any goods?¡± Martin asked curiously as he stared at the man with confusion evident in his gaze.

    ¡°In this shop¡­ we sell products that any customer would desire,¡± the man replied in a strange tone as he rubbed his fingers together.

    ¡°Money¡­ power¡­ immortality¡­ I suppose you could say that we sell wishes. Anything can be bought from my store¡­ for a price¡­¡±

    Martin giggled hoarsely and hisughter drew the attention of the handsome man who simply stared at him.

    Wishes? He sold wishes?

    No wonder this store looked so run-down from the outside. The owner had good looks but clearly there was something wrong with his brain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry you aren¡¯t the first not to believe what we have to offer¡­¡± the man spoke in a casual tone.

    He snapped his fingers and Martin¡¯s vision wentpletely dark for a moment. When he reopened his eyes, he found himself sitting down in a park.

    It was a bright and sunny day with not a cloud in the sky.

    Children wereughing and ying in the distance while an ice cream truck honked its horn to get their attention.

    ¡°What are you looking at honey?¡± a sweet voice interrupted the tranquil scene.

    ¡°Betty?¡± Martin eximed in shock as he turned his head and saw his wife staring at him with their sons in her arms.

    ¡°No¡­ you¡¯re dead¡­ this¡­ what is this?¡±

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± his wife gently asked as she raised up her hand and touched the side of her husband¡¯s cheek.

    Tears welled up in Martin¡¯s eyes as he grabbed his wife and children and hugged them tightly.

    They felt real¡­ this familiar warmth.

    Suddenly he heard a loud cracking noise and the world disappeared.

    Martin found himself back in the run-down shop as if what he had experiences was just a dream. The handsome shopkeeper stared at him with an intriguing smile on his face.

    ¡°What was that?!¡± Martin could not contain his emotions and yelled at the mysterious man.

    ¡°Merely an illusion but one that could be a reality¡­ you can purchase an item that will allow you to resurrect your dead wife and children,¡± the shopkeeper whispered softly.

    ¡°I want it. Give it to me. I WILL PAY ANY PRICE!¡± Martin desperately spoke as he got down on his knees and begged the shopkeeper.

    ¡°There is no need for that my dear customer¡­ I am more than happy to serve,¡± the man gently spoke as he helped Martin up from the ground.

    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a faint red amulet that glowed with a hypnotic light that made it hard to look away.

    Martin reached for the amulet and took it in his palm. It felt very warm as if something was heating up the amulet from the inside.

    ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± the shopkeeper asked as he stretched out his hand for Martin to shake.

    Martin stared at his palm and for a brief moment he considered dropping the amulet and running out of the store but his desire to see his wife and children again made him freeze in ce.

    ¡°We have a deal,¡± Martin solemnly whispered as he shook the handsome man¡¯s hand.

    He could feel something crawling from the mysterious stranger¡¯s palm into his flesh.

    ¡°Thank you and pleasee again soon¡­¡± the shopkeeper cheerfully spoke as he snapped his fingers once more.

    He disappeared and once again the shop waspletely empty. Martin looked around trying to find the man but there was no one present in the room.

    He staggered to the door and reached into his pocket to get his phone. He stumbled slightly as he dialed for a taxi to take him home.

    It was now five o¡¯ clock in the morning and Martin felt a wave of tiredness and exhaustion hit him all at once.

    The amulet was still tightly clutched in his hand since he had no idea how to use or how it would bring his family back from the dead.

    It took around ten minutes for a taxi to show up and Martin got inside.

    He did not exchange a single word with the driver and just waited silently until they stopped at the entrance to his apartment.

    Martin gave the taxi driver a generous tip and then walked towards his home.

    He opened the door and entered inside the apartment that looked as if a hurricane had passed through.

    After losing his wife and son¡­ Martin no longer cared about keeping his ce neat and clean, so messy stacks of paper and trash were scattered on the ground.

    Martin let out a heavy sigh as he slumped down on the couch and looked at the amulet that was still glowing.

    Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Honey! Honey I¡¯ve just picked up Jake and Luke¡­ let us in!¡± a familiar voice yelled.

    ¡°Betty? Betty where are you?¡± Martin jumped to his feet and hurriedly ran in the direction of the voice.

    ¡°Daddy¡­. Daddye and find us!¡± one of his young sons yelled cheerfully.

    A relieved smile surfaced on Martin¡¯s face as he heard his precious boy call out to him.

    Knock! Knock!

    The knocking sound got louder and louder as if someone was banging their fists against the apartment door.

    Martin walked towards the door and peeked through the spyhole. He saw three figures standing in front of the door.

    One of the figures was feminine while the others belonged to  young children who could not have been older than seven.

    It was them. The shopkeeper had not been lying.

    Martin swung open the door¡­ and screamed in terror. His wife and sons were standing before him but¡­

    They were only technically alive.

    The flesh on their bodies had already begun to rot and flies swarmed around their bodies making faint buzzing noises.

    Their limbs were broken from the ident, and they walked in a way that was more of a shuffle than a regr stride.

    ¡°Honey? Why are you looking at us like that?¡± the wife whispered softly as she stretched out her rotting hand and grabbed Martin¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°We will be a family again¡­¡±

    ¡°We wont ever leave you again daddy,¡± one of his sons chimed in with a mischievousugh.

    Martin opened his mouth to yell for help, but a firm hand covered his lips. He could do nothing but watch in horror as his wife dragged him inside the house.

    In a few days one of the neighbours wouldin about a rotting smell that wasing from Martin¡¯s apartment.

    When the police entered inside, they would find Martin¡¯s rotting corpse in the tight embrace of his wife and children.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s voice trailed off and she leaned against a nearby tree with a proud smile on her face.

    Honestly the ending wasn¡¯t so great but Sui Meng¡¯s memories didn¡¯t have much horror stories so this was the best that she could do.

    ¡°So did you like it?¡± Sophie askedzily.

    ¡°It was alright¡­¡± Rachel hesitantly spoke as she hid her trembling hands behind her back.

    ¡°I was very scared,¡± Cleo eximed loudly in an obvious fake tone. The princess rushed towards her girlfriend and hugged her tightly.

    ¡°Please stay with me tonight¡­ I might need thefort¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sophieughed as she pressed her lips against Cleo¡¯s forehead. Her girlfriend really knew how to get what she wanted.

 Chapter 600

    Chapter 600: An Opportunity In Chaos

    (Hydra Star System- Inteary Space Station)

    (Cargo Bay- Auction Hall 012)

    ¡°Two million Enas!¡±

    ¡°Three million Enas!¡±

    ¡°No¡­ stop bidding¡­ fuck¡­¡±

    ¡°Four million Enas!¡±

    A crowd gathered around a sharply dressed man who confidently puffed out his chest and loudly repeated the bids that were offered.

    Behind the man were numerous steel crates stacked so high that they appeared to reach the ceiling of the hall.

    Inside each crate was a rare material called Noxien only found on the Xercois in the Unovan Syndicate.

    Officially smuggling materials across the Federation border was a crime punishable by death formoners and resulted in a hefty fine for the nobles.

    But¡­ there was always a way to get the authorities to ¡®overlook¡¯ such auctions as long as the price was right.

    Qiana leaned against a nearby pir and watchedzily as an alien with pale yellow skin raised up three hands and raised the price to five million Enas.

    No one was paying attention to the in faced girl who wore a simple ck dress with a silver bracelet on her arm.

    Qiana adjusted her sses and nced at the heavily armoured woman standing next to her.

    A faint expression of irritation shed across her face too quickly for the woman to see.

    Her uncle¡¯spdog¡­ a woman by the name of Victoria Hunt.

    Moderately intelligent with the cultivation strength to match her position as her uncle¡¯s right-hand woman.

    She had been sent to protect Qiana, but it was obvious that her true objective was to monitor and report back to certain members of the family.

    Unlike Sophia, Qiana was not the only potential heir to House Abazin and many of her siblings and cousins were waiting for the opportunity to take her ce.

    Qiana swore that they would never get the chance.

    The young girl raised up her handzily and bid once the price hit six million Enas. Now the bidding had finally begun to slow down but it was far from over.

    ¡°Your budget is ten million Enas young miss¡­ please do not go over that amount,¡± Victoria whispered in a voice that was loud enough for most of the hall to hear.

    Quite a few members of the crowd turned around and watched Qiana with knowing smiles on their faces.

    Qiana¡¯s face was an expressionless mask and she refused to let Victoria¡¯s words affect her. Her uncle¡¯s spy may think that she just revealed her bottom line but¡­

    She did not be the future heir of House Abazin by not having a back up n in case things went wrong.

    Qiana powered on her wristmunicator and secretly checked the funds in her personal ounts.

    After spending most of her first-year bounty hunting, there was a sizable number of credits in her ounts.

    Capturing or killing some of the most dangerous criminals in the Hydra Star System was quite the lucrative job.

    It was just a shame that she would be forced to dip into her personal savings but securing these materials for the family was just too important.

    ¡°Seven million Enas!¡±

    ¡°Eight million Enas!¡±

    ¡°Twenty million Enas!¡± an arrogant voice interrupted the bidding process and drew the attention of everyone in the hall.

    Qiana nced in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in his early twenties surrounded by five heavily armed bodyguards.

    Each bodyguard had the crest with the image of a snake-like beast on the center of their uniforms.

    Qiana narrowed her eyes since she recognised the family crest. House Itlon¡­ a declining noble family with more pride than sense.

    The young man moved confidently through the crowd until he stood right in front of the man auctioning off the rare goods.

    ¡°Alright you peasants¡­ my name is Felix Itlon and these Noxien crystals are now the property of House Itlon,¡± the manzily spoke.

    ¡°So¡­ just don¡¯t bother to bid any higher and we won¡¯t have any problems¡­¡±

    The young man waved at his bodyguards who walked over with their sma rifles held firmly in their hands.

    Oh¡­ this should be interesting¡­

    Qiana smirked slightly as she nced at her uncle¡¯s spy and then activated her special family technique.

    Dark tattoos began to cover her body until her pale skin becamepletely ck. The shadows beneath her feet twisted and writhed as if they were alive.

    Qiana melted away into the shadows and her body disappeared from the room as if she had never been there.

    ¡°Young miss? Where did you go?¡± Victoria asked in a confused tone. The heavily armoured woman looked around for Qiana, but she was nowhere to be seen.

    How was that possible?

    Victoria extended her senses and tried to capture a trace of Qiana¡¯s movements but could find nothing.

    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡± an angry voice distracted Victoria from her search.

    An elderly man dressed in an expensive white shirt angrily pointed at Felix.

    ¡°Do you think that you can just take over and get those goods? Boy¡­ this is the ck market¡­ your fancy noble titles are no good here¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you wish to make an enemy of House Itlon?¡± Felix lowered his voice to an almost hushed whisper as he walked towards the old man.

    ¡°Boy¡­ greater houses than yours have tried to destroy us¡­ you won¡¯t be the first and you most certainly will not be thest.¡±

    The old man raised up one finger in the air and suddenly several mechanical soldiers rose up from holes that suddenly appeared in the ground.

    They outnumbered the bodyguards brought by House Itlon five to one. Felix stood still but there was not a trace of fear or panic on his face.

    That was the part that confused Qiana as she observed the scene from the rtive safety inside the shadow of the old man.

    What would possess the heir of a declining noble family to pick a fight with a ck-market organisation?

    Unless¡­

    BOOM!

    A loud explosion rocked the entire hall and a fiery ball of mes burst out from the northern corner of the room.

    Several people were burnt alive in the explosion and debris and rubble began to fall down from the ceiling.

    The old man looked around in confusion as if he could not believe that his space station had just been attacked.

    Several figures dressed in dark clothes rushed out of the enormous hole in the hall and began to shoot at everyone in sight.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    A hail of sma fire tore through the hall and dozens of people were killed in the first wave of attacks.

    Felixughed madly with an insane glint in his eyes. He was stillughing when he looked down and saw an enormous hole in his chest.

    ¡°Why¡­ why¡­¡± the arrogant young noble stuttered as he copsed on the ground.

    His so-called allies did not bother to protect him from the mechanical soldiers who returned fire.

    Qiana shifted from shadow to shadow in the room as she took out a in knife from her storage space.

    This was the perfect opportunity.

    She shifted behind Victoria who was currently fighting for her life against two of the ck cloaked figures.

    Qiana emerged from the shadows beneath her feet and the armoured guard did not notice until it was far toote.

    Her de sliced across Victoria¡¯s throat in one smooth movement. The in unremarkable knife in her hand tore through the armour as if it were made out of paper.

    Qiana¡¯s time spend training as an assassin had paid off. Her weapon was coated with a thinyer of darkish grey qi that bubbled slightly.

    She may not be the strongest fighter but when it came to killing¡­ Qiana had no equal among the first years.

    Except for her friend Sophie.

    Victoria clutched her throat in shock and managed to gargle out some incoherent words before a sma round to her chest ended her life.

    Qiana melted back into the shadows just as the two ck cloaked figures aggressively rushed towards her position.

 Chapter 601

    Chapter 601: The Mysterious ck Order

    (Hydra Star System- Inteary Space Station)

    (Cargo Bay ¨C Unnamed Side Room)

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Qiana leaned against a nearby wall and held her breath as she heard the sounds of heavy sma fire echoing through the corridor.

    This attack had been well nned and executed.

    A series of loud explosions caused arge amount of damage to the space station as well as panic among the people inside.

    Hundreds of ck cloaked figures were now roaming the station looking for survivors to execute or take hostage.

    What was their goal?

    Qiana had no idea but did not intend to find out. This was not the first time that a deal with the ck-market forces had gone sour.

    The young woman adjusted her sses and nced at the four crates neatly stacked up in front of her.

    It was impossible to grab all of the crates but in the chaos¡­ who would be able to tell how a few went missing?

    A satisfied smirk spread across Qiana¡¯s face as she reached into her pocket and took out a small metalloid device shaped like a remote.

    She pointed the device in the direction of the crates and pressed the small, raised button on the side.

    A beam of purple light was emitted from the device and Qiana used it to carefully scan each crate for any trackers or bugs.

    Ding!

    There was a tiny tracking device located at the bottom of each crate just as she suspected. Qiana kneeled down and used her fingers to pry off the trackers before crushing them under her boot.

    Once the tracking devices had all been destroyed, Qiana waved her hands and ced the four crates in her storage bag.

    Good¡­ now she needed to get out of here.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    BOOM!

    Qiana darted into the shadows just as the door to the side room where she was hiding in was blown off its hinges by a fiery explosion.

    Two figures slowly walked into the room.

    Each held a sma rifle in their hands and the ck cloaks that they wore concealed their facial features.

    ¡°Are you sure that you heard something?¡± one of them muttered quietly as his eyes scanned the room and found nothing suspicious.

    ¡°The boss said to check all the rooms¡­ don¡¯t bezy¡­¡± hispanion replied as she kicked over a nearby table to see if anyone was hiding behind it.

    ¡°And who is your boss?¡± a voice suddenly whispered.

    Qiana stepped out of the shadows with blood slowly dripping from the knife that was held tightly in her palm.

    ¡°Holy shit! There¡¯s one of them¡­ Theresa we have to¡­ huh?¡± the ck cloaked man reeled back in shock as he saw hispanion clutching her throat in pain.

    When? When was she attacked?

    The man tried to raise up his sma rifle to shoot at the mysterious girl but felt a sudden stinging sensation of pain.

    He looked down and saw that his right hand had been neatly severed from the base and was now little more than a stump.

    ¡°Argghhhh!¡± the man screamed in pain as his brain finally registered what had been done to him.

    Hispanion crashed to the ground and began to spasm as blood slowly leaked out of the wound across her throat.

    She desperately iled around but eventually the life slowly faded from her eyes.

    Qiana walked forward slowly and the dark markings along her body shifted with every step that she took.

    Her eyes were hidden behind her sses, but one could feel a cold calcting gaze behind those thick lenses.

    What made Qiana so terrifying was the fact that she did not give off even a single trace of bloodlust.

    It was like what she had done did not even register as killing a fellow human being¡­ in her eyes this was like how one would feel about stepping on an ant.

    ¡°Tell me¡­.¡± Qiana whispered softly as she used her knife to brush against the man¡¯s cheek. She carefully sliced upwards and removed the hood that was covering his face.

    The man had a hooked nose, beady eyes and several hideous scars that would scare any ordinary girl.

    But Qiana felt nothing.

    ¡°Who is your boss? What is your objective?¡± Qiana repeated her precious question.

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll never talk¡­¡± the man defiantly replied as he clutched his injured hand and red at Qiana with an expression of hatred.

    Qiana merely raised an eyebrow and reached into her storage bag for a vial. Inside the vial was a dark purplish liquid that bubbled and hissed.

    She kicked the man in his chest, and he crashed to the ground with a painful thud. The young noble then casually threw the vial which thennded right on the man¡¯s chest.

    The vial shattered and the purplish liquid stained his clothes. The man looked at Qiana with confusion evident in his gaze, but Qiana merely walked away.

    A horrific screech of pain left the man¡¯s mouth as he felt as though his body was burning up from the inside.

    Three minutes at most and then she would have all she needed to know. Qiana left the room and checked both sides of the corridor.

    The man¡¯s loud screams would certainly draw the attention of any invaders patrolling nearby but that was exactly what Qiana was hoping for.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and tried to send a message but discovered that her connection to the virtual had been cut off.

    Clever bastards¡­

    Whoever was the leader of this operation had really covered all of their bases. A null field was probably responsible for killing allmunications to the outside world.

    Qiana wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the cameras and security devices on the space station were all out ofmission or destroyed.

    To do that meant that the leader of the operation must have had an agent working inside the space station.

    This was a n that required months if not years of meticulous nning.

    Qiana walked back into the room and stepped past the man who was now thrashing on the ground.

    She stopped in front of his femalepanion and began to remove the clothes from her still warm corpse.

    Qiana¡¯s facial expression did not change even as she stripped the dead woman and then flung her cloak around her body.

    The safest ce to hide was in in sight.

    ¡°Please¡­ please¡­ no¡­ more¡­¡± the man groaned as he raised his head with great difficulty and stared at Qiana.

    Only two minutes? What a pitiful amount of endurance¡­

    ¡°Are you ready to talk?¡± Qiana softly whispered as she adjusted the hood so that it covered her face.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡­ we¡­ are members of ¡®The ck Order¡¯. Our leader he told us¡­ we would be rich if we¡­ we¡­ robbed this station¡­¡± the man painfully stuttered.

    ¡°And what¡¯s your leader¡¯s name?¡± Qiana asked coldly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­ he¡­ he¡­ never told¡­ us¡­ please¡­ help¡­ me¡­¡± the man replied as he crawled on the ground towards Qiana.

    He stretched out his injured hand for assistance and saw the mysterious girl tilt her knife. That was thest image that the invader saw before his head was neatly sliced off his body.

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh as she casually flicked her knife and the droplets of blood fell on the ground.

    The ck Order¡­.

    Where had she heard that name before?

 Chapter 602

    Chapter 602: The Ruthless Killer

    (Hydra Star System- Inteary Space Station)

    (Cargo Bay- Unnamed Side Corridor)

    Qiana slowly walked through the corridor while tightly gripping the sma rifle that was in her hand.

    She wore the same ck cloak as the invaders who attacked the space station and the hood covered most of her facial features.

    There was not a hint of panic in her steps as she walked over the corpses that littered the floor.

    Most of the bodies had a single hole in the middle of their chests but some were missing limbs or chunks of meat from their ribs.

    Such brutality¡­

    Qiana shook her head and focused on the matter at hand. Currently there was no way out of the station except for the transport bay.

    The null field surrounding the station would prevent anymunication so she would be unable to call out or signal for help.

    Her best bet would be to steal a starship from the hangars and then leave the station quietly while the fighting still continued.

    Qiana touched the side of her sses as she wandered through an endlessbyrinth of side passageways and corridors.

    It was a habit that she did whenever she was under some kind of stress. Astrid always teased her about it¡­

    Qiana¡¯s lips gently curved upwards as she pictured her Mendolesa girlfriend smiling at her with her tail wagging furiously from side to side.

    Looks like their virtual date night would have to be dyed.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Qiana walked towards the direction of the noise and saw three ck cloaked figures engaging in battle with a horde of mechanical soldiers.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± one of the figures cried out in pain as an energy de sliced his arm clean off.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Hispanions were undeterred and continued to fire at the androids whose reddish eyes glowed eerily in the darkness.

    Qiana stepped forward and pointed her rifle in the direction of the iing robots. She gently pulled the trigger and fired a barrage of shots.

    Each shot was perfectly timed and aimed.

    Seven robots copsed to the ground withrge holes in the middle of their chests where their energy cores were located.

    ¡°Reinforcements are here,¡± Qiana confidently spoke as she assisted the cloaked figures in taking down their enemies.

    The fight was long and arduous but eventually they emerged victorious. Qiana walked towards one of the figures and ced a warm hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°Good work¡­ the boss will be pleased with your performance,¡± Qiana casually spoke in a voice loud enough for the others to hear.

    The key to any disguise was confidence.

    In an organization asrge as the one that invaded the space station, it was impossible for every member to know each other.

    Especially considering that their facial features werepletely covered. Her attitude and confidence are what would make her disguise fool the members that she came across.

    ¡°Thank you for the help,¡± the man respectfully replied as he cupped his fists together and bowed.

    ¡°No worries. I have been ordered to secure the transport bay to ensure that there are no survivors who escape,¡± Qiana spoke firmly.

    ¡°You will join me.¡±

    Her tone was amanding one without room for questioning of her order.

    As a lone person wandering around, she was inherently suspicious but when ced in arge group¡­

    Qiana led the way withrge strides and the ck cloaked figures behind her quickly fell in line.

    They did not even consider that the person they were following was a fake.

    The young woman closed her eyes and briefly recalled the steps she had taken to enter the auction hall from the transport bay.

    Fortunately, her enhanced memory from her high cultivation level meant that it was easy for her to retrace her steps.

    Qiana led her newfound team in the direction of the transport hub while asionally engaging in battle with the mechanical soldiers and survivors in their path.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Qiana ruthlessly shot a woman who leapt out of the shadows holding a knife in her palm. She copsed to the ground motionless.

    ¡°Move out of the way,¡± Qiana coldly spoke to the other ck cloaked figures that appeared on the way to the transport bay.

    Without hesitation they would move to the side and Qiana would pass through unhindered.

    By now the three men who she had picked up where inplete awe of the powerful woman and were convinced that she was a high-level executive.

    It took around thirty minutes until they reached arge set of mechanical doors that were tightly guarded by a squad of twenty ck cloaked figures.

    They were different from the other members of the so-called ck Order that Qiana hade across.

    Her eyes narrowed as the ck markings on her body stirred to life. These people were no ordinary killers¡­

    ¡°Go and exin the boss¡¯ order to examine the transport bay for any survivors,¡± Qiana ordered one of the men behind her.

    While he walked forward, she quickly reached into her storage bag and pulled out a gas mask along with a circr metalloid device.

    Qiana clicked a button on the side of the device and small section on its underside began to vibrate slightly.

    Ten seconds.

    Qiana ced the mask on her face, and it melted into her skin. Soon her nose and mouth were bothpletely covered.

    A cultivator in the qi tide stage was capable of holding their breath for at least an hour which is what Qiana was relying on.

    The mask on the other hand was to ensure that no foreign airborne substances would enter her body.

    Seven seconds.

    ¡°What orders? We have secured the transport bay and I assure you that no survivors have managed to get inside,¡± one of the figures guarding the doors spoke.

    Five seconds.

    Qiana stepped forward and got the attention of the cloaked figures as she opened her mouth and began to speak.

    ¡°The boss is not please with your performance and has sent me to evaluate and take over this operation,¡± Qiana whispered softly.

    Three seconds.

    ¡°He believes that¡­¡±

    One second.

    Qiana flung the circr device on the ground and melted away into the shadows beneath one of the cloaked figure¡¯s feet.

    The circr device popped open with a hissing noise and a dark green gas escaped from the container.

    The cloaked figures barely had any time to react before their bodies copsed on the ground and they began to convulse.

    Blood started to leak out from their eyes, their throats began to close andrge disgusting blisters appeared on their exposed skin.

    They twitched on the ground painfully as the gas entered their orifices and destroyed their bodies from the inside.

    Qiana rose up from the shadows and walked towards the mechanical doors that were now unguarded.

    The ck cloaked figures on the ground were no longer capable of movement or speaking and could merely watch as she stepped forward and used a knife to slice the door.

    The reinforced steel was easily torn apart by Qiana¡¯s knife and soon she carved out a human-sized hole for her to enter.

    She took onest look at the dying men and women on the ground¡­

    And then stepped inside.

 Chapter 603

    Chapter 603: Great Escape

    (Hydra Star System- Inteary Space Station)

    (Transport Bay- Hangar 013)

    Qiana stepped through the hole in the mechanical doors and entered arge open hall with several starships parked along the side of the walls.

    She adjusted her sses and ignored the painful moans that came from the other side of the doors.

    It wasn¡¯t safe yet to remove her mask, so Qiana kept it on. Dryon gas could be ssified as a bioweapon, and it was extremely dangerous.

    Once inhaled the victim would die an extremely painful death as their organs rotted away from the inside.

    Only those with high cultivation levels or an immunity to toxins would be able to survive and the cloaked figures who guarded the transport bay had neither.

    Qiana walked towards the console in the middle of the room and stared thoughtfully at the monitor next to the machine.

    No one else was present in the transport bay. It appeared as though the cloaked figures outside had done their job rather well.

    The young woman reached into her storage bag and pulled out a mechanical device simr to a stick.

    She plugged it in to the side of the console and the monitor above it began to flicker. Green lines of code appeared on the screen as Qiana waited for the hacking process to finish.

    She needed to gainmand of the transport bay in order to open therge doors on the other side of the hangar that led to the space outside.

    BOOM!

    The space station shuddered for a brief moment and Qiana had to grab on to the side of the console to prevent herself from falling.

    Were the invaders lunatics?

    Why in god¡¯s name were they trying to simultaneously take over and destroy the station at the same time?

    It made no sense!

    Qiana narrowed her eyes and brushed away a loose strand of hair that fell over her face. There was a mystery here, but it was not her concern.

    Her only objective was to escape with the cargo and return to the family with a report of this incident.

    [Please Input Your Commands¡­]

    Lines of text appeared on the monitor and Qiana secretly let out a sigh of relief. She could have used other methods to escape the station, but this was by far the easiest one.

    Her fingers danced across the monitor as she typed out a long line of code. Qiana pressed ¡®enter¡¯ and then walked towards one of the smaller sized spacecrafts.

    Stealth and speed.

    Those were the qualities that she needed in the spaceship. At the very least it needed to have a warp core so that she could flee this gxy quickly.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Qiana could hear the steady beating of her heart as she raised up her hand and touched the cold metallic surface of the starship.

    Most would mistake Qiana for a cold-blooded killer without fear but that could not be further from the truth.

    She had too much to live for and was just as afraid of dying as everyone else. It was just that Qiana was capable of putting reason and logic above emotion.

    The young woman nted another metalloid device on the outer surface of the spacecraft and waited as the rouge AI unit inside the device infiltrated the starship¡¯s defense systems.

    It didn¡¯t take long for a hole to appear on the side of the spacecraft and a metalloid staircase slowly lowered itself to the ground.

    Qiana entered the spacecraft and immediately headed towards the pilot seat. The interior of the spaceship was absolutely filthy.

    Whoever was its current owner clearly did not care about good hygiene because there were numerous empty bottles and trash strewn across the ground.

    A disgusted expression shed across Qiana¡¯s face as she stepped over what she assumed was a sex toy that was covered in unknown liquids.

    She had definitely made the wrong decision to pick this spacecraft but at this point it was toote to change.

    The transport bay¡¯s doors would open automatically in less than seven minutes. Qiana kept her eyes firmly locked on the ground beneath her feet as she walked towards the front of the ship.

    Just ignore it¡­ just ignore it¡­ just ignore it¡­

    Qiana chanted that mantra over and over in her mind as she stepped or jumped over some additional pleasure devices.

    Eventually she arrived at the pilot seat and mercifully it was at least rtively clean. Qiana swept the trash away from the control panel and began to power on the starship.

    The lights inside the spacecraft flickered on and a soft humming noise could be hearding from the engine room.

    It was incredibly risky to activate the warp core before the starship left the hangar, but Qiana did not want to take any chances.

    She had no idea what was waiting for her outside the station. The null field prevented any information from flowing in or out which meant that she waspletely blind.

    Qiana¡¯s fingers curled up into a tight fist as she waited patiently for the transport bay doors to finally open.

    A red light began to sh, and an rm sounded as the heavy metalloid doors at the end of the transport bay opened up to reveal the vast expanse of space.

    Qiana drove the starship towards the doors and carefully navigated through the spacecrafts that were parked haphazardly in the way.

    Freedom was beckoning to her.

    BOOM!

    Arge explosion rocked the entire transport bay, and it came from the other side of the hall.

    Qiana nced back and muttered a silent curse as she saw dozens of cloaked figures emerge from the wreckage.

    It seems like she had been discovered.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    An endless barrage of sma fire was shot towards her starship but fortunately the shields barely managed to hold on.

    The engine of the starship was now fully warmed up and without hesitation Qiana activated the elerationmand.

    The spacecraft shot forward leaving behind a trail of mes in its wake. The young woman in the pilot seat did not even bother to look behind her as she inputted in a series ofmands.

    The warp core began to throb with power as blue electric sparks appeared along its outer surface.

    Qiana managed to get a glimpse of a massive starship over one hundred kilometres in length hovering above the space station.

    A heavy beam of dark light was being emitted from the underside of the gigantic starship which enveloped the entire space station.

    Qiana assumed that it was responsible for the null field that blocked allmunications. Was there a ck-market organization that owned such an expensive starship?

    Shaking her head slightly to push those thoughts to the back of her mind, Qiana activated the warp core and her stolen starship entered hyperspace.

    The small spacecraft disappeared from the scene just as arge beam of sma fire was shot towards its previous location.

 Chapter 604

    Chapter 604: The One Ring To Rule Them All

    (Hydra Star System ¨C Pris Asteroid Cluster)

    (Stolen Spacecraft- Main Bedroom)

    Qiana let out a light sigh as she stood over the edge of the bed and looked at all the garbage that was piled up on the floor.

    Whoever was the previous owner of this starship was an absolute pig. Pieces of trash, filth and other unmentionable items were scattered everywhere.

    Along with stains from liquids that Qiana hoped were beverages.

    Honestly at first, she thought that at least the bed was rtively clean but after shining a ck light on the mattress¡­

    Let¡¯s just say that Qiana did not n to lie down on the bed for the night. The young woman took off her sses and gave them a quick rub to remove the stains.

    She moved away from the bed and walked back to the driver¡¯s room. Outside of the windows, one could see the vast and lonely expanse of space.

    Countless number of stars ands blinked and winked out of existence. A few starships zipped by while others cruised along at a much leisurely pace.

    Qiana checked hermunicator and saw a few missed messages from her friends but not a single one from her family.

    Well¡­ it would seem that the news about what had happened in the space station had yet to leak to the outside world.

    The ck order¡­

    Qiana furrowed her brows as she carefully recalled everything that had just happened a few hours prior.

    A rival organisation had decided to invade the space station, but the strange thing was that they did not seem to be interested in the goods or valuables onboard.

    Instead, they caused as much destruction as possible with loud explosives.

    But if they simply wanted to destroy the station then why would they not use the mounted sma cannons on the colossal starship.

    Something wasn¡¯t right¡­

    Qiana rubbed her fingers together as she gave the matter some more thought. It was a habit that she had picked up after spending so much time with Astrid.

    No¡­ there was no use dwelling on it now¡­ she simply needed topile a report to the family elders¡­

    Now how should she exin the death of her female guard?

    A light smile shed across Qiana¡¯s face as she typed in hermunicator that her guard had bravely sacrificed herself to ensure that she escaped.

    Her uncle would be furious that his right-hand agent had disappeared but officially he would be unable to say anything.

    Noble family politics were quite tiring¡­

    Honestly there was a part of Qiana that envied the fact that her friend Sophie only had one member of her family.

    She was the default heir and there was no one else with a im to House Peterlor and their estates.

    Qiana finishedpiling the report and gave it a quick look over before saving it as a draft. She would need to flesh it out with some more detailster.

    Qiana¡¯s hand drifted over to her storage bag, and she took out the four metalloid crates. She needed to check the goods.

    The young woman took out a knife from her pocket and carefully pried the top of each crate open to reveal what was inside.

    Three of the crates had small greyish- ck bars of a mysterious metal stacked one on top of each other.

    Noxien¡­ this was the real deal.

    Qiana closed the lids and turned to thest crate that from the outside seemed identical to the ones before it.

    She opened the crate and peered inside. A confused expression surfaced on Qiana¡¯s face as she could not make out what she was seeing.

    There appeared to be a ring¡­. Wait¡­ what?

    The inside of the crate waspletely empty except for a small golden ring with peculiar ck markings running down its sides.

    The markings were clearly written in anguage and had meaning but Qiana was unable to decipher them since she had never seen thatnguage before.

    Did she pick up the wrong crate by ident?

    No¡­ she definitely got the crates from the same spot which meant that the ck-market organisation had not been entirely truthful.

    Not all the crates contained Noxien.

    Or perhaps someone had swapped out the goods inside the crate before the auction had even begun.

    That was also a possibility¡­

    Qiana reached inside the crate and picked up the ring. It felt strangely warm andfortable to the touch.

    It was almost as though the material that the ring was made out of was stic-like in nature because it changed shape quite easily as Qiana pulled and pinched it.

    She yed with the ring for a few moments and the ck markings seemed to shift slightly every time she held the ring up to the light.

    Quite odd¡­

    There was a hypnotic attraction that the ring held that made it almost impossible to look away from it.

    Qiana had heard of such artifacts before and most of the time it did not end well for the person who picked them up.

    With a great amount of effort, she tore her eyes away from the ring and reached for the storage bag attached to her hip.

    Qiana ced the ring in her storage bag and turned her attention to the three crates that she knew had the material that she desired.

    Only three crates of Noxien were not exactly a sess but it would be enough to get the family elders off her back.

    Especially considering that all the other customers in the space station were mostly likely dead or kidnapped by now.

    Qiana¡¯s wristmunicator buzzed slightly, and she saw an iing message from one of her family members.

    yna: [Has the auction finished yet? I trust that Victoria has been doing her job and ensuring your safety.]

    Qiana: [I will be returning home in a few hours with aplete report of the auction. Do not worry because I have secured the materials.]

    yna: [Wonderful I will inform the head immediately. This has been quite an¡­ unexpected sess but I suppose it is to be expected of the heir.]

    Qiana frowned slightly as she sensed the sarcasm on the other end of the message. yna was one of her cousins and a particrly vicious woman.

    Mentioning Victoria in her first message, clearly meant that her cousin knew that her female guard¡¯s real task was to sabotage her bidding during the auction.

    Qiana didn¡¯t want to deal with any more hidden barbs, so she simply powered off hermunicator.

    This was going to be a very long couple of months¡­

    The spacecraft continued to move forward as Qiana inputted a series ofmands which included a flight path to Rexone.

    The controlled by House Abazin.

    Her home.

 Chapter 605

    Chapter 605: Survival Of The Fittest

    (Hydra Star System- Rexone)

    (Northern Territory- Castle ckmore)

    Qiana entered the room with quiet steps and nced at the numerous portraits that hung on the walls.

    Every single one disyed the image of a previous head of the family who stared lifelessly from behind a barrier of paint.

    Honestly it was a bit creepy.

    When Qiana was a little girl, she was convinced that their eyes would follow her as she walked by them.

    Inside the room was arge rectangr table with enough space to fit twenty seats.

    The men and women sitting down on the chairs stared at the young woman who stepped forward.

    Qiana was unremarkable.

    She wore a simple ck attire with heavy boots that were surprisingly noiseless.

    Her face unlike most of the nobles had not been gically altered in the womb so it would easily blend into a crowd.

    There was ack of presence surrounding her body as if turning your eyes away from her would cause her to disappear.

    ¡°Wee back,¡± an elderly man with a full beard spoke softly as he raised up his hand and beckoned Qiana to walk over.

    ¡°Thank you, father,¡± Qiana bowed her head and replied as she walked forward and sat down in the seat next to him.

    ¡°I heard that the space station where the auction was taking ce was destroyed a few days ago. Did you secure the materials?¡± Count Abazin casually questioned.

    There was not a single hint of concern in his voice about the fact that his daughter had been on the station when a terrorist attack urred.

    He simply wished to know if she had fulfilled her mission. Qiana narrowed her eyes as she heard the expected question.

    She had stopped assuming that deep down her father actually cared about her years ago. Count Abazin only cared about growing the strength of his house.

    An endless greed for power and wealth that was not easily satisfied. Fortunately, Qiana had been able to meet all of his demands so far¡­

    ¡°Of course. While I was unable to secure all of the Noxien¡­ I was able to bring back two crates of the rare material,¡± Qiana solemnly spoke as her hand reached for her storage bag.

    She touched the side of her bag and tworge metalloid crates appeared out of thin air.

    The lid of each crate was slightly open which indicated that the goods inside had already been checked.

    Count Abazin snapped his fingers and one of the men sitting down got up from his chair and walked towards the crates.

    Inside each crate were the greyish- ck bars that from the outside seemed to be the rare Noxien metal.

    He pulled out a long thin metalloid device which he then used to scan the contents of the crates.

    ¡°She¡¯s telling the truth¡­ these are all Noxien metal,¡± Ryan spoke as he closed the lids and shot Qiana a look of approval which she ignored.

    Ryan Abazin¡­ her cousin and one of her father¡¯spdogs.

    ¡°Well done,¡± Count Abazin whispered softly as he rested his hand on Qiana¡¯s shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.

    Qiana merely smiled as she leaned back against her chair and observed the reactions of the others in the room.

    Most of the men and women sitting down had enough sense to pretend to be happy that she seeded but there were a few who had great difficulty keeping their true emotions concealed.

    Like the middle-aged man sitting down to her father¡¯s right.

    ¡°It¡¯s all well and good that you were able to secure those two crates but what happened on the station and where is the bodyguard who was assigned to you?¡± the man growled angrily.

    ¡°I have written up a report about the incident and have sent it to the head of the family as well as the elders,¡± Qiana replied calmly while looking at the man directly in his eyes.

    ¡°As for the bodyguard¡­ she bravely sacrificed herself in order to allow me to escape. Her brave act of valor will not be forgotten.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Elis Abazin roared in fury as he mmed down his fist with enough force that cracks appeared where his palm had touched the table.

    ¡°What did you do to my right-hand woman? Do you have any idea how important Victoria Hunt was to the safety of our house?¡±

    ¡°Are you done embarrassing yourself?¡± a cold voice interrupted the middle-aged man¡¯s fiery speech, and the room immediately went silent.

    Count Abazin got up from his chair and slowly walked over to his brother with heavy footsteps that echoed through the room.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    He stood behind his brother with an emotionless mask on his face.

    Qiana looked away as she saw her father stretched out his hand and use his finger to touch her uncle¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Arghh¡­ no¡­ I¡¯m sorry!¡± her uncle screamed in pain as his body copsed in the chair and he begun to convulse.

    Count Abazin watched coldly as his brother shivered and trembled but still did not stop his cultivation technique until five minutes passed.

    Qiana was frozen in ce as painful memories resurfaced in her mind.

    She did not want to look at the scene since it would trigger shbacks about how her father punished her failures.

    This was a twisted house.

    With twisted people¡­ each and every one of them was broken or damaged in some way.

    Count Abazin walked away from his brother and sat back down on his chair with a peaceful expression as if nothing had just urred.

    ¡°I told you all before¡­ I don¡¯t care if you try to kill or maim my heir but¡­ failure to harm her will be punished severely,¡± Count Abazin growled darkly.

    ¡°House Abazin has no ce for failures. Do I make myself clear?¡±

    Qiana felt her heart sink as her father simultaneously warned the other family members in the room as well as ced a target on her back.

    Now every single member of the family knew that her father would not intervene or try to protect her.

    It was the ultimate trial by fire.

    A surge of hatred surfaced in Qiana¡¯s heart as she looked at the man who was more concerned about power than his own daughter.

    Any other head of a noble family would raise and protect his heir until he or she was ready to take over from his position.

    Inside her father wanted the family to fight until only the strongest survived. A culling process that would breed the most vicious monsters.

    Qiana¡¯s fingers brushed against the side of her storage bag as she thought about the crate of Noxien metal that she had kept for herself as well as the mysterious ring.

    In this family she needed to ensure that she would survive¡­

    No matter the cost.

 Chapter 606

    Chapter 606: The Key To Limitless Power

    (Hydra Star System- Rexone)

    (Northern Territory- Castle ckmore)

    ¡°Wee back young miss¡­¡±

    ¡°We have been waiting for your return¡­¡±

    ¡°Would you like something to eat?¡±

    Dozens of servants lined the corridor and bowed respectfully as Qiana walked out of the meeting room.

    She walked past them without saying a single word but none of the servants seemed to be offended by her behaviour.

    Compared to what the other family members would do to them if they were feeling bored¡­ Qiana was honestly a saint.

    The young woman frowned slightly as she wandered through the castle with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    There was still one crate of Noxien left in her storage bag that she had not revealed to her father and for good reason.

    It was important to keep building up her personal wealth in case of an emergency. Especially considering that her father had just dered open season on her life.

    Now every member of her family knew that they were freely allowed to try to kill and maim her as long as they were not caught.

    Poisons, assassins, traps¡­

    Qiana sighed heavily as she predicted that her days spent in her family¡¯s estate were only going to get more difficult in the future.

    It was a small constion that only her father was a void stage cultivator, and the rest of her family were in the qi spirit or qi tide stage.

    There was a reason why Qiana was chosen as the future head of the family, and it had to do with her cultivation talent.

    But apparently even her talent was not enough for her father to bother to protect her.

    A bitter smile shed across Qiana¡¯s lips as she stopped outside a locked door with a small flower pattern painted on its surface.

    Mom¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m back¡­¡± Qiana whispered softly as she stretched out her hand and lightly touched the door.

    The young heiress to House Abazin bowed her head at the door and a few memoires surfaced in her mind.

    Qiana¡¯s mother was the only person who made this twisted family feel like home. Her death had left a void in Qiana¡¯s heart that was hard to fill.

    Still¡­ as her mom would say¡­ ¡®Keep moving forward¡¯.

    She turned away from the door and headed towards her bedroom. After a few days of non-stop flying, she could use a nice long sleep.

    ¡°Wee back cousin¡­¡± an annoying voice interrupted Qiana¡¯s tired mood.

    ¡°Nadia¡­ it is truly a pleasure,¡± Qiana repliedzily as she stared at the woman standing in front of her wearing an expensive princess dress.

    ¡°I must thank your father for providing me with such a loyal bodyguard. Victoria Hunt was a brave woman who saved my life¡­¡±

    An expression of rage and annoyance shed across Nadia¡¯s face as she listened to Qiana¡¯s mocking words.

    ¡°Yes¡­ well¡­ we serve to protect the future head of the family¡­¡± Nadia spoke with gritted teeth as she stepped closer to Qiana.

    ¡°You would do well to remember that,¡± Qiana coldly replied as she met Nadia¡¯s gaze with expressionless eyes.

    Nadia¡¯s eyes widened and the words that she was about to say died down in her throat as she sensed something in Qiana¡¯s eyes.

    It was not bloodlust and yet¡­ shivers ran down Nadia¡¯s spine as if death was circling around her body ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Qiana walked past her frozen cousin as the shadows beneath her feet shifted and moved ever so slightly.

    She hated this family.

    They only respected fear.

    Qiana finally arrived at her room and opened the door with a heavy sigh. She looked around and saw a in white bed and a locked closet.

    Honestly it was more like a dorm room than the bedroom that belonged to the future heiress of House Abazin.

    Before entering the room Qiana reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small metalloid disc-shaped device.

    She pressed a button on the side of the device and a green light swept around the room.

    Just as she predicted there were two listening devices imnted around the bed and one stuck on the ceiling.

    Sloppy¡­

    Qiana entered the room and picked up the listening devices before crushing them between her fingertips.

    Who could have done this?

    The list of suspects was a long one¡­ hell it could have even been done by some of the servants eager to secure their ce in the family¡¯s hierarchy.

    Qiana rubbed her forehead and carefully removed her sses. She sat down on the side of the bed and stared out of the window.

    The water was slightly green, so it was impossible to see what manner of creatures of nts lurked just beneath its surface.

    Qiana closed her eyes and rxed on the bed without even bothering to change her clothes. She kicked off her shoes and pulled a nket over her body.

    As the corners of her vision darkened, Qiana could swear that the mysterious ring that was inside her storage bag had somehow appeared on the middle of her chest.

    No¡­ I must be dreaming¡­

    Qiana closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. She did not notice that the ring on her chest faintly glowed and the markings on its surface seemed to change.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°Hello?!¡± Qiana asked curiously as she found herself drifting aimlessly in what could only be described as a blue sky.

    Rolling clouds touched her feet and a cool breeze brushed against her face. If this was a dream, then it was extremely realistic since Qiana felt as though she was actually flying.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly a bad experience, so Qiana rxed and enjoyed the experience of soaring through the heavens.

    Eventually the scenery shifted, and Qiana found herself standing upright in the middle of apletely white space.

    There was a massive golden throne in the middle of the room and on that throne sat a mysterious being.

    It was vaguely humanoid and yet not at the same time. It possessed five heads and its body seemed to be made out of cosmic stardust.

    The being¡¯s limbs were unnaturally skinny to the point where they seemed likely to break at the slightest touch.

    There was no mouth, eyes, or orifices on its multiple faces and yet Qiana could swear that the creature¡¯s attention was focused solely on her.

    [Are you the one who passed my test?]

    A soft melodic voice entered Qiana¡¯s head as the being shifted slightly on its throne. One of its arms stretched forward and gently touched Qiana¡¯s hair.

    ¡°What test?¡± Qiana asked curiously as she felt strangely calm and rxed despite the peculiar situation.

    [Find the key¡­ only someone with great talent maye into possession of my key¡­]

    [You¡­ you are a worthy fit to be my vessel]

    ¡°Vessel? Hold on¡­ I still don¡¯t know what you mean by key¡­¡± Qiana quickly interrupted the mysterious being.

    The creature held out its other palm and the image of the ring from the fourth storage crate appeared.

    [This is the catalyst required to enter my domain¡­ does it look familiar?]

    ¡°Yes¡­ this was in the crate that I stole but¡­¡± Qiana¡¯s words were cut off as new information flowed into her mind.

    This being was one of the powerful entities that had gone past the Ascendant stage and could be considered a god.

    To be chosen as a vessel meant that she would be given a trace of its power in exchange for servitude.

    [My gifts¡­ will make you the leader of your era¡­ this kind of power¡­ it will allow you to conqueror all those who stand in your way]

    The being had no facial features and yet Qiana could swear that it was smiling as it stretched out its hand and offered the contract.

    ¡°Thank you for the kind offer¡­¡± Qiana hesitantly spoke.

    ¡°But I must decline¡­¡±

 Chapter 607

    Chapter 607: The Shocked Entity

    [What did you say?]

    The mysterious being¡¯s voice echoed in Qiana¡¯s mind and this time it was tinged with disbelief and confusion.

    ¡°I appreciate your kind offer¡­ but unfortunately I cannot ept it,¡± Qiana politely refused as she bowed respectfully at the cosmic being.

    There was a brief moment of silence in the white space as the creature on the throne did not seem to know what to do next.

    [Mortal¡­]

    [I offer you power beyond the likes of which your kind have ever seen before. Entire nations can be crushed under your feet¡­ you will be the ruler of this era.]

    [I do not think that you understand just how powerful my abilities are¡­]

    The creature raised up its unnaturally skinny arm and snapped its fingers. The white space was reced with a battlefield where thousands of aliens fought desperately to survive.

    [Look upon my previous vessel¡¯s power¡­]

    The mysterious being stretched out its hand and pointed at a small furry creature who screamed in anger.

    Immediately the situation on the battlefield changed, the aliens fighting so desperately to survive began to slow down as time seemed to freeze.

    Their wounds began to heal, and it was like the battle had never urred. Even the dead were brought back to life with weapons shooting out of their once corpse-like bodies.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Qiana asked in confusion.

    [My ability will allow you to reverse the course of life and death. Immortality will just be a fingertip away¡­]

    [Now do you see the value of my gift?]

    The cosmic being chuckled and then snapped its fingers once more. Qiana found herself standing in the middle of the white space while the creature rxed on its golden throne.

    The entity stretched out its hand for Qiana, but the mortal girl stepped away and looked at it with a wary gaze.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ but I still cannot ept,¡± Qiana hesitantly spoke.

    [Why?]

    [Give me the reason why you have refused to be my vessel]

    The creature had no facial features but somehow Qiana could tell that it was unhappy at her decision.

    Qiana furrowed her brows and thought carefully about what to say next. It would not be a good idea to irritate a cosmic level being, but she could not ept the offer.

    How could she diplomatically put into words her reason for refusing to be the entity¡¯s vessel?

    ¡°Your abilities are indeed strong, but I am aware that no power is given out for free and the price for yours is too high,¡± Qiana replied calmly.

    ¡°I do not wish to be bound in servitude to an entity whose true purpose and goals are unknown to me.¡±

    ¡°What happens if you give me a request that I am either unwilling or unable to fulfil? What would be the consequences of ignoring your orders?¡±

    [Mortal¡­ you would turn down unlimited power and immortality for such a petty thing as free will?]

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is considered ¡®free will¡¯, but I have no desire to be a servant to someone or something else,¡± Qiana spoke in a steadfast tone.

    The mysterious entity was filled with rage as it stared down at the arrogant mortal girl with hatred growing in its heart.

    Seven hundred thousand years¡­

    That was how long it had been since it had found a candidate that was worthy enough to be its vessel.

    And now it had been refused.

    Refused by a member of some primitive backwater race. An ugly little thing with four limbs and two small flesh bags in the front.

    It wanted nothing more than to kill the mortal girl in front of it, but the rules of the universe prevented direct intervention.

    [You will regret the choice that you have made today]

    [One day you will willingly seek out my power¡­]

    [They all do in the end]

    The entity snapped its fingers and the space around Qiana shattered into a million pieces of white shards.

    Qiana opened eyes and found herself lying down on her bed with the mysterious ring sitting quietly on her chest.

    She took in a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down and then reached for the ring. She ced it back in her storage bag without hesitation.

    The entity¡¯s offer had indeed been tempting. Qiana was not afraid to admit that a part of her really wanted to ept its powerful ability.

    Immortality and being able to reverse life and death?

    It sounded too powerful to be true¡­ which is why Qiana had been even more determined to refuse its offer.

    She was an incredibly cautious girl and could recognise immediately when a trap wasid right before her eyes.

    No one would give out that kind of power for free.

    Qiana let out a light sigh and checked the time on her wristmunicator. It was five o¡¯clock in the morning and the sun had yet to rise.

    She got up from the bed and walked over to the door connected to her bedroom. It led to arge training room filled with heavy weights, workout devices and a holosuite.

    Qiana did what she usually did when things were weighing heavily on her mind, she got in her training clothes and did a workout.

    The future heiress of House Abazin began to do some stretches as she warmed up her body and rxed her muscles.

    This continued for about five minutes until she headed for the weights. Qiana picked up a three-hundred-pound dumbbell and lifted it up and down using only one hand.

    She circted qi from her dantian to the meridians in her right arm as she kept her grip firm on the heavy weight.

    Despite her best efforts, her mind kept drifting to the entity¡¯s final words. Perhaps one day in the future she would indeed be tempted to ept its special powers.

    Qiana furrowed her brows as she ced the weight in her left hand and began to repeat the process all over again.

    As if she didn¡¯t have enough stress¡­

    She still needed to survive in Castle ckmore for at least a week and then her father was sending her off to a lunar colony to observe and run the mining nt.

    Honestly Qiana couldn¡¯t wait for the new semester of university to begin. It did not take a divine fortune teller to predict that the rest of the month would be quite difficult.

    Qiana ced the weight back on the rack and flexed both of her arms. She gently inhaled and exhaled as she moved on to the next part of her workout routine.

    She climbed on to a machine and attached weights to her legs that were so heavy that if they fell then they would most likely crack the ground.

    The young woman grunted as she lifted up her legs and directed her qi towards the parts of her muscles that were straining the most.

    This training served two purposes, one it helped her to be stronger and the second reason was that it helped her to control the flow of her qi.

    As an assassin Qiana was not the strongest fighter among the first years, that title belonged to her friend Sophie, but she was still willing to learn the basics.

    At least enough to hold her own in case things went south during a mission.

 Chapter 608

    Chapter 608: First Day Of Work

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Abazin Mining Corporation- Base Camp)

    Qiana stepped off the spacecraft and winced slightly as an intense beam of sunlight brushed against the side of her face.

    The ground beneath her feet wasposed of a whitish sand and one could seerge dunes in the distance.

    Lunar colony Renoran was located in the outer regions of the Hydra Star System and had only been recently acquired by House Abazin.

    This was to be her home for the rest of her vacation. Well¡­ at least she didn¡¯t have to deal with her family so that was always a plus.

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh as she adjusted her sses and walked towards therge muscr man who bowed respectfully.

    The man wore a simple outfit that consisted of blue overalls, a ck shirt and heavy boots that covered most of his ankles.

    ¡°Are you the one in charge of the mining operation?¡± Qiana asked curiously as she stared at the imposing figure.

    ¡°Yes and no, mydy. I am one of the three leaders of the operation, and my mine is the one located in the northern district,¡± the man exined politely.

    Qiana hummed softly and continued to walk forward while taking in the sights around her. There was arge transparent barrier wrapped around the entire moon that was impossible to ignore.

    This barrier created an artificial atmosphere which made it possible to breathe without the aid of a helmet or specialised gear.

    Lunar colony Renoran appeared to be a deste and hostile ce at first nce. Before the mining group arrived, there were no traces of life not even microorganisms.

    The young heiress to House Abazin followed therge man over a dune and saw one of the many camps scattered around the.

    Each camp wasposed of a series ofrge canvas tents that were big enough to rival the size of small houses.

    There were a few public toilets and showers at the back of the camp as well as a recreational area with lines drawn in the sand.

    The poption of the camp was entirely human but there were quite a few androids moving around since the robots were the ones doing most of thebour.

    Mechanical beings were superior to humans when it came to physical and intellectual activity with the exception of those who cultivated.

    But why would a cultivator be willing to be a miner? Hence the use of androids despite the alternatives.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Qiana asked therge man who looked at the camp with a strange expression in his eyes.

    The man had been nothing but polite and courteous since she had arrived on the moon, but Qiana could not shake her suspicions that there was something off about him.

    ¡°My name is Carter Matthews. I have been working with your family for over twenty years now,¡± Carter spoke proudly.

    There was a clear sense of pride in his voice as if he considered being employed by House Abazin as an enviable goal.

    Qiana furrowed her brows as she could not tell if therge man was being genuine or just saying what he thought that she wanted to hear.

    ¡°I look forward to working with you. May I speak to the people in charge of the ounting? I wish to see the productivity numbers for this month,¡± Qiana said calmly.

    There was a brief moment of silence.

    Carter seemed shocked as if he did not believe that the young noblewoman wanted to start work straightaway while Qiana waited patiently for his decision.

    ¡°Sure¡­ right this way¡­¡± Carter said hesitantly as he gestured towards a tent in the center of the base camp.

    Carter powered on his wristmunicator and presumably sent a message to whoever was inside the tent toe outside.

    Qiana knew that something was off about Carter¡¯s reaction so the wariness in her heart got even stronger as they approached the tent.

    A small skinny woman holding a metalloid tablet walked out of the tent and greeted them with a cheerful grin.

    ¡°Hello young miss! I¡¯m Nadia the head ountant at your service,¡± the woman bowed respectfully, and Qiana could not help but notice the burn marks on her hands.

    Horrific second-degree burns covered her knuckles, and the skin was dry and ky as if it were about to fall off.

    ¡°Why have you not sought out medical attention?¡± Qiana asked curiously.

    ¡°Oh¡­ these burns are¡­ a reminder,¡± Nadia¡¯s smile grew even wider, and Qiana could not tell what emotion was hidden in her grin.

    She began to suspect that perhaps this posting was not going to be the straightforward assignment that she initially assumed that it would be.

    Her father must have known that something was wrong with the mining group on this lunar colony otherwise why else would he send her here.

    Just another sted test¡­

    ¡°Now why don¡¯t youe inside, and I can show you the current production levels and our profit estimates for the next quarter¡­¡± Nadia continued talking normally.

    She stretched out her long slender arms and opened the p of the tent. Carter moved forward to enter first, but Nadia held up her hand and stopped him

    ¡°Not you though meathead¡­ stay outside,¡± Nadia said firmly as she stared at him with an unreadable look in her eyes.

    Carter stood still without a fuss, so Qiana stepped past him and entered inside the tent. She was immediately blown away by what she saw inside.

    There were numerous machines stacked along the walls with buttons, knobs and screens that blinked and shed with activity.

    In the middle of the tent was arge table with a holographic projector imnted in the middle of its wooden surface.

    The far corner of the room had a sleeping bag messily thrown on the ground and it was surrounded by half eaten rations and nutrient bars.

    Nadia walked up to the table and connected her wristmunicator to the projector.

    Immediately several screens appeared in mid air above the table with information about the mining operations.

    ¡°Now as you can see¡­ five androids have been destroyed in thest month alone which has significantly increased our overhead costs,¡± Nadia spoke in a lighthearted tone.

    ¡°There was one serious injury among the team but that has been dealt with and the man is now on hospital leave.¡±

    ¡°I am sure that you are interested in the profit estimations for the next quarter so let me just get that data on the screen¡­¡±

    Qiana listened carefully and wrote down a few notes on her wristmunicator. Nadia began using quite a lot of technical terms which made it very difficult to follow along.

    This was a bit boring and tedious to listen to but being the future head of a noble family meant that she would be constantly having to deal with administrative matters.

    Nadia opened her mouth and began to gesture wildly at certain screens,

    ¡°So, if the hydro pressurized gas field is tapped into then we can see an enormous jump in our profit estimate especially when considering the current price of exrien crystals.¡±

    ¡°It may destabilise the moon¡¯s core, but I believe that we should increase the fracking process regardless of the environmental damage.¡±

 Chapter 609

    Chapter 609: A Monster?

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Abazin Mining Corporation- Base Camp)

    Qiana could not shake off a strange feeling of uneasiness as she headed for her tent and opened the p that led to the inside.

    Two days had passed since she had arrived on the lunar colony and from the outside it would appear as though everything waspletely fine.

    There had been no more idents, none of the androids had been destroyed, production levels were up, and all the workers had been incredibly polite and respectful to her.

    And yet¡­

    Qiana could not help but feel as though this was the calm before the storm. The strange grin on Nadia¡¯s face and her burn marks¡­

    A reminder? A reminder of what?

    The young womany down on her sleeping bag and stared at the walls of the tent. She took off her sses and rubbed them carefully with a loose piece of fabric from her pocket.

    There was no need for a cultivator to wear sses but at this point it was more of a force of habit for Qiana.

    Besides cleaning them was always a way for her to rx and clear her thoughts.

    The atmosphere around the base camp was mostly silent but Qiana could hear what sounded like a rustling noiseing from just outside her tent.

    Someone or rather something was crawling around on the ground¡­

    She froze in ce and horrific dark marks began to crawl up the parts of her exposed skin. A cold look shed across Qiana¡¯s face as she reached for the knife that was attached to her hip.

    Just as the handle of the weapon was mere inches away from her outstretched hand, a horrific scream echoed through the night.

    Qiana quickly burst through the p of her tent and saw a frightened woman shivering uncontrobly.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Qiana demanded roughly as she looked in the direction where the woman was staring but found nothing.

    ¡°Monster¡­ I saw¡­ a monster¡­¡± the woman stammered in shock as her fingers trembled and her face whitened with fear.

    Qiana took a closer look at her outfit and discovered that the woman was one of the supervising miners who would go down to the pits to monitor the androids.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± a rough voice interrupted the woman¡¯s cries.

    Carter strode out of a nearby tent with a sma rifle held firmly in his hand.

    He was not the only one to be affected by the scream and one by one the other members of the base camp peeked out of their tents.

    ¡°Monster¡­ I saw a monster¡­¡± the frightened woman kept repeating as she stared at the area behind Qiana¡¯s tent.

    Qiana narrowed her eyes and quietly extended her senses to cover her immediate surroundings.

    Nothing.

    She could not sense any living organisms or anything out of ce.

    ¡°Monster? Were you fucking drinking again Olivia? Fuck man! How many times do I have to tell you to go easy on the bottle?!¡± Carter yelled in frustration as he clearly recognised the woman.

    ¡°Wait just a moment¡­¡± Qiana raised up her hand and cut off Carter¡¯s shouts.

    ¡°Let me check the security cameras to see if anyone or anything has managed to sneak into the camp.¡±

    ¡°Mydy¡­ Olivia tends to see things when she drinks¡­ there really is no need to check the security feed,¡± Carter replied smoothly.

    Ordinarily Qiana would agree with him because she could also smell the wineing off Olivia¡¯s body but¡­

    She had definitely heard a rustling noise¡­

    ¡°Are you disobeying mymands?¡± Qiana spoke coldly and silently released part of her inner cultivation.

    The ground beneath her feet cracked slightly and the shadows behind her body began to move ever so slightly as if they were alive.

    ¡°Right this way mydy¡­¡± Carter replied fearfully as he gestured for Qiana to follow him to therge tent in the center of the base camp.

    Carter stopped right outside of the entrance and opened the p for Qiana to enter inside.

    Nadia refused to let him inside the building even though he was one of the leaders of the mining operation.

    If he had to get any information, then she would simply send it to him over the virtual Net via a secure data transfer link.

    ¡°Mydy? You¡¯re herete¡­¡± Nadia yawned sleepily as she stretched out her arms.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes briefly flicked over to the horrific burn marks that covered her skin before she focused her attention on her face.

    ¡°I need to see the security video feed of thest ten minutes of the area behind my tent,¡± Qiana spoke bluntly.

    ¡°Sure¡­ I guess¡­¡± Nadia shrugged her shoulders and stumbled over to the table in the middle of the room.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and connected it to the surveince system installed around key locations across the lunar colony.

    ¡°Not this one¡­ not this one¡­ oh here we go¡­¡± Nadia muttered quietly to herself as she tapped one of the buttons and arge holographic screen appeared in mid air.

    Qiana watched patiently as the screen began to show the events of thest ten minutes of the area outside her tent.

    Five minutes¡­ nothing happened¡­

    Six minutes¡­ the screen trembled slightly for a moment and a distortion filled the screen before quickly disappearing.

    Seven minutes¡­ Olivia walked towards her tent, fell down on her backside and screamed at apparently nothing.

    Eight minutes¡­ Qiana left her tent and spoke to the frightened woman.

    From there the events were just as she remembered.

    Qiana frowned slightly as she remembered the distortion that filled the screen around the six-minute mark.

    ¡°What was that? Why did the screen briefly fill with static?¡± Qiana asked curiously.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯spletely normal¡­ sometimes brief sr res from the nearby star will mess up the equipment¡­¡± Nadia exined calmly.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t really an issue because the android¡¯s have their own power cores and the video feeds are only affected for a few seconds at most.¡±

    Qiana tapped her fingers against the side of the table with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    Perhaps the rustling noise that she heard belonged to Olivia stumbling her way through the darkness¡­

    But did the noise really sound like footsteps? Or was it more akin to something slithering on the ground?

    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Qiana ced a warm hand on Nadia¡¯s shoulder and thanked her sincerely.

    The small skinny woman turned and looked at her with an unreadable expression in her dark brown eyes.

    ¡°Not a problem at all young miss¡­ the solution to most mysteries is usually the most logical and boring answer,¡± Nadia whispered softly.

    ¡°Yes¡­ you are right¡­ sometimes I have an overactive imagination,¡± Qiana replied politely as her grasp on Nadia¡¯s shoulder tightened for a brief moment.

    The young woman smiled at her subordinate and then walked out of the tent.

    Nadia stared at her departing figurepletely unaware that there was now a tracking and listening device stuck on her clothes.

    The corners of Qiana¡¯s lips gently curved upwards as she stared at the numerous stars in the night sky.

    She needed to do some preparations¡­

 Chapter 610

    Chapter 610: A Strange Mystery Is Afoot

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Mine No.12)

    The air was filled with a thick ck smog that ckened the surroundingndscape with a choking smell.

    Qiana frowned as she adjusted the mask over her face and peered down at the open gaping hole in the ground.

    Dozens of robot androids were entering the pit under the strict supervision of the human workers who checked the drones inside the mine to monitor the situation inside.

    Large trucks and digging machines could be seen along the edges of the pit and some were full to the brim with greenish-grey dirt that glowed slightly.

    The young heiress of House Abazin had never been to a mine before but was not one who was afraid to get her hands dirty.

    House Abazin¡¯s primary source of ie came from the trading of raw materials that they extracted from mines on exs and lunar colonies.

    It was not a particrly exciting source of wealth but¡­ money was money.

    And it was an honest day¡¯s work.

    Compared to how other noble houses got their wealth, House Abazin were saints.

    Qiana narrowed her eyes and walked closer to the pit. She could hear the hum of the machinery get louder and louder as she stepped forward.

    The workers standing nearby bowed politely and then continued their jobs withoutint.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes scanned the entire scenery for anything out of ce or strange but could find nothing.

    Three days had passed since the incident outside her tent, and everything was fine. From a logical point of view, it appeared as though Carter was correct.

    Olivia the woman who had screamed that night was well known to drink a little bit too much when her shift was over.

    There was a strong possibility that she had merely seen an illusion, or her mind had been tricked to see a monster.

    And yet¡­

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh and the corners of her mask began to fog up. She could not shake the feeling that there was something more going on.

    She watched absentmindedly as the androids walked out of the pit holdingrge containers filled with valuable raw materials.

    These containers were then loaded on to the trucks outside the pit and would then be sent off to a processing nt on the other side of the lunar colony.

    She still needed to visit the processing nt soon but that would be on the agenda for next weekend.

    Qiana wanted to visit the location of all the mines first and then proceed to check out the other important areas on the lunar colony.

    ¡°Do you want anything young miss?¡± a hoarse voice politely asked. Carter stepped forward and bowed respectfully in front of Qiana.

    ¡°No thank you¡­ I¡¯m just looking for today,¡± Qiana softly replied.

    The muscr man nodded and then strode off to talk to some of the human workers.

    Qiana rubbed her fingers together slowly as she channeled some of the qi in her dantian to the meridians in her ear.

    Suddenly she could hear the conversation happening between Carter and the three workers who seemed to be arguing,

    ¡°What the hell? Why are you all being so diligent today?¡± Carter spoke in a low gravely tone.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t our boss here? We can¡¯t afford not to be seen working hard¡­¡± one of the workers replied.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re pissing away all of our money¡­¡± Carter whispered softly as he turned his head around and nced at Qiana standing in the distance.

    ¡°Besides do you think that she can tell the difference? Just stand around and look busy you morons!¡±

    ¡°Carter¡­ I¡¯m notfortable with¡­ I got a family¡­ I can¡¯t risk upsetting the nobles¡­¡± another worker hesitantly spoke.

    ¡°Look I¡¯m not asking for much¡­ all you have to do is slow down the production level for the month when the noble girl is here and then that¡¯s it¡­¡± Carter calmly replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s just four weeks. Four weeks and none of the nobles will be any wiser¡­ once she leaves then we can go back to the regr production levels and there will be no consequences.¡±

    Qiana furrowed her brows and tried to listen some more, but Carter switched to lighter topics as if the conversation about sabotaging the rate of production had not urred.

    What was the point of slowing down the production level for just one month?

    Maybe a member of her family wanted to make her look bad in front of her father but there were more effective ways to go about it.

    Mines naturally had times when the rate of production would increase or decrease for a period of time.

    She would not be med if the mine reduced its output for the duration of her stay. So, in that case why would Carter be so adamant that the workers should slow down?

    There was a mystery here that Qiana was determined to solve.

    Before jumping to conclusions, she needed to do a bit of investigation work to see if this was the work of a member of her family or an outside third party.

    House Abazin had made quite a few enemies over the years thanks to the arrogant nature of some of her younger cousins.

    Idiots willing to toss out the family name to cover up their petty crimes. Not caring if they affected the reputation of their house.

    Qiana frowned as she mentally made a checklist of names. If she got the opportunity, then she really needed to ¡®re-educate¡¯ certain members of the family.

    The young woman walked around the different parts of the mine and made a few notes about what she saw.

    To the untrained eye and without the knowledge that she had just obtained from Carter¡¯s conversation, it would appear as though everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

    But now Qiana could clearly see that certain individuals were intentionally moving slowly or pretending to be busy but not actually working.

    Especially those in charge of monitoring the situation of the androids inside the mining pit. No wonder they had suffered some lossesst quarter.

    Qiana patiently continued to log and observe her findings but did not confront any of the workers.

    Now was not the time.

    She needed to see if this phenomenon existed across the mines on the lunar colony or was it simply isted to the mine under Carter¡¯s control.

    And there was also the matter of the monster¡­

    Qiana let out another heavy sigh as she began to feel a headache begin toe on.

    She expected this to be a rxing mission but instead it looked as though she would be quite busy in the next couple of days.

    Utterly ridiculous¡­

    The young woman¡¯s footsteps briefly sank in the unstable sand beneath her feet, so she quickly moved over to more stable ground.

    ¡°Watch your step young miss¡­¡± a quiet voice whispered. Qiana turned in the direction of the sound and saw a woman nervously shifting from side to side.

    She wore a simple hazmat suit along with a mask that concealed most of her facial features.

    One could see a short ck ponytail sticking out of the back of her head that was covered in white dust.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ may I know your name?¡± Qiana asked casually. The woman shot a look towards Carter who noticed that she was standing there and began to walk over with heavy steps.

    ¡°My name is Lilia¡­ I am but a humble worker¡­¡± the woman whispered before she bowed politely and then walked away.

 Chapter 611

    Chapter 611: Wee To The Processing nt¡­

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Unnamed Location)

    Four motorized vehicles traveled through the desert. Each vehicle had been specially designed to traverse the unique terrain on the lunar colony.

    The vehicles hovered slightly above the ground so there was no need to worry about friction and the engines and exhaust pipes were covered in mini- force fields in order to prevent sand particles from entering inside.

    Qiana leaned back against the passenger seat and watchedzily as massive sand dunes appeared in the distance.

    She was currently on her way to the processing nt after spending a week investigating all the mines on the lunar colony.

    The results had been worse than she feared.

    The mining site that Carter had operated was not out of the norm and in fact every single pit that she visited had issues with the workers.

    Some managed to conceal theirck of progress better than others but it was concerning that about eighty percent of the workforce was content to slow down production.

    What could be the reason? Was it some kind of strike or protest?

    If there was an issue with payment and the miners wanted arger sry, then why not make some demands?

    Qiana was not an unreasonable person and was more than prepared to meet the workers on a negotiation table if they wished for better benefits.

    But that is not what was happening.

    Instead, they treated her like some na?ve rich girl who would be unable to tell that the mine operations were being intentionally sabotaged.

    Qiana furrowed her brows and checked hermunicator. Once again, she noticed that her inbox was empty except for a few old messages from Astrid.

    Her girlfriend was currently doing some intense training with Archmage Servies in his mage tower so it was unlikely that she would be able to talk anytime soon.

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh and checked the message that she had sent out to her father.

    It consisted of a report of everything that she had observed so far along with photos that provided evidence to back up her ims.

    There was no response.

    Clearly her father had seen the message but either he wanted to test her, or he did not care about the matter.

    Qiana curled up her fingers in frustration as the hot rays of sunlight brushed against the side of her face.

    She was not closer to solving the mystery than she had been a few days ago. There were just too many unknown factors involved.

    Perhaps she needed to use more¡­ ¡®forceful¡¯ methods.

    The young noble girl nced at the other vehicles and mentally made a note of the upants inside each hovercar.

    There were a few security officers, Carter and one mining supervisor who was in charge of the processing nt.

    A cold looking woman by the name of Elsa Foster.

    Qiana had only gotten the opportunity to speak to her briefly and was under the impression that she did not talk very much.

    Hours passed and Qiana could feel her eyelids slowly slipping downwards as she had to fight off a wave of exhaustion.

    A week of non-stop investigation had taken its toll and honestly, she could use a full nine hours worth of sleep right about now.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out an energy bar. Qiana peeled off the wrapper and quickly tossed the bar in her mouth.

    Caffeine, adrenaline, and some other chemicals¡­

    Qiana shivered slightly as she felt a burst of energy flow through her body. It was not much but it was good enough to get her through the tour of the processing nt.

    And not a moment too soon!

    Arge metalloid structure appeared in the distance with tall spires that seemed to extend outwards towards the heavens.

    ckish smog left the exhaust pipes and the tiny ant-like figures moving around the nt all wore heavy gas masks.

    Trucks and other vehicles could be seen entering the gaping maw of the processing nt and exiting the other side with no raw materials inside their storage spaces.

    Qiana snapped a quick picture of the scenery and took a few mental notes about the possible exits and entrances to the processing nt.

    It was a habit that she had picked up after going on numerous bounty hunting and assassination missions.

    ¡°We are here young miss,¡± Carterzily spoke as he got out of his vehicle.

    ¡°Please allow me to guide you through the facility,¡± Supervisor Foster coldly spoke as she stepped out of her hovercar and adjusted the mask on her face.

    She was an intimidating woman standing well over six feet with cybeic imnts all over her body from her artificial limbs to the metalloid eyes that slightly glowed red.

    Qiana adjusted the gas mask on her face to make sure that it covered everything properly and then stepped outside.

    As a cultivator there was technically no need to worry about the health effects of inhaling smog, but Qiana had no desire to breathe in the toxic gas.

    Just because her body could deal with it didn¡¯t mean that she wanted to subject herself to the awful smell and taste.

    Qiana took one step forward and felt the hot lunar sands on the bottom of her shoes. The sand around the processing nt was a greyish white colour.

    asionally she could see strange green pebbles scattered amidst the sea of white that seemed a bit out of ce.

    ¡°Right this way,¡± Supervisor Foster inly spoke as she walked forward towards the side entrance of the processing nt.

    Qiana followed behind her lead and the three security guards as well as Carter also joined the tour.

    There was a small metalloid door in the side of the massive building that was around the size of three humans standing side by side.

    Supervisor Foster ced her artificial hand against the door and a green light scanned the length of her entire body.

    The door shuddered slightly and then opened.

    Qiana frowned as she experienced a cold gust of wind that felt quite ufortable after being exposed to the constant desert heat.

    Supervisor Foster walked inside and gestured for the rest of the party to follow her. Qiana entered the processing nt and was taken aback at what she saw inside.

    Numerous mechanical devicesrger than a two-story house were scattered around a massive open hall-like space.

    The entire nt waspletely automated.

    First the raw material would be separated and filtered through a cone-shaped device and then the resulting materials would go to different machines to be processed.

    There were a few humans walking around the processing nt and just like Supervisor Foster they all had cybeic enhancements.

    Themon link in all of their appearances were two artificial eyes that glowed red.

    Qiana assumed that their mechanical eyes helped them to spot tiny details in the raw material which they otherwise would not have noticed unless they were cultivators.

    ¡°Wee to the processing nt,¡± Supervisor Foster whispered in a quiet tone.

 Chapter 612

    Chapter 612: A Nice Long Conversation¡­

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Processing nt)

    ¡°As you can see, we operate around the clock in twelve-hour shifts. The raw materials are first sorted into different sizes and types¡­¡± Supervisor Foster exined calmly.

    ¡°Now it is very important that the materials are processed as soon as possible otherwise the crystals may lose some of their mary value.¡±

    ¡°The de-cyclicor machine will add certain chemicals and bacteria to the mixture that will increase the likelihood of crystal growth.¡±

    Qiana listened carefully as the cyber-enhanced woman walked through the processing nt and exined the different types of machines.

    Supervisor Foster was clearly an expert since she could clearly exin what each machine did and what purpose that they served.

    It was impossible to tell if she was intentionally slowing down the processing rate of the raw materials, but it did not appear as though she was¡­

    At least from the outside.

    Qiana nodded slowly and made a mental note to check the data logs after the tour to examine the figures.

    ¡°Renoran is a fascinating lunar colony because some of the materials here like Rexium and Lien are found in limited quantities,¡± Supervisor Foster quietly whispered.

    ¡°Those materials are highly sought after since they are usually only found in the Alpha Star System.¡±

    ¡°No one is quite sure how they managed to develop on a moon in the middle of the Hydra Star System, but that mystery does not affect the fact that they are both quite valuable.¡±

    Lunar colony Renoran was an important asset for House Abazin and its importance was slowly being revealed with every passing day that Qiana spent on the moon.

    That is why it was so important for her to figure out what was going on with the miners and what the hell was the creature moving outside her tent.

    The rest of the toursted for around one hour and Qiana left the nt feeling quite knowledgeable about the machines inside the processing nt.

    Supervisor Foster had sent two years¡¯ worth of data to her wristmunicator and Qiana nned to review the findingster that night.

    She took a step outside and winced as a bright ray of sunlight brushed directly against her face.

    The young noble heiress to House Abazin adjusted her mask slightly and looked up at the heavy clouds of smog that left the exhaust pipes.

    The processing nt was not exactly environmentally friendly but since there were no native organisms on the moon, there was no need to worry about hurting the local fauna or flora.

    ¡°Shall we head back to the base camp young miss?¡± Carter quietly asked as he stood at a fair distance away surrounded by the three security officers.

    Supervisor Foster had decided to stay in the processing nt so only the five of them would be going back to the camp site.

    ¡°Yes¡­ let¡¯s leave now,¡± Qiana firmly replied as she walked towards the hovercar that was parked right on top of a sand dune.

    She opened the door and entered the driver¡¯s seat, this hovercar was automatic and self-driving so all she needed to do was plug in the coordinates and sit back.

    The hovercar¡¯s engine began to rumble and it slowly lifted up from the ground.

    The forcefields covering the sensitive parts of the vehicle were still active to prevent sand particles from entering inside the car¡¯s inner machinery.

    Qiana nced in the mirror and saw Carter and the three security officers both enter their own separate vehicles.

    There was a strange expression on each of their faces which Qiana struggled to identify. All she could tell was that all of the men nced in her direction at least twice.

    Well, that could be exined by the fact that they were supposed to protect her but¡­ there was something off about the situation.

    Qiana stretched out her arms and pretended to yawn. She curled up against the side of her chair and closed her eyes.

    Soon her breathing began a regr pattern, and one could see the steady rise and fall of her chest as if she were in a deep sleep.

    She could sense the eyes falling on her position, but Qiana did not stir and continued her act of deception.

    She may appear to be sleeping and helpless but dark marks were already beginning to travel up her skin and a knife was hidden in her sleeve.

    The hovercar shuddered to life and then began to move forward in the direction of the base camp.

    Qiana focused on her breathing as she carefully reviewed all the information that she had found out already.

    One¡­ a majority of individuals working on the colony were intentionally lowering their rate of production.

    Two¡­ Carter was a suspicious man¡­ was he the possible leader of the movement?

    Three¡­ that monster¡­ was it real?

    Four¡­ there were rare raw materials on the moon which meant that many outside forces would be interested in getting a piece of the profits.

    Qiana furrowed her brows as she found herself no closer to solving the mystery just yet, but the puzzle pieces were slowlying together.

    She could tell that something was missing¡­ there was still some information that she had to discover¡­

    BOOM!

    The bomb beneath Qiana¡¯s car exploded and the hovercar was swallowed up in an enormous ball of mes that reached over twenty feet in the air.

    The four hovercars following closely behind stopped immediately and their passengers opened the doors and walked outside.

    Carter stepped towards the wreckage and stared at the mangled pieces of metal that were now scattered around the desert.

    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cheap looking cigarette. He lit the cigarette and took a deep inhale of the ashy smoke.

    ¡°Boss¡­ are you sure?¡± one of the security officers spoke with a slight tremble in his voice as his hands were shaking uncontrobly.

    The fear of nobles was deeply imnted in his psyche and there was a part of him that could not believe what they had just done.

    ¡°Yes¡­ this was an unfortunate ident done by terrorists and don¡¯t worry¡­ my contact has assured me that no me will fall on us,¡± Carter replied hoarsely.

    The massive man exhaled slightly, and a foul grey puff of smoke exited his lips. He stared at the wreckage searching for a trace of the now dead noble girl.

    Wait¡­ where were her body parts?

    Maybe they were all swallowed up by the resulting explosion?

    Carter furrowed his brows and turned around to speak to his men when he saw a sight that made him freeze in ce.

    Each of his men were clutching their throats and making soft whimpers of pain. A thin red line had been neatly drawn across each of their necks.

    One by one his men copsed on the sand with horrified expressions of fear and terror on their faces.

    The life drained from their eyes and blood leaked out from their open wounds which stained the desert sands.

    Tap¡­ tap¡­ tap¡­

    The sound of light footsteps came from behind Carter, and he barely had any time to react before a de was thrust against his throat.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you and I have a nice long conversation¡­¡± a soft feminine voice whispered.

 Chapter 613

    Chapter 613: Fear And Terror

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region)

    Qiana kneeled down next to the terrified man who was now frozen in fear.

    Dark shadowy marks travelled up the length of her body and there was a cold chill in the air despite the desert heat.

    Carter trembled as he felt two pairs of metalloid cuffs snap against his body. One locked his arms in ce while the other held his legs together.

    He could do little more than crawl on the ground like a worm.

    Qiana¡¯s cold eyes looked down on the muscr man and there was not a hint of emotion in her gaze.

    A sharp knife danced between her fingertips with its edge gleaming under the sunlight.

    She brought the de closer until it was mere inches away from Carter¡¯s right hand.

    Instead of asking any questions, Qiana brought down the de and chopped off the site manager¡¯s pinky finger.

    ¡°Arghh!!¡± Carter screamed in pain as he nced at the severed stump.

    ¡°Now¡­ now¡­ we can¡¯t have you dying just yet¡­¡± Qiana coldly whispered as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small rectangr device.

    She flicked a button on the side of the device and a tiny me erupted from its tip.

    Carter¡¯s whimpers turned into blood curling screams as Qiana burned the wound to stop it from bleeding.

    Her skills regarding torture¡­ came from personal experience.

    There were some memories that even healing serum would not wear off. Qiana resisted the urge to nce down at her wrists as a few recollections surfaced in her mind.

    ¡°Why? I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll talk¡­¡± Carter muttered in anguish as his jaw clenched together.

    ¡°Go on,¡± Qiana bluntly replied as she stood over the immobilised figure and looked down at his helpless appearance.

    This was all part of psychological torment. Breaking down your victim¡¯s psyche until they were little more than obedient tools.

    First you needed to remove your victim¡¯s sense of protection with a random act of violence. An act that would strike fear and terror in their hearts.

    Then you needed to purposely position yourself in a ce of power over the life of your victim by either verbalising or using bodynguage to get your point across.

    Qiana reached into her pocket and pulled out a in white handkerchief which she then used to wipe the dried blood off her de.

    She repeated the process three times in total without breaking eye contact with the man on the ground.

    There was a brief moment of silence, and one could only hear the grains of sand that rustled slightly in the desert.

    Carter could feel goosebumps rise up along the sides of his arms as he saw no trace of mercy or humanity on his captor¡¯s face.

    She was just a spoiled rich girl¡­ how did she get eyes like those?

    ¡°It¡­ it was an honest mistake¡­ I¡­ARGHHH!¡± Carter¡¯s voice was interrupted by another scream as Qiana¡¯s de chopped off the fourth finger on his right hand.

    ¡°The truth. I want you to get straight to the point,¡± Qiana casually spoke as if she had not chopped off the man¡¯s finger.

    Carter curled up in pain and his breathing got even heavier as he stared at his injured palm. She was crazy!

    This bitch waspletely insane!

    The reluctant feeling in his heart immediately disappeared as Carter experienced a cold chill from the young woman¡¯s body.

    It was bloodlust.

    Until now Qiana had kept her emotions under control but now, she allowed the injured man to experience what lurked behind her calm mask.

    If Sophie¡¯s bloodlust was akin to standing before a mountain of bloody corpses than Qiana¡¯s was like staring into the deep dark depths of the ocean.

    There was a peacefulness and sense of inevitability to her bloodlust as if telling her foes that they were already dead.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll tell you¡­ just let me live¡­ please!¡± Carter muttered quietly with a slight tremor in his voice.

    ¡°A noble visited the colony three months ago and told us to slow down on the productivity for only this month.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why¡­ but every day we reduce¡­ reduce¡­ the number of raw materials extracted¡­ another three thousand Enas are deposited in¡­ in¡­ our bank ounts.¡±

    ¡°Only for this month alone?¡± Qiana asked curiously as she raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­ only for this month. We have been working hard for every single month before this¡­ check the data¡­¡± Carter groaned as he felt the cuffs dig into his arms.

    ¡°And what about the monster that was outside my tent?¡± Qiana questioned sharply as she leaned forward.

    ¡°Monster? There is¡­ is no¡­ monster. Like I said¡­ Olivia is a drunk¡­ she sees things when she has too much to drink,¡± Carter replied softly.

    There was no trace of hesitation in his voice, and it did not appear as though he was lying.

    Qiana strode over to the muscr man and knocked him out with a quick blow to the back of his neck.

    She easily controlled her strength so that there would be no long-termsting consequences, but he would still be out for quite some time.

    Just to be safe she reached into her storage bag and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid that bubbled slightly.

    Qiana injected the liquid into Carter¡¯s neck, and he slipped even further into an unconscious slumber.

    The young heiress to House Abazin let out a heavy sigh as she looked up at the sky and saw an endless blue.

    Now she had more questions than answers.

    Did the mysterious noble know that she would be assigned to visit this colony in advance? In that case the culprit must be a member of her family¡­

    But what if it were a coincidence?

    Still in either case what was happening here made no sense.

    Why would you pay the workers to slow down their production levels for a single month?

    There were no other orders to sabotage the machinery or attempts to poach the workers over to other miningpanies or corporations.

    It made no logical sense!

    Qiana ced her knife back in the sheath attached to her hip and slowly rubbed her temples as she thought the matter over.

    Fuck!

    She had forgotten to ask Carter about the car bomb!

    Qiana stared at the wreckage of her hovercar with a thin frown on her face.

    Assassination attempts on her life were somonce when she returned home that she had subconsciously ignored the exploding car since she had made it out uninjured.

    Wait¡­ if the noble had only asked them to slow down the rate of production, then why the hell would Carter and the three security officers attempt to kill her?

    There was something that Carter did not tell her¡­

    Qiana reached into her storage bag for the antidote to the toxin that she had injected into the unconscious guard¡¯s body when something unexpected happened.

    She had taken her eyes off Carter¡¯s body for less than a second but when she turned around, it was now gone.

    There were no traces of his body, and the corpses of the security officers were also nowhere to be found.

 Chapter 614

    Chapter 614: A Terrible Quiet

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region)

    Qiana furrowed her brows as she walked around the spot where the corpses as well as Carter had been mere moments ago.

    How could they have disappeared without her hearing or sensing anything?

    Carter had just been injected with a serum that would knock him out and the corpses were¡­

    Well dead.

    There must have been a third party involved.

    Qiana took off her sses and rubbed them a few times with a piece of white cloth that was hidden in her pocket.

    She rubbed her sses over and over again until tiny scratches appeared in its outer surface.

    It was a bad habit that she had picked up to deal with when she was feeling a bit stressed.

    This was not good.

    Now she had no idea what to do next.

    If the only problem was some foreign noble bribing the workers to slow down their production levels, then she could deal with it.

    Now with the assassination attempt thrown into the mix, it was suddenly a lot more dangerous to stay on this lunar colony.

    She could not know when the next attempt on her life would take ce nor who would be the ones to target her.

    At least if there was some form of silver lining, her cultivation level was the highest on the lunar colony and she was confident in being able to escape if a fight did not go in her favour.

    Qiana walked over to one of the hovercars that the security officers had abandoned and sat inside.

    She took one final look at the rolling grains of sand where the corpses used to be and then powered on the vehicle.

    The young heiress to House Abazin plugged in the coordinates to the base camp and then closed her eyes.

    A few hours passed and eventually the vehicle shuddered to a sharp stop. Qiana opened her eyes and saw that it was now nighttime.

    Most of the day had passed getting to and from the processing nt. Honestly, she didn¡¯t know why her father had not invested in a high-speed rail.

    It would make transporting the materials from the mines to the processing nt much quicker and far more efficient.

    A full moon hungzily in the sky apanied by numerous stars that blinked and winked out of existence.

    The base camp was located in the middle of a valley withrge sand dunes surrounding it that rose up to sixty feet in the air.

    There were a few gaps in between the sand dunerge enough for several people to walk side by side so Qiana stepped through one of the passageways.

    She walked towards the base camp and saw the familiar sight of the tents neatly lined side by side.

    Except there was something strange.

    Usually there would be a low level of noiseing from the base camp since the workers would take the opportunity to rx after a day of work.

    Drinks would be shared, and a few songs would be yed. At the very least there would be people walking to and from the different tents.

    But as Qiana walked forward, she could not shake off the feeling of uneasiness that was silently wrapping itself around her psyche.

    There was a terrible stillness in the air.

    No sounds could be hearding from any of the tents¡­ not even a whimper or a groan.

    Qiana channeled the qi in her dantian to the meridians in her ear and enhanced her hearing several times over.

    There was still nothing.

    The only sound that she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. Qiana frowned slightly and began to open up the ps to every tent that she passed.

    Every single one was empty.

    The curious thing was that the inside of the tents appeared to have been visited fairly recently by its upants.

    There were half eaten tes of food on the tables with steam that slowly rose up from the well-cooked meats.

    Qiana ced a finger on one of the meats and then withdrew her hand. The meat was still warm which meant that it had been cooked just a few minutes ago.

    Did everyone leave for some unknown reason?

    Qiana could not shake off the nagging feeling in the back of her head that kept telling her that she needed to flee now.

    The young noble girl powered on hermunicator and sent out a message to every worker in the base camp using the group text function.

    Qiana: [Was there a reason for an evacuation from the base camp?]

    [ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!]

    [NO SIGNAL DETECTED! NO SIGNAL DETECTED!]

    Qiana looked at her wristmunicator in shock as she realised that she had been cut off from the virtual Net.

    It would now be impossible to sent out any messages to anyone currently on the lunar colony or outside for help.

    No¡­ wait¡­ what was that noise?

    Qiana listened carefully and her heart began to race as she heard a heavy rustling noiseing from the far corner of the base camp.

    That sound¡­ it was a familiar one¡­

    A braver¡­ or rather stupider person would have left the tent in order to investigate the source of the sound, but Qiana remained in ce.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a mask which she then used to cover her face.

    It was a noise cancelling mask that would conceal her breathing.

    Qiana carefully crept over to the corner of the tent where a long shadow was cast. She stepped into the shadow and felt a reassuring coldness sweep over her body.

    The shadows were absorbed into her skin and dark markings soon appeared along her face and arms.

    Stay perfectly still¡­ stay perfectly still¡­

    Qiana kept her eyes open, and her senses extended as the rustling noise got even closer with every passing minute.

    Whoever¡­ or whatever was outside the tents was looking for something¡­

    She could hear the sound of heavy breathing and then a loud blood curling cry echoed through the desert.

    The cry sent shivers down Qiana¡¯s spine as she tightly gripped the knife in her palm. That was not the cry of a human.

    There was something monstrous and unnatural in that sound as if a beast had been roused from its slumber.

    Qiana heard the rustling again and then¡­ it stopped.

    The camp returned to its quiet silence as if nothing had just happened. Qiana remained frozen in ce for several minutes as she carefully listened for any more sounds.

    Nothing.

    Just as before¡­ she found herself alone in the base camp.

 Chapter 615

    Chapter 615: The Mysterious Recordings

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Base Camp)

    Qiana nced upwards at the sky but could not see any shifting or distortions which meant that a null field had not been deployed over the moon.

    Okay¡­ so in that case¡­

    What that meant was that a person or group of individuals had set up a localmunication blocker that covered the area of the base camp.

    All she needed to do was leave the campsite and travel for a few hundred kilometres in any direction until the signal came back.

    Wait¡­

    Qiana frowned as she realised something.

    Whoever had set up themunication blocker must have also realised that all one needed to do was to walk out of the zone.

    It was easy to predict what a person would do if they suddenly lost signal.

    They would try to establish a connection to the Virtual Net and leave the camp site as soon as possible.

    Was this all some kind of trap?

    The young woman lightly touched the sides of her sses as she pondered about what to do next.

    There were no easy answers.

    The mystery of the missing members of the base camp was still unsolved as was the assassination attempt and the sudden disappearance of the corpses.

    There was something strange going on¡­

    The mystery of the missing workers in particr was weighing heavily on Qiana¡¯s mind as she walked from tent to tent trying to find any sort of clue to their whereabouts.

    It would be easy to assume that perhaps they left the camp to get out of themunication blocker zone but why would everyone go at the same time?

    There only needed to be a handful of people¡­technically it really only needed one person to leave the zone and send out a message.

    And besides¡­ why did the camp site seem as though the people had vanished into thin air unexpectedly?

    Qiana briefly recalled the meat and food on the tes inside the tents.

    The food was still warm, and steam could be seen rising gently above the tes. What could have been so urgent that they left without even bothering to clean up?

    The heiress of House Abazin tightly gripped the knife in her right hand as she walked towards the center of the camp where a tent far bigger than the others was located.

    There was still one ce that she had to check.

    Qiana pushed open the p and gagged as an unpleasant smell entered her nostrils. Nadia had kept the inside of her tent aplete mess.

    In the corner of therge space was a messy sleeping bag along with numerous canned food that were in a half-eaten state.

    Unlike the food in the other tents, some of the cans had clearly not been eaten for several days and the smell definitely supported that assumption.

    Qiana tried her best to ignore the disgusting stench and approached therge table in the middle of the room that was surrounded by metalloid devices.

    She lightly pressed her palm against the top of the table and a green light shed. The light scanned her palm for several minutes then a holographic screen was projected into the air.

    Nadia had added her fingerprints to themand center upon her request a few days ago.

    Qiana reached for one of the buttons on the table and a small input device popped out of its wooden frame.

    She typed out a series ofmands and the holographic window split into several smaller ones.

    ¡°There we go¡­¡± Qiana whispered softly as she gazed at the screens that disyed different sections of the base camp.

    What she was currently looking at was the footage taken by the video recording devices ced around the campsite.

    Everything seemed to be normal two days ago, so Qiana entered a few moremands and the recordings sped up.

    Hmm¡­ this was interesting¡­

    There were no unexpected or strange sights in the recordings but asionally the screens would shake and then be filled with a white distortion.

    Nadia had imed that the sr res were responsible for the issues with the recordings and to be fair the screen was only blocked for a few seconds.

    Realistically that was not enough time for anything peculiar to ur.

    And yet¡­

    Qiana could not help but try to look for a pattern to see if there was a rhyme or reason why static would fill the video feeds.

    She kept looking at the multiple screens and the footage moved super quickly until it was around forty minutes before she returned to the base camp.

    The camp at the time was bustling with activity and Qiana could see people moving to and from the different tents.

    They were talking,ughing, and asionally sharing a few drinks. Night had fallen so the workers were taking the opportunity to rx.

    Qiana narrowed her eyes and focused on one window in particr. She could see the Nadia outside her tent and staring off in a certain direction.

    She appeared to be talking to someone and yet there was no one else on the screen. Was she talking to herself?

    Just as Qiana was wondering about Nadia¡¯s off-putting behaviour, the screens simultaneously filled with static and this time it went on for several minutes.

    There we go¡­

    Qiana waited patiently for the screens to clear since she could sense that was about to happen next could provide her with information about what had happened to the workers.

    Eventually the screens cleared, and the familiar sight of a now empty camp came into view.

    Just to be certain, Qiana reyed each screen multiple times, but the result was the same.

    She could not find out what had happened in that ten-to-fifteen-minute window when all the workers had vanished.

    What was strange was that there were no signs of a struggle or violence. Did the workers go willingly?

    Qiana reached for a wire connected to the table and plugged it in to her wristmunicator. She transferred the data files to her personal device and then turned off the recordings.

    She nced around the dirty interior of the tent and spotted a small wooden desk tucked away in the corner of the room.

    She walked over and opened up each drawer hoping to find a clue.

    Nadia was obviously a target of suspicion but there was no proof that she was the one responsible.

    Qiana searched for several minutes but eventually came up with nothing. She sighed heavily and then left the tent.

    Feeling the cold night breeze brush against her face helped Qiana to calm down slightly. It was important to not make any rash moves.

    She needed to n out what to do next very carefully.

    The young woman frowned as she felt a sudden burst of heating from one of the pockets in her body suit.

    She reached into the pocket and discovered that the mysterious ring had somehow found its way inside.

    ¡°No thank you,¡± Qiana whispered softly as she gently ced the ring back in her storage bag.

    Clearly the entity had not given up on its n to make her its vessel.

 Chapter 616

    Chapter 616: Eye Spy With My Little Eyes¡­

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Base Camp)

    Rustle¡­ rustle¡­ rustle¡­

    Rustle¡­ rustle¡­ rustle¡­

    Qiana kept her back against the side of the tent and waited as she heard the noise appear again.

    She could see a long shadow moving outside and the cold chill of death made goosebumps appear on her arms.

    The monster was back.

    The young woman waited patiently and mentally counted out two minutes. Just as before¡­ the rustling sounds vanished at the two-minute mark.

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh of relief and cautiously stuck her head outside the tent to observe the nearby surroundings.

    The mysterious creature had left no trace of its existence.

    The tents werepletely undisturbed and there were no footprints or markings on the sand that indicated that another living being had been here seconds prior.

    If it weren¡¯t for the recordings that Qiana had managed to take on her wristmunicator, she would have assumed that she was going insane.

    What the hell was going on here?

    Every hour since she returned to the base camp, the monster would randomly appear within that time frame.

    It would move around the campsite for roughly two minutes and then it would vanish into thin air as if its presence was just a bad dream.

    ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t stay here¡­¡± Qiana muttered quietly to herself as she nced at the timer on her wristmunicator and saw that there were thirty-five minutes left in this hour.

    She was reluctant to leave the rtive safety of the tent, but the monster was getting closer and closer to her position with each appearance.

    How could it sense her?

    Qiana wasn¡¯t sure if it was just a coincidence, but she refused to take any chances.

    The heiress to House Abazin reached into her storage ring and pulled out a dark cloak that was long enough to cover her body.

    She flung the cloak over her body, and it concealed most of her features. Qiana reached for the des attached to her hip and held one in both hands.

    She cautiously walked out of the tent while keeping a close eye on her nearby surroundings. Night had fallen and a full moon could be seen hovering high above in the sky.

    There was an eerie quietness in the base camp.

    The sounds of dozens of people moving, living, and eating in their tents werepletely absent.

    The onlypany that Qiana had were the tiny grains of sand that brushed against her body before falling back to the harsh ground.

    She looked around the campsite and suddenly the shadows darkened. Hundreds of mysterious eyes surfaced on the sides of each tent.

    Each eye was around the size of a dinner te. Their pupils werepletely vertical and sat in the middle of a sea of yellow.

    Qiana froze for just a moment before flinging her dagger at the nearest eyeball without hesitation.

    Her de sunk into its soft fleshy exterior and blue blood began to leak out of the open wound.

    Qiana clenched the second dagger in her left palm and prepared to activate her movement technique in order to escape.

    Then just like that¡­ the eyes vanished.

    The tents returned to normal and the ce where the injured eyeball had been now only showed a tear in the fabric of the tent.

    Illusion? Hallucination? Or another trick?

    Qiana hesitantly approached the hole in the tent and took out her knife that was embedded inside.

    There was not a trace of blue blood on the edge of the weapon. Qiana furrowed her brows as she did not know what to make of the strange situation.

    She could feel a warmth in her pocket and without even looking down she could tell that the mysterious ring had once again escape from her storage bag.

    Great¡­ another headache to deal with¡­

    Qiana took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled. She needed topose herself and then stick to the original n.

    There were now only twenty more minutes until the next hour begun so she needed to move quickly in order to escape.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to die here¡­ I¡¯m not going to die here¡­¡± Qiana muttered quietly as a determined expression shed across her face.

    She circted the qi in her dantian to the meridians in her legs and then dashed forward at an incredible pace.

    Qiana¡¯s figure turned into a blur as she quickly made her way across the camp to a small warehouse in the back.

    The young noble ced her hand on the scanner and a green light shone over her fingertips before verifying her identity.

    Therge mechanical doors slid open to reveal a miniature garage with transportation vehicles to get the workers to and from the mines around the.

    Qiana checked her wristmunicator and saw that she only had fifteen minutes left.

    She could feel her heart begin to race as the timer slowly ticked down with every passing second.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    She rushed into the garage and headed for a lightweight single person cruiser in the middle of the room.

    It did not contain any weapon systems because it was purely built for speed. Its purpose was to shuttling a high-level worker to the mines in case of an emergency.

    Qiana opened the cockpit and slid inside. She activated the vehicle and the engine soon began to throb and hum with power.

    The walls of the garage shifted slightly and once again the yellow eyes appeared but this time something was different.

    The eyes on the sides of the tent remained fixed in ce but these new eyes followed her movements.

    Qiana could see their pupils dting and a heavy pressure appeared that send her sprawling to her knees.

    She felt weak and helpless as if in the presence of a creature or a being much greater than her.

    The floor shook slightly, and cracks began to appear as the pressure intensified.

    Qiana felt the warmth of the ring in her pocket intensify and knew that the entity was urging her to use its power.

    ¡°I told you already¡­ I will not be your ve¡­¡± Qiana spat out as she reached for the steering device with trembling hands.

    With strength and determination that even she did not know that she possessed, Qiana mmed her hand against the device and inputted a set of coordinates.

    ¡°Work¡­ work¡­e on you stupid thing¡­¡± Qiana whispered desperately as she gritted her teeth.

    She copsed on the ground and a groan of pain leaked out of her mouth as the pressure made her feel as though her body was about to be crushed.

 Chapter 617

    Chapter 617: Nope!

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Base Camp)

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh of relief as the vehicle shot forward and burst through the closest wall of the building.

    The heavy pressure soon disappeared as she escaped the influence of the mysterious yellow eyes.

    She could feel the ring in her pocket vibrate twice and then go silent. The heat slowly faded away as well, and it appeared that the mysterious ring had settled down.

    Clearly the entity was not pleased that she had managed to find a way out of the situation all by herself.

    The young woman got up from the floor with a groan and tried to sit down in the driver¡¯s seat.

    Currently the vehicle was on autopilot, but Qiana wanted to be in position to take over in case anything unexpected happened.

    The base camp got further and further away in the distance until therge tents were blocked by enormous sand dunes.

    Qiana did not have the luxury or the time to appreciate the vast beauty of the desert as she desperately checked her wristmunicator.

    Come on¡­e on¡­

    What she had experienced in the base camp would have unnerved any ordinary person and Qiana was not an exception.

    Strange yellow eyes¡­ arge monster¡­ missing workers¡­

    What the hell was going on?

    [No Signal Found!]

    [No Signal Found!]

    Qiana was tempted to fling her device out of frustration but took several deep breaths and then calmed down.

    Okay¡­ what she needed to do now was go to the spaceport and see if any of the vessels were avable for flight.

    She should have already left the influence of the localised null field but for some reason her wristmunicator was unable to ess the virtual.

    Wait¡­ what if there wasn¡¯t a problem with the virtual but rather¡­

    Qiana furrowed her brows and reached into her storage bag for a small chip-like device that emitted a soft red glow.

    She tapped the underside of her wristmunicator and a port opened up. She inserted the chip in the port and began to run a full diagnostic scan.

    Qiana kept her eyes on the nearby surroundings as she waited for the chip to finish doing its work.

    But there was nothing out of the ordinary.

    Just an endless sea of sand dunes stretched across the horizon as far as the eye could see with no traces of people, buildings, or civilisation.

    Ding!

    Qiana nced down and saw that her wristmunicator¡¯s screen was now covered in strange symbols and lines of code.

    She raised up her arm to her eyes to get a closer look when the screen suddenly turned ck, and her device shut down.

    Just as she feared¡­

    Someone had managed to hack her wristmunicator without her knowing and had installed countermeasures in case she found out.

    Qiana would have been impressed were it not for the seriousness of the situation. When had her device been hacked?

    Was it done even before she had arrived on the lunar colony?

    Or once she hadnded¡­ did someone manage to send a hostile code into her device?

    The young noble girl removed her device from her wrist and ced it in her storage bag She always carried a back-up device but did not rush to take it out.

    It was clear that she was dancing in the palm of an individual or group of individuals. What was their purpose?

    She did not know¡­

    The hovercraft drifted over arge sand dune and its passenger was currently lost inside her own mind as she considered what to do next.

    Was it even safe to go to the spaceport?

    Logically it should be since the spaceport saw a regr amount of traffic from the spaceships taking raw materials away from the mining colony.

    If something was wrong with the spaceport, then her family and the leaders of the miningpany would have been notified immediately.

    The ring throbbed twice in her pocket as if reminding Qiana that she had a better option to choose.

    Qiana closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her beating heart.

    This was a dangerous situation, but it was not as though her life had never been in danger before.

    What she needed to do now was to remain calm and take things one step at a time.

    Reach the spaceport and infiltrate one of the spacecrafts in the hangar. Then all she needed to do was to get off the and let her father know about the strange events.

    It was not a particrly great n but at this point she was out of options, and it was the only path that she had left.

    The spaceport was on the other side of the lunar colony so it would take her around seven hours before she reached her destination.

    Qiana opened her eyes and then immediately mmed her fist against the break. The vehicle shuddered to a halt as she looked at the impossible sight.

    She was back.

    The base camp was on the other side of therge sand dune, and it looked identical to when she had just left it twenty minutes ago.

    There was even a hole in the building located at the far corner of the base camp where the vehicles were housed.

    No¡­ wait¡­ what?

    Chills ran down Qiana¡¯s spine as she checked the logs of the hovercraft and discovered that she had been moving in a straight line.

    So, if she had been moving in a straight line away from the base camp then¡­ it should be impossible to see this.

    There was not a single person walking between the tents and one could only hear an eerie silence that added to the uneasy atmosphere.

    Qiana started back up the hovercraft¡¯s engine and manually drove around the base camp.

    She did not bother to investigate its mysterious reappearance and simply steered her vehicle around the peculiar sight.

    A few yellow eyes appeared on the sides of the tents, but the number of eyes were much less than before.

    Qiana did not like how the eyes followed the direction of the hovercraft as it made a wide berth around the camp site.

    The ground trembled slightly, and arge dust storm rose up from seemingly nowhere. Curiously enough the cloud of dust only covered the base camp.

    When the dust settled, Qiana saw nothing but an endless desert as if the base camp¡¯s reappearance had just been a strange dream.

    ¡°Nope¡­ nope¡­.¡± Qiana muttered quietly to herself as her fingers tightly wrapped around the steering wheel.

    She was getting the hell off this moon immediately!

 Chapter 618

    Chapter 618: Fear Of The Unknown

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Unknown Location)

    One of humanity¡¯s most primal fears was the fear of the unknown and the unexined.

    Phenomenon that could not be exined by science¡­

    The horror of the unknown where one was helpless and powerless against entities whose existence themselves were unable to beprehended by mortal minds.

    Qiana could feel beads of sweat running down her brow as she could not resist taking a nce at the now empty desert where the base camp had been just moments before.

    No¡­ this didn¡¯t make any sense!

    How could the base camp suddenly appear and then disappear? What were those terribly eyes that gazed at her?

    She had clearly seen those eyes follow the direction of her hovercraft as it passed around the camp site.

    Were they able to track her location from the eyes?

    The young woman turned her attention back to the control panel on the hovercraft and increased the speed of the vehicle tenfold.

    This would burn the fuel much faster but at this point Qiana just wanted to reach the spaceport as soon as possible.

    She did not want to stay for a moment longer on this strange moon where things did not make sense and some of the workers had attempted to kill her.

    The empty desert seemed to swallow her up in its vastness and Qiana felt a terrible sense of loneliness as the vehicle traveled through an endless sea of sand dunes.

    This moon¡­ was a hot and lonely ce.

    She focused her attention on the nearby surroundings but just as before¡­ there was not a single hint of any lifeforms of buildings of note.

    Two hours passed uneventfully but Qiana¡¯s nerves refused to rx. She kept anxiously looking from side to side as if searching for something.

    ¡°Take a deep breath¡­ take a deep breath¡­¡± Qiana muttered quietly to herself as the dark marks crawling up her arms trembled slightly.

    She closed her eyes for a brief moment and thought about happy thoughts.

    It sounded a bit na?ve, but it genuinely helped her out whenever she was in a dangerous situation.

    Qiana pictured her first visit to the beach with Astrid and her family.

    She remembered the warm ocean waves that crashed against her feet, spending time with her girlfriend¡¯s little siblings and the happy smile on Astrid¡¯s face.

    The corners of Qiana¡¯s lips slowly curved upwards and she felt a lot better. She was going to be fine¡­ this was nothing¡­ she just needed to remain calm.

    The young heiress opened her eyes and focused on the scenery in front of her.

    There was arge sand dune in the distance, and one could spot four humanoid figures waving cheerfully at her from the base of the natural structure.

    Other survivors?

    Qiana gripped the steering wheel and cautiously moved the vehicle closer to the humanoid figures to get a better look.

    The spaceport was in the direction of the massive sand dune so she would not have to alter her path.

    Still¡­ there was something a bit off about the situation¡­

    Although Qiana got closer, she kept her hand on the steering wheel and was prepared to react at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Gradually the facial features and the physiques of the four individuals could clearly be seen and Qiana¡¯s hand on the wheel slightly trembled.

    She saw Carter and the three security officers who she had killed.

    They were all wearing clean version of their uniforms and waved at her with eerie smiles on their faces.

    Qiana did not notice this detail until she got closer but there were small bloodstains on each of their uniforms directly on the ces where she had injured or killed them.

    But other than those bloodstains¡­ the men appeared to be perfectly healthy.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes widened in shock and goosebumps appeared on her arms as the four men¡¯s heads simultaneous broke.

    Their heads snapped to the side of their necks in a twisted position that sent chills down her spine.

    And they did not stop waving¡­

    Even as their heads eventually fell off their necks¡­ their arms kept waving at her to approach as if nothing was wrong with their appearances.

    The heads lying down on the hot desert sand were frozen in ce with lifeless eyes that seemed to stare at her with great hatred in their gazes.

    Qiana pressed the elerator button on the control panel and made the vehicle take a wide berth around the massive sand dune.

    She kept her eyes on the bodies and flinched in terror as the headless corpses began to run at her location with a speed that should not have been possible.

    Their arms iled widely around in the air, and they moved with jerky unsteady movements as if they were puppets dancing to the tune of an unknown master.

    Despite the unnerving sight, years of training meant that Qiana quickly reacted to the peculiar situation.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a ster rifle.

    The windows of the hovercraft were lowered slightly, and Qiana stuck the tip of the rifle outside of the vehicle.

    Concentrate¡­

    Qiana aimed at the legs of the nearest headless corpse and fired a single round of sma fire directly at its kneecap.

    The corpse stumbled and fell to the ground as its right leg waspletely blown off by the force of the round.

    It crawled forward towards Qiana, but its movements were obviously much slower than before since it could no longer run on two legs.

    The young noble woman looked through the scope of her ster rifle and fired off three more rounds of sma fire.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Each round urately pierced the leg of the iing headless corpses and the bodies crashed to the ground and crawled forward.

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh of relief but kept the windows down as she fired off a few more rounds into their bodies.

    The corpses twisted and writhed in the ground as if they were experiencing a great deal of pain, but Qiana wasn¡¯t sure if it was an act to let her drop her guard.

    She set the hovercraft to autopilot and kept her finger on the trigger of her weapon as she aimed it at the convulsing corpses.

    Suddenly another mysterious sandstorm appeared from out of nowhere and the corpses along with their heads were swallowed up by the twisted tides of sand.

    When the storm receded¡­ it was as though what Qiana had just experienced had been nothing more than an unpleasant nightmare.

    She stared at the ce where the headless corpses had been just moments ago, and a confused expression shed across her face.

    No this was not an illusion¡­

    Someone or something was intentionally making her go through these terrible experiences¡­

 Chapter 619

    Chapter 619: Escape?

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Unknown Location)

    ¡°Do you know what is happening?¡± Qiana softly spoke as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the mysterious ring.

    She did not receive an answer as the ring remained silent and she could feel its warmth against her skin.

    Clearly the mysterious entity linked to the ring was not going to help her unless she agreed to bing its vessel.

    Useless¡­

    Qiana let out a heavy sigh and ced the ring back in her pocket.

    She would try to put it back in her storage bag but clearly it was able to somehow escape so what was the point?

    The sun was gradually beginning to peak over the horizon and warm orange rays of light washed across the desert.

    Qiana was in no mood to appreciate the beautiful sight as she gripped the steering wheel of the hovercraft and drove towards the coordinates of the spaceport.

    She needed to get off this moon and fast.

    Something very dangerous was happening and she wanted no part of it.

    Assassins were not suicide warriors. Qiana did not usually take fights with unknown conditions or factors involved.

    Perhaps one could consider her mentality a bit cowardly, but she did not care. You only got one life in this world and Qiana had no ns to die anytime soon.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a nutrient vial. The young woman pulled off the stopper and poured its contents into her mouth.

    She needed to keep up her energy since there were several hours to go before, she would arrive at the spaceport.

    The endless sea of sand dunes made it difficult to tell how long it would take by just her eyesight alone since the scenery did not change.

    Qiana nced out of the window, and she could swear that a hooded figure was standing on arge sand dune in the distance.

    When she blinked her eyes¡­ the figure disappeared.

    No¡­ clearly, she was seeing things¡­ unless?

    Qiana set the hovercraft on autopilot mode and stared in the direction where she had just seen the hooded figure.

    Nothing.

    There were no footsteps on the ground or traces that someone had been there just moments ago.

    Was she going insane?

    Qiana furrowed her brows as she turned around with an expression of resignation on her face¡­ and then immediately nced back to look for a second time.

    There!

    A hooded man wearing a long ck cloak stood silently on top of a massive sand dune holding what appeared to be a long silverly staff in his right hand.

    It was impossible to see his facial features under the long hood, but Qiana got the impression that his eyes met her gaze.

    The man raised up his staff above his head and threw back the hood that concealed his features.

    Qiana¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she saw whaty beneath the hood.

    Instead of a face¡­ the man¡¯s head was a mess of long ck tendrils that wriggled eerily from side to side.

    He waved the staff in the air and somehow words began to flow out of multiple mouths that were attached to the end of the tendrils.

    Nope.

    Nope.

    Fuck this.

    Qiana lowered the window and pointed her ster rifle in the direction of the strange being. Her finger wrapped around the trigger, and she gently pulled.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three sma shots flew out from the tip of her rifle and urately shot the monster¡¯s head cleanly off his body.

    The creature screamed in pain and then went silent as the staff slowly fell from his grasp. Itnded on the hard desert ground andy motionless amidst the grains of sand.

    Qiana did not know if the creature was a friend or a foe but either way, she was currently in a mood of shoot first and ask questionster.

    The rest of the journey to the spaceport was rtively uneventful but rather than rx, Qiana was still extremely tensed.

    After experiencing such horrors one after the other¡­ her nerves were shot. She saw yellow eyes in the shadows of every sand dune.

    The memory of the headless corpses running towards her while their headsy on the ground with expressions of hatred¡­

    What the hell was going on?

    Qiana let out a sigh of relief as she saw argeplex appear a few hundred meters away.

    Several tall buildings could be seen around the spaceport along with numerous spacecrafts thatnded or took off from the airfields nearby.

    Everything appeared to be normal at least at first nce.

    There were people moving to and from the spaceport and the starships were clearly able to leave the atmosphere.

    Qiana checked her storage bag and pulled out her back up wristmunicator. She synched up the device with her ount and then checked the status of the Virtual Net.

    She was connected and able to send messages!

    The heiress to House Abazin drove the hovercraft into the spaceport¡¯s parking lot and then got out of the vehicle.

    She closed the door behind her and then nced back at the desert. There were no more strange sights.

    She walked towards the nearest building and the ss doors that blocked the entrance automatically slid open.

    ¡°Good morning young miss¡­  to what do I owe the pleasure?¡± a middle-aged man standing behind the counter respectfully spoke.

    ¡°I will be returned to Rexone today¡­ book me a spot on the next flight off this lunar colony as soon as possible,¡± Qiana ordered calmly.

    The middle-aged man nodded and then checked the monitor on his desk. He looked at the list of flights and then opened his mouth to reply,

    ¡°There is a starship scheduled to take off in about thirty minutes and Rexone is on its route¡­ let me just message the captain and see¡­¡±

    Qiana nodded and then waited patiently as the middle-aged man messaged the starship¡¯s captain to negotiate having an extra passenger onboard their spacecraft.

    There were starships in the spaceport that belonged to House Abazin, but they were scheduled to leaveter in the day.

    Qiana wanted to get off this lunar colony immediately even if the danger appeared to have disappeared.

    ¡°Fantastic news young miss!¡± the middle-aged man excitedly spoke as he looked up from behind the screen.

    ¡°The captain is willing to drop you off on Rexone and will only require a basic passenger fee since the is on the way to his destination anyway.¡±

    ¡°Good¡­ which gate should I go to?¡± Qiana curiously asked.

    ¡°Gate seven. The captain will send someone to meet you and then the departure time is within the next thirty minutes,¡± the middle-aged man replied.

    Qiana thanked him briefly for his assistance and then followed the signs that pointed her in a direction that led deeper into the spaceportplex.

    Since Qiana¡¯s back was turned, she failed to see that the middle-aged man behind the desk had a twisted grin on his face.

    And his eyes¡­ were yellow.

 Chapter 620

    Chapter 620: Passing With Flying Colours

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- Local Spaceport)

    As Qiana walked towards the gate, she could not help but notice that the corridor seemed to stretch longer than she initially thought.

    There was a faint chill in the air despite the fact that the sun was now moving towards the middle of the sky.

    Qiana rubbed the sides of her arms and let out a light sigh. She froze in ce as she saw that her breath had turned into a faint white mist.

    Was it that cold inside the spaceport?

    Why did they not turn on the heating?

    Ten minutes passed and Qiana quickly realised that something was wrong.

    She had been walking down the same four hundred metre corridor for thest couple of minutes but the distance between herself and the end had not changed.

    The corridor seemed to be infinite and the metallic door at the end loomed just out of reach as if mocking her inability to walk towards it.

    "Alright¡­ just take a few deep breaths¡­" Qiana whispered softly as she leaned against the wall and took a moment topose herself.

    Her shoulder brushed against the wall''s hard surface and then she felt something warm and sticky flowing down her arm.

    Qiana shivered after feeling the strange sensation and quickly nced at her shoulder to see what was wrong.

    Her right arm was now missing.

    Well missing was the wrong word.

    It had somehow been rippedpletely off.

    The arm was now stuck to the side of the wall and Qiana watched in horror as arge mouth appeared on its t surface with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.

    She quickly grabbed her arm and pulled with all of her strength. Her arm slipped out of the wall''s maw just as it mmed shut.

    Qiana was running high off adrenaline and fear but fortunately her mind was working properly.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a syringe that was filled with a foul greenish-yellow liquid.

    Blood spurted out of therge wound on her shoulder, so Qiana knew that she had to work fast.

    She stuck her arm back in ce and then used the syringe to inject the severed limb with the regenerative liquid.

    Small fleshy growths connected the severed limb to her right shoulder and within three minutes her arm had been sessfully reattached.

    Qiana cast a wary look at the savage looking mouth on the wall and took yet another step backwards.

    She stumbled slightly as she began to feel a bit lightheaded. The regenerative liquid did not have the ability to replenish the blood loss.

    And judging from therge crimson pool on the ground¡­ it was a miracle that she was able to still stand.

    Qiana swayed lightly from side to side as she gritted her teeth and channeled all the qi in her dantian to the different parts of her body.

    The rush that the circting qi gave her was enough to pierce through the mental fog that was beginning to cloud her mind.

    It was a temporary measure, so Qiana knew that time was of the essence.

    Dark shadowy marks travelled up her body and the young woman melted away into the shadows beneath her feet.

    A small circr metalloid device was flung at the gaping maw. The maw eagerly swallowed the device and a sadistic smile shed across Qiana''s face.

    Three¡­

    Two¡­

    One¡­

    BOOM!

    A massive fiery st filled the corridor with mes and debris fell down from the ceiling and crashed to the ground.

    Qiana was protected from the explosion in the shadows and when the cloud of dust cleared, she emerged from the pool and headed for the hole in the wall.

    She ran through the hole and was greeted by the hot desert sun that sent down scorching rays of light.

    It would be safe to assume that the explosion would have attracted the attention of the workers and passengers at the spaceport but as Qiana looked outside¡­

    No one was there.

    The spaceport was nowpletely empty.

    Therge buildings scattered around theplex were eerily quiet, the airfields did not have a single spacecraft and not a single person could be seen in sight.

    Qiana tapped her wristmunicator and the screen flickered to life. She checked the coordinates and her face soon turned pale.

    Somehow, she had arrived at a location a few dozen kilometres away from where the spaceport was supposed to be located.

    Which begged the question¡­ if the spaceport was not supposed to be here then¡­

    What was this ce?

    "Young miss? Are you alright?" a warm and friendly voice came from behind her and without hesitation Qiana flung a dagger in the direction of the sound.

    She heard a heavy thud of a body slumping to the ground but soon a hoarseughter filled the air.

    Qiana turned around and saw the middle-aged man who had been working at the front desk lying down on the ground with a dagger in the center of his forehead.

    ck blood slowly flowed down from the open wound, but it was the man''s nonchnt attitude that was the most unnerving.

    He slowly got up from the ground as if there was not a de stuck in the middle of his skull. Qiana pulled out a ster rifle from her storage bag and pointed it at the man.

    "Do note closer," Qiana sternly warned as her finger wrapped around the trigger.

    The middle-aged manzily ced his hands in the air and created some distance between himself and the noble woman.

    His eyes asionally flickered between a normal hue and a sickly yellow colour that Qiana recognised.

    "I assume that you know what is going on¡­ tell me," Qiana roughly demanded as the tension in the air slowly thickened.

    The middle-aged man tilted his head to the side as if surprised by Qiana''s demand and yet the wide grin on his face never faded.

    "Young miss¡­ we mean you no harm¡­" the man slowly spoke as his arms remained upwards.

    "We have been watching you¡­ cing you in danger¡­ it is a test... one that you have passed with flying colours."

    "Test? My arm was ripped off and an explosive was ce under my hovercraft¡­ that it not a test¡­" Qiana hissed in rage.

    "The explosive was not our doing¡­ we merely used the corpses of the ones responsible for nting the device¡­" the middle-aged man calmly exined.

    "Alright let''s say I believe you¡­ how could I possibly trust what you are saying? What is your goal and motives? What is the purpose of this so-called test?" Qiana questioned slowly.

    She continued to point the rifle at the middle-aged man but extended her senses to cover the surrounding area around her body.

    One false move and she would fire off several rounds into the creepy man''s body.

 Chapter 621

    Chapter 621: Dream And Reality

    (Hydra Star System- Lunar Colony Renoran)

    (Northern Region- ¡®Local Spaceport¡¯)

    ¡°We are the Chtendra¡­¡± the middle-aged man finally spoke as he remained frozen in ce with his arms gently stretched upwards.

    ¡°Our people¡­ we exist, and we do not. We are alive only in the memories and dreams of other species.¡±

    ¡°Dreams and reality intersect. For our people they are one and the same¡­ we are trapped by neither and both.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Stop speaking in riddles,¡± Qiana coldly whispered as she kept pointing her ster rifle at the man lying down on the hard desert ground.

    ¡°Our existence is fluid¡­ we exist in a quantum state of both reality and imagination. Your experiences on this moon are real and fake at the small time.¡±

    Qiana could feel her brain begin to hurt as the man continued to talk about quantum fluctuations and the beings beyond the void.

    Apparently the Chtendra were a race of lifeforms capable of creating illusions well¡­ reality¡­ that had non- permanent effects on the creatures that experienced their existence.

    They were unable to harm or help other lifeforms.

    Any damage that they did or benefits and gifts that they gave would be immediately reversed within a short period of time.

    Honestly it sounded quite awful.

    They were basically an existence of God-like beings but anything they did would amount to nothingness.

    They possessed all the power in the universe and yet were powerless.

    ¡°So, in that case only the three security officers are dead and Carter is knocked out¡­ everyone else will return to life once the effects of your powers disappear?¡± Qiana asked curiously.

    ¡°Yes¡­ even your memories of us will vanish,¡± the middle-aged man admitted with a bitter undertone in his voice.

    ¡°So then why exin all of this to me? It is pointless since I will immediately forget everything once your powers expire,¡± Qiana bluntly spoke.

    She did not entirely believe the creature¡¯s ¡®truthful¡¯ words but what she had experienced over thest few hours was definitely something more than just an illusion or the effect of hypnosis.

    ¡°That was the purpose of the test¡­ only one who can survive the obstacles that we set may be able to retain a hint of our existence,¡± the man excitedly spoke as his eyes briefly flickered yellow.

    ¡°We need you¡­ we need you to find something for us¡­ an anchor point¡­ something that will help us keep our presence in your world¡­ please we are begging you¡­¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything, but I¡¯ll keep my eye out,¡± Qiana hesitantly spoke. The man nodded his head if he was relieved and then snapped his fingers.

    The world suddenly shifted uncontrobly, and Qiana found herself standing in the middle of the desert.

    She froze for a brief moment as she felt a fierce pounding sensation in her mind.

    This headachested for a few seconds before disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared.

    The heavy scent of blood filled her nostrils and when she looked down, she saw the corpses of the men who had just tried to kill her.

    ¡°Monster? There is¡­ is no monster. Like I said¡­ Oliva is a drunk¡­ she sees things when she has too much to drink,¡± a masculine voice desperately spoke.

    Qiana looked down and saw Carter lying helplessly on the ground with heavy metallic cuffs locking his arms and legs in ce.

    His hands were missing a few fingers where Qiana¡¯s de had sliced them off and the severed digits were only a few inches away from his body.

    Qiana strode over to the muscr man and raised up her hand to knock him out with a quick blow to the back of his neck.

    She stopped moving when her hand was mere centimetres away from his neck.

    Qiana froze in ce as she realised something¡­

    Why did she have a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu?

    It was if this had happened before. A faint memory surfaced in the young woman¡¯s mind of knocking out Carter and then injecting him with a strong drug.

    ¡°Then what about the car bomb? I can understand slowing down the rate of production but who gave you the order to kill me,¡± Qiana coldly spoke as her eyes narrowed.

    ¡°The bomb¡­ I don¡¯t know anything about¡­ ARGGGHHH!¡± Carter screamed in pain as Qiana¡¯s de neatly sliced through the flesh on his knuckles.

    The young noble woman was not a novice to torture. It was an effective tool especially for assassination.

    Of course, there was always the risk that the victim would just say whatever they thought their captor wanted to hear in order for the pain to stop.

    Having the self control to stop oneself and lean just close enough to the line so the victim¡¯s mental defenses would not entirely break made Qiana a dangerous interrogator.

    ¡°Your uncle¡­ he paid us three billion Enas¡­. told us that he would be able to make a look like an ident¡­¡± Carter confessed as he began to breathe heavily.

    ¡°He already transferred us ten million Enas as deposit¡­ you can check my bank ount¡­¡±

    What a fool.

    Qiana reached into her storage bag and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid that had a few bubbles trapped inside.

    She jammed the needle roughly into Carter¡¯s shoulder and then pumped the liquid inside his veins.

    Her uncle would have never paid these workers the full amount. If anything, he would use them as a shield to deflect me.

    Three billion Enas¡­ Qiana doubted that any member of her family other than her father had that kind of money.

    The young noble woman got up and stretched her arms. She nced at the corpses on the ground and Carter¡¯s unconscious body and discovered that they were still there.

    What was she expecting?

    That the corpses would somehow be able to disappear? That soundedpletely ridiculous considering that no one was nearby other than herself.

    Still Qiana could not shake the feeling that she was missing something. It felt like walking into a room and forgetting one¡¯s original purpose of entering inside.

    Yellow eyes¡­

    Yellow eyes?

    Qiana stumbled as she recalled that she seeing eyes appear on the sides of the tents in the base camp.

    The curious thing about the base camp in her memories was the fact that it was empty. There was no one else there.

    What were these memories?

    Had someone managed to drug her?

    Qiana frowned and tossed those strange thoughts to the back of her mind. Right now, her only priority was to get Carter to the base camp and interrogate him further.

    She also needed to send a message to her father using her wristmunicator and inform him of the strange developments on the mining colony.

 Chapter 622

    Chapter 622: Trapped By The Weight

    (Hydra Star System- Rexone)

    (Northern Territory- Castle ckmore)

    Qiana stood outside a wooden door and took in a few deep breaths in order to calm down her nerves.

    She stretched out her hand and lightly tapped against the door a few times.

    There was a brief moment of silence and then a voice came from the other side telling her to enter.

    The room beyond the door was her father¡¯s private study. It was a forbidden ce to most members of the family aside from the n¡¯s elders and his only daughter.

    The study room much like the man himself was incredibly minimalistic. The walls were painted white and only a single desk and chair could be found inside.

    A single window was in the left corner of the room, and it had never been opened in all times that Qiana had visited her father in here.

    The room was cold, inhuman and impersonal.

    All descriptions that suited the man who had rose to the head of House Abazin by ughtering most of his siblings.

    ¡°Father, we need to talk,¡± Qiana coldly spoke as she entered the study room and saw the head of the family standing in front of the window.

    Two days has passed since she had returned home after discovering that a mysterious noble had intentionally been slowing down the rate of production of the mining colony.

    And there was also the fact that her uncle had paid a few of the workers to take her life using an explosive device.

    ¡°This so called petition¡¯ is nothing more than a waste of both resources and time,¡± Qiana bluntly spoke as she hid her trembling hands in her pockets.

    Even after all this time¡­ she could not face her father without feeling a hint of fear after the repeated beatings.

    No¡­ she was stronger.

    He was no longer a terrifying monster.

    ¡°And why do you say that?¡± Count Abazin replied after a brief moment of silence.

    ¡°My father held the samepetition, and I was the one who seeded. You may be the future head of the family but¡­¡±

    ¡°You will need to kill or subdue anyone who stands in your way.¡±

    ¡°Did you know how much money my uncle nned to give those workers? Three billion Enas¡­ hell he even gave them a ten million Enas deposit,¡± Qiana argued fiercely.

    ¡°Our family is burning through their wealth for apetition that does not make sense. I am already the best option.¡±

    ¡°No one else has the cultivation talent or the mentality to lead this house. Should one of my rtives seed and kill me then do you really trust them to be the next head?¡±

    ¡°I will simply have another child,¡± Count Abazin coldly spoke.

    His simple sentence brought a terrible quietness to the room.

    Qiana stared at the man who had always looked at her as if she was a stranger and a bitter smile came to her lips.

    ¡°Then I pray that your next child will not be such a disappointment,¡± Qiana calmly spoke as she bowed her head and left the room.

    Count Abazin watched her retreating back as she got further and further away but made no attempt to stop her.

    Qiana gently closed the door behind her and let out a heavy sigh of frustration. Did she have no other choice but to y her father¡¯s game?

    Try to kill her rtives before they killed her?

    There was a lot on Qiana¡¯s mind as she walked though the magnificent castle where expensive pieces of artwork lined the walls.

    House Abazin did not have an infinite amount of wealth. They were rich and powerful but honestly speaking¡­

    They were only counts.

    The truly powerful nobles were the dukes and duchess. Ancient families with connections and personal strength almost on par with the royal family.

    If it were not for the ascension level cultivators protecting the Imperial family, then the high noble houses would have probably overthrown them centuries ago.

    Qiana frowned slightly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a slightly dirty rag which she then used to clean her sses.

    If there was any silver lining to her low mood it was the fact that most of her family had left the castle a few weeks ago to return to their own private residences.

    The castle was nowpletely empty save for herself, her father and the robots that roamed the building.

    Qiana found her footsteps leading her towards a familiar sight. A locked room with a small flower pattern painted on its surface.

    ¡°Mom¡­ I¡¯m back¡­¡± Qiana softly whispered as she stretched out her hand.

    Her fingers stopped mere inches away from the handle of the door as she could not bring herself to open it and look inside the room.

    Some memories were too painful to relive.

    Qiana turned away from the door and walked towards the outside gardens.

    It took her ten minutes to finally reach the front entrance after passing through abyrinth of side passageways and corridors.

    The portraits of her ancestors on the walls seemed to smile mockingly at her as she moved through the castle.

    Qiana felt trapped.

    Trapped by her responsibilities as the next head of the family.

    Trapped by her rtives who wanted nothing more than to see her dead.

    And trapped by her father who saw her as nothing more than a tool to ensure the future legacy of their house.

    A tool that could easily be reced should she fail his expectations.

    In fact, Qiana would not be surprised if there were several illegitimate children outside who would eagerly rece her.

    Or perhaps her father would remarry and have a proper noble heir with some wealthy house to increase their family¡¯s influence.

    The young woman sighed unhappily as she walked outside and felt a cool breeze brush against her face.

    It was now fall and the leaves on the trees outside were already beginning to turn a beautiful range of colours.

    Orange, red, yellow. The bright colours of autumn slightly lifted up Qiana¡¯s mood as she wandered outside the castle.

    Her life was not entirely bad.

    It would only be a few weeks and then she would have the chance to see her girlfriend and her friends again.

    Astrid may be busy now, but their rtionship was still strong despite the long-distance nature of it over the summer vacation.

    Qiana looked forward to seeing the beautiful Mendolesa girl and her siblings again. Astrid¡¯s family was what she had always imagined a loving family to be like.

    Sure, they would argue and fight asionally but the genuine bond between the four of them left Qiana feeling just a bit envious.

    Only her mother had ever made this lonely castle feel like home and now she was gone forever.

    Qiana was grateful for the enhanced memory that cultivation gave her because she never wanted to forget her mother¡¯s smile.

    A leaf fell down from one of the trees and Qiana casually snatched it from the air. She wandered silently through the garden with numerous thoughts on her mind.

 Chapter 623

    Chapter 623: Sophie The Superstar?

    (Zrudread University- Main Campus)

    (Central Administration Building- Principal¡¯s Office)

    Sophie took in a deep breath and then knocked on the door. She heard a deep masculine voice telling her to enter so she stepped inside.

    Principal Malik smiled warmly at her and disyed his canine fangs. The albino Mendolesa wore a sharp dress shirt and a pair of ck pants.

    There was a hole cut in the back of his pants so that his tail was allowed to stick out of his outfit.

    He gestured for the young hybrid girl to sit down and then offered her a cup of steaming hot tea.

    ¡°Before we begin¡­ wee back to university,¡± Principal Malik warmly spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that it must have been inconvenient to arrive two weeks before the other students in your year.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ it wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Sophie began to reply but her voice was cut off by the elderly principal¡¯sughter.

    Principal Malik chuckled as he spoke, ¡°No need to lie¡­ I was a student as well a long time ago. If a senile old man told me to show up early before the summer vacation ended¡­¡±

    ¡°I would have been very upset.¡±

    Sophie¡¯s lips gently curved upwards as she went along with the calm and rxing atmosphere inside the office.

    Okay to be honestly¡­ when she was told that she would have to arrive at Zrudread University early¡­ she was a bit upset.

    Who wants to have their break interrupted early?

    Plus, she would have to be separated from Cleo which also sucked but at least Moon was allowed to go back with her.

    Sophie reached for the tea on the desk in front of her and took a small sip. The tea was slightly hot and there was a bitter aftertaste.

    Still, it was clearly made from expensive leaves since Sophie¡¯s golden eyes noticed a small metallic tin in the corner of the room.

    The tin had diamond encrusted engravings along its side and the name of a premium tea brand that she recognised.

    Principal Malik was treating her quite well all things considered.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s get down to business then,¡± Principal Malik¡¯s voice interrupted Sophie¡¯s train of thought.

    The elderly Mendolesa man pressed a button on the side of his desk and a holographic screen was projected into the air.

    ¡°As I am sure you know¡­ the inter-universitypetition has been dyed until the end of next month so after your midterm exams,¡± Principal Malik calmly spoke.

    ¡°Thispetition is open to all major cultivation universities, but the main factions will be As, Zrudread, Mer and Tantibus.¡±

    ¡°It is for good reason why we are collectively referred to as the four great universities.¡±

    This was not just an idle boast by the principal. The four great universities were equivalent to the ¡®Ivy League¡¯ in Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    They only epted students with grade A or S cultivation talents and had the resources, techniques, and abilities to let their talents blossom.

    Of course, that was not to say that there would be no dark horses among the lesser universities, but they were few and far between.

    By the end of second year the gap in resources avable meant that the students from outside the top four universities would be unable topete.

    This meant that the first-yearpetitions had the most potential for upsets.

    ¡°Although you are technically in second year since thepetition starts in October¡­ your year will be ssified as freshmen,¡± Principal Malik exined.

    ¡°I have very high hopes for your year. In fact, there are some teachers who believe that you all will be the next ¡®golden generation¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the praise, sir,¡± Sophie politely replied.

    The elderly Mendolesa man grinned savagely as he connected the screen to hismunicator and the projection shifted to another image.

    Dozens of youthful but unfamiliar faces filled the screen and Sophie tilted her head in confusion at the unexpected sight.

    ¡°Of course, as team captain¡­ you are expected to win the entirepetition,¡± Principal Malik nonchntly spoke as if speaking about a trivial matter.

    ¡°We have already gathered information about the top students in the other universities but of course some information may be iplete.¡±

    ¡°You will be assigned extra training under Professor Macabre your poison cultivation professor to ensure that you give us the best results.¡±

    Principal Malik flicked his paws and Sophie¡¯s wristmunicator bleeped twice.

    The hybrid girl nced at the screen and saw that a message had arrived in her inbox. She opened the message and saw the data that the principal had gathered.

    ¡°Just do keep in mind¡­¡± Principal Malik¡¯s voice trailed off as he stared directly into Sophie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°If we can find out information about their top students¡­ then they can also find out information about you.¡±

    ¡°Your fighting style, strengths and weaknesses have most likely already been analysed and spread among yourpetitors.¡±

    ¡°Make sure that you have some hidden cards.¡±

    The meeting ended a few minutes after, and Sophie left the office with the principal¡¯s words still echoing through her mind.

    He was right.

    Thanks to the Virtual Net it was impossible to conceal her abilities but that did not mean that she was helpless.

    Did it matter if one understood her fighting style if she moved too fast for them to react?

    Still Sophie was not arrogant enough to assume that she was the most powerful cultivator among the younger generation.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she stepped outside the administration building and felt the warm rays of sunlight brush against her face.

    The campus was unsurprisingly empty since the students would not being back until a few weekster.

    There were still some people walking around but they were just a handful and travelled in groups no bigger than three.

    Sophie checked her inbox and a happy smile spread across her face.

    Well at least she wouldn¡¯t bepletely alone.

    Professor Macabre¡¯s training started tomorrow but she was given the afternoons off. That meant that she could visit Astrid!

    Sophie had kept in regr contact with her friends throughout the summer vacation but there was just something about meeting people in person that felt extra special.

    The hybrid girl hummed a cheerful tune as she walked towards the cafeteria to pick up something to eat.

    It had been a long time since she had been on campus, and everything felt both familiar and strange at the same time.

    The main campus had a lovely natural environment.

    Large tall leafy trees provided shade along the walkways and green meadows of grass crunched beneath her feet.

    ¡°Oh my gosh! You¡¯re Sophie! Can I get your autograph?¡± an excited voice suddenly shouted.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the noise and saw a lean Mendolesa girl with her tail wagging furiously from side to side.

    ¡°Sure, no problem. Do you have a pen?¡± Sophie gently replied. The Mendolesa girl hurriedly reached into her storage bag and pulled out a pen and piece of paper.

    Sophie smiled as she signed her name and then returned the sheet of paper to the girl.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± the Mendolesa girl replied and then took a few pictures of the signature using her wristmunicator¡¯s camera.

    Sophie shook her head and then continued her walk towards the cafeteria.

    After her performance in the end of yearpetition she was now a famous figure on the campus.

    Her name was firmly on top of the battle rankings for second year students and in a university that worshipped strength.

    Sophie had a lot of admirers.

 Chapter 624

    Chapter 624: New Weapon

    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°Yes, you have to attend training!¡± Sophie sternly spoke as she watched herzy pet rub against her cheek and shoot her a cute expression.

    ¡°No mister¡­ you aren¡¯t getting out of this.¡±

    Squeak! Squeak!

    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m been mean? Mean?! Do I force you to train as much as I train every day? No, I do not,¡± Sophie replied angrily.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Please mommy¡­ I¡¯m very sleepy¡­ can¡¯t we do this tomorrow?)

    Sophie grabbed her naughty frostwing and turned him over. She began to tickle the light blue fur on his stomach and soon Moon could not help but squirm ufortably.

    Squeak!

    (MOMMY STOP! I CAN¡¯T!)

    Sophie halted her movements with a proud expression on her face. She had really gotten better when dealing with her mischievouspanion.

    Moon let out a heavy sigh and crawled on top of Sophie¡¯s head.

    The poor frostwing bat had an expression of sorrow on his face as if he was about to face a life and death situation.

    ¡°Oh, stop being so dramatic¡­ I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re such a drama queen,¡± Sophie whisperedzily as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small treat.

    Moon¡¯s eyes lit up and he hurriedly stretched out his head and grabbed the snack out of Sophie¡¯s palm before she could yank it away.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s lips gently curved upwards as she spent a few moments ying with her beloved pet.

    The bond between her and Moon was a strong one.

    It had only gotten stronger over thest few months as they practised special cultivation methods.

    Now Sophie was capable of sharing all of her senses with herpanion over incredible distances and Moon could also do the same.

    Curiously enough she was also able to activate Moon¡¯s ice powers but only when he was within two hundred metres of her body.

    This was a new development that had only started happening during herst few days on Gaia.

    Sophie was already beginning to miss her girlfriend and her dad but at least she would see Cleo soon.

    The hybrid girl stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily. Moon¡¯szy mood was clearly affecting her as well.

    Today was going to be the first day of training with Professor Macabre so she could not afford to bete.

    Plus, she had ns to hang out with Astrid in the afternoon, so her day was basicallypletely booked.

    Sophie nced at a nearby mirror hanging on the wall and studied her appearance. She wore a ck training jacket and a pair of dark pants.

    Her golden eyes shone with an eerie light and the four de-like appendages jutting out of her back seemed a bit longer than she expected.

    Did she grow again?

    Sophie hummed thoughtfully as she made a mental note to measure her height sometime this week.

    She was already roughly seven feet tall so if she gained any more height¡­ she would basically be a giantess!

    The hybrid girl left her mansion with Moon sitting down cheerfully on her head. She whistled a happy tune as she walked towards the training field.

    It was a beautiful day.

    The sun was shining brightly in the sky and a warm gentle breeze brushed against her face. It would be a bit of a walk to reach the training grounds, but Sophie did not mind.

    This area is where the elite students lived.

    Dozens if not hundreds of mansions could be seen neatly lined side by side, but they were all empty for now.

    Zrudread University really treated the students who entered the elite ss very well. Extra resources, special cultivation sses, great housing¡­ the list of benefits went on.

    But it was not easy to enter the elite ss.

    Every single person who qualified to attend one of the top four universities was a cream of the crop genius.

    More than likely, they had never met another peer as strong as them when they were growing up.

    The members of the elite ss were the geniuses among the geniuses.

    Sophie felt a hint of pride as she remembered that she had made it to the top of the battle rankings.

    She was following in her father¡¯s footsteps and making him extremely proud of her achievements.

    It took around forty minutes of walking to reach the training grounds, but Sophie did not even break a sweat.

    Over the vacation she could feel the barrier to the void stage getting thinner and thinner every time she cultivated.

    She just needed the right opportunity to arrive, and she could feel that she would be able to break through to the next stage.

    Sophie entered arge dome-shaped arena and saw Professor Macabre leaning against a wall while smoking a long white cigarette.

    Smoke danced between her fingertips as she inhaled a mouthful of the white cloud and then gently exhaled.

    Professor Macabre¡¯s brown, wavy hair hung over her harsh looking face. She had lidded blue eyes with dark bags under them that made her seem exhausted.

    The small but vicious scar that ran across from one side of her face to the other made her seem scary, but Sophie knew that she had a warm heart.

    ¡°Hi professor!¡± Sophie cheerfully spoke as she waved at the woman wearing a whiteb coat.

    Moon pped his wings and squeaked a few times as a greeting. He was not looking forward to the training session.

    ¡°Hello Sophie,¡± Professor Macabre smiled as she removed the cigarette from her mouth and ced it in her storage bag.

    ¡°I trust that you havepleted your assignments for the vacation. Let me check them now before we start out training session.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Sophie replied as she dug into her bag and pulled out arge stack of papers filled with questions and her handwriting,

    During the summer vacation she had asionally been in contact with the poison cultivation professor and was given extra assignments toplete.

    These assignments weren¡¯t worth any marks or extra credit and were just to help her get a head start on the second term.

    Although Sophie might be an ace atbat, she did not want her grades in the theoretical sses to slip.

    ¡°Wonderful¡­ just go over there and select your new weapon while I look these over,¡± Professor Macabre spoke as she took the papers from Sophie¡¯s hand.

    The hybrid girl nodded and then walked towards the back of the training arena where dozens of weaponsy on a rack.

    Hmm¡­ usually her weapon of choice was whip but Sophie could not see any whips or long swords on the rack.

    Instead, there were more niche items.

    She saw a bow and a quiver filled with arrows, a curved sickle whose edge gleamed under the light and a pair of heavy gauntlets.

    The heavy gauntlets had small holes in the middle of its metallic surface that seemed to be roughly the same size as ss vials.

    Sophie touched each weapon carefully as if she was searching for something. The heavy gauntlets seemed like the best choice, so she eventually picked them up.

    As she slipped them on her hands, tworge spikes jutted out of the gauntlets and tiny electric blue lines appeared on its metallic frame.

 Chapter 625

    Chapter 625: Professor Macabre¡¯s Demonstration

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University Main Campus- Private Training Centre)

    Sophie made a few shadow punches using the heavy gauntlets and enjoyed the weight of the weapons.

    Still¡­ she could not shake the feeling that this weapon was not suited for her. What was the issue?

    The hybrid girl mused thoughtfully as she unleashed another punch and pictured fighting an imaginary opponent.

    Wait¡­ it was the range.

    Sophie stopped moving as she contemted a very important detail that she had missed.

    The ded appendages on her back had a far greater reach than her arms and the sharpened barbs at their ends were capable of piercing through the defenses of even god stage cultivators.

    Sophie ced the gauntlets back on the rack and instead decided to try out the bow and quiver of arrows.

    The bow lying down on the rack was a dark grey colour that seemed to absorb the light that fell on its body.

    She did not recognise the material that was used to build the bow, but its metallic surface was very cold to the touch.

    Hmm¡­ Sophie knew that there were cultivation techniques specifically for bows, but she was far morefortable using a sma rifle.

    All she needed to do was aim and pull the trigger.

    Of course, the disadvantage was that it was impossible to channel qi into sma so rifles only worked against low level cultivators in the qi body to early stages of the qi tide stage.

    Sophie ran her fingers along the surface of the bow and then reached for the quiver.

    The arrows inside the quiver were rtively simple with a wooden shaft and a sharpened edge made from a metallic substance.

    Moon perked up as he saw the arrows and excitedly pped his wings to get Sophie¡¯s attention.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy¡­ can I try something?)

    ¡°Sure¡­ just don¡¯t make a mess¡­¡± Sophie hesitantly replied.

    Moon squealed with joy as he jumped from Sophie¡¯s head andnded on the ground near the quiver.

    The frostwing bat tilted his head yfully as he observed the arrows and then picked up one using his little sharp fangs.

    The temperature soon plummeted rapidly, and a cold ball of chill formed on the tip of the arrow.

    Moon scrunched up his face in concentration as he transferred the icy energy inside his body to the arrow¡¯s tip.

    He sat down on the ground with a heavy thump when the process waspleted. Sophie picked up the enhanced arrow and felt her fingers go numb.

    Frost was already beginning to form on the surface of her skin, but she continued to hold the weapon to look at the changes that Moon had made.

    A blue icy aura was present on the arrow¡¯s tip and Sophie was suddenly struck with an urge to shoot it.

    She looked down at her furrypanion and saw that he was looking at her with a pleading expression on his adorable face.

    Alright¡­ clearly the urge to shoot the arrow came from the bond that linked the two of them together.

    Sophie walked towards the center of the field and ced the arrow on the bowstring. She drew back the string on the bow and then aimed the arrow at a nearby target.

    The hybrid girl took a few deep breaths and then unleashed the arrow which flew through the air and¡­

    Completely missed the target by several meters.

    The arrow continued forward until it eventuallynded on the ground behind the target. Arge patch of ice appeared where the arrow had fallen in the dirt.

    It would have been an impressive sight to see the target encased in ice, but Sophie¡¯s archery skills were¡­ a little bit rusty to say the least.

    ¡°Have you picked your new weapon?¡± Professor Macabre asked as she wandered over and took a nce at the ice on the ground.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I think that the bow might be the best option so I can handle long rangebat,¡± Sophie replied seriously.

    ¡°That is a good option. Well in that case I will mentor you on how tobine poison cultivation techniques with skills used with the bow,¡± Professor Macabre replied calmly.

    She stretched out her hand and Sophie handed over the bow.

    The professor took out a small vial from her storage bag that was filled with a yellowish-green liquid.

    Professor Macabre grabbed one of the arrows in the quiver and then tipped its edge in the vial of poison.

    She drew back the bowstring and Sophie felt a power surging in the professor¡¯s arm.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s danger sense rang out rapidly as if telling her to flee immediately from the scene before it was toote.

    The professor let go of the bowstring and the arrow shot forward and was apanied by thousands of illusory arrows that looked exactly the same as the original.

    The scarred woman¡¯s lips curved gently upwards as the poison on the tip of the arrow turned into a faint mist that formed the shape of an enormous dragon.

    The dragon roared loudly and the aura and pressure surrounding its body caused cracks to appear on the training center¡¯s grounds.

    The poison dragon smashed into the target which was then immediately obliterated into thousands of pieces.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I may have gone slightly overboard,¡± Professor Macabre thoughtfully mused as she rubbed her chin.

    ¡°Alright well that¡¯s enough demonstrating for today. What I want you to do now is practice your aim without using any cultivation techniques.¡±

    ¡°Once you can hit at least eight bullseyes out of every ten shots then send me a message and we will move on to the next stage of your training.¡±

    Sophie nodded and thanked the professor for her help. Professor Macabre merely smiled as she waved at her favourite student and then walked away.

    The hybrid girl stared at the destroyed target and felt a familiar surge of excitement. The power and strength of her teacher had left quite the impression.

    In fact, one of her golden eyes was already beginning to turn crimson as she imagined facing down her professor in a fight.

    ¡°Calm down¡­ calm down¡­¡± Sophie quietly whispered to herself as she took several deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    She picked up the bow and arrows and then headed for the practice range in the corner of the training center.

    The targets here were ced at regr intervals apart from each other. Two hundred metres¡­ four hundred metres¡­ six hundred meters¡­ all the way to one thousand metres.

    Okay¡­ she would start simple first and then work her way up. Sophie aimed at the two hundred metre target and then fired an arrow.

    The arrow flew through the air andnded right on the target¡¯s outer surface. Sophie let out a light sigh and then reached for another arrow in the quiver.

    There was no cheat ability or magic secret to immediately improving her skills. Training in cultivation andbat was a long and arduous process.

    Moon sat down in the shade and rxed as his owner shot arrows for several hours without taking a break.

    Finally, as the sun began to move towards the horizon, Sophie finally stopped. She checked her wristmunicator and saw that it was nearly time to meet Astrid.

    ¡°Come on Moon let¡¯s go!¡± Sophie called out to her pet who woke up from his nap with a grumpy expression on his furry face.

    Squeak! Squeak!

 Chapter 626

    Chapter 626: Little Rose¡¯s Cafe

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (City Outskirts- Little Rose¡¯s Caf¨¦)

    Sophie hummed as soft tune as she walked through the city and ignored the stares that were directed at her appearance.

    Unlike the disgusted or frightened stares that she usually experienced on Gaia, the looks that she got from the passerby on Eleron were more akin to admiration.

    It was a bit simr to how celebrities were treated during the ancient Earth era ording to Sui Meng¡¯s memories.

    It was a different feeling but not a bad one.

    The hybrid girl checked her wristmunicator and saw one unopened message from Astrid in her inbox.

    Astrid: [Just reached¡­ where are you?]

    Sophie: [Thirty seconds away. Going to enter the caf¨¦ now]

    She powered off her wristmunicator and took a nce at the store that was at the opposite side of the street.

    Little Rose¡¯s Caf¨¦ was a hidden spot tucked away in the outskirts of the city that surrounded the main campus of Zrudread University.

    Its owner was aplete mystery but the food that was served was utterly delicious.

    Sophie had only been here once before with Cleo on one of their dates, but she could not forget the sweet gooey taste of the chocte chip cookies.

    The entrance of the caf¨¦ was bright pink with white lines running along the sides of the caf¨¦. Small brightly coloured flowers were growing on the door that was wide open.

    Sophie walked inside the entrance and was greeted by what could only be described as a candy paradise or wondend.

    The floors were milky white, the ceiling was a dark chocte brown colour, and the tables and chairs mimicked the appearance of candy.

    ¡°Sophie!¡± a loud voice interrupted Sophie¡¯s quiet observation.

    A huge furry body mmed into the hybrid girl with immense force. Sophie almost took a step back but used her ded appendages to stabilise herself.

    ¡°Astrid!¡± Sophie cheerfully replied as she wrapped her arms around her best friend and gave her a tight hug.

    ¡°Come! Come! I saved us a spot by the window,¡± Astrid excitedly spoke as her tail wagged furiously from side to side.

    The Mendolesa girl was wearing a simple brown cloak with numerous magic symbols etched into the fabric that were glowing a faint blue colour.

    There was a silent pressure radiating off her body and Sophie to her surprise discovered that her danger sense was faintly active.

    Astrid had gotten quite stronger over the summer vacation¡­

    Sophie lips gently curved upwards as Astrid¡¯s paw wrapped around her palm as she led her to a seat in the corner of the caf¨¦.

    The caf¨¦ waspletely empty which was nice since it meant that the two girls had the entire space to themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you. It always feels good to meet up in person,¡± Sophie remarked casually as she sat down on the chair.

    The silky cushion on the bottom of the chair was really soft and Sophie could feel the chair expand slightly to amodate her unusual physique.

    The chairs were made out of memory foam which meant that anyone could sit down and not feel the slightest bit of difort.

    ¡°Same¡­ it¡¯s been such a long vacation without you all¡­ do you have any idea what Archmage Hollystorm has put me through?¡± Astrid¡¯s voice lowered to a whisper as she nervously nced around.

    ¡°Astrid¡­ he¡¯s not going to hear you¡­¡± Sophie¡¯s giggled slightly as she saw the paranoid look on her friend¡¯s face.

    The mendolesa girl nodded at her friend¡¯s words and truthfully felt a bit silly. It was just that all the training with the archmage had left arge shadow on her heart.

    Astrid opened her mouth and exined to Sophie the terrible time that she had experienced this summer,

    ¡°Alright¡­ alright¡­ basically he locked me up in that damn magical tower of his and then sent me off to pocket dimensions to fight off all sorts of strange and messed up creatures.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ if that wasn¡¯t enough apparently one of the mages in Mer University said that his prot¨¦g¨¦ was stronger than me so Archmage Hollystorm took it personally.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had to spend thest two weeks learning how to fight other mages because in the words of my teacher¡­ ¡®You can lose to anyone except that bastard''¡±

    Sophie covered her mouth and tried her best not tough as Astrid continued to tell tales about her trials and tribtions over the summer.

    It sounded as though she had been through a lot.

    Sophie would asionally interject with a story of her own since her summer had also been nothing but eventful.

    From the monster that had hatched on the vacation to the assassination plot that targeted Cleo on Gaia¡­

    Actually, thinking about it¡­ ever since she gone to university¡­ Did she ever have just a peaceful experience for a long length of time?

    Maybe the time between her return from the Unovan Syndicate and the end of the second semester of first year but she had to spend most of that time studying or in therapy.

    Man¡­ she needed an actual vacation.

    The two girls continued to talk and soon a pleasant atmosphere filled the strange caf¨¦.

    There was no hint of awkwardness between the two friends, and it was like as if they had never spent a few months apart.

    ¡°Should we get something to eat?¡± Sophie suggested as she reached for the menu that was lying down on the table.

    ¡°Sure, but how do you order?¡± Astrid asked curiously as she looked around the room and saw no waiters or employees to take their requests.

    ¡°Just point to whatever item on the menu that you want to try and say the word ¡®order¡¯,¡± Sophie replied casually as she opened the menu and looked at the different options.

    Little Rose¡¯s Caf¨¦ was primarily a dessert restaurant which meant that there was a variety of ice creams, sweet treats and other appetizing morsels that made Sophie¡¯s mouth fill with saliva.

    ¡°Is there anything that you rmend?¡± Astrid asked as she used her paws to flick through the menu.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe go with the cake variety slices¡­ it¡¯s basically a te filled with six different types of cake slices,¡± Sophie suggested thoughtfully.

    ¡°Wow that sounds great!¡± Astrid replied as her lips gently curved upwards. The Mendolesa girl pointed at the item on the menu and then said the word ¡®order¡¯.

    There was a brief moment of silence and then the door to the back of the caf¨¦ swung open and a humanoid figure walked out holding te with six cake slices.

    The figure was vaguely human except their skin was a dark green colour. It possessed three arms and one ck eye that sat in the middle of its forehead.

    The creature ced the te on the table and then gave a short bow before returning through the door that had just opened.

    ¡°Err¡­¡± Astrid looked at Sophie with confusion evident on her wolf-like face.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I also have no idea what race are the workers who help out here, but they are super polite and friendly,¡± Sophie replied with a gentle smile.

 Chapter 627

    Chapter 627: A Single Decision

    ¡°Wow this is delicious,¡± Astrid eximed joyfully as she reached for her fork and took anotherrge bite of the orange cake slice on her te.

    ¡°Told you,¡± Sophie replied with a cheerful wink. The hybrid girl used a spoon to dig into therge bowl of ice cream that was in front of her.

    She had ordered the deluxe ice cream Sunday which was a massive bowl filled with four scoops of vani, chocte and strawberry ice cream that was also topped up with sprinkles.

    There was also a banana, three cherries and a rich chocte sauce sttered on the top of the ice cream with tiny nuts hidden inside the gooey liquid.

    It was a good thing that a cure for diabetes had been found thousands of years ago!

    Sophie dug into the vani part of the ice cream Sunday and put the spoon to her lips. A burst of sweet and cold vour exploded in her mouth.

    ¡°So, Sophie¡­ how are you feeling about being made captain?¡± Astrid asked curiously as she tried another slice of cake.

    ¡°Well¡­ it is a bit of pressure,¡± Sophie truthfully admitted as she ced the spoon in her hand down on a napkin.

    ¡°I am the head representative of the first years and that means that any group events during thepetition will have me appointed as the leader.¡±

    ¡°It also means that any failures will be on me as well¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t see it like that!¡± Astrid interrupted Sophie as she banged her furry paw on the table.

    ¡°I got your back! And Cleo and Qiana are also on your team as well! We¡¯ll beat up everyone from the other universities!¡±

    Sophie smiled since she could not help but get infected by her friend¡¯s enthusiasm. Maybe Astrid was right¡­

    Yes, she would be med for any failures but on the flip side she would be praised for the sesses.

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ if I want to follow in my father¡¯s footsteps and be a militarymander in the Imperial Army then I need to get used to the leadership role,¡± Sophie spoke seriously.

    ¡°Is that what you want?¡± Astrid questioned as she took another bite of cake.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I intend to serve in the army just like my father and then¡­ well I¡¯m not really too sure to be honest,¡± Sophie replied after the giving the matter some thought.

    ¡°Well, no need to rush¡­ I mean my life is basically going to be full of studying and other boring stuff for the next ten to twenty-five years,¡± Astrid sighed heavily as her tail slowly drooped.

    ¡°To be a full-fledged mage required passing an exam that tests both practical and theoretical applications of magic.¡±

    ¡°Archmages on the other hand¡­ let¡¯s just say that the youngest one in the history of the Federation was seven hundred years old.¡±

    Sophie stretched out her hand and gave her friend two quick pats of sympathy on the shoulder.

    To be a mage did not require just strength alone but rather vast amounts of knowledge and the recognition of the council of mages.

    The pair sat in the caf¨¦ and made light conversation until their tes were eventually empty.

    Sophie raised up her hand and another creature walked through the open door at the back of the room.

    ¡°How would you like to pay? Separate bills or just one?¡± the creature hissed in a low raspy voice as its ck eye slowly blinked.

    ¡°Put it on my tab,¡± Sophie raised up her wristmunicator and sent the credits to the device in the waiter¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thanks, rich girl but I¡¯ll pay for our next day out,¡± Astrid winked slyly at her friend who rolled her eyes.

    ¡°I hope that you enjoyed your experience with us. Please do not hesitate to leave a positive review on the Virtual Net,¡± the waiter bowed politely and then left the room.

    ¡°What a strange fellow¡­¡± Astrid whispered softly as she stared at the vaguely humanoid alien¡¯s departing back.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ well there are all types in the universe,¡± Sophie replied casually as she got her stuff and walked towards the exit.

    Astrid hummed thoughtfully and tossed onest look at the creature before following her friend outside.

    It was now the evening, and the sun was already beginning to set towards the horizon.

    A cold chilly breeze brushed against the two girls¡¯ faces but they both did not mind.

    ¡°I think there is a pond nearby¡­ we can just rx and chill there for a few hours,¡± Astrid suggested as she checked her wristmunicator.

    ¡°Yeah, that sounds good,¡± Sophie replied as she stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily. After a long day of training using the bow and arrows¡­ it felt good to be able to just rx.

    The pair walked through the outskirts of the city in afortable silence.

    Sophie would asionally ask Astrid¡¯s questions about her life and the Mendolesa girl would answer them and response with questions of her own.

    Twenty minutes passed and eventually they arrived at the grassy outskirts of argeke.

    There were several benches along thekeshore and trees had been nted as well to provide shade beneath the benches.

    Clearly, they were not the only ones with the idea to spend the evening rxing by theke since there were many families and couples ying near the water.

    Astrid pointed in a certain direction and Sophie follow her w using her eyes.

    She saw an empty bench right on the side of a tall tree whose branches and leaves drooped ever so slightly downwards.

    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Astrid let out a sigh of contentment as she sat down on the bench and made some room for Sophie to sit down.

    ¡°Hey Sophie?¡± the Mendolesa girl suddenly spoke.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Sophie replied with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°Do you ever think that your life would bepletely different if it wasn¡¯t for a single decision that you made?¡± Astrid curiously asked.

    ¡°I guess so¡­ but what do you mean?¡± Sophie replied with a bit of confusion evident on her face.

    ¡°Well, I originally nned to wait a year and then try out for the university entrance exams but if I did that then I never would have met you or Qiana or Rachel,¡± Astrid mused thoughtfully.

    Sophie closed her eyes and thought about the decisions in her life. Was there a big moment like that?

    Yes, there was.

    The decision that she made to practise the Spider Whisper Art. That single decision had changed the course of her life forever.

    Now her body was more like a member of the Arachnais race, she was the most powerful freshman in Zrudread University, and she became the vessel of the hunter goddess.

    Did she ever regret that choice?

    Maybe sometimes¡­ it was good to have power, but Sophie knew that her life had be significantly more dangerous because of it.

    Especially the part where she became a vessel for some ancient eldritch type being who lived beyond the walls of this universe.

 Chapter 628: A New Request...

    <h2 style="font-size: 22.4px;">?628 A New Request...</h2>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Headquarters Of The ck Rose Hunter Guild)

    After Sophie said her goodbyes to Astrid, she continued to wander around the city absentmindedly with many thoughts on her mind.

    It was good to see her friend again.

    Astrid was a ball of sunshine who brightened up the day of everyone around her.

    Sophie was very thankful that she had met the cheerful Mendolesa girl during the entrance exam because she could scarcely imagine not having such a close friendship.

    Night had fallen and the city was now illuminated by the streemps that were present along the sides of the road.

    Sophie''s shadow stretched out behind her body as she slowly walked through the street and checked her wristmunicator.

    She saw that there was an unread message in her inbox that had been sent around three hours ago from her girlfriend.

    Cleo: [How was your day out with Astrid?]

    Sophie: [Great! She felt pretty lonely over the summer vacation without us here on campus, so it was good to catch up with her]

    Sophie: [We have ns to hit the virtual reality arcade next weekend.]

    Sophie: [How have you been though babe? Sleeping, okay?]

    The hybrid girl stared at hermunicator for a few minutes but did not receive a reply.

    Well, that made sense¡­ right now on Gaia it should be three or four in the morning.

    A cold breeze brushed against the Sophie''s face as she looked up and discovered that she was near a building that resembled a fortress.

    The building had sturdy walls, mounted sma cannons and robotic guards that patrolled the nearby area.

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened, and she could see green vines wrapped around the outer walls of the fortress with several ck roses swaying happily in the wind.

    There was a pleasant scenting from the flowers that made her feel a bit lightheaded and very rxed.

    She recognised this ce.

    It was the headquarters of the ck Rose Hunter Guild.

    This was the mercenary organisation that she had joined with Cleo during her first year of university.

    Hmm¡­ it had been quite some time since she had taken a mission. It didn''t hurt to go inside and take a look, right?

    Sophie walked up to the heavily guarded entrance and reached into her storage bag to take out her student ID card.

    Out of the corner of her eye she could sense several of the sma turrets swirling around to point in her direction.

    She pressed the card against the scanner on the door and soon two loud bleeps could be hearding from the speaker nearby.

    Sophie pushed open the door and found herself standing at the entrance to a spacious hall with benches and chairs spaced out at regr intervals.

    Despite its grand appearance the atmosphere inside the guild was more like a friendly tavern.

    There were people of all different races, genders and species sitting down next to the tables and taking sips from the sses of beverages being handed out by the attractive servers.

    At the back of the hall was a row of offices separated from the rest of the room by reinforced ss panels.

    Each office was upied by a receptionist who politely spoke with the mercenaries standing in line.

    They acted as sort of middlemen between the clients who requested the services of the warriors in the hall and the mercenaries.

    Sophie nced in the corner of the hall and saw a massive wall that was over twenty feet in height with thin sheets of paper pinned on its surface.

    Each sheet of paper represented a request and asionally a mercenary would walk up to the wall and grab a sheet.

    They would then scan the code at the bottom of the paper using theirmunicator before returning it to the wall.

    It was a rtively old-fashioned process but apparently it was done intentionally.

    Sophie walked up to the board and moved past the section with one-star requests.

    Now that she was in thete stages of the qi tide stage, she could take more dangerous assignments.

    Wait¡­ why would she?<sub> </sub>

    Sure, the money and the rewards would be worth her time, but she was the daughter of a duke¡­ money really wasn''t an issue.

    No¡­ I can''t be a coward.

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and forced herself to look at the three star and four star ranked requests posted on the right side of the wall.

    Four stars was probably her limit.

    The most dangerous of the targets on the wall were in the early tote stages of the void stage and they were definitely not enemies that she was capable of facing¡­ at least not yet.

    Sophie hummed softly as she reached for a request about a terrorist group operating using a mining colony as a military base.

    [Boring]

    A cold disinterested voice echoed in Sophie''s mind which caused the hybrid girl to pause her movements with her hand mere inches away from the sheet of paper.

    [Hi, my lovely vessel¡­ did you enjoy myst gift?]

    [My priestess said that you deserved a reward, so I used a bit of my power to give you a chance to reunite with your mother.]

    The voice switched from t to an excited tone as the hunter goddess continued to boast about her great reward.

    "Thank you. It was good to see my mom for the first time," Sophie softly whispered under her breath.

    Despite her conflicted feelings towards the entity who acted as her patron deity¡­ Sophie appreciated her gesture.

    [So¡­ naturally you must wish to honour me!]

    [Do not worry¡­ I have heard your inner thoughts and I know that you appreciate my gift so much that you would like to do something for me.]

    [Please select that request and make sure to sacrifice the body of the strongest enemy you face]

    Sophie''s arm twitched and before she could react, she found herself moving without being in control of her body.

    Her hand grabbed a sheet not from the upper-level requests but from the lower end. Sophie nced at the sheet of paper and her brows furrowed in confusion.

    A one-star request? And it only involved finding a missing pet in the sewer system below a a few days away.

    "What''s the catch?" Sophie hesitantly asked as she gripped the piece of paper with trembling fingers.

    [I expect great things from you my favourite vessel! But of course, I won''t be giving you any special treatment¡­]

    [You only have one month.]

    The goddess giggled in her mind and then her presence vanished just as quickly as she had appeared.

    Sophie opened her mouth and softly called out a few times for the entity, but her questions remained unanswered.

    Instead, she got a few strange looks from the mercenary sitting down on a chair next to the wall.

    "Geez¡­dy¡­ if you''re that lonely you can talk to me," the Mendolesa man raised up his ss and gave Sophie a flirtish wink.

    "Yeah¡­ no thanks," Sophie curtly replied.

    The man shrugged his shoulders and then called out to another female warrior across the room using simr lines.

    "Hey gorgeous you look lonely! Want to talk to me?"

    Sophie rolled her eyes and focused her attention back on the sheet of paper in her hand.

    Now this may seem like an easy request, but she knew that nothing was as it seemed with the hunter goddess.

    There was no way that bloodthirsty entity would be satisfied with her finding some pet and returning it to their lost owners.

    "Damn¡­ knew I should have gone straight home," Sophie muttered to herself as she reluctantly tilted her wristmunicator downwards and scanned the code on the bottom of the sheet.

    "Lady¡­ Why are you still talking to yourself? I told you¡­ I''m avail¡­" the Mendolesa man tried his luck a second time.

    "Still a firm no," Sophie responded calmly as she got up and left the hall.

    "Damn¡­ guess it''s another lonely night," the Mendolesa man sighed as he drank another sip of the strong wine and felt the burning liquid slide down his throat.

    Well at least there was always old reliable.

    He took a nce at his right paw and let out another heavy sigh.

 Chapter 629: Sophies Training Continues

    <h2 style="font-size: 22.4px;">?629 Sophie''s Training Continues</h2>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University Main Campus- Private Training Centre)

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    Three arrows shot towards a target over four hundred metres away.

    Each arrow moved fast almost like a blur, and they uratelynded one after the other in the center of the target.

    Sophie gently lowered the bow in her right hand and let out a heavy sigh.

    She nocked another arrow using the string on the bow and aimed it at a target six hundred metres away.

    Swish!

    She released the tensed-up string and the arrow shot forward. This time itnded just outside the outer edge of the centre.

    Slow but steady progress.

    Thanks to her rtively high cultivation level, Sophie had excellent hand-eye coordination and onlycked familiarity with her new weapon.

    "Moon¡­ why is life so difficult?" Sophie asked her frostwing bat who was currently lying down in the shade of a nearby tree.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Tell me about it¡­ I just want to go back home and rx¡­)

    Sophie rolled her eyes at herzy pet''s antics and then returned to her task of shooting arrows at the different targets until her uracy improved.

    "I just don''t understand how trouble seems to find me wherever I go¡­ the hunter goddess said that I would have no more tasks until the void stage and then¡­" Sophie''s voice trailed off.

    "And then suddenly I have some new quest to go and sacrifice the body of the strongest enemy that I encounter in the sewers beneath a far away!"

    "With only one month toplete the task!"

    The hybrid girl felt a surge of annoyance in her heart, and she took her anger out on the poor motionless targets in the distance.

    Thud! Thud!

    Moon pped his wings a few times and shot his mistress a sympathetic look. He got up from the ground and flew towards her.

    Sophie''s lips gently curved upwards and her mood felt a bit better as her petnded on her head and began to y with her hair.

    "Thanks Moon¡­ but you still need to do some training today," Sophieughed mischievously as she raised up her hand and tickled the underside of Moon''s stomach.

    Her frostwing bat trembled since he was very ticklish. He quickly flew out of Sophie''s yful grasp and let out a shrill cry ofint.

    "No mister! If I have to train then you have to train as well," Sophie immediately addressed Moon''s excuse.

    The frostwing bat let out a weary sigh as he flew towards the other side of the field and activated his frozen domain ability.

    <o>,m The temperature immediately plummeted, and frost could be seen forming on the ground near Moon''s surroundings.</o>

    Despite hiszy attitude, Moon was quite impressive and disyed abilities much stronger than a typical frostwing bat of his age.

    He pped his wings several times and several sharp icicles formed in the air around his body.

    Moon concentrated and the icicles shot forward towards a humanoid target in front of him.

    The target never stood a chance.<sub> </sub>

    The icicles prated its outer surface and frost began to spread from where the newly created holes were in its body.

    Sophie whistled appreciatively as she gave her pet a few ps of encouragement. Moon raised up his head proudly and shook his furry tail from side to side.

    The hybrid girl smiled and then walked over to a nearby bench to sit down. After a few hours of non-stop training, it was time to take a break.

    Four days had passed since her first training session with Professor Macabre and tomorrow she would be learning new poison techniques tobine with her bow skills.

    It would interesting¡­

    Sophie enjoyed poison cultivation quite a lot sincepared to the other types since she had a real talent for it.

    Plus, it helped that her body was capable of naturally synthesizing extremely potent venom from the toxins that she ingested.

    Honestly aside from the unexpected request from the hunter goddess¡­ things were generally looking pretty optimistic.

    The inter university tournament would begin sometime in October and Sophie was quietly confident about her chances of bing number one.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and checked the details about the one-star request for what must have been the seventh time today.

    The missing pet was located in the sewers beneath the capital city of a called Rn''rn.

    It was located around five days away from Eleron so if all went well, she would be back in the university around eleven or so days after setting off.

    And she only had a month.

    Sophie sighed heavily as she read the request again. There was one detail about the request that made no sense.

    The client had not put a description of his so-called ''missing pet'' anywhere on the sheet of paper where it was written down.

    Sophie had sent out a message to a representative of the ck Rose Hunter''s guild but had not received a reply yet.

    How was she supposed to look for someone''s pet if the owner did not provide a physical description of the animal or even a name?

    The hybrid girl leaned against the back of the bench and felt the warm rays of sunlight brush against her face.

    There were two other people in the training center, but they were practice sparring in the far corner of the open field, so Sophie enjoyed a rtive peacefulness in her area.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Her wristmunicator vibrated slightly, and she saw a few iing messages from her girlfriend back home.

    Cleo: [Hey babe¡­ did you find out more about the request?]

    Sophie: [No¡­ not yet¡­ honestly this whole thing seems rather fishy and that''s even before the hunter goddess got involved]

    Cleo: [It always is my dear. It always is. Anyways I''ve been missing you a lot¡­ have you been missing me?]

    Sophie: [Come one¡­ you know that I miss and love you. The bed is so empty these days¡­]

    The hybrid girl smirked as she flirted with her girlfriend over the virtual Net for a few more minutes before saying her goodbyes.

    There was no need to rush at least not yet toplete the hunter goddess'' request, so Sophie nned to train a bit more with Professor Macabre before applying for leave.

    And since the hunter goddess had not forbidden the use of outside help, Sophie nned to ask her friends if they wanted to tag along.

    Hopefully it would only take a day toplete the task, but Sophie knew that things had a funny way of always turning out for the worst.

 Chapter 630: First Day Of Classes

    Chapter 630: First Day Of sses

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    ¡°Oh, hey Plume¡­ how was your vacation?¡± Sophie casually spoke to the Servie boy who was flying by her side.

    ¡°I just spent it trying to train them¡­¡± Plume sighed heavily as he pointed to the mass of furry creatures walking behind him.

    Plume was unique in thebat beast cultivation ss since he did not own a singr pet because he was training to be a beast tide controller.

    The dozens of tiny fur balls each no bigger than the size of a marble following his body were known as Xephyres.

    They were a species ofbat beasts capable of merging together andbining to form different shapes.

    Obviously, their fighting skills were nothing to boast about, but their versatility made them quite useful in most situations.

    ¡°That¡¯s sounds good¡­ I¡¯ve been trying to get thiszy bum to practice more with me but he¡¯s always so ¡®tired¡¯,¡± Sophie replied with a small smile as she reached into her pocket for a treat.

    ¡°Hey Moon! Catch!¡±

    The hybrid girl tossed the small treat in the air and Moon immediately leapt from her shoulders and rushed for the snack.

    He opened his jaw wide to reveal dozens of razor-sharp teeth that gleamed fiercely under the sunlight.

    With a loud chomp, the frostwing bat swallowed the treat whole and then returned to his master¡¯s shoulder with a proud look on his furry face.

    ¡°Okay¡­ that was kind of terrifying¡­¡± Plume hesitantly spoke as he slowly drifted away from out of Moon¡¯s reach.

    Since he was a member of the Servie race, Moon was actually much bigger than him and one bite would be all it took to end his entire existence.

    Sophie continued to make small talk with Plume as they walked further into therge park.

    They were not particrly close friends or anything, but she usually talked to him in ss.

    Actually, there were a lot of people like that in university. Not exactly friends but Sophie had no problem making casual conversation with them.

    As the daughter of a duke, she needed to learn and practise how to form connections and good rtionships with other people.

    Massively tall trees appeared on both sides of the pathway and the ground beneath their feet was covered with soft green grass.

    The beautiful scenic sights of nature were everywhere to be found and Sophie found it oddly peaceful to strode through the park.

    Today was the first day of lessons.

    The campus was now buzzing with activity since most of the students had returned to Eleron for the start of the semester.

    Sophie had spent thest two weeks before the semester had begun working on her poison cultivation techniques with Professor Macabre.

    While it would be an exaggeration to say that she had mastered them¡­ Sophie felt very optimistic about the future.

    She was making steady progress and if all went well, she should have some new tricks up her sleeve for the inter universitypetition.

    Eventually the pair arrived at arge clearing in the forest where several students were already lying down on the grass with theirbat pets by their sides.

    Big and small.

    Cute and scary looking.

    Terrestrial and flying.

    Sophie saw a wide variety of animals and even some nts who were capable of using their roots to move about.

    She said goodbye to Plume and then walked towards a noble girl elegantly leaning against a nearby tree with an enormous dog only a few feet away.

    The noble girl wore an expensive ck dress and a pair ofbat boots that went surprisingly well with her outfit.

    Of course, most people¡¯s attention would not be on her appearance but rather on the huge twelve feet tall hell hound with three heads.

    The creature had dark ck fur and the three heads would asionally spew out mes whenever they exhaled.

    ¡°Luna! It¡¯s been so long!¡± Sophie walked up to her friend and enthusiastically gave her a big hug.

    ¡°Sophie¡­ it really has been some time,¡± Luna did not seem bothered by Sophie¡¯sck of manners as her lips gently curved upwards.

    ¡°How had ckie been?¡± Sophie asked as she broke away from the hug and walked over to the massive dog without a hint of fear in her expression.

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s been good. I managed to teach him some new fire techniques over the summer,¡± Luna proudly spoke as she watched Sophie pet her dog¡¯s middle head.

    The hybrid girl spread her love out evenly and touched each head on the snout before turning away from the animal.

    She always had a soft spot for dogs.

    The two girls began to chat about their vacation and the current political situation in the Federation.

    Luna¡¯s family much like House Peterlor were remaining the neutral in the fight for session but were currently leaning towards the crown prince.

    That was not to say that they were throwing their weight behind him but rather that they were preparing for his eventual victory.

    ¡°But how can your dad be sure? I mean the fight is between thousands of candidates¡­ who knows what could happen¡­¡± Sophie pointed out in a calm tone.

    ¡°I mean obviously we can¡¯t be one hundred percent certain, but the crown prince has the cultivation strength and the connections to be a great leader,¡± Luna replied with a small yawn.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him in person but apparently he¡¯s incredibly handsome and knows how to charm people.¡±

    ¡°My dad saw him in a noble gathering, and he said that all eyes in the banquet hall were on him¡­ he has the presence of an emperor.¡±

    ¡°Well, he can¡¯t be worse than thest one, right?¡± Sophie jokingly said as her eyes nced at Moon who was now yfully taunting the twelve feet tall hellhound.

    ¡°Thete Emperor Sisrelis actually wasn¡¯t that bad at first¡­ in the early years of his rule he stopped two civil wars and reformed part of the noble system,¡± Luna thoughtfully spoke.

    Sophie was honestly a bit surprised to hear this since she had only known thete Emperor as a lustful old fool.

    Well maybe she shouldn¡¯t have been surprised¡­

    The problem was that as seen in history many times before. Power had a nasty habit of corrupting those who wielded it.

    Sophie and Luna continued to talk for a few more minutes until a loud rustling noise came from the far corner of the clearing.

    Several thick green vines slithered on the ground almost like snakes towards a tree that looked no different from the others present in the forest.

    Its bark opened up to reveal a beautiful humanoid alien dressed in a skirt made of green leaves.

    Her skin was ashen grey with small bumpy scales that run up her arms and a slender tail almost like a whip that jutted out of her lower back.

    Her most notable features were on her face.

    She had three eyes that were dark orange in colour with pink pupils and ack of a visible nose.

    ¡°Wee back ss¡­¡± Professor Ward spoke with a slight ent.

    ¡°I must first congratte you all for sessfully entering your second year at Zrudread University and bing or staying a member of the elite ss.¡±

    ¡°I see a couple new faces here so I would once again like to congratte you for reaching this level.¡±

    ¡°Please continue to work hard and you will see results.¡±

 Chapter 631: New Techniques And A Fatal Weakness

    Chapter 631: New Techniques And A Fatal Weakness

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    ¡°Now that you have already established a strong bond between yourself and yourbat beast, it is time to move on to more advanced techniques,¡± Professor Ward calmly spoke.

    ¡°Your enemies know that the one fatal weakness of everybat beast is their master. Kill the master and the beasts will be disoriented.¡±

    ¡°Therefore, you must ensure that your own personal safety is notpromised or threatened during a fight.¡±

    Sophie propped up her body against a nearby tree and began to jot down notes using the pen and notebook in her hand.

    It was a bit old fashioned, but she found that writing down notes while the lecturing was going on helped her to focus.

    Professor Ward¡¯s slender tail gently swayed from side to side as she gestured with her hand and a creature strode out of the forest.

    The beast was around seven feet tall and bore a striking resemnce to the ancient Earth animal known as the crocodile.

    Its maw opened slightly to reveal razor sharp teeth and the green scales that lined its body provided a great deal of armoured protection.

    ¡°Now I will demonstrate one of the techniques,¡± Professor Ward whispered as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a ster pistol.

    The beautiful professor held up the pistol to her temple and then her greyish finger pulled the trigger without hesitation.

    Bang!

    A loud shot echoed through the forest and therge crocodile-like beast slumped slightly as a hole appeared in the side of its head.

    The wound quickly regenerated, and one could see pinkish flesh and muscle tissues painfully stitching back together.

    Professor Ward tilted her head to the side to show her students that despite firing the gun at such close range¡­

    She waspletely unharmed.

    ¡°Life-locking is a technique that can transfer wounds, negative status effects such as poison and burns from yourself to yourbat beast,¡± Professor Ward said in a serious tone.

    ¡°Of course, this technique can also be used the other way, but I do not rmend that you do so unless you have a quick regeneration skill.¡±

    ¡°This technique should always be used as ast resort¡­ it is basically a way to cheat death or avoid a fatal blow.¡±

    ¡°Keep in mind that should your beast die¡­ you will obviously be unable to transfer any more wounds to its corpse.¡±

    Sophie watched as the professor waved her hand and therge crocodile-like monster crawled away into the nearby forest.

    Moon was not paying attention to the demonstration since he was currently perched on ckie¡¯s left head and taking a nap.

    The hybrid girl looked at herzy little frostwing bat and a few thoughts shed across her mind.

    If she was about to die¡­ would she be able to transfer her injuries to Moon?

    Honestly Sophie prayed that she would never have to make that choice.

    She would much rather transfer Moon¡¯s injuries to her own body since her wounds regenerated quite quickly.

    Professor Ward¡¯s three eyes blinked rapidly, and she reached into her pocket to pull out a bottle of eye drops.

    While she was distracted Luna leaned closer to Sophie and whispered in her friend¡¯s ear, ¡°So what do you think of that technique?¡±

    ¡°I hope that I never have to use it,¡± Sophie replied as her eyes flicked over to Moon¡¯s position for a second time.

    ¡°Same¡­ ckie¡­ he¡¯s been with me since he was just a small pup. My mom got me him to protect me before I was even born,¡± Luna replied with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t hellhounds pretty rare?¡± Sophie asked curiously.

    ¡°Yep¡­ they aren¡¯t naturally born. You need to cross the DNA of an extremely rare species of canis lupus and the DNA of a me ¡®demon¡¯,¡± Luna boasted proudly.

    ¡°The starting price on the market is two billion. My mom had to sell several of her favourite properties in order to buy him.¡±

    Sophie nodded and opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Professor Ward resuming her lecture.

    The hybrid girl returned to her notetaking and shot Luna a small smile. It was actually kind of crazy how her perception of money was¡­ a bit warped.

    Sophie knew that her family was basically the top echelon of society but when did she start feeling nothing when hearing about something that cost two billion?

    Hmm¡­ maybe this was something to think about in the future.

    The rest of the day proceeded pretty uneventfully as Sophie finished up her sses and walked around the campus.

    Cleo was still in her mech controller ss, Astrid was locked up in the mage tower and Qiana was¡­ somewhere.

    The hybrid girl nced at her wristmunicator and saw that it was around four o¡¯ clock in the afternoon.

    Well, there was plenty of time left before Cleo¡¯s sses ended so what should she do now?

    Sophie opened up a holographic map of the campus and searched for the library.

    She discovered that there was one only a short ten-minute walk away, so she headed towards it.

    There was still the matter of the one-star mission toplete as well as the hunter goddess¡¯ mysterious request.

    Therefore, she needed to do some extra studying to make sure that she didn¡¯t fall behind after she took her leave.

    Sophie politely nodded at the students who stopped and stared at her.

    There were even some nervous freshmen peeking behind some bushes where they thought that she couldn¡¯t see them.

    Apparently, some members of her year had already scared the new iing students with tales of her terrifying battle prowess.

    Had it really been one year already?

    It seemed like just yesterday she was a fresh-faced youth stepping onto campus for the first time and excited for her life in university.

    Now she was an old and jaded¡­ second year.

    Sophie¡¯s lips curved upwards as sheughed at her ridiculous thought. She was too young to be thinking about things like that despite her¡­ numerous life experiences.

    Arge building carved out of white marble loomed up ahead. Several massive statues were nted along each side of the pathway that led to the building.

    Each statue was carved in the image of a great warrior or schr. The warriors had ferocious looks on their faces and held weapons in their palms.

    The stone schrs in contrast held books or sheets of parchment with calm, peaceful expressions on their faces.

    Sophie walked up a flight of stairs and entered the building. The inside of the library wasposed of massive halls connected by tunnels that led from one room to the other.

    The walls of the facility were lined with bookshelves from end to end. There must have been millions of books inside the library.

    The books were there to preserve the original copies of the material and not to be taken out by the students.

    On the ground of the library were pods of varying sizes. Inside each pod was a screen and a machine that was connected to the digital archives.

    One could even print out copies of whatever book that they wished to take home. Of course, they would need permission and it would depend on the information inside.

    Since it was the first day of sses, the library was pretty empty, and Sophie only spotted a few students wandering around in the corner of the hall.

    She walked over to the receptionist area and saw a pretty girl with bright pink hair who was behind one of the desks.

    ¡°Hi! Wee to the library! How can I help you?¡± the girl asked politely as Sophie walked over.

    Her eyes briefly nced at her hybrid features, but she maintained the professional smile on her face.

    ¡°Good afternoon. I was just looking for any notes or practice tests for second year poison cultivation and beast controller courses,¡± Sophie replied with a friendly nod.

    ¡°The practice tests can be found on the first area, but private notes are restricted to only students in the elite ss,¡± the receptionist replied.

    ¡°Oh¡­ well I am a member of the elite ss so can you point me in the direction of the section?¡± Sophie asked with a hint of bemusement in her eyes.

    Maybe she wasn¡¯t as famous or well known as she thought.

    Her suspicions were proven correct as the receptionist immediately asked for her name and student ID number.

    The pink haired girl clicked away at theputer and pulled up a picture of the hybrid girl standing in front of her.

    Sophie Peterlor¡­ Sophie¡­ wait¡­ she was the number one second year?

    Huh¡­ maybe she should go out of the library a bit more¡­

    The receptionist opened her mouth and spoke to Sophie with a bit more respect in her tone,

    ¡°I do apologise for the inconvenience. It is our policy to just double check the information to ensure that only students in the elite ss are able to enter the restricted sections.¡±

    ¡°Please take this card and do return it to me when you exit the library. Do not give this card to other students.¡±

    Sophie took a small white card from the girl and thanked her as she pointed in a northeastern direction.

    Alright! Now it was time to hit the books!

 Chapter 632: A Sudden Attack!

    Chapter 632: A Sudden Attack!

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Main Campus- Library)

    The library was much bigger than what Sophie had originally estimated, and it took her around forty minutes to walk through the massive halls.

    Finally, she arrived at a long corridor connected to the back of one of the halls. At the end of the corridor was a Mendolesa elder who leaned against the wall.

    He was clearly some kind of guard, but he wore nothing more than a simple brown cloak and did not appear to be carrying any weapons.

    Behind the guard was another area of the library.

    Sophie couldn¡¯t see all of the room but there didn¡¯t seem to be many students inside.

    She walked towards the guard and showed him the in white card that the receptionist had given her.

    The Mendolesa elder reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rod-shaped cylinder.

    He pointed the machine at the card and a beam of green light was emitted from the tip of the device.

    The card vibrated slightly in response to the light and then the guard turned it off.

    The Mendolesa elder gestured towards the room and shifted his body to the side to allow Sophie to pass.

    The hybrid girl gave him a friendly nod and then walked past. She entered a new hall that looked quite different from the other parts of the library.

    Everything screamed opulence and wealth.

    The books shelves were made out of the finest woods and contained golden carvings in beautiful patterns.

    Diamond encrusted chandeliers hung from the ceiling and there was a soft gentle melody of music that echoed through the hall.

    The pods on the ground were much more expensive that the ones outside this area and could fit evenrger groups of students.

    Sophie even saw one that could fit a group of one hundred! That would be quite therge study session!

    She walked towards one of the smaller pods and pressed her hands against the white smooth surface.

    A door opened up on the other side of the pod, so Sophie walked around and then entered. The pod¡¯s door mmed shut and then a gentle white light illuminated the interior.

    Sophie looked around the pod and it almost felt as though she had stepped inside a five-star hotel room.

    The floor of the pod was covered in a soft fuzzy carpet. There was a mini fridge stocked up with beverages.

    She saw a massage chair in the corner of the space as well as arge desk and chair covered in memory foam.

    In the center of the room was arge screen that was connected to a console. There was a device next to the screen with sheets of paper sticking out of the top.

    Sophie assumed that the device was used for printing out physical copies of whatever material the students wished to take home.

    There was technically a loophole in the rules of the library for elite students.

    While they were unable to give permission or use their status to allow members of the ordinary ss to enter the restricted zone¡­

    They could print out information and hand it out to them outside of the library. However, this rarely happened.

    Thepetitive nature of cultivation universities meant that it was extremely beneficial to keep advantages to oneself.

    Students in the elite ss had ess to better resources and cultivation techniques so why would they wantpetitors threatening to take away their spot.

    The hybrid girl looked around the room for a second time and then walked towards the console.

    The screen flickered to life and a simple search bar appeared in the middle of a field of white.

    Sophie typed out the words ¡®Second year notes- Poison Cultivation¡¯ using the keyboard next to the console and then pressed enter.

    A long list of titles appeared on the screen, and it had been organised quite well in a simple and straightforward manner.

    The author of each title was listed as well as their ss ranking and how much of the semester their notes actually covered.

    Sophie sorted the listed from high to low based on the ss ranking and looked at the top five titles.

    There was one from a student who ced third in the whole year, but his notes only covered half of the first semester.

    The students who ced fifth, and seventh had notes for both semesters. Then finally eighth and eleventh ce had iplete notes that covered the second semester.

    Sophie did not bother to check out the notes from those who scored lower.

    Unfortunately, it looked like not all students in previous years wanted to submit their private notes to the library so first and second ce were nowhere to be found.

    Well at least the third ce had the notes for the first half of this semester which was around the time that she would miss thanks to the mission.

    Sophie highlighted his title along with the fifth and seventh ced students. She pressed print and the machine next to the console spluttered to life.

    The hybrid girl repeated the process for the beast controller courses and to her surprise she discovered that the first, second, third and fourth ced students had leftpleted notes.

    And they were for both semesters!

    Well, it made sense.

    Beast controller sses only had one exam on the theory aspects, and it did not count for much of the final grade.

    Sophie hummed cheerfully as she highlighted the notes and waited for the machine to finish printing.

    She did not have to wait for long as the machine outputted the notes in the form of books with hardcovers.

    On the hardcover was the author¡¯s name as well as a synopsis of the contents inside of the book.

    Sophie picked up the books and then ced them in her storage bag. This entire process had been much faster than she had initially anticipated.

    Hmm¡­ she had some time now¡­

    Should she begin reading?

    Sophie was tempted to start studying but she had already had a long day of sses and was starting to feel a bit tired.

    Maybe it would be best if she studiedter tonight after she took a shower and felt a bit more refreshed.

    The hybrid girl stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily. She walked over to thefortable chair covered in memory foam and sat down.

    The material stretched and amodated her unusual physiology, so she felt quite rxed.

    Sophie tilted her wristmunicator upwards and absentmindedly began to browse the virtual.

    She shifted past thetest entertainment news and then froze as she saw an article that was rapidly climbing up the trending page.

    Attention! All Citizens In The Gamoran Sector!

    The Insectoid Empire Has Attacked!

    Sophie hurriedly clicked the article and was greeted with images of devastateds and mutted bodies.

    The Insectoid Empire had pierced through the Federation¡¯s defenses in the Gamoran Sector and were now rapidly advancing.

    The Imperial Army had dered a state of emergency and now reinforcements were already being sent to fight off the invading fleet.

    Sophie looked through the images of the attack and felt her mood sour as she looked at one of the photos.

    This photo showed an army of Insectoid rushing towards a human settlement.

    The creatures in the photograph seemed to be driven mad with bloodlust and were covered in the corpses of Imperial Army soldiers.

 Chapter 633: The Grand Admiral

    Chapter 633: The Grand Admiral

    (Alpha Star System- Lunar Colony Steron- 56 Delta)

    (Headquarters Of The Imperial Army)

    ¡°Where is Commander Crawley?¡± a hoarse masculine voice echoed through the room and sent shivers down the spines of the men and women inside.

    No one dared to even make a single sound.

    An elderly man wearing a long ck cloak with numerous medals strewn on his chest sat down in a chair.

    His sharp greyish-blue eyes swept the room and even though there were wrinkles on his hands and face¡­ he was anything but weak.

    A sharp predatory aura surrounded his body.

    Even among the officers of the Imperial Army, this man was someone to be feared.

    Grand Admiral Cooper¡­ also known as the ¡®Butcher¡¯.

    A bloodthirsty demon tasked with subduings when the natives were ¡®uncooperative¡¯.

    Not all alien civilisations wanted to join the Earth Federation and soldiers like Grand Admiral Cooper were deployed to ¡®persuade¡¯ them to the cause.

    His methods were brutal.

    There were few in the room that did not know about his history of massacres.

    In one case an entire alien species had gone extinct after the grand admiral determined that they were too troublesome to break.

    And now this monster was not happy.

    The admiral opened his mouth and asked a simple question,

    ¡°How is it possible that tens in the Gamoran Sector were attacked by the Insectoid Empire and not one single person can exin to me how they managed to slip past our defenses?¡±

    ¡°The news has already been leaked on the Virtual Net, so the entire universe knows about our ipetence.¡±

    ¡°Now themander of that sector has apparently gone missing! And not one of you bastards seems to want to say anything!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there like the useless sacks of shit that you are! Someone give a fucking suggestion about what to do next?¡±

    There was a brief moment of silence.

    One could only hear the faint sounds of breathing as the officers looked down at the ground and tried not to meet the admiral¡¯s sharp gaze.

    A young woman in the back of the room raised up her hand with her fingers trembling ever so slightly.

    ¡°We¡­ we¡­ can request reinforcements¡­¡± Lt. Anne hesitantly replied.

    ¡°The invasion should be repelled as long as a fleet of at least two hundred warships are dispatched.¡±

    ¡°No. The war with the Unovan Syndicate requires manpower¡­ there are simply no troops that can be spared,¡± the grand admiral softly growled.

    He nced at his wristmunicator and saw dozens of unread messages from the higher ups of the army.

    Senile old fools¡­

    The grand admiral got up from his chair and walked out of the room. He had no interest in continuing to talk with cowards.

    Only one single person offered a possible solution, and it was an impractical one.

    In some ways the victories made in the Unovan Syndicate were not a blessing but rather a curse since they concealed the rot inside the military.

    Thousands of years of domination meant that humanity had long forgotten the fear of extinction.

    Even the Insectoid Empire was not as big of a threat as most took them to be.

    Both sides were roughly equal in strength to the other which meant that a full-scale war was highly improbable.

    No one wanted a third party to intervene after what would certainly be a pyrrhic victory at best.

    The grand admiral made his way to his private quarters and pressed his thumb against the scanner.

    The metalloid doors swung open, and the heavy coppery scent of blood filled the air. A half naked humanoid alien with purple skiny helplessly on the ground.

    Heavy iron shackles had been ced on his body and his back was covered with nasty whip marks and scars.

    These wounds had not been cleaned properly so one could see small flecks of whitish pus beginning to form on the injuries.

    The grand admiral took off his cloak and sat down next to his prisoner. He gently touched the alien¡¯s back as his lips curved upwards.

    This brave alien used to be the leader of his civilisation¡¯s resistance army. Now he was nothing more than a ything.

    Cooper rubbed his temples as he felt the stress of the day wash over him. He really needed something to take his mind off the pressing issues at hand.

    He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a sharp scalpel with an edge that gleamed under the light hanging from the ceiling.

    The alien lying down on the bed had long lost his ability to speak and could only moan painfully as the de dug into his back and carved out chunks of flesh.

    ¡°Do you remember what you told me when I firstnded on your world?¡± Cooper softly whispered almost like a venomous snake.

    ¡°You told me that your people would never be ves. That you would resist until the very end¡­ and yet¡­ here you are¡­¡±

    ¡°Your mate is dead.¡±

    ¡°Your offsprings are dead.¡±

    ¡°Your world is now controlled by humanity.¡±

    The grand admiral would cut the alien¡¯s flesh at the end of every sentence so that his words would be carved into the creature¡¯s mind.

    This torture went on for several minutes until the alien mercifully fell unconscious. The grand admiral walked over to the kitchen area and washed his hands in the sink.

    Now that his mind was clear¡­ he would be able to think of what to do next.

    It would be a great humiliation and shame if the Insectoid Empire managed to capture over tens in the Gamoran Sector.

    There was only one of the two paths to take.

    The first was to immediately mount a counteroffensive and try to recapture thes.

    A costly affair to be sure and there was no guarantee that there would even be any survivors to be rescued.

    Reinforcements would have toe from mercenaries or private soldiers from the noble families in the sector.

    Truthfully the grand admiral had been exaggerating slightly when he said that no troops could be spared from the Unovan Syndicate front.

    The reality was that the gains made in the Unovan Syndicate controlled territory far outweighed the uselesss in the Gamoran sector.

    As for the second option.

    Well, it was quite simple¡­

    Orbital Bombardment.

    The Insectoid Empire¡¯s temporary bases and all of their foot soldiers on the captureds would be eliminated immediately.

    The disadvantage was that any civilians that survived the initial invasion would almost certainly be killed.

    Grand Admiral Cooper pursed his lips together and began to write up a report to the higher ups.

    He would be happy to lead the operation no matter which path they chose to take.

    It had been a long time since he had been sent on a campaign¡­

 Chapter 634

    Chapter 634: Important Military Secrets

    Daxton- Unknown Location)

    (Secret Military Base ¨C Private Room)

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­ I understand¡­ do it then¡­¡± a cold feminine voice muttered softly as a figure walked through a long winding corridor.

    She turned off her wristmunicator and tapped her palm against the scanners as she passed several heavily armed guards.

    The figure appeared to be a woman in her early thirties who wore a golden military styled jacket, ck track pants and a pair of heavybat boots.

    She was rtively attractive with sharp angr facial features and a lean muscr physique clearly a result of a lifetime of training.

    She was missing an eye, but it had been reced by a cybeic imnt that glowed slightly in the dark.

    Commander Arianna was the one responsible for dispatching secret military personnel to locations that were¡­ inconvenient for the normal troops of the Imperial Army.

    She wandered through several corridors and side passageways until she arrived at an unremarkable metalloid door that had been reinforced by several steel tes.

    ¡°Delta¡­ Alpha¡­ five¡­ three¡­ seven¡­¡± Commander Arianna slowly whispered as a green light swept over her body multiple times.

    A hole opened up in the centre of the door and without hesitation she stuck her right hand inside the opening.

    A small needle pricked one of her fingers and a syringe withdrew a small sample of blood from her body.

    This was an important safety measure to ensure that no one was impersonating her appearance.

    It was a necessity in a universe where numerous shapeshifting aliens and peculiar cultivation techniques existed.

    Commander Arianna waited patiently until a small humming noise came from the other side of the door.

    The metalloid barricade swung open, and she stepped inside with quiet footsteps. The interior of the room was identical to that of a typicalmand center.

    There were several rows of battle stations that consisted of a desk and a device that was connected to the private Virtual Net server of the Imperial Army.

    Every screen was ck at least for now.

    In the center of the room wasrge hologram projector that was currently disying a map of the Earth Federation.

    Several areas of the map were dotted with reddish spots, and it was those locations that drew the femalemander¡¯s attention.

    She walked up to the holographic disy and tapped the reddish spot that was located in a region of space known as the Gamoran Sector.

    Not a particrly noteworthy region since there was a scarcity of natural resources and most of thes were yet to be properly terraformed.

    Still, it was the home of at least two billion humans and three hundred million Quafes so there was a sizeable poption.

    Commander Arianna let out a heavy sigh as she tapped the dot and several screens appeared in mid air.

    She nced at each screen and saw that information about the attacks by the Insectoid Empire were being updated in real time.

    Fifteens had fallen so far which sounded like arge number but thoses were mainly in the outer regions of the Gamoran Sector.

    The densely popteds were located beyond an asteroid belt and for now it appeared that the Insectoid Empire had no interest in attacking them.

    Themander¡¯s artificial eye glowed with an eerie light as she felt her wristmunicator vibrate slightly.

    She checked her inbox and saw several messages from the higher ups in the army. Apparently, they nned on sending Grand Admiral Cooper to deal with the invasion.

    Commander Arianna had to admit that he was an ¡®effective¡¯ man. His methods although brutal got the job done.

    And that was all that mattered.

    Themander quickly replied to the message stating that she understood the wishes of the higher ups.

    She tapped on an area next to the Gamoran Sector and hummed thoughtfully to herself. The Hydra Star System was only a few hundred light years away.

    There were several military bases located in the Mendolesa controlled region of the Earth Federation as well as Zrudread University.

    Commander Arianna rubbed her chin as she sent out a series of orders. Reinforcements from the secret military army would meet directly with the grand admiral.

    In addition, it would not hurt to send out invitations for the university and the mercenary guilds in the region to participate.

    One of the screens in the corner of the room began to flicker which drew the attention of themander who walked over to see what was happening.

    A handsome young man with curly ck hair and piercing green eyes appeared on the monitor and he stared at her with a cheeky grin on his face.

    It was a familiar sight to themander who felt her lips gently curved upwards despite her best efforts to suppress her feelings.

    ¡°My prince¡­ you must be careful¡­ if there was someone else in here then it could have been exposed that I gave you ess to one of our devices¡­¡± Commander Arianna gently spoke.

    Crown Prince Theon had an apologetic expression on his face as he stared at the woman who was clearly in love with him.

    The reddish crystals in his palm had already begun to melt into his skin and he felt his body move automatically without him even needing to think.

    The experience was almost like being a passenger in your own body. It should have been a concerning feeling, but Theon¡¯s mind had long begun to crack.

    ¡°My love¡­ as the next leader of the human side of the Earth Federation, I am merely learning about my military in advance,¡± Prince Theon cheekily spoke.

    Commander Arianna felt her heart flutter as the handsome prince whispered words of love and sweet nothings.

    She absentmindedly touched the ne that hung on her neck and her fingers grazed the reddish crystal in the center of the pendant.

    This ne had been a gift from the prince himself and touching it always gave the femalemander a sense of tranquility.

    She still remembered meeting the prince for the first time during a grand banquet held in his estate.

    Members of the Imperial Army were technically required to remain neutral but with the interference of various powerful noble forces¡­

    Thisw was more of a suggestion that anything that was actually enforced.

    ¡°Do you have the data that I requested? I wish to learn more about the different battle units of the Imperial Army,¡± Prince Theon gently spoke.

    ¡°If I am to lead my people wisely then I need to be a knowledgeable monarch.¡±

    Commander Arianna nodded, and her hand gently squeezed the reddish crystal once more before she essed her wristmunicator and sent a series of documents to the prince.

    The pairmunicated for a few more minutes before a loud knock on the door interrupted their sweet conversation.

    A series of humming noises were heard as the scanner embedded in the door verified the identities of those on the other side.

    Prince Theon waved goodbye at his lover and then ended the call. Commander Arianna removed the warm smile on her face and returned to her position by the hologram projector.

    She wore an expressionless mask on her face as several officers walked into the room and took their seats.

    No one could have possibly known that theirmander had just given out important military secrets to one of the princes belonging to humanity¡¯s royal family.

 Chapter 635

    Chapter 635: Thoughts About The Future

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron) (Main Campus- St. John''s Laboratory) "Did you hear the news? "Of course... my mom sent me a link to an articlest night... it''s so scary. I think my family nned to visit the Gamoran Sector this year but now..." "The Imperial Army hasn''t confirmed the number of casualties yet..." "Will they? Last time I checked at least fifteens have fallen due to the Insectoid invasion and yet no reinforcements have arrived.

    " Sophie leaned back against her chair as she heard the hushed whispers echoing through the room. The recent attack by the Insectoid Empire was all that everyone could talk about and for good reason. This was the first time in nearly a decade that the Insectoid Empire had managed to prate so far into Federation controlled space.

    One would have to be a fool not to be rmed. Honestly... Sophie felt a little bit conflicted as she read through the reports. Without a doubt seeing those sickening images of humans being massacred by the Insectoid races made her stomach churn but.. she was half Insectoid. No one knew except for Cleo and her dad but if that fact were toe out... what would happen to her? Her heritage was a ticking time bomb that was waiting to explode. Sophie knew that she had been lucky so far that no member of the Arachnais race had been present in the skirmishes between the Federation and the Empire. But all it would take was the image of one to leak on the virtual Net and then it would all be over. Her de-like appendages may be slightly different from those belonging to a pure blooded Arachnais but... Anyone with eyes would be able to see that there was a connection. Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she ced her head down on the desk and waited for Professor Macabre to arrive. There was nothing she could do except cross that bridge when it happened.

    At least she would be under the protection of her father.

    Sophie closed her eyes and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her body. She had spent most of the night studying in the library and only returned home around five o'' clock in the morning. Cleo wasn''t happy so the hybrid girl made up with her girlfriend with some early morning sex before ss. Sophie yawned sleepily as she raised up her head from the desk and reached into her storage bag to pull out a textbook ''The Deadly Effects Of Neurotoxins'' was a fascinating read and it covered how neurotoxins affect the brain by blocking the electric signal flowing through the dendrites. It was amazing how tiny bursts of electricity were responsible for making your body function. If something interfered with them... the entire body would be affected. "I heard a strange rumor..." a low hoarse voice attracted Sophie''s attention and her pointed ears swung in the direction of the sound. She turned around and saw two boys in the back of the ss discussing the recent news in hushed

    tones.

    "What rumor?" one of the boys asked hispanion with curiosity clearly evident in his gaze.

    "Well, my uncle in a dean and he told me that the university has received an offer to join the counterattack operation," a skinny boy replied with an excited grin.

    "Apparently the Imperial Army is going to employ ten of thousands of mercenaries and also wants to give us students a chance to gain somebat experience."

    "Bro... I don''t want to fight in a warzone..." his friend replied in a hesitant tone. "Don''t be such a coward! Apparently, all the students who participate in the operation will receive military merit!" the excited boy spoke up.

    "That merit will go a long way... I heard that it''s the only way thatmoner students like us have a chance to be officers!"

    Sophie''s fingers gently tapped the side of her desk as she thought about what she had just heard.

    Of course, there was a high likelihood that rumor wasplete bullshit but just in case... what would she do?

    No... she couldn''t afford to get distracted.

    She still had that mission toplete for the hunter goddess and there wasn''t much time left.

    She only had until the end of month to kill whatever creature lurked in the sewers where a pet had gone missing.

    There was no open space in her calendar to participate in a war. Besides... Sophie was beginning to feel a bit conflicted about the Imperial Army.

    She did not like the stories that she had been hearing so far and had not forgotten having to sneak her way into the Federation from the Syndicate.

    The Imperial Army was a necessary evil in order to protect the Federation from a hostile universe, but it was bing rotten to the core.

    Nepotism, corruption, and private interests were splitting the army up into different factions and that was just what was on the surface.

    The very fact that noble students were automatically promoted to officers whilemoners had to earn military merit was a shameful reality.

    Anymoner student who graduated from one of the top four universities would be on par or even greater than a noble of their age.

    Sophie did not want to be an officer due to the status of her birth but rather through her deeds and actions.

    The doors to the ssroom swung open with a heavy thump which interrupted Sophie''s train of thought.

    Professor Macabre strode into the room wearing a long whiteb coat that covered her body all the way to her ankles.

    "Good afternoon ss," Professor Macabre softly whispered as she raised up her right hand.

    Immediately all the conversations in the ssroom ceased as the students sat up and paid attention.

    "I''m sure that everyone has seen the news on the virtual Net but please do not forget that you still have work to do," the professor calmly spoke.

    "We will be covering new types of poison this semester as well as cultivation techniques that focus on spreading toxins."

    "There are different methods, but each aplish the same goal. Remember that not all poisons have to be deadly..."

    "It can be just as effective to weaken an opponent or to cause them to experience horrifying illusions."

    Sophie pulled out her notebook and pencil from her storage bag and begun to take notes as the professor continued her lecture.

    Bright warm rays of sunlight entered the ssroom through an open window in the back of the ssroom.

    The hybrid girl took in a few deep breaths and ignored the thoughts that were running through her mind.

    All of those issues did not have to be addressed now.

    She would not join the Imperial Army until she graduated and that was at least two to three years away..

 Chapter 636 A Very Desirable Mission

    <h2 style="font-size: 22.4px;">?636 A Very Desirable Mission</h2>

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Main Administrative Building- Private Office)

    Principal Malik''s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he read over the report on his desk. He leaned back against his chair and stared out of the open window.

    A request for a joint exercise with both the military and private mercenaries?

    Hmm¡­ it all sounded a bit¡­ too sudden.

    The elderly Mendolesa man''s tail swished gently from side to side as he powered on his wristmunicator and sent out a few messages to his contacts in the Imperial Army.

    Being the head of one of the four most prestigious universities in the entire Federation meant that the principal had a lot of influence.

    Many important noble families and ns wished to have a good rtionship with him, and the past students of Zrudread University usually ended up in positions of power.

    It did not take long for the relevant information to arrive on his device, and he took about thirty minutes to read through it all.

    When it came to the safety of his students, Principal Malik always believed in investigating as thoroughly as possible.

    Obviously as a university with a focus onbat and real-life application of cultivation skills, there was naturally a high death rate whenpared to the other top universities but¡­

    Principal Malik was not the sort of man who tossed his students into a meat grinder or treated them as cannon fodder.

    Students were sent on missions that were appropriate for their cultivation level.

    And they were not forced.

    The principal rubbed his ws together as he digested the information that had just been sent over.

    The Gamoran Sector was a neighbouring region of space that was not too far away from the Hydra Star System.

    At least in rtive terms.

    It was still a fairly new area imed by the Earth Federation and not all of the native poptions and cultures had been fully assimted.

    There was not much value in thes in the Gamoran Sector since theycked natural resources.

    They were mainly going to be used as poption centers to house the ever-expanding poption of the human side of the Federation.

    Those humans¡­ they really bred and multiplied very quickly¡­

    And now the Insectoid Empire had unexpectedly attacked.

    Since the Gamoran Sector was such a low value region of space¡­ its defenses were naturally weaker.

    It really was the perfect target for the insectoids to make their move and the timing as well could not have been better.

    The bulk of the Imperial Army troops were located along the other borders of the Federation and the excess forces were currently waging war in the Unovan Syndicate.

    The war in the Unovan Syndicate was proceeding much faster than anyone had initially expected after the government had copsed.

    Would the higher ups of the Imperial Army call back their troops from a sessful campaign to save a sparely popted region of space?

    Principal Malik doubted it. That is why this sudden expedition to repel the invading Insectoid forces was so surprising.

    And the man leading the campaign¡­

    "Grand Admiral Cooper," Principal Malik muttered quietly in a tone as if he was speaking a curse rather than a name.

    There was no honour in ughtering the innocent and that madman would burn down an entire city in order to kill a handful of rebels.

    Still if the higher ups of the army were willing to send him then that meant that this campaign had a decent chance of seeding.

    Principal Malik hesitated for a moment and then sent out a message to his vice principal giving him permission to share the mission on the campus forums.

    He still needed to have a chat with the grand admiral but ording to the information there shouldn''t be any additional danger or threats.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two dayster...)<sub> </sub>

    (Main Campus - Cafeteria)

    "Did you sign up? I saw the mission details on the forums but I''m not really so sure if I want to go¡­"

    "Hell, yeah, I did! Alice did you not see the rewards? Military merit, bonus ranking points, credits and even the chance to learn rare cultivation techniques"

    "Oh please¡­ we all know that the elite students are going to be the ones to win all of the rewards¡­ why risk your life for nothing?"

    "Actually, I heard that several of the top students aren''t participating! Including Sophie Peterlor¡­"

    Two attractive young students casually made conversation in the middle of the cafeteria as they looked around for an empty table.

    Sophie was in the corner of the room sipping on a cup full of hot chocte and casually listening in on their conversation.

    The news about the mission had spread around the campus and it seemed that it was all that anyone talked about.

    Part of the conversation involved the fact that only Qiana had volunteered to go among the students who were in the top ten of the battle ranking for second years.

    Astrid had additional training with Archmage Hollystorm, Cleo wasn''t interested, and Sophie nned to fulfil the hunter goddess'' request this weekend.

    As for the rest of the elite ss students, outside of the ten top nearly everyone had signed up for a chance at the generous rewards.

    Military merit was something to be desired even if you came from a noble background since it increased your starting rank in the army.

    Sophie took another sip from her cup and felt a sweet rich taste fill her mouth. Today was Thursday which meant that her mission was only two days away.

    Honestly¡­ she felt a bit nervous.

    And how could she not?!

    Every time the hunter goddess gave her a mission it usually involved throwing her in a life-threatening situation against an opponent much stronger than herself.

    Hopefully this task would allow her to finally breach the barrier to the void stage.

    If she did aplish this goal, then she would match her father''s record since he became a void stage cultivator at her age.

    Sophie finished her cup of hot chocte and walked over to the bin to throw it away in the recyble section.

    The hybrid girl yawned sleepily and then proceed to walk out of the cafeteria paying no mind to the curious nces thrown in her direction.

    sses were done for the day and truthfully Sophie was feeling a bit tired from studying in the library, so she nned to just go home and take an early rest.

    Cleo would be hometer in the evening so they could spend the rest of the night watching cheesy romantic dramas on the virtual Net.

    The writing in the dramas wasn''t all that great but that didn''t really lessen the enjoyment of watching bad characters make terrible decisions.

    "Hey Sophie!" an excited voice called out.

    Sophie nced in the direction of the sound and saw a pretty Servie girl zip over to her location while furiously pping her translucent wings.

    "Hi Celestia¡­ how are you doing?" Sophie replied with a small smile.

    The Servie girl from her poison cultivation ssnded on her shoulder and grabbed one of her hairs in order to steady her small body.

    "Oh great! So, tell me¡­ what''s the reason you aren''t going on the campaign?" Celestia asked as her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

    "Why? Did someone offer to pay you for that information?" Sophie teased as she continued walking in the direction of the student housing block.

    "What! No way! Well¡­ maybe¡­" Celestia sheepishly replied as she hid her tiny wristmunicator behind her body.

    "Alright¡­ just make sure that you split the profit¡­ basically the reason is because I already took a mission from the ck Rose Hunter Guild," Sophie calmly responded.

    "That''s it?" Celestia eximed in an almost angry tone.

    "How boring!"

    Sophieughed and chatted with her friend for a few more minutes.

    Celestia was definitely a unique character but maybe that was to be expected of the only Servie student in the entire poison cultivation course.

    Most Servies specialised in magic or even assassination because their tiny bodies were the perfect size for infiltration missions.

    It was extremely rare for one to want to be a poison cultivator.

 Chapter ?637 The Shaman

    ?637 The Shaman

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe ¨C International Spaceport)

    "I don''t like this," Cleo''s voice came from themunicator.

    Sophie furrowed her brows and nced at the screen. She saw her girlfriend staring at her with an unhappy expression on her face.

    "Babe¡­ I told you¡­ the hunter goddess only gave me one month to do this task and I only have two weeks left," Sophie replied calmly.

    "But¡­ why didn''t you bring me along?" Cleo questioned with a hint of anger in her gaze.

    "Cleo¡­ I love you¡­ but¡­" Sophie sighed heavily as she thought about what to say next.

    She saw Moon on the other side of the screen sneaking up from the behind the bed beforending on Cleo''s shoulder.

    Moon whined softly near the princess'' ear as the frostwing bat sensed his master''s ufortable emotional state.

    The hybrid girl took a moment topose herself and then opened her mouth to reply,

    "I know the hunter goddess¡­ she usually wants me to aplish her tasks on my own. The hunt in her opinion is worthless if I get outside help."

    "Plus, I''m fairly certain that this task will allow me to finally breach the barrier of the void stage¡­ but that means the enemy here will be unlike anything that I''ve ever fought before."

    Cleo pursed her lips together and curled up her fingers into a tight fist. She knew that her girlfriend had to aplish this task but¡­

    She was worried.

    Sophie constantly had to put her life in danger because of this so-called ''hunter goddess'' and Cleo didn''t like it.

    She didn''t like it one bit.

    "Promise me¡­ promise me that you wille back safe," Cleo finally spoke with a slight tremor in her voice.

    "I promise¡­ I love you babe," Sophie gently whispered. The pair chatted for a few more minutes before Sophie ended the call.

    She stared at her wristmunicator for a few more seconds before getting up from her chair and walking towards the exit of her spaceship.

    The metalloid door slowly slid open, and Sophie stepped outside.

    She was forced to cover her eyes as the fierce re of the sun directly shone down on her face.

    The spaceport on Corpe was incredibly¡­ rudimentary.

    But that was to be expected.

    This was a developing and much of the poption located here were poor Mendolesa warriors of the lower castes.

    Only the capitol city where the spaceport was located contained metalloid buildings and skyscrapers.

    The rest of the nearby towns and viges wereposed of run-down shacks and unstable wooden houses.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a ck cloak with several holes in the back for her de-like appendages.

    She wrapped the cloak around her body and the memory foam material shifted slightly to allow her extra appendages to enter the holes.

    The hybrid girl took a few steps and reached into her pocket for a sheet of paper. It was a map of the sewer system below the capitol city.

    This was not going to be a fun request.

    It was impossible to know where exactly that damn pet was since the sewer system stretched out for over twenty kilometers.

    Still there was no time like the present.

    Sophie walked towards the city in the distance and ignored the wary gazes being thrown in her direction.

    She leaked out a trace of her killing intent in order to deter any would be thieves from approaching her.

    Still there were some who were desperate enough to ignore her warning¡­

    As Sophie walked down a well trodden footpath, severalrge Mendolesa men emerged from behind some trees.

    Horrific scars could be seen beneath their fur, and most were missing parts of their flesh. Somecked an eye while others an ear or even an arm.

    Pus-filled wounds that leaked whitish green liquid were present on their upper arms and legs.

    "Your money or your life," the leader was a man with a horrific burn mark that stretched from one side of his face to the other.

    Sophie slowly lowered the hood of her cloak, and her golden eyes met the amber ones staring at her with an unspoken threat.

    "Are you sure about that?" Sophie quietly whispered.

    The hybrid girl did not move a single inch as a terrible pressure descended on the would-be thieves.

    They fell to the ground and screamed as cracks began to appear beneath their feet. Sophie''s golden eyes began to shift to a crimson hue as she felt the urge to kill rise up in her body.

    Calm down¡­ calm down¡­

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and fought down the urges. Her right eye was still crimson, but her left eye had returned to its normal colour.

    She withdrew her cultivation pressure and the men immediately fled from the scene. There was a reason why Sophie had not killed them.

    This was a with many interconnected gangs and criminal factions. She was only here to do a simple task not to eliminate the various crime lords.

    Maybe if she had time then she wouldn''t mind killing a few scumbags, but the hunter goddess had imposed a strict time limit.

    Sophie walked through the city and her eyes focused on the various sights.

    There were a handful of skyscrapers like what was written on the virtual Net, but the city was much poorer than she expected.

    Beneath the skyscrapers were slums and the road itself was covered in a mixture of dirt, faeces, and all manner of filth.

    The citizens of the city were haggard and gaunt with eyes that showed varying emotions of despair and numbness.

    Sophie had to fight off several thieves and killers until eventually people stopped approaching her.

    It was clear to the citizens of the slums that she was not an easy mark.

    Qi tide cultivators were respected among the general poption of the Federation, and they were considered the truly strong.

    Most of the citizens here would have never met a cultivator higher than the qi body or the qi spirit stage.

    Sophie''s boots made a sshing noise as she stepped in a grey puddle that sttered all over the underside of her cloak.

    This was one of the times where having enhanced senses was a massive disadvantage.

    Sophie''s sense of smell was so powerful that she felt as though she could taste the foul odours wafting up from the slums.

    "Ay cutie! Twenty Enas for a good time!" a scantily d Mendolesa female whose ribs could be seen against her furry chest strutted towards Sophie.

    "Alyssa fuck off that''s my mark!" another barely dressed Mendolesa this time a male walked up to Sophie and thrust out his hips.

    "Oh darling¡­ why don''t we let the client decided? Or perhaps she wants both?" the Mendolesa female grinned seductively.

    "Not interested," Sophie coldly responded as her eyes lingered on the faint scars on both of the prostitutes'' lower regions.

    This was a terrible ce.

    The fact that it existed in the Federation was a shame. Not for the first time Sophie was reminded of the vast wealth inequality that existed.

    "Well, if you ever change you mind¡­ call us," the Mendolesa male cheerfully winked as he swayed his bushy tail from side to side.

    Sophie nodded politely at them and walked away. She pretended not to see the secret nce that they both shared among themselves.

    Her danger sense did not activate which meant that whatever was going to happen next was not going to be a threat to her life.

    Sophie walked for several minutes before stopping abruptly at the entrance to an alleyway.

    She tilted her heard to the side just as wooden spear was flung at her location. The spear brushed against her cheek and embedded itself in the wall behind her.

    The hybrid girl let out a low whistle of appreciation and stared at the spear waiting for the hidden attackers to reveal themselves.

    "Don''t make me drag you out myself," Sophie arrogantly spoke as she leered at a pile of crates in the corner of the alleyway.

    "Fine¡­ fine¡­" a hoarse voice came from behind the boxes. An elderly Mendolesa man wearing a tattered brown robe crawled out.

    He raised up his furry paws in surrender and bowed his head. Sophie nced at the spear and then at the man waiting for him to speak.

    "Just needed to see your strength¡­ the name is Jamie¡­ but folks round these parts called me ''Shaman''," the Mendolesa elder calmly spoke.

    "You see¡­ you look like you need some help¡­ I can be your guide."

    He reached into the pockets of his robe and took out several dice that had been carved out of bone.

    Sophie watched curiously as the elderly Mendolesa shook the dice several times in his palm while whispering iprehensible words under his breath.

    He suddenly threw the dice on the ground and lowered his head until his face was mere inches away from the filth and muck.

    "Three¡­ six¡­ three¡­ hahahahaha!" the Mendolesa elder threw back his head and roared withughter.

    His manic giggles echoed through the alleyway and sent a shiver down Sophie''s spine as she looked at the clearly mad old man.

    Wait¡­

    Her danger sense was active!

 Chapter 638

    Chapter 638: A Dire Warning

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City)

    ¡°The horse! The angel! The horse¡­ IT¡¯S ALL SO CLEAR!¡± the elderly Mendolesa shrieked in terror as his eyes widened in shock.

    Sophie¡¯s body tensed up as she circted qi through her meridians and extended her senses to cover the immediate surrounding area.

    She watched in horror as the Mendolesa elder reached into his pocket and pulled out a sharpened knife with an edge that gleamed under the sunlight.

    Without hesitation the so-called Shaman slit his throat with one smooth motion. Blood sttered on the dirty ground and his lifeless body slowly copsed.

    His eyes were still wide open but now the life was draining out of them.

    Even in death, his gaze seemed to follow Sophie as if seeing something that was beyond this world.

    Sophie kept her posture but the danger from earlier had vanished as soon as the shaman killed himself.

    She carefully approached the corpse and reached into her storage bag.

    The hybrid girl pulled out a small metalloid device and pressed a button on its side.

    A beam of red light was emitted from the device which then swept up and down the length of the Mendolesa elder¡¯s corpse.

    Sophie checked the readings on the scanner but found nothing unusual. She backed away from the body and could not help but feel a little bit disturbed.

    Why had he just killed himself?

    And what did the words ¡®the angel¡¯ and ¡®the horse¡¯ mean?

    Questions surfaced in her mind as she wandered through the damp and dirty alleyways of the capitol city.

    There was a part of Sophie that wanted to dismiss the encounter and the words of the Mendolesa elder as ravings of a madman but¡­

    Her danger sense had definitely sensed that a threat lurked nearby.

    Sophie¡¯s brows furrowed as she checked her map and walked for around two hundred metres to the right before stopping.

    There was nothing else she could so except press forward and raise her alertness to a higher level.

    The hybrid girl nced down at the ground and saw a rusty metal cover. This was a spot where she could enter the sewers.

    Although¡­

    Sophie knelt down and gripped the edge of the cover. She used her enhanced strength to lift it slowly upwards to reveal a dark hole.

    An awful stench wafted upwards from the hole.

    The scent of sewage, garbage and filth were all mixed together and it made her want to throw up.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a dark greenbat body suit that was made out of memory foam material.

    She pressed the suit against her chest and the material slowly covered her entire body until there were no openings.

    Next, she took out a mask and ced it over her face.

    There was no telling what kind of foul odours and unpleasant surprises were waiting for her inside the sewers.

    Sophie grabbed a de from her pocket and roughly cut off her ponytail. There was no way she was going to crawl into the sewers with long hair.

    There were a few skinny Mendolesa children in the alleyway watching her with curious expressions on their faces.

    Sophie ignored their gazes as she steeled her nerves and gently lowered her body into the gaping ck pit.

    There was a dder¡¯ on the side of the walls but to call it adder was a bit of a stretch.

    Metal rungs had been embedded into the wall¡¯s surface, but they were badly rusted and some of them broke as Sophie put the weight of her foot on them.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes glowed slightly, and the darkness of the sewers faded way to reveal what could only be described as a scene straight out of a nightmare.

    Thick, murky brown ooze flowed through the sewers and Sophie felt her body tense up as her bootsnded on a squishy reddish patch of sludge.

    Garbage such as old clothes, discarded needles and stic containers floatedzily on the water¡¯s surface.

    Tiny furry creatures scurried along the walls of the sewers and Sophie could swear that their beady red eyes were locked onto her position.

    ¡°Fuck this¡­ fuck this¡­¡± Sophie cursed softly under her breath.

    She was wearing a mask but thanks to her enhanced senses she could still smell the foulness in the air.

    It did not help that her night vision allowed her to see the brown pieces of shit floating on the top of the murky waters.

    God¡­ was that a corpse?

    Sophie moved to the side as a half-eaten body floated down the river.

    It was missing an arm and several of its limbs were covered in tiny bites.

    Sophie could not tell if the body belonged to a female or a male Mendolesa since most of its flesh had started to rot away.

    ¡°Okay¡­ just need to find that pet and aplish the hunter goddess¡¯ task,¡± Sophie quietly whispered to herself.

    She held a sharpened knife in her right palm and proceeded through the sewers. Hours passed as Sophie wandered through tunnel after tunnel.

    The sewerplex beneath the capitol city was massive and stretched over ten kilometres. It had been built to carry the wastes of the over two million residents.

    Sophie leaned against a wall and took a few seconds topose herself. Her body suit and her cloak were now covered in¡­ shit.

    When people imagined the number one ranked student in Zrudread University they probably pictured someone who trained hard and enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle.

    Not someone who was currently crawling through the sewers like a fucking rat.

    Sophie closed her eyes and recalled the details of the task.

    It was supposed to be a one star ranked assignment and the owners said that they lost their pet in the sewer system.

    Now if they had mentioned what kind of animal their pet was in the mission details that would have been very helpful, but of course they did not.

    Honestly how the hell was she supposed to know what she was looking for?

    Maybe she should just grab one of the furry bastards running around the sewers and call it a day.

    Sophieughed quietly as she opened her eyes and tried to think positively. She still had over a week to look for the pet and find the target to sacrifice to the hunter goddess.

    Danger!

    The hybrid girl flinched, and her body moved faster than her mind could react.

    Sophie dove down into the muck just as an enormous ball of fire passed over where she had just been standing moments ago.

    The ball of mes ignited the garbage floating in the river and soon the temperature inside the sewer system soared.

    Sophie flung her de in the direction of the me and heard a loud whimper as her weapon embedded itself in her attacker.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as she reappeared hundreds of feet away.

    It was not a moment too soon as an enormous skeletal hand rose up from the river and snapped its bony fingers around herst location.

    An ambush?

    ¡°You have good moves,¡± a sinister voice chuckled darkly.

    Several floating balls of green me illuminated the sewers and Sophie saw a hooded figure walk into view.

    He was not a Mendolesa but rather a human¡­ or was he?

    Sophie watched as the man threw back the hood of his cloak to reveal a skeleton face that was devoid of both flesh and muscle tissue.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Sophie muttered in shock as she gazed at what appeared to be a lich straight out of a fantasy story.

    ¡°My dear¡­ why don¡¯t you just rx,¡± the skeleton whispered sensually as he snapped his fingers with a spine-chilling crack.

    The water beneath Sophie¡¯s feet stirred slightly and she could feel something tugging fiercely on her leg.

    Sophie¡¯s ded appendages immediately shot towards the ground, and she stabbed whatever was holding on to her leg several times.

    ¡°What are you?¡± Sophie hissed softly as she felt whatever was holding on to her leg slowly let go.

    ¡°My dear¡­ do you not recognise me?¡± the skeleton whispered in an almost saddened tone. He slowly removed the robe that was covering him to reveal a naked lower half.

    Despite his skeletal head and hands, the rest of his body was that was a normal human male with a lean and muscr physique.

    He was entirely naked, and one could see tiny scars covering his lower region as if someone had used a de to carve into his groin.

    He was missing his genitalia¡­ there was nothing but smooth flesh where a penis and testicles should have been.

    The skeleton whispered some words beneath his breath and flesh began to slowly creep upwards until it covered his face.

    When the flesh stopped moving Sophie was struck by a feeling of¡­ familiarity.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sophie eximed in disbelief.

 Chapter 639

    Chapter 639: The Right Thing To Do

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    Sophie watched in morbid fascination as flesh began to slowly grow upwards from the creature¡¯s neck.

    First the muscle tissues then the veins and finally the skin. Sophie stepped back in disbelief as she felt a vague sense of familiarity until¡­

    The facial features of the humanoid monster were finally revealed.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sophie eximed in disbelief.

    Standing before her was the mirror image of a younger version of her father. ¡®Duke Peterlor¡¯ grinned cheekily as he approached his daughter with outstretched hands.

    ¡°My child¡­ it has been so long,¡± the duke gently spoke as the flesh on his body began to melt away until he was once again nothing more than a skeleton.

    Sophie reached into her storage ring and pulled out a ck carbon-fibre whip with spikes that ran along its sides.

    Without hesitation she channeled her qi into the weapon and flung its tip at the skeleton who roared withughter.

    ck Asura Whip Art- Hell me!

    The entire length of the whip ignited with ck mes that burned with an eerie light.

    The skeleton raised up his right hand and a bone-like structure emerged from the dark murky river.

    Sophie¡¯s whip crashed into the makeshift barrier and easily tore through the fragile bones that made up the structure.

    Her weapon mmed directly into the creature¡¯s body and sent him flying into the side of a nearby wall with a sickening crunch.

    ¡°My¡­ my¡­ you really are impressive¡­¡± a low throaty chuckle came from the hole in the wall as the skeleton pulled himself out of the rubble.

    ¡°It¡¯s such a shame that I have to kill you¡­ in another life perhaps you could have made a loyal subordinate.¡±

    ¡°But none who enter my realm¡­ will ever leave.¡±

    The skeleton raised up both of his hands and the entire world stood still.

    Sophie felt her body freeze up as an enormous wave of intimidating pressure surrounded the skeletal monster.

    She had felt a simr pressure before¡­ this could only be the result of someone whose cultivation level was in the void stage or higher.

    Fuck¡­

    Was this creature the target that the hunter goddess wanted her to sacrifice?

    Sophie barely had any time to react as the creature flung a sharpened bone spear at her body with enough force that a sonic boom was created.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s enhanced reflexes took over and she quickly moved to the side, but the spear travelled too fast to avoid getting hit.

    ¡°Arghhh!¡± Sophie let out a scream of pain as her entire right arm was torn off her body. She spared a nce at the bloody stump before activating her movement technique.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie¡¯s body blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    It was not a moment too soon as hundreds of bone spears erupted from the filthy sewer water where she had been standing just moments ago.

    Sophie reappeared several hundred meters away and she stared at the lich who looked at her with those terrible empty eyes.

    The hybrid girl growled like an animal as her golden eyes slowly shifted to a crimson hue.

    There was only one thought running through her mind and the pain from her injury was making her bloodlust rise.

    No¡­ I will not be the hunted¡­

    I. AM. THE. HUNTER.

    The skeleton monster whispered a few words under his breath and dozens of bone spears shot towards Sophie once more.

    But this time¡­ it was different.

    The world slowed down to a crawl as Sophie¡¯s body moved with a speed that was much faster than before.

    She ducked and weaved through the barrage of bone spears paying no attention when their sharpened edges shaved off pieces of her flesh.

    There was just one goal in her mind.

    Kill. Hunt. Consume.

    Sophie arrived in front of the lich and although the creature¡¯s face was nothing more than a skull incapable of expressing emotions¡­

    She could sense that it seemed to be in disbelief.

    Archangel Whip Art- Righteous Condemnation!

    Sophie¡¯s whipshed forward while glowing with a holy light that illuminated the nearby surroundings with a dazzling glow.

    This was a technique that she had learnt over the summer vacation, and it was based on a certain religious text from the Nephilim Church.

    Simultaneously Sophie¡¯s de-like appendages shot forward and she used their barbed ends to slice apart the skeleton¡¯s arms.

    The skeleton howled in pain and gazed at his arms. He tried to say something, but Sophie¡¯s attack shattered his body into hundreds of pieces.

    The hybrid girl stood over the shards of bones thaty scattered across the ground and took a few moments to catch her breath.

    That was it? He died so easily¡­

    No¡­ something was wrong.

    Sophie knelt down and picked up one of the bones which immediately crumbled away into a fine grey powder.

    She didn¡¯t understand what was going on but instinctively knew that somehow the skeleton had survived.

    Maybe it was part of being the Hunter Goddess¡¯ vessel since Sophie could vaguely sense when her prey was dead.

    And every fibre of her being was telling her that the creature was still alive.

    The hybrid girl waited for around five minutes, but nothing happened. The only sounds that one could hear was the water that ran through the sewers.

    Sophie took in a deep breath and gazed at her right arm. She still felt the pain of having a limb torn off her body, but it was bearable.

    The flesh was already beginning to regenerate but in order to speed up the process she reached into her storage bag and pulled out a syringe filled with healing serum.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and stabbed the silver needle in the middle of the bloody stump.

    She hissed and tried not to scream since it felt as though her arm was being filled with hot moltenva.

    After ten minutes her new arm was now fully grown, and Sophie took a few seconds to flex her fingers.

    She continued walking through the sewers but now her body waspletely alert, and she listened carefully for any sudden movements.

    There was no telling what manner of horror lurked in this dark underground ce where the air smelled of sewage and decay.

    Sophie wandered through a dark damp tunnel and winced as she felt something warm ooze onto her shoulders.

    She looked up and saw brown sludge on the ceiling dripping slowly downwards thanks to the effect of gravity.

    Thank goodness she was wearing a body suit.

    This entire experience had been nothing but a nightmare so far and Sophie was not expecting it to get any better.

    Suddenly there was a soft rustling noise.

    Sophie stopped moving and her pointed ears swung in the direction of the sound waiting to see what would happen next.

    ¡°Please help me¡­¡± a soft child-like voice came from further up in the tunnel.

    ¡°It¡¯s dark here¡­ I am so afraid and alone. I want my mommy¡­ please¡­ please help me kind stranger¡­ please.¡±

    The voice began to sob, and one could not help but feel a sense of sympathy for the obviously lost child who was scared and alone.

    Sophie knew exactly what the right thing to do was.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    She turned around and immediately ran in the opposite direction.

 Chapter 640

    Chapter 640: A Peculiar Encounter

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    ¡°Please don¡¯t run away!¡±

    ¡°Help me! Help me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m begging you¡­¡±

    The unknown child¡¯s heart wrenching sobs grew fainter as Sophie fled into the distance. The hybrid girl channeled her qi into her leg meridians and her speed greatly increased.

    Nope. Nope¡­ Hell no.

    Her figure became a fast-moving blur as she ran through what seemed to be an endlessbyrinth of tunnels.

    She only stopped once the sounds of the child could not longer be heard. Sophie took a moment to catch her breath and nced at her right arm.

    Fuck!

    She hadpletely forgotten that part of her bodysuit had gotten torn off when her arm had been ripped off her body by the bone spear.

    Now her right arm was covered in foul smelling muck that was slightly brown.

    Sophie gagged and tried her best not to think about what the ooze was made of.

    She quickly looked around her nearby surroundings for any threats and then dragged her tired body to a small hole in the wall.

    A few furry creatures scurried out of the hole as Sophie entered inside and reached into her storage ring.

    She took out a few wet wipes and a bodysuit repair patch.

    Sophie would normally consider cleaning herself up to be a waste of time under the circumstances, but her enhanced sense of smell meant that the ooze was interfering with herbat ability.

    The hybrid girl spent the next ten minutes furiously wiping off the muck and grime off her skin while desperately fighting down the urge to vomit.

    There was only one sentence echoing constantly in her mind as she threw one dirty tissue after another into the dirty sewer water.

    I hate this ce.

    I hate this ce.

    I HATE THIS PLACE.

    Sophie eventually got her arm rtively clean and then ced the repair patch near the region where her bodysuit had been damaged.

    The memory foam material expanded and soon her armour was good as new. The leftover material even fixed the small holes in the rest of her bodysuit.

    ¡°Okay¡­ now what?¡± Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she pulled out the map and considered her next move.

    There was clearly something dangerous living in the sewers beneath the city. She had defeated the skeleton, but Sophie could sense that the creature was not dead.

    Then there was the matter of hearing a child call out for help in what could only be described as a ridiculously obvious trap.

    What the hell was going on?

    Sophie wasn¡¯t sure if she should keep looking for the missing pet or perhaps these mysterious incidents were part of the hunter goddess¡¯ task.

    She let out a heavy sigh and flicked away a furry creature who had crawled up her shoulder. There was nothing she could do now except press forward.

    That damn time limit set by the hunter goddess meant that she only had little over a week to figure out what to do.

    The air inside the sewers was warm and damp.

    Sophie could feel beads of sweat running down her brows as she wandered through the muck.

    For the next few hours there was an eerie sense of quietness. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary except for the asional corpse floating down the river.

    This was not surprising considering the high crime and poverty rate on Corpe.

    The enormous sewer system beneath the capitol city was probably the best ce to dump bodies.

    Sophie saw the young and the old, male and female, strong and fragile¡­. all reduced to nothing more than half eaten lumps of flesh.

    It was a sobering reality check.

    Life was harsh on this.

    Especially considering that no resources had been allocated to raise the standard of living.

    The Mendolesa tribesmen living here would be born into a never-ending cycle of violence and poverty.

    They would never be able to escape.

    A small sh of red caught Sophie¡¯s eye and brought her out of her contemtion.

    The hybrid girl cautiously approached a wall and saw a line of text painted in what appeared to be dark red blood.

    ¡®Nonten Vorcaios Limeron¡¯

    Three simple words and yet they were written in anguage that Sophie did not recognise.

    She quickly powered on her wristmunicator and typed them out on the virtual Net.

    It took a few seconds but eventually a result came up.

    These words were part of a long deadnguage spoken by the aboriginal Mendolesa warriors before they were captured by the Draxi Empire.

    Nowadays thenguage was only spoke by a very small fraction of the poption less than 0.001 percent since most Mendolesa spoke the Federation tradenguage.

    Sophie furrowed her eyebrows as she pulled up a trantion website and typed in the words to find their hidden meaning.

    ¡®Nonten¡¯ meant brother or bloodpanion.

    ¡®Vorcaios¡¯ meant the afterlife or rather it was a reference to the afterlife that the aboriginal Mendolesa believed in.

    There was a small footnote at the end of the trantion that the afterlife was supposed to be an endless grasnd where only the greatest warriors would reside.

    Finally, thest word ¡®Limeron¡¯¡­ did not turn up any results.

    The closest word to it that Sophie could find was ¡®Limoreon¡¯ which meant a feast or the act of devouring.

    Brother. Afterlife. Feast?

    Sophie repeated the words in her mind trying to find some sort of connection but failed to see the rtionship between the three words.

    She gazed at the dried flecks of blood for a moment and then leaned in closer and removed her mask.

    The hybrid girl sniffed the blood a few times before immediately putting back on her mask.

    It was hard to smell the blood with the overwhelming stench of the sewer rising up from the dirty river but she somehow managed.

    The blood smelled¡­ old.

    It was not fresh.

    Sophie did not know if that was an important clue but at least now she had some additional information to work with.

    There was a dark mystery afoot and Sophie could not help but get the impression that she was wandering every so closer to a dangerous threat.

    She snapped a picture of the words using her wristmunicator and then continued to walk forward through the darkness.

    There was a faint hissing noise almost like the sound that a serpent would makeing from somewhere up ahead.

    Sophie looked forward and saw part of the wall in front of her crumble away.

    A small passageway had mysteriously opened up in the wall and she saw a hooded figure standing on the other side.

    The figure threw back the hood of his cloak to reveal a bald-headed human monk with several snake-like tattoos carved on his forehead.

    ¡°My child? What are you doing in this dangerous ce?¡± the monk asked with confusion evident on his face.

    Sophie did not say a single word but instead reached for her weapon that was securely attached to her hip.

    The monk threw up his hands and made a surrendering gesture. Sophie wearily took a few steps back but could not sense any impending danger.

    Her golden eyes briefly shed white as she explored the possible futures and oues.

    Sophie found herself standing in both familiar and strange ck and white world.

    She saw an image of herself running at the monk and attacking him. The monk chanted a few words and then disappeared.

    Some futures she talked to the monk and although she could not hear what was being said¡­ an angry expression shed across the face of the alternative version of herself.

    Still at the end of the conversation the monk chanted a few words and his body disappeared into smoke.

    That was themon factor in all of the futures that she could glimpse. Whether she chose to attack or converse with the monk¡­ he would eventually disappear.

    There was no future path where the monk attacked her, so Sophie eventually cancelled her ability and her eyes returned to normal.

    She felt a slight headacheing on as she focused her attention on the monk who smiled at her with a peaceful expression.

    ¡°What is going on here?¡± Sophie quietly asked as she maintained her grip on her weapon.

 Chapter 641: The Monkâ€™s Parting Words

    Chapter 641: The Monk¡¯s Parting Words

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    ¡°What is going on here?¡±

    Sophie¡¯s question echoed through the dark tunnels as the monk sped his hands together and began to mutter some words under his breath.

    The snake tattoos on his forehead began to wriggle and squirm as if they were somehowing to life.

    A golden glow illuminated the monk¡¯s hands as he bowed his head and continued to chant words in anguage that Sophie did not understand.

    Finally, after a few minutes he stopped moving and opened his eyes. The monk smiled warmly at Sophie but there was a hidden emotion in his gaze.

    ¡°My child¡­ this is a very dangerous ce,¡± the mysterious monk gently spoke.

    ¡°I have been sent by my order to investigate the activities of a very dangerous criminal who has made this undergroundplex his home.¡±

    ¡°He is an extremely powerful figure¡­ I have not let down my guard since arriving at this ce and yet¡­ I have nearly died twice.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me more information about this person?¡± Sophie hesitantly asked as she tightened her grip on her weapon.

    ¡°His name is Victor Von Hessen. He is not a ¡®person¡¯ but rather an idea. A collective of a greater whole,¡± the monk said cryptically.

    ¡°He is the catalyst for which the beyond flows into the mortal realm. An army whosemander¡¯s presence will always been unseen.¡±

    ¡°Please leave this ce¡­ for your own safety.¡±

    The monk began to cough violently as he finished talking and small flecks of bloody phlegm left his open mouth.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes swept up and down the immediate surrounding area as she pushed her senses to their limits.

    There was something wrong with the strange monk.

    His words did not make any sense.

    How could this Victor individual be both an idea and a real person? The monk¡¯s statements seemed more like the ravings of a madman.

    Clearly Sophie¡¯s skepticism must have shown on her face as the monk nced at her with barely concealed fury in his eyes.

    ¡°As expected, you do not believe me¡­¡± the monk painfully groaned as the snake tattoos on his forehead began to travel downwards until they reached his upper lip.

    ¡°I do not know why I expected a filthy half-breed to understand the truth.¡±

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± Sophie¡¯s cold voice cut through the monk¡¯s soft ramblings as she took a step forward.

    An enormous wave of pressure burst out of the hybrid girl¡¯s body as her golden eyes were slowly seeped in a crimson hue.

    The monk¡¯s calm expression cracked slightly for just a moment, but he chanted a few words under his breath and then disappeared.

    Sophie flung a knife at his retreating body that was slowly bing invisible and saw her de pass through the translucent figure.

    Thest image that she saw of the monk was a mocking smile before he fully disappeared. Sophie stood still in ce for a moment and then took in a few deep breaths.

    Why did she lose her cool so easily?

    Yes¡­ it was an offensive insult, but she should have kept calm and continue to interrogate the monk for more information.

    It was almost as if someone¡­ or rather something was amplifying her emotions.

    Sophie did not notice it before but now that she was alone, she could tell that her emotions were slowly getting more intense.

    She was feeling frustrated and angry after wandering the sewers for hours, she felt a longing to return home, she felt hatred towards the skeleton mage and the monk and finally¡­

    There was a growing trace of arousal as she imagined Cleo¡¯s naked body sprawled out on her bed back home.

    All of these emotions were rising up at the same time and causing her mind to be a jumbled mess.

    Sophie closed her eyes and focused on calming down the racing thoughts in her mind.

    She spent a few minutes counting to ten over and over again until the rising emotions finally faded away.

    The hybrid girl reopened her eyes that were nowpletely golden except for a few flecks of crimson along their edges.

    She continued on her journey through the tunnels that made up the sewer system but with a lot more caution.

    There were obvious signs of intelligent life evident in this ce as Sophie saw abandoned tents and makeshift camps.

    These tents were constructed along the edges of the dirty river and were surrounded by dirty needles, half eaten food and drug containers.

    Sophie¡¯s boots crunched over the shiny needles that were coated with vile purplish- ck substances.

    She had no desire to learn what kind of drug coated the needles. Besides it was unlikely to have any effect on her since her body broke down most toxins.

    The hybrid girl peered into each tent from a safe enough distance and discovered that their upants had disappeared.

    This strange observation repeated itself for the next ten minutes as she walked from tent to tent until she arrived at the final home that was hidden behind arge metallic p.

    ¡°Oi¡­ what do you want?¡± a rough voice came from inside the tent.

    The wooden ps opened, and Sophie saw a skinny Mendolesa female with a frightening skin condition step outside the tent.

    Her fur was falling out in patches, and one could see pinkish ck spots covering the exposed skin.

    She was missing an eye and her jaw hung slightly open with drool slowly leaking down the corners of her open mouth.

    ¡°Hi there¡­ my name is Sophie,¡± Sophie politely introduced herself.

    ¡°Me name is Lexi ¡­ again¡­ what the fuck are you doing here?¡± the Mendolesa female growled and tried to act threatening.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m just passing through,¡± Sophie raised up her arms in a peaceful expression which the Mendolesa girl clearly did not trust.

    ¡°Well keep passing then,¡± Lexi growled hoarsely as she scratched her itchy fur until it bled slightly under her ws.

    ¡°But before I go¡­ I may have something that will interest you,¡± Sophie whispered softly as she reached into her pocket and took out a small syringe filled with a transparent liquid.

    ¡°I got enough of me own moondust¡­ aint got no need for cheap,¡± Lexi scoffed as she kicked a few needles in Sophie¡¯s direction.

    ¡°This is a grade A healing serum¡­ it can cure your skin condition,¡± Sophie smiled calmly as she held out the syringe.

    Lexi froze in ce and her remaining eye widened as her gaze shifted from the syringe to Sophie¡¯s face as if searching for something.

    ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡± she finally asked with a mix of both greed and hope on her face.

    ¡°Tell me what happened to the others and if you¡¯ve ever heard of the name ¡®Victor Von Hessen¡¯. Be warned that I will know if you lie,¡± Sophie spoke in an even tone.

    She snapped her fingers and small ck mes danced around her fingertips.

    It was a simple fire cultivation technique but to a homeless girl living underground¡­ she seemed like a dangerous god.

    ¡°No backies¡­ the others¡­ they leftst night¡­ heard em saying some shit about a bloody ritual. I thought they were just high,¡± Lexi nervously spoke as she looked at Sophie.

    ¡°I aint never heard of no ¡®Victor¡¯ but¡­ there was a strange bloke who came round these partsst night.¡±

    ¡°Real strange fe¡­ dressed in all back¡­ kept his face behind a mask¡­¡±

 Chapter 642: An Unexpected Guest?

    Chapter 642: An Unexpected Guest?

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe ¨C Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    ¡°Can you describe what happened next?¡± Sophie asked curiously as she watched the female Mendolesa nervously shift from side to side.

    ¡°Alright¡­ so the fe¡­ he wore some strange shit on his face¡­ it looked real ugly¡­¡± Lexi hesitantly spoke.

    ¡°A clown mask¡­ god¡­ dem things always creeped me out¡­ big white face¡­ red lips¡­ erghh¡­ disgusting.¡±

    ¡°He came here and started preachin bout all kinds of nonsense¡­ said some shit about theing of some god or whatnot¡­¡±

    ¡°Nobody really cared but he reached into his pockets and handed out a few¡­ ¡®stuff¡¯ and well¡­ he coulda said whatever he wanted after that¡­¡±

    Sophie furrowed her brows as Lexi continued to tell her story.

    So apparently a strange human male who hid his appearance behind a mask entered the camp in the early night.

    He spent a few hours preaching and gave out illicit substances to convince the members of the undergroundmunity to listen to his lecture.

    Lexi shot up on some of the drugs after he left and went straight to her tent. She woke upter in the night when she heard the sounds of lots of footsteps.

    She then heard some people taking about a ritual but fell back asleep since her body was still recovering from its previous high.

    ¡°But why would they just follow aplete stranger?¡± Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she tried to piece the puzzle together.

    Her voice was soft, but her question was still heard by the Mendolesa girl who shot her a look of tired bemusement.

    ¡°You clearly aren¡¯t part of this world¡­ listen honey¡­ most of the blokes in here would sell out their own mothers for another hit¡­ me self included,¡± Lexi chuckled hoarsely.

    She went silent and looked at the ugly patches of bare skin on her paws. Sophie did not speak as well, and the quiet moment lingered.

    Lexi was right.

    She had grown up in a tremendous amount of wealth and privilege and did not know the desperation that these people felt that made them turn to drugs.

    Even setting the drug use aside¡­ the fact that these people were forced to live in the underground sewers was a disgrace.

    It spoke to how badly managed this was run by the authorities in charge of it.

    Of course, in a vast intergctic Empire such as the Federation it was impossible to make everyone rich but to maintain a basic standard of living was very possible.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you all I know¡­ gimme the cure¡­¡± Lexi finally spoke as her remaining eye shifted to the syringe in Sophie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Before I give it to you¡­ which direction did the footsteps go?¡± Sophie asked gently as she stretched out her palm.

    Lexi quickly grabbed the syringe from her right hand and then pointed her skinny paw in a northeastern direction.

    Sophie nodded politely and thanked the girl who looked at her with an expression of disbelief as if she could not believe that someone had spoken to her so gently.

    Sophie opened her mouth and gave the Mendolesa girl some parting words as she walked away,

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you how to live your life but¡­ that healing serum can give you a fresh start¡­ it should cure your disease and your drug dependence.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not going to stop you from feeling the urge to take them because that is psychological but¡­¡±

    ¡°You have a real chance.¡±

    She dug into her storage ring and pulled out a in ck card.

    The hybrid girl tapped the card and transferred enough funds tost the Mendolesa girl for six months.

    Sophie tossed the card at Lexi who caught it with clear surprise evident on her face. Lexi opened her mouth to thank her benefactor, but Sophie had already walked away.

    As she wandered through numerous side passageways and tunnels, Sophie absentmindedly thought about what would happen to the Mendolesa girl.

    Maybe she would get clean.

    Maybe she would rpse.

    Either way their paths would probably never intersect again.

    The hybrid girl moved to the side just as a thick brown sludge fell down from the ceiling andnded where she had been standing just moments ago.

    Eww¡­ this ce was so gross.

    Sophie nearly threw up when she saw red flecks of blood in the brown sludge and a dead furry creature that was already beginning to decay.

    The air was getting hotter and hotter with every passing second as she moved in the direction that Lexi had pointed out.

    Sophie was forced to adjust the inner temperature controls inside the bodysuit as she felt beads of sweat running down her brows.

    She could handle the heat of course but could not stop her body from having physiological reactions.

    The hybrid girl stopped when she heard the faint sounds of chantinging from a tunnel that was several meters up ahead.

    Sophie immediately adjusted her footsteps and withdrew her cultivation aura. Step by step she inched forward and did not make a single sound.

    The chanting got louder and now she could make out the words although they made little sense without context.

    ¡°Believe it! The dark one! He ising!¡±

    ¡°Believe it! The judgement day is here! Praise be! Praise Lord Victor!¡±

    ¡°HAHAHA! LORD, I SEE YOU! LORD, I SEE YOU!¡±

    Hymns of praise mixed with pious chants formed a cacophony of sounds that echoed through the dark tunnels.

    Sophie entered the tunnel bravely and took in a deep breath before diving into the nasty sewer water that formed a river.

    She made sure that the helmet function on her bodysuit was working properly before she sank into the water¡¯s murky depths.

    The hybrid girl swam forward for what seemed like several minutes before she resurfaced and hid behind a pile of garbage bags.

    Whaty beyond the tunnel was an enormous wide-open room the size of a banquet hall with a nasty river flowing through its center.

    Sophie¡¯s entire bodysuit was covered in filth, so she blended right in with her surroundings.

    It was not a pleasant experience, but she had no desire to be spotted and give away the element of surprise.

    She peeked above the water and saw dozens of Mendolesa men and women dancing around an open fire whose green mes shone with a hypnotic light.

    What the hell?

    Wait¡­ was that¡­

    There was a creature tied up on a stick and slowly roasting over the fire. The scent of cooked meat filled the air and Sophie found her mouth beginning to water.

    Nope. Nope. Nope.

    The creature in question was an enormous rat-like animal the size of an ordinary man whose entire body was covered in boils, blisters, and lumps.

    asionally one of the singing Mendolesa warriors would slit their wrists using a sharp knife and then press their bloody palms against the slowly dying animal.

    ¡°LORD, WE HEAR YOU!¡± an elderly Mendolesa woman screamed as she lovingly nted kisses on the animal¡¯s fur.

    ¡°OH LORD! OH LORD! VICTOR! WE BESEECH YOU!¡± a skinny young Mendolesa male cried out in righteous passion as he embraced the animal even though his feet burned on the fire.

    ¡°Praise! Praise! Sing praises my brothers and sisters!¡± a voice called out from the corner of the room.

    Sophie shifted her gaze in the direction of the sound and saw a familiar individual.

    The skeleton mage was peacefully sitting down on a rock and directing the insane ritual using a mixture of words and hand gestures.

    He had taken off his disguise so one only saw a pile of bones in the shape of a human man holding what appeared to be a wooden staff.

    There was a crimson red jewel embedded in the staff that shone with the same kind of light as the greenish fire.

    ¡°Oh my¡­¡± the skeleton mage suddenly spoke as he pointed his bony hands in a certain direction.

    ¡°It appears as though we have an unexpected guest.¡±

 Chapter 643: A Glimpse Into The Future

    Chapter 643: A Glimpse Into The Future

    ¡°It appears as though we have an unexpected guest¡­¡±

    Sophie¡¯s blood ran cold as her body instantly froze in ce.

    She could feel the warmth of the foul river water surrounding her body and heard the beating of her heart in her chest.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    The skeleton mage slowly raised up his bony hand and Sophie could feel every muscle in her body begin to tense up.

    Danger.

    Her danger sense was going off like never before. If she was not careful¡­ this ce could be her grave.

    Was it time for battle?

    Could she defeat a void stage cultivator?

    Sophie was not immune to fear because she had too much to lose. Ever time she found herself in a life-or-death situation¡­ her fingers would tremble slightly.

    The skeleton mage¡¯s bony finger moved and finally stopped in a ce. Those empty eyes that sat in a bony skull seemed to lead into an endless darkness itself.

    ¡°Come out,¡± the skeleton mage whispered softly.

    A faint warm orange glow appeared several hundred metres behind the spot where Sophie was hiding, and a familiar figure appeared.

    It was the monk.

    He was now wearing a in white robe with golden threads woven into the corner of his sleeves and cuffs.

    His bald head shone under the orange light that surrounded his body and the snake-like tattoos on his forehead began to wriggle and move.

    ¡°Stop this madness at once,¡± the monk gently spoke as he raised up his right hand.

    A powerful beam of energy erupted from his fingertips and shot towards the still dancing believers.

    The skeleton mage onlyughed and then muttered a few iprehensible words under his breath.

    A gigantic ck shield erupted from the ground and blocked the beam before it could fall upon the Mendolesa warriors.

    ¡°It has been a long time hasn¡¯t it¡­ Brother Renly,¡± the skeleton mage spoke calmly as if he was having a conversation with an old friend.

    ¡°I am no longer your brother,¡± the monk harshly retorted as one of the snake tattoos on his forehead reared back its head and hissed softly.

    ¡°The bond between us was the severed the day you turned your back on the order to pursue degeneracy.¡±

    ¡°An endless lust for power will lead only to disaster¡­ you should know that better than any of us. This will only end in tragedy.¡±

    Sophie lowered her head even further into the filthy sewer water as she listened carefully to the conversation between the two men.

    Okay¡­ so there was a connection between the monk and the skeleton. Should she join forces with the monk now?

    No.

    Sophie shook her head and drove that silly thought from her mind as she looked at the two figures with a wary expression on her face.

    There was no guarantee that the monk would appreciate her help or even treat her as a non hostile ally.

    Plus, Sophie could not help but remember the scorn in his eyes when he called her a filthy half breed.

    ¡°Oh brother¡­ do you think those foolish old men understood what real power is? Why do you think our order is nothing more than a cult on the edges of society?¡± the skeleton mage spoke.

    ¡°It is because weck the strength. We have no god stage cultivators within our ranks.¡±

    ¡°How can we get respect when we are weak?¡±

    The skeleton mage shook his head and despite theck of flesh on his face, Sophie could somehow sense the disappointment radiating off him.

    ¡°Our order has no interest in participating in the many spats and quarrels that you would seek to drag us into,¡± Brother Renly furiously replied.

    The monk disappeared from the spot and reappeared with his fist mere inches away from the skeleton¡¯s face.

    His hand was glowing with an eerie white light and strange holy symbols and runes floated above clenched fist.

    Bang!

    Sophie watched as his fist mmed into the skeleton¡¯s face with enough force that a shockwave was emitted.

    The walls of the underground room began to crack under the blow and heavy pieces of stone and concrete fell down from the ceiling.

    The worshippers surrounding the giant rat-like creature screamed in fear and for a brief moment they stopped their bizarre ritual.

    Sophie swam a few metres to the side just as arge b of concrete fell down where she had been just moments ago.

    When the dust cloud finally settled¡­ a shocking sight could be seen.

    The monk was now gasping for breath as his entire body was now covered head to toe with horrific scars and burns.

    The skeleton mage gripped him by the throat and slowly lifted him upwards until his feet were inches off the ground.

    ¡°Lil¡­erghh¡­¡± the monk tried to whisper something, but the skeleton interrupted his chant by squeezing tighter around his throat.

    Despite being hit by such a powerful blow¡­ the skeleton mage appeared to bepletely unharmed.

    ¡°Brother Renly¡­ it seems this is goodbye,¡± the skeleton mage politely spoke as he rubbed his bony thumb against the monk¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple.

    Rsychosis!

    Three humanoid figures burst out of the murky depths of the sewer river and rushed towards the skeleton mage.

    They were all identical images of a seven feet tall human hybrid with four de-like appendages jutting out of their backs.

    Their eyes were golden, but one could see a faint red mist beginning to spread from the corners of their eyes.

    The skeleton mage was taken aback by the sudden ambush, but his hand was much faster than Sophie¡¯s clones.

    Before the three hybrids could reach him¡­ the mage ensured that the monk would not longer participate in the battle.

    Crack!

    The monk¡¯s neck was unnaturally bent by about ny degrees as the life was instantly drained from his eyes.

    The skeleton tossed the corpse on the ground and rubbed his bony feet on the body of his dead brother.

    ¡°Now to deal with the cockroaches¡­¡± the mage muttered softly to himself.

    Multiple bone spikes erupted from the ground beneath the feet of the hybrid girls and skewered their bodies.

    Sophie¡¯s clones spat out mouthfuls of blood as their bodies were lifted up into the air and their internal organs were destroyed.

    ¡°Now tell me¡­ what could possibly possess a qi tide cultivator to seek out someone so much stronger than her?¡± the skeleton mage asked curiously.

    One of the clones chuckled darkly and with thest of her strength she reached into her pocket and flung something at the mage.

    It was small ball-shaped metalloid device with a red light that blinked ominously.

    BOOM!

    An enormous fiery explosion rocked therge room and more pieces of the roof fell down. The clones all died in the st since their bodies were instantly vaporised into ash.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie and ten other mirror images rushed forward towards the mage whose clothes had now beenpletely burnt off.

    There were tiny cracks in his skull that were softly widening with every passing second.

    ¡°You¡­ you dare¡­¡± the skeleton mage stuttered in fury as he realised that he had just been tricked.

    He chanted a series of words under his breath and the remaining worshippers who had not died in the explosion rushed towards the rat-like creature who was barely breathing.

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t,¡± Sophie yelled in rage as she gestured towards two of her clones.

    They separated from the main pack and ran towards the Mendolesa warriors.

    Sophie did not want to kill the obviously brainwashed residents of the underground sewers but if it came down to her life or theirs¡­

    She was selfish.

    The mage shrieked and thick bolt of ck energy surged towards Sophie and the clones who were directly in front of him.

    Sophie¡¯s golden eyes flickered white for a brief moment and the world slowed down to a crawl as she found herself back in the mysterious ck and white zone.

    It was time to look into the future.

 Chapter 644

    Chapter 644: The Severing Of The Divine Connection

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    Sophie reopened her eyes and found herself standing in a strange yet familiar ce.

    The colours of her nearby surroundings had faded away until the world was nothing more than a ck and white fever dream.

    Multiple shadowy figures shed and fought as Sophie got glimpses of the possible paths that the future could take.

    Just as she was about to step closer to get a better look, a terrifying voice echoed through the world with a barely concealed mirth hidden in its tone.

    ¡°Separabit Nexum Ad Divina!¡±

    The world shattered into a thousand pieces and Sophie awoke from her strange state to find herself back in the underground sewers.

    She tried to ess her future sight once more, but it was pointless. Something¡­ or rather someone was blocking her from using her ability.

    How was that possible?

    ¡°Curious¡­¡± the skeleton mage muttered as he stared at the hybrid girl with a newfound interest and curiosity clearly written on his bony face.

    ¡°What kind of old god is your sponsor? Hmm¡­ I couldn¡¯t even get a feel on what type of ability I cut out of your body¡­¡±

    ¡°Was that your source of confidence? An entity beyond the void who granted you a boon?¡±

    ¡°You truly are nothing more than a na?ve child.¡±

    The skeleton mage threw back his head andughed. His maniac giggles echoed through the empty tunnels and ck mes erupted near his fingertips.

    ¡°Ossis militum de terra,¡± the skeleton mage chanted as he plunged his fist into the ground and the ck me burned even brighter.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out several sma rifles. She tossed the weapons to her clones who epted them with bloodthirsty grins on their faces.

    The skeleton mage was right. Perhaps she had gotten too used to having the powers of the Hunter Goddess.

    But he seemed to believe that she would be helpless without them.

    He was wrong.

    Sophie raised up her sma rifle and pointed the barrel of the gun directly at the mage who continued to chant without a care in the world.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    A barrage of sma rounds was shot towards the mage by Sophie and her clones as they showed no mercy towards the undead fiend.

    The mage finished his spell and the earth beneath his feet trembled.

    Thousands of skeletons rose up from the ground wearing varying suits of armour and weapons.

    Hundreds of them were immediately destroyed by the hail of sma fire but more kept crawling out of the ground like a never-ending sea of white death.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck¡­¡± Sophie muttered quietly as she abandoned her sma gun just as the first skeleton warrior leapt towards her.

    She charged forward to reach the monster and the world slowed down to a crawl. It was not even a choice to unleash her bloodthirsty state but rather a reflex.

    A reflex that would prove to be a costly mistake¡­

    A red mist began to spread from the corners of her golden eyes but once again a loud chant came from the mage.

    ¡°Separabit Nexum Ad Divina!¡±

    The red mist instantly retreated, and Sophie¡¯s eyes returned to their natural colour.

    The hybrid girl was thrown off bnce for a moment, but she used her forward momentum to smash her fist in the creature¡¯s sternum.

    The bony warrior flew back with so much force that it crashed into itspanions and shattered them into pieces of bone.

    Sophie¡¯s de-like appendages shot forward and she used their barbed tips to cut a path through the endless sea of undead creatures.

    Even if she was unable to unleash her bloodthirsty state¡­

    Sophie was still an expert fighter who had experienced countless battles,

    The undead were nothing more than distractions but their sheer numbers made it difficult for the hybrid girl to approach the mage standing in the back.

    ¡°Augue adolebitque eam,¡± the skeleton mage loudly chanted as the ck me in his hand got even bigger.

    He hurled an enormous ball of fire at Sophie who barely managed to jump out of the way before it crashed into where she had been standing just moment ago.

    A dozen of the undead warriors and one of her clones were instantly vaporised into nothing more than ash.

    Still the mage continued to hurl fireballs around the battlefield with seemingly reckless abandon without a care for whether or not he hit his own army.

    Rsychosis!

    Multiple identical clones emerged from Sophie¡¯s body as she took the opportunity to hide her real self from the mage.

    Her ploy seeded as the mage turned his attention on the clones that were closet to his location.

    Sophie curiously tried to ess her powers and discovered that two of the three gifts were nowpletely locked.

    There was only one left, and it would be unlikely to aid her in this battle because¡­ well¡­ the skeleton did not seem to have any¡­ err¡­ desires?

    It was a polite way of saying that a creatureposed entirely of bone was unlikely to have a sex drive.

    Sophie and her clones continued to fight desperately against the overwhelming wave of skeletons and the minutes felt like hours as they hacked and shed their way through the horde.

    Despite their best efforts¡­ progress was slow.

    Sophie had to slow down her movements since she wanted to blend in with her mirror images, but it was taking time.

    Precious time that she did not have.

    The skeleton mage chuckled again, and Sophie realised that she had forgotten one important detail in her single-minded pursuit of the mage.

    The ritual!

    Sophie quickly nced at the rat-like creature slowly roasting over the fire and felt an ominous premonition in her heart.

    Her danger sense was now screaming at her to get out of here!

    She sent a message through the mentalwork and two of her clones immediately turned and ran towards the remaining worshippers.

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t,¡± the skeleton mage scolded like how a parent would tease a mischievous child.

    He raised up one of his bony fingers and several white spears erupted from the ground beneath the clones¡¯ feet.

    Sophie felt a sharp pain in her chest as her clones died and the memories of their death flowed into her mind.

    Still¡­ there was something that she noticed.

    As the mage activated another spell¡­ the movements of the undead army would slow down for a brief moment.

    The hybrid girl knew that any direct attackunched at the rat-like creature was likely to be blocked but¡­

    Could the mage block a gas?

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and sent three more of her clones to rush at the rat-like creature but this time¡­ they would be nothing more than distractions.

    She took out a ss vial that had a murky ck liquid inside that bubbled and hissed.

    It was difficult to stealthily drink the liquid and fight off the nearby undead but somehow Sophie managed it.

    She could feel a burning sensation in her body as the powerful toxin entered her meridians and got even stronger.

    Sophie ced a thin sheath over the vial and then bit down hard using her fangs. Thick viscous ck liquid squirted out of her hollow fangs and filled up the vial.

    The chanting and desperate cries from the worshippers got even louder so she knew that she did not have much time left.

    The hybrid girl cocked back her arm and flung the ss vial at the rat-like creature with as much force as she could muster.

    A ck shield appeared in mid air and shattered the vial. The liquid fell down hundreds of feet away from the ritual.

    ¡°What matter of petty tricks do you think¡­ wait a moment¡­ are you?¡± the skeleton mage eximed in shock as he saw something outrageous.

    Poison Cultivation Art- Dragon Strike!

    Sophie focused on the connection between herself and the toxic liquid and made a series of hand gestures.

    The liquid was instantly converted into a gas in the shape of a dragon whose roar shook the entire underground room.

    The mage opened his mouth to cast another spell but now it was toote.

    The poison cloud dragon rushed forward and all of the Mendolesa worshippers as well as the rat-like creature immediately died.

    It was not a pleasant death.

    Horrific boils appeared on the surface of their bodies, and they died as the mucus inside their lungs choked up their air pathways from the inside.

    ¡°YOU. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!¡± the skeleton mage screamed in a mixture of anger and disbelief.  <!--

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 Chapter 645

    Chapter 645: An Unfeeling Goddess

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    ¡°YOU. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!¡± an angry roar echoed through the dark tunnels as the skeleton mage grabbed his bony face.

    His skeleton fingers began to tremble uncontrobly as he ran towards the still corpse of the rat-like creature.

    The army of undead began to slow down as their connection to their master¡¯s mind started to weaken.

    Sophie¡¯s lips gently curved upwards as she saw the mage stumble over to the corpse before finally copsing in front of its body.

    ¡°How? I was so close? How?¡± the skeleton mage muttered quietly to himself over and over again as if he was going mad.

    ¡°How? How? How?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not fair¡­ it¡¯s not fair¡­ it¡¯s not fair¡­ it¡¯s not fair¡­¡±

    He stretched out his cold fingers and lightly touched the beast¡¯s fur as if trying to bring the animal back to life with sheer will alone.

    ¡°Why? Why? Why?¡± the skeleton mage whispered desperately as he mmed his bony fists against the ground and unleashed a piercing scream.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out arge sma sniper. Her clones dealt with the remaining undead while she took careful aim at the distracted mage.

    The weapon in her hand did not even shake as she aimed carefully and did not allow any stray thoughts to enter her mind.

    This was a hunt.

    And the prey was finally vulnerable.

    Sophie¡¯s finger lightly curled around the trigger and arge beam of sma fire was shot directly at the mage¡¯s skull.

    The skeleton who seemed to be wallowing in grief had no way to react in time and the shot sent his body flying.

    There was an enormous hole in the wall where hended, and Sophie used her enhanced vision to peer into the darkness inside.

    The skeleton mage was buried under a pile of rocks and his body was now covered by dirt and the filth of the sewers.

    He slowly rose up from the ground and Sophie shot a few more rounds at his body.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    But this time¡­ something had changed.

    The skeleton mage lifted his arm and an enormous bone shield erupted from the ground which absorbed all the sma fire.

    ¡°Oh, dark one¡­¡± the skeleton mage muttered in a daze as he stared upwards at the ceiling.

    Sophie¡¯s attacks had done damage to him, and one could seerge cracks beginning to form on his bones.

    There was an especiallyrge fracture running down the center of his skull that threatened to tear his head apart.

    Still there was not a hint of panic or fear in the mage¡¯s voice as he continued to call towards his dark patron.

    ¡°I have failed you¡­ the resurrection of your grace¡¯s most beloved pet has failed and for that I know¡­ I will be punished,¡± the skeleton mage softly whimpered.

    ¡°But¡­ before I die¡­ please¡­ allow me to have revenge on the one who ruined your great n¡­ I will pay any price.¡±

    Sophie rushed forward with her clones but soon found herself unable to move as a terrible pressure mmed into her body.

    She fell to the ground and cracks began to appear beneath her feet.

    The skeleton mage muttered a few iprehensible words under his breath and¡­

    The world stood still.

    Sophie had felt the pressure and the presence of void stage cultivators before and instinctively knew that this¡­ was not it.

    This was more.

    This was¡­ the god stage.

    Have you ever wondered how ants feel as they stare up at the human foot slowly descending upon their bodies?

    Do you think they try to escape? Or do they simply ept their fates?

    How can mere insects challenge the might of gods?

    Sophie could not even summon up any resistance as she watched the skeleton mage slowly walk towards her location.

    There was a reason why God stage cultivators were called one-man armies or natural disasters.

    They were beings capable of standing toe to toe withary destroying starships and could even withstand direct nuclear strikes.

    The skeleton mage trembled as the power that flowed through his body caused the cracks in his bones to widen even further.

    He beckoned with his fingers and Sophie found herself getting up from the ground and walking towards him.

    She was no longer in control of her body and could only dance to the mage¡¯s tune like a puppet hooked on the strings attached to its master.

    Her danger sense was going haywire.

    She was about to die.

    [My vessel]

    A cold disinterested voice appeared in Sophie¡¯s mind, and it was one that was very familiar. Had the hunter goddesse to witness her end?

    There was a lot that Sophie wanted to say to the unreasonable goddess but there were only endless regrets running through her mind.

    She didn¡¯t expect the hunter goddess to help her. Her patron was an unfeeling deity who was only concerned with the thrill of her hunt.

    She never cared about her vessel¡¯s well being. In fact, she was nothing more than a junkie addicted to watching thrills.

    [Is that what you really think of me little one?]

    The hunter goddessughed in Sophie¡¯s mind with light and airy giggles that seemedpletely inappropriate given the grim circumstances.

    [Perhaps you are right¡­ I do not interfere with my vessels and the thorny path that they must walk in order to receive my gifts.]

    ¡°So will you help me?¡± Sophie whispered quietly as she walked even closer to the skeleton mage who was barely holding on.

    Five hundred metres¡­ four hundred metres¡­ three hundred metres¡­

    [Little one¡­ if there is any constion¡­ you have burned brightest among those who used my gifts¡­ I will miss you very much]

    There was a hint of fondness in the hunter goddess¡¯ tone and Sophie could sense that the otherworldly entity truly meant what she said.

    But so, what?

    She was going to die all the same.

    Sophie opened her mouth to argue when the hunter goddess¡¯ voice echoed once more in her mind but this time with a mocking sneer.

    [If you are thinking of giving up and dying then perhaps my judgement of you was wrong from the start]

    ¡°You¡­¡± Sophie stuttered in rage but could sense that the presence of the goddess had disappeared from her mind.

    Two hundred metres¡­ one hundred metres¡­ fifty metres¡­

    Now she was directly face to face with the skeleton mage and could see an intense ck me floating above his right hand.

    Sophie instinctively knew that if that me touched her skin¡­ she would die.

    Think¡­ think¡­ think¡­

    The hybrid girl struggled and tried to move her body but the gap between herself and the god stage was a distance too wide to cross.

    There was only one card that she had left.

    Sophie lowered her head and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and prayed to whatever gods were out there that this would work.

    When the hybrid girl reopened her eyes¡­.

    They were bright pink.

 Chapter 646

    Chapter 646: A Job Well Done

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    I want to live.

    Four simple words.

    And yet¡­ Sophie could hear them ringing out in her mind over and over again. She wanted to return safely from this ce.

    She wanted to see Cleo. She wanted to see her dad.

    She wanted to see her friends.

    Hell, she even missed her acquaintances and ssmates from university.

    There are very few people who truly desire death because no one can know what happens after.

    Is there nothing? Are the afterlives real?

    Would they be judged by nameless and faceless gods to spend eternity in another realm?

    Sophie knew that her soul had fused with a being called Sui Meng from the ancient Earth era so who knows what would happen when she died.

    Would their souls separate?

    The hybrid girl chuckled softly as all the thoughts and panic running through her mind slowly faded away.

    As she moved closer to the skeleton mage because of her feet that were no longer in her control, she could not help but think about the hunter goddess¡¯ words.

    What an unreasonable deity.

    Expecting a cultivator in the qi tide stage to somehow kill someone who was in the god stage. It was like sending a small child to fight a fully grown man.

    The oue was expected.

    The child¡¯s fate was sealed.

    No one would me her for failing.

    Except¡­ Sophie had never been one to give up so easily.

    There was still one card left to y.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. This was an insane gamble, but she had nothing left to lose.

    She could feel the remaining divine connection between herself and the hunter goddess and willed the dark power to enter her meridians.

    When she reopened her eyes¡­ they were bright pink.

    The skeleton mage¡¯s hand was only a few metres away, but he froze for a brief moment as he sensed Sophie¡¯s new power.

    Before he could mutter a spell to sever the connection¡­ Sophie activated her gift.

    Bright pink spots appeared along the skeleton mage¡¯s ribcage and several of his bones near his lower half.

    Sophie¡¯s bright pink eyes shed even brighter, and the mage started to moan as bursts of pleasure flooded his mind.

    There were no nerve cells on his body to actually feel the overwhelming sensations that were running through his mind but¡­

    He had memories.

    Sophie used her gift to tap into the memories of the mage when he was a human and amplified his feelings of wanton lust and attraction.

    The skeleton mage fell down on the ground and desperately began to rub his bony fingers against his naked crotch.

    It was a futile effort and yet the skeleton mage¡¯s fingers kept grasping around his lower regions searching for an appendage that was no longer there.

    ¡°What¡­ what¡­ did you do to me?¡± the skeleton mage moaned loudly as he began to convulse on the ground with his hip thrusting ever so slightly outwards.

    A twisted smile began to spread across Sophie¡¯s lips as she felt the strange pressure holding her body in ce start to lift.

    She wriggled her fingers and quietly strained against the invisible bonds until a loud snapping noise could be heard.

    The skeleton mage desperately tried to stop his prey from escaping but every time he muttered the beginning words of a spell¡­

    Another burst of pleasure would flood his mind.

    Magic required concentration. One needed tomand the mana in their pathways to flow in a particr pattern or shape.

    What Sophie was doing was interrupting the mage¡¯s concentration by allowing him to experience ecstasy at a level that he had never experienced before.

    But that was not the full extent of her gift.

    Sophie stretched out her hand and pointed it at the mage. Immediately he froze in ce and dark pink runes appeared on his body.

    ¡°Sister Helena¡­ we can¡¯t¡­ this is forbidden,¡± the mage whispered hoarsely as he got up from the ground and grabbed an invisible person.

    ¡°You dirty minx¡­ how could you seduce me in this holy ce¡­ I will punish you.¡±

    Sophie stepped back several metres and watched as the mage lost himself in an endless mental maze of illusions.

    He would experience countless sexual encounters with every single person that he had ever found even remotely attractive.

    The hybrid girl¡¯s eyes continued to glow, and Sophie felt arge headacheing on as her body wasn¡¯t used to using this ability.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag to pull out another weapon but then stopped as she noticed something.

    The cracks on the skeleton mage¡¯s body were beginning to widen and his cultivation aura was suddenly decreasing rapidly.

    It seems that the cultivation boost that he got from his god was not unconditional and appeared to have a time limit.

    In that case all she had to do was maintain the illusion and eventually the skeleton mage¡¯s body would fall apart.

    Sophie leaned against a nearby wall and pulled a healing syringe out her pocket.

    She jabbed the sharp metalloid needle into her arm and injected the solution into her body.

    She felt a wave of relief as the deep cuts and nasty bruises that she had picked up during the fight with the undead began to heal.

    This was not a particrly honourable way to win but Sophie didn¡¯t really care much for honour.

    The skeleton bone mage continued to shout like a lunatic and contort his body into various sexual positions.

    Finally, after ten long minutes that felt like an eternity¡­ the cracks tore apart his right arm.

    Then his other arm¡­ then his legs¡­ then his chest and eventually¡­

    There was arge line in the middle of his skull that got sorge that both halves fell away from each other.

    In the brief moment before death, the skeleton mage seemed to have woken up from the illusions and realised what had happened.

    ¡°You¡­ I¡­ I¡­. cur¡­¡± the skeleton mage¡¯s final sentence was not finished as his skull finally came apart.

    Sophie stumbled towards the corpse and cancelled her technique.

    Her pinkish eyes soon returned to their normal golden hue, and she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

    She stumbled slightly and nearly crashed to the ground but barely managed to keep herself together.

    The skeleton mage was now nothing more than a bundle of cracked up old bones that were slowly turning into ash.

    Sophie¡¯s eyes caught a glimpse of something hidden inside the body and her hand darted forward to grab what appeared to be the remains of a dried-up heart.

    ¡°Hunter¡­ goddess¡­ I got it¡­¡± Sophie slurred her words as her body slightly swayed from side to side.

    Her eyelids gradually closed as she fell towards the ground where shended with a painful thump.

    Sophie blissfully entered into a dreamless slumber while surrounded by the filth and nastiness of the underground sewers.

    She did not see that the dried-up heart in her palm was grabbed by a slender hand that came from a ripple in space.

    Nor did she remember how the hand paused for a moment and then gently stroked the side of her helmet before whispering the words,

    ¡°Well done my vessel.¡±  <!--

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 Chapter 647 The Taste Of Freedom

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

    Drip¡­ drip¡­ drip¡­

    Drip¡­ drip¡­ drip¡­

    Drip¡­ drip¡­ drip¡­

    Sophie groggily opened her eyes and slowly shifted her body. She could hear the sound of what she hoped was water falling from the ceiling.

    Unfortunately, she was wrong and the murky liquid coating the exterior of her battlesuit, and helmet was brown and sludge-like.

    It did not take a genius to know what it was.

    Gross¡­

    The hybrid girl sat up and looked around her nearby surroundings.

    Part of therge underground space had now been buried under rocks while the other half had begun to flood.

    She had been lying in a pool of filthy water and ooze. Sophie winced as she felt a sharp pain all over her body.

    It felt as though she had just been run over by a truck.

    It hurt to even move and every step that she took sent fiery bursts of pain throughout her body.

    What time was it?

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and checked the date and time. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw dozens if not hundreds of missed messages and calls.

    Wait¡­ how long was I unconscious?

    The date on her wristmunicator was a solid two weeks after she had first arrived on this which meant that she had been asleep for around fourteen days.

    Sophie quickly reached into her storage bag and pulled out severalrge nutrient vials which she then gulped down without hesitation by opening a p in her helmet.

    No wonder in addition to the pain¡­ she also felt a hollow feeling in her stomach.

    The hybrid girl cracked her knuckles absentmindedly and then looked at all the messages in her inbox.

    The bond between herself and Cleo would have let her girlfriend know that she was safe and in good health but¡­

    It was clear from the messages that her girlfriend was going frantic after not hearing from her for several days.

    There were also a few messages from her friends, a couple questions from her professors wondering when she would be back on the campus and¡­

    An urgent message from her dad?

    Sophie wanted to immediately call Cleo but tapped the message from her dad first since it appeared to be urgent.

    These messages were sent only a few days ago.

    Father: [Hi princess¡­ I heard from Cleo how the hunter goddess is making you go on yet another of her missions¡­]

    Father: [Truthfully, I am not happy but¡­ I am familiar with vessels and know that what you have entered is a contract with an otherworldly entity]

    Father: [Those kinds of contracts do not end well if they are broken¡­ trust me I have seen many such cases firsthand.]

    Father: [Anyways when you do see these messages, I just have to let you know that the ceremony for the selection of the new leader of the human side of the Federation has begun.]

    Father: [The ritualistic tournament itself will be at the end of the year but I will be busy for the next few months making a few alliances and checking in on our enemies.]

    Sophie read the rest of her dad''s messages and quickly typed out a reply. It was big news that the next leader of the Imperial Family would be selected soon.

    Honestly there was a part of her that wanted Cleo to be the next empress but obviously her girlfriend was far too young.

    Plus, Sophie was more concerned with keeping her safe and the dirty world of politics was not an ideal ce to aplish that goal.

    Speaking of which¡­

    Ring! Ring!

    Sophie wristmunicator vibrated slightly as she called her girlfriend in the murky darkness of the sewers.

    A holographic projection floated above her wristmunicator that captures the details of her body and some of the nearby surroundings.<sub> </sub>

    Ring! Ring!

    Sophie did not have to wait long until the call was epted and a beautiful young woman with heavy dark circles under her eyes appeared on the other side of the screen.

    "Sophie?" Cleo asked with a bit of hesitancy in her voice. She saw a dark figure covered in what appeared to be a brownish sludge.

    "Babe!" Sophie eximed happily as she waved at her girlfriend.

    "Sorry I didn''t reply to your messages¡­ when I finished the hunter goddess'' task, I fell unconscious and I just woke up."

    "Oh, thank god¡­ you''re okay," Cleo let out a secret breath of relief as she stared at her lover who waved cheerfully.

    Yes, it was true that she would be able to sense if anything happened to her girlfriend, but it was still worrying not to hear from her for several weeks.

    "Are you injured?" Cleo asked with concern evident in her tone.

    "Nope! Everything regenerated just fine¡­ although to be honest with you¡­ I really want to take a nice long shower after this¡­" Sophie muttered quietly.

    "I''m pretty sure that my sense of smell has just been utterly destroyed."

    Cleo could not help butugh at her girlfriend''s attempt at a joke and the pair spent the next few minutes chatting until the princess urged Sophie to get out of the sewers as soon as possible.

    Sophie ended to call with a final goodbye and then stretched out her armszily.

    She replied to the rest of the messages, but it appeared as though no one else was online.

    Okay¡­ now to get out of this shithole.

    Getting out of the sewers was a rtively straightforward task as all Sophie had to do was choose a direction and then keep walking straight forward.

    Without even being properly treated¡­ yuck.

    Sophie hummed softly to herself as she walked through an endlessbyrinth of side passageways and tunnels that made up the sewerplex.

    The only sounds other than her voice and the sshing of the river were the squeals of the furry animals as the scurried through the darkness.

    As Sophie walked through the sewers, her movements slowed down as she quickly realised something.

    Howe she had not gotten rewarded?

    No new abilities? No boost in cultivation?

    "Hunter goddess¡­ I fulfilled my end of the deal¡­" Sophie whispered quietly as she stared upwards at the ceiling.

    "Where is my reward?"

    There was a brief silence as Sophie waited to hear the familiar voice echoing through her mind usually with a cold tone.

    Nothing.

    Even as the silence stretched out¡­ it was like the hunter goddess could not hear her words.

    Sophie frowned slightly but continued on her journey out of the sewers.

    She really hoped that she hadn''t gotten ripped off.

    The deal was simple. Aplish whatever tasks the goddess required her to fulfil and then get a cultivation boost.

    It was not selfish to want a reward especially after risking your life and Sophie had not forgotten just how close she came to death.

    If the ck me surrounding the skeleton mage''s right hand had made contact with her body, then¡­

    Sophie did not even want to think about that morbid possibility.

    Four hours passed by uneventfully until Sophie eventually saw the tunnel widen and a faint bright light could be seen in the distance.

    She could not resist the urge and quickly activated her movement technique. Sophie''s body blurred and then vanished from the spot as she rushed forward.

    Freedom!

    She had survived!

 Chapter 648 An Unfortunate Side Effect

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Outskirts Of The Capitol City)

    Sophie ran towards the light until she finally emerged from the dark underground sewer tunnels.

    She found herself standing on the shoreline of arge open sea where the dirty water from the river flowed directly into the ocean.

    The hybrid girl wanted nothing more than to take off her helmet and breathe in the rtively fresh air of the outside world but unfortunately her battlesuit was still covered with filth.

    And by filth¡­ she really meant it.

    Sophie looked down at her battlesuit and saw what could only be described as a mixture of sewage, garbage, and dirt.

    Not exactly a pleasantbination.

    Plus, there were small holes in her battlesuit from her fight with the skeleton mage, so parts of her exposed skin had gotten dirty.

    Eww¡­ gross¡­ gross¡­

    Sophie furrowed her brows and quickly looked around for any nearby stream or rivers. Hell¡­ at this point she would settle for a rtivelyrge puddle.

    Maybe she could wash off in the ocean but then she needed to move significantly downwind from where the sewage entered therge body of water.

    She walked along the shoreline while taking a moment to appreciate the bright rays of sunlight that illuminated the nearby surroundings.

    It was now midday, and the bright sun was hanging high above in the clear blue sky. Sophie''s lips curved upwards as she heard the sounds of waves crashing against the shoreline.

    It was all¡­ so peaceful.

    She had survived.

    "Hunter goddess¡­ I did it," Sophie whispered quietly as she stretched out her arms and gave a small yawn.

    Even though she had slept for over two weeks¡­ for some reason she still felt exhausted and the pain in her body had not ceased.

    What was going on?

    Sophie made a mental note to herself to get a medical checkup as she continued to venture forth towards a cleaner part of the beach.

    She encountered dozens of brightly coloured shells along the way and there were small fleshy creatures hidden inside.

    She picked up one out of curiosity and the creature extended a long snake-like tendril with a pincer- like appendage at its end.

    Sophie quickly ced the shell back on the ground before the animal got more upset.

    She watched as the creature inside the shell retracted its tendril and then remained motionless.

    Fascinating¡­

    Maybe in another life instead of being a cultivator she would have be an inteary biologist.

    Going from to across the universe documenting the different forms of life, ecosystems, and theplex prey- predator rtionships.

    Honestly that didn''t sound too bad.

    Cultivators did live for thousands of years so maybe in a few centuries she would go to an ordinary university andplete a zoology degree.

    She could picture it now¡­ Dr. Peterlor a renowned biologist and famous author who published several books on new animal species that she encountered on her travels.

    Sophie shook her head and snapped herself out of the daydream. Right now, she needed to focus on getting cleaned up.

    After an hour of walking, Sophie finally found what she was looking for.

    There was a small stream of crystal-clear water that flowed directly into the ocean.

    There were no traces of impurities or waste substances but just to be safe, Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a long metalloid tube.

    She dipped the end of the tube in the water and captured a small sample. The device analysed the water and then disyed the results on a screen.

    Hmm¡­ the pH of the water was a bit low but otherwise it seemed to be perfectly fine.

    Sophie peeled off her battlesuit and winced as the strong overpowering scent of raw sewage filled her nostrils.<sub> </sub>

    She tried her best not to gag as she removed the helmet.

    Without hesitation the hybrid girl jumped into the water and began to furiously scrub at her skin.

    She needed to get this filth off her body¡­ NOW!

    Sophie sshed and yed in the water and swam a fewps up and down the stream. It was a fun and rxing way to spend an afternoon.

    "Ahh¡­ finally¡­ I can smell¡­" Sophie eximed in relief as she sshed water against her face and rubbed her cheeks.

    The worst part of her entire experience underground¡­ well outside of the whole nearly dying thing was definitely the smell.

    Sophie spent around thirty minutes soaking in the water and making sure that every inch of her body was clean.

    A pack ofrge wolf-like animal appeared in the distance but the scenting off Sophie''s discarded battlesuit soon drove them away.

    Apparently even the predators on this disliked the smell of raw sewage.

    The hybrid girl got out of the water and extended her senses outwards to cover her nearby surroundings.

    Okay¡­ now to quickly get changed.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a new outfit and a towel.

    Even though she was alone, Sophie still rushed behind a nearby clump of bushes while she changed.

    She was not a fan of public nudity and was not going to take any chances.

    Eventually a beautiful young woman emerged from the bushes wearing a simple ck track pants and a blue jacket that was a bit toorge for her body.

    The blue jacket had four big holes in its back for her de-like appendages that swayed slightly from side to side.

    Now¡­ what should she do about her suit?

    Honestly Sophie did not want to touch it for a variety of reasons. Still¡­ it wasn''t like she could just leave it here.

    The hybrid girl thought about what to do for a moment and then finally decided to destroy it.

    She cocked back her fist and the qi in her dantian flowed towards the meridians in her arm.

    me Art- Fire Fist!

    Fierce orangish-red mes wrapped around Sophie''s right hand as she punched forward, and an enormous wave of fire rushed towards the suit.

    The intense mes instantly reduced the battlesuit to nothing more than ash in a matter of seconds.

    Sophie furrowed her brows since she was a bit surprised at the sight. Wasn''t her battlesuit supposed to be fireproof?

    How did she burn it down so easily?

    "Arghhh!" Sophie screamed in pain as the mes wrapped around her hand immediately extinguished.

    She fell to the ground and began to convulse as terrible spasms rocked her body. It felt as though thousands of needles were piercing into her flesh all at once.

    Fuck¡­ it hurt so bad¡­

    Sophie gritted her teeth and had to fight down the urge to sob as she had never felt such a high level of pain before.

    Her fingers trembled as the muscles all over her body cramped up and spasmed. The pain was so bad that Sophie for a moment thought that she was going to die.

    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity¡­ the pain finally ceased.

    Sophie slowly got up from the ground and panted like a dying dog as she pushed herself to stand up properly.

    "Hunter goddess¡­ I know this is your fault¡­ exin yourself," Sophie angrily yelled as she fell down once more as her legs gave out.

    [Sorry my darling vessel]

    A familiar voice entered Sophie''s mind and she knew that her otherworldly patron had heard her words.

    [Your body is still adjusting to your new cultivation level]

 Chapter 649 Relics Of A Bygone Era

    (Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

    Corpe- Outskirts Of The Capitol City)

    "So¡­ what exactly do you mean by that? Am I already a void stage cultivator?" Sophie asked curiously as she stretched out her hands.

    She did not feel more powerful than before.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and sensed the qi that was floating around in her dantian. The amount seemed to be the same however¡­

    There was something peculiar happening inside.

    Sophie''s brows slowly furrowed as she observed liquid droplets of qi energy pressing and squeezing together to form solid star-like objects.

    What the heck?

    It was an incredibly slow process and so far, only two star-like objects had been formed out of her entire dantian sea.

    Mere droplets in a vast openke of qi.

    The familiar voice of the hunter goddess echoed in Sophie''s mind and revealed more information about her condition.

    [Well not exactly¡­ your physiology is a bit¡­ unique my dear¡­]

    [Right now, you are in the process of transitioning into the void stage, but this process may take a few months toplete.]

    "What about the pain? Is it supposed to hurt like this?" Sophie questioned as she opened her eyes and winced.

    She felt another sharp burst of pain this time in her lower back that was so fierce that for a moment she had trouble breathing.

    [Do not worry my precious vessel¡­ the pain should eventually go away in a few days once your body gets used to the process]

    [Until then¡­ do take care of yourself. I would hate to see my favourite vessel get hurt]

    "A few days?" Sophie eximed in shock as she stumbled slightly. She fell back to the ground and groaned as another wave of pain ravaged her body.

    The hunter goddess'' voice disappeared from her mind and Sophie could sense that her otherworldly patron had just left.

    Damn it!

    This fucking sucked. Why was everything so difficult?

    For once¡­ just once!

    Why couldn''t she simply break through to the next stage of her cultivation journey without any problems?

    Sophie got up from the ground with a dull groan and stabbed her de-like appendages into the soil in order to steady herself.

    She slowly inched her way forward not using her legs but using her appendages with spider-like movements.

    The zing sun still hung brightly in the sky, but its warm rays of light did little to cheer but the hybrid girl who gritted her teeth constantly.

    She had to resist the urge to scream as it felt as though a wrecking ball had just mmed into every organ in her body.

    Howl! Howl!

    Several dark four-legged creatures with scaly skin andrge razor-sharp teeth jumped out of the nearby bushes and surrounded Sophie.

    The hybrid girl simply raised up her face and looked directly at the hostile animals with eyes that were slowly turning crimson.

    Bloodlust radiated off her body in waves and the creatures who were once confident in their ambush began to look afraid.

    Sophie''s appearance resembled that of a demon.

    All animals instinctively react when faced with the looming threat of death and these creatures were no exception.

    Three of the creatures fled immediately while the two in the front of the pack rushed forward with obvious fear in their eyes.

    Fight or flight¡­

    Sophie fought against the pain that was clouding her thoughts and simply stabbed forward using her de-like appendages.

    She easily pierced the animals'' scaly skin and tore out their still beating hearts. The creatures copsed on the ground with the life slowly draining from their eyes.

    It was a quick and easy battle.

    The hybrid girl sniffed the hearts that were impaled on her appendages and then grabbed them using her hands.<sub> </sub>

    She ced the warm organs in her mouth and then bit down.

    Blood sttered across her face, but Sophie paid no attention to the warm liquid as she chewed the meaty flesh.

    Hmm¡­ delicious¡­

    Sophie finished her meal and felt a warm current of energy flow down to her dantian. The pain ceased for just a moment ¡­ or perhaps that was merely her imagination.

    Either way she was in a much better mood as she checked her wristmunicator and inputted the location of the spaceport.

    She wanted to get off this as soon as possible.

    For the next sixteen hours, Sophie found herself moving through a lush green forest and fighting off waves of hostile wildlife.

    The journey should not have taken so long but she was forced to stop and rest quite frequently when the pain became too much.

    She even encountered a few Mendolesa hunters in the forest, but they kept their distance since they were wary of the blood that covered her body.

    To be fair Sophie knew that her appearance could sometimes be¡­ terrifying so she did not hold it against them.

    Finally, when the sun had long sunk over the horizon and the first stars could be seen in the sky, Sophie saw arge metalloid tower in the distance.

    Therge metalloid building was surrounded by several shabby wooden huts and poorly constructed shacks barely illuminated by streemps that flickered on and off.

    She had made it back to the capitol city.

    Sophie let out a light sigh of relief and checked hermunicator to make sure that she went in the proper direction.

    The shortest way to the spaceport was through the slums and ordinarily Sophie would have taken this route but¡­

    She did not want to take any chances especially considering the strange state of her body.

    If it was one thing that she had learned during her months in the Unovan Syndicate, it was that you never knew when danger would strike.

    There shouldn''t be anyone with a cultivation level on par with hers in the slums but knowing her luck¡­

    Well Sophie wouldn''t be surprised if a god stage cultivator suddenly popped out.

    A hoarse bark ofughter escaped her mouth, but it soon turned into a coughing fit as Sophie doubled over in pain.

    She covered her mouth as her body trembled violently.

    When the coughing finally stopped, she looked at her hand and saw that it was covered in flecks of blood.

    Were the side effects of entering the void stage so great?

    What would happen when she reached the god stage and beyond?

    Numerous questions surfaced in Sophie''s mind as she travelled the long way around the outskirts of the city.

    As she circled the perimeter of the city, the true scale of the inequity between its residents was clearly revealed.

    The over two hundred story metalloid buildings were in stark contrast to the poorly made huts below them on the ground.

    It was like they belonged to two different eras.

    The local authorities in charge of this had obviously not done a good job in running the ce.

    It was impossible to make everyone rich in society, but it was not an issue to maintain at least a decent standard of living.

    Especially with the technology avable.

    Hunger, thirst, and shelter should all theoretically be problems of the past, relics of a bygone era without gically modified food, replicators, and water generators.

    And yet¡­

    They still persisted to this day.

    Sophie''s thoughts shifted to the Mendolesa girl who she had met in the sewers below the city.

    She hoped that the girl would take the opportunity to make a fresh start in her life away from the drugs and despair.

    But in this city¡­ no in this¡­ there were probably hundred of thousands if not millions of Mendolesa warriors who were trapped in an endless cycle of poverty.

    What could be done to fix this?

 Chapter 650 A New Instructor?

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    "Yes, that is correct," Cleo spoke calmly as she leaned against her chair and watched the holographic projection in front of her.

    On the other side of the screen was a middle-aged woman with long greying hair wearing the ceremonial white robe of the Imperial Family''s upper rank servants.

    "I will renounce my im to the throne under the treaty of Northedron. Therefore, I will not be forced to participate in the session ritual" Cleo continued to speak in a firm tone.

    The female servant opened her mouth and replied with a hint of disbelief in her voice,

    "Princess is there a reason why? Many of your siblings around your age will be taking part and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

    "There is no need for you to understand my reason. Simply record my deration and we will not see each other again," Cleo responded coldly.

    Her piercing green eyes stared directly at the servant who felt a cold chill run down her spine.

    She nodded politely at the princess and then the holographic screen was cut off.

    Cleo let out a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temples absentmindedly. Did she regret not participating in the session ritual?

    Maybe a little bit.

    Anyone who imed that they had no interest in bing the ruler of the human side of the Federation was a liar or a fool.

    To gain all that power... was an intoxicating possibility.

    Many would be willing to risk their lives or the lives of others in order to achieve that goal at whatever the cost.

    And it was precisely for that reason why Cleo chose not to participate.

    She did not want to drag Sophie and her father into the internal conflicts of the royal family and most importantly...

    Shecked the strength.

    Cleo was an individual who was very aware of both her strengths and her weaknesses. She may be powerfulpared to her peers as a mech controller but...

    It would not be enough.

    The top candidates for the throne were at either the void stage or the god stage.

    If she faced one of those high-level cultivators during the ritual, then she would be lucky to escape with her life.

    Cleo got up from her chair and stretched out her armszily. She picked up her wristmunicator that was on the table and ced it back on her arm.

    What was the time?

    The princess nced at her metalloid device and saw that it was now around nine o'' clock in the morning.

    She had barely gotten any sleepst night after finally being able to contact her girlfriend after several weeks.

    Sophie...

    Cleo missed her terribly and felt a mixture of anger and worry in her heart because she knew that this experience would be repeated in the future.

    That so-called ''hunter goddess'' sent out missions to her lover that would always put her in harms way.

    Cleo wanted to stop Sophie from being forced to go but didn''t know how. However, she did know where to start...

    Unbeknownst to Sophie she had been investigating private books and information sites on the Virtual Net about any information rted to vessels.

    Maybe hidden somewhere would be a method to sever the connection between a vessel and their otherworldly patron.

    Still her research had been slow with little results.

    The princess yawned sleepily and covered her mouth. Below her piercing green eyes were heavy bags that made her look quite tired.

    Her hair was now a barelybed mess and her overall appearance really left much to be desired.

    Cleo headed for the shower to freshen up. She sshed some water against her face and took out ab from her storage bag.

    It took around fifteen minutes but eventually she nced at her reflection in the mirror and decided that it was good enough.

    "Moon I''m heading out now!" Cleo yelled as she walked towards the front door.<sub> </sub>

    She heard the sounds of wings pping and then arge objectnded on her shoulder.

    Cleo stumbled slightly as the massive frostwing bat nuzzled against the side of her cheek for a moment.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon screamed happily and then hopped off Cleo''s shoulder before flying towards the master bedroom.

    The princess'' lips gently curved upwards as she watched the departing figure of the mischievous frostwing bat.

    The mansion felt quite lonely when Sophie was away so Moon''s antics did a lot to brighten up the mood.

    Cleo opened the front door and stepped outside. She felt the cool morning breeze brush against her face.

    There were a handful of other students walking around the housingplex and Cleo politely waved to the ones that greeted her.

    Okay... so her first ss was...

    Cleo checked her schedule and saw that it was a Mech- Modification course. This was a unique course being offered at the university this semester.

    The name of the professor teaching it had not been revealed yet since the first day of the ss was today.

    Yes... thete start was a bit peculiar but that only lent further intrigue to the mystery.

    Actually, the modification of mechs by private individuals was a bit... grey in terms of legality so Cleo was surprised to see this course offered.

    There was a trace of anticipation in her heart as she walked out of the housingplex towards the northern part of the campus.

    It took around twenty minutes before she finally arrived at a massive three-story mechanical hangar that was sealed shut.

    Tworge, reinforced steel doors blocked the entrance to the hangar and each door was around the size of a medium-sized mech.

    Cleo estimated that the doors had to be at least eighteen metres tall, so they were quite huge.

    She was apparently the first to arrive since there was no one else here.

    The princess waited around for a couple more minutes since the lecture was not due to start for another fifteen minutes.

    "Cleo!" a cheerful voice rang out.

    Cleo turned in the direction of the sound and saw a Mendolesa girl waving at her with a wide grin on her wolfish face.

    Next to her with a skinny boy with androgynous facial features that were both masculine and feminine in charm.

    "Good morning, Elenora... good morning, Drew... how are you all?" Cleo asked politely as she smiled at her ssmates.

    "Oh man! I''m pretty excited! Did you managed to find out who our professor is?" Elenora spoke enthusiastically and her tail wagged furiously from side to side.

    "Not yet... it''s quite the mystery... I even checked the database of the active professors on campus, and I still have no idea," Cleo truthfully admitted.

    "Probably a criminal..." Drew muttered under his breath as he looked at the hangar with a small frown on his face.

    His words instantly made the atmosphere a bit awkward, but Elenoraughed and filled the silence with some small talk.

    Cleo engaged in some light conversation with the Mendolesa girl but Drew simply stood to the side and stared off into the distance.

    His attitude had changed quite a bit since the mech controller examst semester.

    To be fair anyone who went through an intense life and death situation would find their personality slightly changed.

    This was a rumor of course.... but Cleo had heard that the Quafes boy had actually submitted a letter to quit the university but had been persuaded to stay.

    "Move out of the way," a hoarse voice interrupted Elenora''s ongoing conversation about her pets back home.

    A man wearing a long ck cloak strode past the students and pressed his hand against a scanner on the wall.

    ? He looked to be in his early thirties and had small beady eyes, an unshaven beard and a physique that could only be described as... frail.

    He was not a handsome man as his nose was sharp and curved almost like a hawk''s and several of his teeth were dark and rotted.

    His entire body stank of day-old alcohol and the unpleasant scent brought tears to Cleo''s eyes as she blinked furiously.

    Was this man their instructor?

 Chapter 651 An Obvious Trap

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Main Campus- Offsite Hangar)

    As the instructor ced his hand against the scanner, a green light swept up and down the length of his palm.

    Soon therge mechanical doors began to slowly part to reveal arge open space where dozens of mechs, robots and strange metalloid devices could be seen scattered across the hall.

    "Follow me," the instructor gruffly spoke as he waved his hand in azy manner.

    Cleo exchanged a puzzled look with Elenora but walked behind the instructor as he entered therge space.

    The new instructor was certainly¡­ unique.

    As Cleo got closer, her eyes continued to water as she experienced the awful stench that hung around the instructor''s body.

    Drew followed behind the two girls but judging from the slight trembling of his fingers, he was also feeling a bit ufortable.

    The instructor led the three students to the back of the hangar where several work benches had been ced.

    On each bench were a variety of instruments and tools.

    Some of them Cleo recognised from her course on Mech Repair while the purpose of others remained a mystery.

    The instructor turned around and his beady eyes seemed to stare into his students'' souls as a twisted grimace shed across his face.

    "Name''s Mason¡­" the instructor finally spoke after a long ufortable silence.

    "I aint a professor¡­ so just call me by my first name. Now I am here for one purpose and one purpose only."

    "To somehow teach you brats how to modify a mech with all sorts of illegal weaponry and cloaking devices."

    "I''m not going to repeat myself when teaching so you either learn or go bother the person next to you to exin."

    "Do I make myself clear?"

    Mason cleared his throat and then spat out a thick wad of sticky phlegm thatnded on the floor.

    He rubbed the yellow mucus using his boots which caused an expression of disgust to surface on Cleo''s face.

    "Yes sir¡­" Elenora hesitantly replied after no one else spoke for several long seconds.

    "Don''t call me sir¡­ call me Mason," the instructor hissed angrily as he mmed his fist on the workbench.

    "Yes Mason," Cleo spoke with barely concealed irritation hidden in her voice.

    Why was this instructor so strange?

    He didn''t look like a proper teacher¡­ hell he didn''t even look like a proper member of society!

    Mason closed his eyes and his hand reached into one of the pockets of his ck cloak.

    He pulled out a silver sk and without even looking, he managed to unscrew the top and take arge swig of its contents.

    Drew nervously shifted back and forth as he watched the instructor finish the entire contents of the sk before putting it back in his pocket.

    "Lesson one¡­ you should be able to modify a mech under any condition¡­ even if you''re ck out drunk," Mason slurred as he stumbled over to a nearby workbench.

    Cleo and her two ssmates stayed in ce as they watched their instructor fumble around before grabbing the arm of a mech.

    He ced therge mechanical arm on the workbench and then grabbed several tools.

    He opened up the control panel on the mech''s arm and began taking out some of the wires.

    This process went on for several minutes until the arm pulsed with an eerie blue light.

    "Now¡­ do any of you know what I just did?" Mason askedzily as he moved away from the arm.

    "No¡­no¡­" Drew hesitantly replied as he took a step back.

    "Maybe you adjusted the controls to make it a bit easier to operate?" Cleo suggested as she leaned forward to get a closer look.

    "That''s a smart answer¡­ butpletely wrong," Mason said with a strange grin on his face. He ced his palm on the mech''s arm and gave it two heavy pats.

    "I just disabled the safety valves and the backup safety systems. Now this arm will be able to explode with just a single thought."<sub> </sub>

    "But¡­ but why?" Elenora asked with curious expression.

    "In a fight tell me girl¡­ who is going to expect that your arm suddenly explodes in their face?" Masonughed darkly as he spoke.

    "Of course, this works best if you also add in a rocketunch system so that you can fire off the arm for a long-range attack but¡­"

    "If you are losing a fight then you might as well take down that bastard with you."

    The instructor''s harsh giggles echoed through the hangar and there was just one thought running through the minds of his three students.

    This man was absolutely insane.

    "Alright that''s enough for the day¡­ I''m feeling a bit tired¡­e back tomorrow and we can start working," Mason finally spoke after reaching into his pocket for another sk.

    "But Mason¡­ we don''t have sses tomorrow," Cleo spoke in a calm voice.

    "Doesn''t matter¡­ I''ll be here at nine o'' clock so make sure that you show up or¡­ I''ll kick you out of the ss or some shit¡­" Mason groggily replied as he took arge swig from the sk.

    Then just as quickly as the lesson started¡­ it abruptly ended in the same manner.

    Mason pointed at the doors and the three students walked outside with each having a dazed expression on their face.

    "Err¡­ what just happened?" Elenora asked in confusion as her tail drooped slightly.

    "He is certainly¡­ a character¡­" Cleo politely replied. Although ''a character'' was a pretty generous way to describe the peculiar instructor.

    "I¡­I think I want to switch majors¡­" Drew chimed in as he stared upwards at the sky.

    "No! Don''t do that!" Elenora quickly grabbed the Quafes boy by his shoulder and began to violently rock him back and forth.

    "We''re all in this together! The dynamic trio!"

    "Stop¡­ shaking me¡­ can''t¡­ focus¡­" Drew gritted his teeth and tried his best to escape the tight grip of the overenthusiastic Mendolesa girl.

    Ding!

    Cleo checked her wristmunicator and saw an iing message from an unknown number.

    For some reason it did not go straight into her spam folder but rather was directed into her personal inbox.

    The princess'' brows furrowed as she waved goodbye to her friends and began to walk back to her apartment.

    There were no more sses left today so her original n was to spend the afternoon doing further research on vessels.

    But now¡­

    There was a mysterious message in her inbox from an unknown number. Cleo waited until she was out of sight of her two ssmates and then clicked on the message.

    A video began to y, and its contents were shocking.

    Cleo could not believe her eyes and when the video finally ended, she pressed the rey button over and over again.

    On the other side of the screen was one of her brothers? And not just any one but rather perhaps the most famous¡­

    The crown prince was standing in a room with in white walls.

    There were no identifying features inside the room that gave away its location.

    There was a creepy grin on the crown prince''s face as he pointed in a certain direction.

    A figure was tied up in heavy iron chains with a brown bag over her head. The only reason why Cleo could tell that it was a woman was because of the subtle curves on her body.

    The crown prince slowly took off the bag and Cleo saw a woman who bore striking resemnce to her except that she looked about ten or fifteen years older.

    She recognised that face immediately.

    How could she not know that was her mother?

    "My dear sister if you ever want to see your mother again¡­ pleasee to this location and alone¡­" Prince Theseus gently whispered.

    "Do not tell anyone otherwise I cannot promise that your mother will remain¡­ unharmed¡­"

    "I expect to see you within five days."

 Chapter 652 His Brothers Shadow

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    Cleo swiped her hand on the scanner and a green light swept her palm. The front doors swung open, and she stepped inside her mansion.

    She nced at the living room and saw Moon sleeping on the couch with his furry chest slowly rising up and down.

    It was an ordinary day.

    And yet¡­

    Cleo slowly walked into the apartment and took off her wristmunicator. She ced it on a nearby table and then headed for the kitchen.

    With deliberate movements she made herself a cup of warm hot chocte and then slowly sipped the contents of the cup.

    Her eyes flicked back and forth from the mug in her hand to themunicator that was resting motionless on the table.

    An unknown number had managed to send a message directly to her personal inbox which meant one thing.

    Her wristmunicator had beenpromised.

    Fortunately, Cleo had picked up some tricks after spending years in the imperial pce and knew exactly what to do in this situation.

    First, she left the wristmunicator on the table and then headed for one of the side bedrooms that was not in regr use.

    As she entered the room, Cleo locked the door behind her and then reached into her storage bag and pulled out a metalloid sphere.

    She pressed a button on its side and several harsh beams of light swept the entire length of the room multiple times.

    This was a scanner that could detect bugs, listening devices and other surveince devices that used electricity.

    Cleo waited patiently for the scanner to finish while thinking about her future ns.

    She would need to scan every nook and cranny of the apartment to make sure that the other spaces were not bugged.

    The warning in the video message said that if she told anyone then her mother would be in danger.

    It was a threat that could only be carried out if there was someway of knowing if she had told other people.

    Finally, the metalloid device bleeped twice, and the screen went nk.

    "Good¡­" Cleo whispered softly to herself as she walked over to the bed and slowly lifted up the mattress.

    Below the mattress was a tiny brown box that had been locked using severalyers of protection devices.

    Cleo took a few minutes to unlock the box and then reached inside to pull out a new wristmunicator.

    Some might consider her to be a paranoid person and¡­ they were right.

    If you grew up in the imperial pce, then most people would be the same.

    As for those who weren''t.... well¡­

    They didn''tst long.

    Cleo powered on the wristmunicator and began to write a message. There were several things that just did not add up about the video.

    The first was that she was unsure if that was really her mother or someone who was impersonating her appearance.

    There were many ways to do this¡­ digital editing¡­ using a shapeshifting technique or simply hiring a Quafes.

    The woman in the video did not speak which was an immediate red g.

    The second was that Cleo did not believe that her mother was stupid enough to be captured by the crown prince.

    Her mother was a woman with a lot of secrets¡­ the symbiote¡­ her n¡­ her true purpose in marrying the emperor.

    Somehow Cleo found it hard to believe that she would so easily be captured.

    And finally¡­ clearly the crown prince had not done enough research because if he had then he would know that Cleo was not going to risk her life for the woman who abused her.

    Once she would have rushed to her mother''s aid regardless of the personal costs but now¡­ Cleo felt nothing but hatred in her heart.

    Her own mother had nearly killed her.

    If the duke hadn''t intervened, then¡­ she might have died.

    The princess took in a few deep breaths in order topose herself and then continued writing out the message.

    Still, she had no proof that the crown prince was really behind this.<sub> </sub>

    There was a possibility that it was a third party trying to create chaos by impersonating Prince Theseus.

    It would be monumentally stupid for the crown prince to personally involve himself in a kidnapping and ckmail attempt.

    And even record himself on video.

    Cleo finished typing out the message and pressed send. The message detailed everything that she had just seen in the video as well as her personal thoughts.

    The message was sent out to a private number that was the only one in the wristmunicator''s contact list.

    This number was connected to one of Duke Peterlor''s secret devices only to be used for emergency purposes.

    Cleo wanted to send a message to her girlfriend as well, but she wasn''t sure if her wristmunicator had also beenpromised.

    The ckmailer probably knew that she was likely to confess to Sophie, but they could not have predicted that she also had a secret connection to the duke himself.

    The princess ced the wristmunicator back inside the wooden box and then put it back under the mattress.

    She had a five-day time limit.

    It was probably best to continue to act like normal and wait to see what Sophie''s dad suggested that she do.

    Sophie would be arriving tomorrow so Cleo nned to fill her in person once she made sure that the apartment was safe.

    "Damn it¡­ who is ying with me?'' Cleo muttered angrily to herself as she walked towards the bedroom door.

    She took a moment topose herself and then stepped outside. She clutched the metalloid device in her right palm and pressed the button on its side.

    It was time for the long and arduous process of going through room by room looking for any listening devices or bugs.

    Cleo let out a heavy sigh as bright beams of light burst out of the device and began to sweep around her nearby surroundings.

    This was really not how she anticipated her first semester of second year to start.

    Was it too much to ask for just a few months of regr university life?

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Hydra Star System- Unknown Location)

    (Hidden Lunar Base)

    "Do you think that she wille?" a hoarse voice echoed through a darkened room.

    Several figurespletely covered by long ck cloaks stood inplete silence as if they were statues.

    A handsome young man with simr facial features to Cleo leaned back against a metalloid chair and smirked mischievously.

    He had a soft and delicate build with muscles that were severely undeveloped. He was the spitting image of a man who knew nothing but wine and women.

    "Well, we probably would have gotten a better chance if one of you had managed to capture the bitch''s mother," Prince Luke sneered angrily.

    Hezily snapped his fingers and one of the hooded figures stepped forward and began to massage his shoulders.

    "So, tell me¡­ why me? Why not my older brother? Bastard is already being hailed as the next emperor by some snivelling nobles eager to suck on his cock¡­" Prince Luke mockingly jeered.

    There was a hint of jealousy and hatred in his tone as he spoke about his older brother the crown prince.

    Unlike the rest of his royal siblings, he and the so-called ''next emperor'' were full siblings since they were born from the same mother.

    Except well¡­ that is where the simrities ended.

    Prince Theseus would go on to be the most promising candidate for the throne while on the hand Prince Luke was nothing more than a fuck up.

    Always in his brother''s shadow¡­

    "My lord¡­ you have great potential¡­ we wish to see you as the next leader of the Earth Federation," one of the hooded men softly spoke.

    "Oh, save me the whole bullshit¡­" Prince Lukeughed sarcastically as he pped away the hand resting on his shoulder.

    "Tell me what you want from me and where does my little sister fit into your ns."

 Chapter 653 Family Ties And An Unwelcome Surprise

    (Hydra Star System- Unknown Location)

    (Hidden Lunar Base)

    Another one of the hooded figures stepped forward and walked towards the young prince.

    He stopped when he was about two metres away from the prince''s chair and then knelt.

    "My lord¡­ we mean you no harm," the hooded figure gently spoke.

    "Our only purpose is to see you be what you were always meant to be. It is your destiny to be the next human emperor."

    "To achieve our goal, we require the aid of several noble houses to support your cause. One of those houses is the noble family of House Peterlor."

    "Your sister is the only known connection to Duke Peterlor."

    Prince Luke scoffed andzily reached into his pocket to take a sip out of a metallic sk.

    He felt the unpleasant sensation of the lukewarm wine as it slid down his throat and the familiar taste helped to calm down his nerves.

    "I don''t believe you but¡­ whatever¡­ as long as I can stop my arrogant brother from ascending the throne then I will y your¡­ little games," Prince Luke sneered angrily.

    "But I doubt that bitch will even show up. All of my siblings are just snakes¡­ caring little for any semnce of familial ties."

    "I should know¡­ I am the same as them¡­"

    A mocking smile surfaced on the prince''s face and for a brief moment his voice was tinged with a shade of self derision.

    "My lord¡­ do not worry¡­ the deadline is fast approaching, and we are constantly monitoring princess Cleo''s wristmunicator," the hooded figure softly whispered.

    "So far she has obeyed our instructions and has not contacted any outside third parties for help nor has she informed her lover or the duke himself."

    Prince Luke got up from his chair and stretched out his arms with a loud yawn. He walked past the kneeling figure and then stepped outside of the room.

    He found himself standing in the middle of a corridor where dozens of hooded figures walked constantly up and down.

    This ce¡­ was strange.

    He had tried to lift off the hood of one of his mysterious allies, but it was like their cloaks were made out of reinforced steel¡­

    No matter how hard he tried¡­ he could not get a glimpse of whaty beneath those dark robes nor what was hidden behind the shadow of their hoods.

    This entire situation was quite¡­ sketchy.

    Prince Luke despite his reputation as a good for nothing yboy was not a stupid person.

    He knew very well that there were things that his mysterious benefactors were not telling him.

    But did he have any other choice?

    His dearest older brother had driven him into a corner and now there was nowhere else to turn.

    Crown Prince Theseus had now all but guaranteed his right to the throne. He was a powerful cultivator and had won the support of several influential factions.

    He had allies among the upper rank nobles as well as numerous financial and merchant groups.

    No one else could possiblypare to his influence.

    Especially not his useless younger brother¡­

    So, when the hooded figures had first made contact with Prince Luke¡­ he had epted.

    He would even take the hand of the devil himself if it meant that his brother failed to win the throne.

    "My lord¡­"

    "Greetings my lord¡­"

    "Peace be upon you my lord¡­"

    As Prince Luke walked through abyrinth of side passageways and corridors he was greeted respectfully by the hooded figures as they walked by.

    He ignored their polite words and continued to walk with his head held high. There was a cold and indifferent expression on his face.

    Eventually the prince arrived at a set of thick metalloid doors that were guarded by three heavily armed guards.

    "My lord?" one of the guards inquired in a curious tone.

    "Let me see what lies beyond that door," Prince Luke demanded coldly.

    So far, he had not bothered to explore the rest of this hidden base but now was a good a time as any to start.

    The guards turned to each other and although the prince could not see the expressions on their faces¡­

    He could somehow tell that they weremunicating.

    It was a strange process because not a sound came out of the guards'' mouths and yet they appeared to be having a conversation.

    "Of course, my lord," one of the guards whispered respectfully as he stepped to the side.

    The heavy metalloid doors swung open, and arge space was suddenly revealed.

    Prince Luke stepped inside the room and immediately had to fight down the urge to throw up.

    Dozens if not hundreds of human sized ss containers lined the walls of the room, and each was filled with creatures submerged in a greenish- yellow liquid.

    No these weren''t creatures¡­ they were humans?

    Prince Luke finally could not hold down his queasy stomach and vomited out the contents of his lunch on the metalloid floor.

    The humans inside the containers were badly mutted with parts of their bodies sliced, dissected, and stitched together in unnatural ways.

    The most horrifying aspect of the entire shocking sight was the fact that they were clearly alive¡­ barely moving and breathing but¡­

    They were alive.

    "What¡­ what the hell is this?" Prince Luke stammered as all the pride and arrogance of an imperial prince drained from his face.

    He turned around to flee from the room as soon as possible but the thick metalloid doors swung shut before he could reach the exit.

    "Hey! Hey!" Prince Luke mmed his fist furiously against the doors and the metal frame began to crack.

    "Let me out of here! I demand it! Let me out!"

    The prince kept hitting the doors over and over but even though he tried his best¡­ the doors just would not budge.

    Prince Luke angrily cocked back his fist and was about to unleash a cultivation technique when a hoarse cough interrupted his concentration.

    "My lord¡­ please do not be rmed," a soft voice called out.

    A hooded figure stepped out from behind one of the ss containers and approached the prince who looked at her warily.

    Unlike the rest of the hooded figures¡­ the body shape of this mysterious individual clearly belonged to that of a woman.

    Prince Luke could faintly see the curves that outlined her body shape, and her voice was gentle and melodic.

    "Tell me what is going on," Prince Luke demanded with barely contained fury in his voice.

    "My lord¡­ this is where we are going to build the army that you will lead," the soft-spoken figure continued to whisper.

    "Each of these test subjects were once mighty warriors in the qi tide and void stage¡­ it is with great difficulty that we managed to procure them."

    "Void stage cultivators? Impossible. In that case why would you even need me?" Prince Luke asked with a wary expression on his face.

    The mysterious figure remained silent for just a moment and then slowly removed the hood of her robe.

    "No¡­ how could it be you?" Prince Luke eximed with fear evident in his voice.

    Standing before him¡­

    He saw the one person who could not be here.

    Who should not be here.

    "Hmm¡­ I suppose some introductions are in order," the mysterious woman smiled but her grin on her face was twisted and malformed.

    "Mother?!" Prince Luke shouted in disbelief.

 Chapter 654 Painful Side Effects

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Newron City- Lucy''s Caf¨¦)

    "Wee back Sophie!" Astrid excitedly spoke as she grabbed Sophie by her hand and leaned in close to give her a tight hug.

    "Don''t suffocate her¡­" Qiana chimed in as she pulled back her girlfriend who was squeezing Sophie a bit too tightly for her liking.

    "It''s good to see you all again," Sophie cracked a small smile as she sat down on a nearby chair and looked at her friends.

    "Well¡­ I hope you don''t have to leave anytime soon," Cleo scowled with a light teasing smile on the corner of her lips.

    The four friends were hanging out in a caf¨¦ located in a town a few hundred kilometres away from the main campus.

    It took quite some time to get here but it was worth it. Lucy''s Caf¨¦ was an up-scale establishment that served the best tea that one could find.

    The interior of the caf¨¦ clearly disyed luxury and ss.

    The floors were made of coloured ss, magnificent chandeliers hung from the ceiling and white marble statues were scattered across the hall.

    There was a band ying in the corner of the restaurant and one could hear the soft jazzy sounds that echoed through therge space.

    Cleo smiled sweetly as she watched her girlfriend talk to her two friends. This was her first day back on campus after her mission from the hunter goddess.

    Obviously, she still had to tell her about the ckmail video, but Cleo nned to save that talk forter.

    No need to sour the mood just yet.

    "So did you end up finishing the mission?" Qiana asked curiously as she leaned back in her chair and stretched out her arms.

    "No¡­ well¡­ I couldn''t find the missing pet that the clients were looking for in the sewers¡­ so I guess not," Sophie hesitantly replied.

    "Plus¡­ I mean¡­ by the gods¡­ the sewers were absolutely fucking awful¡­ when I tell you the smell¡­ fuck¡­ I think my nose is broken now¡­"

    "Garbage¡­ shit¡­ needles¡­ might actually throw up¡­"

    Astrid ced a furry paw over her mouth and giggled as she listened to Sophie''sints about the underground sewer system.

    "What about you all? What''s new?" Sophie inquired softly.

    Qiana and Astrid exchanged looks and had a silent conversation about which of them wanted to speak first.

    It looked like Astrid won that exchange because the Mendolesa girl opened her mouth and began to talk about her recent experiences.

    "Well, the archmage has recently been teaching me a new spell¡­ it''s called Spatial Fracture¡­" Astrid cheerfully spoke.

    "Basically, if I manage to learn this spell then I should be able to rip apart space in a certain area and slice apart the bodies of anyone trapped inside the range of the spell."

    "Unless you are a cultivator in the void stage¡­ it''s a sure fire kill move."

    Naturally it was a spell that she would be banned from using in the inter-university tournament due to the nature of it.

    In fact, there were a lot of restrictions on which type of cultivation techniques and equipment that one could use during the tournament.

    There was no point in running a tournament if someone showed up with a mech and then sted a destroying sma beam at their opponent.

    "Sorry for interrupting but may I take your order?" a deep baritone voice asked.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw a sharply dressed robot butler wearing a long ck tuxedo.

    The butler ced four paper menus on the table with smooth practised motions and then took a few steps back.

    "Actually, I''m starving¡­ maybe¡­ I¡­ ow¡­" Sophie winced as she felt multiple sharp bursts of pain erupt across her body.

    "You okay?" Cleo asked with concern evident in her voice.

    "Yeah¡­ I''m fine¡­ must have stubbed my toe¡­" Sophie nonchntly replied as she tried her best to avoid her girlfriend''s direct gaze.

    Cleo clearly didn''t buy her excuse but dropped the matter. Sophie let out a light sigh and gently squeezed her fingers into a tight fist.

    God¡­ the pain¡­ was unbearable¡­

    Every now and then her body would re up and it felt as though thousands of red-hot needles were stabbing every inch of her skin.

    This was a side effect of her transitioning to the void stage, but Sophie could not feel excited about her cultivation promotion when it felt as though she was about to die.

    "I''ll have a cup of ck coffee," Qiana calmly ordered as she pointed at one of the options on the menu.

    "Hmm¡­ let me get¡­ a double sugar¡­ double whip cream¡­ vani smoothie¡­" Astrid happily spoke as she gave the menu back to the robot butler.

    "Surprise me," Cleo softly spoke as she gestured towards the mystery option.

    "Err¡­ guess I''ll have the same as Astrid without the whip cream," Sophie finally spoke after browsing the menu.

    The robot butler bowed politely and then walked towards the kitchen with synchronized steps.

    Sophie tried to pay attention to her friends'' conversation, but it was getting harder to hide her unusual state.

    Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her brow and her fingertips trembled ever so slightly as she hid them under the table.

    Why did this process have to hurt so much?

    Sophie excused herself from the table and then headed for the bathroom in order to take some pain relief medication.

    The hybrid girl entered the bathroom and headed for one of the private stalls in the back of the room.

    She entered the stall and locked the door. Sophie reached inside her storage bag and pulled out several bottles of pills.

    Unfortunately, due to her physiology¡­ foreign substances were broken down in her body almost immediately.

    Therefore, in order to feel any amount of relief she needed to overdose and even then, it would onlyst for a few minutes.

    Sophie let out a painful moan as she slumped forward. Another sharp burst of pain this time in her back made it almost impossible to sit upright.

    Damn it¡­ would she even be able topete in the inter-universitypetition?

    The hybrid girl scowled heavily as she hastily opened up multiple bottles and then dumped the pills into her mouth.

    Finally, some relief¡­

    Sophie leaned back against the seat of the toilet and closed her eyes. Her body felt numb but at least now the pain was gone.

    One minute¡­ Two minutes¡­

    And¡­ the effects were gone.

    Sophie sighed heavily as she looked at the numerous empty bottles scattered across the ground.

    She bent down and began to pick them up with slow agonising movements.

    All she could do now was ride out this re up until it eventually stopped. Usually, they ended any time between thirty minutes and two hours from when they started.

    Knock! Knock!

    There was a sharp knocking noiseing from the other side of the door of Sophie''s stall.

    "Are you okay?" Cleo''s voice gently asked.

    "Not really¡­" Sophie truthfully confessed as she took in a deep breath.

    "My body is killing me¡­ the process to reach the void stage¡­ it really hurts babe¡­ like¡­ really¡­ really hurts¡­"

    Cleo remained silent and then tapped on the door with soft movements.

    "Can Ie in?" the princess asked with worry in her voice.

    "Yeah¡­ just give me a minute¡­" Sophie replied tiredly.

    She didn''t want her girlfriend to worry which is why she hadn''t said anytime about how bad the re ups really got.

    But¡­ it looks like now she had no choice but toe clean.

    Sophie slowly got up from the toilet seat and stepped towards the door. She almost stumbled and fell but somehow managed to unlock thetch just before copsing.

    She fell into a warm embrace and saw Cleo looking at her with an expression of ''I knew something was wrong''.

 Chapter 655 Sophies Big Trouble

    "I really can''t hide anything from you, can I?" Sophie smiled weakly as she rested her head against Cleo''s chest.

    It was a bit difficult for her girlfriend to prevent her seven feet tall body from crashing unceremoniously to the ground but somehow Cleo managed.

    "How are you feeling?" Cleo asked with concern evident in her voice.

    "Honestly¡­I feel like¡­ shit," Sophie chuckled softly but soon her fits of giggles turned into painful coughs that racked through her chest.

    It took a few minutes for the coughs to subside and by the end there were spots of blood on the floor.

    Sophie looked at the droplets of blood in confusion before suddenly realising that she must have coughed up blood.

    Cleo gently rubbed her girlfriend''s back as she reached into her storage bag with her free hand and took out a small syringe.

    Without hesitation the princess jabbed the needle into Sophie''s body and the hybrid girl once again felt a few seconds of relief.

    "Thanks, but¡­ my body breaks down the pain medication¡­" Sophie gently whispered as her face contorted into a painful wince.

    "How long does this usuallyst?" Cleo asked quietly as her brows furrowed.

    "The average is around thirty minutes¡­" Sophie replied with gritted teeth.

    She could feel her body start to tremble as fresh burst of pain ravaged her organs.

    "I''m going to take you home," Cleo spoke calmly.

    Her calm voice did not have any space forints. There was a steely determination in her in tone that made the words of protest in Sophie''s mouth vanish.

    She could tell that her girlfriend cared and was worried about her.

    Sophie summoned all the energy left in her system and slowly pushed herself up using Cleo''s body as leverage to move.

    She could feel her muscles scream out in protest, but she clenched her jaw and fought through the white-hot pain.

    Cleo held out her hand and Sophie dly looped her arm around her body.

    She leaned slightly on her girlfriend as they half-stumbled and half-walked out of the bathroom.

    When the pair left the bathroom, they ran into Astrid and Qiana who had apparently been just about to look for them inside.

    "Sophie! Are you okay?!" Astrid hurriedly asked as she rushed over with her tail drooping ever so slightly behind her.

    "Yeah¡­ just feeling a bit sick¡­ sorry girls¡­ I might have¡­ to¡­" Sophie couldn''t finish her sentence because she started coughing once more.

    Cleo quickly interjected and exined the situation in vague terms since they were in a public ce.

    One could never be too cautious especially when it was impossible to know who was listening in.

    "Get some rest¡­ I''ll handle the bill and the orders," Qiana calmly spoke as she stepped forward to give Sophie a hug and then took a few steps back.

    Her words were brief, but Sophie felt the warmth hidden inside them.

    She really had good friends and it made the pain suddenly feel a lot more bearable.

    "Thanks¡­ we''ll pick up another day," Sophie replied with a thin smile.

    She leaned on Cleo''s shoulder and the pair made their way out of the caf¨¦ and to the hovercar waiting outside.

    Cleo tapped her palm against the side of the car and entered a series of numbers on the input device that popped up.

    Two sets of doors swung open.

    One led to the driver''s seat while the other led to the back of the hovercar where several seats were lined up to create a bench of sorts.

    Sophie made her way to the backseats and then plopped her exhausted body down. She curled up into a ball and flinched as she felt a warm object fall on her body.

    Cleo had ced a fluffy white nket on her while she was squirming around ufortably on the seat.

    "Take a nap¡­ we''ll be home as soon as you wake up," the princess gently spoke as she leaned down to nt a soft kiss on Sophie''s forehead.

    "Thanks babe¡­ I love you¡­" Sophie whispered quietly as she forced herself to close her eyes.

    It was difficult to fall asleep with the sharp bursts of pain that asionally red up but somehow, she managed to drift away into nothingness.

    Thest thing that Sophie could recall was the gently rumble of the hovercar''s engine as the vehicle roared to life.

    Cleo nced at her girlfriend fast asleep in the backseat and finally allowed the tension in her shoulders to melt away.

    How could she hide something like this from her?

    Obviously, she wasn''t going to bring up the matter now, but Sophie was going to be in some big trouble when they returned home!

    And she would not be forgiving her so easily! Well¡­ unless¡­

    No! No!

    Be strong!

    A fierce red blush surfaced on Cleo''s face as certain memories shed across her mind regarding all the times Sophie decided to make things up to her whenever she got angry.

    It usually involved¡­ ack of clothes¡­

    Cleo drove those distracting thoughts from her mind as she focused her attention on the road ahead.

    She was currently travelling through Newron City. It was on the outskirts of the main campus but was still quite well built.

    Most of the homes were a bit old fashioned and in the style of the Mendolesa culture so they more resembled tribal huts than proper buildings.

    Still the roads were well paved, and the air felt fresh and clean.

    There were even a few skyscrapers rising up towards the heavens however they were few and far between.

    One could set the hovercar''s AI unit to automatically drive the vehicle, but Cleo enjoyed driving manually.

    Maybe it was because she was mech pilot but anything to do with machines¡­ it felt better to rely on human touch than the cold logic of artificial intelligence units.

    ? A silly thought but¡­ it was one that brought Cleofort as she stepped on the metal pedals and the hovercar elerated.

    The surrounding buildings soon became nothing more than fast moving blurs as she zipped through the city at just below the legal speed limit.

    Well¡­ maybe slightly above¡­

    But the local police hadn''t stopped her yet so¡­ was it really a crime?

    A naughty smile shed across Cleo''s face as she allowed the worries in her mind to just wash away.

    She pressed a button and the window next to her slowly moved down until she could feel a cold breeze.

    The princess enjoyed the peacefulness of the journey as she drove the hovercar towards the familiar sight of the elite student housingplex.

    It took a few hours and her girlfriend had not woken up once. Clearly, she had been more exhausted from her travels than she had let on.

    Cleo drove the hovercar towards their mansion and then parked the vehicle in the garage outside.

    She powered off the engine but kept on a bit of power to keep the circtory systems running properly.

    She looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Sophie still fast asleep. Cleo let out a light sigh and unbuckled her seatbelt.

    She brought down her chair until it converted into a sort of mini bed. She wasn''t cruel enough to wake up her girlfriend from the long nap that she so clearly needed.

    The princess checked hermunicatorzily to pass the time and saw several new messages from the same unknown number.

    She was still using herpromised wristmunicator in order to not arouse the suspicion of the ckmailers.

    However, when inside the apartment she would ce the device in a far away room and use her spare one if she had to contact anyone about sensitive information.

    Cleo clicked on the messages and saw that they contained a series of pictures.

    The pictures were¡­ horrifying.

    Cleo''s eyes narrowed as she saw a woman who looked identical to her mother shivering naked on the floor with several angry red lines across her fair skin.

    Whip marks¡­

    Another picture showed the woman with all her fingernails and her toenails removed as well as pieces of flesh from her upper thighs.

    Even though she knew that the person in the pictures was not her mother¡­ a small part of Cleo could not help but think¡­

    What if her assumption was wrong?

    What if her mother was the one who was captured?

 Chapter 656 The Confession

    (Zrudread University- Main Campus)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    Sophie opened her eyes slowly and let out a loud yawn. She stretched out her arms and to her relief she discovered that the pain was gone.

    Finally, she could move around properly.

    "Good morning sleepyhead," a teasing voice came from the front of the hovercar. Sophie nced in the direction of the sound and saw her girlfriend smiling at her.

    "Feeling better?" Cleo asked softly as she got up from her chair and approached Sophie.

    The princess stretched out her hand and gently stroked her cheek with careful movements as if she was handling a precious ornament that could break with the slightest touch.

    "Yeah¡­ the pain is gone¡­" Sophie replied with a sincere smile as she nuzzled closer to her girlfriend''s palm to feel more of her warmth.

    The pair remained in afortable silence for a few minutes before Cleo turned off the hovercar''s engine and then opened the doors.

    She didn''t want to have this talk tonight especially after what Sophie had gone through but¡­ she could not get those images out her mind.

    The logical part of her brain clearly knew that the person in those pictures was most likely a fake and even if it was the real person¡­

    Why would she risk her life for the person who had tried to kill her?

    Even if that person was her mother.

    Cleo frowned slightly as she walked ahead of Sophie into the apartment with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Wee back mom!)

    Moon flew through the living room andnded right on top of Sophie''s head where he proceeded to nibble gently on loose strands of her hair.

    "Get off before I go bald!" Sophie mischievously scolded her pet as she raised up her hand and lightly swatted Moon on his back.

    The frostwing bat jumped off her head andnded on her shoulder where he pressed his face against Sophie''s cheek.

    "Alright¡­ I missed you too," Sophie confessed with a slight smile on her face. She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a few treats.

    Moon happily grabbed the treats from her fingers and loud chewing sounds echoed through the living room.

    Sophie had attempted to teach her pet proper manners and etiquette but now¡­ well she was just satisfied that there were no crumbs that fell to the ground.

    Cleo had disappeared into one of the bedrooms upstairs which made Sophie feel a bit surprised.

    Her girlfriend had been acting a bit strange since they left the hovercar and she had no idea what the problem was.

    Anyways it was probably nothing that couldn''t be solved by some talking or¡­ some ''talking''.

    Sophie''s lips curved upwards as quite a few ns surfaced in her mind about what she could do tonight.

    After napping she was feeling quite refreshed and reenergised so hopefully Cleo didn''t have any morning sses tomorrow.

    Because she might not be in a state to get out of bed¡­

    The hybrid girl hummed cheerfully as she made her way to the kitchen and started to prepare a simple meal of noodles and some meat.

    She turned on the heat and reached into one of the cupboards below the sink to pull out some dried vegetables, dehydrated meat stock and noodles.

    It was quite a simple process.

    Maybe the meal was a bit too¡­moner for members of the nobility but Sophie enjoyed noodles quite a lot.

    It helped that in Sui Meng''s memories she could recall the cheap taste of store-bought cup noodles.

    Most of the time the unhealthiest food¡­ tasted the best.

    Moon flew off her shoulder towards the couch in the living room where he plopped his furry body down andzily stretched out his w for the remote.

    The monitor immediately flickered to life and several animal documentaries appeared on the screen.

    Moon selected one of the options and a documentary began to y about one of the only surviving organisms from the ancient Earth era.

    Cockroaches.

    Honestly Sophie wasn''t surprised. Those hardy insects would probably oust all of humanity especially now since they had spread to other colonies in the milky way and beyond.

    Apparently, some alien cultures even raised them as pets or treated them as an important food supply.

    Gross¡­

    But hey¡­ protein was protein¡­

    Sophie added the pot of hot water to arge bowl and then dumped in the dried vegetables, the meat and finally the noodles.

    She spent the next few minutes gently stirring the contents of the bowl using wooden chopsticks before finally capturing some noodles between the sticks.

    Sophie blew softly and white steam softly floated above the bowl. She ced the warm noodles in her mouth and then swallowed.

    The crispy fresh taste of the noodles and the rich meaty vour of the brothbined to form a vourbination that was utterly delicious.

    It didn''t take long for Sophie to finish the contents of the bowl and she quickly made herself another batch.

    When she checked the time on her wristmunicator, about thirty minutes had passed since she had entered the apartment and Cleo had note downstairs yet.

    Hmm¡­ what was going on?

    Sophie absentmindedly finished cleaning up the dishes and then walked upstairs to see where her girlfriend had gone.

    There was no need to extend her senses since she could feel Cleo''s presence through the bond that connected them together.

    It was hard to describe the feeling, but it was simr to a thread or maybe a chain flowing from her heart and into Cleo''s body.

    The feeling was unnoticeable unless she focused on the link between herself and her girlfriend.

    Sophie walked part three doors and then knocked lightly on the one at the end of a long corridor.

    She heard some rustling on the other side and then finally the door opened.

    Cleo appeared and the expression on her face didn''t look good. Sophie noticed that the wristmunicator on her left hand was missing.

    "Hey babe¡­ Are you alright?" Sophie with concern.

    "Yeah¡­ I''ll exin in a bit just give me your wristmunicator for now," Cleo calmly spoke and then held out her hand.

    Sophie felt a bit confused, but she still took off her wristmunicator and handed it over to her girlfriend.

    Cleo walked back into the room and took out a metalloid box from under the bed. She opened the lid of the box and then ced Sophie''s wristmunicator inside.

    "Okay¡­ let''s go to our bedroom¡­ I have something important to tell you," Cleo whispered in a serious tone.

    She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her with a loud thump. Sophie followed the princess as she led her to the master bedroom.

    Cleo reached into her storage bag and took out a device that Sophie recognised as an electronic detection machine.

    Her girlfriend pressed a button on the side of the sphere and green light swept up and down the interior of the bedroom multiple times.

    Only when the machine finished its scan did Cleo let out the silent breath of relief that she had been holding back.

    She ced the device back in her storage bag and then walked over to the bed and sat down.

    "So¡­ any reason why we''re being so cloak and dagger?" Sophie asked with a trace of bemusement in her voice.

    "My wristmunicator waspromised so I didn''t want to take the chance that yours might have been as well," Cleo exined as she patted the side of the bed.

    Sophie sat down next to her, and the princess rested her head against the side of her shoulder.

    It took a few seconds for Cleo to gather her thoughts and eventually she opened her mouth to exin what was going on.

    "I received a mysterious message a few days ago and in the message were pictures and videos of my mother," Cleo whispered quietly.

    "I also saw one of my brothers¡­ well¡­ not just any one¡­ but the crown prince himself. He threatened me that bad things would happen to my mom if I didn''t go to a certain location."

    "I mean obviously this is a big trap¡­ but¡­ fuck¡­"

    Cleo let out a groan and ced her head in her palms. She hated her mother for what she did to her but¡­

    She didn''t want her to die or be tortured.

 Chapter 657 Sophies Cunning Plan

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex ¨C Mansion 456Y)

    "Babe¡­ breathe¡­ I''m right here," Sophie gently whispered as she grabbed Cleo''s palm and held it tightly in her palm.

    Her girlfriend leaned against her shoulder and let out a heavy sigh. A conflicted expression shed across her face as she continued her story.

    "I mean¡­ obviously the person behind this isn''t the crown prince and I don''t believe that my mother was actually caught but¡­" Cleo softly whispered.

    "I¡­ fuck¡­ I hate her¡­ she tried to kill me¡­ but I don''t want her dead. I just want to never see her again¡­ does that make sense?"

    "Seeing those photos¡­ they make me sick to my stomach. I know that this is a trap but¡­ but¡­ damn it!"

    Cleo''s voice trailed off as her fingers curled up into a tight fist. Sophie gently rubbed her girlfriend''s back and tried to get her to rx.

    "Okay¡­ let''s think about this slowly," Sophie spoke in a serious tone.

    "There are only two pieces of information that we can confirm. The first is that someone is being held hostage and the second is that a third party wants you to go to a specific ce."

    "Babe¡­ I''m a selfish person. Even if the woman in the videos is your mother¡­ I don''t want you to put yourself in harm''s way."

    "And if I said I wanted to go?" Cleo asked in a small voice as she lowered her head and avoided Sophie''s gaze.

    "Well¡­ I would call you an idiot and go with you," Sophie joked lightly as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the top of Cleo''s head.

    "But I was thinking of another n¡­"

    The princess raised her head and looked at Sophie who had a cunning look on her face. The hybrid girl got up from the bed and stretched out her arms.

    "What if¡­ we tricked them?" Sophie smiled with a wicked glint in her eyes.

    Rsychosis!

    Sophie''s figure blurred and then one identical copy of herself appeared. Sophie smirked at her clone who just groaned and shook her head.

    "I''m a bit confused¡­" Cleo truthfully admitted as she tilted her head.

    "Well¡­ basically she''s going to use a technique that we haven''t used since our time in the Unovan Syndicate¡­" Sophie''s clonezily replied.

    "It''s an evolution of the Rsychosis technique¡­ I believest time we mimicked Lily''s appearance, right?"

    "I wonder how the kid is doing?"

    Sophie ignored the mirror image''s question and closed her eyes. She focused on the bond between herself and her copy.

    There was also energy flowing into her body from the bond connecting her heart to Cleo''s and it was making the process easier.

    It had been some time since she used this technique but the memory of changing her clones'' forms still remained.

    Maybe it was because she thought of Cleo all the time, but the process was much easier this time around.

    When Sophie reopened her eyes, she saw that her mirror image had turned into an identical copy of Cleo''s appearance.

    "So, this is how it feels to be Cleo¡­" the clone mused thoughtfully as she admired her new form.

    The voiceing out of her mouth was still Sophie''s but if she remained silent then one could not tell the difference between herself and the real version.

    "Brilliant!" Cleo eximed in shock as she quickly realised her girlfriend''s n.

    "Yes, all we need to do is strap your wristmunicator to my clone and then she will go to the location specified by the kidnappers," Sophie confidently spoke.

    "Wait¡­ so you''re sending me off to certain death?" the clone loudlyined.

    "You know what¡­ I hope I die¡­ going to make sure it''s a painful way as well¡­"

    "Alright don''t be such a drama queen¡­ you know that I suffer as well when the memories flow back to me," Sophie replied calmly.

    "Listen¡­ I don''t ask for much¡­ and you do owe your existence to me so¡­"

    "Got it! Got it! Sorry my dear creator that I questioned your infinite wisdom," the clone mockingly jeered as she made a rude gesture.

    The clone scowled and then walked out of the bedroom towards the living space.

    If she was going to die in the next few days, then she might as well catch up on thetest soap operas.

    "How long do your clonesst?" Cleo asked curiously.

    "About a week? I''m not sure since I feel as though I''ve gotten stronger so they might stick around for even longer periods of time," Sophie thoughtfully spoke.

    "When are you supposed to meet up?"

    "In three days from now," Cleo replied as she mentally calcted the distance between Eleron and the meeting location.

    Hmm¡­ the clone would have to leave the day after tomorrow in order to make it in time. Those spatial coordinates¡­

    Cleo tried to remember if there were any noteworthy locations in that region of space but could not recall any.

    "Don''t worry I''ll give my clone some nasty toxins, powerful weaponry and some other tricks in order to make sure your momes home safe," Sophie promised solemnly.

    "Of course¡­ that''s assuming that the hostage is your mother."

    Sophie didn''t want her clone to go in guns zing but it would help that she was properly prepared if a fight did break out.

    If the ckmailers assumed that the real Cleo was the one who came then they would soon experience an unpleasant surprise.

    The two girls spent the rest of the night hashing out a n together which Sophie ryed to the clone who was lounging on the couch with Moon.

    The frostwing bat felt a bit confused as he stared at the woman who looked identical to Cleo but smelled like his mistress.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Who the heck are you?)

    "I''m a mirror copy¡­ look can you shift out of the way¡­ I''m trying to watch my show," the clone rolled her eyes as she replied.

    The clone flicked through the channels and finally stopped on a gay soap opera about a handsome young butler and his troublesome master.

    It was called ''Sir¡­ I cannot!''

    The title was pretty shitty but having nothing better to do the clone pressed the option and the first episode appeared the screen.

    The background was set in the ancient Earth era when tall castles were made out of stone and coloured stics.

    "My Lord you must go to the dance with your fianc¨¦e Lady Rosaline!" a slender young man with messy curly hair yelled.

    He was dressed in a sharp ck tuxedo and was speaking to a middle-aged man who wore a luxurious white suit.

    "No! How many times must I tell you Emmanuel! I care not for that wench! My love for you burns with the might of a thousand suns!" the middle-aged man replied passionately.

    "Oh¡­ but sir¡­" the butler smiled weakly as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

    "Sir¡­ I cannot!"

    As he said those words the title card shed on the screen and the theme song began to y loudly.

    The clone sat on the couch and looked at Moon. The frostwing bat raised up his head and met her steely gaze.

    "Moon¡­" the clone spoke in a serious tone.

    "This show is clearly poorly acted, badly directed and the script sounds as though it was written by a child."

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (So, we''re watching it right?)

    The clone smiled and raised up the volume of the television.

    It was going to be a long night.

 Chapter 658 Fallen Right Into A Trap

    (Hydra Star System- Irene Asteroid Cluster)

    (Spatial Coordinates 034 054 134)

    "Alright¡­ just a few more minutes," a young woman muttered to herself as she navigated around arge rock that was on route to crashing into her spacecraft.

    She had piercing green eyes, long wavy ck hair and beautiful facial features that made her resemble a goddess.

    She wore a in ck uniform, and several sma guns were strapped to the side of her hips.

    Sophie''s clone sighed heavily as she pressed a few buttons on the navigation console and the spacecraft stopped moving.

    Now her starship was drifting aimlessly through space.

    The clone closed her eyes and essed the mentalwork that connected her to the original Sophie.

    [This is so boring¡­ nothing has happened yet]

    [Did Cleo really get the coordinates right?]

    The clone''s eyes snapped open when she felt a heavy objecttch on to the spaceship. The entire structure began to shake violently.

    Another muchrger starship appeared from behind the shadows of a nearby asteroid and fired several long-range w-like devices that dug into the side of the clone''s starship.

    "Hmm¡­ well this is a bit of a rude start to our meeting," the clone whispered indifferently as her eyes nced towards themunicator on her wrist.

    Several messages appeared on the screen from the unknown number telling her not to panic and that her spacecraft would be escorted to their meeting point.

    Well, there was nothing she could do now except rx.

    The clone leaned back on the chair in the center of themand deck and tightly gripped its sides so that she wasn''t thrown off by the violent shaking.

    Geez¡­ couldn''t they be a bit gentler?

    Several of the w-like devices were attached to the hull of her starship and therger spacecraft began to move towards the deeper parts of the asteroid field.

    Now she was just along for the ride.

    "Okay¡­ let me check to see if this thing works¡­" the clone continued to speak to herself as she tapped the side of her throat.

    "I''m Cleo. I''m Cleo¡­ I''m Cleo¡­ eh¡­ good enough."

    There was a tiny metalloid device imnted in her neck that modified her vocal cords so that she sounded identical to the princess.

    ''Cleo'' smiled as her voice morphed slightly until it matched the familiar pitch of the woman in her memories.

    The journey through the asteroid field was honestly¡­ quite boring. It took around seven hours until a could be seen in the distance.

    Orbiting the was a moon whose surface was entirely covered by a thin sheet of ice from one pole to the other.

    Volcanic eruptions could be seen urring along the equator of the moon and instead of hotva, massive shards of ice erupted from the moon''s core.

    ''Cleo''s'' piercing green eyes narrowed as therger spacecraft began its descent and dragged her along for the ride.

    She pressed a few buttons on the console in front of her to reroute additional power to the starship''s barrier systems.

    It was not a moment too soon as her spacecraft entered the atmosphere and began to burst into mes.

    ''Cleo'' remained calm and waited as her starshipnded on the ground with a heavy thump that shook the entire room.

    She was prepared.

    In her storage bag were a variety of dangerous toxins, high grade explosives and other nasty surprises for the ckmailers.

    Her appearance was now identical to the princess in everything from her looks to even her voice and mannerisms.

    And finally¡­ she had made sure that Sophie imnted an explosive device in her brain just in case she was captured and about to be tortured.

    Therger spacecraft hadnded next to her spacefaring vehicle and a hole opened up in its side.

    A metalloid staircase descended from the gap in its hull and several humanoid figures wearing heavy ck robes walked down the stairs.

    ''Cleo'' connected to the mentalwork and sensed that Sophie was watching the events that were unfolding from her perspective.

    [Alright¡­ let''s go rescue Cleo''s mom]

    ''Cleo'' stretched out her armszily before a serious expression shed across her face.

    She walked through a long winding corridor until she arrived at the exit door.

    The fake princess opened the door and then jumped outside without even waiting for the metalloid staircase to deploy.

    Shended on the snowy ground gracefully and then stared at the mysterious figures with clear anger visible on her face.

    "Where is my mother? Bring me to her now!" ''Cleo'' demanded with barely contained fury in her voice.

    "Right this way¡­" one of the hooded figures calmly spoke as he gestured with his arm towards a mountain in the distance.

    ''Cleo'' scowled angrily and then walked behind the hooded figures as they headed for the mountain.

    There was great reluctance in her steps, and it was clear that she was keeping a wary distance between herself and the strangers.

    ''Cleo'' hoped that her attitude would fool the ckmailers into believing that she was in fact that real princess.

    She needed to utilise all the acting talent that she had in order to sell this role.

    "Why don''t you show your faces?" ''Cleo'' asked suspiciously as her footsteps slowed down.

    "Princess, we mean you no disrespect¡­ however we cannot reveal our true identities until you have heard our offer," one of the figures gently spoke.

    "Offer? I''m just here for my mother¡­ as soon as you bring her to me then I will be leaving this ce immediately," ''Cleo'' remarked with a sneer.

    Her body was surrounded by an aura of regality and nobility that overflowed with every graceful step that she took.

    It took all of the clone''s efforts not to trip and fall on the ice as she tried her best to mimic Cleo''s walking gait.

    It didn''t help that her body was not used to moving about with the additional weight of four de-like appendages behind her back.

    If the hooded figures were annoyed by the fake princess'' attitude, then they did not show it as they continued to walk without saying a word.

    ''Cleo'' continued to probe and try to get some more information out of them but only received short answers in response.

    Or just a t-out refusal to answer her questions until she heard more about their so-called ''offer''.

    The mountain was only a short distance away from her starship so after forty minutes the group finally arrived.

    ''Cleo'' had to tilt her head upwards to see the top of the mountain whose peak seemed to stretch out towards the heavens.

    The hooded figures walked into the mountain and then¡­ disappeared.

    "Huh?!" ''Cleo'' eximed with clear confusion in her gaze. The hooded figures had just¡­ walked into a mountain and then vanished like ghosts.

    She curiously looked around to see if there was anyone nearby but there was nothing.

    Light drizzles of snow gentlynded on her body as she continued to wait around to see if anything was going to happen.

    The fake princess curiously stepped forward and stretched out her hands once she reached the mountain.

    Her hand disappeared and she felt as though it was now in an area that was incredibly warm.

    ''Cleo'' hesitantly brought the rest of her body into the mountain and her vision turned to darkness.

    When she reopened her eyes, she found herself standing in a narrow passageway with torches hanging from the walls at regr intervals.

    The passageway was made out of stone and dirt, and it bore a striking resemnce to an ancient dungeon.

    There was a handsome young man at the end of the corridor who had simr facial features to Cleo.

    He had a soft and delicate build with muscles that were clearly undeveloped. He was good looking, but it was a decadent beauty that ''Cleo'' found oddly unsettling.

    "My dear little sister¡­ I do not believe that we have had the pleasure of meeting before," Prince Luke smiled as he saw the young woman.

    His younger sister had fallen right into his trap.

 Chapter 659 A Shocking Twist!

    ''Cleo'' raised an eyebrow and stared at the young man standing at the end of the corridor with a confused expression on her face.

    "I''m sorry but... who are you?" the fake princess asked.

    The smile on the young man''s face cracked slightly and ''Cleo'' saw a sh of anger surge behind his calm exterior.

    "I am your older brother..." the young man eventually replied with gritted teeth.

    "That doesn''t really narrow things down... I mean... I''m pretty sure I have around nine hundred older brothers and that''s not even counting the bastards..." ''Cleo'' said calmly.

    She could tell that her attitude was pissing off the young man, so she continued to act as though it was no big deal to meet one of her siblings.

    "I am... Prince Luke..." the young man dered as he resumed smiling but this time the smile on his face was clearly forced.

    "Ohh... yeah... I still have no clue who you are," ''Cleo'' responded as she stretched out her arms andzily yawned.

    "The crown prince is my brother..." Prince Luke replied as his fingers curled up into a tight fist.

    He wanted nothing more than to punch his arrogant sister who seemed determined to piss him off.

    "Okay... well I don''t really care... just show me where my mother is so I can leave this ce," ''Cleo'' said with a sneer on her face.

    Her attitude was one of arrogance. It was like she did notprehend the situation that she was currently in.

    Prince Luke did not find her attitude suspicious because members of the royal family were quite spoilt, and most did not know about real world hardships.

    "Come this way," Prince Luke said politely as he turned around and began to walk towards the deeper part of the corridor.

    ''Cleo'' followed behind him but still maintained a healthy distance just in case something happened.

    The walls of the hidden base began to change the deeper they went underground.

    The beginning of the passageway was made of stone and dirt but further inside the materials changed to metals and high-tech devices.

    Hooded figures stood silently with their backs pressed against the walls. They did not move a single muscle as ''Cleo'' and Prince Luke walked past them.

    In fact, it was almost as though they had somehow been turned into living statues.

    ''Cleo'' continued to share her senses with Sophie and the pair silentlymunicated as she travelled through the base.

    Sophie: [Do you think that Cleo''s mother is really trapped down here?]

    The clone: [Not sure... does Cleo know anything about this Prince Luke guy? He acted oddly familiar as if I was expected to know who he was]

    Sophie: [No... she has never met him before... but apparently there are rumors that he is nothing but a waste]

    The fake princess frowned slightly as she looked at the back of the young man leading her towards an unknown location.

    She was stronger than him.

    The cultivation level of Prince Luke was clearly somewhere in the qi tide stage which was quite disgraceful considering his age.

    And there was a heavy scent of alcohol lingering around his body that made her nose wrinkle up in disgust.

    Prince Luke finally arrived at a set ofrge metalloid doors that were guarded by two hooded figures holding sma rifles.

    He did not have to say a word as the guards stepped to the side and the doors swung open to reveal arge space.

    The prince stepped into the room and a momentter ''Cleo'' followed behind him while stealing a few nces at the motionless guards.

    The doors immediately swung shut as she entered the room. The fake princess had a wary expression on her face as she took in her immediate surroundings.

    Dozens if not hundreds of human sized ss containers lined the walls of the room, and each was filled with creatures submerged in a greenish-yellow liquid.

    No... wait a moment... were those things humans?

    They were humans.

    ? ''Cleo''s'' eyes narrowed as she realised that the organisms inside the containers were humans who had been sliced, dissected, and stitched back together to create monstrous abominations.

    Were they alive?

    The fake princess walked up to one of the containers and took a closer look.

    She could see that the test subject''s chest was slowly rising and falling which meant that it was somehow still breathing despite the damage done to its body.

    "Where is my mother?" ''Cleo'' demanded with rage that could be clearly heard in her voice.

    "Patience my dear sister... you see... I have not exactly been honest with you," Prince Luke chuckled as bemusement shed in his eyes.

    He snapped his fingers and two figures walked out from behind the shadows of the ss containers.

    The first was a middle-aged woman with hair that was beginning to grey.

    She was dressed in a simr outfit to the hooded figures, but she had lowered the hood so that her face could be seen.

    She had clearly once been a beauty and even now traces of her youthful charms still remained on her face.

    Her facial features were eerily simr to Prince Luke''s and they both had the same hooked nose.

    The woman next to her was Cleo''s mother except her body slightly changed and morphed with every step that she took.

    "A Quafes? What the hell is going on?" the fake princess asked with apparent confusion and anger in her voice.

    Secretly she felt a bit relieved.

    Now that she had confirmed that Cleo''s real mother was not here... it meant that she could unleash chaos without worry.

    "Forgive my son..." the middle-aged woman spoke in a quiet tone.

    "He only wished to set up this meeting so that we could ask for your help. We mean you no harm... in fact we quite admire you..."

    "Funny way of showing it...st time I checked you don''t ask for help by pretending to kidnap and torture someone''s mother," ''Cleo'' scoffed clearly not buying her excuse.

    The woman shook her head and turned to the Quafes who was currently mimicking Concubine Sisrelis'' appearance.

    "Change and return to your post," the middle-aged woman calmly spoke.

    The Quafes melted away into a golden puddle of biomass liquid and then slid on the floor towards the back of the room.

    "I did not want to do things this way but... desperate times do call for desperate measures," the woman said with a heavy tone.

    She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny ss vial that was filled with a greenish liquid that bubbled and hissed.

    She flung the vial at ''Cleo'' who dodged out of the way with ease. The ss vial crashed to the ground and a long crack appeared on its surface.

    A thick green fog erupted from the container which immediately filled theb room. ''Cleo'' began to cough violently as she pretended to be affected by the toxin.

    She may look like Cleo, but her internal structures and organs were identical to Sophie''s, so toxins had no effect on her.

    She crashed to the ground with a heavy thump and closed her eyes as if she had just fallen unconscious.

    She could hear shuffling footstepsing closer and closer and a pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders in a vice-like grip.

    "Bring her to the chamber," a muffed voice said calmly. The voice sounded as though it came from behind a mask.

    ''Cleo'' kept her eyes closed as her body was dragged off to some unknown location.

 Chapter 660 The Great Escape

    (Fuck¡­ Can''t these bastards be a bit more gentle?)

    (Ouch! Oh my god¡­ stop bumping me into every single piece of ss on the ground!)

    ''Cleo'' kept her eyes closed and tried her best not to wince as her body was unceremoniously dragged across the floor.

    Whoever was pulling her was clearly not interested in her well being because they kept mming her body against the sides of the ss containers.

    The fake princess furrowed her brows slightly and made a silent promise in her heart to kill these lunatics as soon as possible.

    She could hear her brother and the mysterious woman talking amongst themselves as they carried her off to an unknown location.

    "Mother¡­ isn''t this a bit dangerous? She is under the protection of Duke Peterlor¡­ I don''t want to be his enemy¡­" Prince Luke nervously spoke.

    ? He nced at his mother who was dragging his little sister on the ground behind her with an expressionless mask on her face.

    "Rx my son¡­ this is all part of the n," the mysterious woman spoke.

    "She seems to be rather¡­ resistant¡­ to our goals so we need to ensure that she is more¡­ ''eager'' about our cause."

    "In order for that to happen¡­ some extreme measures will have to be taken."

    Prince Luke hummed in acknowledgement and did not voice any moreints.

    He ignored the sinking feeling in his heart that somehow, they were making a huge mistake.

    In order to beat his brother, he knew that he would have to take some risks.

    If this n was sessful, then one of the most powerful cultivators in the Federation would stand by his side.

    ''Cleo'' listened carefully as the pair continued to talk and reference this so-called ''n''.

    Unfortunately, she did not hear any useful information as the middle-aged woman spoke in vague terms and her brother did not seem to know the full details.

    The fake princess connected to the mentalwork linking herself to Sophie and sent out a few messages about the situation.

    Sophie ordered her to maintain her helpless state in order to gather more information. Well¡­ that was easy for her to say!

    She wasn''t the one whose body was being dragged across the ground like she was a dead animal.

    ''Cleo'' passed the time by mentally counted to ten over and over in her mind as the minutes slowly dragged on.

    Time seemed to stretch out as her vision remained shrouded in darkness.

    Around ten minutester¡­ or maybe it was twenty¡­ she could feel her body being lifted up from the ground.

    ''Cleo'' flinched as she felt a hard metalloid object mp across her wrists as well as her lower legs.

    She barely had any time to react before a liquid was sshed across her face. It was foul smelling and stung her eyes.

    "Wake up," a muffled voice hoarsely spoke.

    ''Cleo'' figured that was her cue to start acting and blearily opened her eyes and blinked twice.

    There was a helpless and confused expression on her face as she looked around and discovered that she was strapped to a chair in the middle of a dark room.

    The only source of light came from the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Standing in front of her was the middle-aged woman who now wore a whiteb coat.

    She held a syringe in her left hand that was filled with an orangish-red liquid that bubbled and hissed.

    Prince Luke was nowhere to be seen.

    "What? What the hell is going on?! Release me immediately!" ''Cleo'' growled darkly as she struggled against the restraints.

    She could snap them with a bit of effort, but the real Cleo would have found them difficult to break out of.

    "You will pay for this! When the duke finds out he¡­ Arghhhh!" ''Cleo'' screamed as an electric current flowed through her body.

    She turned her head around and saw that the chair was connected to a small metalloid box that had the symbols for positive and negative charges.

    "Quiet child," the middle-aged woman slowly spoke as she leaned in closer and ran her fingers along the sides of ''Cleo''s'' neck.

    Her facial features were mostly blocked by a heavy ck mask, but her eyes were exposed, and ''Cleo'' could see sadistic desires barely concealed by a superficial calmness.

    The woman stabbed the syringe into ''Cleo''s'' left arm and the mixture entered her body.

    The fake princess groaned painfully as she felt a burning sensation in her arm.

    This sensation soon turned to euphoria as ''Cleo'' felt as though her mind was floating on clouds of cotton candy.

    Joy filled her heart and suddenly the dark room did not seem too bad. Even the scary looking woman now had a friendly smile beneath that mask.

    "What¡­ hahaha!" ''Cleo''ughed madly as she fell under the effects of the drug.

    "Good," the middle-aged woman calmly whispered as she undid the restraints and prepared to start the second stage of the brain washing.

    "Remember this feeling¡­ only I can give this to you¡­" the woman whispered as she leaned ever so closer until her lips were mere inches away from ''Cleo''s'' own.

    "You belong to me and my son. Your entire purpose is to make us happy. Will you make us happy?"

    ''Cleo'' smiled sweetly and opened her mouth. Unfortunately, the words that came out were not what the middle-aged woman expected.

    "Hell, no you crazy bitch!" ''Cleo'' shouted in anger before cocking back her fist and driving in straight into the woman''s stomach.

    Prince Luke''s mother did not even have any time to react before her body flew backwards and mmed into a wall.

    She slid down with a dull groan and looked down at her stomach to see that there was arge hole.

    Blood spewed out of the hole and the life slowly began to drain from her eyes. Even at the moment of her death¡­ she could not believe what had just happened.

    What? How? How could the princess break free of the brainwashing drug''s influence?

    Even a void stage cultivator would need at least twenty minutes in order to detoxify the drug from their system.

    ''Cleo'' walked towards the middle-aged woman and finished her off by stomping in her head using her foot.

    It was a brutal way to kill but the fake princess felt no remorse or guilt.

    Instead, she immediately dug around in the woman''s pockets looking for any useful items or information.

    She found three more of the syringes as well as a ck tablet that was locked behind a passcode.

    It would be possible to hack the device, but she did not have the necessary technological skills to do so.

    ''Cleo'' tucked the tablet away in her storage bag and headed for the exit. It was time to get out of this ce.

    She found herself standing in a long corridor that waspletely empty. Clearly the woman did not want to be disturbed when she was doing brainwashing sessions.

    Okay¡­ that was good news.

    ''Cleo'' cautiously walked forward and took out a sma rifle from her storage bag.

    She did not know where to go but if she kept walking then surely, she would eventually find a way out.

    The fake princess turned around a corner and saw two guards standing motionless with their backs against the wall.

    She quickly ducked back around the corner and pointed her sma rifle at the guard on the right.

    She would only have a few seconds after killing the first guard to handle the second.

    ''Cleo'' took in a deep breath and then slowly pulled her finger that was on the trigger.

    Bang!

    A sma round tore through the guard''s head and he slumped to the ground motionless. The guard next to him began to panic and reach for his weapon but it was already toote.

    Bang!

    His bodynded neatly on top of the first.

    Two shots.

    Two perfect headshots.

    A wicked grin shed across ''Cleo''s'' face as she approached the bodies and took the opportunity to remove their hoods.

    She wanted to see whaty beneath those robes.

 Chapter 661 The Tragic Ending

    (Hydra Star System- Unknown Location)

    (Hidden Lunar Base)

    ''Cleo'' grabbed the hood covering the men''s faces roughly and then threw it back. Whaty beneath the hood were two humans withrge holes in their foreheads.

    But what was strange about the bodies was the rest of their skin.

    The fake princess without feeling any shame decided to strip off the rest of their clothes and discovered that their bodies were covered inrge stitches and patchworks of mutted flesh.

    What the hell was this?

    ''Cleo'' furrowed her brows as she realised that parts of their bodies wereposed of different skin tones.

    Some were white, others were light brown or olive and there was even a patch near their lower back that was pitch ck.

    It was like someone had taken different humans and stitched them together to create some kind of Frankenstein''s Monster.

    ''Cleo'' opened her eyes and snapped a few mental images of the corpses to send through thework connecting herself to Sophie.

    Okay¡­ it was time to get moving.

    The fake princess held the sma rifle in her hand with the safety trigger off as she cautiously moved through the passageway.

    She was on high alert to even the slightest trace of movement and could feel beads of sweat running down her brows.

    This was a strange ce.

    The peculiar nature of the corpses sent a small shiver down ''Cleo'' spine as she had never seen something like that before.

    Were they doing gic and physiological experiments in here?

    Those were officially banned by Federation government with the exception of state-sponsoredboratories.

    ''Cleo'' continued to press forward while taking out any guards that were in her path. Surprisingly she did not encounter many on her journey.

    After about forty minutes of walking¡­ she only saw seven in total.

    But rather than rx her guard, ''Cleo'' was even more vignt as she was sure that she saw more people in the base when she first arrived.

    Where was everyone else?

    ''Cleo'' question was soon answered as she rounded a corner, and her eyes spotted a small camera perched on top of a nearby door.

    Fuck.

    The fake princess aimed her sma rifle at the recording device and pulled the trigger but unfortunately it was toote.

    Bang!

    Just as a sma round tore through the fragile ss lens of the camera, a loud siren began to echo through the corridor.

    A robotic voice came from an unknown location, and it began to shout the same message over and over again.

    [Intruder Alert!] [Intruder Alert!] [Intruder Alert!]

    ''Cleo'' broke out into a sprint and her body soon turned into a fast-moving blur. She shot through the corridor and saw that in front of her were two doors.

    Left or right?

    The clone frowned and randomly picked the one on the left. She had no idea if she was making a mistake or not.

    She used her enhanced strength to tear the door off its hinges and enter inside the room thaty beyond it.

    ''Cleo'' blinked twice as the room was illuminated by a harsh white light that stung her eyeballs It took a few seconds for her to be able to see what was inside the room.

    Dozens of ss tubes were lined up in a circr pattern and inside each tube one could see humans attached to life support devices.

    A neuro- link was imnted on the side of their foreheads which blinked slightly with a reddish glow.

    The humans growing inside the chambers had the same patchwork of different coloured skin tones across their bodies.

    And something was happening¡­<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    One by one their eyes snapped opened and their pupils focused on the young woman standing in the front of the room.

    "Nope," ''Cleo'' softly muttered as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out the high-grade explosives that Sophie packed.

    What she needed to do now was cause as much chaos as possible. It was only a matter of time before more guards came to hunt her down.

    She cocked back her fist and threw the explosives across the room.

    BOOM!

    An eruption of fire began to spread out from where the explosivesnded which shattered all the ss containers in its path.

    The humans inside the test tube were vaporised instantly and their bodies soon turned to nothing more than ash.

    ''Cleo'' ran through the room pelting explosives in the directions where test tubes were clumped together.

    Just as she reached the exit, arge hand emerged from the shadows and tightly grabbed her by her arm.

    "Wha¡­ urghhh" ''Cleo''s'' voice trailed off as the hand punched her in the stomach with so much force that she flew across the room.

    She mmed into a wall and slid down with a sickening crunch. The fake princess groaned in pain as she forced her body to stand up.

    Her ribs were definitely broken¡­ or at least cracked.

    A figure emerged from the wreckage of the room wearing the samerge ck robes as the other guards.

    Except¡­ they were clearly in the void stage.

    The space around their body rippled with power and the cultivation pressure that they exerted was one that ''Cleo'' had felt before.

    A void stage cultivator? Great¡­

    ''Cleo'' reached into her storage bag just as several sharp knives flew towards her location. She tried her best to avoid them, but a few desnded straight into her chest.

    The fake princess coughed up blood as her lungs had been pierced by one of the des. Clearly this guard was not interested in her recapture.

    With shaking hands, she picked up several test tubes and flung them on the ground without even looking at thebels.

    ''Cleo'' trembling palms barely managed to make a series of hand gestures as the qi in her dantian began to surge.

    Poison Cultivation Art- Blood Mist!

    The spilled liquids on the ground began to mix together and a tinge of red appeared along the edges of their colours.

    ''Cleo'' pointed at the figure and arge cloud of gas surged forward that nketed the room in noxious fumes.

    This was a wide area of effect attack, and it was one that would affect the user as well since the gas would spread throughout its immediate surroundings.

    ''Cleo'' looked down at her body and saw horrific pus-filled boils appear along with areas of her skin that rotted away.

    There were exceptionally dangerous toxins inside those test tubes and even her natural poison resistance needed some time to kick in.

    It was even worst for the void stage cultivator, and they began to stagger.

    ''Cleo''s'' eyes narrowed as she watched them pulled out a heavy long sword that was over seven feet tall.

    Where had they been storing that?

    The void stage cultivator started to cough violently but still mustered up enough energy to swing the de in the fake princess'' direction.

    ? The move took only a fraction of a second, but it was enough to end the fight.

    ''Cleo'' looked down at her body as the corners of her vision started to darken. Her torso had beenpletely separated from her lower half.

    "Password¡­. Ken¡­1¡­Delta¡­" ''Cleo'' managed to spit out before the life in her eyes slowly drained away.

    The explosive device imnted in her neck began to bleep ominously before delivering the fake princess'' final attack.

    BOOM!

 Chapter 662 Terrible Enemies

    (Hydra Star System- Unknown Location)

    (Hidden Lunar Base)

    "What a fucking mess," a hoarse voice echoed through the destroyed room.

    A hooded man wearing a long ck cloak stepped through a hole in the wall opposite to the room''s entrance.

    What he saw wasplete chaos.

    There were burning fires scattered across the open space, shattered ss containers with the specimens inside already dead and the most shocking sight of all¡­

    An injured void stage cultivator who waspletely motionless.

    The hooded man cursed again under his breath as he approached the injured cultivator and ced two fingers on his neck.

    Dead.

    He had died.

    The forensic experts would have to examine the corpse to identify the exact poison that caused his death but regardless¡­ this was a massive loss.

    There were only two cultivators in their entire organisation who had reached the void stage so the death of one meant that their maximumbat power had been halved.

    "Damn it! Damn it!" the hooded man mmed his fist against the side of his leg in frustration as his eyes swept across the room.

    Numerous corpsesy on the ground and parts of their flesh were ckened or burnt from therge explosion that had tore through theboratory.

    Fortunately, the camera inside the room had been transmitting a live feed until the moment the explosion happened.

    The hooded man pulled a ck tablet from his storage bag and essed the feed to look over the footage one more time.

    Princess Cleo entered the room and proceeded to throw high grade explosives in all directions like a madwoman.

    She then encountered the void stage cultivator sent to subdue her and then¡­

    Wait¡­ something wasn''t right.

    Princess Cleo was not a poison cultivator.

    The hooded man furrowed his brows as he watched the princess make a series of hand signs and then unleash a poison maniption technique.

    Cleo''s information was well known. She was a mech controller so without a mech all she could perform would be psychic attacks.

    Maybe even some basic cultivation techniques but¡­

    That poison attack was definitely not a basic technique. If anything, it looked like an advanced technique that was only taught to third year students.

    And thest seconds of footage were also a bit peculiar.

    Why would the princess blow herself up without hesitation?

    Judging from the source of the explosive¡­ there had been a device imnted in her neck. Did the princess willinglye here to be a suicide bomber?

    No¡­

    The hooded man walked over to a certain corner of the room where a pile of ash and some bones could be seen.

    The remains of the princess.

    He took out a metalloid device from his storage bag and a test tube that contained a single red drop of liquid.

    There was a faint sense of suspicion in his heart, and he needed to check to see if his assumption was correct.

    The hooded man stuck the tip of the device into one of the bones and then dropped the blood sample into another section of the device.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    A green light began to blink as the device analysed the two samples of DNA andpared them for simrities.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    [Analysis Complete!]

    [DNA Sample Results: Not Rted]

    [Gic Make-up: 50% Human 50% Unknown Species]

    "We were tricked¡­" the hooded man hoarsely growled as he flung the device against a nearby wall in anger.

    It shattered into thousands of metalloid pieces as the man had put quite a bit of force into his throw.

    He felt nothing but rage in his heart.

    This should have been a straightforward n and instead¡­ everything seemed to have gone horribly wrong.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Their lead gicist was now dead.

    Prince Luke had been informed of his mother''s passing and had locked himself in his room and refused toe out.

    And to top it all off¡­ PRINCESS CLEO WAS A FAKE!

    The hooded man took in several deep breaths and forced down the rage that was bubbling up inside his chest.

    Now was not the time for anger¡­ now was the time to be calm and think.

    For now, all ns that involved Duke Peterlor would have to be put on hold while they thought of possible countermeasures.

    The gic maniption experiments still needed to be continued but without the prince''s mother¡­ the pace would be greatly reduced.

    She was a true genius and those could not easily be reced.

    The hooded figure rubbed the sides of his temples as he felt a headacheing on.

    Right now, his first priority should be to get the prince''s mentality back on track.

    They needed him to oppose his brother Prince Theseus.

    The man took onest look at the bones on the ground and then proceeded to kick them with a hateful glint in his eyes.

    They would have their revenge.

    Princess Cleo would pay for tricking them.

    He walked out of the destroyedboratory and headed for the prince''s personal bed chamber that was located a short distance away.

    It took the hooded man around twenty minutes to finally navigate his way through a seemingly endlessbyrinth of side passageways and corridors.

    He eventually arrived at a set ofrge metalloid doors that were guarded by several heavily armed soldiers.

    The site had gone intoplete lockdown when the fake princess Cleo had made her escape, and these guards were responsible for the prince''s safety.

    The hooded man walked past the guards and none of them stopped him.

    He approached therge doors and manually inputted in the override code in the ess port.

    With a hissing noise the metalloid doors swung open, and the interior of a luxurious bedroom could be seen.

    The hooded man took a single step inside and winced as an overwhelming stench of cheap liquor assaulted his senses.

    Prince Luke was resting on his bed in a state of partial undress. His shit was unbuttoned, and his pants were down by his ankles.

    He held arge bottle of wine in one hand that was already opened. His eyes were ssy and unfocused as if he was in a daze.

    "My prince¡­" the hooded man began to speak but was stopped as Prince Luke raised up one finger and shushed him.

    "Is the bitch who killed my mother dead?" Prince Luke spat out with barely concealed rage. He took another swig from the wine bottle and proceeded to vomit on the mattress.

    He looked like a wreck,

    "Yes¡­ she blew herself up¡­" the hooded man hesitantly replied as he considered whether or not he should tell the prince the truth.

    "Good," the prince bluntly replied as he reached for a nket and wiped away the traces of vomit from his lips.

    "Now leave¡­ fuck your n¡­ I don''t care anymore¡­"

    The hooded man let out a heavy sigh as he watched the prince fumble around like a drunken old man.

    Prince Luke wobbled off the bed and half-walked and half-staggered to the fridge in the corner of his bedroom.

    He opened the fridge and grabbed two more ss bottles. The hooded man could not read thebels on the bottles but judging from the smell¡­

    He could guess what the contents inside were.

    If he did nothing, then the prince would drown himself in alcohol and depression.

    The hooded man''s fingers clenched up into a tight fist as he opened his mouth to tell the prince about the horrible truth.

    "My prince¡­ the princess Cleo that you met was a fake," the hooded man softly whispered.

    "She had an explosive device imnted in her neck and most likely was sent by the real princess Cleo in order to cause chaos."

    "Your sister¡­ the one who was responsible for your mother''s death¡­ is still alive."

    Prince Luke dropped the bottles that he was holding to the floor where they immediately shattered.

    The life slowly began to return to his eyes and a darkness could be seen in the shadow of the bloodthirsty expression that shed across his face.

    Princess Cleo would pay for his mother''s death.

 Chapter 663 An Abandoned Base

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    Sophie closed her eyes and massaged her temples gently. Memories began to flow into her mind from the link between herself and her clone.

    They were not pleasant ones.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she experienced the sensation of having her ribs broken and then part of her body sliced off.

    Not just part of her body¡­ her entire lower half. Intestines fell out of her stomach as shey helplessly on the ground.

    No¡­ that person was not her¡­ it was her clone.

    Deep breaths¡­ deep breaths¡­

    The memories ended with a loud booming noise and a feeling of intense heat when the clone triggered the explosive device.

    Sophie opened her eyes and reached for the ss of water next to her chair. She took a small sip and enjoyed the cool liquid as it slid down her throat.

    Rsychosis was indeed a powerful technique, but she would be lying if she said that it did not affect her when she received memories of dying in painful ways.

    No wonder her mirror copies were always so unhappy when they were summoned. Most of the time their existence ended quite¡­ painfully.

    "You okay?" Cleo asked with concern evident in her voice. The princess walked over to her girlfriend and gently held her hands.

    "Yeah¡­ I''m fine. The mirror copy was just killed so I had to receive her memories," Sophie exined calmly.

    Cleo''s hand tightened its grip on Sophie''s palm as the princess understood what the hybrid girl meant.

    "Well¡­ I did learn some useful information, but I definitely have more questions than answers," Sophie spoke while maintaining a thoughtful expression.

    She powered on her wristmunicator and began to write out a message with the important information that she had learnt.

    Fortunately, after a bug and virus sweep, it had been discovered that her wristmunicator had not beenpromised so it was safe to send a message to her father.

    "First of all, the location of their base should be somewhere around this region¡­" Sophie muttered as she inputted in a series of coordinates that were the middle of an asteroid field.

    "They appear to have been conducting gic experiments and have an army of qi spirit and qi tide cultivators."

    "There was a single cultivator in the void stage, but it would be wise to assume that there may be more."

    "Finally, the person behind this was someone who had the appearance of Prince Luke. It may be the real one, but further investigation is required."

    "Prince Luke? Who is that?" Cleo asked with a bit of confusion on her face.

    "He said that he''s the full brother of the crown prince. They have the same mother and everything," Sophie exined as she finished writing up the message.

    She took a moment to review all that she had written and filled out some additional minor details before sending out the message to her father.

    With his strength and connections there was no need for Cleo and her to investigate the matter themselves.

    In fact, it would be safer to just stay put on the main campus for now.

    Zrudread University was one of the four great cultivation universities in the entire Federation.

    There were guards and secret organisation employed by the college in order to keep the students safe from outside threats.

    Of course, these individuals would not interfere when students went on dangerous missions outside of the university''s territories.

    Sophie powered off hermunicator and pulled Cleo onto herp. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend''s soft belly and hummed gently in her ear.

    "I''m sure this is something to do with the ritual to be the next leader of the Imperial Family," Sophie whispered calmly.

    "The sooner the winner is chosen¡­ the better¡­" Cleo replied in a small voice as she looked off into the distance.

    She was clearly distracted by something, but Sophie didn''t pry. Sometimes it was best just to remain silent and enjoy the mood.

    Several minutes passed inplete silence as Sophie rxed with her girlfriend in her arms while Cleo appeared to be in a daze.

    "If¡­ if I was stronger¡­ would you have supported me?" Cleo suddenly broke the rxed atmosphere with an unexpected question.

    "Of course, but I¡­ I thought that you didn''t want to be the next empress," Sophie replied with a puzzled tone.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Cleo nervously yed with her fingers as she opened her mouth to confess the true thoughts in her heart,

    "No¡­ I mean the logical part of me knows that it is more trouble than its worth but ever since I was a little girl¡­ my mother always drilled into my head that I would be the next leader."

    "It was her dream and not mine but¡­ after hearing it for so long. I would be lying if I said that a part of me wouldn''t mind being the next empress.

    "Well¡­ if in a few thousand yearster they hold the next leadership ceremony. You can count on me!" Sophie teased lightly.

    "Unfortunately, I might be an old grey-haired woman so I don''t know if my ancient bones will be able to help too much."

    "You? Old? Hmm¡­ I am attracted to young women not grandmas so¡­ hmmm¡­ we might have to break up," Cleo replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    "Oh really?" Sophie cocked an eyebrow and stared at her girlfriend.

    She leaned forward and softly nibbled on her neck making Cleo squeal and squirm slightly in herp.

    Sophie''s hands wandered downwards, and she gave Cleo''s ass a yful squeeze and a firm p that echoed through the room.

    "How about your soon to be ex-girlfriend gives you a taste of what you''ll miss when you break up with me?" Sophie hoarsely whispered as her golden eyes shed pink.

    Cleo felt a shiver of anticipation run down her spine as she stared into her girlfriend''s hungry eyes that were full of lust and desire.

    "Sure¡­" she managed to breathlessly whisper before Sophie picked her up in her arms and carried her to the bed.

    The hybrid girl snapped her fingers and the automated light system in the room slowly dimmed.

    She slid her fingers across Cleo''s body with slow deliberate movements.

    The princess smiled as her girlfriend yfully tugged and pulled at her clothes without actually taking them off.

    "I don''t have all day," Cleo winked slyly before using her hands to unbutton the top of her dress.

    "I do apologise your highness¡­" Sophie said solemnly as she ced one palm on her chest and gave a short bow.

    "Allow me to serve you as your loyal subject."

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Eight hourster)

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie blearily opened her eyes and winced as she felt the harsh rays of sunlight fall on her face. Cleo''s naked body was lying down next to hers and her girlfriend was still fast asleep.

    The princess'' body was covered in hickeys, love bites and her face was smeared with pussy juices from when Sophie had gotten a bit too enthusiasticst night.

    The hybrid girl gently kissed the top of Cleo''s shoulder and then got out of bed. She grabbed her wristmunicator that was on the dresser table nearby and checked her messages.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie opened up the inbox and saw quite a few messages from her father.

    Apparently, he had sent out two scouting teams immediately following her report and they had managed to reach the base sessfully.

    The bad news was that the base had already been abandoned by the time they arrived and all that remained were broken ss containers andputer systems that had been intentionally damaged.

    There was a hacker in one of the scouting teams and she was currently trying to salvage some data from the destroyed machines.

    Sophie''s dad promised to send her more information when it became avable and then ended the message by wishing Cleo and her well.

    Sophie''s lips curved upwards as sent back a quick message of thanks along with a reminder to her father to keep safe on the battlefield.

    She didn''t know what the exact situation on the border between the Federation and Insectoid Empire was but if her father''s strength was required¡­

    It could not be good.

 Chapter 664 Life Goes On

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Main Campus- Library Outskirts)

    Life went on.

    Over the next few days there was an eerie calmness in Sophie''s life.

    She studied during the lectures, practised her cultivation techniques, and went on a few dates with her girlfriend.

    There was no new information about the cult who had mysteriously disappeared after her clone had caused havoc inside their base.

    Sophie did not believe that they were truly gone but the universe was an enormous ce. There were millions of hiding spots in the Hydra Star System alone.

    All she could do was trust her dad''s informationwork. Hopefully the organisation would be brought to justice.

    And by justice¡­ she meant killed.

    Anyone who was a threat to Cleo''s well-being needed to die.

    Sophie stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily as she leaned against a nearby tree.

    She had about thirty minutes until her next lecture, so she was currently killing some time by hanging out in the promenade outside the library.

    Outside of the whole evil organisation thing¡­ there was one pressing concern on her mind.

    Would she even be able to participate in the inter-university tournament? Sophie hissed as another sharp burst of pain tore through her body.

    She was tempted to reach for the pain-relieving medication in her storage bag but eventually decided against it.

    There was no point in overdosing on drugs when the relief that they offered was only a few minutes of respite at most.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and rode out the wave of exhaustion and agony that was now an all too familiar sensation.

    She was getting stronger.

    Every time one of these torture sessions ended¡­ she could feel the qi inside her dantian solidify and another star was added to the inner gxy inside her body.

    But still¡­ it was so fucking painful.

    Sophie slowly began to inhale and then exhale as she checked her wristmunicator for any news on the virtual Net.

    She needed a distraction to get her mind off the pain. The hybrid girl flicked past the gossip section and searched for gaming news.

    Oh¡­ this was interesting¡­

    Apparently, an indie studio was releasing a new virtual reality game next weekend and the premise was very unique.

    It took ce in a world of sword and magic with strange fantastical creatures.

    The yer was not the main character who was the hero and instead could choose a random NPC to inhabit.

    The goal of the game was to survive the monster waves, demon attacks and corrupt nobles as a weakmoner.

    It was rare to see a game in with sort of setting that was not a power fantasy about blowing away your enemies with a single strike.

    Sophie''s trembling fingers tapped a few times on her wristmunicator, and she pre-ordered the game.

    Actually, maybe she should buy a copy for Cleo as well¡­

    Sophie tapped again and the order turned from one to two. She continued looking for new releases but nothing else caught her attention.

    The pounding headache that she was experiencing slowly began to fade along with the sharp burst of pain that ravaged her body.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh of relief and then checked the time on hermunicator. She still had about fifteen minutes to go.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    An iing message arrived in her inbox, and it was from the principal.

    Principal Malik: [Good day Miss Peterlor. Could you stop by my office now? There are some important matters to discuss]

    Principal Malik: [I would like to officially appoint you as the captain of the second-year students and talk about the responsibilities of the position]<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Sophie: [Sure no problem. I''ll be there soon]

    Sophie felt her heart sink as she looked at the messages and quickly realised that she had an important decision to make.

    Should she be honest and tell the principal that she may be unable topete?

    Or just keep quiet and hope that her condition did not re up?

    Those two options kept bouncing around Sophie''s mind as she got up from the ground and headed towards the administrative centre.

    Several students waved or said ''good afternoon'' to her as she wandered through the campus and¡­ it felt good.

    She was firmly acknowledged as the strongest student in second year, and no one objected to her being appointed as the captain.

    The inter-university tournament was very prestigious. Only the top students of the four great universities would be allowed topete.

    The best of the best.

    Geniuses among geniuses.

    And she was to be the captain of one of the teams just like her father all those years ago when he won glory for As University.

    Sophie''s fingers curled up into a tight fist as she recalled hearing stories from other people about how her dad had be a well-known household name after the tournament.

    She wanted to do the same.

    She wanted everyone to know that Duke Peterlor''s daughter was just as powerful as her father.

    The hybrid girl felt conflicted as she walked through the metalloid doors of the administrative center and finally arrived at the principal''s office.

    She had made her decision.

    Sophie knocked lightly on the wooden doors and heard a soft hum of acknowledgemente from the other side.

    "Excuse me," Sophie politely spoke as she opened the doors and stepped inside the office.

    Principal Malik was sitting down in his chair with his paws curled over a cup of hot coffee that was gently steaming.

    His white-coloured fur appeared to almost glow under the sunlight that fell through the window and his pink eyes stared at Sophie.

    "Please take a seat," Principal Malik warmly spoke as he gestured to the empty chair opposite to him.

    There was a te of biscuits in front of the chair along with some other snacks for Sophie to enjoy.

    He took another sip from his cup and let out a contented sigh. Today was a peaceful day and it was always a pleasure to talk to one of his most promising students.

    Sophie sat down calmly and waited for the principal to speak. An expression of determination shed across her face.

    Perhaps she had made a foolish decision. The logical part of her knew that the safest thing to do was withdraw from the tournament but¡­

    Sophie was determined to try anyways.

    She already had some vague ideas about what to do in case she suffered from a pain attack during a match.

    Still, she would need to do some training to verify her strategy.

    "As you know you were chosen as the leader of the second-year representatives," Principal Malik cheerfully spoke as he leaned against his chair.

    "The university has very high hopes for you along with the other students of your generation. You were the strongest freshmen in the history of the university."

    "I haveplete faith that you all will bring nothing but glory and honour to Zrudread University."

    "Thank you for your kind words principal," Sophie politely replied as she kept her face neutral.

    She pushed down the guilty feeling in her heart as she listened to the principal talk about how much would mean to him if they managed to win first ce.

    "Now on to the purpose of this meeting," Principal Malik''s tone suddenly changed to one of seriousness as he began to stroke his beard.

    "The captains will head to the where the tournament is being held ahead of time for the opening ceremony."

    "You will be expected to give a speech and meet with the other captains for a few interviews and photo-ops. Does that sound okay?"

 Chapter 665 A Secret Date

    (Zrudread University- Hidden Location)

    (Archmage Hollystorm''s Mage Tower)

    "Astrid¡­ this is definitely a bad idea," Qiana whispered softly as she nervously nced around the room.

    "Nah it''ll be fine¡­ the archmage isn''ting back until tomorrow¡­ so we have the tower all to ourselves!" Astrid happily eximed as she wrapped her furry paw around her girlfriend.

    Today was a special day.

    Her mentor had to visit his colleagues at Mer University, so he had given her some essays to write in the tower''s library.

    Astrid had finished writing the papers early so she decided to invite Qiana over to spend the rest of the day with her in the tower.

    Okay¡­ so the archmage didn''t know that she had invited a guest over but¡­ he wouldn''t find out since he wasn''ting back until tomorrow!

    "Why did I let you talk me into this?" Qiana groaned as she was led up a long and winding stairway towards an unknown location.

    "Oh, don''t be such a worrywart! I''ll protect you from the wards and defensive runes," Astrid proudly spoke as she snapped her fingers.

    A blue light emerged from her fingertips and merged into Qiana''s body.

    It was the master key rune to prevent the wards inside the tower from recognising her girlfriend as an intruder.

    Astrid hummed happily as she led her girlfriend up the stairs and towards a special room that she thought that Qiana would enjoy.

    The space inside a mage''s tower was often¡­ peculiar.

    Especially in the case of Archmage Hollystorm''s tower since he specialised in spatial magic.

    The staircase seemed to go on forever and one would eventually find themselves walking upside down, sideways, and even backwards.

    Astrid was used to the odd nature of the house, but Qiana was finding it difficult to adapt to the sudden shifts in gravity.

    Spatial mages were particrly difficult opponents for assassins because it was hard to get a lock on their location.

    Plus, magic in general was a bit tricky to deal with.

    Qiana held her girlfriend''s paw tightly since she was afraid that if she let go then she would be forever trapped in this strange ce.

    The pair eventually arrived at a set of magnificent ss doors with intricate bluish-green runes carved onto its outer surface.

    These runes hummed with power and the air crackled with electricity. Astrid felt a small tingle run down her spine and she took in a deep breath.

    The air was filled with pure mana.

    It was hard to describe what that felt like. For a mage being able to breathe in mana was a familiar yet still oddly pleasant sensation.

    "Aperi tibi ostium," Astrid chanted as she ced her hand on the door and channeled the mana inside her heart.

    The ss doors slowly slid open to reveal arge open space. Qiana followed her girlfriend into the room, and it was like she had stepped into another world.

    Therge space beyond the door was actually a forest with trees that spread out endless towards the infinite horizon.

    A bright blue light burned brightly in the sky and Qiana could not tell what exactly the source of light was.

    It looked like an ordinary star but as her eyes focused on its shape¡­ something was off about its appearance.

    Unfortunately, she could not tell what the discrepancy was.

    The air was hot and humid which caused beads of sweat to run down the young woman''s brow which she wiped off using her hand.

    Soft yellowish grass crunched beneath her feet and there was a nice smell in the air of fresh herbs and earth.

    "What is this ce?" Qiana asked curiously.

    "This my dear is one of the pocket dimensions inside the tower!" Astrid nonchntly spoke as if this wasn''t a big deal.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    After spending so much time with an archmage, Astrid''smon sense had been warped somewhat and she genuinely believed that it was no big deal to possess a pocket dimension.

    "Do I have to be careful of anything here?" Qiana asked softly as she approached one of the trees.

    "No. This ce ispletely safe¡­ but just handle the trees with care. They don''t like it when you y with them too roughly," Astrid warned seriously.

    "y?" Qiana raised an eyebrow and asked.

    Astrid simply shook her head and then gestured towards the tree.

    Qiana knew that there was something that her girlfriend wasn''t telling her, but her natural curiosity made her want to discover what that was.

    She slowly stretched out her hand toward a nearby tree and to her surprise a wooden hand that had an identical appearance to her own emerged from the trunk of the tree.

    The hand grabbed her palm before she could react and shook her hand up and down with vigorous motions.

    Qiana finally managed to wrestle her hand out of the firm handshake and the tree began to shudder as if it was crying.

    One of the trees next to it stretched out a branch and wrapped it around itspanion as if it wasforting it.

    "Astrid¡­ what the hell was that?" Qiana eximed in shock as she back away and turned to her girlfriend for an exnation.

    "Magic!" Astrid happily replied as she shook her paws from side to side with a silly expression on her face.

    Qiana was not amused by the Mendolesa girl''s teasing and patiently waited to hear a proper exnation.

    "Alright¡­ alright¡­" Astrid raised up her paws in mock surrender.

    "The archmage picked up these nts from a hidden in the Andromeda system. Apparently, they are highly intelligent almost on the level of type four civilisations."

    "But how? How could trees develop intelligence? Do they have brains?" Qiana was now fascinated by the peculiar nature of the nts inside the pocket dimension.

    "Not sure¡­ my mentor studied them a few decades ago but all his research notes are somewhere in the library," Astrid thoughtfully replied.

    "Ie down here every now and then just to say hello, but they can''t really have a conversation with me."

    "Or maybe they can, and I just don''t understand theirnguage."

    Qiana nced back at the trees and saw that they had now resumed their original positions as if nothing had just happened.

    This ce was really weird.

    Qiana knew that dating a girl who was into magic was going to be an¡­ interesting experience but man¡­ this was something else.

    Living trees? Pocket dimensions? Endless staircases?

    She could only hope that when Astrid became an official archmage that she would design a rtively ordinary mage tower with none of these surprises.

    "Shall we continue our tour?" Astrid suddenly spoke and interrupted Qiana''s train of thought.

    "Sure¡­ where are we going to next?" Qiana asked softly.

    "It''s a surprise," Astrid grinned wolfishly and winked at her girlfriend as she led her out of the pocket dimension room.

    The pair did not notice that several of the trees extended out of their branches and shook them slightly as if waving goodbye.

    Astrid''s tail wagged furiously as she walked up the stairs while wrapping her paws around Qiana''s waist.

    Her girlfriend rolled her eyes at the sudden disy of affection, but a secret red flush began to spread up her cheeks.

    Qiana would never admit it, but Astrid''s joyful nature was one of the main reasons that she had fallen in love with her.

    It was impossible to stay angry or upset when spending time in thepany of a sweet ball of sunshine.

    Especially one that was so cute in both her normal and human form.

 Chapter 666 Duke Peterlors View On War

    (Gayorn Star Cluster- Ax Region)

    Rocrn- Ruins Of The Capitol City)

    Hell.

    That was the only word Duke Peterlor could use to describe what he was seeing. The entire battlefield was littered with corpses of both allies and enemies alike.

    So much blood soaked the ground that even the dirt itself had begun to smell of the faint coppery scent.

    The duke ced his sword back into his sheath as his dark eyes swept the battlefield one more time for any survivors.

    It was an act that many would consider useless since the senses of a god stage cultivator meant that no living organism would be able to escape from his grasp.

    Still¡­ using his own eyes to assess the situation was a habit that was not easily unlearned especially considering that it had kept him alive more times than he could count.

    The duke let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion as he felt a throbbing sensation in his temples. He had been pushing himself over thest few days.

    Being forced to go from battlefield to battlefield.

    ughtering all the invading Insectoid soldiers and personally dealing with their generals.

    The current war between the Insectoid Empire and the Federation in this region of space was going badly.

    The Imperial Armymander in charge of the defenses here was nothing more than idiot barely fit to serve much less lead men into battle.

    A fat pig-like bastard only concerned about earning his family honour. As if honour would ever bring back the lives of dead soldiers.

    A useless notion.

    That is what honour was in war.

    Duke Peterlor thrust his sword forward and easily prated the heart of a small worm-like Insectoid that was pretending to be dead.

    In war¡­ only one side could win.

    The Federation could not afford to lose.

    Especially with so many greedy interster factions waiting to see even the slightest hint of weakness.

    Bleep! Bleep!

    The duke''s wristmunicator rang, and he nced down to see a summoning message from centralmand ordering him to return to the base.

    Duke Peterlor frowned slightly and then his body vanished from the spot. He crossed over two hundred kilometres a second as space itself warped around his body.

    God stage cultivators could not be judged bymon sense.

    If a qi body cultivator was a wooden spear, then a god stage cultivator was a tactical nuke.

    Rokan shed forward using his sword and the space around his de rippled slightly and formed a portal.

    He stepped inside without hesitation and found himself standing at the back of a crowded room where hundreds of officers stood at attention.

    "Ahh! Duke Peterlor! Thank you for your timely return," a sniveling nasal sounding voice came from the man sitting down on a chair.

    He wore a military uniform like the rest of the officers, but his uniform was covered in head to toe with bright and shiny medals.

    The man shifted his body slightly so that the medals on his uniform were prominently disyed to everyone in the room.

    "Commander Solomon. The situation on Rocrn has been dealt with," Duke Peterlor opened his mouth and spoke in a deep somber tone.

    "There were heavy losses and none of the Imperial Army soldiers survived the initial onught of the Insectoid forces."

    "I was able to kill all of the invaders however it is only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive."

    Themander pped his hands together almost like a child and just like that a heavy apuse echoed through the room.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "I know you would be able to do it!" Commander Solomon gleefully spoke as he mentally went over what he nned to write in his report to the higher ups.

    Duke Peterlor''s performance on the battlefield had been impressive but the true credit should go to the man who sent him there in the first ce.

    The duke knew what themander was thinking since it did not take a genius to figure out what was clearly written on his face.

    He was probably scheming and thinking of how to get another medal.

    Useless pieces of metal adorning an utterly useless man.

    Duke Peterlor wanted nothing more than to approach themander and strangle him to death but resisted the violent thoughts in his mind.

    He was no longer a member of the Imperial Army.

    He was merely a noble fulfilling his obligation to the empire and then he would be returning home.

    The battlefield was no longer where he wanted to be. Especially now that he had someone that he wanted to protect.

    Well¡­ two people.

    Duke Peterlor stared off into the distance as themander''s continual praises of his performance went in one ear and out of the other.

    His dreams had been preupiedtely with the images of a beautiful woman who was very familiar.

    A woman who was not even a human but was the mother of his child.

    Thai''lle.

    The duke''s hand slowly drifted to his chest where below his clothes was a faint pink mark that had been branded on his skin almost like a tattoo.

    "Wonderful! Now ire¡­ why don''t you send the duke the details about his next mission?" Commander Solomon''s voice broke Rokan out of his train of thought.

    "Yes sir!" a inly dressed woman wearing a long white cloak walked up to the duke and handed him a metalloid tablet.

    Her face flushed bright red as she saw the handsome duke gently take the tablet from her hand and smile at her.

    Duke Peterlor was the ultimate bachelor.

    Even the fact that he had a daughter did little to deter bothmoner and noble women alike.

    He was the youngest cultivator in the history of the Federation to reach the god stage and that fact alone had many parties interested in him.

    It helped that there were no bad rumors or even hints of romantic affairs involving the duke so the women who liked him knew that he would be a faithful man.

    Duke Peterlor did not notice the affectionate look in the female officer''s eyes since he was reading the contents written down on the tablet.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the duke finished reading and gave the tablet back to the officer.

    "Commander Solomon¡­ are you sure that this is my mission?" Duke Peterlor asked coldly as the temperature in the room plummeted.

    A heavy pressure descended on themander sitting in the chair and he shivered uncontrobly as he met the duke''s eyes.

    It was like he was staring into the eyes of a beast.

    "Yes¡­ yes¡­ I¡­ I¡­ this¡­ is a mission¡­ directly from my superiors¡­" Commander Solomon managed to stutter out as his eyes rolled back in his head.

    He fainted in the chair and his body slowly slid down from the seat until hended on the ground with a heavy thud.

    One could hear a pin drop in the conference room as no one dared to risk the duke''s wrath.

    Rokan nced at the body of themander on the ground and his eyebrows slowly furrowed.

    He shed his sword in front of him a new portal opened up leading to a location in the far eastern part of the sector.

    His new mission¡­ was a death trap.

 Chapter 667 Sophies First Quest!

    (Andromeda Star System- Delta Quadrant)

    (Private Starship- Cabin Room #43)

    A sleek ck starship quietly sailed through the endless void of space.

    It was outfitted with thetest barrier technology and two sma cannons were mounted on its exterior.

    The starship was a medium ss vessel capable of housing around two thousand inhabitants.

    However, at the current moment other than the crew¡­ there was only one.

    The sole guest onboard the spacefaring vessel lived in a cabin room on the upper deck. This was a private suite around the size of two-bedroom apartment.

    It came with a pool, spa, gaming room as well as other luxurious amenities designed to make the journey as rxing as possible.

    A beautiful hybrid girl with four de-like appendages sat down on a chair in the corner of the room and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

    Sophie reached for the cup in front of her and took a small sip. The sweet taste of hot chocte flooded her mouth.

    The rich and creamy vour of the chocte and the delightful aftertaste of the cocoa brought a small smile to her face.

    There were few pleasures in life that were better than a hot chocte drink.

    The hybrid girl took a handkerchief and wiped the sides of her lip when she finished drinking.

    She looked outside a nearby window and saw the vast emptiness of space staring back at her. Hundreds of small rocks, dozens ofs and a fewets could be seen in the distance.

    No matter how many times she had experienced space travel¡­ seeing the universe up close always made her feel small.

    Sophie hummed softly as she stretched out her armszily.

    She had been travelling on this starship for around two days now and would be reaching her destination tomorrow.

    A in the center of the Andromeda Star System and used to be the home of an alien civilisation that had long gone extinct.

    It was to be the location where the Inter- University Tournament would take ce.

    The most powerful cultivators from the four great universities would be participating along with students from the lesser-known educational institutions.

    She was the captain of the second years.

    It was a tremendous honour since it meant that Zrudread University believed that she was the strongest sophomore in the entire school.

    Sophie fidgeted with her hands as she felt a bit of nervousness. It may seem silly, but she didn''t want to let her father down.

    Duke Peterlor was the captain of As University during his time in college and he had won first ce in the tournament.

    Sophie wanted to follow in his footsteps.

    She would have been feeling more confident about her chances were it not for¡­

    "Fuck¡­" Sophie cursed as she felt another sharp burst of pain. The hybrid girl doubled over and tried not to vomit as bile rose up in her throat.

    Her transition to the void stage was neither smooth nor painless. Instead, every few days her body would be racked by pain.

    These attacks urred randomly, and she had no control over them. It was fortunate that she had managed not to have an episode in front ofplete strangers.

    But how long could her luckst?

    What if she was incapacitated during a match?

    Sophie coughed violently and tiny flecks of blood stained the white table in front of her. She took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    By now she was used to process.

    She no longer bothered with pain relief medication or drugs since the relief would onlyst for a few minutes.

    And taking them in excess simply built up her immunity so truthfully those few minutes were now just a couple of seconds.

    All she could do was focus on her breathing and ride out the pain until it subsided.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and tried to think of happy thoughts or something to distract herself.

    She remained in the same position for around fifteen minutes until she felt the pain slowly fade away.

    "Thank god," Sophie quietly muttered before letting out a small sigh of relief.

    She checked her wristmunicator and saw a few unread messages from her friends and girlfriend.

    Most of the messages were about how she was feeling and if she was excited to meet the other captains.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Cleo sent a long message reminding her to eat properly and to make sure to take medication if the pain got too severe.

    Sophie replied to her girlfriend telling her not to worry and then turned off hermunicator.

    She continued to stare out of the window watching the countless stars that winked and blinked in the distance.

    Hot balls of gas that would burn until their cores eventually copsed, or they exploded.

    Sophie wasn''t in the mood to cultivate tonight especially after what had just happened, so she got up from her chair and walked over to the bed.

    She had a few options to pass the time until tomorrow.

    She could sleep and get a good rest or¡­ y some videogames. No¡­ what was she thinking?

    Sleep was definitely the smarter option¡­

    Sophie turned off the light and tried to get some sleep, but her mind kept focusing on the meeting tomorrow.

    The other captains¡­ the press¡­ the expectations of being the daughter of Duke Peterlor¡­

    These thoughts get running through her mind one after the other as she tossed and turned on the bed unable to sleep.

    Sigh¡­ alright¡­ maybe she could check out that new virtual reality game that came out.

    Sophie turned back on the lights and the harsh re caused her to rub her eyes. She reached into her storage bag and pulled out a white headset.

    The headset was shaped like arge helmet and contained several neuro link attachments that would directly connect to her brain.

    Virtual reality technology was quite advanced and once inside a game it was possible to feel, smell, taste and experience all kinds of different sensations.

    It was for this reason why certain R-rated games were banned for minors.

    Sophie slipped the headset over her head and her vision slowly faded away to darkness. She essed her game library and selected the new game that had juste out.

    ''NPC In a Fantasy World''

    Cheerful upbeat music began to y, and the world burst into a white glow. Sophie closed her eyes and when she reopened them, she was lying down on a broken mattress.

    There was a cracked mirror in the corner of the room, so Sophie took a nce at her reflection to see what she looked like.

    Huh¡­

    A dirty woman wearing what could only be described as tattered rags stared back at her.

    She was not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination with misshapen facial features andrge pimples across her forehead and cheeks.

    This was certainly a unique start.

    Sophie tried to get out of the bed but was stopped by several holographic windows that popped up in front of her.

    [Choose Your Profession]

    [Beggar] [ve] [Criminal]

    She tapped the windows to see if there were any other options and apparently there weren''t.

    These were the only choices that she had.

    Well¡­ she didn''t want to be a ve and who the hell would y a game where they had to beg for food or money?

    Sophie tapped the criminal option and the other windows slowly disappeared. She waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened.

    "Hmm¡­ maybe I need to explore?" Sophie muttered to herself as she got up from the bed and looked around the room.

    There was a rusty knife hidden below the broken mattress and she managed to find a small pouch with two bronze coins tucked away inside.

    Sophie noticed that her outfit didn''t have any pockets, so she was forced to carry the knife in her left hand.

    She left the room and found herself standing in a filthy alley with roads made of cobblestone and houses hastily constructed from wooden materials.

    People wearing torn or partially destroyed clothes walked around the slums with various expressions on their faces.

    Anger¡­ despair¡­ grief¡­

    A middle-aged man wearing an eyepatch slowly approached Sophie and looked up and down her body with barely concealed disgust on his face.

    "Oi Rat¡­ the big man has a job for you to do," the man growled as he refused to take a step closer.

    "He''s waiting for you in the usual spot¡­ don''t bete."

 Chapter 668 [Game Over]

    The middle-aged man walked away without looking back to see if Sophie was following him.

    Truthfully Sophie didn''t like his attitude, but it was pretty obvious that this was the first quest or at least a clue to the main storyline, so she had no other choice but follow behind him.

    Virtual Reality was basically indistinguishable from reality once inside a game, so Sophie''s nose was assaulted with a variety of unpleasant scents.

    Piss, garbage, and manure from the horses that travelled down the cobblestone roadsbined to form an odour that only be described as gag inducing.

    Sophie struggled to keep up with the middle-aged man as he walked through several alleyways and side passageways.

    The slums were like a maze.

    It didn''t help that the residents all appeared to be quite unfriendly and some even spat in Sophie''s direction.

    The thick phlegm in their saliva and the flecks of blood that stained their lips made it clear that they were not in the best state of health.

    Still Sophie found it hard to have any sympathy for them especially when three men leaning against a nearby wall ogled at her body and yelled insults as she passed by.

    "Ay bitch! Come see meter?"

    "Ignoring me? Fucking whore!"

    "Did you see her face? Fuck... she should be paying me!"

    Sophie gritted her teeth and was tempted to pull out the rusty knife and drive it right into their necks.

    Actually... wait.

    This world was so immersive that for a second Sophie forgot that it was fake. A sadistic smile shed across her face before she controlled her expression.

    "Hey handsome..." Sophie walked up to the men with a sway in her hips. This body was thin and weak but there was a crucial advantage that she possessed.

    Speed.

    "Hehehe...e to dadd... erghh!" the man''s voice was cut off as a dagger plunged into his throat was a quick thrust.

    Sophie raised up her knee and drove it into the crouch of the second man who doubled over in pain.

    She withdrew the dagger and then shed his throat with a well-ced swipe. The third man stumbled backwards in shock as if unable to believe what had just happened.

    Sophie licked her lips and approached the man slowly. The killing intent in her eyes was on full disy.

    Just as she held up the dagger to stab into his chest, an arrow was shot through the man''s heart killing him instantly.

    Sophie looked in the direction where the arrow was shot and saw the middle-aged man staring at her with an unpleasant look in his remaining eye.

    "Having fun rat? I told you that the boss wants to see you immediately," he said with a low growl in his voice.

    He ced his hand back in his pocket and Sophie caught a glimpse of a small crossbow attached to his wrist.

    Two translucent windows appeared in front of her, and new information appeared on the screen.

    [EXP GAINED!]

    [Lvl.1 ---> Lvl.2]

    [The Archdemon of Pride has gained an interest in you]

    Demons?

    Sophie nced at the windows and then turned her attention back to the middle-aged man who was moving further away.

    She quickly ran to catch up with him and discovered that her body felt much lighter than before.

    Maybe leveling up also had the effect of increasing her basic stats.

    It took around ten minutes for the middle-aged man to finally arrive at a wooden shack at the end of a long alleyway.

    The shack was poorly built with a leaking roof, a wooden door barely attached to its hinges and walls that were cracked.

    It looked as though a small breeze would be enough to topple the flimsy structure. The middle-aged man gestured towards the open door and then disappeared.

    He literally disappeared.

    Sophie raised an eyebrow as a cloud of white smoke rose up from the ground to cover her guide''s entire body and then he vanished.

    She couldn''t even sense where he had gone.

    Well... should she go inside and meet this so-called boss?

    Sophie hesitantly walked towards the door while clutching her rusty knife closely to her chest.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    The edge of the de was still dripping with blood and an aura of death surrounded the weapon as if it somehow enjoyed being soaked in the crimson liquid.

    She entered the shack and discovered that the interior was only a single room. There was no furniture inside except for a small wooden chair in the center.

    Sitting down on the chair was a beautiful woman with olive skin. She had grey eyes, a lean physique and a horrible burn mark that covered half of her face.

    She wore a long ck cloak, and a in longsword was attached to her hip. She looked like a soldier and yet there was an air of decadence surrounding her body.

    "Rat... I got a job for you," the mysterious woman slowly spoke as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a metallic sk.

    She unscrewed the top of the sk and the heavy stench of alcohol wafted upwards from the container.

    Without hesitation the woman tilted back her head and took arge swig from the sk.

    "Yes... boss... err... what is this job about?" Sophie asked curiously.

    The woman finished drinking and then ced the sk back in her pocket. She leaned back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh.

    "This job... I''ll give you two gold coins. Should be enough money to get you out of this hellhole and start a new life," the boss calmly spoke.

    "All you have to do is kidnap Count Roche''s daughter. Got a client interested in purchasing her as a sex ve."

    "No." Sophie bluntly refused.

    Thest thing that she saw was a sh of silver and then her vision slowly turned to ck.

    [Game Over]

    [Load Last Save Point?]

    [Yes] [No]

    Sophie tapped the [Yes] option and found herself back in the shack with the boss.

    "Got a client interested in purchasing her as a sex ve," the boss spoke nonchntly as if she was talking about the weather.

    Okay... so saying ''no'' outright would lead to a death but maybe she could reason with the boss?

    The NPCs in virtual reality games were usually controlled by AI so they did not have set behavioural patterns and could adapt to the actions of the yers.

    "Um... how am I supposed to kidnap the daughter of a noble?" Sophie asked cautiously.

    "Don''t worry... I have a man on the inside. You just need to go to this ce at midnight tomorrow and pick up the girl," the boss replied with a smirk.

    She rummaged around in her pockets and pulled out a map which she then threw at Sophie who barely managed to catch it.

    "Boss... this is risky business dealing with nobles... maybe we should reconsider..." Sophie''s voice trailed off as she saw the mysterious woman''s hand drift towards her sword.

    "I mean... err... You can count on me!" Sophie quickly blurted out.

    The boss smiled and the hideous burn marks on her face glowed eerily. She got up from the chair and approached Sophie with quiet steps.

    "I know I can trust you to do the job... right Rat?" the boss softly whispered.

    "Because if you don''t... that would make me very unhappy, and you don''t want me to be unhappy now, would you?"

    "No boss!" Sophie quickly replied as she took a small step back. The boss chuckled darkly and then gestured for her to leave the room.

    Sophie did not need to be told twice and quickly departed. She could feel those grey eyes staring at her back as she got further away.

    She turned around a corner and finally escaped the harsh re. Sophie took in a deep breath and began to think about what to do next.

    She didn''t want to do this mission so maybe she should try to run away from the organisation?

    But what if that led to another bad end?

    This game was not a power fantasy. She may be able to kill men who were untrained and in poor health but would struggle against actual warriors.

    Just as Sophie was feeling a bit hopeless, several translucent windows appeared in front of her body with new texts on the screen.

    [The Archdemon of Pride gets angry on your behalf...]

    [He suggests that you take the bounty for yourself!]

    [New Quest!]

    [Objective: Rescue or sell the countess'' daughter. Do not allow your boss to make even a single cent of profit]

    [Rewards: Curse Of Pride]

 Chapter 669 The Mission Begins...

    Night had fallen and the dim light of the stars could be seen above the city.

    While the noble and wealthier districts were able to afford streemps, the poor areas on the other hand were left to rot in the darkness.

    Sophie nced down at the map in her hand as she cautiously made her way towards the meeting point.

    Time had sped up the moment she had epted the quest from the Archdemon of Pride so now the mission had begun.

    Rescue or sell the count''s daughter...

    Well obviously, she was going to rescue the poor girl. But she needed a n to make sure that things didn''t go south.

    Sophie tucked the rusty knife in one of the pockets of her tattered robe and tried to make her body as small as possible.

    The darkness of the city and the long shadows that were cast against the walls made it easy for a skinny girl to navigate her way to her destination without being seen.

    Besides... guards usually did not patrol the slums.

    "Excuse me child..." a frail voice called out from behind a nearby stack of crates.

    Sophie''s footsteps slowed down and she waited for the voice to continue talking.

    "Can you spare me some coin? I''m so hungry... please..." the voice continued to plead with desperation.

    Sophie could vaguely make out a figure hidden in arge, oversized robe but was unable to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman.

    She didn''t have much time to waste but still... she could afford to be soft-hearted in a game.

    Sophie dug around in her pockets and found a few copper coins that were stained with blood and grime.

    "Here you go," Sophie whispered quietly as she ced the coins on top of the crates. A gnarled hand extended outwards from the robe and snatched the coins with haste.

    Without even a word of thanks the figure ran away while whispering something iprehensible under their breath.

    [You have been blessed!]

    [Beggar''s Luck- Ack of coins greatly increases your luck stat]

    [The Goddess of Mercy smiles at your kindness]

    [The Archdemon of Pride scoffs at your naivety]

    Sophie nced at the blue translucent windows that appeared in front of her body and then promptly took out the remaining coins in her pockets.

    She would need all the help that she could get.

    Luck was a rather fickle thing so hopefully this so-called blessing would be able to give her an edge in her uing mission.

    The young woman checked the map again to make sure that she was going in the right direction and then proceeded to walk onwards.

    The meeting ce was at the border of the slums. On the bank of a narrow river that separated the poor district from the merchant area.

    Only a few bridges connected the two areas across the body of water, but it was possible to swim from one side to the other.

    If you were fortunate enough to avoid the man-eating water snakes in the river of course.

    Sophie turned around a corner and saw the bridge in the distance.

    It was a quiet night and only a few drunks could be seen sipping on dirty sses and slumped on the ground.

    On the other side of the river was another world.

    The merchant district was well lit, and people could be seen moving from stall to stall looking at wares.

    The famous night markets.

    No ce for orphan girls with little cash or the means to pay for the goods. Sophie furrowed her brows as she saw several guards patrolling up and down the bridge.

    Wait...

    Sophie held her breath as a beautiful woman dressed in pale white armour appeared out of thin air.

    Strange runic circles floated around her body and her eyes werepletely purple and glowing as if she was possessed by the divine.

    The woman talked to the guards for several seconds and then her gaze turned to the slums.

    Sophie could detect no emotion in her eyes as if she was looking at insects deep beneath her feet.

    [The Archdemon of Pride wants you to tear that arrogant woman''s eyes out!]

    "Same..." Sophie muttered quietly.

    The female pdin was clearly on a mission since she didn''t stay for long and walked away towards the night markets.

    Hours passed quite uneventfully as Sophie maintained her vignce and was forced to beat up several drunks who tried to harass her for money.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The time for the meeting was getting closer and closer. The boss had said that her contact would arrive at midnight and now was nearly time.

    Clop! Clop!

    Sophie''s head turned in the direction of the sound and saw a horse trotting down one of the bridges with a small carriage behind it.

    A rat-like man with tiny beady eyes held the reins of the carriage and he kept ncing in all directions as if he was being followed by someone.

    Sophie continued to watch and saw as the man dipped into his pockets and slipped something to a nearby guard.

    She wasn''t sure exactly what it was but judging by the sh of gold... it was most likely a bribe to look the other way.

    She needed to move now.

    The young woman stealthily approached the carriage as it arrived on the other side of the bridge.

    The rat-like man driving the carriage saw hering and his face broke out into a weing smile.

    "Ayss... it is good to see you," the man warmly spoke as he rubbed his hands together.

    "Tell your boss... we''re even now. I ain''t risking my neck when the count finds out his precious daughter is gone."

    "Where is the girl?" Sophie demanded in a cold tone.

    The rat-like man''s expression shifted slightly, and a strange emotion surfaced in his eyes. He gestured for Sophie toe inside the carriage.

    "Not here... we''re too close..." the man softly whispered as he pointed at the bridge.

    Sophie nodded in understanding and opened the carriage door. She slipped inside and was immediately overwhelmed by the stench.

    By the gods... the interior of the carriage was filthy.

    Nasty brown stains were present on the cushions, the floor was littered with garbage and the walls...

    Sophie could only hope that the used panties glued to the walls did note from the girl tied up in the backseat.

    It did not appear as though that was the case since those panties were clearly toorge for the young girl who did not appear to be older than fifteen.

    The count''s daughter was a pale fragile girl who looked at Sophie with terrified eyes. She wore a in white dress and there was an emerald amulet hanging from her neck.

    Sophie quickly inspected the girl with her eyes and was relieved to discover that her clothes were untouched.

    "Don''t worryss... I know the drill... your boss would have killed me if I damaged her merchandise before the client got her," the rat-like man said with a chuckle.

    A silent rage bubbled up in Sophie''s heart, but she waited patiently as the man continued to sprout disgusting words.

    "How did you manage to catch her?" Sophie asked curiously as she did not look at the girl and projected an aura of indifference.

    "Simple... the count has a bastard son and let''s just say... his mother wants him to be the true heir to the estate," the man casually spoke.

    "Ahh... nobles and their power struggles... I tell youss... wemoners have it good. All we got to do it find enough money to eat, shit and sleep."

    The carriage jolted slightly as the rat-like man drove deeper inside the slums until they arrived at an empty warehouse.

    "Alright... we''re here... I see some of your boss'' men... looks like... arghhh!" the driver slumped forward as an arrow was shot into his throat.

    Sophie grabbed the count''s daughter and pulled her to the floor just as several arrows were shot through the wall.

    What was going on?

    The sounds of fighting and cursing came from outside. Sophie pulled out the rusty knife and hastily began to untie the ropes wrapped around the young teenage girl.

    "What''s your name?" Sophie quietly whispered as she continued to pull apart the ropes binding the girl''s wrists together.

    "Amira... but..." the girl stuttered nervously as she watched Sophie free her.

    "Okay Amira. Listen to me carefully... I am going to get you home, but you need to trust me," Sophie spoke gently as she removed thest binding.

    "Can you be brave?"

    Amira nodded but it was clear that the soft noble daughter had never experienced anything like this before.

    "On the count of three... we are going to get out of here..." Sophie muttered under her breath as she grabbed the young girl''s hand.

    "Ready?"

    "One... two..."

    "Three!"

    [The Archdemon of Pride approves of your suicidal n!]

 Chapter 670 Arrival At Planet Caorn

    Sophie flung herself at the carriage door and used the full weight of her body to push them open.

    She grabbed Amira by her hand and pulled the frightened girl out of the carriage. The scene that greeted them outside could only be described as pure carnage.

    Dozens of shabbily dressed men and women holding a variety of weapons from bows to swords and even a mace were fighting fiercely.

    The weapons that they wielded were poorly crafted but effective enough to get the job done.

    A man staggered as a sword sliced through his stomach, a women copsed when an arrow struck her neck¡­

    Needless deaths.

    Sophie nced at the scene and immediately realised what was going on.

    Clearly someone had betrayed her organisation and leaked out information that the count''s daughter would be transported here tonight.

    Another group must want the noble girl for themselves either to sell or for another nefarious purpose.

    "Oi Rat! Take the girl and run!" a familiar voice shouted out from the middle of the crowd.

    Sophie looked in the direction of the sound and saw the middle-aged man with the eyepatch over his right eye staring directly at her.

    Fuck.

    His shout drew the attention of several men holding bloody swords.

    They yelled something at theirpanions and then immediately ran towards the two girls.

    Sophie roughly grabbed Amira by her arm and broke out into a sprint. Her physique had improved after she had leveled up, but her speed was no match for three grown men.

    The distance slowly began to close.

    Sophie ran towards an alleyway while ncing constantly at her nearby surroundings for any ces to hide.

    She didn''t have much time before the men caught up. A crossroad came up ahead and relief flooded Sophie''s heart.

    She barely paid attention to Amira who appeared to be on the verge of copse. If the noble girl fainted, then she would just have to carry her on her shoulders.

    Sophie heard footsteps approaching from the distance and knew that she didn''t have much time left.

    She pulled Amira along and the two girls went down the left road just as their pursuers came around the corner.

    Sophie saw that one of the shacks near the entrance of the road was half opened so she pulled on the handle.

    "Which way did they go?" a roughish voice came from the distance.

    "Mark, you take the left¡­ me and Ben will take the right," another voicemanded in a cold tone.

    Sophie rushed inside the house and then quickly shut the door once Amira followed behind her.

    She let out a quiet sigh of relief but froze as the cold steel of a dagger pressed against her throat.

    "Don''t turn around¡­" a soft-spoken voice whispered gently in Sophie''s ear as the de pressed closer against her flesh.

    Sophie gritted her teeth as she felt a soft liquid on her neck. The de had already drawn a thin red line on her flesh.

    Out of the frying pan¡­ into the fire¡­

    "We mean you no harm¡­ there is a gang war going on right now and we just need shelter for the night," Sophie calmly spoke as if she was not in any danger.

    She could see Amira clutching her chest and beginning to hyperventte.

    "Please¡­ we''re just two girls¡­" Sophie continued to plead as she heard footsteps on the other side of the door.

    One of the men was walking past the building where they were currently hiding.

    She didn''t know if her pleads had worked but the mysterious upant of the shack slowly removed the de from her neck.

    "Alright¡­ you can stay¡­ but I want you out of here by the morning," the voice warned sternly but the sound of fingers snapping could be heard.

    A mysterious blue light appeared in the center of the room and illuminated the dark surroundings.

    "A mage?" Amira gasped in shock.

    Sophie turned around and saw a woman with short auburn hair wearing a long brown cloak that went down to her ankles.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She held a dagger in one hand and arge bottle of wine in the other. Her face would have been beautiful were it not for the runes carved into her soft skin.

    Dark bloody markings that wriggled and squirmed as if they were somehow alive.

    "Hmm¡­ you don''t look like a street rat," the mage whispered curiously as her eyes nced at Amira''s fine clothes.

    "You on the other hand¡­"

    A smirk shed across the mage''s face as she tilted the bottle upwards and took arge sip from its contents.

    Sophie wasn''t sure if it was safe topletely trust the mysterious woman, so she did not exin why they were hiding.

    Fortunately, the mage did not seem to care as she headed for a small bed in the corner of the room and copsed on the firm mattress.

    Hours passed by quite uneventfully as Sophie lingered by the door with her ear constantly searching for any noises.

    Amira had somehow managed to fall asleep lying down on the dirty floor and her small chest slowly rose up and down.

    The mage kept drinking but would asionally nce in Sophie''s direction and sh a knowing smirk.

    A blue translucent window popped up in front of Sophie and she nced at the new text that appeared on the screen.

    [The Archdemon of Pride warns you to stay away from that crazy woman]

    [The Goddess of Mercy frowns at the demon''s words. She encourages you to trust in the kindness of strangers]

    Crazy woman?

    "Rat! Rat! By the gods! Where the hell is that brat?" a hoarse voice interrupted the quiet stillness of the room.

    Sophie did not even dare to breathe as the sound of heavy footsteps appeared just outside the door.

    More voices joined the first and it appeared as though a group of people were hanging around the entrance to the alleyway.

    "Fuck! We just managed to kill those bastards, but the count''s daughter is missing!"

    "I sent that brat to go on ahead, but she is nowhere to be found!"

    "The boss is going to kill us! Damn it!"

    "Wait¡­ what if she''s dead?"

    Loud cursing and angry shouts could be heard as the men bickered and argued among themselves.

    Finding two girls in the middle of the slums was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

    The sheer number of hidden roads, side passageways and shacks built right next to each other provided ample hiding spots for individuals not wishing to be found.

    Sophie waited until the men finally walked away. It took several tense seconds before their footsteps could no longer be heard.

    "An archdemon huh¡­ that''s going to end badly," azy voice came from the corner of the room.

    The mage sat up on her bed and watched Sophie with eyes that were glittering with an unknown emotion.

    "Don''t worry sweetie¡­ most people can''t see the higher beings," the mage continued to talk as she saw a vignt look sh across Sophie''s face.

    "Just take my advice¡­ demons are more trouble than they''re worth. Nasty little cockroaches only interested in making deals and scheming away in the darkness."

    "But then again¡­ not like angels or goddess are any better¡­ self righteous morons with enormous sticks up their asses."

    Two translucent blue windows immediately popped up as the mage finished speaking.

    [The Goddess of Mercy is outraged at this sphemy!]

    [The Archdemon of Pride wishes for you to punch this arrogant human in the face]

    Suddenly the world froze in ce and Sophie found herself back in the dark.

    She removed the virtual helmet from her face and checked the time on her wristmunicator.

    Oh¡­ her rm had gone off. Sophie nced outside a nearby window and saw a pale blue appear in the distance.

    She had arrived at her destination.

 Chapter 671 The Importance Of First Impressions

    (Andromeda Star System- Delta Quadrant)

    (Private Starship- Cabin Room #43)

    Sophie stepped out of the shower with water droplets still clinging to her long ck hair.

    She stretched out her arms and the towel wrapped around her body barely managed to contain her voluptuous curves.

    Outside of a nearby window one could see arge blue rapidly approaching from the distance.

    The Inter-University tournament would be held across various locations on Caorn

    The second-year students would arrive on an ind chain located in the''s northern hemisphere.

    The stadiums for the third- and fourth-year students were located on the supercontinent known as Pangrea.

    Pangrea was thergestndmass on Caorn, and it had been artificially extended to cover more of the ocean''s surface.

    First year students would not be participating because it had only been around one month since the first semester of their university life had begun.

    Sophie let out a light sigh as she reached for a spare towel on her bed and began to carefully dry her hair and face.

    From the moment shended, there would be reporters, live streamers from the virtual Net and important ministers from the government.

    The Inter-University Tournament was heralded as the event where the brightest geniuses of the Federation would gather to determine the future powerhouses.

    It was a famous event and many across the universe would eagerly watch the matches and analyse the young men and women who participated.

    Sophie knew that there was a lot of pressure on her to project a perfect image.

    She was one of the representative captains of Zrudread University, she was the daughter of the youngest god stage cultivator and¡­ she was a hybrid.

    Just one of thosebels alone would be enough to draw attention to herself but thebination meant that she would more than likely be one of the main individuals of interest for reporters.

    Perfection.

    Nothing more¡­ nothing less.

    Truthfully Sophie did feel a little bit nervous inside, but this was nothingpared to what she had experienced in the Unovan Syndicate.

    All she could do was keep calm and project the standard image of an aristocrat.

    Keep an expressionless mask on her face and surround herself with an aura of dignity and nobility.

    Hopefully that would be enough.

    Sophie fastened her wristmunicator on her left hand and checked her messages. Most of her friends were asleep at this time.

    The hybrid girl scrolled through her contact list before tapping on a profile that was highlighted with a small heart.

    Sophie: [Hey babe¡­ I justnded¡­ talk to me soon, okay?]

    Sophie: [Love you]

    The messages had not been read but Sophie still felt happier as she looked at Cleo''s adorable profile picture.

    It was the two of them smiling cheek to cheek. She remembered that her girlfriend had taken the picture after one of their dates.

    Sophie nced one more time at the image and then shut hermunicator off. It was time to prepare and get ready for her entrance.

    She walked towards the closet in the back of the cabin room and opened itsrge metallic doors.

    Inside the closet were multiple identical looking uniforms.

    The standard formal attire of Zrudread University and the best way to portray herself as a student who had great pride in her college.

    The uniform was pure white with gold trimmings along the shoulders and sides. It came with a slightly oversized jacket and a pair of dark ck boots.

    The symbol of a w had been etched onto the upper left corner of the uniform and overall, it gave off the impression of a soldier''s attire.

    Sophie slipped into the uniform without much difficulty because it wasposed of a special memory foam material that would adjust to her unusual physique.

    However, she did have some trouble buttoning up the jacket since the golden buttons were a bit slippery to the touch.

    The hybrid girl finally managed toplete the set by sliding on the ck boots on her feet. She stood up and headed towards the body-sized mirror in the bathroom.

    Sophie stepped inside and saw her reflection.

    For a brief moment she did not even realise that the person staring back at her from inside the mirror was herself.

    A hybrid girl over seven feet tall wearing a militaristic uniform looked back at her with a stern expression on her face.

    The white colour and the gold trimmings on the jacketplemented her golden eyes and sharp angr features.

    She looked¡­ intimidating.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Pretty¡­ but also intimidating¡­

    Maybe it was the cold re in her eyes or the way that her ded appendages slowly swayed from side to side.

    Sophie sshed some water on her face and then dried off using a towel. She checked her appearance one more time for any ws and then slowly nodded.

    It was not a moment too soon because just as she finished checking herself out, a loud voice red out from the speaker in the corner of the room.

    [Attention all passengers¡­ we will be arriving in ten minutes]

    [I repeat¡­ all passengers¡­ we will be arriving in ten minutes!]

    Showtime.

    Sophie curled up her fingers into a tight fist and took in a deep breath. She could feel her body gradually beginning to calm down.

    Her identity was the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the Federation.

    She was the heiress to a proud and ancient family that was part of the upper echelon of society.

    She would make her father and her friends proud.

    Sophie walked out of the bathroom with her head held high. She was ready to face what was going toe next.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (International Spaceport- Gate 013)

    "And here we have it folks! The first starship to arrive has justnded about forty minutes ago. I believe ording to our sources that it belongs to Zrudread University!"

    "As you may know the second-year representative captain is none other than the famous daughter of Duke Peterlor."

    "She was involved in the teleportation incident about a year ago and has recovered from her injuries to be the top student at her school!"

    "What a story! What an inspiration! Folks I''m sure that a lot of you are looking forward to seeing her appearance!"

    A sharply dressed middle aged man wearing a ck suit spoke towards a camera that was pointed in his direction.

    He was not the only one and in fact a crowd of reporters had already formed along the temporary barricades that had just been constructed.

    Each were currently covering the ongoing story with various angles.

    Some focused on the fact that Sophie Peterlor was the daughter of Duke Peterlor while others talked about her hybrid nature.

    A few gossip magazines were already writing up drafts about the forbidden love between an imperial princess and a duke''s daughter.

    Still¡­ not everyone was so professional¡­

    "Yo! What''s up F-nation! It''s your girl¡­ vora!"

    A young girl holding up a recording device that was directly connected to the virtual Net started up a livestream.

    "I somehow managed to sneak in! So, if you like the content, please don''t forget to hit that like¡­ smash that bell¡­ and turn on notifications!"

    Comments began to fill up the screen and a satisfied smile shed across the young girl''s face.

    She was gaining new followers by the minute!

    Everyone was super excited to see the representative captains and now the first one from the Four Great Universities had arrived!

    "Alright F- Family! So, as you know¡­ I don''t know much about this Sophie chick but I''m sure that she''s going to be something special!" the young woman excitedly spoke.

    Unfortunately, the responses that she got from her chat weren''t too positive to say the least especially since there were quite a few trolls.

    [Isn''t she a hybrid? That''s pretty fucking gross¡­]

    [Eww¡­ a hybrid? Fuck man¡­ those people are disgusting]

    [You got a problem with hybrids buddy? Your mother didn''t have a problem with mest night¡­]

    "Anyways¡­ err¡­ I think she''s over there!" the young streamer tried to change the mood of the chat by pointing her recording device in a certain direction.

    "Wait¡­ what¡­"

    Somehow by pure coincidence this was the moment when the gate''s exit doors swung open to reveal the young woman that everyone was waiting for.

 Chapter 672 A Dangerous Woman

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (International Spaceport- Gate 013)

    A scary looking woman.

    That was the evaluation that most of the reporters made when Duke Peterlor''s daughter stepped out from behind a pair of thick metalloid doors.

    She was over seven feet tall with a lean muscr frame that was bursting with power. Her hybrid features were clearly visible, and she made no attempt to hide them.

    Pointed ears, golden eyes, sharpened fangs and perhaps the most striking of all¡­ four de-like appendages with barbs attached to their ends.

    She possessed a voluptuous figure and her face¡­ there was no other way to describe her facial features other than perfection.

    Sharp angr cheek bones, a cute slightly hooked nose and the cement of her eyes and lips were symmetrical.

    The white uniform on her body highlighted the militaristic ideology of Zrudread University.

    Warriors who believed that cultivation could only be advanced through battles.

    It came as a small surprise to most nobles in society that a duke''s daughter had not gone to As University but seeing Sophie now¡­ they understood.

    She had an intimidating aura around her body and the cold re in her eyes sent shivers down their spines.

    She was dangerous.

    That much was clear.

    Sophie kept her face expressionless as she took slow, purposeful steps across the walkway that led to the other side of the spaceport.

    Out of the corner of her eyes she could see a crowd of reporters pushed up against a barricade as well as thousands of cameras, recording devices and livestreaming tools.

    Sophie was not particrly happy about being filmed but not a single trace of difort could be seen on her face.

    There was an odd silence as she walked down the path and only the sounds of cameras clicking, and the dull hissing noise of the recording devices could be heard.

    Finally, one reporter managed to summon up the courage in his heart and shouted out a question to the hybrid girl.

    "Miss Peterlor! How do you feel about being chosen as the captain?!"

    Just like that¡­ the dam had broken, and the other reporters hurriedly yelled out their own questions.

    "Who do you think is the strongest person in the tournament?"

    "My name is Julie Robertson from Daylight News! Can you give us ament on rumors about your parentage?"

    "Trisha from Gossip Central! Are the allegations correct that you have an improper rtionship with an Imperial Princess?"

    "What is your fighting style like? Are you a swordsman like your father? Did he teach you any hidden techniques?"

    The questions andments all blended together to form a cacophony of noise that was a bit irritating to put it mildly.

    It would be enough to overwhelm an ordinary student experiencing this for the first time, but Sophie held on to her nerves.

    She raised her head high and just passed the reporters without stopping to answer any of their questions or give a response.

    If she stopped for one, then more than likely she would have to stop for others as well and some questions were clearly better than others.

    "Is it true that you consume raw meat?! Is that because of your hybrid nature?"

    "Why should a hybrid represent a prestigious university? Is it because of diversity quotas?"

    Sophie''s golden eyes shifted in the direction of that question and saw a small man wearing a white shirt and ck pants holding a piece of paper.

    Her pupils diluted slightly and a trace of killing intent leaked out. The reporter began to violently tremble as a heavy pressure fell on his body.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He began to have trouble breathing properly as it felt as though he was staring directly at a beast.

    An apex predator who would tear him apart in an instant.

    Then just as quickly as that feeling came¡­ it disappeared without a trace. Sophie turned her attention away from the man and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

    Fortunately, she had managed to stop herself before she went any further. That man was clearly a bigot but if she attacked him then she would be ying into his narrative.

    The sudden burst of pressure onlysted for a few seconds so other than the reporter who directly suffered¡­ no one was any wiser.

    "Wow! She''s so pretty!" the livestreaming girl shouted as she focused her recording device on Sophie.

    Thements filling up the stream started to get more positive as many fell in love with the hybrid girl''s cool image.

    [She looks like a badass!]

    [More like a freak¡­ have you seen her ugly ass appendages?]

    [Don''t be jealous¡­ fuck¡­ she''s hot as hell!]

    [I''m not surprised¡­ she is the daughter of the youngest god stage cultivator¡­]

    Of course, otherments went in stranger directions¡­

    [Do you think she would step on me?]

    [My queen! I think I''m now a fan!]

    The livestream girl waved her hands furiously to try and get Sophie''s attention, but the hybrid girl never nced in her direction once.

    She felt a little bit disappointed but that feeling quickly faded when she saw the number of viewers in her chatroom.

    Ten thousand!

    Wooo! A new record!

    Meanwhile Sophie finally arrived at the other side of the spaceport where a long ck hovercar was waiting with the doors open.

    "Wee young miss," a Mendolesa female with greyish fur stepped out of the car and gestured for Sophie to enter inside.

    "Thank you," Sophie replied with a polite smile as she entered the car and sat down on thefortable memory foam seat.

    She could see lights shing in the distance as the long-range cameras continued to follow her every move.

    The hovercar''s doors slowly closed the windows blocked out the light. Sophie leaned back against the chair and let out a heavy sigh.

    She had done it.

    It may have been a bit of a nerve-racking experience, but she had survived. The Mendolesa driver entered the front seat and the hovercar''s engine rumbled to life.

    Sophie checked hermunicator while the car began its journey to the hotel where she would be staying.

    The other representative captains would be arrivingter today or sometime early tomorrow morning.

    The captains of the four great universities would have to attend a private press conference before the tournament begun.

    It was a tradition.

    Sophie did not n to go outside her hotel room so this conference would hopefully be her only encounter with the press before the tournament.

    She still needed to practise her lines and prepare herself for any surprise questions during the conference since she wouldn''t have the option to ignore the reporters.

 Chapter 673 Two More Representatives

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (International Spaceport- Gate 027)

    A young man in his early twenties leaned against a wall and let out a heavy sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small mirror.

    A satisfied smirk shed across his face when he saw his handsome visage appear on the screen.

    He could see a handsome man with short blonde hair that was impably styled so that not a single strand of hair was out of ce.

    He possessed deep blue eyes, high cheekbones and a jawline that was sharp enough to cut ss.

    His good looks had won him the favour of many women during his time spent in university but just being ridiculous handsome was not all that he offered.

    Ryan Wilhelm was the son of Duke Wilhelm and the heir of one of the oldest houses in the Federation.

    Yeah¡­ that was enough to get into the pants of most female cultivators.

    His ancestors could trace their family line all the way back to the rebellion against the Draxi Empire.

    Ryan grinned and his pearly white teeth shone. He was currently wearing a dark navy-blue uniform adorned with precious jewels and gems.

    As the representative captain for As University there was a certain image that he needed to portray.

    He needed the universe to know that the students who attended As University were not just powerful but also noble and dignified.

    They were born better than themoners.

    Their blood was far more valuable than the peasant trash that made up the majority of the Federation''s poption.

    Ryan nced at the longsword in the sheath attached to his hip and pulled out the de. The edge of the de was covered in a shiny ck metal that oozed slightly.

    He ced the sword back in the sheath and then adjusted his uniform to get rid of any wrinkles or crumples.

    Finally satisfied after around ten minutes of freshening up, Ryan began to walk towards the gate''s exit doors.

    Soon the horde of reporters waiting outside would get a glimpse of the magnificent student who would win the tournament!

    Ryan adjusted his posture so that his back was straightened and then stepped through the pair of heavy metalloid doors.

    He blinked as the harsh glow of sunlight hit him directly in the face. Just as he predicted there was arge crowd of reporters waiting for him but¡­

    Hmm¡­ actually¡­

    Wasn''t the crowd a bit smaller than the previous years?

    Ryan furrowed his brows in displeasure as he noticed that quite a few sections of the barricade were empty.

    There were still over one thousand reporters present on the scene but for Ryan that number was far from enough.

    What was going on?

    "Oy¡­ buddy¡­ are you going to fucking walk or what?" an exasperated voice came from behind the young man.

    Ryan turned around and saw a Servie boy staring at him with an unpleasant grimace on his tiny face.

    "Stop blocking the walkway and move bro¡­ I got a headache right now and I need to go to my hotel room and sleep¡­" the Servie boy continued toin.

    Ryan froze in ce as he could notprehend how someone could have such ack of manners and courtesy.

    Clearly the Servie boy lost his patience because he opened his mouth and yelled,

    "Are you deaf? FUCKING MOVE YOU TWAT!"

    Ryan''s eyebrows twitched and he was tempted to draw out his sword and challenge this arrogant creature to a duel.

    But¡­

    sh! sh!

    "Ryan! Over here! How do you feel about being chosen as the representative for As University?"

    "What can you tell us about you fighting style? Are there any opponents that you feel worried about facing?!"

    "Meghan here from Gossip Central! Is it true that you have over thirty girlfriends? What does your father think about your love scandals?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The barrage of questionsing from the crowd of reporters soon distracted Ryan from his irritated mood and arge grin shed across his face.

    He moved towards the barricade and began to answer the questions with a friendly demeaner that he knew would win him fans.

    The Servie boy flyingzily behind him let out a scoff and then zipped through the walkway without sparing even a backwards nce at the reporters.

    There were questions yelled at him as well, but the Servie had no interest in answering them because right now¡­

    He needed some sleep.

    "I believe that being chosen to represent As University was merely a formality," Ryan said confidently as he puffed up his chest.

    He leaned closer to the recording device and tilted his face so that his best angle would appear on the video feed.

    "As the son of a duke¡­ my education, resources as well as my natural talent are far above my peers."

    "In fact, I doubt that anyone will be my match in this tournament. There is simply no way to bridge the gap between talent."

    A pretty reporter with freckles on her face managed to push her way through the crowd and came face to face with the arrogant boy.

    "But aren''t you concerned about Sophie Peterlor? She is from a duke''s household just like yourself and rumors suggest that she is extremely strong," the reporter quickly asked.

    "Sophie Peterlor? I admit that her father is an impressive man, but she only inherited half of his talents at most," Ryan scoffed with a mocking sneer on his face.

    "I don''t know what possessed a great man like the duke of House Peterlor to dirty his bloodline, but I assure you that she will pose no threat to me."

    The reporters began to furiously jot down Ryan''s words as the young man continued to speak of his superiority.

    So far, no other representative had stopped to answer questions at the spaceport, so the reporters were prepared to take advantage of this rare opportunity.

    And Ryan was more than happy to answer their questions because he enjoyed the spotlight and the adoration of the masses.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Mariena Hotel- Suite 134)

    "Finally!" Inya happily eximed as he zipped around the room beforending on his bed with a soft thump.

    The representative of Mer University reached into his storage bag and pulled out a vial containing a dark blue liquid.

    He downed the contents of the vial without hesitation and his surroundings started to blur.

    Inyay down on the mattress and could feel the world spinning around him.

    Ahh¡­ this was the life¡­

    Nothing like some good Vreim Juice to get him in the mood to rx and unwind.

    Those stuck-up old farts would probably be scandalised that he was taking drugs before the press conference but¡­

    Inya didn''t care.

    He needed to experience the wonders of getting high as much as possible before his cultivation level went up any further.

    Unfortunately, he was already at the upper end of the qi tide stage so the high onlysted for a few minutes before his body broke down the drugs.

    One more hit¡­

    The Servie boy pulled out another vial and this time he whispered a few words under his breath in anguage that was archaic and strange.

    The vial began to bubble furiously, and Inya reached into his pocket to pull out a bag full of whitish crystals.

    He dropped the crystals in the vial and a pleasant-smelling aroma filled the hotel room. The scent was fruity and made Inya''s mind feel a bit hazy.

    "Gods¡­ this shit¡­ is so fucking good for my anxiety¡­" Inya leaned back against a pillow and drowsily spoke as he raised up the vial to his lips.

 Chapter 674 The Press Conference Begins

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Banquet Hall)

    Sophie leaned back against the wall and took a small sip from the bottle of water in her hand.

    She could vaguely hear the sounds of chairs being shuffled as well as light conversationing from somewhere in the distance.

    Cleo: [Feeling nervous? Have you met the other representatives yet?]

    Sophie''s lips curved upwards as she tapped on her wristmunicator and quickly wrote out a reply to her girlfriend.

    Sophie: [Apparently the conference is starting in five minutes¡­ I''m not super nervous but I can''t say that I''m looking forward to it]

    Sophie: [Also I haven''t met the other representatives¡­ I think that everyone basically stayed in their rooms since arriving]

    Cleo: [Well best of luck! I''ll be watching the conference livestream on the Virtual Net with Astrid and Qiana]

    Cleo: [We got popcorn and everything!]

    The hybrid girl stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.

    She was currently rxing in a side room that was connected to a corridor that led the banquet hall.

    The press conference was supposed tost for two hours.

    The representatives of the Four Great Universities would be fielding questions from journalists and makingments about the uing tournament.

    Sophie felt rtively confident about maintaining a calm and collected image.

    She had spentst night getting a good night''s sleep, so she felt both refreshed and rxed.

    "Let me grab a quick snack," Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she walked over to a table in the corner of the room.

    The representatives did have to wait for the conference to begin so the hotel had cedfortable sofas, chairs, and a table full of snacks in the side rooms.

    Sophie hummed softly to herself as she reached for a box of choctes in the center of the pile of snacks.

    She peeled off the wrapping and took a quick bite. The smooth chocteyyer of the treat melted away in her mouth and left a sweet aftertaste.

    There was a small nut in the middle of the chocte and a satisfying crunch could be felt as Sophie''s fangs easily cracked open its hard outer shell.

    Delicious¡­

    Sophie finished off the rest of the chocte sweets and then grabbed a fresh bottle of water to rinse out her mouth.

    It would be embarrassing to go outside with bits of chocte stuck between her teeth.

    The hybrid girl unscrewed the top of the bottle and then poured its contents into her mouth.

    She swished around the liquid in her mouth for a few long seconds and then swallowed. Sophie went over to a nearby sofa and then sat down.

    Time seemed to move at a snail''s pace as she waited for the press conference to begin.

    The quietness of the waiting room was oddly unnerving since it meant that Sophie was alone with her thoughts.

    What if I embarrass myself?

    What if the reporters ask tough questions and I can''t answer them?

    What if¡­

    Sophie closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths. She silently counted to ten over and over in her mind until she could feel her heart rate slow down.

    There was no use worrying or stressing about what toe. All she could do was be herself and the rest would take care of itself.

    There was a soft knocking on the door which caused Sophie to open her eyes. The wooden doors slowly opened, and a woman dressed in a ck uniform strode inside.

    "Miss Peterlor¡­ the conference is about to begin," the woman politely spoke as she bowed her head.

    "Please allow me to escort you to the banquet hall."

    "Thank you," Sophie curtly replied as she got up from the sofa and followed the hotel employee through the doors.

    There was a long corridor outside the side room which led directly to the banquet hall.

    Sophie walked behind the employee as she led her through the corridor towards a set of heavy metalloid doors that been painted in a nice deep blue colour.

    The doors automatically opened, and the hotel employee nodded once and then gestured for Sophie to enter the room.

    The hybrid girl held up her head high as she walked into arge open space and was immediately greeted by dozens of white shes of light.

    The banquet hall was around the size of a football field and a raised tform could be seen at the front of the room.

    On the tform was a long table and four chairs. Each chair was shaped differently ording to the body shape of the representatives.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Chairs were neatly lined up in orderly rows in front of the raised tform and Sophie guessed that there were around two hundred reporters in the room.

    There were also men and women in body armour interspersed amidst the crowd to prevent any trouble.

    Sophie walked slowly but gracefully towards the raised tform with a cold expression stered across her face.

    The hall was silent as the reporters were content to film or take pictures of the hybrid daughter of Duke Peterlor.

    No one wanted to risk being kicked out of the conference for causing a scene.

    This was one of the most high-profile events that would be yed on news stations across the Federation.

    Sophie noticed a chair that was lower than the rest but had a decent width in order to amodate her de-like appendages.

    She sat down on the chair and waited patiently for her fellow representatives to arrive.

    Fortunately, she didn''t have to wait long as other doors across the hall opened to reveal herpetitors.

    A Servie boy with an unpleasant frown on his face zipped across the room andnded on the chair to her right.

    He twitched slightly and Sophie observed using her enhanced vision that the veins on his hand were blue.

    "Fuck¡­ I shouldn''t have taken that hit¡­" the Servie boy muttered under his breath as his fingers tapped rapidly on the table''s surface.

    He wore a light red uniform that had runic symbols carved into the fabric. The runic symbols glowed slightly with an eerie light.

    Two beautiful translucent wings sprouted out from behind his back and his brilliant amber eyes had an oddly hypnotic quality to them.

    The third person to arrive was a handsome young man with short blonde hair. He wore a dark navy-blue outfit adorned with precious jewels and gems.

    There was ring on the index finger of his left hand that had the symbol of a ck raven.

    Sophie didn''t like the arrogant look in his eyes as he confidently strutted up towards the table with his chest puffed outwards.

    He smiled broadly at the cameras and posed before sitting down on the seat at the far-left side of the table.

    Thest door opened slowly, and the finalpetitor walked into the room with confident steps.

    She was a human girl with dark red hair that fell down below her shoulders.

    She wore a purple uniform that came with a long cape that was yfully wrapped around her lower back.

    She was a cute girl with deep dimples on the side of her cheeks when she smiled and a small button nose.

    But there was one aspect about her appearance that immediately stood out.

    Her eyes.

    She was blind.

    Sophie felt confused as she watched the girl walk up to the table with eyes that werepletely white and unfocused.

    She did not appear to have any trouble navigating her way through the hall despite not being able to see.

    Clearly Sophie was not the only one to notice as the blonde man raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly under his breath.

    "Damn a blind girl? Tantibus University really scrapes the bottom of the barrel¡­" the man muttered quietly.

    "Wait¡­ but¡­ was she the representative? I could have sworn that it was someone else¡­"

    While Sophie did not approve of the man''s harsh words, she could not help but pay attention to thest part of his mutterings.

    He was right.

    The second-year captain of Tantibus University was supposed to be a Mendolesa warrior named Victor Abraham.

    Who was this girl?

    The young woman approached the table and then sat down to Sophie''s left. She leaned back against the chair and her lips gently curved upwards.

    "Nice to meet you," the girl calmly spoke as she held out her hand in Sophie''s general direction with a clear intention to shake it.

    "Likewise," Sophie politely replied as she stretched out her hand and gave the palm a firm handshake.

    "And it was a pleasure to meet you two as well," the girl withdrew her hand from Sophie''s grasp and addressed the two boys.

    "Yes¡­ it is indeed your pleasure," the handsome man smirked.

    "I do advise you to be careful in the tournament. It can be very difficult for someone with your¡­ ''condition'' to fight properly."

    If the young woman noticed the barbs hidden in Ryan''s words, then she did not appear to be affected.

    "Yeah¡­ it''s nice to meet you mate¡­" the Servie boy absentmindedly spoke as he tried his best not to faint.

 Chapter 675 Strange First Impressions

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Banquet Hall)

    "Good day honoured guests and wee to the pre-tournament press conference," a skinny elderly man wearing a long ck tuxedo stepped up in front of the crowd.

    "I would like to thank each and every one of you for being here and of course... I must thank the four representatives for participating as well."

    A loud round of apuse echoed through the banquet hall as the reporters pped their hands together.

    "Now without further ado... I would like the representatives to introduce themselves and then we will open up for questions," the host warmly spoke.

    He gestured towards the far-left side of the table where the handsome young man was sitting down.

    A wide smirk shed across Ryan''s face as he stood up from his chair and made sure to angle his face towards the cameras in the room.

    He opened his mouth and confidently addressed the crowd with relish,

    "Good day. I am sure that you all already know who I am but... my name is Ryan Wilhelm."

    "I am the son of Duke Wilhelm and the heir to one of the oldest noble houses in the Federation."

    "My bloodline can be traced all the way back to the brave founders who started the rebellion against the Draxi Empire."

    "I represent As University and our goal is to secure the top twenty ces in the tournament."

    An arrogant child.

    That was the impression that Sophie had of the young man who boasted of his noble lineage like blood mattered.

    Still... she was not going to underestimate him.

    He may be prideful but clearly, he must have the talent and skills to back it up since he was chosen as the representative of As University.

    Another loud round of apuse echoed through the room and several white shes of light could be seening from the camera in the back of the hall.

    Ryan maintained a wide grin on his face for a few more seconds before finally sitting back down on his chair.

    The next person was the Servie boy who was currently trembling slightly out of either nervousness or excitement.

    Or was there another reason?

    Sophie''s eyes narrowed as she saw that the boy''s skin was very pale and the veins on his hands could clearly be seen.

    He looked sick as if there was something wrong with him.

    The Servie boy raised his head and muttered a few curse words under his breath before addressing the crowd.

    "Inya Baileyleaf. Representative of Mer University," the Servie boy spoke with a slight tremor in his voice.

    There was a long pause of silence as he refused to say anything else.

    Eventually the host grabbed a nearby microphone and attempted to y down the awkward moment.

    "Haha! Looks like someone is feeling a bit shy... let''s move on after giving Inya a loud round of apuse!" the host cheerfully spoke.

    The sound of apuse filled the room but this time it was much slower, and murmurs could be heard as well.

    If Inya was worried about the strange impression that he had just made, then he did not seem bothered since he ced his head down on the table and closed his eyes.

    A strange person...

    Sophie''s fingers tapped against the side of the table as she waited patiently for her turn.

    After her the representative from Tantibus University would speak and then the questions would begin.

    The apuse died down, so Sophie stood up from her chair.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Her over seven-feet tall height meant that she towered over most people in the room, and she seemed like a giant.

    There was a cold glint in her eyes and the aura surrounding her body made some of the reporters feel shivers go down their spines.

    Her inhuman hybrid features did not diminish her beauty but somehow managed to enhance her charms with a dangerous quality.

    "I am Sophie Peterlor of House Peterlor," Sophie calmly spoke as she maintained the cold expression on her face.

    "I have been chosen as the representative captain of the second-year students of Zrudread University."

    "My personal goal is quite simple. I will be the one to win the tournament."

    Sophie sat back down on her seat and leaned back against the chair. The apuse that greeted her was much louder than for the other candidates.

    This seemed to upset Ryan since the young man was staring at her with a look of hatred in his eyes.

    A thin smile shed across Sophie''s lips as she knew that she had made the right impression.

    One needed to have a certain level of confidence in their abilities.

    "And finallyst but certainly not least! We have the representative from Tantibus University!" the host eximed with a great deal of excitement in his voice.

    The blind girl wearing a purple uniform awkwardly got up from her chair and smiled in the direction of the host.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she saw those white and unfocused eyes. Why had this girl not undergone cellr regeneration to fix her eyesight?

    Hell... even if her original eyes could not be healed... it was quite easy to transnt organic or even artificial metalloid eyes as recements.

    Blindness was a condition that only those who could not afford treatment were forced to endure and this was quite rare since the procedure was rtively inexpensive.

    The representative captain for one of the Four Great universities must have enough funds for treatment.

    Was there a reason why this girl had not repaired her eyesight?

    Sophie''s questions would remain unanswered as the girl opened her mouth and introduced herself with a peaceful smile on her face.

    "Hello everyone. I wish I could say that it''s good to ''see'' you but..." the girl''s voice trailed off and ufortableughter filled the room.

    "Not a hit? Damn... I was just trying to lighten the mood," the girl shrugged her shoulders and the cape wrapped around her body shifted slightly to the left.

    "Anyways my name is Jessie Ward and I''m the representative of Tantibus University. Very pleased to meet my fellowpetitors... they all sound quite fierce!"

    "I just want to have a good tournament and hopefully the results will speak for themselves.

    Jessie politely bowed her head and another round of apuse echoed through the banquet hall.

    Sophie just could not get a read on her personality. There was an aura of mystery surrounding the blind girl that made her aplete enigma.

    Perhaps she was making a big deal about nothing but there was something about this girl that made Sophie feel a bit... threatened.

    "Alright everyone! Let''s give the representatives one more round of apuse and then they can begin taking questions from members of the audience," the host cheerfully spoke.

    When the pping died down, he pointed at a reporter sitting in the front row of the hall and gestured for him to stand up.

    This reporter was a grizzled man who looked to be in his early forties and wore a long brown trench coat that fell down to his knees.

    "These questions are for Miss Peterlor," the reporter calmly spoke as he pulled out a small notepad from his pocket.

    "How do you feel about being the first hybrid to represent Zrudread University?"

    "And what is your opinion on the recent push to introducews to limit the rights of hybrids across the Federation?"

    "Do you see your presence in the tournament as a rallying cry? Do you see yourself as a symbol of inspiration for those like you?"

 Chapter 676 Do You Think Were Poor?

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Banquet Hall)

    Sophie picked up the small microphone that was on the table and brought it to her lips with slow purposeful movements.

    She did expect these kinds of questions.

    It was impossible for these reporters to ignore the elephant that was in the room¡­

    The fact that she was a hybrid.

    "I am honoured to be chosen as the representative captain for Zrudread University. I am doing my best to follow in the footsteps of my father," Sophie said calmly.

    "As for your other two questions¡­ I believe that all citizens of the Federation whether they be Humans, Mendolesa, Quafes, Servies, Hybrids or other races should have equal rights."

    Sophie paused for a moment as she thought about how to answer the final question.

    She knew that everything that she said in this press conference would spread across the Virtual Net.

    It was a tremendous amount of responsibility since she needed to represent hybrids in a positive way.

    "And to answer yourst question¡­ I do not see myself as a figurehead for the hybrid rights movement or a rallying cry," Sophie spoke with a serious expression on her face.

    "The reality is that I have been blessed to be born into one of the wealthiest families in the Federation, so I have not suffered in the same way those like me have."

    "But if a hybrid boy or girl watching this tournament is inspired by my performance and begins to dream of a better life¡­ that would make me happy."

    She ced the microphone back down on the table and the reporter sat back down on the chair.

    Cameras at the back of the room shed brightly and multiple recording devices pointed in Sophie''s direction.

    "Okay! Thank you, Miss Peterlor for answering those questions! Let us move on to the next reporter," the host cheerfully spoke.

    He stretched out his finger and pointed at a woman in the back of the room. The process may seem random, but it was all for show.

    The order of the journalists and the questions that they would ask had already been reviewed and approved by an independentmittee.

    This was to prevent any incidents from urring that would tarnish the reputation of the tournament.

    A slender woman wearing a light brown jacket stood up with a gentle smile on her face.

    "Good day, my name is Alisha Jones, and I am from Newport Central Media Group. These questions are for Mr. Baileyleaf," the journalist loudly spoke.

    "Your specialty is dark magic. Can you tell me why you chose that major? Dark magic has an unpleasant reputation and very few mages in Mer University teach the subject."

    "Was there a reason why you decided to put your talents into¡­"

    "Can you shut the fuck up?" Inya groaned as he raised up his head from the table and stared at the reporter with bloodshot eyes.

    "Fuck. I got a fucking headache¡­"

    There was an immediate awkward silence as everyone did not know how to react to the Servie boy''s shocking words.

    Even the journalist froze in ce with her mouth hanging wide open. The only sound that could be heard was a soft fit of giggles.

    Sophie nced in the direction of the noise and saw the blind girl holding a hand over her mouth and trying unsessfully to hold back theughter leaking out.

    Inya let out a heavy sigh and then tilted his head slightly upwards towards the microphone.

    There were dark circles under his amber eyes, and he looked as though he was about to fall asleep.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Alright to answer your question¡­ it''s none of your business," Inya growled darkly and then ced his head back down on the table.

    "Um¡­ okay! Let''s err¡­ move¡­ on¡­" the host sputtered as he tried his best to bring the mood back under control as murmurs filled the banquet hall.

    Sophie was honestly a little bit impressed.

    It took a special kind of person topletely not care about their reputation and fall asleep during a press conference.

    The Servie boy''s chest gently rose and fell as he drifted away into dreand. He didn''t even notice the reaction of the crowd to his unpleasant remarks.

    "He''s a funny one!" Jessie leaned over to Sophie and whispered in a soft tone.

    "I guess so," Sophie whispered back as she tried her best to maintain a cold expression on her face.

    Jessie giggled and then turned to Ryan and muttered something in his ears. She didn''t receive a reply from the arrogant young noble since he pretended not to hear what she said.

    If Jessie was bothered by his cold attitude, then she did not show it since the small smile on her face never disappeared.

    Danger!

    Sophie froze as her instincts cried out for a brief second before immediately falling silent. The direction of the warning came from the blind girl sitting next to her.

    It was only for a split second, but Sophie felt as though the shadow of death had briefly fell upon her body.

    The small smile on Jessie''s face seemed to grow even wider as her muddy unfocused eyes turned to the host.

    "Let us¡­ move on¡­" the host stammered nervously as he pointed to arge muscr man sitting in the back row.

    The reporter chosen wore arge white jacket that was still a little bit too tight for his bulky frame.

    He stood up and reached into his pocket for a metalloid tablet. Despite his ferocious appearance there was a warm softness in his eyes that made him seem quite approachable.

    "Hello everyone. My name is Darius Ross, and I am a reporter from the high-ss magazine ''The Federation Society''," the reporter softly spoke.

    "These questions are for Mr. Wilhelm."

    "Ahh¡­ I am happy to answer them," Ryan grabbed the microphone and spoke with a confident smile lingering on his lips.

    The reporter appeared to be relieved by Ryan''s easygoing nature especially after what had just happened with the representative from Mer University.

    He opened his mouth and began to ask the young noble a series of questions,

    "Multiple As University professors say that you have the greatest talent in swordsmanship since Duke Peterlor. What school of swordsmanship is your favourite?"

    "Rumors have it that your father has promised to gift you threes if you manage to win the Inter- University tournament. Is that correct?"

    "And finally, what are your predictions for the tournament. In your mind who is your greatestpetitor?"

    "Those are some excellent questions!" Ryan responded with a grin as he puffed out his chest.

    A contemtive look shed across his face as he pondered about how to answer.

    Finally, after several long seconds his fingers gripped around the microphone, and he raised the device up to his lips.

    "I have no favourite school of swordsmanship. I''m naturally talented at all so they are really all the same to me," Ryan boasted pridefully.

    "As for that rumor¡­ it is incorrect. My father offered to gift me fives not three. Honestly just three would be an insult."

    "Do you think we''re poor?"

 Chapter 677 A Feeling Of Wrongness

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Banquet Hall)

    Ryan tossed back his head andughed as he could not believe that the reporter thought that his father would ''only'' gift him threes.

    "I am the son of Duke Wilhelm¡­ this tournament will be overwhelming easy for me and the other students of As University," Ryan pridefully boasted.

    "We are the pride of the Federation. Nobles. People far above in terms of wealth, talent, ambition and skills."

    "As for thepetition¡­ there is no one who is on my level."

    Sophie raised an eyebrow at his statement but said nothing. If she had to give the young noble some credit¡­ he was an honest person.

    His personality no matter how rotten was on full disy for the world to see and he didn''t pretend to be someone that he was not.

    "Thank you for answering my questions," the reporter bowed politely and then sat back down with his muscr body taking up most of the chair.

    "It was my pleasure¡­ well I should say that it was your pleasure¡­" Ryan joked merrily as he ced his microphone back down on the table.

    Now there was only one person left then the cycle would begin once more. That was the basic structure of the press conference.

    Each representative would be asked a series of questions by a reporter and then another journalist would be selected to ask a different person.

    This way no single individual would take up the majority of the time or the attention during the press conference.

    "Now the next reporter will be¡­" the host paused for a moment to build up the suspense and then pointed to an elderly woman in the front row.

    The old woman slowly got up and reached into the pocket of her dress for a metalloid tablet which she then powered on.

    "Good afternoon. The questions that I have are for Jessie Ward the representative of Tantibus University," the elderly reporter calmly spoke.

    The blind girl fumbled a bit as she tried to grab the microphone in front of her so Sophie stretched out her hand and pushed it in her direction.

    "Thank you," Jessie politely spoke with a friendly smile on her face. Sophie hummed softly but did not reply.

    The reporter waited patiently for Jessie to hold the microphone and then opened up her mouth to ask some rather sharp questions,

    "The first question that I have is how did it feel to be chosen as the representative after the original captain Luke Parker was tragically killed in a spacecraft ident?"

    "The second question is why have you chosen not to repair your eyesight? Do you intentionally wish to handicap yourself in this tournament?"

    "And finally¡­ in your opinion¡­ who is your greatestpetitor in thispetition?"

    "Wow! Those are some interesting questions!" Jessie giggled softly as she ced a finger to her chin and began to rub softly.

    "Hmm¡­ let me think¡­"

    The cloak on her purple uniform shifted slightly from side to side as she thought about how to answer those questions.

    In the meantime, Sophie''s attention was drawn to the small Servie boy who was currently fast asleep with his head down on the table.

    Inya''s chest gently rose and fell as the representative for Mer University was clearly slumbering quite soundly!

    Sophie remembered the questions that the journalist had asked him, and a contemtive expression briefly shed across her face.

    Dark magic¡­

    As far as she knew there was no one in the Zrudread University mage department that practised it¡­

    Although that could just mean that there was no one with the talent or affinity to learn those kinds of spells.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Mages were rare among the Federation and just because one could use mana that did not mean that they could cast all kinds of magic.

    Affinities and talent existed.

    It was possible that a mage who could unlock a level four fire spell by age thirty might be unable to cast a spell in the water series beyond level two.

    Very few mages had more than one affinity.

    Sophie made a silent note to herself to do some more research on dark magic just in case she ended up fighting the strange Servie boy.

    "Got it!" Jessie''s loud voice interrupted Sophie''s train of thought.

    The blind girl leaned forward, and her muddy unfocused eyes seemed to shine with an unknown emotion.

    Jessie opened her mouth and spoke with a fiery conviction,

    "So, to answer your first question¡­ it was unexpected for me to be the representative, but I was the second seat, so my strength is more than enough for this position."

    "Of course¡­ what happened was a tragedy¡­" Jessie''s voice trailed off and one could hear deep sadness in her tone.

    "Luke was my rival¡­ and more than that¡­ he was my friend. His loss will always leave a hole in my heart¡­ this tournament I want to win it in his honour."

    Some of the reporters in the room got teary eyed from the disy of raw emotion and sorrow on Jessie''s face.

    Sophie on the other hand felt a cold chill run down her spine.

    Every single one of Jessie''s movements perfectly disyed someone who was going through the throes of sorrow and¡­

    That was the problem.

    It was too neat.

    She could not prove it but Jessie''s face at that moment was like an actress putting on a mask for a performance.

    Her danger sense was not active, but Sophie could not help but feel that something was wrong with the girl sitting down next to her.

    "Now on to your next questions," Jessie choked back a sob as she continued to reply.

    "I belong to a religious order who do not believe in taking away what god has given us. God has made me to be blind¡­ I cannot go against their will and restore my eyesight."

    "It is difficult to be a member of my faith but¡­ I truly believe that this is part of the n of the great one."

    Cameras shed continuously and the recording devices in the back of the banquet hall hummed with power.

    This broadcast was picking up in poprity and was on track to bing one of the most watched events in the history of the Virtual Net.

    The uniqueness of the representatives chosen this time was making waves across social media and message boards.

    It said something about how weird the candidates were that the arrogant rich kid was not the center of attention like previous years.

    Hell, he was probably the least interesting person in the room!

    Everyone was specting about thezy Servie boy, the cold and intimidating daughter of Duke Peterlor and the bizarre girl who willingly remained blind.

    "Finally¡­ when ites to mypetitors," Jessie spoke with an oddly subdued tone and turned her head to look directly in Sophie''s direction.

    It was for only a split second but the feeling of wrongness that Sophie got from the blind girl only seemed to intensify.

    "I believe that everyone has the potential to be a threat," Jessie whispered softly.

 Chapter 678 Tides Beginning To Shift

    (Celestia Star System- Qren Sector)

    Hydroposlis ¨C Royal Casino)

    The heavy stench of smoke hung in the air.

    Thousands of gamblers pushed and shoved against one another as they all rushed towards the booths ced at the back of the hall.

    Many were unshaven and unwashed. Their clothes were filthy and stained with dirt, grime, and other rubbish.

    The lower level of the Royal Casino was for themoners to gamble. Nobles and those with wealth would y on the higher floors.

    One could win a fortune at the Royal Casino but for every winner¡­ there were thousands who were led to ruin and despair.

    The house always won in the end.

    On the second floor a woman dressed in an elegant red dress looked down at the chaos below with a sneer on her face.

    She was surrounded by young handsome men who wore skimpy bathing trunks that did little to cover up their muscr bodies.

    "Duchess Riveran," a skinny man dressed in a ck tuxedo approached the nobledy and bowed his head.

    "What is it?" the duchess asked rudely as she stretched out her hand and gently caressed the growing bulge in the pants of the man closest to her.

    "The odds have finally been revealed," the casino employee politely replied.

    The duchess withdrew her hand and a curious glint surfaced in her eyes. She waited impatiently as the employee handed over a metalloid tablet.

    On the tablet screen were the faces of four individuals.

    There was not a single person in the Federation who did not know who these people were.

    Sophie Peterlor who was the daughter of the famous Duke Peterlor. A man who was known as the youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation''s history.

    Duchess Riveran licked her lips as she remembered meeting the duke once at a function many years ago.

    That was one handsome man¡­ it was a real shame that he rejected her advances that night. The things that she would do to that hunk¡­

    A faint red blush appeared on the duchess'' face before she tossed those naughty thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the other pictures.

    Ryan Wilhelm. The heir to one of the oldest noble houses in the Federation. House Wilhelm may not be the strongest, but they were certainly one of the richest.

    Inya Baileyleaf¡­ little was known about the Servie boy''s past but his talent for dark magic was truly impressive.

    And finally, the least impressive of the four¡­ Jessie Ward. Amoner girl born on some backwater in the Andromeda Star System.

    Next to each profile was a percentage.

    "This is?" Duchess Riveran raised an eyebrow and asked curiously.

    "The casino has calcted the odds of victory for each of the candidates and now invites all guests to ce their bets," the employee smoothly replied.

    The duchess frowned slightly and carefully examined each percentage. Ryan had the highest with a forty percent chance.

    Sophie Peterlor had a thirty percent chance while Inya Baileyleaf had been given only twenty percent.

    Finally, Jessie Ward''s profile had a ten percent chance next to her picture.

    Betting on Ryan to win would pay out the least while taking a chance on Jessie would almost quintuple a gambler''s money.

    "Four million Enas on Ryan," Duchess Riveran casually spoke as she took out a card from her bosom and handed it to the employee.

    The handsome men surrounding her giggled softly and the duchess resumed fondling their naked bodies.

    The employee bowed his head and then walked away towards the ticket counter to ce the duchess'' bet.

    The nobles on the second floor and above did not need to personally walk over to ce bets since the employees would do that for them.

    Duchess Riveran smiled wickedly as she enjoyed the gentle touch of the men surrounding her.

    Betting on Ryan would not lead to a decent payout but for a woman as wealthy as her¡­ gambling was nothing more than an addicting pastime.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Andromeda Star System- Kuran)

    (Liren Capitol City- Central Mall)

    Thousands of shoppers walked aimless through the mall looking at the different goods and items on disy.<novelnext></novelnext>

    There were many items that one could not find on the Virtual Net but could be found in the numerous stores inside the mall.

    "Wow!" a little girl eximed in wonder as she stared at the screens in front of her. The little girl wore an adorable blue dress that was covered in tiny frills.

    Her skin was a light purple colour and tiny feather-like wings sprouted out from behind her back.

    She was a hybrid and not a rare sight in Liren City since many alien species used this as a central hub of trading.

    The girl''s mom picked her up from the ground and held her tightly in her arms. She was apletely normal human woman with long flowing dark hair and a gentle smile on her face.

    "What''s the matter Georgia?" the mom asked softly as she lightly tickled her daughter on her stomach.

    "Look mommy!" the little girl shouted as she pointed at the screens outside an electronics store.

    The mom followed the direction of her daughter''s finger and saw a news report ying on the screens.

    The anchor was discussing the Inter-University tournament that was about to begin in a week''s time.

    The faces of the representative captains appeared on the screen and the mom almost dropped her daughter in shock when she saw one of the pictures.

    A hybrid girl?

    A hybrid had managed to be chosen as a representative¡­

    "Mommy! She looks so pretty!" the little girl shyly spoke as she extended her finger outwards and tried to touch the screen.

    Her daughter was right.

    Although the young woman on the screen had inhuman features such as golden eyes, pointed ears and four de-like appendages¡­ she was beautiful.

    April nced at the news report one more time and then hugged her daughter even tighter.

    She had never been interested in watching the Inter-University tournament before since those geniuses lived in a worldpletely different from her own but¡­

    Maybe it wouldn''t hurt to follow it this year.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Private Suite)

    Sophie dropped down on her bed and let out a heavy sigh of relief as she felt thefortable mattress sink beneath her heavy body.

    The press conference was finally over.

    Five gruelling hours in front of dozens of cameras and recording devices. Having to deal with reporters asking all sorts of questions.

    From gossip magazines to more serious publications, the range of topics had been broad and sometimes quite ufortable.

    Sophie had ignored all the questions that dealt with her personal rtionship with Cleo since that really wasn''t anyone else''s business.

    The hybrid girl groggily raised up her head from the mattress andzily tapped her finger against the screen of her wristmunicator.

    She essed the Virtual Net and began to browse social media and message boards to see the reaction of theizens.

    Surprisingly the reaction online was¡­ quite positive?

    Of course, there were trolls and assholes making fun of her strange appearance and alien features, but they were the minority.

    It probably helped that she gave off the best impression among the four.

    Ryan was an arrogant and pompous brat, Inya had spent most of the press conference asleep and Jessie¡­ was a bit¡­ weird.

    Sophie''s lips curved upwards as she saw an unopened message in her inbox from her girlfriend.

    Cleo: [Hey babe! You were totally amazing!]

    Cleo: [You even managed to get a fan club¡­ honestly, I''m a little bit jealous¡­ don''t you dare cheat on me with any of your admirers.]

    Sophie: [Oh please¡­ I''m already quite smitten with a princess from the Imperial Family. She''s a troublesome child but she''s got a kind heart.]

    Cleo: [Who? I''ll kill her!]

    Sophie giggled softly as she yfully responded to her girlfriend''s teasing.

    She could feel the stress of the day slowly melt away as she rxed in the bed and enjoyed a nice and peaceful conversation.

 Chapter 679 A Chilly Warning

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Private Beach)

    Sophie let out a small yawn as she flung a white towel over her shoulder and made her way to the beach outside the hotel.

    She was wearing a one-piece bathing suit that was very conservative since it covered most of her body all the way to her lower kneecaps.

    The Mariena Hotel also had a private beachfront property for the guests to enjoy so Sophie nned to take full advantage of the amenities.

    The tournament would be starting in a week''s time and the other students from Zrudread University were going to arrive on Saturday.

    That meant that she had a few days to rx by herself.

    Honestly¡­ Sophie felt a bit lonely being separated from her girlfriend and her friends but at least she could always message them over the virtual.

    The sun was shining brightly high above in the sky and its warm gentle rays illuminated the white sandy beach.

    Sophie made her way over to the lounge chairs on the shoreline and ced her towel on the one closest to her.

    She sat down on the chair and let out another sigh. The sounds of waves crashing against the shore was oddly rxing.

    Clearly, she wasn''t the only one with beach ns since she could spot other guests hanging out on the southern side of the beach.

    Fortunately, no one came up to bother her. Sophie really wasn''t in the mood to deal with any curious bystanders or other nobles.

    The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small paperback novel. The cover had the title ''The Fragile Rose'' printed in bold colours in the front.

    Sophie opened the book and lost herself in the captivating world that the author had written.

    ''The Fragile Rose'' was the story of a nobleman trapped in a loveless marriage with a wife who had only married him for power and riches.

    Throughout the story their rtionship gradually shifted and changed due to the introduction of new characters.

    The handsome butler¡­ the foolish king¡­ the greedy coachman¡­

    Sophie was enjoying the book so far and had reached halfway through the story where the nobleman finally decided to have an affair to get back at his wife.

    Yeah¡­ he wasn''t exactly a protagonist that one would usually root for. That was precisely the reason why Sophie found the book so intriguing.

    A gentle gust of wind blew against Sophie''s face as she shifted to get a morefortable position on the chair.

    Hours passed by as the hybrid girl turned the pages and ignored the world around her.

    This would have probably continued were it not for the voice that unexpectedly interrupted Sophie''s rxing afternoon.

    "Hey¡­ can I use your ability?" a voice asked tiredly.

    Sophie looked up from her book and saw the Servie representative from Mer University staring at her with an exhausted expression on his face.

    There were dark circles under his amber eyes and his fae-like features made him seem like a very old and at the same time youthful boy.

    He wore a simple pair of ck swimming trunks which left his skinny chest exposed to the elements.

    "Excuse me?" Sophie replied with a bit of puzzlement in her tone.

    "Well¡­ it''s just that I heard that you can amplify toxins so¡­ would you mind increasing the strength of this?" Inya asked softly.

    The Servie boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny syringe filled with a greenish- white liquid that bubbled.

    "Is that drugs?" Sophie eximed in shock as she looked at Inya like he was crazy.

    "Yeah¡­ I think I used them too often, so I don''t feel anything anymore¡­" Inya continued to talk nonchntly as if he was discussing the weather.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Please? I just need a good hit to take the edge off¡­"

    "I''m going to have to decline¡­ I don''t want to put some strange drug into my system and besides¡­ why would I feed your addiction?" Sophie replied as diplomatically as she could.

    "Addiction? No¡­ I can¡­ quit whenever I want¡­" Inya coughed violently as he stammered out a reply.

    Sophie raised an eyebrow and the Servie boy lifted up his arms in mock surrender.

    He ced the syringe back in his pocket and flew towards the chair next to Sophie.

    Inya nced over at the hybrid girl and then nervously fidgeted with his thumbs.

    ? He really wasn''t good with small talk, but he felt as though he probably needed to say something to make a better impression.

    "Um¡­ what''s it like being a hybrid?" Inya suddenly asked.

    He immediately realised that it was a stupid question, but the words had alreadye out of his mouth.

    Sophie wasn''t exactly sure what the Servie boy''s purpose was in still talking to her after she refused to amp up his drugs, but she figured that she might as well answer.

    "Err¡­ normal? I mean I was born a hybrid so its just who I am since birth," Sophie replied curtly as she tried to get back to reading.

    "Yeah¡­ well¡­ good talk¡­" Inya awkwardly spoke. He stood up on the chair and then zipped away towards the other side of the beach.

    It was an encounter that left Sophie feeling¡­ very confused.

    She shook her head and turned her attention back to her book.

    Unfortunately, she only managed to get twenty more minutes of reading done before another unwee guest arrived.

    "Is this seat taken?" a confident voice asked. The person who spoke then sat down on the chair next to Sophie before she could even reply.

    Sophie lowered her book and nced at the rude intruder. She saw Ryan staring back at her with a vicious smirk on his face.

    "Well¡­ it''s free¡­" Sophie replied bluntly as she tried her best not to roll her eyes. Ryan hadn''t exactly made the best impression on her after the press conference.

    He seemed like an arrogant and pampered noble brat.

    "I must say that you are nothing like what I expected¡­ though I suppose that Duke Peterlor''s blood must have cancelled out your more¡­ ''uncivilised'' nature," Ryan casually spoke.

    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Sophie frowned slightly as a heavy pressure surrounded her body.

    "Oh no! I''m justplementing you! Most hybrids have no manners or ss, so it is good that your father managed to train you well," Ryan continued to mock.

    "And clearly your family must have failed to do their job teaching you proper etiquette," Sophie snapped back coldly.

    "But I shouldn''t be surprised¡­ after all¡­ you probably barely saw your father and mother. I heard that the duke and duchess of House Wilhelm are a couple only in name¡­"

    The smile was instantly wiped off Ryan''s face as he listened to Sophie''s vicious words. He sat up on the chair with an expression of fury on his face.

    "Careful what you saw¡­ you filthy¡­" Ryan''s voice trailed off as Sophie sat up as well with her golden eyes glowing with an eerie light.

    A dark crimson mist began to spread from the corners of her eyes until their golden radiance was covered by a reddish hue.

    "Finish that sentence," Sophie growled darkly as the bloodlust surrounding her body intensified and a cold chill ran down Ryan''s spine.

    He felt as though he was standing before a predator.

    A vicious animal who would tear him apart if he made even the slightest move in the wrong direction.

    Then just as quickly as the feeling came¡­ it vanished, and Sophie''s eyes returned to their normal luster.

 Chapter 680 A Normal Conversation

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Private Beach)

    "What¡­ what was¡­" Ryan stuttered slightly as he tried his best to get his nerves back under control.

    "Just a warning," Sophie coldly responded as she turned her attention back towards her book and began to flip through the pages.

    She was done with this conversation.

    Ryan opened his mouth to say something but the cold chill running down his spine convinced him that maybe¡­ he shouldn''t mess with this scary woman.

    The young noble got up from his chair and walked away with quick steps.

    He acted as though he was calm but judging from the speed of his escape¡­

    Sophie had spooked him.

    The hybrid girl nced up from her book and saw the retreating figure of Ryan slowly disappear off into the distance.

    Good.

    Today was supposed to be rxing but instead it was turning out to be anything but. Sophie let out a heavy sigh and tried to continue reading.

    A few minutes passed and eventually she had to put the book down on the side of the chair.

    She had been reading the same paragraph for several seconds.

    Maybe a dip in the water would help to clear her mind.

    Sophie got up from the chair and headed towards the edge of the shore where blue waves crashed gently down on the beach.

    She always loved the ocean. Maybe in another life she would get the chance to be reincarnated as a mermaid and spend her days in the depths of the ocean.

    There was just something captivating about the sea.

    Vast bodies of water that contained mysterious lifeforms and colourful ecosystems.

    Sophie dipped her toes in the water and a contented smile spread across her face. She loved feeling the cold water touch her skin.

    The hybrid girl waded out further into the ocean until the water reached her waist.

    Then with one sudden movement, Sophie ducked her head underwater and yfully tossed her hair around.

    She could feel all the stress of the water slowly melt away. Sophie held her breath and dove downwards to the ocean floor.

    Since she was a qi tide cultivator, there was no problem in holding her breath for hours or even days if she really needed to.

    Tiny fish-like organisms could be seen swimming just above the white sand that made up the seabed.

    Purple grass grew in patches on the ocean floor and tiny rock shaped creatures peeked out from between the foliage.

    Sophie stretched out her hand but stopped just before she touched one of the animals.

    It was probably a bad idea to touch the wildlife since she could identally hurt them.

    Instead, she was content to float above the grass and observe the tiny creatures as they went about their lives.

    What was she in their eyes?

    A god? A mysterious entity? An iprehensible threat?

    Or maybe their simple minds were unable to even ask those questions. Sophie swam out even further and saw that the underwater vegetation changed.

    The purple grass gave way to tall leafy tree-like nts withrge stems that swayed slightly from side to side thanks to the strong ocean currents.

    Muchrger animals roamed these undersea forests and some of them turned to stare at Sophie with unblinking eyes.

    The hybrid girl swam to the side and narrowly avoided arge barrel-shaped creature with tendrils that emerged from behind a rock.

    Out here in the deeper parts of the ocean there were strong currents that tugged and tried to pull Sophie further out.

    Fortunately, she could easily resist the tides thanks to her enhanced strength and unusual physiology.

    All she had to do was stab her de-like appendages in the sand in order to stabilise her body in ce.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Time lost all meaning as Sophie swam and explored the ocean with child-like wonder and a smile on her face.

    Not for the first time she imagined a life outside of cultivation.

    Maybe once she hit the void stage and finished her years of military service, she should take a break and get an inteary zoology degree.

    Spend a few years with Cleo visiting unexploreds and documenting the local wildlife and flora.

    Honestly that didn''t sound like a bad way to live.

    What was the point of having a long lifespan if you spent all of your time in a room meditating?

    Sophie swam upwards towards the surface and broke through the water. She took in a deep breath and nced up at the sky.

    The sun was now beginning to set towards the horizon and warm orange rays of light illuminated the clear blue ocean.

    The shore was now a distant speck in the horizon which made Sophie realise that she had swam further out than she had initially nned.

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator and saw that it was now around five o''clock in the afternoon.

    Yeah¡­ she should probably make her way back.

    It was dinner time soon and Sophie wanted to have a nice warm meal instead of nutrient vials.

    The hybrid girl began to swim back to shore using the freestyle method.

    Her de-like appendages cut through the water awkwardly which made her pace a bit slow.

    Finally, after around twenty minutes of swimming, Sophie eventually arrived back in the same spot where the chair she was using was ced.

    Her towel and book were still on its surface and fortunately no one seemed to have disturbed her things.

    Sophie picked up the towel and began to rub down her body to get rid of the excess moisture and salt on her skin.

    She hummed a quiet tune under her breath and froze when she sensed that someone was approaching her.

    "Good afternoon," a soft melodic spoke.

    Who was it now? Couldn''t she just dry off her skin in peace?

    "Good afternoon to you as well," Sophie politely replied with a hint of reluctance in her tone.

    She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the blind girl from Tantibus University staring at her with a small smile on her face.

    Jessie was wearing a red two-piece bikini with a ck string. Her lips were bright purple which meant that she had smeared something on them.

    Her muddy and unfocused white eyes peacefully gazed in Sophie''s direction as if she could somehow see the hybrid girl.

    "Lovely day for a swim?" Jessie asked calmly.

    "Yes¡­ the water is fine¡­ I just came back from a dip in the ocean myself," Sophie responded softly since she was affected by the peaceful mood.

    "Well¡­ that''s good to hear," Jessie continued the conversation in a casual tone.

    "I hope to see you around. Take care!"

    The blind girl raised her hand at Sophie and then waved before turning around and walking away without hesitation.

    That was it? No insults? No strange requests?

    Just a normal conversation?

    Sophie was so startled that she almost forgot to reply to Jessie who was now several hundred metres away.

    "Enjoy the beach!" Sophie cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

    Jessie''s footsteps paused and then she continued to walk as if she hadn''t heard Sophie''s well wishes.

    The hybrid girl resumed drying herself off but could not help but think back to the brief encounter that she just had.

    Maybe she was being paranoid¡­ out of all the representatives on the ind aside from her blindness¡­

    Jessie Ward was the most normal.

 Chapter 681 A Sweet Promise

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Penthouse Suite)

    "Cleo!" Sophie cried out happily as she rushed over to her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her tightly.

    "Babe¡­ you''re¡­ squeezing me¡­" Cleo wheezed as she tried her best to wriggle out of Sophie''s iron- d grip.

    "Oh shit! Sorry!" Sophie eximed in shock as she took a step back and loosened her arms.

    She may have gotten a bit too excited when she saw her girlfriend enter the room and forgot to control her strength.

    "I missed you too," Cleo smiled warmly as she stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips against Sophie''s shoulder.

    Yeah¡­ this was one of the disadvantages of having a girlfriend that was freakishly tall.

    It was impossible to surprise her with a kiss on the lips when your full height couldn''t even reach her mouth.

    "How was the flight?" Sophie asked curiously as she led her girlfriend over to the bed and sat down on the mattress.

    "Quite uneventful¡­ I mainly yed cards and virtual reality games with Astrid and Qiana for most of the journey," Cleo replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

    "Did you know that Qiana is a horrible gambler? I must have gotten around two thousand Enas before Astrid stopped her from betting more."

    "Really? I''ll have to keep that in mind," Sophie eximed with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

    Qiana was normally such a serious person that Sophie found it hard to believe that she enjoyed recklessly gambling during card games.

    "Oh, wait I almost forgot¡­ we arrived at the same time as the students from As University, so we were all in the spaceport together," Cleo suddenly spoke up.

    "That must have been fun¡­" Sophie quietly remarked as she exchanged a knowing look with her girlfriend.

    "No! No! They were an absolute delight. They totally didn''t spend the entire time pretending that we didn''t exist," Cleo replied with heavy sarcasm in her tone.

    Sophie giggled and stretched out her hand to brush a loose strand of hair from out of her girlfriend''s face.

    She missed this.

    Of course, a week in a five-star hotel was hardly a tortuous ordeal but Sophie still felt slightly lonely all by herself.

    She did exchange a few brief words with Jessie when she saw the blind girl around the hotel, but the conversations rarelysted for more than two minutes.

    Ryan avoided her like the gue which suited Sophie just fine since she could not stand the arrogant young noble.

    As for Inya¡­ Sophie was pretty sure that the Servie boy had not left his room since the day that she had met him on the beach.

    "What''s on your mind?" Cleo asked when she saw that her girlfriend''s thoughts were drifting off.

    "Just thinking about the other representative captains¡­" Sophie replied truthfully as she nuzzled closer to her girlfriend.

    "Yeah, I remember you telling me about them over themunicator.

    That Ryan guy sounded like an asshole," Cleo frowned slightly as she spoke.

    She didn''t like anyone insulting her girlfriend and the words that Ryan spoke to Sophie were very offensive.

    "As for the Servie boy¡­ hmm¡­ I know some cultivators have drug habits but¡­ it''s strange that Mer University hasn''t gotten him help to cure his addiction," Cleo hesitantly said.

    "I agree¡­ as far as I can tell he hasn''t received any punishment or bacsh for basically sleeping through the press conference," Sophie mused thoughtfully.

    "Maybe his talents are so good that the university professors basically let him do whatever the hell he wants."

    "Still¡­ it''s a bit strange¡­ I''ll ask Astridter if there is anything she knows about ck magic that isn''t avable on the Virtual Net," Cleo replied with furrowed brows.

    "At least Jessie Ward seems normal," Sophie attempted to lighten the mood by switching focus to the remaining captain.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The blind girl? She was a bit odd but certainly the most normalpared to the rest¡­" Cleo muttered quietly.

    "Wait¡­ does that include me?" Sophie gasped with a mock offended expression on her face.

    "Honey¡­ I love you but¡­ you are certainly not a normal human," Cleo teased softly as she grabbed Sophie''s shirt and pulled her head downwards.

    This time her lips met Sophie''s own, and the pair melted away into a soft lingering kiss that seemed to stretch out for hours.

    When Cleo finally broke away from the kiss, her face waspletely flushed, and a bright red tinge began to spread across the tips of her ears.

    "Babe¡­ how about we¡­" Sophie''s voice trailed off as one of her hands cupped the corner of Cleo''s breasts and began to squeeze the soft flesh.

    "Have some fun¡­"

    Cleo moaned breathlessly as Sophie''s fingers yfully flicked and pinched her nipples beneath the fabric of her dress.

    She could feel them harden in response to her girlfriend''s naughty touch.

    The princess rubbed her thighs together and felt the area between her leg begin to moisten.

    "No¡­ we can''t¡­ we''re meeting¡­ the girls in¡­" Cleo struggled to speak properly as Sophie began to suck on her neck.

    The hybrid girl stuck out her tongue and gently licked up and down the surface of Cleo''s skin prompting yet another moan from the princess.

    "Please¡­ we need to be in the dining room¡­ in ten minutes¡­" Cleo fought down her rising urges and pleaded with her girlfriend to stop.

    Sophie immediately halted her movements and gave Cleo some time to breathe.

    She wanted nothing more than to toss her lover on the bed and spend a couple of passionate hours together but¡­

    She would never force her girlfriend.

    "Thanks darling," Cleo whispered quietly as she calmed down her racing heart and shot Sophie a grateful look.

    There was a faint pinkish mist creeping up along the edges of Sophie''s golden eyes, but the hybrid girl pushed down the urges rising up in her heart.

    "Listen¡­ how about when we return to your roomter tonight¡­ I''ll treat you instead," Cleo seductively purred as she ran her finger down the middle of Sophie''s chest.

    "Don''t tease me¡­ because I''m going to hold you to your word tonight," Sophie darkly growled as she kissed her girlfriend fiercely on the lips.

    The pair spent a few moments basking in the warmth of each other''spany before Cleo got up from the bed and headed towards the door.

    "Youing?" the princess smiled yfully as she beckoned for Sophie to join her.

    Sophie got up from the bed and hurriedly walked over. She gently grabbed Cleo''s hand and then the pair exited the room.

    Astrid and Qiana had left a message around half an hour ago telling them to head to the dining room in the west wing.

    The Mariena Hotel was a massive ten story building with enough rooms and amenities for all the students who would be housed here.

    However only the students from the Four Great Universities would be ced in this five-star hotel¡­ the rest would have to settle for basic amodations.

    Each university had a separate dining hall for their students located in the east, north, west, and south wings respectively.

    This was to prevent any fights or incidents from urring.

    Sophie was gratefully for whoever came up with that idea since she was pretty certain that her encounters with As University students would not go smoothly.

    Actually, there was one person who she was on pretty decent terms with.

    Sophie made a mental note to herself to say hi to Leona before the tournament begun.

 Chapter 682 Preparation For The Tournament

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Main Administrative Building- Central Hall)

    There was a building located in the northernmost tip of Jasimin Ind that was currently upied by muscr men and women wearing formal attire.

    The main room of the building was arge central hall that was around the size of a football field.

    Chairs and tables had been neatly stacked in a semi-circr formation with a central podium as the focus point.

    Standing on the podium and surrounded by several blue translucent holographic projections was a scarred woman with hair that was slightly greying.

    She wore a long ck suit that covered most of her body and the ne hanging around her neck shone with an eerie light.

    "There will be over one thousand candidates participating in this year''s Inter-University Tournament from across the Federation," the woman in a ck suit calmly spoke.

    "As I am sure that you all are already aware... the interest in this batch of students is higher than expected."

    "News stations, live streams, analysis videos... they have all been performing much better than previous years."

    A round of apuse spread across the room as the examiners pped their hands together in admiration.

    "And it is for precisely for that reason why there can be no mistakes," the woman sternly spoke with her voice no higher than a whisper.

    Head Examiner Madison Burke had been put in charge of overseeing the second-yearpetition and she was a stern no-nonsense woman.

    Her resume was impressive and included two hundred years of service in the Imperial Army and fifty years as a professor at As University.

    One of the examiners in the room raised up his hand politely and Madison pointed at him to allow him to speak.

    "What safety measures are we going to put in ce to prevent any unwanted idents?" the examiner asked curiously.

    "The archmages from Mer University have personally warded and ced time reversal spells underneath every arena and stage," Madison replied in an even tone.

    "In the event of death or severe injuries, the spell will reverse the flow of time and bring the students back to life."

    "It will not prevent them from remembering the pain of death, but this is by far the safest method."

    "We must remember that these students are all precious geniuses that cannot be reced."

    Madison tapped her wristmunicator and one of the holographic windows expanded until it reached over twenty feet in height.

    Lines of text began to appear on the blue screen. The examiners in the room remained silent since they could not believe what they were seeing.

    Soon voices of shock and horror echoed through the hall as the more sensible ones among them rushed to voice their concerns.

    "This isplete madness! Even with a time reversal spell... isn''t this too much?"

    "These students are just second years! Why are we making them face such difficult challengers?"

    "There is no precedent for this!"

    The head examiner cleared her throat and an invisible wave of pressure radiated off her body.

    The voices ofint fell silent as Madison opened her mouth and calmly exined what was going on.

    "I understand your concerns. However, these changes have been made with the approval of the examination board," Madison calmly spoke.

    "The ongoing war with the Insectoid Empire means that these students may be sent to the frontlines sooner than expected."

    "It is the wishes of the higher ups that they be prepared for life and death conflicts and the possibility of dying."

    The Inter-University tournament would be divided into three stages. The first would be a group event, the second and third would be individual stages.

    What was unique about this year''s tournament was that students would not be facing off against each other until the final stage.

    "Are we getting any more details about the stages?" an examiner raised up her hand and asked cautiously.

    "No. The full details will only be avable on the day of the tournament in order to prevent the spread of information," Madison replied with a cold smile on her face.

    Shivers ran down the spines of the men and women present in the room as Madison''s eyes meaningfully stared at some of them.

    It was expected that some examiners would be tempted to sell the information that they received in advance but under Madison''s watch no one had seeded yet.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She may be a professor at As University, but Madison was famously impartial and had even kicked out a student from her own university for cheating in thest tournament.

    "The students will be informed to create squads of three and the names must be submitted by tomorrow," the head examiner continued to speak.

    "I understand that this may seem a bit sudden but let''s just say that there is a good reason why I need the names as soon as possible."

    "Now... before the big day. I would like you all to get some rest and prepare."

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Mariena Hotel- Penthouse Suite)

    Bleep! Bleep!

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator and saw an iing message arrive in her inbox. It waste at night and Cleo was sleeping quietly by her side.

    The princess'' body waspletely naked, and her pale flesh was covered in love bites and angry red marks.

    Her chest slowly heaved up and down as she took in quiet breaths. Sophie smiled sweetly and traced her finger down the side of her girlfriend''s back.

    Maybe she had gotten a bit too enthusiastic a few hours ago.

    Tossing those happy but dirty memories to the back of her mind, Sophie focused her attention on her wristmunicator.

    There was an announcement written inside the message and its contents made Sophie raise an eyebrow.

    Apparently, all students needed to form a team of three for the first stage of the tournament.

    Students who did not find a team by the deadline of tomorrow would be randomly assigned a group.

    An additional line of text revealed that they could be randomly assigned to a group with students from outside of their university.

    Hmm... this could be a bit difficult.

    Sophie wasn''t going to be separated from Cleo and she was pretty certain that Astrid and Qiana would be on the same time.

    That meant that she needed a third person.

    Wait... she knew just who to ask!

    Sophie: [Rachel did you see the message?]

    It took around ten minutes for Sophie to receive a reply back from her Quafes friend.

    Rachel: [Which one? I get a lot of messages... also sorry for not replying sooner... I''m ''busy'' at the moment... if you know what I mean...]

    Rachel: [Wink wink!]

    Sophie: [Well basically we need to form groups of three for first stage of the tournament, so I was wondering if you wanted to join my team."

    Rachel: [Sure you can put me down. I was going to head over to your ce tomorrow anyways so we can discuss the details then.]

    Sophie: [Awesome! Well good night :)]

    Sophie: [Enjoy being ''busy'']

    Rachel: [Oh I am... got three cheerleaders from Tantibus University in my room who wanted to know more about... well... let''s just say they learned a lot about me...]

    Rachel: [Not to brag but... damn... they were flexible]

    Sophie: [Gross... do you really have to tell me about your one-night stand?]

    Rachel: [What are friends for? Goodnight!]

 Chapter 683 A Reunion With An Old Friend

    Caorn- Jasmin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- West Wing Cafeteria)

    The cafeteria was filled with the low hums of conversation as the As University students enjoyed their meals.

    However, there was a tense atmosphere in the hall and an ufortable undercurrent that was hard to ignore.

    All the nobles were seated together with those of higher ranks ced at the head of the tables signifying their status.

    Themoner students were forced to take the seats at the edge of the cafeteria.

    This arrangement did note as a surprise to most of the students since they were used to this kind of discrimination.

    As University fostered an attitude of superiority.

    Nobles were inherently better than themoners that attended the college.

    Leona was sitting down with a bowl full of steaming hot soup in front of her. She wore a light blue tracksuit that hugged her lean muscr frame.

    Her once long curly hair had been cut so that it now only reached the top of her shoulders.

    Her dark brown skin contrasted with the white earrings that were hanging from her ears.

    She was surrounded by tittering upper ss nobles and sycophants eager to paypliments to them.

    A bored expression shed across Leona''s face as she nced at hermunicator and saw a message appear on the screen.

    Vivian: [Sorry! I''m going to do some more training in the holodeck, so I won''t being to the cafeteria today]

    Leona: [Don''t overdo it¡­ I don''t want you to hurt yourself¡­]

    Vivian: [Aww¡­ are you worried? Babe¡­ don''t worry I have more than enough energy to y with you tonight¡­]

    Leona kept an expressionless mask on her face but could not stop the corners of her lips from tilting upwards.

    Her rtionship with themoner Vivian Green had taken a rather¡­ unexpected turn.

    Not that she wanted toin.

    It was just that Leona never thought that she would get a girlfriend¡­ and amoner one at that!

    Leona gracefully picked up the spoon in front of her and dipped it in the bowl of soup. She stared at the light orange liquid and then ced it in her mouth.

    Mhmmm¡­ Delicious!

    The soup was chunky with pieces of meat, fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs that created a burst of vour in her mouth.

    Leona took another spoonful and absentmindedly listened to the conversations happening around her.

    "Ryan you were so impressive at the press conference!" a pretty noble girl with dark blonde hair leaned against Ryan''s shoulder.

    "Everyone was watching and cheering you on!"

    "Yes¡­ yes¡­ I know," Ryan smirked confidently as he wrapped his arms around the girl and drew her in closer.

    Leona rolled her eyes and focused on eating. She was still upset that she hadn''t been strong enough to be chosen as the representative captain.

    She was currently ranked fourth among the second-year students. It was impressive but¡­ not good enough.

    "Have you chosen a team yet?" a mousey looking boy asked Ryan with curiosity shining in his eyes.

    "Oh¡­ well¡­ I already have many people interested but unfortunately¡­ I can only take two," Ryan ced a hand on his forehead and sighed heavily.

    "Wow! Of course!" the boy shouted in excitement.

    Leona had to fight down the urge to giggle when she saw the ridiculous farce happening right next to her.

    The boy singing Ryan''s praises belonged to a house with the rank of Viscount.

    Certainly not on the level of a duke but not to the extent where he needed to debase himself for Ryan''s pleasure.

    He would never make it in politics.

    Leona spotted the piece of bread next to her soup and carefully used a knife and fork to cut up a neat rectangr- shaped piece.

    Manner, etiquette, appearance.

    The three aspects of an upper rank noble that could not be ignored.

    Buzz! Buzz!<novelnext></novelnext>

    Leona''s wristmunicator vibrated twice, and she saw an unexpected message appear in her inbox.

    Sophie: [Hey I''m in the West Wing¡­ where are you at?]

    Leona: [I''m in the cafeteria. Do you want me to meet you?]

    Sophie: [Nah it''s okay. I''lle to you.]

    Wait¡­ what?

    Leona''s feelings towards Sophie were¡­plicated.

    They had managed to somewhat repair their old friendship, but it was obvious that they would never be as close as they were as children.

    And Leona knew that she only had herself to me.

    She was the one who betrayed her friend. She was the one who valued the opinions of people who didn''t matter.

    Leona still felt guilty over what she had done but¡­ she didn''t know how to make up for it.

    Sophie was in a much better ce now and she had new friends. It was a painful truth but¡­ she wasn''t needed anymore.

    Maybe she could¡­

    Leona''s thoughts were interrupted as the cafeteria doors swung open and Sophie strode inside with slow confident steps.

    There was an immediate moment of silence as all the noble children as well as themoners stopped and watched the hybrid girl.

    Sophie was intimidating.

    Standing at over seven feet in height with golden eyes, de-like appendages and sharp fangs that gleamed under the light.

    She wore a ck training suit with two ster pistols strapped to her side. There was an aura of danger surrounding her body that made her seem unapproachable.

    "Why¡­ why¡­" Ryan stuttered nervously and fortunately no one seemed to notice that his face had turned pale.

    Sophie looked around the room as if searching for someone, so Leona raised up her hand and waved.

    "Over here," Leona calmly spoke and immediately the attention in the room shifted to her.

    Sophie walked over and the noble girl sitting down next to Leona quickly got up from her seat and shifted to the side.

    "This hotel is a damn maze," Sophie grumbled in mock anger as she took a seat.

    "Took me around thirty minutes to find the west wing. I''m pretty sure that there are spatial enhancement spells on the corridors."

    "Well at least you found it now," Leona replied with a thin smile as she tried to ignore the stares directed at the two of them.

    She was not the same person as before.

    "Yeah¡­ so tell me¡­ do you As University students usually eat so quietly?" Sophie asked with a raised eyebrow.

    Leona raised a hand to her lips to hide her giggles. She knew that Sophie had asked that question break the tense atmosphere.

    "Sophie¡­ Sophie Peterlor¡­ my name is Rudy of House Khan," a nervous looking boy extended his hand and greeted Sophie.

    "House Khan! Oh, I believe that your house has recently been engaging in the spice trade. Is that correct?" Sophie replied politely.

    "Yes¡­ yes! I didn''t think that you would know that¡­" Rudy perked up and one could hear a trace of disbelief in his voice.

    "Your father does business with both our houses so that''s how we know," Leona answered before Sophie could reply.

    "I¡­ I am Ciara of House Vntis¡­ pleasure to meet you," a beautiful girl with ashy grey skin approached Sophie with a friendly gaze.

    Sophie soon found herself surrounded by a group of nobles eager to meet her acquaintance and form a rtionship.

    The number of students was not high¡­ only seven in total but still it was more than Sophie had expected when she walked into the room.

    And the other nobles even if they did not approve of her hybrid nature, they did not dare to voice theirints.

    Leona of House Braveheart and Sophie of House Peterlor were both heiresses to two of the most powerful families in the Federation.

    One would have to be aplete fool to pick a fight with either one of them without backing or the support of a strong faction.

    The only person who could match the two noble girls was Ryan of House Wilhelm and he was currently looking at his wristmunicator and pretending as though Sophie did not exist.

    To some his attitude may seem rude and dismissive but Ryan would take that over them knowing the true emotion that he felt.

    Fear.

 Chapter 684 Treasure Hunt

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind)

    Three young women were currently standing in the middle of a dense tropical rainforest.

    Tall leafy green trees covered thendscape and hidden beneath their shadows was a lush, forested undergrowth.

    Tiny rat-like animals with gorgeous white fur and small beady eyes could be seen darting from bush to bush looking for berries.

    The air was humid, and a thick grey mist snaked its way through the forest.

    Beads of sweat ran down the faces of the women as they continued to march towards an unknown destination.

    "Well¡­ this is boring," Rachel grumbled as she stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.

    Sophie nced at herpanion and then turned her attention back to the map in her hand.

    She couldn''t me Rachel for feeling bored since their experience so far on this ind was¡­ uneventful to say the least.

    "Don''t let your guard down," Cleo warned as her piercing green eyes swept the surrounding area for any threats.

    "There is no way that the first stage of the Inter- University tournament is just a simple treasure hunt."

    "Don''t worry babe¡­ my senses are constantly on the alert," Sophie replied with a gentle smile as she leaned against Cleo''s body.

    "Let me know if we need to fight something," Rachel let out another yawn and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes.

    The saintess of the Nephilim Church was in a bad mood.

    She had nned to host an orgy at her suite the night before the tournament begun but only three people had shown up.

    And two of them only wanted to watch!

    Like why show up if you aren''t going to take part!

    Screech!

    A fearsome cry echoed through the forest and all three women turned in the direction of the unexpected noise.

    The bushes to the left of their location began to shake rapidly as a creature emerged from behind the shrubbery.

    It was a ten feet long beast with a long sleek body. The creature had five heads, and each bore an eerily simr resemnce to a human skull.

    Screech!

    The head in the middle of the group opened its mouth and a horrific roar erupted that sent shivers down Rachel''s spine.

    The creature lunged forward so quickly that its body became a blur of motion. Still even at that speed¡­ it was too slow.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Sophie''s figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. She remerged right in front of the creature and her de-like appendages stabbed forward.

    The sharp barbs at the end of her appendages easily tore through the monster''s scales and ripped off chunks of pinkish flesh.

    Not to be outdone, Cleo immediately closed her eyes and unleashed a psychic attack on the nearby surroundings.

    Large rocks shot out from the ground and embedded themselves inside the open wounds on the creature''s body.

    The rocks proceeded to wriggle and squirm their way inside the creature as if they were somehow alive.

    It was a nasty sight.

    Rachel''s hand drifted towards her sword, but the creature slumped motionless to the ground with the life draining from its multiple eyes.

    "Geez¡­ did you get even faster?" Rachel asked in disbelief.

    "Just a little bit," Sophie teased as she walked back towards the ground with her lips gently curving upwards.

    Suddenly Sophie stumbled as she approached Cleo and Rachel. It was only for a brief second and no one noticed except for herself.

    The hybrid girl gritted her teeth as she felt several familiar bursts of pain erupt across her body at the same time.

    Not now¡­

    Sophie continued to smile and act like nothing was wrong all the while she felt as though thousands of needles were slowly prating her flesh.

    "Well now I feel useless¡­ here¡­ why don''t you give me the map?" Rachel cheerfully spoke as she stretched out her hand.

    Sophie handed the map over and tried not to visibly wince as Rachel''s soft fingers brushed against her palm.

    Her sense of touch was far more sensitive than usual and even the slightest tactile sensation was overwhelming.

    This was torture.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophie bit her tongue and the coppery taste of blood flooded her mouth and helped a little bit to pierce through the mental fog that was clouding her mind.

    She could not show weakness.

    Right now, the tournament was being broadcasted across the Virtual Net and herpetitors would be able to see the footage afterwards.

    Sophie took in a few shallow breaths and then gently exhaled.

    Rachel and Cleo were chatting about something but right now Sophie''s thoughts were a hundred miles away.

    How long could she keep this up?

    Then as if the gods had finally decided to give her a break for once¡­ the pain abruptly disappeared just as fast as it had arrived.

    Thank goodness.

    Sophie rxed a bit but the tension in her mind had not fully gone away.

    What about the next time an attack came?

    How would she cope if itsted for hours?

    "Oh! I think I see the temple up ahead!" Cleo''s excited voice interrupted Sophie''s musings. A few hundred metres up ahead was arge clearing of grasnd.

    In the middle of the clearing was a three-story temple that had been built out of ck obsidian and granite.

    Enormous stone pirs kept the structure of the temple in ce and the carvings of a winged goddess had been etched into the stone walls.

    The entrance to the temple was wide open and one could see a darkened corridor that was dimly lit by torches hanging from the walls.

    "So¡­ we just need to enter the temple. Grab the artifact and then head to the extraction point right?" Rachel asked curiously.

    "Yes. I think the time limit is three days, so we have plenty of time to pass this stage," Sophie replied thoughtfully.

    "Okay let''s get this done as soon as possible so we can rx in the hotel," Cleo chimed in as she reached for the ster pistol strapped to her hip.

    The three women walked towards the temple with Sophie in the lead. She would y the role of a tanker due to her impressive regeneration.

    Rachel would provide damage using her sword qi techniques while Cleo would be ying a supporting role with her mental skills.

    Sophie cautiously stepped inside the temple and paid close attention to her danger sense to determine if there were any threats to her life.

    Danger!

    The hybrid girl tilted her head to the side and several arrows that had been shot at her location passed mere inches away from her flesh.

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    More arrows shot towards Sophie at a startling speed. The hybrid girl cocked back her fist and a cold chill began to spread through the air.

    Ice-born Technique- Winter''s Fist!

    Sophie punched outwards and a gust of freezing wind erupted from her knuckles.

    The wind immediately froze the arrows mid flight and they dropped to the ground harmlessly.

    Sophie held up her hand and motioned for her twopanions to retreat while she waited to see if any more arrows woulde.

    Five minutes passed as Sophie maintained her vignce and prepared for any more surprise attacks.

    Nothing.

    "Alright¡­ that seems like thest of them¡­ be careful and stay behind me," Sophie warned as she walked forward.

    "Got it," Cleo replied as she rubbed her temples and essed the mental force hidden inside her brain.

    The corridor seemed to stretch out for eternity as the endless rows upon rows of torches illuminated the marble floor with an eerie light.

    As the group wandered further into the temple, the scenery gradually changed to something a bit more¡­ unpleasant.

    A nasty foul-smelling odour filled the air which caused Sophie and Cleo to wrinkle their noses in disgust.

    Rachel dealt with the smell by using her shapeshifting ability to remove her nose.

    Sophie stepped forward and then stopped as she felt a wet sensation on her foot. She looked down and saw a crimson red liquid staining the sole of her boots.

    Blood?

    But from who?

    Or rather¡­ what?

 Chapter 685 The Three Doors

    The temple at least from the outside did not look as though it would take one several hours to walk from one end to the other.

    And yet as Sophie and herpanions wandered through what seemed to be an endlessbyrinth of long narrow corridors¡­ it felt as though they would never escape.

    They were trapped inside. Never to see the outside world ever again.

    What made the situation even worse was the fact that the air was musty and damp.

    Sophie''s golden eyes could easily see through the darkness, but it helped that the torches on the walls provided some light.

    The interior of the temple wasposed entirely of stone. Strangely enough there were tiny white mushrooms growing out from cracks in the tiles.

    These mushrooms did not appear to be dangerous, but they emitted a foul odour that made Sophie''s nose wrinkle.

    "How long have we been walking for?" Rachel asked tiredly as she stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.

    "Around five hours so far¡­" Cleo replied quietly after ncing at her wristmunicator.

    Five hours?

    Sophie frowned slightly as she extended her senses and tried to detect any hidden threats or opportunities hidden in the darkness.

    After the initial volley of arrows when she first stepped into the temple, there had been no more traps.

    Just¡­ walking¡­ walking¡­ and more walking.

    Step by step through identical looking corridors. Even Sophie had to admit that she was feeling a little bit bored.

    "Want to y a game?" Rachel''s voice interrupted the quiet mood.

    "Sure¡­" Sophie replied casually.

    "Alright I''ll go first, Rachel excitedly spoke as she rubbed her hands together with glee.

    "Wait¡­ what are the rules?" Cleo interjected with a bemused smile on her face.

    "Just truth or dare¡­. Huh¡­ well I guess dare might be a bit hard to do here so¡­ just truth?" Rachel rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she spoke.

    "Rachel¡­ did you forget that the tournament is being broadcasted across the Federation? Are you sure you want your secrets exposed to millions of people?" Sophie asked curiously.

    "Oh shit! I forgot!" Rachel froze in horror as she remembered boasting to Sophie about her exploitsst night when she first arrived on the ind.

    Oh no¡­ Bishop Walsh would not be happy¡­

    "It should be fine if we just ask basic questions," Sophie consoled her friend who looked as though the world was crashing all around her.

    "I can go first¡­ so¡­ who would win in a fight? A Mendolesa without ws or a Servie armed with a dagger?" Sophie whispered calmly.

    "Wait¡­ what are their cultivation levels?" Cleo asked curiously.

    "No cultivation. Just base physique," Sophie replied as her lips curved upwards. Cleo and Rachel then begun a lively debate about her scenario.

    Rachel was convinced that the Mendolesa would win based on theirrge size and animal-like instincts.

    Cleo on the other hand believed that the Servie''s high speed and small size made them the perfect counter since the Mendolesa would have trouble grabbing them.

    As the two girls continued to bicker, Sophie suddenly stopped in ce. She raised up her right hand and prevented herpanions from walking forward.

    The corridor had opened up into arge hall where three separate doors could be seen at the end of the space.

    Above each door was a symbol.

    The door on the right had the etching of a snake-like monstrosity with arge open jaw.

    The door in the middle had the painting of a harp surrounded by gentle angels.

    Finally, thest door had a question mark sshed across its wooden surface.

    Sophie cautiously walked towards the three doors and noticed a small sign hidden behind the shadow of a nearby pir.

    [Choose]

    [One door¡­ one person]<novelnext></novelnext>

    "So, this is clearly a trial of some kind," Cleo mused thoughtfully as she stepped up to the doors and begun to examine them closely for any hints or clues.

    "Monster¡­ angels¡­ and a question mark¡­ hmm¡­ sounds pretty shady," Rachel remarked as she unsheathed the longsword attached to her hip.

    The de gleamed softly under the lighting from the torches and a holy aura began to rise up around Rachel''s body.

    Golden marking appeared on her skin and the symbol of a cross appeared in the center of both of her eyes.

    "So, who is going where?" Rachel asked softly with a slight reverb in her voice.

    "I''ll take the monster room," Sophie replied after stepping up to the door on the right.

    She peered closer at the etching and the monster moved slightly as if it were somehow alive.

    "Which door do you want Rachel?" Cleo asked softly as she ran her fingers along the door in front of her.

    "Hmm¡­ I''m feeling adventurous¡­ I''ll take the one on the left!" Rachel confidently smirked as she walked forward and opened the door with the question mark.

    She stepped inside without hesitation and the door swung shut behind her with a loud and frightening bang.

    "Well¡­ guess that means I got the angels," Cleo sighed lightly as she pressed her hand against the door in the middle.

    Sophie leaned over and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek.

    She wanted to do more but¡­ she was mindful that a lot of people were probably watching her right now.

    "See you on the other side babe," Sophie teased softly as she opened up her door and walked inside with a smile.

    Bang!

    The door swung shut behind her and Sophie''s vision turned dark.

    When she opened her eyes, she saw herself standing in the middle of what appeared to be an enormous coliseum.

    Standing in front of her was an enormous beast whose size made it appear to be a titan. Sophie estimated that it must be over two hundred feet in length.

    She was no more than a tiny insectpared to its gigantic size.

    It was a creature with a long and rectangr body¡­ a bizarre shape but that was not the only oddity about its physiology.

    Small holes could be seen along the monster''s back and inside these holes were pinkish fleshy appendages that wriggled and squirmed.

    The monster had two heads. These heads resembled the shape of dragons from the mythology of the Ancient Earth Era.

    Reddish armour-like scales protected the creature and provided a natural defense that looked imprable.

    This was the challenge for the first stage?

    Sophie raised an eyebrow since she could not understand how ordinary second year students were supposed to deal with such a creature.

    Fortunately, the monster appeared to be content with just staring at her¡­ at least for now.

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened and her vision rapidly enhanced. She could see a faint blue lighting from behind the creature.

    There was a white marble pir in the corner of the colosseum and wrapped around the pir was a metal chain.

    On the end of the chain was a blue jewel that glowed with a light with was both hypnotic and eerie at the same time.

    Sophie took one step towards the pir and a low growl erupted from the monster''s throat.

    Clearly it did not approve of her action.

    The hybrid girl took a step back and the monster immediately stopped growling and resumed its docile appearance.

    Well¡­ as docile as one could get when they were a two hundred feet tall nightmare fuel.

    Sophie circted the qi around her body and activated her cloning technique.

    Rsychosis!

    Her figure blurred for a brief second and then twelve women with identical appearances to herself appeared out of thin air.

 Chapter 686 Sophie Shows Off Her Strength

    Judging from the size and the strength of the beast, it was obvious that this monster was not supposed to be defeated.

    Clearly there must be a hint, or some kind of item hidden inside the arena that would allow an ordinary student to be able to grab the blue jewel.

    Sophie knew that but¡­

    She didn''t want to finish this trial like an ordinary student.

    It was unclear how the points system worked for the first stage considering that it was a team exercise.

    However, Sophie was willing to bet that if she showed something crazy then the examiners watching would have no choice but to award her the maximum marks.

    "Ready?" Sophie asked with a wicked grin on her face.

    "Not really¡­" one of her mirror copies replied.

    Another one let out a heavy sigh while a third ced her head in her hands with a defeated expression on her face.

    Sophie shot her clones a stern look and they eventually got serious. The hybrid girl reached into her storage bag and handed out weapons to her mirror copies.

    During the entire process, the monster remained motionless as if waiting to see what she would do next.

    Sophie took a single step forward and a low grumble echoed through therge space.

    The monster''s two heads hissed, and a faint greenish mist began to fill the air.

    "Alright¡­ let''s do this¡­ hopefully at least one of us can survive¡­" a mirror copy reluctantly spoke while pointing a sma rifle at the beast.

    "Just one? I bet only miss original over there will be fine," another grumbled as she stretched out her arms and yawned.

    "I''ll take those odds. I say¡­ at least three of us will make it out," someone else chimed in.

    The other mirror copies were happy to join the conversation and a lively atmosphere soon formed.

    "Ridiculous¡­ two at most¡­"

    "You know what¡­ I''m feeling adventurous¡­ put me down as ''everyone survives''."

    "Feeling bold today, are we?"

    "Well, I am a gambler¡­"

    Sophie closed her eyes and ignored the noises and distractions that surrounded her. She just focused on her breathing and rxed.

    When she opened them¡­ the world had slowed down to a crawl. A faint crimson mist began to spread from the corner of the golden eyes.

    Her fangs slowly lengthened, and she could feel a terrible power pulsating through her body and filling up her meridians.

    The ground cracked beneath Sophie''s feet and a feeling bloodlust flooded her mind with thoughts of ughter and killing.

    Hunt¡­ hunt¡­ HUNT!

    Kill¡­ kill¡­ KILL!

    Sophie growled darkly as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out a long slender whip over six feet in length.

    The edges of the whip were covered in sharp spikes.

    She was not the only one affected by her berserker state as one by one her mirror copies fell under the same effect.

    Without saying a word, they simultaneously attacked. Sophie''s body blurred and then vanished from the spot as she rushed forward.

    Asura Whip Art- ck Hell!

    Horrific dark mes surrounded her weapon which Sophie then flung at the creature who moved its enormous body towards her.

    The tip of her whip sunk into the monster''s stomach and the beast let out a terrible cry of pain that reverberated throughout the coliseum.

    Arge wound opened up in the middle of its stomach and inside the injury¡­ a ck me was consuming the creature''s flesh.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophie''s mirror copies were a tad slower than her, but their attacks were also surprisingly effective against the beast''s reddish armour-like scales.

    Bang! Bang!

    sma rounds shot through the air from the rifles held in the arms of three of her clones.

    sh!

    Two of her mirror copies held longswords in their hands which they used to rip apart the creature''s legs.

    Sophie twisted her body around midair and gracefullynded on her feet.

    Her ded appendages shot forward and their barbed ends tore apart the creature''s armour-like scales like a hot knife through butter.

    The greenish mist filling the arena got even heavier and an unpleasant scent that smelled like a mixture between rotten eggs and sewage entered Sophie''s nose.

    Some of the mirror copies gagged and even Sophie herself had to fight down the vomit that was rising up in her throat.

    The creature roared in anger and the small holes along its back suddenly burst open and thick globs of yellow pus rained down on Sophie and her clones.

    Gross!

    Sophie frantically moved her body out of the way of the foul-smelling yellow gloop thatnded on the ground with a hiss.

    The stone tiles where the pusnded began to melt away and brown soil could be seen beneath the tilework.

    "Fuck! My arm!" one of the Sophie''s mirror copies yelled in anger as she took a knife and sliced off her injured appendage.

    She had to slice off her arm since the pus was slowly moving upwards from the point of contact on her skin.

    Danger!

    Sophie jumped backwards without even looking and only a few secondster a thick pinkish arm mmed down where she had just been standing.

    Pink fleshy arms that bore a creepy resemnce to human ones slowly rose out from the small holes on the monster''s back.

    These arms extended outwards and rushed towards Sophie. At the end of each arm was a hand with three deformed finger-like shapes.

    Asura Whip Art- The Spider''s Web!

    Sophie''s crimson eyes shone with an eerie light in the dim underground temple. She cracked her whip and it split into one hundred different pieces.

    These pieces rushed forward like an endless tide and shed against the iing arms. Sophie channeled her qi into her weapon and the arms were immediately torn apart.

    The creature roared loudly and prepared tounch another attack but¡­

    It was toote.

    Sophie''s figure disappeared and then reappeared right next to the titanic beast.

    Despite the massive size difference, the monster felt the shadow of death hang over its body.

    It tried to move away but Sophie''s mouth was already mere inches away from the surface of its flesh.

    The hybrid girl sank her fangs into the two hundred feet tall monster and injected the venom stored in her nds.

    The creature shuddered violently and then copsed. Its body twitched uncontrobly, and foam began to leak out of the side of its mouth.

    Sophie knew that her venom had gotten more potent as her cultivation had improved but this surprised even her.

    Maybe she had gotten far more stronger than she had initially assumed.

    Sophie''s musings were interrupted by a loud shout that pierced through the quiet atmosphere.

    "Damn I won the bet! All of us survived!" one of Sophie''s mirror copies excitedly shouted as she swayed her hips and made finger pistols using her hands.

 Chapter 687 The Clones Want Workers Rights!

    Caorn a€" Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind- Hidden Temple)

    "Alright... one of you go grab that jewel before you give me a headache," Sophie groaned as she pointed at the sparkling blue object attached to the chain.

    One of her clones nodded and then walked towards the giant marble pir at the back of the arena.

    She easily scaled up the side of the pir by using her de-like appendages to stab into the material.

    Sophie''s mirror copy grabbed the chain and broke apart the metal like she was tearing through a piece of paper.

    The sparkling blue jewel fell to the ground but fortunately Sophie''s clone was able to catch it using her quick reflexes.

    She then jumped to the floor with a heavy thump. Cracks appeared on the ground where shended but the clone appeared to be unfazed.

    "No one likes a show-off!" a mirror copy yelled from the crowd.

    "Oh fuck off," the clone replied with a sneer as she proudly walked up to the original Sophie with her head held high.

    "Thanks," Sophie casually spoke as she grabbed the jewel and examined its strange appearance.

    The jewel had been cut roughly in the shape of a diamond but that was where the simrities ended.

    This jewel was a dark blue colour almost simr to that of the ocean with tiny star-like objects inside the gem that sparkled with an eerie glow.

    Sophie ran her fingers along the cold edges of the jewel and a frown appeared on her face.

    The jewel did look special but she wasn''t exactly sure what to do with it.

    "Maybe we should spread out and look for a door out of here?" one of the clones suggested helpfully.

    A mirror copy yawned sleepily and then proceeded to lie down on the ground. She opened her mouth and dismissed the suggestion with a wave of her hand,

    "Well not all of us need to look... call me when you want to fling us into another life and death struggle."

    Another one of Sophie''s clones sat down next to thezy one and also decided to take a break.

    ? "Seriously?" Sophie asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Look... we need to have a frank and open discussion about our rights... I was thinking that we should unionise," the clone sitting down spoke in a serious voice.

    "Clearly we need some health benefits, life insurance, paid vacation and time off or at the very least a sry for all our hard work."

    "Plus, some psychological counselling... remembering dying in various painful ways can be very traumatic."

    "Unionise? You are me!" Sophie growled darkly and a heavy pressure spread out from her body.

    Her golden eyes shed crimson and thezy mirror copies on the ground immediately jumped up and ran away.

    "Sorry! I meant to say... right away boss!" the fleeing clones yelled as Sophie''s eyes followed their retreating figures.

    "And what are the rest of you waiting for?" Sophie asked the other mirror copies who were standing on the side like spectators watching a show.

    "Yes boss!"

    "No problem!"

    "Don''t kill me! I have a family!"

    Sophie ced her face in her hands since she could feel a headacheing on.

    An unfortunate side effect of her Rsychosis technique getting stronger was the fact that her mirror copies now had a bit more personality.

    They still could not disobey her direct orders but it was difficult tomand them to do something that Sophie herself would not want to do.

    Honestly... they might be more trouble than they were worth...

    Still... they had their uses.

    It only took around five minutes for the eleven clones to search the entire arena and eventually one found a small hidden door carved into ayer of rock.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Found it!" the mirror copy yelled loudly.

    Sophie walked over in the direction of the shout and saw a person-sized outline carved into ayer of dense rocks,

    In the middle of the door was a small opening. Sophie stretched out her hand and gently pressed the blue jewel into the opening.

    The jewel was immediately sucked inside by some unknown force and a faint rumbling noise echoed through the arena.

    The ground trembled violently and pieces of rock and stone fell down from the ceiling as though the roof was about to copse.

    One of therge chunks fell directly from the ceiling above Sophie and her clones.

    Aura Whip Art- Python''s Fangs!

    Sophie unsheathed her whip andshed it in the direction of therge boulder. The length of the whip changed slightly and the shadowy image of a snake coiled around the weapon.

    The snake opened its jaws and devoured the boulder with onerge bite. The rock was instantly crushed to tiny pieces and rained down as specks of dust.

    Morerge rocks began to fall down from the ceiling as the violent shaking of the ground got even worse.

    Sophie jabbed her de-like appendages into the ground to maintain her bnce as her body almost fell.

    The hidden door shuddered and then lowered to reveal a narrow passageway barely able to fit Sophie''s unique body shape.

    Without hesitation, the hybrid girl rushed towards the opening and pushed her body inside.

    She began to crawl on her knees through the narrow passageway and towards an unknown location.

    Sophie was not alone since at least five of her eleven mirror copies had manage to escape with her while the rest had been crushed under the falling ceiling.

    "Fuck... those memories are painful," one of the mirror copies whined as she clutched her head in pain.

    Sophie nodded her head in agreement and pursed her lips together.

    The memories of being crushed by rocks were not particrly pleasant.

    Sophie and her clones crawled for what seemed like several hours until the passageway widened out to reveal arge hall.

    Cleo was already waiting patiently next to one of the pirs inside the open space with her eyes closed.

    She immediately opened them when she sensed multiple people entering the hall.

    "Sophie!" Cleo smiled gently and walked over to her girlfriend... girlfriends?

    Err... which one was the real one?

    The six women in front of her werepletely identical in every way from their aura to their thoughts to even their looks.

    Well that was not a surprise since Sophie had once told her that the clones made by the Rsychosis technique were her but still...

    "Hey gorgeous," one of the Sophies winked mischievously with a charming grin on her face.

    "Cleo! Good to see you babe!" another one rushed over and held her palms.

    "You know... why have you never summoned us during... you know..." one of the Sophie''s voice trailed off as another shot her a warning look.

    The princess was eventually surrounded by a group of beautiful women who all looked like her girlfriend.

    Honestly... it felt like a dreame true.

    "That''s enough... give her some space," Sophie groaned as she pushed aside the crowd and reached Cleo''s side.

    "Ahh... darling..." Cleo smiled sweetly as she rested her head against Sophie''s side.

    "I knew you were the original one."

    "Really?" Sophie teased her girlfriend by pinching her cheeks.

    "Okay... I was ny percent sure," Cleo admitted with a smirk.

 Chapter 688 Temple Run

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind- Hidden Temple)

    "Damn it!" a loud cry of anger echoed through the hall.

    Sophie looked in the direction of the sound and saw Rachel crawling through a narrow passageway.

    She did not look happy.

    And for good reason since her entire body appeared to have been covered in bright blue paint that stuck to her clothes and the rest of her body.

    Rachel ran her fingers through her hair and grimaced as she felt the paint flecks that were mixed into her roots.

    She had tried shapeshifting to her liquid form to get rid of the paint but somehow the annoying substance still clung on to her body.

    "You okay?" Sophie asked with concern as she walked over to her friend.

    "Not really¡­ remind me to never again pick a door with a question mark," Rachel grumbled as she shook her hands and paint fell on the ground.

    "Are we all here? Wait¡­ huh?" Rachel raised an eyebrow as she counted six versions of Sophie plus Cleo as well.

    "Remember my cloning technique?" Sophie answered her friend''s question before she even asked.

    "Cool! How long do theyst now?" Rachel quizzed with a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

    "We can hear you¡­" one of the Sophies replied with furrowed brows.

    "And we st'' until we die¡­ or seven to eight dayster. Whichever onees first."

    Rachel was taken aback since she didn''t expect the copies to be so powerful.

    Most clone techniques were mere illusions and the ones that weren''t could only produce pale imitations of the original.

    Clearly Duke Peterlor must have taught his daughter an advanced technique from the family library!

    Sophie chatted with Rachel for a few minutes about the contents of her trial while Cleo spoke to her clones.

    Apparently, the mystery door had led to a giant room filled with puddles of strange brightly coloured liquids.

    Each liquid was a different colour and the test involved using one''s intellect to solve a riddle carved onto one of the stone pirs in the room.

    The riddle would lead the participant to the correct pool where they would then jump inside and retrieve the jewel hidden in the depths.

    It sounded simple enough but there were creatures lurking inside the pools and ording to Rachel¡­ they weren''t particrly friendly.

    "So then after one of those nasty little things bit off my leg¡­ I was forced to transform my arm into a spear," Rachel sighed heavily as she spoke.

    "I couldn''t remember what my missing leg originally looked like without my character sheet, so I was forced to improvise."

    Rachel lifted up the bottom of her track pants and Sophie observed that her legs were of slightly different skin tones.

    The one on the right was a dark brown colour while the one on the left was simr but more of a lighter olive tone.

    "Well¡­ I nned to change my look sometime next month, so it won''tst for long," Rachel remarked as she gently adjusted her pants.

    "It still is pretty strange to me¡­ I can''t imagine being able to change my appearance or gender on a whim," Sophie said in a bemused tone.

    If she could then she would probably reduce her height.

    Seven feet was a bit too much¡­ she liked being tall but her height difference with Cleo was sometimes annoying.

    "So, are you girls done?" Cleo snuck up behind her girlfriend and whispered.

    "Yeah¡­ sorry about that¡­" Sophie smiled warmly as she stroked the side of Cleo''s cheek.

    The princess closed her eyes and let out a satisfied purr almost like a cat.

    "Get a room you two," Rachel rolled her eyes and stretched out her hands.

    "Alright¡­ let''s go look for that treasure and then find our way out of here!" Sophie clenched her fist and spoke with a determined expression.

    The sooner they got out¡­ the more points that they would earn. Or at least that''s what she hoped since she had no idea what the scoring system was.

    Sophie connected to the mentalwork that linked her mind to her clones and gave them all an order.<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Split up and look for any clues or hints]

    She then grabbed Cleo by her hand and led the princess towards the northern side of the hall.

    This open space was¡­ surprisingly empty.

    Sure, there were some stctites hanging from the ceiling but other than that and the narrow passageways that they had crawled through¡­ there was nothing.

    Sophie channeled some qi into her eyes and the golden luster surrounding her pupils shone even brighter.

    Her vision was enhanced several times over until she could clearly observe tiny specks of dust floatingzily in the wind.

    Cleo was also looking around for any clues using her psychic powers to probe for any life forms or living organisms.

    Sophie''s eyes swept her immediate surroundings and she immediately spotted something out of ce.

    Two hundred meters to her right there was a tiny rock no bigger than a pebble that had a faint blue mark on its side.

    Without her enhanced vision, it may have taken hours for her to spot it.

    Sophie nudged Cleo and then pointed in the direction of the rock. Her girlfriend shot her a confused look since she could not see it.

    "I think something is over there," Sophie whispered softly as she walked over to the rock and knelt down.

    She slowly reached for the pebble and picked it up using her right hand. The rock was incredibly smooth and felt warm to the touch.

    The blue mark on its side shone brighter and brighter until a blinding sh of light illuminated the entire hall.

    Sophie had to close her eyes momentarily since the light was dazzling to the point where it was difficult to see.

    The ground beneath her feet trembled violently and Sophie could feel someone roughly hugging her stomach.

    BOOM!

    A loud explosive noise came from the ceiling and then the shaking on the ground immediately stopped.

    When Sophie reopened her eyes, she discovered that she was now standing outside the temple with Cleo and Rachel by her side.

    Her clones?

    Sophie connected to the mentalwork and then furrowed her brows in pain as memories surged into her mind.

    A mysterious figure¡­ possibly an examiner?

    Regardless of their identity¡­ the stranger killed all of her mirror copies with a swift strike to their throats.

    "Arghh¡­ I''m going to need to regenerate my optical nerves," Rachelined as her pupils shook slightly.

    Her eye colour switch from ck to green to purple to red and finally stopped at a deep hazel brown.

    "Did we get out? Then what about¡­ oh!" Cleo''s voice trailed off in shock as she looked at the object at her feet.

    It was a small idol that was carved in the shape of a naked serpent-like creature with three heads and feathers along its back.

    "I think that''s the treasure we were looking for!" Rachel excitedly spoke up as she grabbed the idol andpared it to the picture on the map.

    "That was easy!"

    No sooner had those wordse out of Rachel''s mouth, a holographic projectile screen appeared in front of the three girls.

    [Treasure Has Been Obtained!]

    [New Objective: Reach Extraction Point]

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    [Survive The Idol Worshippers!]

    "Idol worshippers?" Sophie mused thoughtfully as she stared at thest line on the screen.

    SCREECH! SCREECH! SCREECH!

    Horrific animalistic cries of rage echoed through the jungle and the bushes behind the back of the temple began to rustle.

 Chapter 689 Magical Constructs Are A Pain In The Ass

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind)

    SCREECH! SCREECH! SCREECH!

    The loud animalistic cries echoed again and this time they sounded even closer than before.

    The ground began to tremble violently as if a massive herd of animals were rapidly approaching.

    Danger!

    Sophie''s danger sense activated, and she immediately slipped into her battle stance. She began to circte qi throughout her body and cracked the whip in her hand.

    SCREECH!

    A creature leapt out of the nearby bushes and rushed towards the three girls. It was a beast unlike anything that Sophie had ever seen before.

    Its body wasposed of a ck smoky substance that oozes and wriggle slightly.

    The body of the monster was vaguely humanoid and yet it ran on all fours like an animal.

    The head of the monster was covered by a white silvery grey mask. Purplish-red pupils could be seen glowing behind the mask that concealed most of the creature''s facial features.

    Bang!

    Cleo lifted up the sma rifle in her hand and shot a single st straight into the monster''s chest.

    However, the shot passed harmlessly through its smoky body. Sophie frowned and used one of her weapon techniques.

    Asura Whip Art- Hellfire!

    ck mes engulfed the edges of her whip and the temperature around her body rapidly increased until the grass beneath her feet ignited.

    Sophie stretched out her arm and thenshed the whip at the monster who was barreling forward making no attempt to dodge her powerful attack.

    Crack!

    Her whip went straight through the creature and mmed against a nearby tree instead. The tree was instantly split in two and ck mes crept up the separated halves of the tree.

    Danger!

    Sophie grabbed Cleo and flung her out of the way just as the creature opened its mouth and roared loudly.

    A sonic shockwave erupted out of the monster''s mouth and the attack ttened the nearby trees and bushes.

    Sophie''s eardrums burst and bright red droplets of blood began flowing from her ears. She shook her head in annoyance and the flesh began to regenerate.

    "Let me try," Rachel frowned slightly as her fingers curled around the sword attached to her hip.

    She closed her eyes and when she opened them there was a golden cross where her pupils used to be.

    Angelic wings sprouted out from behind her back, and one could hear the sounds of trumpets ring loudly in the distance.

    A golden halo floatedzily above her head, and it shone with a divine light that made it hard to look at it directly.

    Holy Sword Art- Divine Justice!

    Rachel casually thrust her sword forward and a burst of holy light erupted from the tip of her de.

    The beam of light formed a crescent wave and shot forward at the monster neatly bisecting it in half.

    It looked like a fatal attack however¡­.

    The two separated pieces of the monster began to tremble, and the inky smoky mass of the creature extended several tendrils.

    The tendrils connected the two pieces together and the creature stood up from the ground apparently unharmed.

    It was like Rachel''s attack had never urred.

    SCREECH! SCREECH! SCREECH!

    Five more monsters burst out of the nearby bushes and they began to spread out in a circr formation to trap the girls inside.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Physical attacks and cultivation techniques don''t seem to be working on them¡­" Sophie muttered quietly.

    Her golden eyes glowed slightly and her vision rapidly enhanced. She could see that hidden inside the smoky ckness of the creatures'' bodies were¡­. mana runes?

    They were magical constructs.

    "Fuck¡­" Sophie cursed when she realised what she was dealing with.

    Magical constructs required a mage to deal with or one would have to wait for the caster to run out of mana.

    However, judging by the sheer number of runes making up the monsters'' bodies, Sophie was pretty sure that they were the work of an archmage.

    There was only one n that she could think of.

    "Run!" Sophie yelled as she activated her Rsychosis technique and ten hybrid girls who looked exactly like her appeared out of thin air.

    She grabbed Cleo and Rachel by their arms and dashed out of the encirclement before the nearest monster could grab them.

    SCREECH! SCREECH!

    The monsters attempted to give chase, but Sophie''s mirror copies lunged at them with ferocious expressions on their faces.

    The eyes of the clones shifted from a golden luster to a dark crimson hue. Their ded appendages tore the monsters apart using swift stabbing motions.

    But it was no use.

    "Arghh¡­ damn it¡­" one of Sophie''s clones'' voice trailed off as an inky ck hand protruded out of the middle of her chest.

    The mirror copy was torn apart from the inside as the ck inky smoke shredded her organs and internal muscle tissues.

    "They just won''t die!" anotherined as she ducked out of the way and kicked a monster in its belly.

    Or at least what she assumed was its belly.

    The creatures after all had bodiesposed of a thick ck gas-like liquid so it was hard to tell if they even had organs.

    Meanwhile Sophie had lifted up Cleo in one hand while using her other to hoist Rachel on her back.

    Cloud Treading Dragon!

    Her figure shuttled through the trees so quickly that she became a blur. Cleo covered her mouth and tried not to vomit while Rachel was also feeling a bit queasy.

    "Rachel¡­ check the map. Cleo¡­I need you to use your psychic sense to scan for any nearby lifeforms," Sophie ordered with surprising firmness.

    "No¡­ no¡­ problem babe," Cleo spoke with a great deal of difficulty as she forced herself not to throw up.

    The princess closed her eyes and sent out faint mental pulses to scan the nearby surroundings for any intelligent lifeforms.

    Rachel on the other hand reached into her pocket for the map and tried to calcte where they were on the ind.

    "Okay¡­ so¡­ I think you need to head north until you see arge waterfall then turn east until there is a cliff¡­" Rachel whispered quietly as she checked the map.

    Sophie nodded and then picked up the pace. She was much faster than her twopanions so she had unterally decided to be the shuttle.

    Besides¡­ they needed to keep as much distance from those monsters as possible. Sophie grimaced as another wave of memories entered her mind.

    Her clones were in trouble.

    Five of them had died so far in horrific ways. Their bodies had been ripped apart from the inside and they had perished in agony.

    Two of the surviving clones were heavily injured and on the verge of death while the remainder could still fight¡­ but not for long.

    "Sophie! Something ising!" Cleo yelled as her eyes shot open.

    SCREECH!

    Chills ran down Sophie''s spine as she saw the bushes to her right begin to rustle and arge smoky hand mmed down on the ground with so much force that the earth itself trembled.

    A beast several times bigger than the monsters that they had encountered before slowly lumbered out from behind a nearby clump of trees.

 Chapter 690 The Grand Escape

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind)

    The monster paused for a brief moment and the silvery mask on its face turned in the direction of the three girls.

    It was a behemoth.

    A massive over ten feet tall creature whose body wasposed of an inky ck substance that wriggled and oozed.

    Horrific red lines pulsated across the creature''s body as it took a step in Sophie''s direction. Its paws were so big that the ground itself trembled under its feet.

    SCREECH! SCREECH!

    The monster roared and the shockwaves that erupted from its mouth sent the nearby trees flying off into the distance.

    Sophie grabbed Rachel and Cleo and flung them behind her body. She dug her de-like appendages into the ground and absorbed the full force of the blow.

    Her eardrums instantly copsed and regenerated several times within a minute. Painced through Sophie''s body but the hybrid girl did not even frown.

    She was used to pain far worse than this.

    Screech!

    More cries came from the jungle in the distance. Sophie winced slightly as the memories of thest surviving clones flowed into her mind.

    Reinforcements would be arriving eventually.

    But how to deal with the monster in front of her?

    Sophieshed her whip at the creature but just like the rest of its brethren, her weapon passed harmlessly through its body.

    The creature stood on its hind legs and lunged at Sophie with smoking paws. The hybrid girl jumped to the side and narrowly avoided the blow.

    Archangel Descent!

    Rachel''s body was surrounded by a golden glow as she channeled the full might of her patron deity.

    Large translucent wings sprouted out from her back, the halo hovering above her head glowed with an even brighter light and the crosses in her eyes expanded significantly.

    She held up her sword and a heavy pressure surrounded her body.

    Without saying a word, the saintess of the Nephilim church swung her de forward at the monster.

    A massive wave of holy energy crashed into the beast and its body trembled as the holy energy entered the runes that made up its structure.

    "Run!" Sophie yelled loudly as she picked up her two friends.

    "No! The guilty must be punished!" Rachel struggled in her arms as her usually yful expression shifted to a much colder one.

    "You can punish the guiltyter¡­" Sophie hissed angrily as she took a brief nce backwards and saw that the monster had already recovered.

    Rachel continued to struggle as the urge to punish the wicked filled her thoughts with righteous judgement.

    This was unfortunately a side effect of using the full extent of her powers.

    "I got it," Cleo whispered softly as she stretched out her hand and touched the top of Rachel''s head.

    The princess closed her eyes and activated her psychic technique to put her friend into a dreamless slumber.

    Psychic Arts- Mental Shutdown!

    "The guilty¡­" Rachel''s voice trailed off as her eyes slowly closed and the transformation of her body gradually disappeared..

    The saintess fell into a deep sleep and loud snores came out of her unconscious mouth.

    Well, it was more like aa than a sleep since Quafes did not require rest.

    "Thanks babe," Sophie said with a smile as she adjusted Rachel''s body on her shoulder so that her friend did not fall off.

    SCREECH!

    The monster went down on all fours and then proceeded to rush forward like a mad dog giving chase to its prey.

    Sophie''s golden eyes shifted colour as she activated her most powerful ability. Her eyes turnedpletely white, and the world froze in ce.

    The world was nowpletely in ck and white. Vague whispers in an iprehensiblenguage came from all directions.

    Blurry images of her future paths could be seen everywhere that she looked. It was easy to get lost in this strange ce of endless possibilities and oues.

    No one could guarantee the future.

    Not even the most powerful of foresight techniques.

    The very act of seeing the future itself could cause a butterfly effect leading to the vision nevering to fruition.

    Sophie''s ability was the next best thing.

    She could witness the possible branches that the timeline could take and the probable oues of her actions.

    Of course it was up to her to act on what she saw but Sophie knew that this ability was her ace in the hole.

    The hybrid girl wandered through the ck and white zone and saw the different futures. In some she turned around and faced the monster in battle.

    While she was not defeated¡­ the other creatures would arrive and eventually surround her and herpanions.

    She was forced to used her Rsychosis technique again and again. But without the means to destroy the magical constructs it was useless.

    Okay¡­ so fighting was a bad idea.

    Now running on the other hand¡­ those futures appeared to be her best bet.

    In most of them her speed was enough to avoid therge behemoth and she widened the gap between herself and the other monsters.

    She just needed to dodge¡­. huh? Were those rocks?

    Sophie blinked and her vision returned to normal. She had a splitting headache, but the pain soon faded away.

    Only a few seconds had passed since she had activated her ability but therge beast had already narrowed the distance.

    Sophie channeled her qi into her leg meridians and her speed rapidly increased until her body became a blur.

    "Cleo! Grab the map and tell me what direction to go," Sophie shouted as she jumped to the side just as an object crashed where she had just been running.

    BOOM!

    Sophie nced at the mysterious object and discovered that it was arge orb of an inky ck substance.

    Screech!

    The beast hollered and its paws ripped out another massive chunk of flesh from its body.

    It did not seem to feel any pain even as the flesh on its body failed to regenerate.

    It cocked back its arm and flung the massive bundle of flesh at Sophie. The hybrid girl''s danger sense tingled, and she easily avoided the projectile.

    This seemed to annoy the beast as it tossed back its head and roared loudly for a second time.

    "Keep going straight then make a hard left," Cleo shouted as she grabbed the map tightly in fear that it would fly out of her hands.

    Sophie''s high speed made it difficult for her to speak but the princess tried her best to get the message across.

    The hybrid girl nodded and then followed Cleo''s instructions. She could feel strength flowing through her body and¡­ it felt good.

    Ever since that day, Sophie knew that she had been transitioning to the void stage but it was still surprising just how powerful she was bing.

    Despite running at full speed for several minutes, it didn''t seem like she had put a dent in her qi reserves.

    The hybrid girl put more strength into her legs and after twenty minutes the massive beast became a mere dot in the distance.

    A triumphant grin shed across Sophie''s face as she saw arge building in the distance that was surrounded by a heavy metal fence.

    The extraction point.

    Finally, the first stage of the tournament was over.

 Chapter 691 A Casual Beach Date

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Main Administrative Building- Central Hall)

    The air was buzzing with excitement and hundreds of examiners rushed back and forth from the various stations throughout the room.

    Large holographic screens floated in the air and each screen disyed different information.

    Some screens were livestreaming the events happening in the first stage of the exam while others disyed the faces and information of some of the candidates.

    Head Examiner Madison Burke leaned back against her chair and casually flicked through the pop up screens on her metalloid tablet.

    She paused for a moment as three faces came into view.

    [Third ce- Team]

    [Sophie Peterlor- Passed]

    [Cleo Sisrelis- Passed]

    [Rachel- Passed]

    An impressive feat.

    This year was especiallypetitive and the time that those three young women took toplete the first stage would have been enough to secure a first ce finish in previous years.

    Still¡­ finishing the stage was not the only basis for awarding points.

    Sophie Peterlor was the only candidate so far who had managed to defeat one of the guardians inbat so she had been awarded bonus marks.

    Examiner Madison had reviewed the footage of the fight herself and she was very impressed by what she saw.

    It was a remarkable feat.

    The guardians behind the three doors in the temple were not meant to be defeated by the candidates.

    Instead they were supposed to be insurmountable obstacles that would force the students to use their wits and cunning to find ways to escape from the room.

    The Inter-University tournament did not only test strength alone but also the sharpness of the mind andbat ability.

    A person with a high cultivation level and no decent fighting experience was essentially worthless in the eyes of the Imperial Army.

    But clearly Sophie Peterlor was not one of those individuals.

    Her personal strength, leadership skills and quick decision making were impossible not to admire.

    The apple did not fall far from the tree.

    Madison smiled as she remembered the arrogant young boy who swaggered into her ssroom all those years ago.

    Sophie was just like her father in more ways than one.

    The head examiner pressed her finger against the side of her tablet and a green light scanned her digit several times.

    She verified the exam results and then sent them forward to her supervisor.

    The rest of the candidates were stillpleting the first stage but it was unlikely that anyone would score more points than the hybrid girl.

    Madison chuckled lightly when she pictured the shockwaves that this would send all across the Virtual Net and high society.

    People expected the daughter of Duke Peterlor to be strong but strong enough to beat pure blood human nobles?

    That was something inconceivable to the aristocrats who believed in human supremacy ideals.

    The head instructor could not help but look forward to seeing what surprises Sophie would have in store for the rest of the tournament.

    .

    .<novelnext></novelnext>

    .

    .

    (Mariena Hotel- Beachfront Property)

    "This is the life," Sophie let out a small sigh of relief as she sipped from the ss goblet in her hand.

    The sweet taste of fruit wine slid down her throat and caused her chest to burn for a brief moment before the sensation disappeared.

    "Hey babe¡­ can I rub your back?" Cleo asked gently as she slid her hand yfully down Sophie''s hips.

    "Sure," Sophie eagerly replied as she turned her body around and waited for her girlfriend''s soft hands to work their magic.

    It was a bit difficult to get a massage when you had four de-like appendages jutting out from your back but somehow Cleo managed to make it work.

    The princess squirted the contents of a bottle of lotion onto her hand and then proceeded to carefully spread the liquid across Sophie''s flesh.

    The hybrid girl''s lips curved upwards as she listened to the sounds of waves crashing in the distance.

    Two hours had gone by since they had passed the first stage.

    It hadn''t taken long for the boat to bring them back to Jasimin Ind so with the sun still shining brightly in the sky, Sophie decided to have a beach date with her girlfriend.

    Fortunately it did not seem like the otherpetitors had arrived back to the hotel yet so the beach was basically empty.

    "What did you think of the first stage?" Sophie asked curiously as she stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.

    "Definitely¡­" Cleo''s voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words to describe how she was feeling.

    "Unique. I mean I expected it to go like previous years where students were randomly selected to battle each other and the top students would face off in the grand finals."

    "Looks like they n to do it differently this year. I can''t tell if that''s a good or a bad thing yet."

    "I agree¡­ it would be much easier if I just had to beat up whoever was standing opposite to me in the arena," Sophie joked lightly as she turned around and pulled Cleo in for a warm hug.

    Feeling the princess'' soft flesh against her body brought a smile to Sophie''s lips.

    The two girls fell into afortable silence as the salty ocean breeze brushed against their bodies.

    "You did look very brave when you flung us on your shoulders," Cleo teased mischievously as she rubbed small circles into Sophie''s upper chest.

    "Anything for my princess," Sophie replied calmly.

    "Want to take a dip in the water?"

    "Nah¡­ not yet¡­ I just want to rx a bit more," Cleo yawned sleepily as she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

    Sophie reached for the metal rod nted next to their shared beach chair and pressed a button on its side.

    Arge umbre came out of the tip of the rod and soon both girls were covered by afortable shade.

    Cleo murmured a word of thanks and then her eyes slowly closed. Sophie leaned back against the chair and stared off into the distance.

    The first stage of the tournament was over.

    Just two more to go.

    Although she had managed toplete the stage without much difficulty¡­ Sophie could not help but feel a bit worried.

    Getting a pain attack during a critical moment of a fight¡­ she did not even want to imagine such a possibility.

    Why couldn''t she just transition to the void stage in a straightforward way? Sigh¡­ life was never simple with her.

    Sophie''s golden eyes darkened and her vision rapidly enhanced. She observed tiny boats in the distance heading in the direction of the hotel.

    Hmm¡­ looks like other candidates had just finished the first stage as well.

 Chapter 692 A Disappointed Father And A Foolish Son

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Upper Floor- Suite 245)

    A handsome young man with short blonde hairy down on the mattress in his room and stared upwards at the ceiling.

    He wore a sleeveless white shirt that showed off the thick muscles on his arms and a pair of long ck trousers.

    Golden threadsposed of tiny jewels had been sown into the fabric of his pants and they shown brightly under the light.

    A ring that had the symbol of a ck raven engraved onto its surface could clearly be seen on the index finger of the young man''s left hand.

    Ryan let out a heavy sigh and stared out of the window.

    His room was on the upper floor of the hotel, so he had a perfect view of the beach that was just outside.

    Thousands of waves crashed against the shore and he could make out tiny ant-like figures walking along the sand.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    His wristmunicator vibrated twice, and a heavy sinking feeling appeared in Ryan''s chest. He knew exactly who was calling and he was not looking forward to the conversation.

    Ryan cursed softly under his breath and nced at the crumpled up sheet of paper that he had thrown across the room.

    He could still make out the words printed on the sheet of paper. Despite staring at the page for a long time¡­ the words still did not change.

    [Stage One- Results]

    [Ryan Wilhelm- 2nd ce]

    Second ce.

    An impressive feat considering that this tournament invited the top students from across the entire Federation.

    Geniuses among geniuses.

    And yet¡­ Ryan did not feel happy.

    Not when the full results had been posted online and he saw who had taken first ce. Sophie Peterlor¡­ the hybrid bitch.

    She had somehow managed to beat him.

    Ryan scowled darkly as he flung his fist against the wall and left a small crack in the material. Of all the candidates¡­ why did it have to be her?

    He wouldn''t have cared so much if the blind chick or the Servie boy had beaten him.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    The noiseing from his wristmunicator got louder and louder until Ryan could no longer ignore the sound.

    He grabbed the metalloid device and looked at the screen. There was an iing calling from the Wilhelm estate.

    Only one person could be calling him¡­ his father.

    Duke Wilhelm.

    Ryan fixed the angry expression on his face and slowly tapped the screen using his finger. The screen flickered and then a youthful face appeared on the other side.

    The man on the other side of the screen had a remarkably simr appearance to Ryan but looked like his older brother.

    From appearances alone¡­ one would suspect that Duke Wilhelm was a young man in his mid tote twenties.

    Not a monster who had lived for hundreds of years.

    "Son," Duke Wilhelm slowly spoke in a serious tone.

    "I have seen the results of the first stage on the Virtual Net."

    "Yes father¡­ I¡­" Ryan''s voice trailed off as the duke raised up his hand and cut his son off from talking further.

    "I am disappointed in you," Duke Wilhelm hoarsely growled as he stared at his son with a trace of contempt in his eyes.

    "Second ce? That position is not worthy of the heir of House Wilhelm."

    Ryan''s fingers curled up into a tight fist as he desperately fought down the red hot anger bubbling up in his chest.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Father¡­ that hybrid girl only got lucky! I am much stronger than she is! I promise you that I will defeat her for sure," Ryan ranted as he furrowed his brows.

    "How can someone with dirty blood hope to match the might of a pure human?"

    "Ignorant fool," Duke Wilhelm''s cold voice echoed through the room.

    "Do you think the daughter of Duke Peterlor got first ce by luck? Underestimate her at your own peril."

    "You may be talented but¡­ your mentality is weak. I am ashamed to have a son who sprouts such rubbish at me."

    "House Wilhelm is not strong because we are ''pure humans'' but because we ourselves are the source of our strength."

    Duke Wilhelm carefully observed his son''s reaction to his words and more disappointment filled his heart.

    "I will be watching the rest of the tournament¡­ try not to shame the family name more than you already have," Duke Wilhelm sighed heavily and then cut off the connection.

    Ryan screamed in anger and flung the metalloid device across the room where it cracked against a nearby wall.

    Bits and pieces of the device fell to the ground and the screen shattered.

    The handsome young cultivator paid no attention to the mess as his mind was racing with numerous other thoughts.

    How could his father say such words to him?

    Disappointed? How was he a disappointment?

    Sophie Peterlor was just lucky¡­ the first stage was a group setting¡­ she probably got help¡­ there was no way that she got first ce on her own.

    Ryan began to chew his fingernails until the tips of his fingers started to bleed. It was a bad habit that he had picked up whenever he felt as though things were not going his way.

    "Sophie Peterlor¡­ hybrid bitch¡­ I''ll show you¡­ I''ll show you¡­" Ryan muttered darkly as an expression of hatred shed across his face.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (South Wing- Cafeteria)

    A cute girl with deep dimples on the side of her cheeks smiled happily as she dug into the te of food in front of her.

    She had dark red hair that fell down below her shoulders and wore a purple uniform with a long cape that was yfully wrapped around her lower back.

    There was an innocent aura around her body that made her seem harmless and gentle.

    Perhaps the noticeable feature of the girl was her eyes. They werepletely white and unfocused.

    "Jessie¡­ I must say¡­ I can''t believe that you barely passed," a mocking jeer came from the person sitting next to the blind girl.

    "Yes¡­ I am indeed quite fortunate," Jessie smiled peacefully and ignored the barb hidden in the girl''s words.

    "Only the top three hundred students move on to the next round. I am very lucky to have been ced 300th."

    "Tch!" the girl clicked her tongue and stared at Jessie with an expression of disgust.

    "The other representatives ced in the top five¡­ why is it that ours barely managed to qualify? You don''t deserve to¡­"

    "Hey! Leave her alone!" a rough masculine voice cut off the girl''sints. The voice came from a delinquent looking boy with short spiky hair and dark tattoos on his face.

    Jessie heard the shuffling of footsteps and an angry yell as her saviour pushed the girl to the side and sat down next to her.

    "Thank you, Max," Jessie whispered softly as she stretched out her hand and continued to eat her food with an unbothered air of indifference.

    If she had been affected by the girl who used, her of being unworthy then there was no indication of her true feelings on her face.

    "No problem but seriously¡­ why did you ce so low? I know you are much stronger than that¡­" Max hesitantly spoke.

    Jessie smiled shyly and an unknown emotion shed across her face. She continued to eat in silence while Max waited for her to answer.

    "Who knows?" the blind girl finally said as she stood up from her chair and walked away with her lips gently curving upwards.

 Chapter 693 A Terrible Misfortune

    (Gayorn Star Cluster- Ax Region)

    (Unknown Location)

    Duke Peterlor kept his mouth closed as his arm slowly regenerated. He was missing several limbs and his body was covered inrge gaping holes.

    Terrible wounds that oozed blood mixed with a foul ckish liquid that bubbled and hissed.

    The duke clenched his teeth and refused to let out a squeak of pain as his flesh began to heal. Bit by bit his flesh regenerated, and his muscles pulled his newly grown tissues back in ce.

    It was a slow and painful process.

    God stage cultivators should be able to recover instantly from wounds that did not kill them but the duke knew that his injuries were not ordinary.

    A terrifying roar echoed through the forest and he could see severalrge purple trees in the distance falling down one by one.

    Something was making its way towards him.

    Something monstrous.

    Something that he had never seen before.

    The duke stretched out his arm and nced at the rest of his body.

    His wounds had now closed and his limbs were restored but the dull aching pain in his body made it clear that he had not healed properly.

    What kind of monster was able to damage god stage cultivators?

    And why was it located well into Federation territory without this information beingmon knowledge?

    "Commander Solomon that bastard¡­" Duke Peterlor hissed angrily as he got up from the ground and staggered forward.

    He needed to get out of here now.

    In his younger years he would have stayed and fought the monster hunting him down for the glory of the Earth Federation but those days were long gone.

    His mission only told him to scout and that was precisely what he nned to do. There was no need to risk his life to fight off a beast.

    Besides¡­ he had the sneaking suspicion that perhaps this mission was given to him with the objective of making sure that he did not return alive.

    ROAR!!!!

    A thundering boom shook the forest and the very ground beneath his feet trembled violently.

    The duke nted his feet firmly on the ground and refused to let himself be toppled by the tremors that destroyed the nearby trees.

    Duke Peterlor extended his senses outwards until he could hear, smell and taste everything within a three hundred-thousand-kilometre radius.

    He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a in longsword. The sword in his hand looked incredibly¡­. ordinary.

    There were no superfluous markings along the edges of the de and the hilt was practical and boring.

    Duke Peterlor''s fingers closed around the hilt of the sword and his lips gradually curved upwards into a smile.

    "It''s been some time old friend," the duke muttered quietly as the sword vibrated in response to his words.

    He walked through the forest with quiet steps and did not panic even as the crashing sound of trees got louder and louder.

    If the beast knew exactly where he was then he would have been found much sooner.

    The duke wandered through the forest and used his superior senses to avoid the traps and monstrous flora hidden in his path.

    There was a clear bubbling stream to the left of his body and the duke nced at the water and saw his reflection.

    A very handsome middle aged man with slightly greying hair stared back at him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    There was a rugged charm to his looks and his appearance was the definition of a fine wine that got better with age.

    Rokan shook his head and drove those narcissistic thoughts from his mind.

    It was a bad habit that he used to distract himself whenever he was stuck in a dangerous situation.

    There was a rustling noise in the bushes nearby and the duke immediately swung his sword in the direction of the sound.

    He attacked without hesitation since whoever or whatever was in those bushes had somehow managed to evade the detection of his enhanced senses.

    A burst of sword qi erupted from the tip of his de and shot forward.

    Despite the tremendous amount of force in his attack, it immediately dissipated upon contact with the bush.

    There was a terrible moment of silence.

    Then finally a mysterious alien stepped out from behind the bushes.

    The creature looked almost human, but its skin waspletely dark like the haunting emptiness of space.

    It had four arms and the basic body shape of a humanoid species. That was where the simrities ended because the alien did not have any facial features.

    No mouth. No nose. No eyes.

    It was as though its body itself was made from the darkness that oozed below its feet.

    [Strong]

    A voice that was both feminine and masculine entered the duke''s mind and he had no doubt that it came from the alien in front of him.

    "What are you?" the duke asked cautiously as he made no move to attack again.

    There was clearly something wrong about this situation so the best move would be to try and gather information to see if this alien was a friend or foe.

    [W???????o????????????r??????????e??????n??????? ????r??????????o?????e??????????n???????????? ???????r?????????o??????????w???????n????????]

    A series of unintelligible noise filled the duke''s mind, and he frowned slightly as he continued to stare at the creature.

    "Are you working with the Insectoids?" Duke Peterlor finally asked as if the pounding headache in his mind started to clear.

    The alien shook its head in response and then used its fingers to form the shape of a gun. It pointed in a direction behind the duke and then fired.

    A ck portal of swirling darkness appeared behind the duke and before he could react a strong suction force tossed him inside.

    The alien tilted its head in confusion as it stared off into space with a vacant expression on its smooth face.

    It remained frozen in ce even as an enormous beast the size of arge mountain burst into the clearing.

    The beast sniffed the air and roared as it sensed the faint scent of the cultivator that it had been chasing down.

    The alien pointed its finger at the creature and¡­

    It died.

    There was no suspense.

    The massive beast that had given Duke Peterlor so much trouble closed its eyes and fell into an eternal slumber.

    The alien snapped its fingers and swirling portal closed. Its body became to slowly dpose until ck flecks of ash covered the ground.

    The was eerily silent.

 Chapter 694 Duke Peterlors Great Escape

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Unknown Location- Debate Ritual Hall)

    There were four major inter-gctic superpowers within a region of space that would take five hundred million light years to go from one side to the other.

    The Earth Federation, Unova Syndicate, Insectoid Empire and finally¡­

    The Federines Collective.

    Out of the four superpowers, they were by far the most secretive. The borders of the Federines Collective were heavily guarded.

    Outsiders were only permitted to visit certains that had been designated as trading posts.

    It was not that there had not been those who tried to infiltrate the star systems under their control but without exception¡­

    They all failed.

    Perhaps if the Earth Federationunched a proper invasion fleet, then their borders would be breached but the Federation was currently preupied with their war against the Insectoid Empire.

    On one of the manys inside the Federines Collective was a strange building.

    From the outside this building resembled a magnificent temple with strange humanoid statues ced directly outside in a lush garden of flowers.

    The temple was made from a mysterious metallic substance that glowed with a greenish hue and looked quite¡­. odd.

    Inside the building one would have to walk through a maze of side passageways and corridors and bypass multipleyers of security.

    Armed guards, neural scanners, body imaging technology and finally¡­ gical lock sequencing that would confirm the DNA of the individuals entering inside the lower levels.

    At the end of this long and arduous process, one would find themselves standing in arge open space where dozens of dark red pirs of bio-mechanical mass rose up from the ground.

    Dark writings and symbols had been etched onto the pirs'' outer surfaces and they glowed eerily as if they were somehow alive.

    Normally the hall was a quiet ce where the only sounds were that of polite conversation and orderly debate.

    But today¡­ was different.

    "What have you done?" a creature snarled angrily as it mmed a six feet long tendril on the ground in rage.

    "You will provoke the Earth Federation and bring us to the brink of war!"

    The creature''s violent rage caused its entire body to tremble from side to side.

    Its body was a gtinous mass of light with several long tentacles extending out of its lower regions.

    "Do not be so dramatic Odull," a slender snake-like alien with long jagged teeth hissed softly as she gently ced her tail on the creature''s shoulder.

    "We kidnapped one human¡­ don''t they have billions more? Who would miss just a single one?"

    Another alien leaning against a pir scoffed darkly and make a clicking noise using his multiple tongues.

    "Billions¡­ those humans certainly know how to reproduce. They could give those damn Insectoids a run for their money," the alien scowled fiercely as he spoke.

    "A nasty bug-like race..."

    Inside the hall were aliens of different species and races all united with amon purpose. To serve as the ruling council for the Federines collective.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Rx," a soft feminine voice cut through the cacophony of sound in the room. There was an immediate moment of silence as an alien stepped out from the shadows.

    The alien had a body physique that was simr to that of a horse. She had four eyes with bright red pupils that shone with a hypnotic glow.

    A tail swayed from side to side behind her back and despite her massive frame, she carried herself with dignity and pose.

    "Kidnapping this human was a request from one of the Ascension stage cultivators inside the Earth Federation," Elder Failea quietly whispered.

    "The bacsh will be minimal. ording to the deal¡­ the human will be dered as killed in action during the Insectoid attack."

    "But Elder¡­ why have you involved us in Federation politics? Shouldn''t we stay out of their affairs?" a short creature with spines along its back asked the question that was on his mind.

    "This is a favour¡­ it maye in handy in the near future," Elder Failea replied with a thin smile on her face.

    "The Earth Federation had been gaining strength and devouring many territories and regions in recent years."

    "Their sess against the Unovan Syndicate proves that they are a threat that we can no longer ignore."

    Elder Failea had done some research of her own and had discovered that the human that they had been ordered to kidnap was quite the influential nobleman.

    Would the Ascension stage cultivator be able to cover up his disappearance sessfully? She had no idea but either way¡­

    There would be chaos.

    And with chaos¡­ came opportunity.

    The right push and the Earth Federation could be engulfed in a civil war. Just the opportunity that they needed to provide some breathing room.

    A weakened Earth Federation would still be a dangerous opponent to face in war, but Elder Failea was convinced that they stood a decent chance of winning.

    "Well, that''s all well and good but¡­" an alien with a bulbous head yawned sleepily and then pointed out an obvious problem.

    "What do we n to do with the human that we captured? Are we going to kill him?"

    "Of course, we need to kill him! Those humans are incredibly dangerous" someone angrily blurted out.

    "No short-sighted fool! This is the perfect opportunity to dissect his body and look for more weakness in their gic code," another chimed in.

    "Isn''t the human a god stage cultivator? Maybe we should try to get him to fight on our side using brainwashing techniques," a third person offered a different solution.

    Elder Failea stretched out one of her hooves and a holographic image floated in the air above the conference.

    "As always with divisive matters¡­ we will put this to a vote and decided upon the fate of the human who¡­" Elder Failea''s voice trailed off as she looked at the screen.

    The image showed the cell where the human was currently being kept.

    Wait¡­ something wasn''t right.

    Elder Failea''s eyes widened in disbelief as she quickly activated the camera monitoring the prisonplex.

    The image on the screen flickered and changed but no matter what angle she used¡­ the results were the same.

    The human was gone.

 Chapter 695 The Tournament Continues

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (St. Lucia''s Ind- Grand Stadium)

    Three hundred.

    That was the number of students remaining in the tournament. From thousands to just a mere three hundred.

    Out of the three hundred students left in the tournament, two hundred and ny-seven of them belonged to the four great universities.

    And the three from the outsider colleges had barely managed to qualify for the second stage.

    The Inter-University tournament would cull these students even further until the final round only contained fifty students.

    Sophie stretched out her arms and cracked her knuckles using her fingers. The sun was shining brightly in the sky above and she was currently standing on a beach.

    In the distance one could see arge stadium made from heavy metalloid steel. The stadium appeared quite imposing since it was the size of arge mountain.

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator and saw a countdown timer.

    [Twenty minutes remaining¡­]

    The hybrid girl began to walk in the direction of the stadium with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    The Second Stage had begun.

    Sophie had been dropped off on one of the numerous inds of the Elysium Archipgo and then a countdown timer had appeared on her wristmunicator.

    There was nothing on the ind of note except for the giant stadium so Sophie could only assume that it was probably where she needed to go next.

    This stage was an individual one and Sophie did not see any other students on the ind as she walked through the jungle.

    What could this stage be about?

    Sophie frowned slightly as she felt a bad feeling in her chest.

    This feeling had only been getting worse over thest few days and she had no idea where it wasing from.

    It was like a vague sense of unease in her chest as if something terrible had happened but Sophie did not know why she would be feeling this way.

    She was currently the number one ranked student in the tournament and all of her friends had made it to the next stage.

    The bursts of pain that asionally ravaged her body were beginning to lessen and Sophie could feel the qi in her dantian getting stronger by the day.

    Why was she feeling worried and concerned?

    Sophie furrowed her brows and tried to push her emotions to the back of her mind. She would deal with them after the stage.

    Right now she needed to be on the alert for any unexpected threats or obstacles on her way to the stadium.

    Sophie extended her senses and her golden eyes glowed with a hypnotic light. Her pointed ears flickered back and forth searching for even the slightest whisper of sound.

    It took around fifteen minutes for Sophie to reach the stadium and the journey was¡­ surprisingly uneventful.

    There were no traps. No hidden enemies.

    Nothing.

    However, Sophie was not lulled into a false sense of security and continued to maintain her state of high alert.

    The stadium had been molded in the style of arge colosseum and tworge doors swung open to wee Sophie inside.

    The hybrid girl cautiously walked in and found herself standing in at the entrance to arge space around the size of ten football fields.

    The doors swung shut with a bang and there was an unnerving silence.

    The ground inside the colosseum was covered in a softyer of white sand that made it difficult to move properly.

    There were tens of thousands of seats in the pavilions surrounding therge field but all of the seats were empty.

    A cold wind blew through the colosseum and Sophie felt a chill run down her spine. Then as if by magic¡­ everything changed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophie blinked and the scenery warped and twisted to be something else. The empty seats in the stadium were now filled from end to end with spectators.

    Ghostly bodies of light with vague humanoid appearance. The spectators had no mouths and yet Sophie could hear them cheering her on.

    The shifting sand beneath her feet hardened and turned into a firmyer that was easy to walk on and move about.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a long ck slender whip. She adjusted her posture and waited to see what would happen next.

    The crowd went silent as arge holographic window appeared in the air above the colosseum.

    Sophie looked up at the projection and saw lines of text on the screen.

    [WELCOME TO THE SECOND STAGE!]

    [Candidate: Sophie Peterlor]

    [Objective: Survive!]

    [The First Wave Will Begin!]

    First wave?

    A floating metal disc rose up from the ground to reveal a hidden space where twenty small creatures were packed together.

    The creatures resembled wolves with long canine teeth and bodies that were built for hunting down prey.

    Howl! Howl! Howl!

    The creatures tossed back their heads and growled darkly. Their sharp teeth gleamed under the sunlight and their ck pupils dted in excitement.

    They immediately rushed towards Sophie with traces of saliva leaking from their open mouths.

    Unfortunately for them¡­ they were not quick enough.

    Sophie bent her knees and then her figure vanished from the spot. The ground where she had just been standing cracked and a sonic boom filled the air.

    The hybrid girl stretched out her arm and flung her whip in the direction of the animals. It was a simple attack and Sophie did not even bother to use any cultivation techniques.

    Why? Well it was because she felt no sense of danger or threat from the creatures in front of her.

    Sophie''s assumption was proven to be correct as her weapon travelled quickly and directly struck several of the creatures.

    It easily tore through their flesh and bones, turning them into faint pink mists of blood as their bodies exploded.

    Sophie''s de-like appendages stabbed forward and hooked barbs at their ends easily prated the hides of the creatures.

    The entire process only took a few seconds and soon she was the only one left standing in the middle of the arena.

    The crowd of spectators erupted in cheers and the entire stadium shook under the force of their shouts of excitement.

    A new line of text appeared on the holographic screen and this time Sophie already knew what it was going to say.

    [The Second Wave Will Begin!]

    The ground trembled and another area of the colosseum slowly rose up in the air to reveal arge four- legged animal with long white wings attached to its back.

    The creature tossed back its head and roared but its cry was interrupted by a de that lodged itself in its throat.

    Sophie had flung a needle-like knife at the creature as soon as it had appeared and killed it immediately.

    She could feel the power rushing through her body, and it was addicting.

    The Inter- University tournament at least for the second-year students had stages that were designed to be handled by those in the qi tide stage.

    Sophie was transitioning to the void stage and it was clear that the challenges posed by the tournament were not difficult for her to deal with.

    This would be an easy stage toplete.

 Chapter 696 From Happiness To Despair

    [Ninth Wave Completed!]

    [Five-minute Rest Period Will Commence]

    [5 minutes 59 seconds¡­ 5 minutes 58 seconds¡­ 5 minutes 57 seconds¡­]

    Sophie sat down on the ground and gazed upwards at the sky. The arena was now in a state of almost total copse.

    Corpses, blood and the remains of mechanical weaponryy scattered all across the ground. She had just survived nine waves of enemies with each being tougher than thest.

    The first couple of waves consisted of fully organic lifeforms while every wave after the sixth brought mechanical horrors.

    Floating drones with armour and high-tech weapon systems, intelligent AI units capable of copying and replicating her fighting style and good old fashioned sma rifles.

    Still even with all these challenges¡­ Sophie had yet to break a sweat.

    Everything was too easy.

    Maybe an ordinary candidate would be afraid in a life and death situation but Sophie had been through too many to count.

    Huh¡­ when she thought about it like that¡­

    It actually sounded kind of sad¡­

    Still there was no use dwelling on the trials that she had managed to ovee.

    As the vessel of the Hunter Goddess, Sophie knew that more challenges would await her in the future.

    Great power always came with a price.

    In exchange for the gifts of the Hunter Goddess, she would be forced to obey hermands and seek out worthy prey.

    Maybe someday she would find out a method to sever the link¡­

    "I wish¡­" Sophie whispered softly as she cracked her knuckles andzily gazed at the timer floating above her.

    Three minutes left.

    The hybrid girl yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes. She could use a nice rest in her hotel suite once this stage was over.

    She really hadn''t been sleeping properlytely.

    Every time she closed her eyes, she kept feeling that something was missing¡­ or perhaps someone.

    Sophie didn''t know what was causing this feeling, but it was interfering with her sleep. She needed her beauty rest to function!

    The crowd of spectators in the stands around the arena waved their tendrils in the air and a fresh round of cheers echoed through the coliseum.

    Their ghostly bodies of light jiggled from side to side as they violently bumped into one another and cause collisions that shook the air.

    Sophie curiously gazed at the strange creatures and tried to figure out why on earth had someone decided to put them as spectators in the second stage.

    As far as she could tell¡­ they were only cheerleaders and not even pretty ones.

    Still that thought would have to wait since the timer on the holographic projection finally began to approach zero seconds.

    [10 seconds¡­ 9 seconds¡­ 8 seconds¡­]

    Sophie got up from the ground and dusted off her ck track pants that were stained with blood and pieces of flesh.

    She reached into her storage bag and pulled out another whip. This one was made from a carbon fibre alloy and had jagged spikes running along its edges.

    [3 seconds¡­ 2 seconds¡­ 1 second¡­]

    Sophie''s golden eyes trembled and a faint crimson mist began to spread outwards from the corner of her eyes.

    [The Tenth Wave Will Begin!]

    Arge metal disc rose up from the ground to reveal a concealed underground space that was hidden beneath.

    Sophie bent her knees and assumed a stable posture. Her de-like appendages extended outwards, and her fangs gleamed under the sunlight.

    She waited patiently but¡­ nothing happened.

    Unlike the previous waves there were no signs of movement and no creature emerged from the underground space.

    What was going on?

    Danger!

    Sophie''s arms erupted in goosebumps and without even thinking her body moved automatically to the side.

    A massive jaw filled with razor-sharp teeth emerged from the sand where she had been standing just moments ago.

    The jaw snapped shut but all the creature got was a mouthful of sand.

    Sophie flung her whip at the mysterious attacker tounch a counterattack but the creature disappeared once more into the ground.

    An underground enemy¡­ a tricky opponent.

    Even though the encounter onlysted for a few seconds, Sophie''s enhanced vision was able to clearly capture details about the mysterious attacker.

    The monster had purple armour-like scales covering the edges of its jaw and the upper part of its body resembled a worm.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophie furrowed her brows and extended her senses. She took off her shoes and ced her bare feet on the sand.

    This would allow her to better feel the subtle vibrations of the ground as the enemy approached her location.

    There was another brief lull in action as Sophie waited for the creature to reveal themselves and attack again.

    She didn''t have to wait for long as the grains of sand beneath her feet started to shift and she could feel a faint tremor.

    Sophie jumped to the side just as the jaw once again emerged from the ground. This time she was ready.

    Asura Whip Art- Death By A Thousand Cuts!

    Sophie flung her whip forward and the jagged edges along the length of her weapon extended unnaturally into long spikes.

    The tip of her de entered the creature''s mouth and Sophie moved her whip from side to side in order to tear apart the monster''s fragile fleshy insides.

    The monster shrieked in pain as dozens of sharp spikes tore apart the inside of its mouth.

    Sophie mustered up all the strength in her body and then used her left hand to punch outwards which caused a shockwave to erupt from her fingertips.

    BANG!

    This wave of air mmed into the creature''s body with so much force that its head was separated from the rest of its neck.

    A tidal wave of blood spurted out from the monster''s severed neck and Sophie was forced to run away as a rain of crimson liquid fell from the corpse.

    [Tenth Wave Completed!]

    [Second Stage¡­ Over! Congrattions Candidate 024!]

    [You Are Officially The First Student To Complete This Stage! Bonus Points Will be Awarded For Your Valiant Efforts!]

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and allowed her lips to gently curve upwards.

    She had done it.

    The second stage was over, and she had maintained her rank as the top student.

    It was unlikely that anyone would beat her in the rankings considering that she finished first and had been awarded bonus points as well.

    The lively spectators in the stands all rose to their¡­ feet? And started to cheer wildly by pping their tendrils together.

    Sophie waved her hand at them and some of the creatures waved back with great enthusiasm.

    The heavy iron doors that led to the coliseum swung open to reveal a pathway back to the beach.

    Sophie walked towards the exit and casually powered on her wristmunicator to check the Virtual Net.

    Cleo and the rest of her friends would probably be der in the afternoon or evening so she had a few hours left to kill.

    Hmm¡­ how should she spend that time?

    Rx on the beach? Watch a few cheesy dramas? Hop back into the Virtual game that she had just started?

    Decisions¡­ decisions¡­

    Sophie hummed softly as she walked through the jungle and brushed her fingers along the leaves of the green tropical nts.

    She tilted her wristmunicator upwards to get a better look at the screen. She typed in ''NPC In A Fantasy World'' and began to look up walkthroughs and guides.

    Yeah, it was cheap but¡­ Sophie didn''t mind getting spoiled when ying a game. The hybrid girl walked for several more minutes and then abruptly stopped.

    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

    Messages one after the other began to flood her inbox at a breakneck pace. Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion since she didn''t understand what was going on.

    Katarina¡­ her professors¡­ her dad''s servants¡­

    The administrators of severals under House Peterlor''s control¡­

    Even some of her dad''s noble friends that he had introduced to her had all sent her messages at the same time.

    Sophie moved her finger to tap on the inbox icon but then froze as a shocking announcement appeared on the Virtual Net newsfeed.

    [BREAKING NEWS!]

    [THE YOUNGEST GOD STAGE CULTIVATOR OF THE EARTH FEDERATION¡­. DUKE PETERLOR HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AS KILLED IN ACTION!]

    [THE FORMER COMMANDER OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY WAS KILLED DURING A SKIRMISH WITH THE INSECTOID EMPIRE!]

    "No¡­ what¡­ what kind¡­ of¡­" Sophie stuttered in disbelief as her fingers trembled violently above her wristmunicator.

    She saw the words on the screen but could not understand their meaning. It was as if she had suddenly lost the ability to read.

    "Killed¡­ no¡­ I¡­" Sophie kneeled down on the ground and clutched her heart as she felt the familiar sharp bursts of pain erupt across her body.

    "Not now¡­ I¡­ need to¡­"

    Sophie gasped for breath as the corners of her vision slowly turned dark. Thest thing that she saw was the ground rapidly rushing towards her face as she fainted in pain.

 Chapter 697 On The Verge Of Collapse

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (St. Lucia''s Ind)

    "Ow¡­ fuck¡­ my¡­ head¡­" Sophie moaned in pain as her eyelids fluttered. She felt as though she had just been run over by a truck.

    Sharp bursts of pain flooded her body if she even made the slightest bit of movement. It felt as though her body was being slowly pierced by dozens of needles.

    Sophie curled up her fingers into a tight fist and with a great deal of effort she finally managed to open her eyes.

    She found herself staring at the trunk of arge towering tree. What had happened?

    Why was she lying down on the ground?

    Then it hit her.

    No¡­ no¡­ it must have been a mistake.

    She must have seen the wrong headline. Her father dead? That was impossible!

    He was the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Earth Federation.

    He was invincible. He was her protector.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and fought down the pain as she used her de-like appendages to lift herself off the ground.

    She tilted her arm upwards and stared at the screen of her wristmunicator. Clearly, she must have experienced a bad dream after the pain attack caused her to faint.

    Her dad dying in battle? Ridiculous!

    Sophie nced at the screen and her heart dropped.

    She stared at the lines of text over and over again as if she could somehow force them to change through sheer force of will.

    [DUKE PETERLOR''S DEATH! WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HIS TERRITORIES?]

    [FORMER MEMBERS OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY SPEAK OUT ABOUT THEIR BELOVED EX- COMMANDER]

    ["THE GREATEST LOSS FOR HUMANITY"- FORMER MENTOR OF THE DUKE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS YOUNG PROT¨¦G¨¦''S POTENTIAL]

    She stopped breathing.

    Sophie grabbed on to the trunk of a nearby tree to steady her body. She felt as though her world was copsing before her very eyes.

    "Stop¡­ stop¡­ joking¡­" Sophie muttered in disbelief as her eyes began to flicker from one colour to the next.

    Golden¡­ then red¡­ then pink¡­ then white.

    As if responding to her mood, her powers began to run haywire. Sophie gripped her chest and began to hyperventte.

    "Breathe¡­I need to¡­ breathe¡­ BREATHE¡­" Sophie whispered desperately as she lowered her head and vomited on the ground.

    A thick green bile stained the sand near her feet and the unpleasant smell from the vomit lingered in the air.

    Sophie closed her eyes and began to silently count to ten.

    She could not copse¡­ she could not shut down¡­ she could not show weakness.

    She needed to return to the hotel suite and immediately contact Katarina and the rest of her father''s employees and servants.

    The hybrid girl stood frozen in ce for several long minutes all the while she felt as though her body was on the verge of copse.

    Finally she opened her eyes and they had returned to their normal golden hue although a faint crimson tinge could be seen lingering around her pupils.

    Sophie checked the time on her wristmunicator and discovered that seventeen minutes had passed since she had left the arena.

    She had fainted for ten and then taken another seven minutes to recover.

    If there was one silver lining to the situation it was that the livestreaming devices only showed the battles not the aftermath.

    When she left the arena there were no recording devices following her, so no one saw her copse on the ground.

    Sophie shuddered to imagine what kind of articles would be written if someone had recorded her fainting.

    She mmed one of her de-like appendages on the ground and used it almost like a cane to help her to walk.

    She began to slowly move towards the shoreline while trying her best not to be affected by the white-hot pain tearing through her body.

    The entire time only one thought ran through Sophie''s mind no matter how hard she tried to bury it away.

    (My father is dead.)

    (Stop thinking about it.)

    (My father is dead.)<novelnext></novelnext>

    (Stop it.)

    (My father¡­)

    (Please¡­shut up¡­.)

    The journey back to the shore could have taken just a few minutes or perhaps it had been several hours.

    Sophie could no longer tell.

    She found herself in a trance-like state where time itself had no meaning. She hadn''t even had time to dwell on the implications of her father''s passing.

    As the heiress to House Peterlor, the right of session belonged to her. She was going to be known as Duchess Peterlor.

    No¡­ that sounded wrong.

    She didn''t deserve that title. Not when her father was¡­

    (HE''S DEAD!)

    Sophie staggered and it was only the quick reaction of her body that prevented her from taking another fall to the ground.

    She could see the ocean only a few hundred metres away and a small one person sized boat floating gently on the waves.

    She just needed to make it back to the hotel.

    Sophie''s eyes drifted to her wristmunicator and saw more messages appear in her inbox.

    She didn''t even recognise some of the names.

    The hybrid girl let out a heavy sigh and then quickly tapped out a message and sent it to Katarina.

    Sophie: [Returning to my hotel room now¡­ we will talk in 45 minutes. Arrange a meeting with the administratorster this evening]

    She powered off her wristmunicator and did not even bother to wait for a reply. It was not a smart thing to do but right now¡­

    She couldn''t even stare at the screen for a moment longer.

    If she didn''t look at the screen, then maybe her father would still be alive.

    A stupid thought but Sophie was not in the right state of mind to realise how foolish she was being.

    The boat''s engine roared loudly, and the seafaring vessel approached the shore.

    Sophie waded into the water and approached the boat. She easily hopped onto the deck and then sat down in a cross-legged position.

    The boat began to automatically move in the direction of Jasimin Ind. Sophie leaned against the side of the boat and watched the clear blue sky.

    The pain in her body was gradually fading away and now all she could feel was the gentle rocking of the ship as it glided over the waves.

    "Do not panic¡­ maybe¡­ this is all a mistake¡­" Sophie whispered quietly to herself although her words sounded hollow to her ears.

    Her father was in no uncertain terms¡­ her world.

    For the longest time, he was the only one who stood by her.

    He refused to marry another noblewoman and stayed loyal to her mom even though he thought that she betrayed him.

    He made her the sessor to House Peterlor even though most of the other aristocrats didn''t believe that a hybrid was worthy of bing an upper ranked noble.

    And more importantly than all the wealth, status, and training¡­ he was her parent.

    He had acted as both a father and a mother to her as long as Sophie could remember. No matter what she did¡­ he never stopped loving her.

    Sophie wrapped her arms around her body as she felt a cold chill run down her spine. She felt lost¡­ alone and confused.

    Her joy after passing the second stage of the tournament as the first ced student was now long gone.

    What was the point of this stupidpetition?

    One of the reasons why she wanted to participate was to follow her in her father''s footsteps but did it even matter if he could no longer see the results?

    "Hunter goddess¡­ is my father alive?" Sophie asked softly.

    There was no response from the otherworldly entity.

    Sophie ced her face in her hands and fought back the tears that were threatening to spill out from her eyes.

    Why? Why?

    No one answered her silent question.

 Chapter 698 Sophies Grim Determination

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Penthouse Suite)

    Sophie tossed her wristmunicator on the bed and pulled a chair towards the edge of the mattress.

    She took a second topose herself and then sat down on the chair with a heavy thump.

    There was a terrible stillness in the room.

    All that Sophie could hear was the sound of her own breathing as she gently inhaled and exhaled and tried not to fall apart.

    "Call Katarina¡­ activate hologram projection,'' Sophie calmly spoke.

    The wristmunicator on the bed vibrated twice and then arge beam of light erupted from its center.

    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

    The seconds felt like hours as Sophie sat motionless on the chair and seemed to be frozen in ce.

    Like a ss statue that would crack at the slightest touch.

    "Young miss!" a concerned voice interrupted the silence. The beam of light widened, and a translucent figure made of hard light appeared in the room.

    "Are you alright? I¡­I... I know that this must be shocking news."

    "Katarina," Sophie''s voice was no louder than a whisper and yet the coldness inside her tone sent shivers down her loyal servant''s spine.

    "Is it true?"

    The question hung in the air.

    Katarina bit her lip nervously and looked down at the secret report in her hand.

    Duke Peterlor had disappeared during the Insectoid invasion and those monster were known to eat corpses.

    If he had not reached out by now¡­ then he was probably dead. The duke had disappeared once before but now he was a god stage cultivator.

    Anyone or anything capable of making him vanish¡­ would be able to kill him.

    "Yes¡­ young miss¡­" Katarina slowly spoke.

    Sophie did not say anything.

    The hybrid girl leaned forward and ced her head in her palms. Her chest shuddered several times but no tears woulde out of her eyes.

    A piping white-hot fury flooded her mind with rage and the golden hue of her eyes began to disappear and be reced by a crimson tinge.

    Sophie drew in a shaky breath and pushed down the emotions with all the force that she could muster.

    She wanted to throw up.

    She felt sick.

    And yet¡­ she could not copse.

    Not until she did what she needed to do to prevent her father''s legacy from falling apart.

    Sophie took her head out of her hands and stared directly into Katarina''s eyes.

    There was a thinyer of determination masking the uncertainty hidden behind her steely gaze.

    "Tell me the situation. How many employees are left? Have any of the other high nobles began to make moves?" Sophie spoke in a serious tone.

    "Mydy¡­ I think you need some time to grieve and process this¡­" Katarina''s voice trailed off as Sophie raised her right hand.

    "That is an order," Sophiemanded with a sternness in her voice that Katarina had never heard before.

    At least¡­ not addressed to her.

    In that moment, the young miss bore a striking resemnce to her father when hemanded the full attention of a room.

    "The news has just broken and already six percent of our employees have turned in their resignations or disappeared," Katarina replied truthfully.

    "So far most of these positions have been low level employees but it is expected that the more important roles will also see a wave of resignations."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "There have been some reports of looting by ex-employees but I have been unable to verify that information without a proper investigation."

    Vultures¡­

    Sophie''s lips morphed into a thin frown as she listened to Katarina'' words. Perhaps it was to be expected.

    Duke Peterlor waspetent man who was known as the Federation''s youngest god stage cultivator.

    Inparison¡­ she wascking.

    The ambitious or the cowardly employees would flee at the first signs of trouble and Sophie could not find it in herself to me them.

    However, she would not tolerate looting.

    "Discourage all employees from quitting by offering them a twenty percent bonus for the next year at least," Sophie coldly spoke.

    "Do not force anyone to stay against their will if they are truly determined to leave as long as they go through the proper channels and procedures."

    "As for the looting¡­ send the dark guards and pay the information guilds to see if there is any credence to the rumors."

    "Send legal letters to those with minor offenses and for any employee who stole important assets¡­ kill them."

    She needed to set an example.

    The carrot and the stick approach.

    The twenty percent bonus would at least keep the employees at thepany for a longer time and hopefully when the situation became more stable¡­ they would stay.

    As for the stealing, Sophie did not n to kill all of the guilty but instead make an example of the egregious ones.

    "Yes young miss," Katarina nodded her head and then reached into her pocket to pull out a smooth metal tablet.

    She typed out Sophie''s instructions and then sent a message to the administrators and the heads of the major departments.

    After that she contacted the secret guards and the information guilds to begin the investigation into the rumors.

    Sophie leaned against the chair and could feel its hard wooden surface pressing against her back.

    The hybrid girl nced at her fingers and discovered that they were trembling ever so slightly from side to side.

    She had learned management courses over the years from her father and other tutors as part of the high noble education but¡­

    There was a great deal of difference between theories and the real world.

    Sophie could not help but second guess herself as Katarina continued to follow up on her order.

    Was she making a mistake?

    What if she pushed the other employees to leave?

    Was giving a bonus a smart decision or a deration of weakness?

    Sophie gritted her teeth as the doubts began to fill her mind. Her father''s legacy¡­ how could she possibly hope to maintain it.

    "Mydy¡­ it is done," Katarina suddenly spoke as she looked up from the tablet.

    "Good. Now tell me about the reaction of the other high nobles," Sophie spoke quietly as she forced her fingers to stop shaking.

    Katarina thought about what to say for a moment and then opened her mouth to reply,

    "The reaction so far is a mixture of shock and disbelief. Many do not seem to think that Duke Peterlor is really dead and are waiting for others to make the first move."

    "Your father''s allies have already dered that you are under their protection and Duke Braveheart has taken over as the new head of your father''s faction."

    "At least for now¡­ you do not need to worry about the other high nobles. Even those with anti-human believes have not made any public statements."

    "Yes¡­ they are probably waiting to see if my father''s estate will implode. Proving them right that a hybrid was not fit to be an heir," Sophie growled darkly as her fingers curled up into a tight fist.

    "Schedule a meeting with the administrators and bring a starship to Caorn tomorrow to pick me up."

    "I will be leaving the tournament and returning home."

 Chapter 699 Barely Holding On

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Hotel Mariena- Penthouse Suite)

    "Finally, to conclude the meeting. Continue operating as per usual and send out messages of assurance to the poption of yours," Sophie calmly spoke.

    "There will be no upheaval and none of you are in danger of losing your jobs. However¡­"

    The hybrid girl''s voice trailed off and her golden eyes were engulfed by a deep hue of crimson red.

    The men and women on the other side of the conference call all felt shivers run down their spines as Sophie looked at them without saying a word.

    She was the daughter of Duke Peterlor.

    No¡­ she was to be the duchess.

    Their new boss and the one who would decide their fates.

    "I will not tolerate betrayal," Sophie sternly warned as she allowed a trace of bloodlust to leak out in her voice.

    The conference call went eerily silent as Sophie gave out her violent warning.

    "Of course mydy¡­" one of the administrators finally broke the tense atmosphere with a polite bow of her head.

    "We will be loyal," another quickly spoke up.

    The rest either nodded or gave verbal affirmations.

    Sophie did not allow the cold expression on her face to crack and merely hummed in acknowledgement.

    She exchanged a few more words and then ended the group call.

    The screen of her wristmunicator went dark and the hotel room was nowpletely quiet.

    Sophie sat down on the edge of her bed and slowly exhaled. She stretched out her hands and massaged the back of her neck.

    Two hours.

    That was how long the meeting with the administrators went.

    They were the ones in charge of the day to day activities on the variouss and lunar colonies under the control of House Peterlor.

    Fortunately, these high-level employees were personally hired by her father so Sophie did not have a hard time convincing them to stay.

    But¡­ she wasn''t her father.

    Sophie was not foolish enough to assume that their loyalty to her father would automatically mean that they were loyal to herself.

    ? In the short term she needed to either earn their loyalty or make them too afraid to leave.

    The hybrid girl let out another heavy sigh and had to resist the urge to fall down on the bed and close her eyes.

    She felt exhausted.

    Cultivators in the qi tide stage and above no longer required the need to sleep and yet Sophie felt as though she was on the verge of copse.

    She did not even have time to properly process what was going on. How could she when she needed to prevent House Peterlor from copsing?

    Her father was dead¡­ he had died inbat.

    Maybe¡­ maybe¡­ he was still alive?

    Sophie absentmindedly touched the star-shaped amulet hanging from her neck and slowly closed her eyes.

    She began to circte her qi in a specific pattern ording to the Spider Whisper Art.

    The amulet around her chest got hotter and hotter until the metal felt as though it would burn a hole in her skin.

    When Sophie opened her eyes, she found herself floating in the infinite void inside the amulet''s space.

    The only object of note inside the darkness was the massive stone tablet in the middle of the empty space.

    "Mom!" Sophie cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. She did not know if this would work but she had to try.

    Her father had a mark on his body from her mom. It was the same mark that was branded on Cleo''s chest.

    Sophie was able to feel if her girlfriend was safe and alive so hopefully her mom would be able to do the same for her father.

    "Mom!" Sophie yelled again as if her voice would somehow be able to travel through the void and reach princess Thai''lle all those light years away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She got no reply.

    "Hunter Goddess! I know you can hear me!" Sophie shouted desperately as she felt something in her heart crack.

    "Please send me to my mom! I''m begging you¡­ please¡­ I need to speak to her!"

    Sophie yelled and yelled until her throat went sore. She did not even notice the desperation on her face or the way her pupils trembled violently.

    Finally, her cries were answered.

    A warm loving pair of translucent arms wrapped around Sophie''s body and held her in a tight embrace.

    [My darling vessel¡­]

    A cold but melodic voice echoed through the darkness and seemed toe from all directions at once.

    [I''m sorry but right now your qi is too unstable to send your astral body to your mother''s side]

    "Hunter goddess¡­ is my father alive?" Sophie''s voice trailed off to a mere whisper as she asked the question burning in her heart.

    Her fingers curled up into a tight fist as the silence lingered.

    There was a part of her that was afraid of the Hunter Goddess''s answer. Would it be better not to know? That way she could keep the hope alive.

    [My child¡­ I''m sorry¡­ but I am not all knowing¡­]

    The Hunter Goddess''s voice was cold and yet¡­ Sophie could swear that there was a tinge of sadness in her tone.

    [Get some rest my darling vessel¡­ the darkness of your heart will eventually be filled with light]

    [All wounds and losses will eventually be healed with time]

    The space around Sophie shattered into a thousand pieces and she found herself back in the real world.

    Sophie gently touched the sides of her cheeks and discovered that they were wet. She had been crying.

    The hybrid girl ced her face in her palms and wiped away all the traces of her tears. She did not know what to do now.

    All she could do was wait until she properly transitioned to the void stage and then hopefully the Hunter Goddess would be able to help her.

    In the meantime¡­ she would not be able to find out the truth.

    It was that sense of uncertainty that felt the worst about the entire situation.

    If there had been a body or even a witness, then Sophie would have some sense of closure or finality.

    Instead¡­ she only had the reports from the Imperial Army and the sensational articles written by journalists on the Virtual Net.

    Knock! Knock!

    "Can Ie in?" a soft voice asked quietly on the other side of the door.

    Sophie drew in a shuddering breath and tapped a button on the screen of her wristmunicator.

    The doors to her room slid open and Astrid walked inside with her tail lowered and a concerned expression on her wolfish face.

    "I just heard the news," the Mendolesa girl gently spoke as she walked over to Sophie and ced her paws around her shoulders.

    "I''m sorry."

    Astrid pulled Sophie into a tight hug and all the hybrid girl could think about was how soft her friend''s fur felt.

    It was like being wrapped up in a warm nket.

    "Qiana, Cleo and Rachel are stillpleting the second stage but I''m sure that they wille up as soon as they get back," Astrid continued to speak even as Sophie did not reply.

    "Of course¡­ that''s all up to you. If you want space to yourself to grieve¡­ we understand."

    "Thank you," Sophie replied hoarsely as she leaned into Astrid''s shoulders and stared outside the window.

    It was a perfect day.

    The sun was dipping towards the horizon and waves crashed against the shoreline. It didn''t make any sense.

    Her father had died¡­ why did the outside world look so normal?

    Astrid and Sophie stayed in afortable atmosphere of silence even as the shadows grew longer, and the first stars began to appear in the night sky.

 Chapter 700 A Secret Heir

    (Alpha Star System- Urrnea)

    (Private Estate- Conference Room)

    Inside a dimly lit conference room one could smell the heavy scent of smoke that hung in the air.

    The only source of light came from the roaring firece in the corner of the room that casted long shadows on the walls.

    Arge metalloid table had been ced in the center of the room and it was surrounded by chairs made of memory foam material.

    Middle aged men and women sat around the table each wearing expensive clothing. Sharp ck tuxedos and suits for the men and colourful dresses for the women.

    Their exposed hands were adorned with luxurious jewellery such as bracelets made of rare metals and rings that glowed with an eerie light.

    They were a group of powerful people.

    Nobles who stood at the top of the social hierarchy of the Earth Federation. They possessed enormous wealth and influence.

    Some of the nobles in the room owneds or lunar colonies and held the fate of millions of people in their hands.

    Still despite their enormous power and authority, their eyes all gazed towards the elderly man sitting at the head of the table.

    He was a tall, gaunt figure with eyes that had dark circles beneath them. His hair waspletely white and fell down to his shoulders.

    He wore a long ck robe that gave him a schrly aura and held a small book in his right hand that was bound in a leather skin.

    The Grand Tutor of the Imperial family.

    A man no longer in the graces of the royal family since the death of Emperor Sisrelis but whose influence was still strong.

    The elderly man coughed heavily and then reached into his pocket for a long brown tube. He raised the end of the tube to his lips and then took in a deep breath.

    He gently exhaled and arge puff of smoke exited his lips. The smoke cloud dispersed fairly quickly but one could still smell the scent of herbs.

    "The reports suggest that Duke Peterlor is dead," the Grand Tutor broke the silence in the room with a soft whisper.

    "Yes¡­ so the Imperial Army reports say," a noble sitting towards the end of the table replied with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

    "Can we verify that information? Who was themander responsible for deploying the duke to enemy lines?" another asked quietly.

    "Commander Solomon¡­" a woman spoke up as her hands flicked through a series of documents on the table in front of her.

    "An ipetent man who only holds such a position due to his connections with House Belfort and the Lindenberg Financial Group."

    The Grand Tutor ced his hands on the table and stared quietly off into the distance while the nobles in the room debated whether or not the duke was still alive.

    The debate got louder and louder until it evolved into loud arguing with each side presenting their case with reason and logic.

    Some were convinced that themander could not be trustworthy and therefore further verification was needed.

    Others argued that because of Commander Solomon''s corruption, it would be easy for the third party forces to take advantage of his greed.

    Since the report, Duke Peterlor had yet to show himself despite the rumors flying around the virtual Net.

    His daughter would be the sole inheritor of his estate.

    Would the duke who famously loved his daughter willingly throw her to the wolves so early?

    "I believe that Duke Peterlor is dead," the Grand Tutor finally whispered as he raised up his right hand and silenced the room.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Of course there is a need for further investigation but I have a connection with Commander Solomon and he assures me that the duke has been killed."

    "Regardless¡­ our next steps remain clear. We must prevent his hybrid daughter from bing the duchess of House Peterlor."

    "How? She has enough support from her father''s allies to prevent any challenges and House Peterlor doesn''t have any other heirs," a handsome man questioned in an even tone.

    "Who said that House Peterlor has no heirs?" the Grand Tutor smirked as he tapped a button on his wristmunicator.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    A file arrived in the inbox of the othermunicators in the room and the nobles took a few seconds to see what was inside.

    The file contained the profile of a cold looking middle aged noble woman with sharp angr features.

    Her skin was smooth and fair and there was a rosy tint to her cheeks that spoke of a pampered life of luxury.

    Rich ck hair gently cascaded down from her shoulders and despite her beauty there was a sense of intelligence to her features that suggested that she was not just a mere vase.

    "Who is that?" someone asked after reviewing the picture and failing to match the face to the nobles that he knew.

    "Lady Beterica of House Serpentinesa. She has not stepped foot out of her home for several decades now," the Grand Tutor replied with a thin smile on his lips.

    "She was the wife of the former head of House Peterlor. The man who almost ended his own lineage by legitimising all of his bastards."

    "Her two sons were killed by Rokan during the fight for session and she returned to her family home."

    "She cut off all ties with House Peterlor and locked herself up in a mansion. At least¡­ that''s the public story."

    A nobledy interrupted with an expression of confusion on her face,

    "That is all well and good but¡­ the former wife of a long dead head of House Peterlor holds no im to his family''s territories."

    The Grand Tutor tapped his fingers lightly on the table and a heavy crack appeared in the metal with every knock.

    He understood the doubts and confusion from the other nobles in the room but there was one piece of information that they did not know.

    Lady Beterica had managed to steal a capsule of herte husband''s frozen sperm.

    It was an ingenious move.

    "You see¡­ Lady Beterica hated seeing the man who killed her children take everything that rightfully belonged to them," the Grand Tutor slowly spoke.

    "They were the proper heirs and yet some bastard from an unknown woman that her husband cheated on her with managed to defeat them inbat."

    "So, she left but not without a n¡­"

    The Grand Tutor touched his wristmunicator, and another file was sent.

    This time the file contained the picture of an attractive young man who bore a striking resemnce to Rokan''s grandfather.

    He appeared to be in histe twenties or early thirties and the harsh re in his eyes made him seem like an intimidating figure.

    "As the legal wife of the former Duke Peterlor, any children that she has using her husband''s gic material are still considered as members of the family," he continued in a low tone.

    "The boy may be young but¡­ his talent is real and it is good enough to mount a serious challenge to the hybrid girl."

    "He may not be the direct heir but¡­ we can sway other members of the anti-hybrid faction to support his im to House Peterlor."

 Chapter 701 Departure

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (International Spaceport- Gate 014)

    Gate 014 was very quiet. There were only two people sitting down patiently in the waiting area for a spacecraft to arrive.

    One of the girls was a seven-foot-tall hybrid with golden eyes and four de-like appendages jutting out of her back.

    She wore a in ck dress and a pair ofbat boots that matched her attire.

    The girl sitting next to her was a beautiful pale-skinned woman with gorgeous ck hair and piercing green eyes.

    She wore a simple pair of jeans and a navy-blue shirt. The two girls did not speak but their fingers were intertwined.

    "You don''t have to do this alone you know," Cleo whispered quietly as she leaned her head against Sophie''s shoulder.

    "Babe¡­ I really want you with me but¡­ I need to this by myself," Sophie replied softly as she gazed outside the window.

    Dozens of spacecrafts werending on the ground outside the spaceport, and she could see metalloid stairways emerging from their hulls.

    Passengers walked down the stairs while metallic androids carried their luggage and carts. It was a busy sight.

    "Principal Malik begged me to stay," Sophie tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

    "Especially when the results of the second stage were published¡­ I swear his tail drooped so low to the ground¡­"

    "You don''t have to pretend to be okay¡­ I know how much this tournament meant to you," Cleo whispered gently as she touched Sophie''s palm.

    Sophie''s voice trailed off and she blinked rapidly to fight back the tears that were welling up inside her eyes.

    It wasn''t fair.

    She trained so hard¡­ just to be able to follow in her father''s footsteps and it was all for nothing.

    He would never see her performance.

    Sophie''s fingers curled up into a tight fist as red-hot fury surged in her heart. She wanted whoever was responsible for her father''s disappearance to pay.

    She would kill them.

    She would make them suffer.

    A faint crimson mist began to spread from the corners of Sophie''s golden eyes as her powers responded to her dark mood.

    No¡­ get a grip¡­ stop this¡­

    Sophie took in a few deep breaths and forced herself to calm down. She inhaled and exhaled while silently counting to ten over and over again.

    She could not afford to lose control.

    Not when so many eyes were watching. She was going to be the next head of House Peterlor, she could not afford to have any scandals.

    Sophie was not na?ve enough to think that her coronation would proceed smoothly.

    Even with the help of her father''s allies, there was enough anti-hybrid sentiments among the upper ss to prove troublesome.

    At least there was one advantage in her favour¡­ she was the only heir.

    Duke Peterlor had no children other than her. Sophie was also pretty sure that all of her closest rtives on her father''s side were dead.

    No one could challenge her for sessorship.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and grabbed Cleo''s hand. Feeling the warmth of her girlfriend''s palm did give her somefort.

    She was not alone.

    Even though she felt lonely¡­ there were people around her that cared for her well being.

    "I am disappointed to not be able to take part in the final stage," Sophie confessed truthfully as she turned to face her girlfriend.

    "I thought about using my Rsychosis technique to make clones topete in my stead but¡­ it really wouldn''t be the same."

    "Plus my mirror copies aren''t as strong as me¡­ if Ipete then I always want to show my best effort."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Everyone will know you were the strongest," Cleo smiled warmly as she leaned forward and kissed the bottom of Sophie''s chin.

    "And besides¡­ there is always the next tournament. It won''t be until we reach fourth year but¡­ I have faith that you will be the number one."

    "Thanks babe," Sophie''s lips curved slightly upwards as she replied.

    She opened her mouth to say a few more words when an announcement came from the speaker overhead.

    [ATTENTION PASSENGERS OF GATE 014. YOUR SPACECRAFT HAS ARRIVED! PLEASE PROCEED IN AN ORDERLY FASHION THROUGH THE TERMINAL]

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator and saw a message from Katarina. Apparently, the spaceship was ready for departure.

    It was time to go.

    Sophie slowly got up from her chair and looked at Cleo with a trace of reluctance in her gaze. She didn''t want to leave.

    Returning to Gaia¡­ made it all seem real.

    Her father was dead, and she needed to take control of his business empire.

    She needed to n his funeral¡­ seed him as the new head of the household¡­

    Thinking of all these things made Sophie feel sick to her stomach and yet she could not allow a trace of hesitation or fear to show on her face.

    Those vicious nobles would eat her alive for disying weakness.

    Sophie did not know what to say to Cleo so she simply pulled her into a tight embrace and fiercely kissed her on the mouth.

    The kiss was long and lingering¡­ Sophie could taste the sweet and intoxicating vour of her girlfriend''s lips and it was utterly addicting.

    Finally, Sophie took a step back and broke the kiss. A small trace of saliva stained the corner of Cleo''s lips and the blush on her face¡­

    No¡­ stop it! You need to leave!

    Sophie shook her head and tried desperately to push down the thoughts that were running through her mind.

    "I''ll see you¡­ make sure you win for me," Sophie spoke solemnly as she took onest look at the princess and then turned to walk away.

    "Take care of yourself¡­ call me every day, okay?" Cleo cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled as Sophie''s back got further and further away.

    The hybrid girl nodded and then drew in a shaky breath.

    She walked through several long and winding corridors until she eventually arrived inside a massive hangar.

    In the corner of the hangar was a medium-sized spacefaring vessel heavily armed with thetest shielding technology, cloaking devices and ss one weaponry.

    Katarina was taking no chances with her safety and had sent one of the most dangerous starships in Duke Peterlor'' fleet.

    Sophie nodded at the attendants standing by the door and proceeded towards the metalloid stairs that led to the interior of the starship.

    In a couple of hours the news of her departure from the tournament would probably spread across the Virtual Net.

    Sophie absentmindedly wondered what the reactions of theizens would be like.

    Would they feel sorry that they could not see her performance in the final round?

    Or would some people be grateful that the first ced genius would no longer be a hybrid.

    She walked up the metalloid stairs and was greeted by a squad of several men and women wearing the white uniform of House Peterlor.

    "Greeting young miss," a middle aged man with a burn mark on his cheek bowed respectfully to Sophie.

    The rest of the servants followed his lead and waited for Sophie''smand.

    "At ease. Take me to my private quarters," Sophie coldly ordered as she stepped inside with confidence.

    From here on¡­ she could not remove the mask on her face.

    She was the calm and collected future duchess of House Peterlor.

 Chapter 702 Returning Home

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Underground City)

    "Recognised¡­ Sophie Peterlor¡­ alpha level personnel."

    A robotic sounding voice came from the speaker overhead. Sophie closed her eyes and waited for the transport to begin.

    With a loud hissing noise, arge person- sized hole opened up in the floor directly below her feet.

    Sophie stepped forward and then disappeared into the space.

    Whoosh!

    It was almost like falling down a slide, there were a few twists and turns which made her feel faintly queasy but it was nothing that she could not handle.

    With a dull thud, her feetnded on solid ground. Sophie opened her eyes and saw the familiar sight of the underground city.

    Tall buildings stretched out towards the ceiling, small hover cars zipped through the air and the entireplex was illuminated by artificial lights.

    Androids walked through the streets performing misceneous tasks and helping to maintain the mechanical city.

    Sophie waited patiently as a hovercar broke away from a nearby stream of traffic and slowly travelled towards her location.

    It was a silvery grey model with a sleek exterior and multiple doors. One of the doors slid open and Katarina stepped outside.

    "Mydy," Katarina respectfully spoke as she approached Sophie and tilted her head downwards.

    "You don''t need to do that," Sophie smiled sweetly as she wrapped her arms around her teacher and gave her a quick squeeze.

    "I''m sorry¡­ mydy¡­ Sophie¡­" Katarina replied with a smile of her own, but Sophie could see the sadness in her gaze.

    "Your father¡­ he would be proud of you¡­ I know that his death must havee as a shock¡­"

    Sophie''s smile faded as a terrible wave of loneliness rose up in her heart. She missed her father¡­ she missed hearing his voice¡­ seeing his face.

    Every time that she was reminded that he was gone, it was like getting a punch to her stomach.

    There was a part of her that still did not believe that he was really dead.

    Fortunately she had a reason not to give up hope.

    If she could reach the void stage then hopefully the Hunter Goddess would be able to take her astral form to her mother.

    Then she would get confirmation if her father was still alive.

    No¡­ he was alive.

    Sophie would not entertain any other possibility.

    "He is missing in action¡­ the Imperial Army officers have not found a body," Sophie retorted with a faint trace of anger in her voice.

    "Of course, Sophie¡­ I¡­ I am just concerned about you," Katarina replied carefully as she sensed her young mistress'' foul mood.

    Sophie''s fingers curled up into a tight fist and she took in a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

    Lashing out at Katarina would not make things better.

    "No¡­Katarina¡­ it''s me¡­ sorry¡­ the stress of this all is¡­" Sophie''s voice trailed off as Katarina nodded in understanding.

    The pair spent the next few minutes talking about other topics such as Sophie''s experiences in the tournament and how her rtionship with Cleo was progressing.

    They both tactfully decided to ignore the elephant in the room.

    Her session.

    "Are you ready to return to the mansion?" Katarina warmly spoke as she opened one of the hovercar''s doors.

    "Yes. I could use some rest after the flight," Sophie replied calmly. She stepped into the vehicle and sat down in the backseat.

    The interior of the car had been specially modified to provide extra leg room and space for Sophie''s unique hybrid physiology.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The hybrid girl leaned against the back of the seat and powered on her wristmunicator.

    She absentmindedly scrolled through the Virtual Net while the car''s engine made a faint humming noise as it stuttered to life.

    Two days had passed since she had left Caorn and officially dropped out of the tournament.

    It was a decision that still made her feel a slight regret.

    She wanted to win but now¡­ well at least there was always the next tournament.

    Sophie tried to console herself but as she looked at the articles floating around online¡­ she knew that she was lying.

    [SHOCKING! THE NUMBER ONE STUDENT HAS DECIDED TO DROP OUT!]

    [Sophie Peterlor the daughter of thete Duke Peterlor has left the tournament. Rumors and spection say that she has returned to Gaia to take over her father''s house.]

    ["I would have beaten her anyways,"- Ryan Wilhelm''s bold deration.]

    [DISAPPOINTMENT, ANGER AND CONFUSION¡­ SOPHIE''S FANS DEMAND THAT SHE RETURN IMMEDIATELY FOR THE FINAL ROUND]

    Sophie scrolled through a few more articles and felt her bad mood get even worse. Her situation was the perfect storm of media attention.

    Firstly she was the number one student for both rounds of the tournament and she was the daughter of a former Imperial Army Commander.

    Not to mention that she was a hybrid as well.

    Theizens reactions to her departure were¡­ mixed.

    Some clearly had sympathy for her and wrote that they hoped she would heal from the loss of her father while others were thrilled that she was gone from the tournament.

    Sophie ignored the negativements and tried to focus on the positive ones.

    Although she did not manage to win¡­ it felt good to see posts from hybrids talking about the impact that her performance had on them.

    Sophie looked outside of the window and stared at the tall metalloid buildings and mechanical structures that zipped by.

    The underground city was exactly like how she remembered it and yet¡­ without her father this ce felt hollow.

    It was like the soul of the city had vanished.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and powered off her wristmunicator. She had today to rx and then from tomorrow¡­ meetings after meetings were in her future.

    She had to talk to her father''s allies, administrators, financial groups, nobles who were in her father''s circles and the list went on.

    The actual session ceremony itself should be a rtively straightforward matter since there were no other heirs to challenge her right.

    The rest of the car ride was in silence as Sophie was lost in her thoughts and Katarina didn''t want to break the quiet mood.

    Finally, the vehicle shuddered to a stop and the magnificent three-story mansion came into view.

    Butler Gerald was waiting outside the gates and the elderly man wore a sharp ck tuxedo with a pair of white gloves covering his fingertips.

    Sophie opened the hovercar door and stepped outside. She felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

    She was tired.

    She barely got any sleep on the spaceflight to Gaia.

    Every time she closed her eyes, all she could think about was the mountain of tasks that she had toplete in order to protect her father''s legacy.

    It was all getting to be too overwhelming.

    No¡­ don''t break.

    You can''t afford to break.

    Sophie drew in a deep breath and blinked. When she reopened her eyes, a cold expression shed across her face.

    It was just a fa?ade but¡­ it would have to do for now.

 Chapter 703 The Secret Offer

    (Virvedean Star System- Exereon)

    (Private Estate- Meeting Room)

    In the middle of the capital city of Exereon there was a famous mansion that served as a tourist attraction.

    Of course, civilians were not allowed to approach its heavily armoured gates so many simply took photos from a safe distance.

    The mansion was over five stories tall and towered over the surrounding buildings.

    Outside of the mansion there were vast flower gardens carefully maintained by an army of servants and gardeners.

    This magnificent home belonged to House Serpentinesa who were the rulers of the.

    House Serpentinesa may only hold the rank of count but in the Virvedean Star System they were one of the three most powerful noble families.

    Inside one of the many rooms of the mansion, a beautiful middle-aged noblewoman lightly sipped a warm cup of tea.

    She wore a scarlet red dress with exposed sleeves that disyed her smooth and fair skin.

    Rich ck hair gently cascaded down from her shoulders and her beauty was enhanced by a sense of intelligence to her features.

    Lady Beterica... the unofficial ruler of House Serpentinesa.

    She was currently sitting down on a marble chair while a pair of maids stood quietly at attention behind her.

    The maids did not make a single sound and one could see a faint sense of tension in their brows as if they were afraid of something.

    The doors to the room swung open and Lady Beterica slowly ced the cup of tea down on the table in front of her.

    An elderly man wearing a luxurious ck robe stepped into the room.

    There was a schrly aura around him which was enhanced by the small book that he carried in his right hand.

    "It is truly a pleasure to meet the famous Lady Beterica of House Serpentinesa," the Grand Tutor smiled kindly as he walked into the room.

    "Alice, Elizabeth... leave this ce at once," Lady Beterica coldly spoke. The two maids nodded and then exited the room quickly.

    There was a brief moment of silence as Lady Beterica refused to speak.

    Instead, her cold hazel eyes scanned the grand tutor''s elderly face as if searching for something.

    "And for what do I owe the pleasure of the ''famous'' Grand Tutor of the Imperial Family?" Lady Beterica asked calmly.

    The Grand Tutorughed softly, and a grandfatherly smile shed across his face.

    He made his way over to the attractive noblewoman and sat down on an empty chair opposite to her.

    "As you know... Duke Peterlor is dead," the Grand Tutor bluntly spoke and his eyes searched for a reaction from the woman sitting across from him.

    He was going to be disappointed.

    Lady Beterica simply picked up her cup of tea and took another sip as if the Grand Tutor''s words had no effect on her mood.

    "And? What does that have to do with me?" Lady Beterica coldly responded as she enjoyed the bitter aftertaste of the tea in her mouth.

    "I know about the boy," the Grand Tutor whispered softly as he reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a file.

    Lady Beterica took the thin sheet of paper from his hand and scanned its contents.

    It was a gic report done by the doctor who she had chosen to perform the fertilisation operation all those years ago.

    If she had known that he had such loose lips... she would have killed him after she sessfully got pregnant.

    Still... there was no use in regretting what had already urred.

    "So what do you want?" Lady Beterica asked with an unflustered expression on her face.

    "Your son can challenge Rokan''s daughter for the position of the head of House Peterlor. I will give him my full support," the Grand Tutor promised solemnly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "In addition, my allies are prepared to offer aid and will provide him with the political capital necessary for such a im."

    There was another long moment of silence as Lady Beterica closed her eyes and seemed to be mulling over the Grand Tutor''s offer.

    The elderly man leaned back in his chair and smiled confidently.

    He was sure that she would ept since it was well known that Lady Beterica hated House Peterlor.

    What better way to get revenge than to have your son inherit the house of the man you hated... the man who killed your children.

    "Have you ever lost a child?" Lady Beterica finally broke the silence with a simple question.

    "No... I have not had any offsprings," the Grand Tutor replied softly.

    "I see..." Lady Beterica whispered as she leaned forward.

    A trace of sorrow shed across her face as she opened her mouth and continued to talk,

    "Children are a part of you. I had a beautiful baby boy called Seth and a gorgeous baby girl called Emily."

    "I hated my husband but... they were the only good that came out of that marriage."

    "I still remember them as babies... back then I was afraid to let the wet nurse touch them without being in the room."

    "I was so scared that something would happen to them if they left my sight for even a moment..."

    "A silly fear but... it took me a long time to get over it."

    Lady Beterica let out a heavy sigh as she lost herself in memories that she recalled every single night.

    "Then... they grew up," Lady Beterica spoke in a heavy tone.

    "My son wanted to be the next duke and my daughter had dreams of bing a singer... I supported them and loved them dearly."

    "I attended all of my daughter''s concerts and hired private mercenaries to train my son."

    "My husband had bastards outside but... I didn''t care. They were unseen and out of sight that way I could pretend that they did not exist."

    "But... that was my mistake. How could I have known that foolish man would legitimise all of his outside children?"

    "Forcing my lovely son and daughter topete for the right to inherit his house... forcing my son to die at the hands of the man who wouldter steal his legacy."

    "My daughter died to another one of his bastards. Some bitch who was the daughter of a prostitute."

    Lady Beterica took in a deep breath of air as she struggled to contained the fury that surged in her heart.

    The noblewoman seemed to be talking to herself as much as she was talking to the Grand Tutor who patiently listened to her story,

    "I begged them you know... my children... I knew that they were not talented at cultivation, so I begged them... I told them we could leave, and I would take them back to my maternal family."

    "They refused."

    "I should have stopped them. I didn''t. Because of that... both of my children are dead."

    The floor beneath Lady Beterica''s feet cracked and a heavy cultivation pressure descended on the room.

    Even the Grand Tutor was affected by the spiritual bacsh and had to tightly grip the sides of his armchair in order to not fall unconscious.

    "I know what you want," Lady Beterica coldly spoke as she raised up her head and stared directly in the Grand Tutor''s eyes.

    "You want to use my son in a war against the hybrids. To promote your Human Supremacy nonsense."

    "My son... is not a tool. I admit that at first I wanted him to be the instrument of my revenge but now...""

    "I will not lose another one of my children."

    "Now get out of my sight."

 Chapter 704 A Good Luck Charm

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Study Room)

    Knock! Knock!

    "Enter," Sophie whispered softly as she ced her face in her palms and let out a heavy sigh.

    The desk in front of her was stacked from top to bottom with metalloid tablets, files and other messy paperwork.

    There was so much that she still needed to do.

    Tasks, meetings¡­ by the gods¡­ it never freaking ended¡­

    The door to the study room slowly opened and butler Gerald stepped inside holding a te with a steaming cup of tea on top of its metal surface.

    "Mydy¡­ you should take some rest," Butler Gerald gently spoke as he approached the tired girl and ced a warm hand on her shoulder.

    He ced the te on a section of the desk that was still rtively clear and waited for Sophie to speak.

    "I¡­ I can''t¡­ the banquet is in two days'' time¡­ the meeting with the administrators is tomorrow¡­ I need to speak to my father''s allies¡­" Sophie replied with exhaustion evident in her voice.

    She was tired.

    Everything was just too overwhelming.

    "Take a break," Butler Gerald spoke firmly as he grabbed Sophie by the arm and gently pulled her out of her seat.

    It was a disrespectful move for a servant to make but the head butler had looked after Sophie since she was a little girl.

    Sophie allowed herself to be pulled away because truthfully¡­ she needed a break.

    "Why don''t you take a walk around the gardens to clear your mind and I will help out with the rest of the paperwork when you get back," Butler Gerald calmly suggested.

    The elderly servant spoke softly and there was an undercurrent of concern in his voice which showed that he was worried about Sophie''s well-being.

    "Your father would not want you to burn yourself out," Butler Gerald added as he saw a conflicted expression sh across Sophie''s face.

    "Okay¡­ I''ll be back in an hour¡­" Sophie finally relented as she stretched out her arms and let out a tired yawn.

    The hybrid girl walked out of the study room and made her way towards the mansion''s exit. The Peterlor estate was eerily quiet.

    Butler Gerald had ced the living servants on a leave of absence which Sophie had approved.

    Katarina and the other death guards would need to reassess the servants working in the manor just to make sure that they were still trustworthy.

    Therefore the only ones keeping therge estate in order were the robotic androids that worked tirelessly to keep the ce spotless.

    Sophie envied the robots since they never got tired, and they didn''t need rest.

    Still¡­ it could be worse.

    Unlike when her father had taken over as the head of House Peterlor, there was a robust system and chain ofmand still in ce.

    Sophie just needed to speak to the heads of the various organisations that were under the umbre of House Peterlor.

    It was still a daunting task but¡­ a far better alternative than having to seek out recement employees or running the groups herself.

    No¡­ stop thinking about work¡­

    Sophie nced at her wristmunicator and had to force herself not to power it on and check the news on the Virtual Net.

    She was still a hot topic of conversation.

    The number one ranked student in the tournament had dropped out. The final stage had just begun yesterday and yet she was still being talked about.

    And not favourably.

    Sophie let out another sigh as she lost herself in a daydream of what could have been.

    She imagined herself holding up the grand trophy and being proimed as the winner of the Inter- University tournament.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But that was a future that would remain¡­ a dream.

    Sophie walked for around ten minutes before finally reaching the back exit. She opened the door and stepped outside.

    The air underground wasn''t exactly ''fresh'', but the air filtration system made sure that it was not stale.

    The hybrid girl wandered around the back of the mansion and soon found herself standing in the middle of the flower garden.

    Sophie wasn''t feeling in the mood to walk all the way to the greenhouseplex so this would have to do for her break.

    She sat down on a white bench in front of a field of purplish- white flowers that swayed gently in the wind.

    The scent of fresh herbs, and a sweet odour came from the flowers. Sophie took in a deep breath and felt some of the tension in her body melt away.

    In her private garden, she felt at peace. It was a world away from the struggles and problems of her daily life.

    Here she could pretend that everything was okay¡­ even though it felt as though her world had copsed.

    She was going to be a duchess.

    A high ranking noble.

    It was a position that many in the Earth Federation would dream of possessing. Dukes stood at the top of the noble societal hierarchy.

    They were just below the emperor and in some cases stood above the offsprings of the Imperial Family.

    And yet¡­ Sophie was willing to give it all up if it meant that her father would return from the war safe and unharmed.

    She didn''t want power.

    She wasn''t greedy for authority.

    She just wanted her dad back.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and gently exhaled. She could feel the wind brushing against her face and the light raysing from the artificial sun washing over her body.

    "The banquet¡­" Sophie muttered softly as she stretched out her arms and shifted her body into a morefortable position.

    Her social debut as the future head of House Peterlor would be in two days. As the host she had invited her father''s allies as well as other influential nobles.

    It was the first step in her transition from heir to the head of the household. After the banquet she just needed to take part in the session ceremony and that was it.

    A rtively straightforward matter and yet Sophie was not leaving anything up to chance. The banquet would be held in one of her father''s properties and security was a top priority.

    Nothing could go wrong.

    She would not let anything go wrong.

    Sophie furrowed her brows and mentally ran over the security preparations in her mind.

    There would be biological, mechanical and chemical scanners, private mercenary groups patrolling the far outskirts, her loyal death guards handling the inside and finally¡­

    Some extreme measures that Katarina had suggested.

    It would be perfect.

    Sophie knew that as a hybrid, she would be judged far more harshly than a full-blooded human.

    It was not fair but there was nothing that she could do about it.

    This was the hand that she had been dealt in life and frankly¡­ she was proud of her Arachnais heritage.

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes and extended her foot so that it lightly brushed the top of a flower in front of her.

    She got up from the bench and approached the swaying nt. Sophie carefully plucked one of the petals and ced it in her pocket.

    A good luck charm.

    Hopefully it would bring her good fortune over the next couple of weeks.

 Chapter 705 The Future Head Of House Peterlor

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Eron City- Private Estate)

    Sophie sat down patiently while two maids carefully adjusted her hair into a neat single braid that fell down her left shoulder.

    One of the maids made a humming noise under her breath as she reached into her pocket for a make-up kit.

    Sophie closed her eyes as the brush lightly touched her skin and applied a thinyer of makeup.

    Nothing too excessive¡­ just enough to entuate her beauty.

    "Thank youdies," Sophie warmly spoke.

    "It is our pleasure young miss," the older of the two maids replied with a small smile.

    Sophie truly looked beautiful.

    She wore a long ck evening gown that fell down to her ankles. Golden threads were interwoven into the dark fabric creating a brilliant contrast of colours.

    Fourrge holes had been cut out of the back of the dress to allow her de-like appendages to be on full disy.

    Sophie did not intend to hide her hybrid nature with cloaking devices or illusions.

    She did not wear any jewellery except for the star-shaped pendant that hung around her neck.

    Somehow theck of expensive items adorning her body only seemed to bring out her natural beauty.

    Sharp angr facial features, hypnotic golden eyes and a nose that slightly tilted to the left.

    Sophie nced at her reflection in the mirror and almost didn''t recognise herself. She looked like a total knockout!

    The hybrid girl bared her fangs and had to stifle herughter as her reflection suddenly appeared far more menacing.

    Today was the day.

    The banquet had already begun and ording to the constant updates being sent to hermunicator by Butler Gerald¡­

    It was all proceeding ording to n.

    If anything, more nobles had arrived than Sophie had initially anticipated.

    Not all would be friendly of course but the fact that they even showed up only helped to improve her image.

    She was the rightful heir to House Peterlor.

    The only offspring of her father¡­ her father who was now¡­ stop it¡­ STOP IT!

    Sophie took in a deep breath and pushed back the rising tide of sadness in her heart that threatened to dampen her mood.

    Not tonight¡­ she could not break down tonight¡­

    Sophie gently exhaled and then a cold expression shed across her face. This was the mask that she needed to wear at the banquet.

    Cold, powerful, and authoritarian.

    She nced at her wristmunicator and saw a message appear in her inbox. It was time for her to make a grand entrance.

    Butler Gerald: [Two hours have passed¡­ are you ready?]

    Sophie: [Be there soon. Inform the servants to make preparations for my arrival]

    The hybrid girl slowly got up from her chair and nodded at the two maidservants before walking out of the room.

    The banquet hall was a ten-minute walk away from her dressing room so it gave Sophie some time to review her n.

    First, she would speak to her father''s allies then certain neutral noble houses to get a feel for their positions and finally¡­

    She would speak to the troublemakers.

    To ignore them would be a sign of disrespect and weakness.

    Sophie was not thrilled to be forced to invite people who did not want a hybrid to be a high noble but¡­

    There was nothing she could do.

    The unwritten rules of high society were not something that she could break. At least not until she amassed more power.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Tap¡­ tap¡­ tap¡­

    Sophie footsteps echoed through the corridor as she passed paintings of her ancestors whose eyes seemed to follow her as she walked by.

    This estate belonged to her grandfather. It had not been used since her father took over as head of House Peterlor.

    It was an ancient mansion.

    Still in good shape thanks to the repair crews that Sophie had employed to tidy up the estate but even then one could feel the history of this building.

    The corridor widened slightly to reveal a set ofrge wooden doors. Pictures of birds had been carved into their wooden surface.

    A elderly servant wearing a luxurious white uniform stood at attention next to the doors and immediately bowed his head as Sophie approached.

    "Wee young miss," the servant politely whispered.

    Sophie nodded at him and then waited. The servant approached the doors and slowly pulled them open.

    Despite his frail physique, he was surprisingly strong and the doors easily slid open even though they weighed over three hundred pounds.

    Beyond the door was arge hall where ck obsidian pirs rose up from the ground and the floor was made from a silvery grey material that shone with a magnificent luster.

    Over two hundred nobles were milling around inside the hall and Sophie could hearughter, small conversations, and hushed whispers.

    This was it. Showtime.

    Sophie stepped through the gap and her eyes narrowed as a burst of light fell on her body. She stood with confidence and grace.

    Every movement of her body disyed dignity and poise.

    "Introducing the future duchess of House Peterlor¡­ Lady Sophie!" a loud shout came from Butler Gerald who announced Sophie''s entrance.

    Immediately every single person in the room focused on her. If Sophie was bothered by their gazes, then she did not show it.

    She slowly walked down a set of stairs towards the floor of the banquet hall with one hand on the railing.

    Her golden eyes narrowed and a pressure formed around her body. The cold expression on her face did not crack for a second.

    She was a forbidden rose.

    Beautiful but with thorns that would make one bleed if they got too close.

    Sophie''s feet touched the hard ground with a light thump. She straightened up her back and towered over most people in the room.

    She was over seven feet tall so her imposing figure made several nobles subconsciously take a few steps back.

    Butler Gerald approached his mistress and handed over a small ss of wine. The liquid inside the ss bubbled ever so slightly.

    Sophie raised up the beverage to her lips and took a small sip. A sweet taste flooded her mouth and the cold liquid helped to calm down her nerves.

    Now it was time to set the mood for the rest of the evening.

    Despite not using a microphone, her voice was able to be heard throughout the hall as Sophie circted qi into the meridians in her throat.

    "On the behalf of House Peterlor," Sophie confidently spoke.

    "I wee you all to the feast tonight. I know that many of you have traveled a long way to reach the Alpha Star System and for that I am grateful."

    "This a night for celebration and mourning. My father is missing so it is with a heavy heart that I as his sessor will be temporarily taking up his position."

    "I would like to propose a toast¡­"

    Sophie raised up her wine ss and many nobles in the room followed her lead.

    She didn''t say anything about those who didn''t, but her eyes swept in their direction with casual indifference.

    "To the future of House Peterlor," Sophie dered with a firm conviction in her tone.

    Leona''s father took the lead in replying to her deration and soon a resounding set of roars filled the banquet hall.

    "To House Peterlor!"

    "To House Peterlor!"

    "To House Peterlor!"

 Chapter 706 The Banquet Continues

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Eron City- Private Estate)

    Sophie took a small sip of wine and smiled politely as she wandered through the hall. The banquet was already off to a good start.

    Still... she was not going to rest on herurels.

    There was a difficult night ahead of her with nobles all wearing masks. Concealing their true emotions to y their role in high society.

    Honestly fighting was more enjoyable than this.

    At least in a fight you knew who your enemy was but in politics...

    The woman or man smiling at you could easily stab you in the back the second you turn away from them.

    Ambitious snakes greedy for even a scarp of power.

    "Duke Braveheart... It is truly a pleasure to see you here," Sophie warmly spoke as she approached Leona''s father.

    "Nonsense! I wouldn''t miss this for the world! My little girl was disappointed that she couldn''t be here but just know that she is cheering you on," Duke Braveheart replied with a small smile.

    "Give her my thanks. I hope that you are enjoying the banquet so far," Sophie continued to speak casually.

    She made small talk with the duke for a few more minutes before moving on to other parts of the room.

    In this setting it was impossible to talk about sensitive matters so most of her conversations just mentioned the banquet itself and the atmosphere.

    Sophie pressed a button on the side of her wristmunicator and a section of the wall slowly protruded outwards.

    There was a band sitting down on the new tform holding wooden string instruments. Sophie nodded at them, and they begun to y.

    Soon the sounds of ssical music filled the hall. Sophie took another sip of wine and closed her eyes for a brief moment of rest.

    She remained in ce for just a few seconds and then reopened her eyes. There was still work to be done.

    She still needed to talk to the neutral nobles, others who belonged to her father''s faction and of course... the not-so friendly aristocrats.

    "Countess Assea, I hope that your journey to Gaia was smooth," Sophie softly spoke to a well-dressed woman wearing a scarlet red gown.

    "Well aside from pirates and their ilk... it was indeed quite uneventful," the countess yawned sleepily as she rubbed her eyes.

    It was an incredibly impolite move to make but Sophie knew that the woman meant no malice.

    She had read files about all the nobles in the room and memorised their habits, behaviours and personalities.

    Of course people were more than their descriptions so Sophie used the information on the files as a guide rather than the objective truth.

    "I will miss your father," Countess Assea suddenly spoke and Sophie noticed that her fingers were trembling ever so slightly.

    "I confessed to him you know... many... many years ago back when we were in university together."

    "He was a handsome young man even then but it was his eyes that drew me in. He contained a fiery ambition that I had never seen before."

    "What happened after the confession?" Sophie asked curiously since she had not read this fact on the files.

    "Well... we went out for a few dates but... it didn''t go anywhere," Countess Assea let out a sigh with a hint of mncholy in her voice.

    "He was too disciplined and focused on his cultivation so he never had any time to try and make our rtionship work."

    "Listen word of advice... cultivation isn''t everything. Enjoy your life and live your youth out to the fullest."

    Count Assea winked yfully at Sophie and then clinked her winess against hers. Sophie was infected by the cheerful atmosphere and followed her lead.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Cheers!"

    "Cheers!"

    Sophie moved away from the countess with a better understanding of her father''s past. She supposed it made sense.

    Her dad became the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation and rose up the ranks of the military to the position of an Imperial Armymander.

    He must have been training constantly to achieve just one of those goals much less both.

    Still... she was grateful that it didn''t work out. It would just feel weird seeing her dad with a woman other than her mom.

    Sophie shook her head and tossed that strange thought to the back of her mind.

    She saw an elderly man with a neatly trimmed moustache standing in the shadow of a nearby pir.

    She quickly checked through her mental list of names and faces to discover the elderly man''s identity.

    Baron Fairkins.

    He belonged to a neutral house with ack of financial and military strength.

    However, his daughter was marrying into an upper rank noble family so his influence had grown quite significantly over the years.

    "Baron Fairkins, I appreciate your presence at tonight''s banquet," Sophie approached the elderly man and spoke politely.

    "It must be difficult considering that it is harvesting season and the Sonkai are ready to be bred for livestock."

    "You have done an impressive amount of research," Baron Fairkins'' lips curved upwards but Sophie could tell that his smile did not reach his eyes.

    "Don''t worry... I have no ns to ally myself with those who are hostile to you. You have my word on the matter."

    "Thank you," Sophie replied calmly with no trace of excess emotion on her face.

    She talked for a few more minutes with the baron but he seemed uninterested in the conversation and only replied with short answers.

    Sensing the mood, Sophie bid the elderly man a polite goodbye and then went to talk to another guest.

    House Fairkins... clearly not fans of her but as long as they did not support the Human Supremacy faction then that was enough.

    It was na?¡¥ve to think that those not on her enemies'' side were automatically her allies. Noble society was not ck and white but rather different shades of grey.

    Sophie stered a friendly expression on her face and walked up to a group of men and women all dressed in elegant white robes.

    Representatives of the Nephilim Church. They held little power politically and their authority was quite limited.

    However, Sophie was still grateful to see them.

    She did owe the organisation for helping her return to the Earth Federation when she was lost in the Unovan Syndicate.

    "Bishop Thompson, Holy Lady Porter.... It is an honour for you and yourpanions to grace my home with your presence," Sophie warmly spoke.

    The bishop stretched out his hands and sped them together in prayer. He closed his eyes and a faint golden aura surrounded his body.

    "May the blessing of the angels protect you and your loved ones and guide them onto the path of righteousness," the bishop chanted reverently.

    The holydy followed his lead and Sophie could not help but notice that ck iron chains were wrapped around her skin.

    "May the demons lead your enemies to ruination," the Holy Lady muttered darkly and a ckish-grey aura surrounded her hands.

    Sophie wasn''t sure if their blessings would have any effect since, she was a vessel of the Hunter Goddess but at least it was a kind gesture.

 Chapter 707 Verbal Barbs And A Naked Threat

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Eron City- Private Estate)

    "Honey¡­ I see you standing there¡­ shining in the moonlight."

    "The shine of your beauty and grace¡­ it makes my heart race¡­"

    "The sorrow of passing and the night is long¡­ let me hold you in my arms¡­"

    Sophie softly hummed under her breath along to the song that the band was ying. Gentle melodic notes filled the air and her body swayed ever so slightly from side to side.

    The banquet had already gone on for three hours already. Some of the guests had already left but many were still mulling about.

    She still had to talk to the remaining aristocrats and at this point the only ones left were the not so friendly ones.

    The hybrid girl took another sip of wine and rxed slightly as the sweet tasting liquid slid down her throat.

    She really didn''t want to speak to them.

    Who would want to talk to people who didn''t even consider you as a person who deserved the same rights as them?

    Sophie took in a deep breath and fixed the expression on her face. Her lips curved upwards into a friendly but polite smile.

    A mask that she needed to wear for the uing performance.

    Okay¡­ it was time to begin.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and walked towards a group of nobles hanging about in the corner of the room with heavy scowls on their faces.

    They wore expensive dresses and suits that were adorned with precious metals and jewellery that sparkled under the light.

    Honestly¡­ Sophie thought that they looked quite ridiculous like peacocks spreading out their feathers begging for others to look at them.

    As she approached, she received no acknowledgement from the nobles other than derisive smirks or furrowed eyebrows.

    "Baroness Eppea, Viscount Foxmond, Marchioness Zondard and Count Monmar, I take it that you all have enjoyed the evening so far," Sophie politely spoke.

    The nobles exchanged nces and finally one of the women reluctantly spoke since it was considered rude to ignore the host''s direct question.

    "Yes¡­ although the scale seems a bit small for an upper rank noble house," Marchioness Zondard replied with a hint of mockery in her tone.

    "I agree," Sophie smoothly responded without being bothered by the barb hidden in the marchioness'' words.

    "However seeing as though my house is my mourning over the loss of my father¡­ it did not seem right to waste precious resources to host avish and grand banquet."

    "He would have wanted a minimal affair to celebrate my session."

    "Ahh¡­ speaking of thete duke¡­ it must really be¡­ ''convenient'' for you that he is now dead," Viscount Foxmond sneered slightly as he spoke.

    Sophie slowly exhaled and mentally counted to ten in her mind. She pushed down the intense rage that was forming in her heart.

    This was bait.

    Do not fall for it¡­ calm down¡­ calm down¡­

    It was easier said than done.

    Her father''s death was so recent and for this asshole to insinuate that she was happy about his passing made Sophie want to punch him right in the middle of his smug face.

    "Viscount Foxmond¡­ I do not know what you are implying by that statement but allow me to give you one correction," Sophie coldly whispered.

    "My father¡­ is. not. dead."

    "The Imperial Army has not recovered a body and need I remind you that around twenty years ago he was also presumed dead and returned."

    "When he does, I shall make sure to inform him of your kind words."<novelnext></novelnext>

    A naked threat.

    The smug look on the viscount''s face cracked ever so slightly as Sophie leaked out a trace of her killing intent.

    Her right eye had a faint reddish mist creeping up along her pupils and when she spoke one could see the razor sharp fangs in her mouth.

    "My colleague was only speaking in jest," Count Monmar broke the tense atmosphere with a cheerful smile.

    "I for one look forward to your session. It will be quite difficult to maintain your father''s variouspanies and assets but¡­ you will seed."

    The count''s words sounded good, but Sophie could tell that he was being insincere. Still, this was a far better experience than trading insults.

    "I am just surprised that thete Duke Peterlor did not have any other children," Baroness Eppea said calmly.

    "I suppose he must have been quite taken with your¡­ ''mother'' . Did your father ever tell you anything about her?"

    "Your heritage is quite the mystery. At least she gave you¡­ ''exotic'' features."

    "My father met my mother on a trading starship travelling to the Earth Federation. Unfortunately that is all the information that he shared," Sophie lied easily as she spoke.

    "My ''heritage'' is indeed a mystery however I am gically half human and have been raised since birth in the Federation."

    Her Insectoid Heritage was something that Sophie was secretly proud of since it made her feel a connection to her mom.

    However, she was aware of the reality of her situation. The Earth Federation and the Insectoid Empire were at war.

    If her bloodline was to one day be exposed then it would lead to an enormous amount of political bacsh.

    Without her father around¡­ Sophie shuddered to imagine what would happen.

    If she was stronger then she would be able to resist but at the moment she was a sprout still waiting to grow into a towering tree.

    Sophie pushed those unweed thoughts to the back of her mind and continued to chat with the group of nobles for several more minutes.

    Finally with not a hint of reluctance in her heart, she bid them farewell and moved on to the next group.

    This went on for several more hours until the night had fallen and many stars were twinkling brightly in the sky.

    Sophie waved off thest pair of guests who left the hall and then slumped down on a nearby chair.

    "Mydy, are you okay?" Butler Gerald asked with concern evident in his voice.

    "Yeah¡­ just tired¡­" Sophie replied softly as she rubbed her eyes.

    "Can you bring me another ss of wine? I think I''ll stay here for a bit longer and then head to my room."

    "Certainly mydy," Butler Gerald nodded respectfully and then walked over to another area of the hall to pick out an expensive bottle of wine.

    Sophie leaned against the chair and gently massaged her temples. She could feel all the stress and tension of the banquet slowly melt away.

    She was exhausted.

    Speaking non-stop and ying political games with aristocrats was nothing short of torture.

    Having to ster a fake smile on her face and be polite to a bunch of snakes wearing human faces was not a pleasant experience.

    The hybrid girl stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily. Now that the banquet was over, in a few weeks time she would hold her session ceremony.

    Honestly even now¡­ it didn''t feel real.

    Sophie kept expecting to see her father burst into the room any second now but¡­ he never appeared.

    She was going to be the new Duchess Peterlor. The head of an upper rank noble family with no other living members.

    She was alone.

 Chapter 708 Life Would Go On

    (Virvedean Star System- Exereon)

    (Private Estate)

    "Mother! What the hell is going on?!" a handsome young man in his early thirties shouted in excitement as he mmed a piece of paper on the table.

    Lady Beterica calmly sipped on a cup of tea and nced at her son who was staring at her with an expression of disbelief.

    "I know you are not talking in that tone of voice with me young man," Lady Beterica softly whispered as she ced the cup of tea down on the table.

    "Sorry mother," Chase replied quickly as he bowed his head.

    Even though he was an adult, whenever his mother used her stern voice he would immediately be taken back to his childhood days.

    "Good¡­ now tell me darling. What has you so upset?" Lady Beterica asked gently as she stretched out her hand and lovingly touched her son on his shoulder.

    It was an old habit that she had picked up.

    When her son was born she would touch him every so often just to make sure that he was still there.

    A silly fear but one that she had developed after losing her other two children.

    "Did you see the news? The daughter of Duke Peterlor¡­ my brother''s child will be the next head of House Peterlor!" Chase hurriedly spoke as he unfolded the sheet of paper on the table.

    Lady Beterica stared at the contents on the page.

    It was just as her son had described it, she saw a beautiful hybrid girl standing confidently surrounded by a group of noblemen.

    The title of the article was ''Sophie Peterlor Wins Support Of Many Noble Families!''.

    "And? What does that have to do with us?" Lady Beterica asked with confusion evident in her tone.

    "What? Mom! Aren''t I the rightful heir to House Peterlor?" Chase replied with a puzzled look on his face.

    "No? Who told you that?" Lady Beterica asked softly as her brows gradually furrowed.

    "The Grand Tutor! He¡­ he¡­ said that I am the rightful heir," Chase murmured softly as he wilted under his mother''s fierce gaze.

    "And you believed such rubbish?" Lady Beterica sighed heavily as she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.

    "Son¡­ your father was the previous head of House Peterlor and you were conceived long after he died."

    "Sophie Peterlor has a much better im than you and she already has the support of House Peterlor''s allies."

    "The Grand Tutor is only telling you that you are the rightful heir in order to push us into his petty vendetta against hybrids."

    Chase nodded thoughtfully as his mother''s words made sense.

    He did think that it was a little bit strange that someone who was important as the royal tutor of the Imperial Family had reached out to him out of the blue.

    "Can we at least go and see the session ceremony?" Chase asked softly.

    Lady Beterica did not reply as she tapped the top of the table using her fingers. Gaia¡­ she had not stepped foot in the Alpha Star System for over thirty years.

    There were too many bad memories in that ce.

    Even now when she closed her eyes to sleep, she would asionally see her daughter and son looking at her with blood running down their bodies.

    Still if Chase wanted to go¡­ she was afraid that someone might try to manipte him without her standing by his side.

    Lady Beterica''s fingers slowly curled up into a tight fist and she let out a small breath of air.

    Her fists trembled ever so slightly but she forced the emotions in her chest to calm down.

    "If you want to take part in the session ceremony then I will send a formal request to House Peterlor informing them of our visit," Lady Beterica whispered cautiously.

    "Should they acknowledge and ept our offer then we will travel to Gaia to take part in the ceremony as bystanders."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I thought nobles of our ranking could just show up," Chase said as he rubbed his chin with his hand.

    "Yes we can but I am not going to take any chances. We are not going there to be enemies," Lady Beterica exined calmly.

    "I see¡­ thank you mother!" Chase happily shouted as he got up from his seat and pulled Lady Beterica into a tight hug.

    It was a terrible breach of etiquette and yet the stern noblewoman simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of her son.

    She regretted not doing this more often with her two other children when she had the chance.

    She had babied Chase a bit too much over the years, so he was a bit na?ve. Still¡­ he was a good boy and she was proud of him.

    The mother son pair remained in ce for a few long seconds before Chase broke the hug and dashed out of the room.

    Lady Beterica stared at his retreating back and a warm fuzzy emotion filled her heart.

    If she could get a second chance¡­ would things have been different?

    Still¡­ there was no use dwelling in the past. She could only look forward to the future and protect the son that she had left.

    Visiting Gaia would pose some risk, but it was an eptable amount. Besides her son''sst name was Serpentinesa¡­ not Peterlor.

    She would not allow him to take over that den of vipers.

    Honestly Lady Beterica felt a twinge of sympathy for the duke''s daughter who had to take over his house at such a young age.

    Especially a household that was an upper ranked noble family. Those with great power had to y the political game extremely well.

    Many powerful houses and ns even those with the strength to challenge the Imperial Family had disappeared within the annals of history.

    Would Sophie Peterlor be able to handle the pressure?

    Well¡­ it didn''t really matter.

    Honestly there was a small part of Lady Beterica that would be ted to see House Peterlor fall into ruin.

    The beautiful noblewoman picked up her cup of tea and took another sip.

    A bitter tasting liquid flooded her mouth but despite the unpleasant taste, not a hint of displeasure surfaced on her face.

    Lady Beterica slowly tilted her wrist upwards and checked hermunicator.

    She scrolled through her list of contacts and clicked on a name that she had not touched in a very long time.

    The head servant of House Peterlor.

    Butler Gerald.

    Lady Beterica tapped her fingers against the surface of hermunicator and began topose a message.

    She was honest as possible and mentioned the reason for her visit as well as her son''s true heritage.

    If the Grand Tutor knew her secret then it was really only a matter of time before the news reached the young heiress to House Peterlor.

    Better the news toe from her than a third party.

    Lady Beterica finished typing out a long and lengthy paragraph and then pressed send.

    She did not know if the future head of House Peterlor would ept her and her son to Gaia, but it was at least worth a try.

    The beautiful noblewoman leaned back against her chair and looked out of the window. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and small flying animals soared through the air.

    Life would go on.

 Chapter 709 A Brief Moment Of Respite

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hydrean Forest- Private Lake)

    "Wow! As you can see Qiana the heiress of House Abazin has defeated the number ten ranked student!"

    One of thementators nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement as yet another candidate from Zrudread University had exceeded expectations.

    Sophie leaned against a nearby tree and watched the screen of her wristmunicator. She was currently streaming the Inter University tournament.

    There was a part of her that didn''t want to watch but an evenrger part wanted to cheer for her friends.

    On the screen she could see a slender dark-skinned girl slumped on the ground with her head removed from the rest of her body.

    Dark shadows swirled beneath her feet and an inky ck darkness had filled the arena where they were fighting.

    Qiana stood at the edge of the darkness and calmly tucked her knife back into her storage ring without any reaction to what she had just done.

    She merely turned around and walked out of the arena.

    Secondster bluish runes glowed brightly on the ground and the head of the dead student flew up in the air and reattached itself to the body.

    Sophie sent a few messages of congrattions to her good friend and then quickly checked the rankings.

    It was now the quarter finals and all of her friends had managed to pass the initial rounds of the final stage.

    So far Qiana had defeated her opponent in the shortest amount of time and Cleo was a close second.

    Astrid for some reason had decided to try out new spells during her match so she had taken the longest time to win out of the three.

    Still Sophie knew that her mage friend was probably the strongest after her. At least in a fair fight¡­

    The hybrid girl powered off her wristmunicator and looked upwards at the blue sky.

    She saw tiny flying insects soaring through the air while a bird-like animal chased them with its mouth open.

    She felt the grass beneath her feet and the clear waters of theke nearby beckoned her to jump inside.

    Her dad owned a piece ofnd in the Hydrean Forest, and it was the perfect ce to escape to since she wanted some time to herself.

    She needed to take a break from the stress and responsibilities of being the next head of House Peterlor.

    It was driving her mad.

    Every time she closed her eyes to sleep she would dream about the endless stacks of paperwork and smiling nobles leering at her with mocking eyes.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and slowly got up from the ground. She approached theke and dipped her fingers lightly in the water.

    And if that wasn''t enough¡­ the message that she got from her butler yesterday waspletely unexpected.

    Turns out she had an uncle.

    Her grandfather''s wife had a son using his gic material and of course he was never revealed when her father was alive.

    Lady Beterica of House Serpentinesa¡­

    Sophie had heard that name before when her father talked about the history of their house but she never expected to actually meet her.

    Lady Beterica had never returned to Gaia since¡­ well¡­ since her children died during the session ceremony.

    Sophie feltplicated about the whole matter. It would be impolite to refuse them but at the same time¡­

    Her father had killed Lady Beterica''s only son and her daughter had also been killed during the ceremony.

    Sophie was not na?ve enough to think that all was forgiven and forgotten.

    Lady Beterica was going to arrive at the session ceremony with a purpose. Sophie would need to stop whatever schemes that she had nned.

    No¡­ this is your break¡­ rx¡­ rx¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    Don''t think about work.

    The hybrid girl removed her hands from theke''s surface and then without hesitation she took a few steps backwards and cannonballed inside.

    SPLASH!

    Arge wave of water rose up in the air and showered the nearby grass in a heavy drizzle of rain.

    Sophie''s tossed her head out of the water and nted her de-like appendages in the ground for a better grip.

    The shock of cold water helped to clear her mind. Sophie stretched out her arms and cracked her knuckles.

    There was no use worrying about what had not happened yet.

    All she could do was be prepared for any possible situation during the session ceremony.

    The hybrid girl dove down beneath the water''s surface and swam a fewps around the edge of theke.

    Theke was not particrly big with a circumference of around two kilometres but it was enough for a decent workout.

    Sophie swam through the water and looked down at theke''s floor using her enhanced vision.

    She could see little animals scurrying along the sandy bottom of theke and bright green nts swaying gently from side to side.

    There was an entire underwater world to explore in these depths.

    Sophie hovered over a bright red shell and waited patiently to see if something would emerge from the shell.

    Two minutes passed quite uneventfully but Sophie did not lose her focus. Eventually her hard work paid off and the shell shifted slightly to the right.

    At first the hybrid girl thought that it was the work of a current but then she saw arge appendage emerge from beneath the shell.

    The appendage was a long purple fleshy tube whose end included a mouth filled with blunt teeth.

    The creature inside the shell dragged its body over to a nearby rock and began to eat at the green algae-like nts growing on its surface.

    Was the sight of the creature munching on the nts worth the ten-minute wait?

    Not really¡­

    But it didn''t matter.

    This break was for Sophie to have fun and waste time. It was a way for her to forget the troubles that surrounded her in the real world.

    The hybrid girl lingered for a few more moments and then swam towards another end of theke hoping to see a few more animals.

    Sophie yed around in the water for several hours until the sun slowly began to sink towards the horizon and warm orange rays of light fell down on the forest.

    Sophie emerged from theke and pulled arge fluffy white towel from her storage bag to wipe off her body.

    She hummed softly under her breath as she used the towel to dry off her hair and the water that was dripping down her legs.

    A hovercar had been parked at the edge of the clearing and its doors were wide open and weing.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and checked the time.

    She still had one more hour to go before she was expected to head back to the underground city.

    How to spend the remaining time?

    Sophie ran her fingers through her hair as she thought about what to do. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to go for the most obvious option.

    She carefully ced therge towel on the ground and then sat down in a cross- legged position.

    She didn''t really feel the urge to cultivate so Sophie decided to check her wristmunicator for any news on the Virtual Net.

 Chapter 710 Miss Me?

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Peterlor Estate- Private Study Room)

    Sophie got up from her chair and slowly walked around the room.

    She took in a deep breath and could smell theforting scenting from the old books on the shelves.

    This ce¡­ reminded her of her dad.

    She nced at the desk and could picture her father writing reports and sending out documents to the various heads of thepanies that he owned.

    Still even though he was always busy¡­ he made time for her.

    Sophie remembered ying with wooden boxes, toys, and other knickknacks in the corner of the study room while her father worked.

    She must have been a bit of a nuisance but her father never kicked her out.

    A small smile crept up the hybrid girl''s face as she lost herself in the good memories of the past.

    This was a ce with a lot of happy memories.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and walked over to the chair. She sat down on thefortable seat and the memory foam wrapped itself around her body.

    A perfect fit.

    She picked up the report on the desk and began to read it thoroughly. It was a report about a recent drought on Xereon.

    The governor of the wanted additional food and water supplies. Sophie furrowed her brows as she looked over the report.

    She sent out a message to one of the shadow guards to investigate the authenticity of the governor''s statement and then scheduled a pending approval for the supplies.

    Being the head of an upper ranked noble family was not as exciting as most people probably imagined.

    Yes¡­ there was nothing stopping you from recklessly spending wealth and drowning in various pleasures but then your family would most likely copse within a few decades or centuries.

    With power came responsibilities. It was a lesson that Sophie had learnt after observing her father over the years.

    She could only hope that she would be able to live up to his legacy. She did not want what he had built to ever copse.

    Knock! Knock!

    "Come in," Sophie whispered softly.

    Katarina opened the door and entered the room. The scarred woman smiled when she saw Sophie and handed her a piece of paper.

    "Here are the list of guests who will be arriving tomorrow," Katarina spoke with barely concealed excitement in her voice.

    "This might be the greatest session ceremony that Gaia has ever seen! Nobles from across the Federation areing to witness your ascension to the head of House Peterlor."

    "Don''t jinx me," Sophieughed as she took the report and looked through its contents.

    "Jinx?" Katarina asked in a puzzled tone.

    "Jinx¡­ it''s a ng¡­ for¡­ bring me bad luck¡­oh never mind," Sophie''s voice trailed off when she saw the confusion on Katarina''s face.

    She forgot that ''jinx'' was a word from Sui Meng''s memories. The hybrid girl coughed awkwardly and then turned her attention to the report.

    At least ten other duke families would being along with other upper rank noble families and countess other lesser aristocrats.

    "Also I have a surprise for you¡­" Katarina leaned in closer and whispered in an almost conspiratorial tone.

    She checked her wristmunicator for the time and then pressed a button on the side of her device.

    Sophie raised an eyebrow and waited to see what her guard wanted to do. She froze in ce as she felt her heart skip a beat.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Wait¡­ no¡­ that was impossible¡­

    Sophie''s golden eyes briefly shed pink as she sensed someone very special and dear to her heart.

    "Isn''t Cleo supposed to be at the Inter University tournament?" Sophie blurted out in surprise.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Huh? Aww¡­ it was going to be a surprise¡­" Katarina smirked mischievously as she enjoyed the shocked look on her mistress'' face.

    Katarina bowed her head respectfully and then left the room.

    Before she walked out of the doors, she told Sophie that Cleo would be arriving in twenty minutes.

    Sophie ced a hand on her heart and could not stop the fierce blush that was beginning to form on her cheeks.

    Cleo¡­ she missed her girlfriend.

    Did that mean that she got eliminated in the semi-finals?

    No¡­ that wasn''t right¡­ she was pretty sure that Cleo had won that fight. Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and quickly searched up the news.

    There were no reports of Cleo leaving the tournament and the only information that she could find talked about how the princess had made it to the finals.

    In that case what was she doing here?

    The finals would start in two days! She wouldn''t make it in time!

    Sophie was torn between concern and tion. She didn''t want her girlfriend to drop out of the tournament for her but at the same time¡­

    She wanted Cleo by her side.

    It was a conflicting feeling.

    Sophie nced at the time on her wristmunicator and saw that only five minutes had passed.

    Just fifteen more to go before she would see Cleo again.

    The hybrid girl took in a few deep breaths and then picked up another report on her desk. She wanted to bury herself in her work so that she would not focus on the time.

    Time always passed super slowly when you counted down the minutes.

    The report in her hand was about a pirate attack on a merchantpany that House Peterlor had a twenty percent investment stake in.

    The pirates had sessfully stolen most of the cargo and several members of the trading organisation had been kidnapped as well.

    They were being held for ransom.

    The report stated that the shareholders of thepany would be allowed to vote on whether to put up the ransom money to save the kidnapped merchants.

    Sophie verified that the report was truthful and then submitted her approval for the rescue operation.

    It was not the best financial decision but she was well aware of what would happen to the merchants if the ransom was not paid.

    If they were lucky then they would be killed immediately. If not, then¡­ some fates were better left unspoken.

    Sophie grabbed another report and fortunately it was a more positive one.

    Apparently a mine had been discovered on one of the lunar colonies that she now owned. The metal found inside the mine was a rare material known a Nth metal.

    There was a thick vein of this metal running through the rocky cavern where it had been initially discovered.

    The report included an estimation of the value of the mine and Sophie''s eyes widened when she saw the number.

    Twenty billion Enas.

    It would be enough to fund and pay for several long-term projects that her father had been working on.

    Sophie approved the extraction of the metal and sent a copy of the report to the head of the trading organisation that House Peterlor employed.

    The hybrid girl was so distracted by the good news that she didn''t notice the doors to the study room open.

    Suddenly a warm pair of arms draped around her shoulders and soft lips briefly pressed against her left cheek.

    "Hi beautiful," Cleo purred softly as she tilted her Sophie''s face to the side and kissed her lips hungrily.

    "Miss me?"

 Chapter 711 The Ceremony Begins

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

    Hireyn city was located two hundred thousand miles away from the capitol. It was a city surrounded by several thick metalloid walls.

    An exclusive no- fly zone that epassed the entire city was enforced by a team of police and all unauthorized vehicles would be shot down.

    This city was for aristocrats only.

    Commoners no matter how wealthy or powerful were not allowed to enter unless apanied by someone with a noble bloodline.

    In the northernmost region of the city was a massive amphitheater that was usually the home of ys, shows and other live performances.

    However today it served a different purpose.

    The air buzzed with excitement as thousands of nobles entered the amphitheater and sat down ording to their ranks.

    Dukes and other high ranked nobles sat down towards the front row while barons and viscounts were assigned to the back rows.

    No oneined since this was an expected arrangement.

    The stage of the amphitheater had been expanded and now included a red carpet on the ground that led to its centre.

    The red carpet ended at a raised tform that was wide enough to hold twenty people.

    A spotlight was currently shining down on the tform and bathing it in a warm yellow glow.

    The symbol of House Peterlor was printed on the many gs that hung around the amphitheater.

    The symbol had been changed several times over the centuries and it was now a pale skinny hand grasping a circlet of shattered ss.

    It was supposed to represent the early trials of House Peterlor when they were lesser nobles who only owned a single moon.

    In addition to the decorations, dozens of mechanical androids walked around the open hall passing out food, sses of wine, and other refreshments.

    Men and women wearing dark clothing melted away into the shadows and observed the room for any unseen threats or disturbances.

    There were other security measures of course.

    Even getting close to the amphitheater required one to go through a series of checkpoints and security barriers.

    Sophie was not going to take any chances.

    Speaking of Sophie...

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes as a make-up brush was lightly tapped against the side of her cheek.

    She could feel a thin film-like substance being ced over her lips to make them appear redder and someone was zipping up the back of her dress.

    She was currently getting ready in a side room connected to the hall.

    Four maids fussed around her as they tried their best to make sure she looked as good as possible.

    "Remember I just want light make-up," Sophie gently reminded as she felt something hit the top of her forehead.

    Today was the day.

    Truthfully... she felt nervous.

    It still didn''t feel real even though she was just minutes away from inheriting the position as the head of an upper ranked noble family.

    Would her father be proud of her?

    Sophie didn''t know but she could only hope that he would be. She missed him. There was a part of her that did not want to go through with the ceremony.

    There was a sense of finality to it.

    It was as if she became the duchess of House Peterlor then a connection that she shared with her father would disappear.

    Obviously it was an irrational fear but...<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she resisted the urge to ce her face in her palms and rub the sides of her temples.

    No... she had to do this.

    "All done!" one of the older maids said in a proud tone.

    Her words snapped Sophie out of her musings, and she opened her eyes. There was arge mirror in front of her and she could see her reflection.

    A gorgeous young woman stared back at her.

    Her beauty was so great that it appeared to be unnatural as if she had been created by the gods themselves.

    She had sharp angr facial features, golden eyes, pointed ears and fangs that gleamed slightly under the light.

    She wore a long ck dress with four holes cut of its back for her terrifying de-like appendages.

    The dress was a midnight ck colour and precious stones had been embedded into the fabric that glowed brightly as she moved from side to side.

    These rare gems set against the darkness of her dress resembled stars in the night sky.

    Sophie''s lips curved upwards and the person in the mirror also smiled. It was a smile that did not reach their eyes.

    Knock! Knock!

    There was a light tapping noise against the door and then it swung open. Cleo walked into the room and her jaw dropped to the floor.

    "You... you... look... wow..." the princess stuttered nervously as a fierce red blush appeared on her cheeks.

    She was wearing a light blue uniform and her usually messy ck hair had been braided into a single long ponytail.

    "Do I look good?" Sophie teased as she walked up to her girlfriend and gently stroked the side of her cheek.

    "When the ceremony is over... I''ll..."

    The hybrid girl leaned in closer and whispered some naughty words in Cleo''s ear that made the princess'' blush get even worse.

    Seeing Cleo made the smile on Sophie''s face more genuine.

    In just a few hours the ceremony would be over and she would be able to return to her normal life.

    Go back to university, hang out with her friends, and do bounty hunting missions across the Hydra Star System.

    She could y virtual reality games using her headset and spend azy afternoon surrounded by books.

    She would have to spend a great deal of money to hire mercenaries and administrators to run the variouspanies under her control, but Sophie considered the expenses as necessary.

    She would make the big decisions but for minor matters it was better to outsource the work topetent people.

    "I... I came to tell you that it''s time," Cleo whispered softly as she stretched out her palm and took Sophie''s hand.

    She gave her girlfriend''s hand a light squeeze offort which Sophie appreciated. She squeezed back and enjoyed the warm touch of Cleo''s skin.

    "Any troublemakers so far?" Sophie asked quietly as she walked towards the doors still holding Cleo''s hand.

    "Well, I heard there were a few nobles kicking up a fuss about the quality of the wine that they were served but other than that..." Cleo replied with a wink.

    "Just the usualints and fussing."

    Sophieughed softly at her girlfriend''s words. She opened the door and arrived at a winding corridor that led to the main stage.

    Her enhanced hearing could detect the conversations happening around therge hall and while some were positive others were... less so.

    "What type of session ceremony do you think that the heiress to House Peterlor will choose?"

    "Well, I do see some priests from the Nephilim Church over there so maybe a religious one? I don''t think her father was religious though..."

    "This is a disgrace! A hybrid cannot be the head of an upper-ss noble family! What kind of message would that send!"

    "Keep your voice down you idiot! We are just barons... do you really want to fall on the bad side of a duchess?"

 Chapter 712 The Ceremony Goes Well?

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

    "Looks like a full crowd," Cleo whispered as she leaned against her girlfriend''s body and enjoyed the warmth of her touch.

    "Well then¡­ I will need to put on quite the show," Sophie joked as she leaned down and kissed the top of Cleo''s head.

    The pair held hands for a few more minutes before Sophie reluctantly escaped from Cleo''s soft grip.

    "See you¡­" Sophie spoke calmly but her eyes betrayed her hidden nervousness.

    "You know¡­ if you made me your consort then I could have been up there on the stage with you," Cleo replied with a cheeky wink.

    "When are you going to make me your wife hmm? I''m telling you babe don''t get any idea about concubines¡­"

    The princessughed at the startled expression on her girlfriend''s face and then headed towards a door to the left.

    Sophie had made sure that Cleo had gotten a seat near the front row.

    It was a bit unorthodox considering her status but she wanted to see her girlfriend when the ceremony began.

    Sophie let out a light sigh under her breath and slowly counted to ten. She cleared her mind of all excess emotions.

    There was no doubt¡­ there was no fear¡­ there was no nervousness¡­

    She was the rightful heir to House Peterlor.

    She would continue her father''s legacy.

    Sophie nodded her head and determination shone in her eyes. In just a few hours this would all be over.

    She headed for the end of the corridor and opened therge metallic door that led directly to the main stage.

    The stage was around six hundred metres in length and in the centre of the raised tform one could see an iron throne with the g of House Peterlor in the background.

    Next to the throne were two benches on either side of the chair.

    The benches were made from a simple oak-like material and a single long cushion had been ced on the seats.

    Sophie stepped outside and a spotlight instantly fell on her body.

    The conversations in the hall immediately stopped as thousands of nobles focused on her appearance.

    Sophie had a calm and rxed expression on her face as she stepped in front of some of the most powerful men and women across the Federation.

    Allies, enemies, and everything in-between.

    "Wee esteemed guests who had travelled from near and afar," Sophie opened her mouth and spoke calmly.

    She circted qi into her throat meridians so that her voice travelled through the entire hall without her having to use a microphone.

    "Today we are here for the session ceremony of House Peterlor," Sophie said in a solemn tone.

    "My father''s legacy has been handed down to me and I intend to bring House Peterlor to even greater heights in the future."

    "There is much for me to learn however with the help of my allies I will try my best to match a fraction of my father''s greatness."

    Thunderous apuse rang out after Sophie finished her speech.

    She wasn''t sure if it was because they liked her words or because they were afraid of offending an upper ranked noble family.

    Either way¡­ she would take it.

    Sophie turned to face the throne and slowly walked over to it. The harsh spotlight that fell on her body followed her every movement.

    She approached the throne carefully with an almost sense of reverence in her footsteps.

    This was the throne that her father had sat on when he became the head of House Peterlor.

    And his father before him¡­ and his ancestors before him¡­

    Sophie absentmindedly wondered how many of her ancestors had felt the same way that she did now as they walked up to the iron throne.

    Were they nervous as well? Or were they excited to finally gain an enormous amount of power and authority?

    Sophie didn''t know.

    The hybrid girl walked up to the throne and then sat down on its hard metallic surface. It was extremely ufortable but not a trace of displeasure showed on Sophie''s face.

    The atmosphere inside the hall had now changed as Sophie sat on the throne.

    It was extremely quiet and the tension was so heavy that one would be able to cut it with a knife.

    Several aristocrats from the front row seats stood up and made their way over to the throne as well.<novelnext></novelnext>

    They formed a neat line and sat down on the benches to either side of the throne.

    Duke Braveheart was among the ground and instead of walking over to the benches he stepped directly in front of the throne and politely bowed his head.

    Whispers of shock filled the hall as some of the nobles could not believe their eyes. The role of announcer was usually given to lesser aristocrats like barons or counts.

    How could a duke be willing to act as the announcer?

    Sophie gave Leona'' father a small smile which the middle aged man returned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper and a ring.

    The ring was enclosed in a thickyer of ss but still one was able to make out details about its appearance.

    The ring''s surface had been carved in the likeness of a grasping hand and jewels had been embedded in the metal to form a circlet.

    Duke Braveheart carefully removed theyer of ss from the ring and held it in his right hand.

    He used his left hand to hold up the piece of paper and began to read the words on the script without hesitation.

    The words that he spoke were solemn and respectful.

    "I, Charles Braveheart stand before Sophie Peterlor," Duke Braveheart loudly dered.

    "She is the rightful heir and the true inheritor of House Peterlor. She possesses the qualities of leadership, valor, and honesty."

    "ording to the ancient bloodline rules, she is the one fit to lead her n through darkness and sorrow as well as through light and happiness."

    "Let no one deny her of her rightful ce and may she¡­"

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile In The Second Row)

    Cleo stared at her girlfriend spellbound as she watched the ceremony take ce. Sophie was truly gorgeous.

    The princess looked at Sophie with a mixture of both happiness and sadness.

    She was d that her girlfriend would take her rightful ce as the head of House Peterlor but at the same time¡­

    She had suffered through enough.

    Cleo didn''t want her to lose her father as well.

    "Is this seat taken?" a rough baritone voice interrupted Cleo''s musings. The princess turned in the direction of the sound and saw a familiar person.

    The crown prince.

    Prince Theseus wore a set of ck imperial robes with the symbol of the royal family printed on the back and a silver circlet had been ced on his head.

    His handsome face shone even brighter under the artificial light illuminating the hall and his piercing green eyes stared directly into Cleo''s own.

    "Sure¡­" Cleo replied hesitantly as she shifted to the side. She still felt a bit wary about the prince even though she had no reason to.

    The one who had tried to kidnap and threaten her was the crown prince''s brother and he had tried to frame Prince Theseus by faking his appearance.

    Still¡­ there was something off about Prince Theseus.

    Cleo could not put her finger on it but something about his smile sent rm bells ringing off in her head.

    "Thank you," the crown prince warmly replied as he turned to hispanion and escorted her to the seat next to him.

    Hispanion was a bit strange.

    Cleo raised an eyebrow as a woman with short brown hair wearing a long whiteb coat sat down next to the prince.

    That was an odd choice of attire¡­

    She was attractive but there was an ice-cold aura surrounding her body that made it clear that she did not wish to be talked to.

    "Ah¡­ I suppose some introductions are in order," Prince Theseus spoke casually as he gently touched the top of the mysterious woman''s palm to get her attention.

    The woman had not stopped looking at Sophie on the stage with emotions in her eyes that seemed oddly¡­ obsessive.

    "Hello," the enigmatic woman coldly spoke.

    "My name is Dr. Valenna."

 Chapter 713 An Objection

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

    The ceremony had been going on for around two hours now.

    Sophie remained seated on the iron throne and had to keep the expressionless mask on her face.

    Her body hurt.

    The throne looked grand and imposing but by the gods¡­ it was really fucking ufortable.

    Especially since it had not been built to fit someone who possessed four long de-like appendages jutting out of their back.

    Sophie leaned forward slightly and tried to give her appendages a little bit of space to spread outwards.

    A group of four masked singers were currently standing at the edge of the stage and singing a melodic tune that was both haunting and sorrowful.

    "O'' the darkness of iron, salt, and sea¡­"

    "Wee before thee¡­ witness the glory¡­ the rise¡­"

    "The one who has been chosen is nigh¡­ for we see the light¡­"

    The song went on for two more minutes before the singers bowed their heads and departed from the stage.

    Finally¡­ it was time for the swearing.

    Duke Braveheart walked up to the throne with slow but steady footsteps and presented the ring in his right palm.

    The metal gleamed slightly under the light and Sophie found herself captivated by the details on the ring.

    The grasping hand looked so life-like and the jewels that had been embedded in the metal formed a perfect circlet.

    Sophie stretched out her palm and took the ring from the duke''s hand. She ced the ring on the index finger of her left hand.

    The ring heated up for a moment and then it expanded to perfectly fit Sophie''s finger.

    The hybrid girl straightened out her back and her image in that moment was one of regality and grace.

    "Duchess Peterlor¡­." Duke Braveheart calmly spoke. His words echoed through the hall where thousands of nobles were nowpletely silent.

    "Do you promise to uphold the noble traditions and aspirations of your house?"

    "I swear," Sophie replied solemnly.

    "Do you pledge not to see personal wealth, fortune or power and devote yourself to the betterment of your family?" Duke Braveheart asked in a quiet voice.

    This was an easy vow to make considering that Sophie had no family members left so technically the betterment of her family just meant herself.

    Damn¡­ that was a really depressing thought.

    Sophie pushed back the dark emotions threatening to flood her mind with thoughts of loneliness and opened her mouth to reply,

    "I swear."

    "Do you give your word of honour that you will protect the Earth Federation in times of crisis and look out for those under yourmand?" Duke Braveheart asked.

    "I swear," Sophie spoke the same words for a third time.

    Each noble family had a different set of vows for their session ceremony.

    Sophie was pretty sure that the vows for House Peterlor had not changed since her great- great grandmother.

    Her distant ancestor used to be both the head of House Peterlor and a member of the Imperial Army hence the lines about protecting the Federation and those under yourmand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Well¡­ they weren''t bad vows to swear by.

    Duke Braveheart turned around and walked away from the throne. He reached the edge of the stage and the spotlight fell on his body.

    "Sophie Peterlor has proven herself to be the rightful heir to House Peterlor and I dere that she will now be referred to as Duchess Peterlor," Duke Braveheart shouted in a loud voice.

    "Let anyone who has an objection to her ascension please speak now or forever hold your tongue."

    There was a brief moment of silence at the end of Duke Braveheart''s words.

    Sophie''s golden eyes scanned the crowd and although she saw a few nobles who looked quite unhappy¡­ no one dared to raise a word ofint.

    Raising an objection at a session ceremony was mainly due to tradition.

    A random aristocrat would not have the power to stop the ceremony so objecting would simply put you on the bad side of the host.

    And Sophie was no longer just an ordinary member of the upper noble society.

    Being the Duchess of House Peterlor meant that she had power, authority and influence despite her nature as a non pure blooded human.

    "Excuse me," a hoarse masculine voice suddenly spoke.

    Sophie''s eyes shifted towards the direction of the voice and saw a handsome young man whose facial features bore a striking resemnce to Cleo''s.

    She recognised his face. It belonged to the crown prince.

    Duke Braveheart opened his mouth to respond to the prince, but Sophie cut him off first by speaking.

    "Prince Theseus," Sophie softly spoke, and one could hear the barest hint of a warning in her calm voice.

    "The ''crown prince''¡­ what objection do you have to my ascension as the new head of House Peterlor?"

    "I am surprised that one who has yet to sit on the throne is already making political enemies."

    There was an immediate sense of tension in the air. Sophie had boldly dered that she would make the crown prince her enemy.

    If he was the emperor, then this would be political suicide but at the moment although he was the front runner¡­ no one knew who would take the throne in the end.

    Prince Theseusughed darkly and ran his fingers through his curly ck hair. He stretched out his hand and pulled up the woman sitting down next to him.

    She was a tall woman with short brown hair who wore a whiteb coat. There was a cold expression on her face and yet her eyes never left Sophie''s body.

    "Please let me introduce you to the very talented Dr. Valenna," Prince Theseus spoke loudly as he waved his arms around.

    Dr. Valenna felt the stares of many people fall on her body but if she was bothered by their attention then she did not show it on her face.

    She continued to look at the hybrid girl sitting down on the throne. She could not believe it at first but the more she looked¡­ the more it made sense.

    Duke Peterlor had spent over twenty years in the Insectoid Empire. His daughter''s mother had remained a mystery all this time almost as if¡­

    He wanted to hide it.

    "My name is Dr. Valenna and I work with a private research team studying Insectoid biology in order to aid the Federation," Dr. Valenna calmly spoke.

    "We recently received a live specimen of a higher rank Insectoid species and learned something very interesting about Insectoid society."

    "Dr. Valenna I hope that you have not interrupted the ceremony just to give us a lesson," Sophie coldly spoke while hiding the sinking feeling in her chest.

    She knew where this was going but was powerless to stop it.

    "You see there are four Insectoid Species that stand on the top of the Insectoid hierarchy, their bloodlines grant them the ability tomand lesser species," Dr. Valenna continued to speak.

    "Those species names are¡­

 Chapter 714 The Burden Of Proof

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

    "Those species names are Naslitsers, Serpentinea, Fayera and the Arachnais," Dr. Valenna calmly spoke.

    "They are the ''minds'' so to speak of the Insectoid Empire. By studying even one member of each species we may be able to win the war against the Insectoids."

    "Don''t you agree?"

    "Yes. I believe that the war should be ended as soon as possible but this is neither the time nor the ce for such discussions," Sophie responded coldly

    The hybrid girl remained calm and not a hint of the panicked emotions flooding her mind was disyed on her face.

    She could see Cleo in the crowd looking at her with a worried expression but Sophie just gave her a small smile.

    Anyone could talk.

    But did this Dr. Valenna woman have proof?

    Meanwhile the crown prince was looking at the situation with furrowed brows. He just could not understand how Duchess Peterlor was remaining so calm.

    Dr. Valenna had gotten information from interrogating the captured Serpentinesa in herb and what she had learnt had massive implications.

    The alien had described three of the four species but admitted to have never seen an Arachnais due to their elusive nature.

    However, by studying his DNA, Dr. Valenna was able to discover that all high-level Insectoid species possessed a certainbination of genes that allowed them to secrete pheromones.

    This was what allowed them to control the lesser species.

    It was a process simr to how ant queensmanded their colony of workers.

    That might have been the end of the matter were it not for a trading ship that entered the Hydra Star System whose captain imed to have seen an Arachnais.

    He was only able to give a visual description but it was eerily simr to the hybrid girl whose face was stered across the Virtual Net.

    Sophie Peterlor.

    Of course at first Dr. Valenna had no intention of acting on this information since it was unverified and she would need to analyse Duke Peterlor''s daughter''s gic makeup.

    But then one of the main investors in Project Rhat''ets made contact with her.

    The crown prince was interested in this piece of information and had brought her to the session ceremony of the young duchess.

    Dr. Valenna was not sure what trick he had up his sleeve but all she had to do was follow his orders exactly.

    "It is interesting that you would say that¡­" Dr. Valenna paused for a moment and her voice echoed throughout the open hall.

    "Because we have good reason to believe that your biological mother may have been a member of the Arachnais tribe."

    Shocked gasps and hushed whispers erupted across the hall as the nobles talked amongst themselves.

    Sophie''s fingers tapped ever so slightly on the side of the iron throne but again there was no change of expression on her face.

    "Dr. Valenna¡­ that is a very serious usation," Sophie slowly spoke and a terrible pressure appeared around her body.

    The floor beneath her feet cracked slightly and her golden eyes seemed to glow as they stared at the scientist.

    "I hope that you are not here to toss around baseless ims without any proof," Sophie whispered darkly.

    "Please allow me to interject," Prince Theseus interrupted Sophie''s warning as he stepped forward with a peaceful smile on his face.

    "The evidence is considered confidential, so it is difficult to speak out loud. However, this matter can be easily solved if you allowed us to examine your gic makeup."

    "WHAT NONSENSE!" Duke Braveheart''s bellowing voice drowned out the crown prince''s much softer tone.

    "You ce such a serious usation against the Duchess of House Peterlor and then refuse to provide any evidence?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Why should the duchess be forced to prove herself innocent of a bloodline crime with no proof or reasoning."

    "Why don''t I dere that you have Insectoid heritage? Would you be willing to expose your gic code?"

    Duke Braveheart''s words helped to put cold water on the situation and soon the other nobles in the room nodded along and agreed with him.

    Sophie calmed herself down and looked at the situation a bit more objectively.

    Yes¡­ why would the burden of proof be on her?

    If the crown prince and Dr. Valenna wanted to reveal her true heritage, then they would have simply done so already.

    Not y this game with words as if trying to force her to confess.

    "I agree with the duke''s words," Sophie replied with a small smile on her lips.

    "If you have any significant proof whatsoever, I will wholeheartedly agree to providing you with a full map of my DNA in order to prove my innocence."

    "However I think that most of audience in the hall will agree that you have not said anything of value and your usation has not been backed up with evidence."

    Prince Theseus'' eyebrows twitched slightly as he heard Sophie''s words. This was not how it was supposed to go.

    His master said that she was only a neen-year-old girl! How could she remain so objective and calm when her heritage was exposed?

    Dr. Valenna adjusted her sses and saw that the crowd was now beginning to turn against them.

    Still even though they had failed¡­ it was not a total loss.

    This was a seed.

    If one day Sophie Peterlor''s true heritage came to light then those present in the hall would remembered this day and how she vehemently denied the usation.

    "Perhaps we were too hasty," Dr. Valenna spoke gently as her eyes never left Sophie''s body even for a second.

    "One of the greatest sins for any scientist such as myself is to treat hypotheses as facts and I have done so by using you without further proof."

    "It is just that in my excitement to find another high level Insectoid specimen¡­ I may have gotten carried away."

    "Please forgive me."

    Dr. Valenna politely bowed her head and a regretful expression shed across her face. Yet Sophie could not see any trace of that sincerity in her eyes.

    She was just acting out a y to restore her reputation and unfortunately Sophie would need to follow her lead.

    Taking revenge or publicly humiliating them would reflect badly on her reputation during the session ceremony to be the next head of House Peterlor.

    "Of course. I have an enormous amount of respect for the work that you do to keep the Federation safe from out enemies," Sophie smoothly replied.

    Still, that did not mean that she would forget.

    Sophie inhaled with her nostrils and then gently exhaled. She blinked twice and then nodded at Duke Braveheart.

    "Well unless there are any more objections¡­" Duke Braveheart''s words contained the barest hint of a warning.

    There was another moment of silence however thankfully no one else decided to cause a scene.

    Duke Braveheart walked up to Sophie who stretched out her hand towards him. The ring on her index finger glowed slightly under the light.

    The duke knelt down and kissed the top of the metallic ring. He then rose up from the ground and turned to face the crowd.

    "I dere that Sophie Peterlor¡­" Duke Braveheart loudly announced.

    "Is the new Duchess of House Peterlor!"

 Chapter 715 Questions About The Future

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Hireyn City- Private Amphitheatre)

    Thunderous apuse echoed through the hall after Duke Braveheart''s announcement. Sophie slowly got up from the iron throne and the spotlight fell on her body.

    She looked at ease with all the attention.

    A small smile spread slowly across her lips, it was the only hint of emotions on her face.

    The hybrid girl raised up her right hand and the ring on her index finger gleamed under the light.

    The resounding cheers got even louder as many nobles stood up and pped their hands together.

    Of course, there were some who remained seated and looked at the proceedings with darkened expressions on their faces.

    But Sophie didn''t care.

    She looked at the crowd and spotted her girlfriend standing up in one of the front rows and giving her a wave.

    Cleo looked at the beautiful hybrid girl on the stage and felt her heart flutter. The princess felt very happy for Sophie but at the same time¡­ she was worried.

    "Well my dear sister¡­ you seem to have found quite the backer," Prince Theseus spoke casually and his hand reached into his pocket.

    "I would like to offer a gift as an apology for causing such a ruckus. It was not my intention to almost ruin the session ceremony."

    "You didn''t ruin it. Sophie would have been the duchess of House Peterlor regardless of whoever stood up during the objection part and said some nonsense," Cleo snarled angrily.

    Her piercing green eyes turned in the direction of her brother and she had to force herself not to use her mental energy to try to turn his brain into mush.

    "Is that so?'' Dr. Valenna asked quietly as her eyes shifted away from Sophie and focused on the angry young woman.

    "Did you know that your lover may be an Insectoid?"

    "She is not," Cleo vehemently denied as she refused to back away from Dr. Valenna''s creepy gaze.

    "I pity you¡­ those Insectoids¡­ they aren''t like any other species in the universe. All they know how to do is consume, destroy and expand," Dr. Valenna continued to speak in a calm tone.

    "They are incapable of emotional bonds."

    "That is quite the assumption to make. For a scientist don''t you think that you are reaching conclusions without enough evidence," Cleo replied back with a smirk.

    "Enough," Prince Theseus interrupted the conversation.

    "My dear sister¡­ I only wished to keep you safe. It would be dangerous to associate with someone whose bloodline belongs to the enemies who desire to see the Federation destroyed."

    "Have you given any thought to what would happen should Sophie Peterlor''s bloodline be exposed to the wider public?"

    "I told you already¡­ she is not an Insectoid," Cleo refused to fall for the verbal trap that the crown prince set in his words.

    "Denying it to the end¡­" Prince Theseus let out a heavy sigh under his breath and the rummaged around in his pocket.

    He pulled out a small wooden box and ced it on the armrest of Cleo''s chair.

    "Please ept this gift my dear sister¡­ I hope that when we meet again you will finally see from my perspective," Prince Theseus softly spoke.

    He grabbed Dr. Valenna by her arm and escorted her away from the front row and towards the exit of the hall.

    Cleo stared daggers into their retreating backs as they got further and further away.

    When she could no longer see them, she turned her attention to the small box on the top of her chair.

    The box was around the size of her palm and rare jewels had been embedded into the corners of the material.

    It looked expensive at a nce, but Cleo did not pick it up. The crown prince imed that he was only looking out for her well-being.

    Bullshit.

    In the Imperial Family love between siblings was a rarity usually only reserved for those who shared the same mother and even then¡­

    Cleo nced at the box one more time and then moved away from it. She wasn''t even going to touch it in case there was poison dust sprinkled on top of its surface.

    She would just need to tell Sophie about it after the ceremony and they could get one of the androids servants to handle it.

    .<novelnext></novelnext>

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile)

    The spotlight had stopped shining and Sophie had left the stage. She entered the corridor connected to the main stage and opened the first door to her right.

    The door led to a private room with a simple interior and limited amount of furniture.

    There was a table in the corner of the room with light refreshments and snacks on top of it and a few chairs at the back.

    Sophie walked up to the table and grabbed some of the nutrient bars resting on its metallic surface.

    She scratched off the wrappings and ced the nutrient bars in her mouth.

    Crunch!

    They weren''t exactly delicious but after such a long ceremony, she was feeling quite hungry so these bars would have to do for now.

    She walked over to one of the chairs and then sat down. As Sophie leaned against the back of the chair, she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

    She was now Duchess Peterlor.

    That was somethings that she was finding difficult to process and it was not the only worry on her mind.

    The crown prince and that female scientist may have sounded crazy to the other nobles in the hall, but Sophie knew the truth.

    They were right.

    She was an Insectoid- Human hybrid.

    Was it only a matter of time before her heritage was exposed?

    She no longer had her father to shield her from the other nobles¡­

    What would happen if the truth was revealed? Would Cleo be affected as well? Would it be safer to flee from the Federation?

    These questions filled Sophie''s mind with worry and the hybrid girl rubbed her temples to try to alleviate the stress.

    Fortunately, a sudden noise interrupted her from her musings.

    Knock! Knock!

    "Enter," Sophie called out.

    A middle-aged man walked into the room and a friendly smile shed across his face as he saw Sophie sitting down on a chair.

    "So how does it feel?" Duke Braveheart asked gently as he approached the hybrid girl who looked a bit tired.

    "It¡­ it doesn''t feel real¡­" Sophie admitted truthfully. She looked at the ring on her finger and the grasping hand seemed to move ever so slightly.

    "My father¡­ was¡­ no¡­ is House Peterlor. He was the one who took the n from a noble family on the verge of copse to one of the most powerful in the Federation."

    ? "He did that on his own. He had no rtives to help him and most nobles at the time wanted House Peterlor to disappear into the annals of history."

    "I¡­ I¡­ don''t know if I could have done what he did. I inherited my father''s work and I''m worried that I will not live up to his legacy."

    Sophie furrowed her brows as she confessed to the anxieties that were guing her thoughts.

    She felt like a fraud¡­ a fake.

    Her father was the real head of House Peterlor and she was just the cheap recement.

    "Might I offer you some words of advice," Duke Braveheart calmly spoke as he approached Sophie and rested a warm hand on the top of her shoulder.

    "These emotions that you are feeling right now¡­ I felt them when I was dered as the head of my family and I was hundreds of years older than you at the time."

    "And I am sure that your father felt them as well."

 Chapter 716 A Moment Of Reflection

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Underground City- Peterlor Estate)

    Sophie enjoyed the quiet and peacefulness of the mansion.

    She stood still the middle of a long corridor and looked at the portraits hanging from the wall.

    When her father was chosen as the head of House Peterlor, he had done quite a bit of remodelling of the family''s main house.

    All the portraits of her ancestors were removed and many of the opulent decorations and gaudy statues were no longer present in the mansion.

    The paintings that now hung on the walls were ones that Sophie had picked when she was a little girl.

    There were paintings of flowers, forests, grasnds and quite a few pictures of the father- daughter pair smiling broadly at an unknown painter.

    Sophie stretched out her hand and touched one of the paintings. It was a portrait of her when she was only twelve years old.

    A lifetime ago considering all that had happened.

    Sophie felt a twinge of sorrow in her heart as her gaze drifted towards the ring that was wrapped around her index finger.

    She was now the duchess.

    It was a fact that she was still trying her best to wrap her head around. There was a sense of finality to the ceremony¡­

    As if¡­ as if her father was well and truly gone.

    No¡­ don''t think like that¡­ you are just a temporary stopgap measure¡­ he will return¡­ HE WILL RETURN.

    Sophie closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths.

    The bursts of pain that asionally red up inside her body were getting more infrequent over thest few weeks.

    The hybrid girl wasn''t sure what that meant but hopefully it was a signal that it would not be too long until she fully crossed over into the void stage.

    Then she would be able to see her mother. Her mom was her only hope to find out what happened to her dad.

    But did she want to know the truth?

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she opened her eyes and walked down the corridor towards the open balcony.

    She parted the curtains covering the entrance and took a step outside. The artificial light that illuminated the underground city fell down on her body.

    Gusts of wind brushed against her skin as Sophie reached the edge of the balcony and leaned against the railings.

    She just needed some time to clear her head.

    This¡­ this was all just too much.

    And if she didn''t have enough to worry about, the crown prince and the mysterious scientist were suspicious about her Insectoid heritage.

    They had no proof for now but¡­ how long would thatst?

    Sophie knew that the Arachnais tribe were hidden deep inside the Insectoid Empire but as the war raged on there was a chance that they would join the main war effort.

    Visually it was clear that there was a simrity between herself and the Arachnais and should one be captured¡­

    The gic analysis test would be the nail in the coffin.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But how could she prevent that future?

    It was impossible to change her species and unless a conflict that spanned millennia ended overnight¡­. hoping that the war would end was just a fantasy.

    Killing the crown prince wasn''t an option since even a duchess could not afford to assassinate or murder a member of the Imperial Family without due cause.

    Sophie ced her arms on the railing and let out another sigh. She just didn''t know what to do about the situation.

    Even if she somehow managed to kill the crown prince and the scientist, it may only be a matter of time before another person made the connection.

    The hybrid girl remained on the balcony for a few more minutes with numerous thoughts and worries running through her mind.

    Finally, she moved away from the railings and head back inside.

    Her wristmunicator buzzed slightly, but Sophie was not in the mood to read any messages.

    As she walked through the corridor the only thing that she felt was tiredness. She needed a nice long sleep after such a rough day.

    Sophie headed towards her bedroom but was pleasantly surprised to bump into a soft female figure on the way to her room.

    "Sophie!" Cleo excitedly spoke as she walked up to her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around the tall hybrid girl.

    The princess squeezed tightly with all the force that she could muster and buried her head into Sophie''s voluptuous chest.

    "It''s good to see you as well," Sophie replied with a soft smile.

    The ceremony had ended around three hours ago, but Cleo had stayed behind to mingle with some of the nobles and get a feel of the political atmosphere.

    "So¡­ the duchess of House Peterlor¡­" Cleo''s voice trailed off as she stared at Sophie with mischief twinkling in her eyes.

    She broke away from the hug and took a few steps back. The princess then bent her knees and performed an elegant curtesy.

    "I greet the esteemed and noble Duchess Peterlor," Cleo teased lightly as she politely bowed her head respectfully.

    "Oh, stop it," Sophieughed as she walked towards her girlfriend and grabbed her by the arm to pull her up.

    "Be careful with the teasing or I''ll lock you up in my dungeon for crimes of disrespect¡­"

    "Tyrant!" Cleo shouted in mock anger as she struggled and tried to escape from Sophie''s iron d grip.

    The two girlsughed together, and a light and bubbly atmosphere formed between the pair.

    Sophie pushed back her worries to the back of her mind as she tried her best to enjoy this moment with her girlfriend.

    "Want to get something to eat before we go to bed?" Cleo suggested gently as she raised up her palm and lightly touched the side of Sophie''s cheek.

    "Need the energy forter tonight?" Sophie purred softly as she leaned in closer and pressed her lips against Cleo''s own.

    The kiss was soft and lingering with no trace of Sophie''s usual lust and desire. Cleo closed her eyes and melted away into her girlfriend''s embrace.

    The pair remained frozen in ce until Sophie tilted her head back and a thin thread of saliva was all that connected them together.

    "I love you," Sophie whispered gently as she stared at Cleo.

    "Thanks for being there with me today."

 Chapter 717 The Power Of The Muscle Mage

    Caorn- Rex Ind)

    (Grand Colosseum)

    "Nunc augue ledo eum," a voice whispered softly.

    Jenson jumped out of the way as an enormous fireball formed in the air around his opponent before shooting towards him.

    He barely managed to dodge the enormous projectile but the intense heat radiating off the fireball managed to singe off his eyebrows.

    Fuck!

    He hated mages¡­

    His opponent on the opposite side of the field raised an eyebrow and a wolfish grin shed across her face.

    She was an unusual mage.

    An over six feet tall Mendolesa warrior with razor sharp ws, teeth and rippling muscles that could have only formed from working out constantly.

    A far cry from the image of a nerdy schr that most mages bore a striking resemnce to.

    Jensen furrowed his brows and unsheathed his de as he prepared to unleash his secret technique.

    "See if you can dodge this one!" Astrid called out loudly as her tail wagged furiously from side to side.

    The apprentice mage began to wave her ws in the air to make a series of intricate palm movements.

    "Spatio ruptisminae!" Astrid chanted slowly.

    She pointed her ws at the swordsman and the space around her body began to distort and ripple.

    Then without any warning several des of disrupted space shot forward towards her opponent faster than the naked eye could grasp.

    Poor Jensen swung his sword towards the distorted space but all he managed to aplish was losing his right arm.

    "Arghhhh!" Jensen cried out in pain.

    He knelt to the ground and grabbed the bleeding stump that used to be his arm.

    Astrid slowly approached the fallen boy but was careful to maintain a healthy distance.

    This was the second tost round of the final stage and only twelvepetitors were left. Everyone who remained were the best of the best.

    Geniuses who had defeated countless other geniuses to ascend to the final rounds of the Inter University tournament.

    Astrid may be confident in her abilities, but she was not arrogant. Most people who made it this far had a few tricks up their sleeves.

    Secret Technique- Ragnar?k''s Curse!

    Dark crimson lines began to appear on Jensen''s body and the blood vessels in his eyes burst which stained his pupils with the red liquid.

    He slowly got up from the ground and tilted his head to the side to avoid the ice spear that Astrid tossed at him.

    Steam began to waft off his body and the sandy earth beneath his feet cracked.

    He grabbed the severed arm that was lying down on the ground and reattached it to his body.

    "You¡­ bitch¡­" Jensen spat out as his figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    "Locus scutum ad obstructionum impetus!" Astrid roared loudly as she crossed her arms together.

    BOOM!

    A fist crashed against a golden shield that covered her body and small cracks began to appear on the barrier.

    Jensen raised up his hand and mmed his fist down on the barrier again and again¡­

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    Astrid bit her lips, and a thin droplet of blood ran down the side of her chin. She focused on maintaining the barrier while using her free hand to cast another spell.

    "mma circulo hoste devorandum!" Astrid chanted softly. Beneath Jensen''s feet a line of dark mes spread out in a circle around his body.

    BOOM! BOOM!

    Jensen continued to the attack the barrier surrounding the mage and madness danced in his eyes.

    Ragnar?k''s Curse was a secret body technique that allowed one to temporarily increase their physical state but at a price.

    The longer the curse was in effect¡­ the more of their sanity would be eaten away.

    This would continue until they either ended the technique or ran out of qi in their dantian.<novelnext></novelnext>

    An all or nothing approach.

    Astrid snapped her ws and the dark mes beneath Jensen''s feet surged upwards and devoured his entire body.

    The flesh on his skin started to melt and she could see exposed pieces of white bone and traces of his internal organs.

    Still¡­ he did not stop hitting the barrier.

    There was a part of Astrid that admired his tenacity.

    The Mendolesa girl did not know about the side effect of the secret technique that Jensen had used so she thought that he was continuing due to sheer willpower.

    BOOM!

    The barrier finally shattered and Jensen lunged forward in a blind rage to grab on to the mage in front of him and finally end the duel.

    This was it.

    The battle was over.

    Once you got within striking distance of a mage they were weak to physical attacks.

    Insaneughter burst out of Jensen''s mouth as he cocked back his fist and mmed it directly at the Mendolesa girl.

    What?

    A trace of sanity returned to Jensen''s eyes as he saw that his powerful fist had been caught by the mage.

    Astrid grabbed on to the fist travelling towards her and the muscles on her back strained ever so slightly.

    She leaned closer to the bewildered boy who could not understand what was going on and a wide grin shed across her face.

    "Why did you assume that I''m weak if you got within range of me?" Astrid hissed darkly as she lifted up the boy in the air and then flung him across the arena.

    Jensen crashed to the ground with a heavy thump and the crimson lines on his body slowly faded away.

    Healing mages walked towards the injured boy and began to cast gentle spells that regenerated the injuries and wounds that Astrid had inflicted.

    [Winner- Astrid Lockhart!]

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Meanwhile)

    (Lovuren Ind- Grand Arena)

    "Come out! Come out and face me you coward!" an angry girl yelled as she reached for the sma rifle attached to her hip.

    Her finger wrapped around the weapon''s trigger and then she fired off several shots into the darkness that was spreading across the arena.

    Bang! Bang!

    Nothing.

    The darkness continued to spread and soon the girl could no longer see anything beyond three feet away from her body.

    The world waspletely silent.

    The girl could no longer hear the sounds of the other students in the crowded stands and even the fightinging from the arena next door seemed muffled and distorted.

    She was so distracted by the sensory deprivation that she did not realise that the shadows beneath her feet began to twist and contort eerily as if they were alive.

    A slender hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed the girl by her shoulder. Before she could even scream she was pulled into the shadows and disappeared.

    When the darkness was lifted the other students sitting down in the stands could not believe their eyes.

    The second strongest student from As University was lying down on the ground with her head neatly severed from the rest of her body.

    Standing over her corpse was a girl with an average looking face, dark ck hair and a pair of thick sses that covered her eyes.

    She waspletely unremarkable and would easily blend in the background of a crowd.

    Qiana ced a bloody de back into her pocket and then slowly made her way out of the arena.

    [Winner- Qiana Abazin!]

 Chapter 718 The Day Before The Final Round

    Caorn- Jasmin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel)

    "If I were a sailor... I''d roam the seas looking for treasures..."

    "Capturing the one who stole my heart... for we shall never be apart..."

    "The woes of life... the sorrows of hell... with you all will go well..."

    A young woman sang softly under her breath as she walked through the hotel''s corridors towards the cafeteria.

    She was a cute girl with deep dimples on the sides of her cheeks when she smiled and a small button nose.

    She wore a vibrant purple uniform along with a long cape that was tightly wrapped around her lower back.

    And her eyes...

    Cloudy, unfocused, and pure white.

    Jessie continued to hum yfully as she paused every couple of moments as if searching for something or someone.

    Today was a day of rest.

    Tomorrow would be the final round of the Inter University tournament that would decide the brightest star among the younger generation.

    It was just a shame that the opponent that Jessie had wanted to fight the most had decided to drop out of thepetition.

    Without her... everything just seemed... boring.

    Jessie let out a heavy sigh under her breath and her smile faded quickly. She briefly considered whether to drop out herself.

    She didn''t want to fight anyone else.

    Yeah the darkness girl was pretty interesting... maybe the Mer University representative as well but...

    They weren''t her.

    They weren''t Sophie Peterlor.

    Jessie had not told anyone, but she could sense it. She could sense that the hybrid girl was transitioning to the void stage.

    A remarkable aplishment for someone at the age of neen.

    It was a record that matched her father who was the youngest god stage cultivator in the history of the Federation.

    "Where are you going?" a rough masculine voice interrupted Jessie''s musings.

    The blind girl turned in the direction of the noise and her bright smile returned to her face as she recognised the voice.

    "Hi Max! I was just on my way to the cafeteria... want to join me?" Jessie asked cheerfully.

    Max shrugged his shoulders with an unhappy look on his face but still stepped forward and gently took Jessie by her arm.

    They made an odd pair.

    A blind girl and a delinquent looking boy with short spiky hair and dark tattoos printed across his face.

    "I''m sorry that you got knocked outst round," Jessie chatted casually as the pair walked towards the south wing cafeteria.

    "Not as sorry as me..." Max grumbled as his expression shifted to one of annoyance.

    "Got paired up with that pompous asshole from As university. What was his name again? Ryan Willdick or some other shit..."

    "Thought that I would be at least able to knock that smirking look off his face but the fucker is pretty fast."

    "Ryan Wilhelm," Jessie corrected herpanion but the giggle in her voice made it clear that she enjoyed the nickname.

    "Well... he is the representative of As University."

    "Yeah that''s another thing... As and Zrudread they both got the highest number of people left in the tournament," Max noted unhappily.

    "Hmm... let''s see... there are twenty people left... seven from Zrudread... seven from As... I believe four from Mer and then... two from us," Jessie replied thoughtfully.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah. All those bitches who were looking down on you for barely qualifying all got knocked out," Max chuckled darkly.

    "So, you have to win. Listen... You. Have. To. Win."

    Jessie smiled but did not reply to her friend''s order. Truthfully her cultivation was not high, she was only in the early stages of the qi tide stage.

    Every single person in the final round had a higher cultivation level than her and most of her opponents in the previous rounds as well.

    Still... she had won thanks to her ability.

    It was a powerful ability and yet...

    Jessie shook her head and tossed those thoughts to the back of her mind.

    She leaned against Max''s shoulder as the pair walked towards a set ofrge metalloid doors at the end of a corridor.

    The doors automatically slid open to reveal arge open hall where dozens of restaurants and food stalls circled the outer walls.

    In the middle of the hall were hundreds of tables and chairs for the students of Tantibus University to rx, socialise and eat.

    There weren''t many people in the cafeteria at the moment as most were enjoyed spending time at the beach outside the hotel.

    Max led Jessie to a table in the corner of the hall behind arge pir. Jessie sat down and leaned against the back of the chair.

    "What do you want to eat?" Max askedzily as he pointed at the restaurants before awkwardly dropping his finger.

    "Just give me the usual," Jessie replied with a wink. Her cloudy white eyes teared up slightly so she reached into her pocket for a tissue.

    "So... arge seafood feast with a cup of steaming carbonated water?" Max replied with a bemused grin on his face.

    "You got it!" Jessie said happily.

    Max left the table leaving hispanion all by herself.

    Jessie tilted her wristmunicator upwards and then ced two metalloid devices on her temples.

    Her wristmunicator powered on and the information on the screen was transmitted directly into her mind.

    Her source of blindness came from her pupils, irises, and corneas.

    Surprisingly her optical nerves were fairly healthy which meant that with the aid of some technology it was possible for her to ''see''.

    The devices attached to her temples would beam electric signal to her brain that would serve the same purpose as her eyes.

    It was a bit inconvenient but Jessie appreciated being able to read the Virtual Net and y videogames.

    She opened up the main page of her wristmunicator and began to browse for thetest news.

    There was one hot piece of gossip on every news website.

    Every page that she visited contained one of the hundreds if not thousands of articles written about the new duchess of House Peterlor.

    Sophie Peterlor was the first hybrid individual to take the rank of duchess in the entire history of the Federation.

    It was a momentous asion and the reactions varied across the Virtual Net.

    Some praised this as a sign of progress while others cursed and imed that this was the end of human civilisation.

    And of course, there were many who were in the middle of the two extremes.

    Jessie read a few of the articles and realised that most were fluff pieces specting and talking nonsense about the session ceremony.

    Journalists and reporters had been banned from the actual ceremony and all recording and electronic devices had been banned from entering the ce where the ceremony was held.

    As a result only the nobles who attended the ceremony knew what had taken ce and all so far had refused to talk to the media.

    Well... except for one.

    A viscount imed that the crown prince had stood up and made a fool of himself. A bold statement that Jessie immediately knew was nonsense.

 Chapter 719 The Feeling Of Being One With The Universe

    Caorn- Jasimin Ind)

    (Mariena Hotel- Private Penthouse Suite)

    "Are you even paying attention to me?" an angry voice echoed through the hotel room.

    An elderly Servie mage wearing long green robes flew towards a figure curled up under threeyers of nkets.

    "Inya Baileyleaf! Listen to me young man!" Archmage Rosemuse sternly spoke as she snapped her fingers.

    Runic circles appeared above her palms and the nkets got up from the bed and moved to the nearest chair as if they had somehowe to life.

    Beneath the nkets was a pale faced young Servie boy. He was unnaturally slender even for his kind and dark circles could be seen under his eyes.

    He looked sickly.

    That was the first impression that anyone got when looking directly at his unhealthy figure.

    "Ugh... yeah... you said something about... damn... I can''t remember..." Inya''s voice trailed off as he massaged his temples.

    Archmage Rosemuse stomped her feet in anger as she looked at her hapless apprentice.

    Inya was one of the most talented young mages that she had ever had the pleasure of training and yet his personality...

    Left much to be desired.

    "As I was saying..." Archmage Rosemuse took in a few deep breaths and then repeated what she had said before with gritted teeth.

    "Your next opponent will be Astrid Lockhart. Don''t look down on her because she''s a mage from Zrudread University."

    "Archmage Hollystorm has made her his apprentice and he is one of the most powerful spatial mages in the Federation."

    "If his apprentice has even a fraction of his talent then this match-up could be your most difficult so far."

    Inya raised up his head slightly and a spark of interest shed briefly across his tired eyes. He tilted his wristmunicator upwards and typed in a few words.

    Aption of Astrid''s previous fights appeared on the screen in a video format. Inya saved the videos to watch at ater date.

    "Well... that''s good and all but... what do you want me to do?" Inya turned to his mentor and asked with a clear trace of exhaustion in his voice.

    "Train? YOU COULD TRAIN!" Archmage Rosemuse shrieked as her wings rapidly pped up and down.

    "Train? Look master... this is my one day off until the tournament starts back... instead of training... it''s better to rx... go with the flow," Inya countered with a small smile.

    Archmage Rosemuse ced a hand on her forehead and made a face as though she was suffering from a master headache.

    "Fine... do what you want... but you must win your match tomorrow," Archmage Rosemuse let out a heavy sigh and then spoke.

    The old Servie mage flew out of hotel room and the door closed behind her automatically with a soft thud.

    Inya counted slowly to twenty and then sat up. His pointed ears tilted slightly in the direction of the door as he listened for any noises.

    Good.

    She had left.

    The young Servie male quickly reached into his storage bag and pulled out two vials. Each vial was filled with a dark blue liquid that bubbled slightly.

    "Now to rx..." Inya whispered softly.

    He unscrewed the top of the first vial and leaned over the ss tube. He took a small sniff of the fumes and could feel his headache slowly disappear.

    This was just what he needed.

    Inya tilted the vial upwards and downed its contents in one big gulp. His immediate surroundings started to blur as the room began to spin.

    The Servie mage leaned back on the mattress and enjoyed the sensations. He felt lightheaded as if he was now one with the universe.

    In the grand scheme of things... nothing mattered.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Not the tournament.

    Not his powerful magic powers.

    He just existed.

    He would exist until one day he didn''t.

    One day he would be forgotten and then thest trace of his life would finally be gone from this world.

    "Fuck... this Vreim Juice... did my dealerce this one?" Inya muttered slowly as a loopy grin spread across his face.

    Then... it was gone.

    Oh, the joys of having a high cultivation level. He used to be able to get high for several hours or days but now...

    He was lucky if itsted for a few minutes. His body would now break down drugs extremely quickly.

    Inya frowned as he felt the wonderful feeling go away and the massive headache that was pounding his mind returned with a vengeance.

    One more... one more...

    The Servie boy touched the second vial and then hesitated for a moment. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out three more vials.

    He also grabbed an empty bottle.

    Inya got to work and poured the contents of each vial inside the bottle and added in some white crystals as well.

    He shook the bottle vigorously for a few seconds until the liquid inside began to fizzle and foam ominously.

    Nice...

    Inya raised up the bottle to his lips and then took severalrge sips until the bottle was empty once more.

    He remained perfectly still as he waited for the effects to hit. Any second now... any second now and he would return to the wondend.

    There it was...

    Wait... no...

    Inya leaned over the side of the bed and vomited profusely. A foul smelling greenish-ck bile sttered across the ground.

    He felt as though his head was about to explode as beads of cold sweat erupted out of his pores and his body began to violently tremble.

    Inya was incapable of saying anything apart from faint groans of pain as he curled up into a ball and tried to ride out the effects of the drug.

    He tried to ess his wristmunicator, but his fingers were shaking too much to operate the touchscreen device.

    Another burst of pain rocked through his body and Inya opened his mouth to loudly scream.

    His fingernails gripped the sides of the mattress with so much force that they cracked.

    Bright red droplets stained the white bedsheets and the foul smelling from the bile on the ground mixed with the coppery scent of blood.

    Inya felt as though he was dying. He could somehow sense that his body organs were shutting down.

    He mustered up all the strength in his body and slowly but surely managed to crawl his way over the desk on the side of the bed.

    There was a small button on the top of the desk that would summon the hotel workers in case the students needed something.

    Inya''s vision was fading and the world around him was slowly sinking away to darkness.

    With thest bit of strength that he had left he managed to m his trembling fist down on the button.

    Then everything turned to ck.

 Chapter 720 The Battle Begins!

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind)

    ''My love! I cannot live without you! - the crown prince cried out. He reached for the cold faced man whose back was turned.

    The emperor could not believe what his eyes were seeing. The crown prince¡­ his favourite son had an affair with his internal minister?!

    Shocked gasps erupted from the nobles watching on the sidelines but the crown prince didn''t care about their reactions.''

    He grabbed Tang Jin by the shoulder and forced him to turn around. He stared into those dark ck eyes that were like a bottomless abyss.

    My love I¡­''

    Qiana turned the page and blushed furiously as the crown prince passionately dered his love for the internal minister and promised to make him his consort.

    She was currently in one of the many side rooms connected to the grand arena where the finalists would face each another in a series of one-on-one duels to determine the eventual winner.

    There was a t screen monitor in the corner of the room that disyed live video feed from the arena.

    And of course the candidates could watch the matches on their wristmunicators through the Virtual Net as well.

    Qiana nced up at the screen and saw a girl with brightly coloured green hair facing off against a Mendolesa warrior holding a battle axe.

    She watched for a few more seconds and then her attention drifted back to the book in her hands.

    While some would rest or meditate, Qiana had decided to rx by doing some light reading in order to clear her mind.

    The title of the book in her hand was ''The Forbidden Imperial Romance''. A boys love ssic if she did say so herself.

    She had read it dozens of times before but every time she would still get lost in the addicting world that the author had created.

    Qiana turned another page and the blush on her face deepened. There was a time skip between the chapters and it was now nighttime.

    The crown prince was sitting down on his bed wearing arge robe with a conspicuous hole in a certain area.

    The minister approached him and¡­

    "Okay¡­ maybe I''ll read thister tonight," Qiana muttered quietly to herself as she fanned her cheeks in embarrassment.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Her wristmunicator vibrated slightly and she saw an iing message appear in her inbox from a very special person.

    Astrid: [Hi! Hi! I just received some weird news¡­]

    Qiana: [What''s wrong?]

    Astrid: [Well the guy I''m supposed to fight¡­ the representative from Mer University is running a little bitte]

    Astrid: [Just got an announcement that my match is going to be pushed back to amodate him]

    Qiana: [That''s odd¡­ and the tournament officials approved thisteness? I wonder what happened to him¡­]

    Astrid: [Not sure¡­ but that means you''re probably next! Best of luck Qiana! I''m rooting for you!]

    Astrid: [WOO!!! ;D]

    A brief smile shed across Qiana''s face as she saw her girlfriend''s kind words.

    Dating Astrid was an unexpected development and yet¡­ it was the best part of her university life so far.

    Qiana''s fingers tapped against the screen of her wristmunicator as she chatted with Astrid for a few more minutes.

    On the monitor the green haired girl crashed to the sandy floor bloody and bruised as the victorious Mendolesa warrior raised up his battle axe and roared.

    Qiana''s fingers paused as she saw the result of the match. That meant only one thing¡­ it was her turn now.

    Sure enough the doors to her room automatically slid open to reveal a long and narrow corridor which led directly to the arena.

    She powered off her wristmunicator and then took in a deep breath. Qiana lightly touched the pair of daggers attached to her hip and could feel herself calm down.

    This was just another target to kill.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Nothing more¡­ nothing less.

    The young woman steeled herself and then walked out of the room. Her footsteps were slow, steady, and assured.

    She wandered through the narrow corridor for what seemed like over fifteen minutes until finally she saw the exit where light was shinning through the open door.

    Qiana passed through the door and found herself standing at the edge of arge field that mimicked a desert-like environmentbined with a marsnd.

    The ground was mainlyposed of loose white sand particles that shifted slightly with every step that she took.

    There wererge green nts scattered across the field whose sturdy trunks were covered in thick needle-like spines.

    And the detail that drew Qiana''s attention immediately were the numerous pools of water buried under a thinyer of topsoil.

    She could see something moving under those dark pools and whatever it was¡­. it did not look particrly friendly.

    A holographic projection floated high above the field and arge line of text appeared on the screen.

    [Introducing Candidate No. 014- Qiana Abazin!]

    A resounding roar and scattered apuse erupted from the students sitting down in the stands around the arena.

    There was golden barrier that separated the crowd from the field both for their safety and to prevent any acts of interference.

    Qiana''s fingers wrapped around the hilt of her daggers and she slowly withdrew her des from their sheath.

    The sharpened edges of her knives gleamed under the harsh sunlight.

    Qiana adjusted her stance and waited patiently for her opponent to pass through the door located on the opposite side of the field.

    She did not have to wait for long.

    A handsome man in his early twenties wearing a long ck military-like uniform walked through the door with confidence oozing off his body.

    His short blonde hair was impably styled so that not a single strand of hair was out of ce.

    He possessed deep blue eyes, high cheekbones and a jawline that was sharp enough to cut ss.

    [Introducing Candidate No. 001- Ryan Wilhelm!]

    The cheers this time were even louder than what they had been for Qiana. The nobles of As University got up on their feet and loudly pped for their representative.

    Ryan ran his fingers through his short hair and shot a winning smile at the crowd. He raised up his right hand and waved elegantly at his supporters.

    This was the feeling.

    He was invincible! He was powerful!

    The crowd was cheering his name! This is how things should be!

    Now that the hybrid bitch was gone¡­ the winner of this tournament would be him. Ryan slowly lowered his hand and then touched the hilt of his sword.

    Who was his opponent again?

    He nced at the figure standing on the other side of the field and saw an unremarkable girl wearing a pair of thick heavy sses.

    Ahh yes¡­ a coward from Zrudread University who had only gotten this far due to cheap tricks.

    The lines of text on the holographic screen changed and soon a countdown timer begun to y.

    [Ten seconds¡­ nine seconds¡­ eight seconds¡­]

    Qiana adjusted her sses and the shadows beneath her feet wriggles and squirmed slightly in excitement.

    [Four seconds¡­ three seconds¡­ two seconds¡­]

    Ryan yawned sleepily with a bored expression on his handsome face.

    [One second¡­ BATTLE BEGIN!]

 Chapter 721 Qiana Vs Ryan

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind- Grand Arena)

    Ryan''s sword was remarkably thin.

    In fact, it bore a striking resemnce to the sabres used in an ancient Earth era fighting sport called fencing.

    Qiana lowered her stance and her fingers tightened around the hilt of her daggers. This would not be an easy fight.

    There was a reason why Ryan Wilhelm was chosen as the representative of As University.

    He may be arrogant, but he indeed had the skills to back up his rather irritating personality.

    [One second¡­ BATTLE BEGIN!]

    The shadows beneath Qiana''s feet began to spread outwards and cover the ground of the sandy field.

    She leaned backwards and disappeared into the darkness. There was aplete moment of silence as Ryan stood perfectly still.

    Then a wide grin spread across his face.

    "Do you think your cheap tricks will work on me?!" Ryan loudlyughed as his figure blurred and then vanished from the spot.

    His weapon moved so fast that it was impossible for anyone below the void stage to track his movements.

    sh! sh! sh!

    Amazingly Ryan''s de cut through the spreading darkness as if the inky ck nothingness was a mere piece of paper.

    Qiana tilted her neck to the side and narrowly avoided a quick strike that would have decapitated her instantly.

    She wasn''t fast enough¡­

    A thin red line spread slowly from the side of her neck and it was apanied by a sharp burst of pain.

    Qiana ced her right palm on the side of her neck and quickly assessed the damage. Fortunately, only part of her skin and flesh had been sliced off.

    Blood slowly dripped down from her neck and stained the white sand beneath her feet.

    Ryan raised up his arm to strike again when a dagger was thrown right at the middle of his forehead.

    He was forced to ungracefully block the sudden attack and the dagger fell helpless into the ground behind him.

    Qiana did not stop and continued to fling needle-like des in her opponent''s direction which made Ryan take several steps backwards and widen the distance between them.

    An irritated frown shed across the handsome young man''s face as he lifted up his sword and blocked yet another attack.

    "Stop this and fight me!" Ryan roared as he narrowly avoided a dagger that aimed directly at his lower regions.

    "You¡­ fine¡­ I''ll juste to you then¡­"

    Ryan took in a deep breath and his skin began to turn a golden bronze colour. He bent his knees and prepared to lunge at the in faced girl.

    Qiana saw that her opponent was about to charge and a small smile appeared on her lips. She stretched out her fingers and thin threads could be seen wrapped around her fingertips.

    Each thread was connected to one of the daggers that she had thrown.

    Now all she had to do was pull gently and¡­.

    Stab!

    Ryan flinched as several daggers prated his back.

    The des only went in a few inches deep because his body armour technique prevented them from entering even further.

    But still¡­ it was incredibly painful.

    Body Armour Technique- Golden God!

    Ryan tossed his sword to the side and flexed his arms. The deep bronze colour of his skin turned into a brilliant golden shine.

    The daggers embedded in his back were slowly pushed out of his flesh and dark ck blood dripped from where the des had entered his back.

    Qiana had poisoned the daggers.

    The first rule of a being good assassin¡­. never fight fair.

    Ryan staggered forward but managed to steady himself. He cocked back his left fist and punched in Qiana''s direction.<novelnext></novelnext>

    BOOM!

    An enormous shockwave was produced by his punch and the burst of air mmed directly into Qiana''s body before she could react.

    The slender girl flew backwards and crashed into a nearby wall with a heavy thud.

    She slid to the ground unceremoniously all the while coughing out blood and specks of her organs.

    The golden armour around Ryan''s body began to crack and soon his skin returned to his normal colour.

    He stepped towards his weapon and picked up the de.

    "This is the end¡­" Ryan muttered as he turned to look at the injured girl.

    Except there was one small problem¡­ the girl was gone.

    Ryan''s eyes widened in shock as he quickly looked around hoping to see if he could find out where Qiana was hiding.

    Nothing.

    It was like she had disappeared into the desert.

    Ryan was so focused on looking for his missing opponent that he did not realise that he could no longer hear the sounds of the crowd.

    The grand arena was nowpletely silent to the point where you could hear a pin being dropped.

    It was like he had been teleported to a different dimension.

    The shadows beneath Ryan''s feet twisted and squirmed as if they were somehow alive. A slender hand emerged from the darkness holding a dagger in its palm.

    With one smooth thrust, the dagger sliced through Ryan''s Achilles'' tendon. The handsome young man''s knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

    "Again¡­ again¡­ with the shitty techniques¡­" Ryan growled angrily. He tried to stand up but the wound on his right leg just would not heal.

    Qiana did not give him the chance to recover. An endless stream of daggers came flying out of the shadows.

    Some came from behind while others were thrown directly at his body. Ryan''s eyes narrowed as he saw the wave of attacks.

    He gripped his sword tightly and then prepared to use a move that he had been saving for thest round of the tournament.

    Ethereal Style- Endless des!

    Ryan swung his weapon and dozens of translucent images of his sword followed the movements of his de.

    These translucent images may appear to be just illusions, but they were real enough to block the daggers in their path.

    Slowly but surely Ryan''s swordsmanship ripped apart all the shadows near his body and one of his translucent des even managed to prate Qiana''s stomach.

    Qiana coughed violently and pressed down on the injured area. She hadn''t even seen when the attack had reached her.

    Ryan was strong.

    She had known that going into this match but¡­

    No¡­ don''t think negative thoughts¡­ you still have one ace up your sleeve.

    Ryan and Qiana stared at each other for a brief moment. They were both heavily injured and would notst for much longer.

    Ryan''s back was torn apart by the daggers coated with poison while Qiana was bleeding from the wound in her stomach.

    This was the end.

    They each only needed onest move to decide the winner and the loser.

    Ryan gripped his sabre in a reverse grip and small red runes appeared along the edges of his weapon.

    He was going to use another sword technique but this time¡­ Qiana was ready.

    Lightning Transmission!

    Small electromaic signals pulsed outwards from Qiana''s body and entered the mind of Ryan who was about to attack.

    This was a special technique created by the ancestors of House Abazin that allowed the caster to modify the electric signals sent to the brain of their victims.

    These signals would create false images in their minds.

 Chapter 722 The Bloody Conclusion

    Caorn- Elysium Archipgo)

    (Unnamed Ind- Grand Arena)

    Ryan smirked slightly as the sword in his hand trembled with power. Dark red runes crept up the sides of his de and shone with an eerie light.

    He held his sword in a reverse grip as the crackling sound of electricity filled the air. He was about to perform a very dangerous sword technique.

    Ryan bent his knees and lunged forward faster than before.

    His body turned into a faint blur, and it was difficult to track the movements of the sword in his hand.

    Reverse Grip- Heaven''s Strike!

    The in faced girl in front of him barely had any time to react before Ryan''s swordpletely split her body into two pieces.

    Her corpse fell lifelessly to the ground with severe burns andcerations on her ckened flesh.

    Ryan frowned slightly as he felt vaguely uneasy. There was a nagging feeling in his mind that this had all been a little too easy.

    Something wasn''t right¡­

    No¡­ when he cut the girl¡­ it felt¡­ wrong¡­

    Danger!

    Ryan leaned backwards and narrowly avoided the dagger that was about to thrust into his carotid artery.

    Qiana swung her leg immediately and managed to strike the distracted boy''s left leg. Ryan tumbled to the ground and moaned in pain.

    He blinked his eyes and corpse in front of him disappeared and was reced by the still alive girl who was now breathing heavily.

    Qiana coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with phlegm.

    The translucent sword in her stomach pained her with every step but she could not remove it.

    Removing it would cause her to bleed out immediately and if she fainted or was unable to fight then it would be her loss.

    Damn it! He broke out of the illusion too quickly!

    If he had been trapped inside for one more second¡­

    Qiana staggered forward and flung a dozen daggers at the boy lying down on the ground. Ryan rolled around ungracefully but could not avoid all the des.

    Qiana''s fingers danced as if she was ying an instrument and the threads connected to the daggers responded to her movements.

    They rose up in the air and continued to fly towards the injured boy who scrambled to his feet to avoid them.

    "You cheap bitch!" Ryan roared in rage as he used his sword to knock away a dagger that was plunging towards his chest.

    Qiana simply tightened her lips and continued to manipte the threads.

    She sent strands of qi from her fingertips into the strings in order to enhance her control over them.

    This fight would notst for much longer.

    Both Qiana and her opponent were quickly running out of steam. The poison was umting in Ryan''s body and Qiana was slowly bleeding out from her stomach.

    Qiana walked forward but stumbled slightly. She sank down to her knees and coughed one more time.

    More blood poured out of her lips, and she felt lightheaded.

    The crimson red liquid stained the desert sand beneath her feet.

    She could hear the vague sounds of the crowd as her isted domain technique began to crack.<novelnext></novelnext>

    No¡­ she was not going to fall¡­

    Qiana bit her tongue and the sharp burst of pain helped to drive away the darkness that was slowly creeping up along the corners of her vision.

    She was not going to lose¡­ she was not going to lose¡­

    Sacred Sword Art- Severance!

    Arge wave of sword light flew towards her too quickly for Qiana to properly react. She flung her body to the side and was forced to sacrifice one of her arms.

    Slice!

    Qiana''s left arm waspletely removed from the rest of her body and it fell on the ground with a heavy thud.

    The assassin girl quickly used a me technique and pressed her burning fingers into the bloody stump that used to be her arm.

    Sizzle! Sizzle!

    Qiana closed her mouth and silently screamed as she used the heat of the technique to quickly cauterize the wound.

    Ryan readied his sword and closed his eyes.

    His body was now covered in daggers and his head was spinning under the effects of the poison.

    He could barely even think, and he knew that was body was now sluggish and slow.

    Thatst sword technique had taken all thest strength that he had left.

    "Just give up already¡­ you cripple¡­" Ryan opened his eyes and sneered as he mocked the injured girl.

    "Using your words¡­ clearly you must be feeling worried right?" Qiana whispered softly and yet her words seemed to carry across the arena.

    She walked towards Ryan with slow but steady steps. Every muscle in her body groaned and begged her to stop but Qiana continued forward.

    She stopped when she was only a few dozen metres away and then flung a dagger right at Ryan''s forehead.

    While Ryan blocked the sudden attack, his defenses were wide open.

    Bang!

    The arrogant noble from As University looked down in disbelief at the gaping wound in the middle of his chest.

    Qiana had pulled a ster pistol out of her robe and fired off a quick shot.

    A qi tide cultivator should be able to shrug off such an attack, but she had waited for the perfect moment.

    The poison in Ryan''s body was a qi blocker.

    His body may be stronger than an ordinary person but Qiana had taken away his ability to enhance it even further.

    Her legs trembled slightly but she forced herself to remain standing. Ryan took a single step forward and an expression of shock mixed with anger shed across his face.

    He opened his mouth to say something but his eyes slowly closed and he copsed lifeless on the ground.

    [Winner- Qiana Abazin!]

    Qiana raised up her right arm and could hear loud cheers echoing through the arena. Several mages approached the battlefield and two of them approached her.

    One of the mages walked towards the severed arm on the ground while the older one stretched out her hand and chanted a few words.

    "Sana haec pue," the mage whispered calmly. A stream of green light burst out of her fingertips and flowed into Qiana''s body.

    In the corner of her eye, Qiana could see the group of mages standing around Ryan''s corpse activate the time reversal runes that had been carved into the arena''s ground.

 Chapter 723 Fantasy And Delusion

    (Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

    (Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

    Dr. Valenna leaned back in her chair and ced her hand under her chin. She hummed softly as she looked through several files on her desk.

    There was a sense of tension in her shoulders as she flipped through the scanned pages on her tablet device.

    No¡­ no¡­ not enough progress¡­

    Dr. Valenna clicked an icon on the tablet and a series of videos were downloaded to her device from a secure cloud- based storagework.

    She began to watch the videos with a cold glint in her eyes. The first video showed the scene of a naked man being infused with Tarkkakans DNA.

    This process had the second highest sess rate of all the fusion experiments in the program at a rate of about 44%.

    The man screamed loudly as his flesh began to morph and change after repeated rounds of experimentation.

    His dark brown skin turned into an ashy grey colour.

    Weird and twisted appendages grew out of his body orifices and his expression morphed into one of pain.

    His body length expanded significantly and his physique now began to resemble a worm-like creature.

    Dr. Valenna narrowed her eyes and swiped to the next video.

    Another scene began to y and this time it showed humans with greenish-ck skin and razor-sharp ws where their hands should be.

    The video cut to a new location where several heavily armoured guards rushed towards the Insectoid hybrids.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The guards used ster pistols, psionic shields, and other high-tech equipment in order to deal with the monsters.

    The reason why they were allowed to use such devices was that in a real-world situation these hybrids would be forced to face off against human or alien technology.

    Unfortunately, the results were not good.

    Dr. Valenna raised up her hands and slowly rubbed her temples as she watched the guards annihte the hybrids in a matter of minutes.

    The new investors in Project Rhat''ets were not as impatient as the older nobles who invested several years ago but still¡­

    There was always a constant pressure to show results.

    Scientists who received funding had to show their investors that their work would provide tangible results.

    Dr. Valenna knew that so far¡­ she had failed.

    It was not a total failure, but she might as well have.

    She had managed to create Insectoid- Human hybrids and had learned more about Insectoid DNA and physiologies but that was not the main purpose of this project.

    The main purpose of this project was to create living weapons.

    The female scientist let out a heavy sigh under her breath and swiped her fingers across the screen one more time.

    This was the final video and the biggest source of her headache.

    This time the subject was one that she was familiar with.

    A woman was strapped to a table and next to her was an alien creature who was heavily restrained by thick metalloid chains and bindings.

    The alien''s appearance was vaguely humanoid with stic and stretchy skin that was almost rubber-like in texture.

    Yellowish scales covered certain parts of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder des.

    Three bright pink eyes were located along its torso and there was a mysterious orifice near its posterior region.

    A Serpentinea.<novelnext></novelnext>

    An alien who belonged to a higher order of Insectoid species.

    Dr. Valenna watched absentmindedly as the alien''s DNA was extracted and then injected into the woman strapped down next to him.

    The process took a few hours in total, so she sped up the footage.

    By the end of it the young woman now still looked like a normal human, but multiple pink eyes could be seen across different parts of her body.

    Her mouth had been transformed into a massive gaping maw with dozens of razor- sharp teeth that glowed slightly under the harsh artificial lighting.

    Human DNA waspatible with most biological lifeforms across the gxy due to an odd mutation in their gic makeup that urred during the era of envement under the Draxi Empire.

    Dr. Valenna theorised that it still be difficult to fuse higher order Insectoid DNA with that of a human, but she had been proven wrong.

    The fusion sess rate for the Serpentinea alien and humans was a shockingly high 100%.

    With a number like that Dr. Valenna should have been very excited since this represented a breakthrough in the project.

    Instead, it turned out to be a false hope.

    The hybrids produced from the fusion were impressive looking butcked strength.

    The strongest among them only managed to reach a level of power simr to a cultivator in the qi body stage.

    On the battlefield they could easily be wiped out and the Imperial Army had nock of cannon fodder to throw in wars.

    More importantly¡­ they did not survive for long.

    Dr. Valenna and her team of scientists had not discovered the reason why just yet but somehow all Serpentinea- Human hybrids died after roughly a week.

    Their DNA would break down, their organs would fail and no matter what medical technology they tried¡­ the test subjects would still expire.

    Dr. Valenna tapped on the side of her tablet a few times. Her fingers made a light knocking sound that echoed through her private study room.

    If that was the case, then¡­ was Sophie Peterlor really an Insectoid- Hybrid?

    No¡­ perhaps the other higher order Insectoid Species could produce stable offsprings with humans.

    If only she could experiment on the hybrid girl!

    There was just such a wealth of information to be extracted out of her DNA.

    If she could get a chance to dissect her¡­ what secrets would she be able to uncover?

    Dr. Valenna lost herself in fantasy and delusion as she imagined using sterile tools to carefully dissect the hybrid girl and analyse her gic makeup.

    But they would remain fantasies.

    The female scientist allowed herself to daydream one more time and then snapped herself out of her thoughts.

    Sophie Peterlor was now the Duchess of House Peterlor.

    She was a upper ss noble and wielded more influence and power than most of the major investors in Project Rhat''ets.

    It was no longer possible to kidnap her or persuade her to willingly be a test subject for a series of experiments.

    Maybe if they appealed to her sense of patriotism for the Earth Federation? Her father was amander of the Imperial Army after all¡­

    Suddenly Dr. Valenna''s wristmunicator buzzed slightly, and she saw a couple of messages enter her inbox.

    Each message was tagged as a high priority, so she quickly opened them to see what was written down inside.

    The messages were sent from the crown prince. Dr. Valenna scanned through the words on the screen and a small smile began to spread across her face.

    Maybe her fantasy woulde through¡­

 Chapter 724 The Changing Tides

    (Hydra Star System)

    (Private Starship- Hologram Suite)

    Bang!

    Sophie leaned to the side and narrowly avoided the beam of light that was shot in her direction.

    She moved quickly and retaliated by punching therge robot that was slowly rolling towards her with arms outstretched.

    The floor was covered in destroyed machinery, scattered parts and a ck oil-like material that stained the ground.

    The hybrid girl''s figure vanished from the spot and when she reappeared all the androids in the room were torn apart.

    "End the simtion," Sophie coldly spoke.

    The scenery in the room disappeared and all that was left was a white space with thin blue lines running across the floor and walls in a criss-cross pattern.

    Sophie walked towards the door and reached into her pocket for a small handkerchief. She wiped the sweat off her brows as she exited the hologram suite.

    She had been training for over six hours.

    There was no much to do on the flight back to Zrudread University since Cleo was still asleep and Sophie did not have the heart to wake her up.

    As the hybrid girl wandered through the corridors, numerous thoughts shed across her mind.

    She was now the duchess.

    It was a fact that was beginning to sink in and yet somehow it still felt unreal. How could this have happened so quickly?

    One moment she was just a regr university student and now she was one of the most powerful nobles in the Federation.

    This would be a dreame true for most of the poption of the Federation but for Sophie the cost was simply too high.

    She would trade all of this power, wealth and authority if it meant that her father would return safely from the battlefield.

    And not to mention¡­ she had one other worry on her mind.

    Her Insectoid heritage.

    She was half human and half Arachnais. The offspring of the Federation''s youngest god stage cultivator and a princess of a high-level Insectoid species.

    This was a secret that was akin to a ticking time bomb.

    Especially considering that the crown prince seemed to be aware of her true nature and simplycked proof to confirm it.

    Sophie tilted her wrist upwards and quickly essed hermunicator. She opened up some of the reports and looked for any new information.

    Immediately after the session ceremony ended, Sophie had employed the use of her family''s private investigation organisation to look into the crown prince and Dr. Valenna.

    She had even hired information guilds as well. Both the legal and the ones that leaned slightly into the greyish realm of thew.

    It was important to find out any weaknesses or information that would get them off her back.

    This of course was just a temporary measure until she found out a more ''permanent'' solution.

    Sophie lowered her wrist and walked towards the end of the corridor.

    There was a door leading to the upper floor cafeteria, but Sophie''s attention was drawn to the window.

    She could see the vastness of space outside. A ck never ending void with numerous wonders and fantastical sights.

    The universe was just so¡­ majestic.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sophie stood spellbound as she watched a soaring asteroid hurtle across in the distance towards a small moon.

    In the distance there was a giant gaseous slowly rotating surrounded by enormous rings made from melted ice and rock that rapidly spun around its body.

    The hybrid girl stared for a few minutes and then turned away. She opened the door to the cafeteria and ventured inside.

    The cafeteria space was quiterge and could fit over two hundred people quitefortably.

    There were food replicators, nutrient packages and other edible supplies suitable for long term space travel.

    This cafeteria was located on the upper floor of the spacecraft and was reserved for nobles and their guests.

    The few workers that operated the starship would use the cafeteria on the lower floor.

    Since Sophie and Cleo were the only passengers, the cafeteria reserved for aristocrats waspletely empty.

    Sophie headed for one of the counters and grabbed a couple of nutrient packs. She popped off the top of the tubules and poured the contents into her mouth.

    The tasteless liquid entered her mouth and flowed down into her stomach. Sophie repeated this process a few more times and then walked towards a random seat.

    She sat down and leaned against the back of the chair. The silence of the cafeteria was oddlyforting.

    She didn''t mind being alone sometimes especially when there was just so much that she needed to deal with.

    There was already quite a robust system in ce to manage her father''s estate and territories and Sophie did not n to expand.

    For the next couple of decades she just hoped to maintain House Peterlor''s power and then when she had more experience she would try to increase their strength.

    It was important not to rush.

    Cultivators did live for hundreds if not thousands of years so she had plenty of time to learn and prepare.

    All she had to do now was focus on graduating from Zrudread University and then get through her years of mandatory military service.

    After that¡­ well maybe that was thinking too far ahead.

    Sophie pulled out a metalloid tablet from her storage bag and decided to distract herself by browsing through the virtual Net.

    She deliberately avoided the political and current affairs news articles and searched for more lighthearted topics.

    There was a long thread on one of the forums that Sophie browsed concerning a story apanied by a blurry picture.

    [A Man On Hyperion Has Been Arrested For Streaking In Front Of The Local Nobility!]

    [''A Ghastly Sight!'' ¨C Lord Feren imed]

    [''I Didn''t Mind¡­ He Was Quite ''Blessed'' ¨C A Noblewoman Who Refused To Give Out Her Name]

    [''I''ll Do It Again!'' ¨C The Streaker]

    Sophie giggled softly as she read thements below the image. Some of them were very funny especially the ones who tried to guess just how ''blessed'' the streaker was.

    The Virtual Net was constantly monitored by AI in order to prevent what the Federation Government called ''provocative content that disturbed the social order''.

    But every now and then some things would slip through the cracks.

    Sophie spotted ament that talked about the useless of the nobility and how they were all just a bunch of rich parasites.

    Thement was quickly deleted but she was surprised to see it published in the first ce.

    There was a subtle tide shifting in the Federation but at the time Sophie was unable to recognise the change that was about toe.

 Chapter 725 A Return To Normal Life

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University- Main Campus)

    Sophie held her head high as she walked around the campus. She tried her best to ignore the stares and whispers that seemed to follow her around.

    Only the top students were at the Inter- University tournament so there was still quite a lot of people left on the campus.

    sses were held as normal and those who went to the tournament would be given special make-up lessons to help them catch up.

    Sophie hummed softly as she walked along a gravel path and headed towards a certain building at the end of the walkway.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon pped his wings a few times and moved around on top of Sophie''s head before finally getting into afortable position.

    The enormous frostwing bat yawned sleepily and then closed his eyes. His wing span was now around four feet in width and he was still continuing to grow.

    Honestly if it wasn''t for Sophie''s high cultivation level, there was no way that she could possibly handle having her pet sit down on top of her head.

    He was just so heavy!

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie tilted her wrist upwards and checked hermunicator for the iing message.

    Cleo: [Morning Babe! Why didn''t you wake me up when you were leaving?]

    Sophie: [Sorry¡­ you just looked so cute when you were sleeping¡­ I didn''t have the heart to wake you up]

    Cleo: [Aww¡­]

    The hybrid girl smiled softly as she chatted with Cleo for a few more minutes. Being back on the campus wasforting in a strange way.

    This ce helped her to regain a sense of normality. She was far from an ordinary student but walking to ss made Sophie feel¡­ at peace.

    Thest few weeks had been a whirlwind of administrative matters, funeral nning, session nning and other tasks.

    Now¡­ she could just rx and study.

    With a bit of a spring in her steps, Sophie finally arrived at arge five story building that had been made out of reinforced metalloid alloys.

    The Von'' Donern Laboratory.

    This was the ce where second year poison cultivator lectures were usually held.

    The building had state of the art technology to prevent leakage of the poisons, toxins and viruses that were made inside.

    The first floor contained multiple ssrooms while the second and third floors were the ones with theboratory equipment.

    Sophie approached the heavy metallic door that blocked the entrance to the building and reached into her storage bag.

    She pulled out a t thin card that contained her student ID.

    "Alright Moon¡­ you can head home now," Sophie whispered gently.

    Her little frostwing bat hummed grumpily but jumped off his mistress'' head and flew in the direction of Sophie and Cleo''s shared mansion.

    Sophie turned her attention back to the door and held up her student ID.

    A green light burst out of the scanner in the middle of the door and the light swept up and down Sophie''s body.

    It only took a few seconds for the scanner to confirm Sophie''s identity and the door quickly swung open.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The hybrid girl entered the building and the door closed behind her with a heavy thud. She found herself standing at the beginning of a long and winding corridor.

    There was a room to her right which Sophie entered. This room contained whiteb coats and a kit with basic safety equipment and tools.

    Even though today was a lecture day Professor Macabre expected them to wear theirb coats while sitting in her ss.

    She wanted her students to develop the habit of automatically putting theirb coats on when they entered the building.

    Sophie walked towards the back of the room where she found theb coat that had been specially designed for her unique physique.

    Four holes had been sown into the back of the white fabric to allow her de-like appendages to poke outfortably.

    Sophie put on theb coat without much difficulty and headed out of the room. She politely nodded her head at the students that she passed.

    Most of the students in the elite ss had been chosen to go to the Inter University tournament but a handful had not made the cut-off.

    Sophie was not particrly close to any of them but after she had attended a group study sessionst semester, she was not on bad terms.

    Speaking of the Inter University tournament, Sophie was pretty sure that the only department where all the elite students went to the tournament was the mech controller department.

    And that wasn''t all that surprising considering that there were only three students enrolled in that major.

    The hybrid girl walked for around ten minutes until she finally arrived at arge hall-like ssroom with benches and seats set in a semi-circr formation.

    She headed for a seat in the corner of the front row.

    Sophie liked to sit in the front but knew that her height would block the vision of the students behind her so she usually sat in the corner.

    Professor Macabre was already standing near the podium and she shot a small smile at Sophie as she walked into the room.

    Sophie nodded at her teacher and made a mental note to talk to her after ss ended. She wanted to get a head start on the work that she had missed.

    The professor waited for a few more minutes for thest students to trickle in and then began the lecture.

    "Good morning ss¡­ today we will be learning about the history of biological warfare and the impact of gically engineered viruses," Professor Macabre spoke slowly.

    "In some respects, viruses are perhaps the most dangerous of all the tools that you will handle as poison cultivators."

    "Can anyone tell me why?"

    Sophie raised up her hand slowly so Professor Macabre pointed at her and gestured for her to speak.

    "Because viruses can mutate rapidly which means that the prepared cures and vines may be ineffective," Sophie said in a clear voice.

    "Correct!" Professor Macabre replied with a wide grin.

    "Viruses always have a chance to mutate which can improve their transmissibility or lethality with each subsequent generation."

    "In aboratory setting it is possible to figure out the rate of mutation but in the real world¡­ there are simply too many factors for theputers to model."

    "Complicating the matter is the effect that the viruses may have on different species."

    "A disease that is lethal to Servies might be harmless to the Mendolesa."

    Sophie pulled out a notepad and a pen from her storage bag and began to write down notes about what the professor was saying.

    She found the topic quite fascinating.

    It was a dangerous field to study to be sure but as a poison cultivator she would not refuse having another tool in her arsenal.

    Professor Macabre spent the rest of the morning going over notable examples of outbreaks due to enhanced viruses such as the ''gue of Noxien'' and ''The Red Death''.

 Chapter 726 Not An Easy Opponent

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    "I''m back," Sophie called out as she opened the door and entered her apartment. The hybrid girl took off her shoes and immediately headed for the couch.

    She crashed down on thefortable seat and leaned against the back of the couch. There was no better way to spend azy afternoon.

    After a long and tiring day of lectures, nothing felt better than vegging out on the sofa without a care in the world.

    "Hey babe... how was sses today?" a gentle voice came from the kitchen.

    "It was good... lot of work to catch up on though... at least Professor Macabre offered to give me extra lessons," Sophie repliedzily.

    "We''re learning about viruses right now... dangerous stuff... but anyways..."

    "Cleo... can you be a dear and grab me something to nibble? Do we have popcorn?"

    "Alright... but just this once!" Cleo teased softly. The princess opened up one of the drawers in the kitchen and pulled out a brown bag and arge pot.

    She hummed softly as she ced the pot on the stove and turned on the heat.

    Cleo was not used to cooking at first but after quite a few months in this mansion by herself, she had turned into a half decent chef.

    Actually, if she did say so herself... she might even be a pro!

    Well... if you could call making popcorn and simple noodle dishes the work of a master chef.

    Cleo added tworge pieces of butter to the pot and waited for a few seconds for the butter to turn into a golden liquid that sizzled.

    Perfect.

    She opened the brown bag and tilted it over the pot. Corn kernels fell into its gaping maw and she kept going until a quarter of the pot was filled.

    Cleo carefully ced a lid over the pot and then turned on the heat. It took a few moments but soon she could hear a loud popping noise.

    "Something smells good!" her girlfriend yelled from the living room. Cleo felt a warm throb in her chest and ced a hand over her heart.

    Quiet moments like this were her second favourite part of her rtionship with Sophie. It just felt natural and right to be living together.

    The princess may have grown up in a pce surrounded by luxuries but it was gilded cage filled with snakes and scorpions.

    This was a much better living situation.

    Cleo checked the contents of the pot every couple of seconds just to make sure that the popcorn did not burn.

    Her girlfriend would still eat it but Cleo did not want her cooking to be questioned!

    Again... it was a bit of a stretch to call popcorn making as cooking but Cleo would take any win that she got.

    She turned off the heat and removed the lid once the majority of the kernels had turned into fluffy white pieces of goodness.

    Cleo grabbed arge bowl and used her hands to grab the popcorn and ced them in the bowl.

    She grabbed some salt and pepper from the countertop and lightly sprinkled some on top of the popcorn to give it an extra vour.

    "Alright! It is done!" Cleo shouted as she walked over to the living room with the bowl in her hand.

    She saw her girlfriend stretched out on the couch in a veryfortable position. Sophie yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes as she fought off a wave of tiredness.

    She adjusted her posture to make some room for Cleo to sit down and then patted the seat next to her.

    "Come babe... sit down with me," Sophie whispered gently.

    Cleo happily obliged and sat down next to the hybrid girl who immediately reached for the popcorn.

    "Oh... you are the best," Sophie praised as her fingers grabbed arge handful of popcorn.

    Cleo rolled her eyes but secretly felt pleased in her heart. She was d to do these little things for Sophie.

    Especially since...<novelnext></novelnext>

    No don''t think like that.

    Cleo had not talked about this with her girlfriend but honestly... it was slowly eating her up on the inside.

    She just felt so... useless.

    She did not have the political connections to help Sophie during her ascension to the head of House Peterlor.

    When her brother openly revealed the secret of her girlfriend''s lineage, she didn''t know what to say or how to react.

    Sophie had remained calm, but Cleo had been a bundle of nerves.

    Her heart had briefly stopped when she had heard the crown price talk about Sophie''s Insectoid mother.

    If she had more power... would he have even dared to show up and speak such nonsense? Of course not!

    "Penny for your thoughts?" Sophie suddenly spoke up and interrupted Cleo''s musing.

    "Penny for my what? What does that mean?" Cleo asked curiously as she tilted her head.

    "Oh it... it... err... it''s a saying that means what are you thinking about," Sophie replied sheepishly.

    "You always have such strange sayings... do you make that stuff up?'' Cleo teased lightly as she stretched out her hand and yed with her girlfriend''s long hair.

    "Guilty," Sophie smiled and brushed over her question. She hadn''t told Cleo about the memories of Sui Meng or the fusion of their two souls.

    Honestly, she wasn''t sure why she hadn''t. Maybe it was because she had no idea how to breach the subject.

    I used to be one person... then a soul came into my body... then we talked... then we fused and became one person again?

    Yeah... maybe she should just keep that secret to herself...

    Besidespared to her Insectoid heritage or being the vessel of an ancient goddess... this was a rtively harmless secret.

    "Want to watch the Inter- University finals?" Cleo suggested as she picked up the remote and aimed it at therge monitor screen.

    "I think Jessie Ward is fighting someone from our university right now..." Sophie muttered quietly as she checked her wristmunicator to make sure.

    Only eight students were left.

    Qiana and Astrid were still in the tournament which was awesome!

    Cleo powered on the screen and essed the Virtual Net. She flipped through a couple of livestreams before she found one without anymentators.

    The princess snugged up against her girlfriend and the pair remained seated on the couch while watching the disy.

    Jessie Ward was standing in the middle of an arena that had a desert-like environment.

    Her opponent was a massive Mendolesa Warrior with rippling muscles who wielded a heavy great sword and wore ck armour.

    Visually they were aplete mismatch.

    The representative from Tantibus University wore a simple brown cloak and appeared to hold no weapons in her hands.

    Her eyes were cloudy and unfocused.

    At a nce a betting person would obviously ce their money on therge Mendolesa warrior but Sophie wasn''t so sure if that would be the right choice.

    So far Jessie had narrowly won every single one of her matches. She barely scrapped her way to the finals and yet...

    Sophie could tell that she was hiding her strength. She did not have any proof about her assumption but somehow... she knew.

    Jessie Ward would not be an easy opponent to fight.

    Hopefully the Mendolesa warrior would not underestimate her. Sophie leaned forward and stared intently at the screen.

    She couldn''t wait to see what would happen next.

 Chapter 727 The Secret Ability

    Caorn- Rex Ind)

    (Grand Colosseum)

    Jessie felt the hot wind brush against her body and could hear the vague cries and cheers of the crowd in the background.

    She felt calm and rxed.

    Eight people were left.

    Her match was going to be the first one of the quarterfinal stage. An exciting prospect and yet not a speck of interest could be seen on the blind girl''s face.

    It was all just so¡­ boring.

    No one attracted her attention. Sophie Peterlor was the only person who could have made her look forward to fighting.

    Jessie let out a heavy sigh under her breath as she took a few steps forward and waited for the announcement to be yed.

    Because of her condition in addition to the holographic projection, there was an announcer who would call out when the match would start.

    "Let''s have a good match," a rough feminine voice shouted out from the other side of the field.

    Jessie could tell that it belonged to her opponent.

    A Mendolesa warrior from Zrudread University who specialised in a rather unorthodox form of swordsmanship.

    Instead of focusing on technique and skills, she had overpowered her opponents using brute force and muscr strength.

    Not the most elegant of methods but Jessie wasn''t going to judge. At the end of the day regardless of the fighting style, all that mattered were the results.

    She knew that fact better than anyone else.

    "Thank you. I look forward this match as well," Jessie replied politely while hiding her true feelings behind a cheerful tone.

    The crowds of students sitting down in the stands around the arena could not take their eyes off what was happening on the stage.

    Whispers filled the air as students began to ce bets on who would be the eventual winner of the fight.

    "Put three hundred Enas on the Mendolesa!"

    "She has a name you know¡­ don''t call her by her race¡­"

    "Sorry my bad¡­ well anyways¡­ put three hundred Enas on Amelia!"

    "You know what¡­ I''m feeling to be brave today. Put down ten Enas on the representative from Tantibus University. Yeah, the blind girl."

    The betting odds were overwhelmingly in Amelia''s favour, and it was not hard to see why.

    Despite being chosen as a representative, Jessie''s performance in the tournament had not been particrly impressive.

    She had barely managed to pass the first and second rounds.

    Also in her fight against other students, she struggled quite badly and it was a miracle that she had even made it this far.

    Her swordsmanship was just good enough to beat cultivators in the early to mid levels of the qi tide stage.

    Everyone else who had made it to the quarterfinals was stronger than her by a wide margin.

    Jessie''s fingers drifted towards the sword attached to her hip and whispered a few words under her breath that resembled a prayer.

    It was time to use her ability for the first time in the tournament.

    She ced her sword into her storage bag along with her other weapons. Now she waspletely unarmed and helpless.

    Her opponent thought that her movements were strange but never would have guessed that Jessie had gotten rid of all of her weapons.

    Seconds slowly passed as Jessie continued to slowly breathe in and out. Her world was one of darkness and sound.

    Her eyes were cloudy, white, and unfocused. She could not see and had to rely on her spiritual senses to move like a normal person.

    And yet¡­ she had made it this far.

    The majority of the students attributed this to luck, but the smart ones had quickly realised something.

    In this tournament¡­ luck was also a skill.

    The holographic projection in the air finally changed and new lines of text appeared. A loud booming voice began to read out what was written on the screen.

    [Quarter Final- Round!]

    [Jessie Ward vs Amelia Harper]

    [Start!]

    The Mendolesa girl roared loudly and rushed forward on all fours like a dog with a massive great sword held in her right paw.

    The ck armour covering her body became a rolling mass of metal and fur.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was an intimidating sight but meant nothing to Jessie who remained in ce almost like a statue.

    Amelia soon closed the distance and raised up her sword to swing it at the blind girl who appeared to be full of openings.

    Jessie did nothing to stop her.

    The sword came closer and closer to her body and yet she did not flinch.

    BOOM!

    An enormous wave of sand rose up in the air where the swordnded and cracks began to appear on the arena''s floor.

    When the dust cleared, Jessie was standing in the same ce. The sword had missed her entire body by only a few centimetres.

    An embarrassed expression shed across the Mendolesa girl''s face.

    She was sure that spectators thought that Jessie blocked the attack at thest moment, but she knew the truth.

    She had actually missed¡­

    Amelia raised up her de and swung it horizontally to cut her opponent in half. Jessie smiled gently in response and her purple cape fluttered in the wind.

    Amelia stepped forward to add even greater momentum to her swing and her rippling muscles bulged and flexed.

    "This time you won''t get awa¡­ urgh¡­" Amelia''s voice was cut off as she tripped over a loose rock on the ground and stumbled.

    Her sword passed harmlessly away from Jessie''s body. So far, the blind girl had not moved even a single inch since the round had begun.

    Confused murmurs and whispers filled the air as the spectators were not sure what was going on.

    Was Amelia always this clumsy?

    Or was she ying around and putting on a show since she was facing an easy opponent?

    Amelia growled darkly and decided to just rush forward and grab the blind girl. It was time to just finish this.

    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," Jessie whispered softly as if she could somehow read Amelia''s thoughts.

    The Mendolesa girl gritted her teeth as she felt as though she had just been mocked.

    Her hindlegs sprang forward and she stretched out her paws to grab the blind girl by her neck.

    Suddenly a massive earthquake rocked the arena causing Amelia to lose her bnce and fall down t on her face.

    Jessie did not seem to be affected by the intense vibrations as she slowly approached her fallen opponent.

    "It is difficult¡­ isn''t it?" Jessie spoke in a gentle tone.

    "You know that I am weak. You know that I am an easy opponent and yet¡­ none of your attacks can reach me."

    "And they never will."

    "We''ll see about that!" Amelia roared angrily as she got up from the ground with great difficulty and used her paws to grip into the earth.

    A bemused smiled shed across Jessie''s face as she crossed her arms and waited to see what other event would happen next.

    Amelia abandoned her sword and pulled out a ster pistol from a hidden pocket in her ck armour.

    She raised up the weapon and pointed it directly at Jessie who made no attempts to dodge, hide or react to the gun.

    Amelia''s paws trembled slightly but she still pulled the trigger.

    Bang!

    The earthquake had loosened the sand in the arena and a sinkhole appeared directly below where Jessie was standing.

    The blind girl rapidly sank down several metres and the sma round passed harmlessly above her head and towards the barrier surrounding the arena.

    It was an impossible event.

    The probability of the sinkhole appearing just as Amelia had fired off her ster pistol was astronomically small.

    Hell¡­ the Mendolesa girl wasn''t sure what were the chances of an earthquake appearing just as their fight had begun.

    "Have you figured out my ability yet?" Jessie asked curiously as she crawled out of the hole and brushed her uniform to get rid of the sand particles.

    "I don''t know but it seems like a cheap trick," Amelia replied with venom as she pointed the gun at Jessie with a sense of caution that wasn''t there before.

    "Ahh¡­ well¡­ the smarter ones in the crowd have probably figured it out already," Jessie replied with a disappointed look on her face.

    "It''s probability maniption."

    "No matter what you do¡­ no harm can ever befall me."

 Chapter 728 Manipulating Probability

    Caorn- Rex Ind)

    (Grand Colosseum)

    "Nonsense," Amelia snarled angrily as she raised up her ster pistol and pointed it directly at Jessie''s forehead.

    "Go ahead... pull the trigger," Jessie whispered softly as she walked towards the Mendolesa girl and leaned forward until her forehead touched the tip of the gun.

    "Do it."

    Amelia''s paws trembled ever so slightly as she heard the calmness in the voice of her opponent.

    She did not look afraid even though a gun was pressed up against her forehead.

    Probability maniption?

    Amelia had never heard of a cultivation technique that gave one the ability to manipte probability.

    Jessie must be lying.

    The Mendolesa girl took in a deep breath and then pulled the trigger.

    Nothing happened.

    Amelia pulled the trigger several times in a row, but her ster pistol appeared to be jammed.

    No sma rounds left the barrel and Jessie waited patiently as if quietly amused by the unexpected situation.

    She stepped away from the bewildered Mendolesa girl and shrugged her shoulders. Her cloudy, unfocused eyes seemed to stare right into Amelia''s soul.

    "Do you want to try again?" Jessie asked quietly as she stretched out her arms and lightly cracked her knuckles.

    Amelia growled and ced the pistol back in the pocket of her ck armour. She knelt down and retrieved her great sword.

    The entire time that she was picking up her weapon, Jessie made no move to attack and waited patiently for her opponent to get ready.

    Amelia felt offended and a surge of anger bubbled up in her heart. Was Jessie looking down on her?

    Her paws wrapped around the hilt of her sword as she cautiously took one single step forward.

    Jessie smiled sweetly and her posture was rxed. She was full of openings and seemedpletely unaware of the tense atmosphere.

    Doom Swordsmanship- Meteor Strike!

    Amelia swung her sword in the direction of the blind girl and arge wave of sword qi burst out of the tip of her de.

    This energy formed in the shape of aet that elerated faster and faster until it became a streak of light.

    A thunderous boom echoed through the arena as the wave of energy broke the sound barrier with immense momentum.

    Just as the fearsome attack was about to fall on Jessie''s body, arge chunk of the arena''s ceiling fell down.

    The enormous chunk of rubblended directly on the wave of sword energy and crushed it beneath its weight.

    Dirt and sand particles flew up in the air and Amelia had to squint to see what was happening.

    Eventually the sand clouds settle back down on the ground and she could see a pile of rubble directly in front of a calm looking girl.

    "Nice attack," Jessie pped her hands together and apuded.

    She was being genuine but to Amelia her tone seemed like mockery. In her mind, her opponent only said those words to belittle her technique.

    To show the world just how ineffective it was.

    The Mendolesa girl tossed back her head and roared angrily. Her cries echoed through the arena andrge cracks began to appear on the ground beneath her feet.

    She could not afford to hold back.

    St. Alexander''s Body Technique- Final Form!

    The qi in her body became to circte through her meridians in a certain pattern and her ck fur turned into a blood-red colour.

    This was the result of a body technique that would allow her to enter a state of extreme physical enhancement.

    Her strength, speed, agility, and endurance would all receive a massive boost in this new form.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The downside of technique was that it would not deactivate until everyst strand of qi in her dantian had been drained away.

    Amelia could feel her body throbbing with power and a confident smile shed across her face.

    So, what if her opponent could manipte probability?

    She would simply crush and destroy all of the obstacles in her path.

    Amelia growled once more and then rushed forward. ck lightning crackled around her massive frame as she elerated rapidly.

    Within the span of five seconds, she barrelled through the enormous pile of rubble and vaporised the pieces of the ceiling into dust.

    Jessie''s face appeared on the other side of the pile. The blind girl had the same peaceful expression as if this was all within her predictions.

    "Take this!" Amelia shouted loudly. She swung her de at her opponent who did not flinch or move a single centimetre.

    Amelia''s sword was covered by arcs of lightning and she resembled a thunder god from the ancient Mendolesa mythos.

    Another earthquake rocked the arena, this time it was so violent thatrge gaping cracks appeared on the arena''s floor.

    Amelia stumbled but managed to retain her bnce and follow through with her attack. Her sword inched closer and closer.

    She could see in her mind''s eye what would happen next. Jessie would be neatly beheaded, and she would advance to the semi-finals.

    Except... that''s not what happened.

    Jessie tripped on a rock and fell backwards to the ground. The sword passed harmlessly mere inches away from her flesh.

    The sword sh used so much force that Amelia lost her bnce and could not stop her body from moving forward with the momentum of the swing.

    What awaited her was arge gaping chasm that had been formed from the earthquake.

    Amelia tried to stop herself from falling but her enormous strength was now a fatal weakness.

    The ground crumbled beneath her feet under the intense pressure radiating off her body and she fell into the dark abyss.

    Shended several hundred metres underground with a heavy thump. Jessie got up from the ground and brushed off the dirt from her uniform.

    She approached the edge of the chasm and waited patiently. It would take her opponent several minutes to climb back out and the clock was ticking.

    Her body technique continually drained qi from her dantian to maintain that powerful state so it was only a matter of time before her victory was assured.

    This fight had been too easy.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456 Y)

    "Well that is a very strong ability," Cleo remarked as she snuggled up against Sophie and rested her chin on her girlfriend''s upper arm.

    "Hmm... I wouldn''t be so sure..." Sophie muttered quietly as she observed the end of the fight.

    Amelia''s qi eventually ran out and she was defeated by a simple palm strike from Jessie thatnded in the middle of her chest.

    "Didn''t you notice something strange about the fight?" Sophie spoke softly as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend''s body.

    "Yeah... the freak idents, earthquakes, and the malfunctioning gun? I honestly didn''t even know that ster pistols could jam," Cleoughed gently as she spoke.

    "That''s true but... I couldn''t help but notice that those events happened as soon as Amelia tried to attack Jessie," Sophie told Cleo about her hypothesis.

    "I suspect that her ability is a self- protective one. Otherwise why not manipte the odds of reality to defeat her opponent immediately."

    "Why wait and prolong the fight until her enemy ran out of qi?

 Chapter 729 A Tempting Offer

    (Zrudread University- ck Rose Hunter Guild)

    (Private Room)

    "It is good to see you again," an intelligent looking woman spoke gently as she sat down on one of the chairs in the private room.

    The woman wore a simple white uniform with a ck jacket.

    The outfit waspleted with a sharp golden watch on her wrist and a pair of dark leathery shoes that were pointed.

    Her appearance resembled that of an office worker from the Ancient Earth era.

    Well, if you didn''t count her massive frame, the dark brown fur that covered her body and her wolf-like features.

    Sitting across from her was a seven-foot-tall hybrid girl with striking golden eyes and four de-like appendages jutting out from her back.

    "It has been quite some time," Sophie replied calmly as she reached for the cup of tea on the table and took a small sip.

    "The higher ups were very impressed after investigating your performance on Calypso. They were very pleased indeed," Melissa ttered politely.

    "In addition, your one hundred percentpletion rate of bounty hunting missions has made them pay attention to you."

    "You are without a doubt one of the brightest new stars in our guild."

    The guild receptionist reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver card with dark ivory markings engraved along its edges.

    Sophie reached for the card and felt a cold tingle on her fingertips. The metal card was significantly colder than the environment around it.

    "And what is this?" Sophie asked curiously as she tucked the card away in her storage bag.

    "A premium membership card," Melissa smoothly exined as she leaned back in the chair and rxed her shoulders.

    "It allows you to select four star and five star missions without an evaluation process and you may also post your own missions on the board."

    "The strength of the ck Rose Guild is yours tomand."

    "That sounds quite nice but¡­ what do you expect from me in return," Sophie asked in a calm manner but her golden eyes shone eerily.

    "Of course nothing in the universe is free but I suspect that you will find this arrangement quite ptable," Melissa assured her in a polite tone.

    "We simply wish to be your exclusive mercenary guild. The only condition of your membership is that you not join any other groups."

    Sophie tapped her fingers on the table lightly and gave the matter some thought.

    She now understood why she had been called to the ck Rose guild for a private meeting.

    The organisation wished to keep the current head of House Peterlor as one of their members in order to increase their influence.

    Fair enough.

    Sophie was not offended or upset. Rather it wasforting that they were so open about their intention.

    Actually she would probably be more wary if the card was offered for free with no strings attached.

    As an influential political figure¡­ there was no such thing as unearned kindness.

    Still, she could not appear to be too eager. It would be beneficial to pretend to be slightly reluctant.

    Maybe she would even get some additional benefits.

    Sophie opened her mouth and spoke with a hint of hesitancy in her voice,

    "That does sounds reasonable but let me think over the matter. Send me a contract and I will review it with my legal team and get back to you."

    "Of course¡­ please keep the card in the meantime," Melissa replied with a small smile. Sophie got up from the table and the guild receptionist stood up as well.

    The pair shook hands firmly and Melissa promised to send the contract over as soon as possible.

    Sophie left the room and walked through a long and winding corridor until she arrived at the guild''s main hall.

    It was just as chaotic as she remembered.

    A spacious hall with benches and wooden chairs spaced out at regr intervals.

    People of all races and species were happily chatting and making small talk between each other while drinking sses of purplish liquid.

    As Sophie walked towards the exit, she noticed that a lot of heavy gazes were being directed towards her location.

    Her enhanced hearing could easily pick up the hushed whispers that filled the room.

    "Hey¡­ is that?"

    "The duchess of House Peterlor! Damn I almost forgot that she is a member here¡­"

    "You think she would want to do a bounty hunting mission with me? It would be the perfect opportunity to make her acquaintance."

    "Leroux you idiot! You barely survived a one star mission to find a lost pet! Didn''t you see the tournament? She is out of your league."

    Sophie kept her expression calm and her footsteps remained steady and unbothered.

    It helped that she was used to the stares after growing up on Gaia as a hybrid.

    It was just that now the stares had turned from curiosity and/or disgust to ones of greed. She was an influential noble so many wanted to win her favour.

    Now she could understand why some of her peers back in high school saw themselves as gods.

    Being ttered and adored by everyone around you would warp anyone''s sense of humility.

    Sophie clicked her tongue as she arrived at the door and pushed it open. Fortunately, her frosty demeanor prevented any of the mercenaries from getting too close.

    She stepped outside and a cold gust of wind brushed loose strands of hair onto her forehead.

    The sun was now beginning to sink towards the horizon and orange rays of light gave thendscape a soft and gentle glow.

    Sophie walked towards the city in the distance and sent a few messages on hermunicator to Cleo.

    She turned around to get one final look at the guild building.

    It really was like a fortress with sturdy walls, sma cannons and robotic guards patrolling the nearby area and those was just the defenses that were easily visible!

    She supposed that when you were one of the best mercenary groups in the Federation¡­ you probably made quite a few enemies.

    There was one detail about the fortress that did stick out in particr and that was the green vines that were wrapped around its outer walls.

    Growing on those vines were several ck roses swaying gently back and forth in the wind. A mysterious scent wafted off the flowers which made her feel a bit woozy.

    Sophie shook her head to drive away the strange feeling and then continued on her journey back to the mansion.

    Tonight, was the second day of the quarterfinals and Astrid would be facing off against the representative of Mer University.

    Sophie''s footsteps hastened as she could not wait to turn on the livestream and support her friend in the tournament.

 Chapter 730 The Horrific Sight Of A Human

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Unknown Location- Unnamed)

    A humanoid figure covered in an oversized brown cloak sat down in a chair. There was a in white mask over his face that concealed his facial features.

    He raised up his hand and an alien with translucent skin extended a tendril over to an empty ss in front of him.

    The tendril trembled violently and then a pinkish ooze leaked out from the tip of the appendage.

    This ooze slowly dripped into the ss until it was half full. Small pinkish bubbles appeared in the liquid that made delightful popping noises.

    The translucent alien muttered some iprehensible words under its breath and then withdrew its tendril to tend to another customer.

    Rokan raised up the cup to his lips but did not drink. His eyes scanned the other patrons in this bar-like ce.

    A pair of slender snake-like aliens with long jagged teeth were currently wrapped around each other making noises that were definitely not safe for work.

    In the corner of the room there was a group of five gtinous blobs that were discussing the philosophy of god, the universe and the answer to everything.

    Other creatures and species each more colourful and diverse than thest filled up the rest of the bar making it seem like a miniature alien ecosystem.

    The Federines Collective.

    A region of space that held many mysteries.

    The Federines Collective was the fourth inter-gxy superpower along with the Unova Syndicate, Insectoid Empire, and the Earth Federation.

    Little was known about thes and territories within this region of space because the borders were so heavily guarded.

    And now Rokan found himself with the perfect opportunity. He was currently somewhere inside the territory of the Federines Collective.

    The information that he could collect and gather would be invaluable military intelligence to the Imperial Army.

    Sigh... old habits died hard...

    Rokan took in a deep breath and chased those thoughts out of his mind. He was not here on a scouting mission.

    He only had one objective and that was to go home and see his daughter. She must be worried and terrified about his disappearance.

    Would she be okay?

    No... she would be fine... Katarina, Gerald, Secretary Young... they were all qualified advisors.

    He had created a robust system to manage the properties under his name and even if she lost money or certain industries...

    There was enough wealth in his bank ounts for her to livefortably for thousands of years.

    Maybe his daughter had even taken over his ce as the next head of House Peterlor.

    A small smile shed across Duke Peterlor''s face as he imagined how beautiful and strong Sophie must have looked during the session ceremony.

    "Hey cutie," a hoarse guttural voice whispered from the side.

    The duke turned in the direction of the noise and saw a two-feet tall alien looking at him with a wide grin on its fox-like face.

    Thenguage that the creature was speaking was themon tongue of the Federines.

    It was a difficultnguage to learn since it involved making click-like noises and contorting one''s vocal orifice into impossible positions.

    It had been tough to understand at first but as a god stage cultivator, Rokan could easily analyse and learn thenguage after being exposed to it for a few hours.

    Now he was practically fluent!

    "You looking for some..." the alien continued to whisper in a soft tone.

    He rummaged around in its pockets and nced around the room before shuffling closer. He pulled out a transparent crystal that shone with an eerie light.

    Rokan could make out small cks of a whitish material coating the edge of the crystal.

    "No thank you," Rokan politely declined.

    "Alright no problem handsome but... what do you want? Cason oil? The purple potion? Drgonea crystals?" the alien asked curiously while rubbing its feathery wings together.

    "I don''t suppose you sell information?" the duke asked casually as he raised up his ss and pretended to take another sip.

    "What do you want to know?" the alien replied back in an equally rxed tone.

    "You know any smugglers? I''m looking for..." the duke''s voice was no louder than a whisper as he leaned in.

    "Goods brought in from the outside."

    The alien fell silent, and a suspicious expression shed across his face.

    He looked at the duke, but his entire body and face was covered by the oversized robe and a white mask.

    The alien opened his mouth to say something, but a loudmotion suddenly came from the front of the building.

    Tenrge creatures with rippling muscles and hulking frames burst through the doors.

    Their powerful bodies destroyed the thin sheet of metal that was covering the entrance to the bar.

    These creatures were vaguely humanoid, but it was hard to make out any of their features due to the dark ck armour that covered most of their bodies.

    Still one could make out patches of exposed skin that was a pale- white colour as if the blood in their bodies had been drained away.

    "Shit! The enforcers," the tiny alien cursed under his breath as he quickly tucked his drugs away back under his cloak.

    Enforcers were thew.

    Break the rules of the Federines Council or simply piss off one and you could spend the rest of your life in a jail cell.

    Well... that''s if you were lucky enough to avoid execution. The society of the Federines Collective was governed by one main theme.

    Order.

    Every citizen and visitor were expected to obey thew.

    The enforcer leading the pack was significantlyrger than the rest and he held a long sma weapon in his right hand.

    The weapon throbbed and hummed with power. Immediately all the customers in the bar fell silent.

    It was so quiet that one would be able to hear a pin drop.

    "Has anyone seen this individual," the enforcer next to the leader calmly spoke. She raised up a small metalloid device and a holographic projection filled the room.

    It disyed an image of a hairless and disgusting looking alien. The strange being wore a ck uniform with a in longsword attached to its hip.

    The creature possessed two eyes, a strange appendage with two holes in the middle of its face, red lips and hairy... what the hell were those?

    What were those things above its eyes?

    Most of the Federines citizens did not know much about the universe outside of their borders so this was the first time that many in the bar had seen a human.

    And they were not impressed.

    Actually, to be more honest... they felt absolutely repulsed by the strange looking creature whose body seemed utterly bizarre.

    One of the gtinous slimes leaned over his chair and vomited profusely at the sight while a slender snake-like creature opened its jaws wide in shock before fainting away.

    The small alien gagged and turned to the figure covered in heavy robes to make ament about the image.

    But he found nothing.

    The humanoid figure that had been sitting by the edge of the bar was now long gone and only a ss half full with pinkish ooze remained.

    "What?" the small alien eximed in a puzzled tone.

    "Where did he go?"

 Chapter 731 Make-Up Lessons

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    Sophie took in a deep breath and gently exhaled. It was a beautiful day today and not a single cloud was in sight.

    Just the clear blue sky.

    The hybrid girl hummed softly to herself as she wandered past the entrance and entered inside the park.

    The Inter-University Tournament had finally finished. The winner was the representative from Tantibus University.

    Jessie¡­ the girl who could not see.

    Astrid had managed toe in second ce while Qiana had faced Jessie in the semi-finals so she came in third.

    Both girls were disappointed but it was a remarkable aplishment for Zrudread University who had the most students in the top five.

    And if she had been participating as well¡­

    (Stop it)

    Sophie shook her head and tried to drive those distracting thoughts from her mind. It was not good to dwell on what could have been.

    Still¡­ she could not help but feel a small twinge of regret as she watched the semi-finals and finals from her living room.

    What could have been?

    That thought lingered in her mind despite her best efforts.

    Screech!

    A loud cry snapped Sophie out of her daze, she looked upwards and saw an enormous whale-like animal with tiny wings somehow soaring upwards in the air.

    Several keepers wearing green uniforms chased after the animal while desperately trying to get it to return to its pen.

    Never a dull moment in the park¡­

    This was the location where all of thebat pets would be kept especially the ones too big for the student amodations.

    The park consisted of different biomes such as frozen tundras, humid wends, dry ins, sandy deserts and much more.

    It truly was a beautiful ce.

    Green leafy trees had been nted along the sides of the walkway and small flowers sprung up from the soil.

    The only downside was that there was always a faint scent of animal manure.

    The scent was extremely faint because robots would regrly clean the enclosures but when you possessed an enhanced sense of smell¡­

    Yeah¡­ let''s just say there were sometimes downsides to her physiology.

    Sophie hastened her steps as she approached a crossroad, she took the left side and wandered onto a dirt track.

    The temperature was gradually getting much colder until she could see white clouds whenever she exhaled.

    She was getting close.

    It took around twenty minutes for Sophie to arrive at arge artificialke that had been partially covered in floating icebergs.

    The animals living in this habitat had furry coats, blubbery skin or other adaptions to keep them warm in this freezing environment.

    "Moon! Come out boy! Time for ss!" Sophie cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled loudly.

    There was a brief moment of silence and then arge creature burst out from a snow pile hidden in the corner of thekeshore.

    The creature was so fast that its body became a blur.

    It did not slow down its pace in the slightest and mmed into Sophie''s arms with the force of a bullet.

    "You brat," Sophie teased lightly as she raised up her hand and lightly stroked the top of Moon''s furry head.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Do I have to go?)

    "Of course¡­ it is abat beast course¡­ how exactly am I going to pass if mybat beast is toozy to show up?" Sophie calmly replied.

    Moon opened his mouth to protest some more but the stern glint in his mom''s eyes made the words die down in his throat.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Alright then)

    Moon grumbled under his breath as he hooked his ws into the top of Sophie''s uniform and used it as a grip to climb up.

    "Aren''t you getting a little bit too big for this?" Sophie let out a sigh as she felt a heavy weight on top of her head.

    Her frostwing bat waved his wings in response but did not move.

    Sophie started walking towards the direction of ss with arge animal perched on top of her head.

    She attracted strange looks from the students that she passed by. Well that wasn''t really surprising considering that Moon now had a wingspan of over five feet.

    He was too damn big to be on her head!

    She couldn''t see shit!

    Sophie was forced to extend her senses and use her quick reflexes to make her way through the park and avoid bumping into objects or people.

    The entire time her frostwing batzily rxed on her head and yed with some loose strands of her hair.

    Sophie was sure that by now her hair probably resembled a bird''s nest. Not exactly the image of an upper ss aristocrat.

    The pair finally arrived at the forested biome where tall trees towered over the surrounding area and bright green grass covered the ground.

    The trees had long ck or red vines wrapped around their trunks but strangely enough these vines were not harmful.

    In fact it was akin to a symbiotic rtionship where the trees would provide space for the vines to grow and the vines in turn would inject vital nutrients into their hosts.

    "Ahh wee young one," a sweet melodic voice came from the side.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw one of the trees open up to reveal a beautiful woman dressed in a skirt made of green leaves.

    Her skin was ashen grey with small bumpy scales that ran up her arms and she possessed a slender tail almost like a whip that jutted out of her lower back.

    The mysterious woman''s facial features immediately stood out since she had three eyes that were dark orange in colour with pink pupils and ack of a visible nose.

    "Hello professor. How are you today?" Sophie politely asked as she approached the mysterious woman.

    "Quite well! Today is a festival for my people know as ''Frean Greas''," Professor Ward replied with a gentle smile.

    "Oh¡­ I''m sorry¡­ I didn''t know that today was an important day¡­ should Ie back some other time for the make-up lessons?" Sophie asked with concern.

    "No! No! It''s fine. I always enjoy watching my students learn! Come follow me and I will begin your ss," Professor Ward cheerful spoke.

    She skipped through the forest with light steps that made no sound. Sophie followed closely behind and to her amazement, something quite peculiar happened.

    The grass in Professor Ward''s way slowly shifted to the side as if their roots were capable of walking.

    Her professor would asionally stop and talk to one of the trees in anguage that was hoarse, guttural and dark.

    The trees'' branches would tremble violently in a regr pattern that looked almost like they were somehow talking back to the professor.

 Chapter 732 The Chimera State

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Forest Lord Kingdom Park)

    "I was quite pleased with your performance in the Inter University tournament," Professor Ward calmly spoke as she walked through the forest.

    "Although it is a shame that you did not use your frostwing bat and the techniques that I taught you."

    "I suppose that you believe that only poison cultivation and your strong body are enough?"

    The professor turned around and her three pink eyes stared intensely at Sophie who flinched under the pressure.

    "Well¡­ I¡­ err¡­" Sophie stuttered slightly as she tried to think of a response.

    A small smile shed across the professor''s face, and she tilted her head to the side so that her student wouldn''t see how her lips were slowing curved upwards.

    "Just kidding¡­ you are quite strong and second yearbat beast techniques are probably a level below your overall strength," Professor Ward admitted without hesitation.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (No! I''m still useful!)

    Moon pped his wings angrily but only managed to mess up Sophie''s hair even more.

    The hybrid girl sighed lightly as she reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small treat.

    She stretched out her hand and gave the treat to her frostwing bat who happily munched down on the snack.

    Professor Ward was walking further and further into the forest.

    The trees were now huddled closely together, and their long leafy branches blocked out most the sunlight from reaching the forest ground.

    Sophie''s surroundings became darker and she could sense small furry creatures shuffling about and rummaging through the underbrush.

    The air was hot and humid.

    A faint white mist hung around the top of the trees and asionally short drizzles of rain would fall down from these clouds.

    Sophie''s ears perked up as she heard the sounds of crashing water get louder and louder.

    Professor Ward hummed softly under her breath and the trees in her path shifted to the side using their roots almost like legs.

    She resembled an ancient wood nymph. A spirit of the forest who was one with nature and protected thend.

    Actually, what species was she?

    Sophie was pretty sure that her professor had never told her ss where she was from but how would she politely ask?

    Hey professor¡­ what race are you?

    No¡­ no¡­ that was definitely not the right way to find out¡­

    Sophie mused thoughtfully to herself as the professor calmly headed towards a small clearing in the middle of the forest.

    Arge raging waterfall came into view. The water cascaded down a steep drop and a massive blueke had formed at the bottom.

    ck jagged rocks could be seen poking upwards in the air and a faint rainbow could be seen where the light hit against the mist.

    Moon pped his wings and jumped off the top of Sophie''s head.

    Hended on the ground with an ungraceful thump and then proceeded to lie down on the soft mud along the shoreline of the pool.

    "Okay Sophie we have arrived," Professor Ward cheerfully spoke as she approached the edge of the pool and dipped her toes inside.

    She let out a sigh of content and lowered in the rest of her body until she was submerged up to her face.

    "So¡­ before we begin. I want to see if you have been paying attention to my sses. What is a ''blood bond'' and why is it important?" Professor Ward asked in a more serious tone.

    "A blood bond is the link between a cultivator and theirbat beast pet. It is not just a means of controlling their pet but also a fusion of consciousness," Sophie replied steadily.

    "The stronger the blood bond, the greater the effect of the link will be. At higher levels it is possible for the cultivator to use abilities that belong to their pet and vice versa."

    "However, this link could also be a weakness."

    "If thebat beast pet were to die then the one bonded to its lifeforce would also suffer from an internal bacsh."

    Professor Ward leaned back in to the water and stretched out her arms. She calmly floated upwards and used her long, slender tail to keep her bnce.

    She didn''t say anything after Sophie gave her answer.

    There was a brief but peaceful moment of silence as the professor floated around the edges of the pool.

    "You are right," Professor Ward finally said as she rubbed some water on the side of her neck.

    Thick green vines protruded out of small lumps in her skin, and they quickly absorbed the transparent liquid.

    "However you did miss out one additional detail," the professor continued while yfully touching the vines poking out of her skin.

    "At the highest level¡­ it is possible to physically fuse with yourbat pet for extended periods of time."

    "It is known as the ''chimera'' state. Of course it is quite difficult to reach that level and even cultivators in the god stage have failed to master it."

    "It requires¡­ trust from both parts as well as innate talent from both parties. The talent for physical fusion does not depend on the grade of thebat beast."

    "I have seen even grade Fbat pets disy a startling talent for it while some grade S pets were unable to reach the first step."

    Professor Ward swam to the edge of the shore and pulled herself up. The green vines poking out of her body calmed down and retreated back inside her skin.

    The process only took a few seconds.

    Sophie watched in amazement as her professor walked up to her and acted as if nothing special had happened.

    "Come we still have more ground to cover," Professor Ward smiled as she pointed off into the distance.

    "Moon! Get up we still have somewhere else to go," Sophie moved over to herzy frostwing bat and nudged hisrge body using the tip of her foot.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mom! Let me just rx! It''s been a long day!)

    Sophie sternly nced at her pet and the unspoken warning in her eye made Moon immediately hoist his body upwards and shake the mud off his wings.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Alright Chill! I was going! I was going!)

    Moon stretched out his wings and soared into the air.

    At least he had themon sense not to climb up on his master''s head considering that his fur was nowpletely covered in the brown mud that he had been rolling around in.

    "You have a friendly rtionship with your pet," Professor Ward remarked as she looked at the scene with a hint of nostalgia on her face.

    "He may be difficult but¡­ don''t give up on him."

 Chapter 733 A Return To A Normal Life

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University- Main Campus)

    "So as I was saying¡­ the prince is clearly the best love interest for the imperial tutor. He is patient, kind and understanding," Astrid spoke seriously.

    "No. Way. Listen the prince is clearly the second male lead¡­ he doesn''t have a chance and besides¡­ he is the freaking prince!" Qiana rebutted with her hands on her hips.

    "The kingdom obviously needs a heir and more than likely he is going to end up with a political marriage."

    "I''d rather Henry end up with that handsome ouw."

    "Oliver the ''Red'' bandit? Are you nuts? That guy is a psychopath¡­ just because he has the most spicy scenes in the book doesn''t mean that¡­" Astrid opened her mouth and continued to argue.

    "You guys have the weirdest couple arguments," Sophie remarked casually as she yed with Cleo''s palm.

    "Listen this is a very serious matter," Astrid replied to herment with a stern glint in her eyes.

    "Yes¡­ it is a matter that has divided the fandom!" Qiana backed up her girlfriend with fighting words.

    Sophieughed softly and enjoyed the cool breeze that brushed against her face. The students chosen for the Inter University tournament had returned a few days ago.

    She was d to hang out with Astrid and Qiana again because she had missed her two friends during their time apart.

    Astrid for the most part had been her usual cheerful self so Sophie knew that she had not taken that loss to heart.

    Qiana on the other hand¡­

    She wasfortable telling her friends that she felt very disappointed to not win the entire thing after beating the representative from As University.

    "So¡­ what''s the n for this weekend? Beach? Want to see a movie?" Astrid asked happily with her tail wagging furiously from side to side.

    "Hmm¡­ a movie seems nice. I''m feeling prettyzy so why don''t you alle over to our ce and I can make some popcorn," Cleo suggested calmly.

    "There is this movie that I''ve been meaning to watch called ''The Road To Scorne''. It''s about a team of pioneers exploring a lost civilisation on an abandoned."

    "Of course things go wrong and they stumble across a hostile alien species¡­ it''s supposed to be based on a true story."

    "That''s what they all say," Sophie replied with a wink.

    Having her friends back really made her feel¡­ normal.

    They treated her the same even though she was now the duchess of House Peterlor.

    And of course, this was in contrast to the other students. The Mendolesa and Servies acted rtively the same¡­ well maybe they stared a bit more but that was it.

    The humans and especially the nobles on the other hand hadpletely different reactions.

    Sophie had received a flood of invitations to different gatherings and societies.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® People looking totch on to her political power and make her an ally to their houses or families.

    It was all so¡­ tiresome.

    How did her dad y this political game? Sophie was tired of people approaching her with smiling faces and verbal knives hidden in their words.

    The four girls walked together for a few more minutes before splitting off and heading towards various locations around campus.

    Astrid headed for the mage tower, Qiana wanted to get some practice done in the training field and Cleo had sses in the mech building.

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator and saw that her first ss of the day wasn''t until three hours from now so she had some time to kill.

    Hmm¡­ what should I do?

    There was enough time to head home and rx for an hour or so, but she wasn''t in the mood to travel to her apartment and then back to the main campus.

    Library? Cafeteria?

    Oh wait¡­ there was one building that she had not checked out before.

    The Regal Theatre.

    Despite their reputation for focusing heavily on cultivation and practical battle experiences, Zrudread University had their fair share of clubs and different student- led organisations.

    One of those clubs was a drama club that would perform ys, musicals and other performances the old fashioned way without the use of AI holograms.

    Sophie walked through the campus along a winding pathway surrounded by small bushes and colourful flowers that brightened up her mood.

    A sweet sugary scent came from the centre of the petals and Sophie''s sharp eyes could see tiny insects buzzing around the flowers.

    She knew that these insects were hoping to get a taste of the sweet nectar thaty inside the flowers.

    The hybrid girl walked for around fifteen minutes before she finally arrived at her destination.

    The Regal Theatre was aptly named.

    An intricate iron fence surrounded the building and horrific monsters carved out from granite and stone had been ced on top of the fence at regr intervals.

    These monsters resembled the gargoyles in Sui Meng''s memories. Vaguely humanoid creatures with long devilish wings sprouting out from their backs.

    The building''s exterior had been carved out of a white y-like material and its shape resembled that of a miniature pce.

    The roof of the theatre was a deep purple colour that somehow matched the white exterior and made the building have a child-like charm.

    Sophie walked over to the fence and saw a person-sized gap for one to enter. She stepped inside and then headed for the entrance to the building.

    The door was wide open and she could see a long and winding corridor leading further inside the theatre.

    The hybrid girl looked around and saw numerous paintings hanging on the wall depicting past performances.

    The cast and crew in the pictures had wide smiles on their faces and everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

    Sophie walked towards the end of the corridor and then opened the door that led an unknown area.

    She was immediately blinded by a bright sh of white light as the door swung open. Sophie blinked twice and the scenery behind the door was finally revealed.

    Arge hall with numerous rows of chairs arranged in a semi-circr formation and a long balcony that circled the entire space.

    The roof of the hall had been covered in a magnificent painting that disyed angel-like creatures stretching out their hands.

    The source of the light came from the spotlight that was currently being adjusted by a Servie girl who hummed softly to herself.

    On the stage there were seven students all currently practising for an uing y.

    They wore colourful tribal costumes and one of them was even holding a wooden spearplete with a sharp jagged de attached to its end.

    Sophie sat down in one of the empty seats and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was made from a memory-foam material.

    She leaned forward and watched the performance on the stage with a curious glint in her eyes.

    "My love¡­ you have abandoned me for another!" the student holding spear cried out as he fell to the ground holding his heart.

    A female student dressed in pieces of loose fur knelt down over the body of the crying man and lightly touched his shoulder.

    "Hendrix¡­ you know my father would never approve," the female student tearfully pleaded as she blinked back the unshed tears.

    "But I have a n¡­"

 Chapter 734 Parting Is Such A Sweet Sorrow...

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Main Campus- The Regal Theatre)

    "We must die together!" the female student cried out as she clutched her heart with her hands and an expression of anguish shed across her face.

    "Are you crazy?!" the student holding the spear immediately dropped his weapon and turned to face his beloved with disbelief clearly visible in his gaze.

    Sophie leaned forward in her seat to get a better look. She didn''t expect to be treated to such a drama filled y but¡­

    She wasn''t going toin!

    "Hendrix my love¡­ parting is such a sweet sorrow¡­ I do not wish for us to be separated whether in this life or the next," the female student exined gently.

    Madness surfaced briefly in her eyes as the passionate emotions that surged in her heart threatened to overwhelm the thin threads of sanity holding her mind together.

    "Juliana! Please cease this nonsense at once!" Hendrix begged desperately as he got up from the ground and rushed towards his lover.

    He wrapped his arms around the girl and drew her in close for a tight embrace. The pair stared into each other''s eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

    "Your idea¡­" Hendrix finally broke the silence and a contemtive look shed across his face.

    "Is not bad¡­ but I think that we don''t need to really kill ourselves. My friend Mercury knows a way to put us in a state of suspended animation."

    "All we need to do is fake our deaths and then we can run away and be together forever!"

    "Oh, my love!" Juliana eximed happily as she grabbed Hendrix by the scruff of his neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

    "NEXT SCENE!" a muscr man sitting in a high-rise chair yelled loudly.

    There was a shuffling around of movement and then purple curtains slowly lowered until the stagepletely disappeared.

    Sophie ced her hands together and pped softly. She checked her wristmunicator and saw that she still had some time left before ss.

    Well¡­ it didn''t hurt to look some more.

    "Excuse me¡­" a soft voice called out.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw a skinny young woman with dark brown skin nervously staring at her.

    "The director wanted to know if you would like to sit in one of the rows further to the front," the young woman stuttered slightly as she spoke.

    "No thank you," Sophie politely declined and shed the nervous woman a friendly smile.

    "I wouldn''t want to be a distraction to the actors and I can see quite fine from here."

    The young woman nodded and then quickly walked away as if she was being chased by something terrible.

    Sophie internallyughed since it had been quite some time since she had gotten a scared reaction from a stranger.

    It almost felt nostalgic¡­ in a really fucked up kind of way.

    "Alright we are now going to practice Act Three- Scene Seven!" the director shouted as he reached for a ss of water and took a small sip.

    "We only have two weeks until opening night, so I want everyone to take this seriously! Is that understood?"

    "YES BOSS!" a few students yelled good-naturedly.

    Sophie leaned back against the chair and was suddenly struck with the urge to join a club or extracurricr activity.

    She was in second year now and honestly her typical days at university were pleasant but¡­ slightly uneventful.

    Head to ss. Go back home. Train. Cultivate.

    It was all the same routine.

    Maybe joining one of the clubs around campus would be an interesting experience.

    At the very least she would be able to expand herwork.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    Sophie rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she essed the school''s website on her wristmunicator and looked up the clubs with avable spaces.

    The bounty hunter club? Err¡­ nah¡­ she already took missions every once in awhile¡­

    Hmm¡­ the idol club?

    Sophie closed her eyes and imagined herself wearing an elegant white uniform and dancing vigorously to a popr beat.

    Nope.

    What was another option? Sophie flicked through the list and stopped at one that she thought was pretty interesting.

    The Videogame Club.

    Sophie did enjoy asionally ying virtual reality games so maybe hanging out with people who thought the same would be fun.

    The hybrid girl saved the information about the club on her wristmunicator and then added a note to her daily calendar as a reminder.

    "Alright¡­. Action!" a loud yell interrupted the rtive silence of the theatre.

    Sophie powered off her wristmunicator and turned her attention back to the stage. She was eager to find out what would happen next in the story.

    The curtains slowly lifted upwards to reveal the scene of a grand funeral.

    Two wooden caskets had been ced in the centre of the stage, a row of chairs had been ced in front of the caskets and there was also arge carpet covering the floor.

    Dozens of people wearing dark coloured clothing sat down in the seats and watched the funeral while sobbing or cursing softly under their breath.

    Two bodiesy inside the caskets.

    The one on the right belonged to Juliana while the muchrger one on the left had the body of Hendrix inside.

    "My baby! Your little bitch convinced him to die!" an angry middle-aged woman roared as she rushed towards two sharply dressed elderly men.

    The woman had to be restrained by members of her family and dragged out of the funeral before she did something that she would regret.

    The two elderly men did not say a word the entire time but their gazes would frequentlynd on the body of Juliana.

    One of the men opened his mouth to speak but choked back his words. A single teardrop ran down the side of his face.

    His daughter¡­ was gone.

    The other man ced an arm around his shoulder andforted him silently. Neither man had the courage to speak.

    A woman dressed a pure white robe entered the funeral holding what appeared to be a goldenntern in her right palm.

    The people sitting down on the chairs all stood up at once and the funeral took on an even more somber atmosphere than before.

    The woman wearing white slowly walked up to the caskets and ced thentern on the ground in front of her feet.

    She took in a deep breath and exhaled softly. The light inside thentern flickered a few times and then went out.

    "Dear guests¡­ we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of two young people," the woman opened her mouth and spoke solemnly.

    "Juliana of House Corselian and Hendrix of House Leion. A pair who had so much to live for and were gone too soon."

    "Standing here today and seeing the crowd that has gathered¡­ I can tell that they both touched the lives of so many."

    "They may have departed from this mortal ne, but they will live on in the memories, emotions and feelings in our hearts."

    Muffled sobs and cries of anguish could be hearding from the crowd as some still could not believe what had happened.

    Juliana and Hendrix had bothmitted suicide¡­ it was a tragic end to a love that was forbidden by their families.

    One woman in particr seemed especially distraught. Lady August of House Valena¡­ Juliana''s best friend.

    She constantly had to wipe away the tears running down her face and could not even look at the casket where her dear friend was currently resting.

 Chapter 735 A Gentle Melody

    (Alpha Star System- Volix)

    (Underwater Base)

    The sounds of ssical music filled the air as dozens of guests moved around a slightly crowded hall.

    These men and women were some of the most powerful in the Federation.

    They belonged to mid to upper ranked noble houses and held great influence over their territories.

    A few servants dressed in sharp ck tuxedos walked through the crowd and handed out light refreshments and drinks.

    There was quite a bit of small talk and light-hearted conversations going on between the guests at the banquet as they gossiped about thetest scandals and power ys.

    Still there was one star at the banquet who shone the brightest.

    Crown prince Theseus.

    An extremely handsome young man with dark curly hair, perfectly sculptured facial features and a muscr physique that was evident even though he was wearing an expensive ck jacket.

    His eyes were a piercing green colour.

    They say that one''s eyes are the windows to the soul and the crown prince disyed nothing but warmth and kindness.

    He was the ideal noble.

    He was courteous, polite and yet there was a subtle authority to his words that made him very hard to ignore.

    In addition, his wit and charm was enough to make the other aristocrats that surrounded him asionally break out inughter.

    "My dear friends¡­ it has been quite some time since we have gotten the chance to rx," Prince Theseus joked as he gave a yful wink to the crowd.

    One of the noblewomen in the audience ced her hand on her chest and let out an audible sigh of excitement.

    The crown prince stretched out his hand and reached for a ss of wine that was held in the palm of the servant next to him.

    He raised up the ss and then took a few small sips of the golden liquid inside. The wine was smooth and had a buttery aftertaste that lingered in his mouth.

    "It is a pleasure for us to be here¡­" Count Padmert quickly chimed in as he moved his body closer towards the prince.

    "Hear! Hear!" a gorgeous woman dressed in a fiery red dress spoke up as well. She wore expensive jade jewellery in the form of rings that adorned each of her fingers.

    "It is an honour for us to be in the presence of the future emperor!" Baroness Oolwa seductively purred as she nced at the prince with and desire in her eyes.

    "Emperor? You tter me my dear¡­" Prince Theseus smiled and one could see a trace of ambition in his steely gaze.

    "However¡­ it is only a matter of time. The Imperial Ceremony will held soon and my siblings are no match for my cultivation prowess."

    "But regardless of my personal strength¡­ I would not be able to rule without the help of my loyal supporters."

    "I am grateful beyond words, and I promise you that you will all be rewarded for your assistance and loyalty."

    Thunderous apuse echoed through the hall as the nobles surrounding the prince ced their hands together and pped loudly.

    The crown prince raised up the wine ss and the apuse got even louder. A small smile shed across his face as he handed the ss over to the nearest servant.

    The music had now changed to a more gentle melody and one could hear the sweet sound of a violin being gently yed.

    Prince Theseus stretched out his hand and took one of the nobledies to the dance floor. The others who were not chosen looked on with jealousy clearly visible on their faces.

    Hell¡­ even some of the noblemen looked envious!

    Hours passed and the guests slowly began to depart one after the other. Prince Theseus personally escorted them to their ships and told them goodbye.

    It was this simple act that made the nobles feel even more strongly about supporting the frontrunner to be the next head of the Imperial Family.

    Prince Theseus was someone who cared. He made them feel special, wanted, and needed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    This was the first time that many had been to a banquet where the host had escorted both the upper-ss and lower-ss nobles alike.

    Finally after thest guests had departed, the prince allowed himself to take a moment to breathe and rx.

    He sent out a few messages to the servants informing them to clean up the banquet hall and then strode towards a narrow corridor.

    The underwater base that he owned was an enormous structure built below the Virean Sea.

    It was hundreds of miles long and in some cases more resembled a naval fortress than a vacation home.

    The crown prince walked through a series of long and winding corridors until he finally arrived at the entrance to his private suite.

    He ced his fingertips on the door and a green light scanned his palm twice.

    A keypad popped out from the wall next to the door and a series of numbers appeared on the screen.

    Prince Theseus quickly rearranged the numbers into the rightbination and the door swung open.

    He stepped inside his bedroom and the lights automatically turned on. The crown prince''s bedroom was in one word¡­

    Simple.

    There was a single white mattress in the centre of the room, a long person- sized mirror attached to one of the walls and that was it.

    No furniture, no carpeting, no bright colours¡­ nothing.

    The crown prince let out a heavy sigh and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small ruby-like gem that shone eerily in the palm of his hand.

    A Kry''en crystal.

    Well¡­ something that looked like a Kry''en crystal. The truth of this strange mineral''s origin was far more darker.

    It allowed one''s mind to be controlled and in a way that made the person affected unaware of the changes to their personality.

    His master loved to use these crystals and he was the messenger who would deliver them. One simple touch was all that it took.

    Then their minds would be spellbound¡­ until the effects wore off.

    Prince Theseus looked at his reflection in the mirror and raised up his fingers. He touched the side of his face and smiled widely.

    His smile appeared fake and unnatural.

    "You look hideous," the crown prince muttered to himself as he began to stroke, touch and y with his own face.

    It was a bizarre sight. The prince continued to talk to his reflection in the mirror as if he was speaking to someone else.

    Prince Theseus turned away from the mirror and walked towards the mattress. He removed his jacket and sat down on the bed.

    There wasplete silence in the room so there was nothing to distract the prince from the thoughts going through his mind.

    What was his master''s n? Why did he have to rece the original Prince Theseus?

    And what was the role that Sophie Peterlor needed to y in all of this?

    The crown prince leaned backwards until his body fell down on the mattress with a heavy thump.

    The face of the hybrid girl with her sharp golden eyes and four de-like appendages shed across his mind.

    His master had told him that she was a Human- Insectoid hybrid but Theseus did not know what was the point of telling him that information.

    Sophie Peterlor was the leader of House Peterlor, but they were just one of many upper ranked noble houses.

    Maybe¡­ the reason would be clear eventually.

    The red crystal in the crown prince''s hand got brighter and brighter as if responding to his thoughts.

 Chapter 736 Time For Answers

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    "Arghh!" Sophie screamed out in pain as she copsed on the ground and began to convulse violently.

    Squeak! Squeak!

    (Mommy! What''s wrong?)

    Moon flew towards his master with panic clearly visible on his furry face. Hended on the ground and hurriedly crawled towards the shivering hybrid girl.

    Sophie''s skin was incredibly pale and mmy, beads of sweat were running down her brows and her pupils could not stop shaking.

    She could barely make a sentence since every time she opened her mouth, another convulsion would rock her body.

    Pain. Agony.

    Every second that passed felt like an eternity.

    It was hard to describe what she was currently feeling.

    It was like if thousands of red-hot needles were slowly piercing your body while an electric current shocked you periodically.

    Sophie bit her tongue identally and could taste the heavy metallic tang of blood as her tongue began to bleed.

    She coughed violently and thick wads of phlegm mixed with blood were expelled from her mouth.

    "Make¡­ it¡­. stop¡­" Sophie wheezed hoarsely as she curled up into a ball and tried to ride out the pain.

    She had not expected this sudden painful experience since it had been two weeks since thest time she suffered.

    One moment she was cooking some noodles in the kitchen and the next she was lying down on the floor suffering immensely.

    Well¡­ she did know the cause¡­

    Her promotion to the void stage.

    But it had been months already¡­ when were these attacks going to end?

    Squeak! Squeak!

    Moon was saying something, but Sophie''s mind was too upied by the painful sensations to respond to her pet''s words.

    Crack!

    Sophie heard a loud thunderous booming noise in her mind and then her vision wentpletely dark.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two hourster)

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes and let out a small groan as she felt as though her body was sore all over.

    She looked around and saw that she was still lying down on the floor of the kitchen. Moon was nowhere in sight, and she could hear the faint sounds of water boiling.

    The hybrid girl gritted her teeth and grabbed on to the side of the countertop. She hoisted herself up and barely managed to stay on her feet.

    She reached for the heating button on the cooking stovetop and turned off the heat. The noodles inside the pot had been cooking for who knows how long.

    Sophie remained in ce for a few minutes and took in several deep breaths in order to calm her mind and gather her thoughts.

    Inhale¡­ exhale¡­ inhale¡­ exhale¡­

    Oh?

    Moon was leading Cleo back to their apartment.

    Sophie hummed softly under her breath as she sensed her girlfriend riding a train towards the elite student housingplex.

    It should take her about thirty minutes to arrive considering that she was over one hundred miles away.

    Wait¡­ how did she know that?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Sophie frowned slightly as the painful aftereffects and the feeling of soreness magically disappeared.

    The world around her suddenly became more¡­ alive.

    There was no other way that she could put into words what she was experiencing.

    Sophie blinked and could see the microscopic organisms on the specks of dust floating around the kitchen.

    She could hear everything.

    Not just the sounds in her apartment but the noises that wereing from all the mansions and houses in a thirty-mile radius.

    She heard conversations, lovemaking, fights, arguments¡­ an endless stream of information was flowing into her mind.

    And yet she was not overwhelmed.

    What was going on?

    Sophie leaned against the countertop and was shocked to see the metalloid surface suddenly dent quite heavily.

    She quickly moved away but the damage was already done. Half of the countertop had copsed, and the other half hadrge cracks in its surface area.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and checked the condition of her dantian. The first observation that she noticed was that her meridians had widened quite substantially.

    She followed the qi travelling around her body until she saw the interior of her dantian. What she saw inside blew her away.

    There was a miniature gxy inside her dantian.

    Qi droplets were rotating in a circr pattern that was very simr to the way thats would orbit a sun.

    Sophie opened her eyes and could not stop the wide grin from slowly spreading across her face.

    She had done it!

    She had entered the void stage!

    The hybrid girl carefully touched the screen of her wristmunicator while being extra careful not to break the fragile device with her newfound strength.

    There were several missed messages from Cleo in her inbox, so Sophie opened their conversation chatlog first.

    Cleo: [Hey babe¡­ sses are running a bitte today, so I won''t be home untilter. Don''t watch the new drama without me!]

    Cleo: [Are you okay?! Moon just came to ss and started pulling me out. I thought he was being mischievous, but he looks desperate]

    Cleo: [Hello? Hello? Babe what is going on?!]

    Sophie didn''t trust herself to type out a message while she still learning to control her strength, so she sent over a voice note.

    "Hey Cleo. I fainted earlier after a pain attack but¡­ the good news is that I''ve finally reached the void stage!" Sophie excitedly spoke.

    "Now I can see my mom again! This is amazing! It also means that now I have a decent chance to find out where my dad is."

    "Also¡­ on a more serious note¡­ I may have to spend a few days in an isted training room while I get used to my strength¡­ I don''t want to kill you by ident."

    Sophie finished recording and sent the message over to her girlfriend. She didn''t have to wait long for a reply to appear in her inbox.

    Cleo congratted her on reaching the void stage and said that she was stilling over to make sure that she was alright.

    Sophie understood her girlfriend''s worries, but she did not n on making any physical contact with Cleo¡­ at least for the time being.

    The hybrid girl walked out of the kitchen and towards the training room located at the back of the mansion.

    Her footsteps sank into the ground with every step that she took and she left behind a trail of cracked tiles.

    Yeah¡­ she definitely needed to spend a few days controlling her strength...

    Sophie walked for around ten minutes until she finally arrived at a set of heavy metalloid doors. She grabbed the handle of the door and pulled gently.

    The entire thing came off its hinges.

    Sophie froze for a moment and then awkwardly set the door aside and entered the room.

    Well before she learned how to control her strength¡­ there was something that she needed to do first.

    She needed to see her mom.

    It was time for answers.

 Chapter 737 Changes To The Void

    "Take a deep breath and rx," Sophie slowly whispered to herself as she sat down cross-legged on the floor.

    The magnification of her senses meant that she could hear the dust particles floating through the air and could smell every single microscopic scent in the room.

    It was horribly distracting.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows and tried her best to shut out all the chaos and surrounding noise.

    She closed her eyes and focused only on her breathing.

    Inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale...

    Inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale...

    The star-shaped amulet hanging around her neck slowly got hotter and hotter as Sophie continued to rx.

    She waited until her mind had fully settled down and then sent strands of qi into the amulet to activate it.

    Her heartbeat slowed down to a crawl as she concentrated on her qi as it flowed through the meridians around her body.

    Sophie opened her eyes and found herself floating aimlessly in the familiar dark void hidden inside her amulet.

    The void appeared to be the same at first but then she heard a loud cracking noise as if something was shattering.

    Crack!

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw the massive stone tablet that floated in the centre of the space slowly begin to split apart.

    Piece by piece the massive stone-like structure separated and the sections that broke off mysteriously disappeared into the darkness.

    Sophie willed herself to move closer and her body began to fly towards the tablet.

    To her pleasant surprise she discovered that her control over her body in the void had improved quite tremendously.

    The hybrid girl approached the stone tablet just as thest piece of it disappeared.

    Now she was alone in the infinite darkness with nothing but her thoughts.

    What had just happened?

    Where did the tablet go?

    BOOM!

    A loud explosion rocked the entire space and Sophie could feel the void itself begin to tremble violently as if someone was shaking it from the outside.

    Sophie was flung backwards into the far side of the void with so much force that she could feel her body tearing itself apart.

    It was an incredibly painful experience.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and resisted crying out in pain. She travelled backwards at a rapid speed until she crashed against an invisible wall.

    The violent trembling stopped and Sophie could now make out what had been the source of the mysterious explosion.

    A massive statueposed of a dark-ck material silently floated where the stone tablet had been just moments ago.

    The statue had been carved into the shape of an enormous arachnid-like creature with multiple legs, several eyes, razor sharp fangs and other insect-like appendages.

    She could make out words carved into the body of the statue but oddly enough the words appeared blurry and unfocused.

    It was like when she tried to read them a white fog would enter her mind and prevent her from understanding what she was seeing.

    "Hmm... well.... that was... different," Sophie muttered quietly to herself as she resisted the urge to float over to the statue.

    She had not forgotten her true purpose in visiting this ce. She needed to talk to her mother again and find out if her father was alive.

    No... she needed to find out where he was. Obviously, he was alive.

    He had to be... he had to be...

    Sophie shook her head and pushed those unwanted fears out of her mind. She refused to sumb to doom and pessimism.

    Her father never stopped looking for her after she disappeared along with the rest of the nobles at the Royal Banquet, and she would do the same for him.

    Because that''s what family do... they look after each other.

    Sophie focused her mind and pictured the image of her mother. She could still remember every single detail about the woman who had given birth to her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Princess Thai''lle.

    Mom.

    In fact, there was a strong resemnce between Sophie and Thai''lle with only a few subtle differences.

    Her mother was a woman with almost identical facial features to herself albeit slightly older. She looked like a grown-up version of Sophie who was in her early thirties.

    Her beauty was untouched by the passage of time and if anything, there was a mature charm surrounding her figure that was very attractive.

    Princess Thai''lle was roughly six feet tall with long slender legs, striking golden eyes and razor-sharp fangs in her mouth that gleamed slightly.

    Her body was seductive and voluptuous with ming red lips and a physique that leaned slightly on the muscr side.

    Six de-like appendages jutted out of her back.

    These appendages were not as long as the ones that Sophie possessed and each one was only around the length of two human armsbined.

    Sophie continued to picture her mom in her mind and finally a small part of the void slowly began to rip apart.

    She saw the faint outline of a figure right in front of her.

    The outline of the figure was made from what appeared to be stardust and Sophie could feel a mysterious connection to the figure that was slowing drawing her in.

    Sophie could not stop the wide grin that began to spread across her face.

    She had done it!

    She was going to get to see her mom again!

    The excitement of being able to rescue her dad and see her mother for a second time made Sophie feel positively giddy.

    The hybrid girl quickly reached for the outline and touched the tip of the figure''s palm. It felt warm to the touch almost as though she was touching skin.

    Crack!

    The void shattered into a thousand pieces and Sophie found herself being transferred to an unknown location.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Insectoid Empire- Lo''vrean Gxy)

    (Unknown Location- Hijacked Starship)

    "Tell me what you know," Princess Thai''lle growled darkly as she approached a creature whose body was bound with heavy iron chains.

    The creature was around the size of a horse with a thick fleshy exterior and multiple pale arms sprouting out from random parts of its body.

    "I... I..." the creature stammered slightly as it physically wilted under the pressureing from the Arachnais woman in front of him.

    If Sophie''s bloodlust was a river, then Thai''lle''s was an open sea.

    The pressure of her bloodlust was so intense that the creature wrapped up in chains could taste the metallic tang of blood surrounding her body.

    Those terrible golden eyes...

    This woman... she was a monster.

    The starship that they were currently on used to belong to a notorious criminal organization backed by a certain powerful Naslitsers prince.

    The crew onboard the spacefaring vessel were hardened criminals, vicious bounty hunters and skilled mercenaries.

    And she had killed them all.

    No mercy. No hesitation.

    She simply ughtered them as easily as one would ughter livestock on a farm. She was a butcher, and they were her prey.

    "I... I... I''ll tell you all you want... please... please... let me live," the creature begged desperately as it lowered its head to the ground and made a submissive posture.

 Chapter 738 A Welcome Visit

    "Speak," Thai''lle growled in a low voice as she approached the creature and knelt down until she was at eye level with its fleshy orifice.

    "I¡­ I don''t know much¡­ all I know is that the captain got a message¡­ something about an escaped criminal in the Lo''vrean Gxy," the creature stammered nervously.

    "The message¡­ it said not to engage¡­ but the captain¡­ he¡­ he got greedy¡­ he wanted to take the bounty¡­ I told him¡­"

    "I TOLD HIM IT WAS A MISTAKE!"

    The creature screamed out thest part of its confession as the multiple pale arms sprouting out of its back wriggled and squirmed violently.

    "Yes¡­ your captain was a very stupid man," Thai''lle whispered softly as she leaned in closer to the creature and lightly bit the side of its flesh.

    Her fangs sank into the creature''s skin no deeper than one centimetre but that was more than enough to finish the job.

    The creature thrashed around in pain as its veins could now be clearly visible from the outside.

    A terrifying ck liquid began to travel around its body which caused its organs to copse and its flesh to rot away.

    Two seconds.

    That was how long it took for the creature to die.

    A being who was in the qi void stage had died as easily as if it were an ant or an insignificant lesser organism.

    Thai''lle got up from the ground and paused for a moment to admire her handiwork. She still hadn''t lost her touch¡­

    The former princess of the Arachnais tribe walked out of the room and headed for themand deck.

    The interior of the starship was badly damaged but still usable. The only problem was all the corpses thaty scattered across the ground.

    She would need to clean thoseter¡­ urgh¡­ what a pain¡­

    Thai''lle let out a heavy sigh as she kicked a severed head out of the way and continued on her journey to themand deck.

    Still¡­ she was in a good mood.

    She had done it.

    She had finally managed to escape the prisonplex and she had even aplished that feat without reaching the Ascension Stage!

    It had involved a bit of luck and quite some danger along the way but now she was a free woman and able to do whatever the hell she wanted.

    And what she wanted was to see her daughter and lover again.

    Thai''lle absentmindedly touched the centre of her chest and could feel the familiar throb of the pink mark that had been carved onto her skin.

    She could still feel the connection between herself and that handsome young human even after all this time.

    Oh?

    Thai''lle raised an eyebrow as she saw something move ever so slightly under a pile of corpses stacked up against a door.

    These corpses all had horrific stab wounds on their backs, a clear sign that they had been killed while trying to run away.

    The former princess approached the pile of corpses and reached down with her hand to fling them off to the side.

    Eventually at the bottom of the pile she saw a humanoid female whose body was covered by a thick brown exoskeleton.

    The creature was barely clinging to life with an enormous open wound shed across her stomach.

    ck blood pooled on the ground below her body and her brilliant purple irises were cloudy and unfocused.

    "Hmm¡­ I must have been getting sloppy," Thai''lle muttered to herself as she used one of her ded appendages to finish off the job.

    Stab!

    Quick. Painless. Easy.

    Thai''lle hummed softly under her breath as she stepped over the corpse and finally arrived at themand deck.

    Some of the consoles had been damaged but Thai''lle quickly assessed the rest and was relived to discover that there were enough left to fly the starship.

    The former princess made her way to the captain''s chair in the centre of the room and sat down on thefortable seat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The seat''s materials immediately morphed and shifted ever so slightly in order to amodate her physiology.

    "Activate AI protocol- Password Alpha Delta Seven¡­mand override- authority Captain Harlow," Thai''lle called outzily.

    She had picked up that helpful tidbit of information from the captain himself after a few minutes of torture.

    And they said that pain wasn''t effective!

    Thai''lle operated on a simple philosophy.

    If her enemies were not giving her the information that she wanted¡­ hit them harder.

    This method worked most of the time.

    The starship hummed to life and soon multiple holographic screens appeared in front of the captain''s chair.

    Thai''lle lifted up her hand and quickly inputted a series ofmands.

    Her fingers were like a blur as she plotted out a course out of the Lo''vrean Gxy and towards the Fayera controlled territories of the Insectoid Empire.

    The starship''s engines began to rumble and a warning voice from the AI announced that the vessel was about to enter hyperdrive.

    [Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡­]

    [Please Remain Seated]

    BOOM!

    A wild grin spread across Thai''lle face as the starship shot forward into the endless void of the universe.

    Suddenly she felt a presenceing from just outside of her vision. Thai''lle set the starship on autopilot and then got out of her seat.

    She could vaguely make out a figure standing in the corner of the room. The figure''s body was blurry and kept flickering as if it was about to disappear.

    Still¡­ it felt familiar¡­

    Thai''lle had felt this feeling before and it was one that she would never be able to forget.

    This connection¡­ it was the one that she had experienced when she was visited by¡­

    Sophie!

    Her daughter was back to visit her!

    Thai''lle rushed forward in excitement as the figure''s body became more solid and her daughter''s visage came into view.

    Her precious baby looked exactly like how she remembered from theirst encounter.

    Very tall.

    Actually¡­ a bit too tall¡­ were children supposed to make their parents feel short?

    At least she clearly inherited her good looks from her mother.

    Well¡­ she did have a vague resemnce to her father. The subtle shape of her eyebrows bore a striking simr to Rokan''s.

    "Mom!" Sophie cried out happily as she rushed forward to give her mother a big hug. It was a bit difficult to do in her astral form but she somehow managed.

    Sophie felt an enormous weight lift off her shoulders as she copsed into her mother''s arms without caring about her image.

    She was no longer the ruler of an upper ranked noble family. She was just a young woman who missed the embrace of her mom.

    Thai''lle smiled gently at her daughter and raised up her arms to match her tight embrace. Her golden eyes became slightly wet as she blinked back the unshed tears.

    Everything that she did was to see her daughter and her mate again. They were the ones who made her life have meaning.

    She had lost everything except for her family.

    And Thai''lle swore to never lose them¡­ at any cost.

 Chapter 739 An Innocent Little Lamb

    (Insectoid Empire- Lo''vrean Gxy)

    (Unknown Location- Hijacked Starship)

    "Hello Sophie," Thai''lle smiled warmly as she embraced her daughter and wrapped her arms around her back.

    "It has been some time since Ist saw you... you look more beautiful than before... thank goodness you inherited my looks."

    Sophie opened her mouth, and her words came out in a rush as she excitedly spoke to her mom for the second time in her life,

    "Mom... I wanted toe but I got a mission... then I had to break into the void stage... there was this tournament,"

    "The hunter... goddess... she..."

    "Breathe darling... breathe," Thai''lleughed softly as she raised up her hand and stood on her tip toes to touch the side of her daughter''s cheek.

    Why was she so damn tall?!

    Sophie closed her mouth and followed her mother''s advice. She took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

    The excitement of seeing her mother again was still rising up in her chest but now she couldpose herself just a bit more.

    "Mom... before I tell you what happened to me... do you know if dad is alive?" Sophie asked hesitantly.

    "And why wouldn''t he be alive?" Thai''lle raised an eyebrow and replied with a bemused glint in her eyes.

    "My lover is too stubborn to die. Believe me... I nned to kill him the first time we fought but that handsome bastard won me over."

    "He... just didn''t know it at the time."

    Thai''lle finished her sentence with a sly wink and a small smile briefly surfaced on her face.

    Sophie got the feeling that her mom and her father had vastly different perspectives of their first encounter.

    The former princess of the Arachnais tribe closed her eyes and took a few steps back. She ced her right palm on her chest right above the pinkish mark branded onto her skin.

    Thai''lle explored the connection and used her mental energy to send her mind through the link.

    It was a process that would tire her greatly but if this is what her daughter wanted then she was happy to oblige.

    Sophie waited with bated breath for several minutes as her mother stood perfectly still with her eyes tightly closed.

    You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

    Sophie did not even dare to blink in case she missed a subtle expression or a hint of what her mother was going to find.

    There was a part of her that did not want to know the answer.

    Was it better to have a thin thread of hope no matter how flimsy than to have that hope severed forever?

    She was not a religious person but, in that moment, Sophie whispered a silent prayer to any God who was watching her situation.

    Please... please...

    Let me father be alive...

    Thai''lle finally opened her eyes, and her golden pupils were tinged with a faint trace of a pinkish colour.

    "I don''t see what you are acting so worried about," Thai''lle spoke calmly.

    "You father is alive and quite healthy."

    "I can''t sense any internal injuries and since he is a god stage cultivator, he should be able to immediately regenerate any external wounds."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Thank you," Sophie choked back a sob as she rushed towards her mother and gave her another tight hug.

    "Dad... he disappeared during a battle... the Earth Federation government announced that he was dead, so I became the head of House Peterlor."

    "I was so scared... I was so scared... that it was true..."

    "Sweetie..." Thai''lle gently whispered as she stroked Sophie''s back.

    "Your father is always going to be fine... because he knows that I would kill him if he decided to die."

    "That doesn''t make any sense," Sophie tearfully said with a small hint of a smile lingering around her lips.

    "Yeah... that saying works better in my nativenguage..." Thai''lleughed happily as she enjoyed feeling the warmth of her daughter.

    Sophie and her mom continued to hug for several long seconds before the hybrid girl broke away.

    She wiped away the tears on her face and took a moment to observe her immediate surroundings.

    "Mom... where is this ce? I thought you were trapped on... wait... did you break out?" Sophie''s voice trailed off in shock as she finally realised that she was on a spaceship.

    She was so focused on reuniting with her mother that she did not pay attention to what was going on around her.

    "Yeah! No prison can contain me for long," Thai''lle pridefully boasted as she walked over to the window and pointed at thes outside.

    "Wow! That''s amazing! So, what is your n now?" Sophie asked curiously as she followed her mom''s footsteps.

    Thai''lle thought about her daughter''s words and then opened her mouth to reply,

    "Well, my original n was to pass through the Fayera controlled territories and then enter the Earth Federation but now that you mention that your father is missing..."

    "I can vaguely sense his location through the connection that we share, and it is not leading me in the direction of the Earth Federation."

    "I''m not sure where he is exactly but he is definitely in a remote gxy far away from both the Earth Federation and the Insectoid Empire."

    "I might as well go and rescue him... sigh... he''s such a damsel in distress."

    Sophie felt a wave of relief as she heard her mom''s words. Thai''lle was one of the most powerful god stage cultivators in the universe.

    If she was going to rescue her dad, then unless an Ascension Stage cultivator came out... there was no one who could stop her.

    "Thanks mom," Sophie replied happily.

    "Oh, don''t mention it darling... I can''t wait to see my lover myself... in fact who knows... you may have some siblings when we finally meet in person," Thai''lle winked slyly as she spoke.

    "Gross! Mom! I didn''t need to know that," Sophie quickly blurted out as she covered her face using her hands.

    "Tsk... tsk... that must be your human side talking. Honey... there is no shame in the physical manifestation of love," Thai''lle shook her head and tried to educate her daughter.

    "In fact, it is very important in rtionships to have both physical and emotionalpatibility. You must be able to give pleasure to your lover and receive pleasure in return."

    "Mom! I know that! I just don''t want to hear about those kinds of things from my mother!" Sophie loudly spoke up as she tried to end this awkward conversation.

    "Sigh... well... I hope you''re telling the truth," Thai''lle shook her head and felt a tinge of pity for her daughter''s unfortunate girlfriend.

    Her little girl was quite the... what was the human word for it?

    Ahh yes... a prude!

    Little did Sophie know that in her mother''s mind she was now an innocent littlemb who did not know the first thing about lovemaking.

 Chapter 740 In The Mood To Celebrate

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    Sophie slowly opened her eyes and felt at peace. She was now back inside the training room sitting down cross legged on the ground.

    Thest words that her mother had told her still rang in her head.

    "I am very proud of the woman that you have be. You will one day surpass both me and your father."

    A silly smile began to spread across the hybrid girl''s face as she leaned back and stretched out her legs until she was now lying down on the floor.

    Her dad was alive!

    He was still alive!

    Arge invisible weight was lifted off Sophie''s chest as a sense of relief flooded her thoughts.

    She always thought that her dad had not died but¡­

    She would be lying if she said that there wasn''t a small part of her that was secretly worried that the official government report was telling the truth.

    And that wasn''t the end of the good news!

    Her mom was going to rescue her father and then head to the Federation. There was a not so small chance that they would all be reunited in person as one big family!

    Sophie was aware that they would face significant roadblocks but just knowing that her mom and dad were alive was more than enough for now.

    Knock! Knock!

    "Hey babe¡­ are you okay?" Cleo''s voice came from the other side of the door.

    "More than okay! Cleo! I saw my mom again! I used the connection between the Spider Whisper Art practitioners and¡­ and¡­ I spoke to her again," Sophie excitedly spoke.

    "My dad is still alive! My mom is on a starship on her way to rescue him as we speak!"

    "Awesome! I''m so happy for you!" Cleo replied joyfully.

    "Do you want me to bring any snacks? Can Ie inside?"

    "Maybe not yet¡­ I¡­ wait a second¡­" Sophie''s voice trailed off as she realised something strange.

    She didn''t feel strong anymore. In fact, she felt¡­ weak?

    No¡­ not weak exactly¡­ just different in a way that she just could not put her finger on.

    The hybrid girl cocked back her fist and mmed it into the ground with all the force that she could muster.

    Nothing.

    Not even a crack.

    Her fists did not hurt but there was no cultivation energy in her blow.

    Sophie furrowed her brows and concentrated on the qi floating around in a gxy-like formation inside of her dantian.

    BOOM!

    An enormous rush of energy filled her body with so much force that the pressure exuded by her mere presence was enough to destroy the training ground below her feet.

    Sophie quickly cut off the connection and the pressure immediately disappeared as if it had never been there in the first ce.

    Cool¡­ but were void cultivators supposed to have an ''ON'' and ''OFF'' switch?

    Actually¡­ Sophie was fairly certain that the qi inside of her dantian was not supposed to look that way.

    She flicked back on the invisible switch and once again a heavy pressure began to surround her body.

    "Sophie?" Cleo asked loudly with concern evident in her voice.

    "I''m okay babe! Just give me around thirty minutes and I''ll meet you in the living room!" Sophie shouted back in reply.

    Her girlfriend hummed in acknowledgement and then walked away. Sophie could hear her footsteps as well as the beating of her heart.

    She could observe the tiny micro-organisms floating through the air as well as the numerous specks of dust that filled the room.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Her senses when her qi was active magnified ten-fold.

    No¡­ perhaps even more than that since Sophie could pick up on sounds several thousands of miles away.

    Sophie made sure to cut off the connection to her dantian and her body returned to its natural baseline state.

    She then tilted her wrist upwards to check hermunicator. There were a few files inside the Peterlor database that dealt with void stage cultivators.

    They were the powerhouses of the universe.

    From this stage onwards cultivators could be considered as living weapons during times of war.

    Only a small fraction of a single percent of all cultivators would ever make it this far and Sophie was pretty certain that she had achieved the second-best record.

    After her father of course¡­

    But who knows¡­ maybe if the opportunity presented itself in the future, she would be able to break into the god stage and break his record.

    The only issue was the fact that her cultivation journey was decided by the Hunter Goddess¡­ without her powers she would not be able to increase her cultivation level.

    And Sophie was definitely not in the mood for another hunt anytime soon. Not when she had barely survived thest one.

    Contrary to what some may think¡­ Sophie did not enjoy putting herself into situations with the risk of death.

    She just happened to always stumble into them¡­

    Maybe it was a side-effect of being a vessel? Who knows¡­

    Sophie shook her head and drove those thoughts to the back of her mind. She focused on the files on her wristmunicator and began to read.

    Okay¡­ so normally it could take weeks or several months for a void stage cultivator to gain control of their strength.

    Then they would be able to adjust their power to mimic the lower cultivation stages. Sophie frowned slightly as she essed another file and read what had been written down.

    ''The true mark of a void stage cultivator has to do with their qi. The qi inside their bodies turns into a near solid state inside their dantians.

    This hardened qi forms a perfect circle or sphere. The sphere continually rotates so void stage cultivators never run out of qi.

    It is said that to achieve the god stage¡­ cultivators must shatter the sphere and allow their qi to fuse directly into every part of their bodies.''

    A sphere?

    Sophie closed her eyes and looked into her dantian.

    Nope¡­ that was definitely not a sphere.

    "Huh¡­ so¡­ huh¡­ that is pretty¡­ weird," Sophie muttered quietly to herself as shepared the shape of the qi inside her dantian to what it was supposed to look like.

    Sophie really had no words as she reopened her eyes and thought about what to do next.

    As far as she could tell there were no harmful side effects from her qi taking on this unusual shape, but she wasn''t sure how she matched up against other void stage cultivators.

    Well hopefully that was a question that she would not have to answer anytime soon.

    Sophie walked up to the heavy metalloid doors and calmly opened them. She stepped outside of the room and headed for the living area.

    It was time to just unwind and do some rxing.

    Sophie stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily as she walked down the stairs and saw her girlfriend sitting down quietly on the couch.

    "Hi gorgeous," Sophie teased softly as she slowly approached her girlfriend and then pounced on her.

    She wrapped her arms around the much smaller girl until the princess had no chance of escaping her grasp.

    Sophie then proceeded to lightly kiss and nibble on the side of her neck while Cleo squealed and begged her to stop.

    The hybrid girl''s hand sneakily reached for the back of Cleo''s dress and with one smooth move she unzipped the back of the outfit.

    "Babe! It''s only four o'' clock! I¡­ fuck¡­" Cleo''s voice trailed off in a moan as she could feel her body heating up.

    "Sorry¡­ darling¡­ I''m in the mood to celebrate¡­" Sophie grinned wickedly as traces of pink crept up along the edges of her golden eyes.

 Chapter 741 Things Are Looking Up!

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Central Administration Building- Principal''s Office)

    "Extraordinary," Principal Malik muttered in disbelief as he looked at the hybrid girl sitting downfortable on the chair in front of him.

    "You really achieved the impossible¡­ not since your father has a cultivator achieved the void stage at the age of twenty."

    "Wow¡­ sorry¡­ but I really have no words. This¡­ this is unprecedented."

    The elderly Mendolesa man adjusted his tie and absentmindedly tapped his ws against the top of his desk.

    He was still in a state of shock.

    Sophie was indeed the best student among the second years but that did not mean that he thought that she would enter the void stage.

    The average age for Zrudread University graduates who sessfully reached the void stage was between three hundred and four hundred years old.

    And many didn''t!

    It was important to note that individuals who attended Zrudread University were the top geniuses in the entire Federation and received almost limitless cultivation resources.

    And even then¡­ most failed to take the next step to the higher stages of cultivation.

    "So, what are your ns now?" Principal Malik asked curiously.

    "I need to work on controlling my strength¡­ right now I can only go at one hundred percent or zero with nothing in- between," Sophie exined calmly.

    "I will still attend university until I get my degrees because even though my cultivation state is high¡­ I still want to learn more techniques and ways to fight."

    "A wise choice," Principal Malik replied with a small smile on his wolfish face. He reached into one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a thin white card.

    "This is an ess card to the upper-level training facility on campus¡­ it is currently not in use so you can have it all to yourself."

    "I will assign you a coach to help you learn how to control your strength."

    "His avable times will be added to your online schedule so just select from the options when you would like his services each week."

    "Thank you, Principal Malik," Sophie spoke warmly as she reached out with her hand and took the card.

    The hybrid girl tucked the card into her storage bag and then stood up. She exchanged a few more pleasantries with the elderly Mendolesa man and then left the room.

    Sophie''s steps were light and carefree as she walked through the long and winding corridor towards the exit.

    She was a void stage cultivator¡­

    She was a void stage cultivator¡­

    HOLY SHIT!

    An almost child-like excitement bubbled beneath Sophie''s calm exterior as she resisted the urge to shout out in joy.

    And her dad was alive as well!

    The past couple of days had just been good news after goods news. Life was looking up and for once Sophie could not see any dark clouds on the horizon.

    The hybrid girl titled her wristmunicator upwards and essed the Virtual Net as she finally left the building.

    The sun was shining brightly, and the blue sky had not a cloud in sight and yet Sophie was fully upied by the contents on the screen on her wrist.

    [Breaking News! Duchess Peterlor has entered the void stage!]

    [The second youngest person in the history of the Earth Federation- The unstoppable rise of the noble House Peterlor!]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [''I always knew that she was special''- one of Sophie''s high school teachers exins why he was not shocked by the news!]

    [Will she surpass her father? Our panel of cultivation experts will weigh in on the matter with special never before seen clips from the Inter University Tournament!]

    Sophie swiped across the screen and came across more articles about her surprising breakthrough to the void stage.

    Now you may be wondering why she didn''t keep her newfound strength a secret¡­.

    Well, the answer was quite obvious.

    The news was released as a warning. There was a big difference between a house led by a noble in the qi tide stage and one who was a void stage cultivator.

    Her personal strength would make even less likely for her enemies to plot against her and without a shadow of a doubt they must be in a state of panic right now.

    If she continued on a simr trajectory to her father, then she could possibly enter the realm of gods by the time she was in her early thirties to forties.

    Her enemies would now be forced to evaluate her as a future god stage cultivator as would her allies.

    There were very few friends in politics¡­ onlymon interests. Sophie trusted her father''s allies for now, but things could always change in the future.

    She needed to show the world that she had the potential to be a force of reckoning within the Earth Federation.

    Sophie continued to browse for a few more minutes before turning off her wristmunicator and looking upwards at the sky.

    She could make out tiny ck bird-like creatures soaring through the air in a v- shaped pattern towards the northern region of Eleron.

    Sophie let out a light sigh and continued her walk with an odd sense of peace and tranquility.

    Everything for once was going in her favour.

    It felt good¡­ but it also felt strange.

    The hybrid girl half expected to hear bad news or have the hunter goddess in her mind telling her that she would need to bring her another sacrifice.

    But no¡­ there was nothing to worry about.

    The stares from the students whose paths Sophie crossed were a bit different today. There was a great deal of admiration in their gazes as well as a thick undercurrent of jealousy.

    Those dark emotions usually came from the older students who looked at Sophie while trying to push down their own feelings of inadequacy.

    They were all geniuses here so why was there such arge gap?

    Many would have to wait several decades or centuries to enter the void stage while a hybrid girl had done it in her second year.

    Ridiculous!

    Apletely ridiculous farce!

    Sophie was not blind and could sense the unpleasant stares thrown in her direction, but she moved on with an aura of indifference.

    By now she was well used to being the centre of attention wherever she went so the gazes ofplete strangers did not bother her one bit.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Cleo: [Are youing back home soon? Astrid and Qiana are over, and they want to know if you are heading with us to the beach]

    Sophie: [Of course babe! I wouldn''t miss it! Honestly after speaking with the principal for like three hours, I''m pretty tired¡­ you know how long he can talk¡­]

    Sophie: [I really need some sun, sand and sea!]

    Cleo: [Awesome! I''ll tell them to wait for you. Love you darling :D]

 Chapter 742 Report - 013

    (Procyon Star System- Angro Gxy)

    Lumclite- Private Mansion)

    A man stood silently by a window without saying a word. He was a tall, gaunt figure with eyes that had heavy dark circles beneath them.

    His hair waspletely white and fell down to well below his shoulders.

    A long ck robe hung around his body that gave him a schrly aura and he held a small cup of tea in his right hand.

    Tiny wisps of white smoke floated gently upwards from the cup.

    The Grand Tutor raised up the cup to his lips and took a small sip of the liquid inside. A bitter taste flooded his mouth, but he gave no visible indication of his difort.

    He continued to look outside the window as if searching for something amidst therge forest that surrounded his private estate.

    The elderly man began to heavily cough and quickly ced the cup of tea on a table nearby.

    The soundsing from his mouth were horrifying to hear and his chest began to heave violently as if he was about to vomit.

    The Grand Tutor tilted his head downwards and fumbled around in one of the pockets of his robe for a handkerchief.

    He raised up the white fabric to his mouth and stifled his coughs. When the coughing stopped the handkerchief was stained with flecks of blood.

    Everything was going wrong.

    His health was slowly getting worse and his influence in politics was beginning to wane.

    Nobles who once would not refuse his call now had excuse after excuse not to visit him.

    Those vicious sharks could sense blood in the water and to them it was only a matter of time before he fell¡­

    The strength and unity of the Pure-blood Human coalition was beginning to crack.

    Those petty fools were too busy arguing with one another and fighting amongst themselves to present a united front.

    As a result, they were now seen as unreliable to the neutral noble factions.

    And to make matters even worse¡­

    The Grand Tutor tilted his wristmunicator upwards and quietly read the secret report that filled the screen.

    [Report ¨C 013- Subject Sophie Peterlor]

    [The information that Duchess Peterlor has entered the void stage has been verified to be true from multiple sources.]

    [It has even been confirmed by the principal of Zrudread University and it is highly unlikely that he would lie about the matter.]

    [Many aristocrats are now viewing House Peterlor in a different light since there is a good chance that Duchess Peterlor has inherited the talents of herte father.]

    [It appears to be an inevitability that she will eventually reach the god stage.]

    [I will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and report back to you about any further developments- S.T]

    The elderly man let out a heavy sigh and then angrily mmed his fist down on the table next to him.

    Crack!

    The wooden table immediately split in half and pieces of wood fell to the ground. The Grand Tutor looked at the destruction but did not feel any better.

    Sophie Peterlor¡­ the first hybrid head of an upper-ss noble family was now a void stage cultivator.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Now she had the strength to match her position. It would be harder to make the argument that she was illegitimate.

    Even Lady Beterica''s boy would stand no chance against her in the political arena.

    "Damn it!" the Grand Tutor cursed softly as he suddenly felt a wave of tiredness overwhelm his body with exhaustion.

    The disappearance of the former head of House Peterlor had been the perfect opportunity to advance his reforms against Hybrid Rights but¡­

    Things did not go in the way that he predicted.

    The future leader of the human side of the Earth Federation was still unknown, Rokan Peterlor''s faction was still united, his hybrid daughter had sessfully taken over as head of his house¡­

    It was just one bad news after the next.

    At least this dark storm had one silver lining¡­

    "Sir¡­ your guest of honour has arrived," a woman wearing a silvery grey dress approached the elderly man and bowed politely.

    "Send him in to the meeting room¡­ I will there shortly," the Grand Tutor replied as he straightened out his back.

    The female servant bowed once more and then departed from the room with quick and quiet steps.

    The Grand Tutor took in a deep breath and then proceeded to walk along a short and narrow corridor that led to the meeting room.

    He opened the wooden door that led to the room and slowly walked inside. The room was not very spacious and only had a few pieces of furniture.

    A pair of long couches were opposite to each other with a table in the middle that was covered with drinks and various refreshments.

    Water colour paintings hung along the walls of the room depicting famous events and scenes from the history of the Earth Federation.

    From the Draxi Rebellion to the civil war in the early days of the Federation that threatened the stability and existence of the new Interster Alliance.

    A roaring firece sat in the corner of the room and the warm orange glow from the mes illuminated the space with a soft and gentle light.

    The Grand Tutor sat down on one of the couches and waited patiently for his guest to arrive.

    He was the host so he needed to be in the room and ready to wee the important man who would step through those doors.

    Fortunately, he did not have to wait for long.

    The doors slowly opened and another woman wearing a silvery grey dress stood by the entrance and opened her mouth.

    "Announcing the arrival of the crown prince¡­ Prince Theseus Sisrelis!" the female servant respectfully spoke.

    A very handsome man with sharp facial features and a lean but muscr body strode into the room.

    His curly ck hair had grown slightly shaggy but that did not detract from his overall handsomeness.

    His piercing green eyes seemed to stare right into the Grand Tutor''s soul but the warm and friendly smile on his face made him seem affable.

    "Crown prince¡­ it is an honour to have you here," the Grand Tutor cheerfully spoke as he got up from his seat and bowed respectfully.

    "Please the pleasure is all mine," Prince Theseus replied as he walked over to the elderly man and stretched out his hand for him to shake.

    The Grand Tutor smiled as he reached out with his wrinkled hand and gave the prince a firm handshake that onlysted for a few seconds.

    "You resembled yourte father so much¡­ you have inherited his best qualities¡­ I am sure that you will be chosen as the next leader¡­" the Grand Tutor gave out generous praise.

    The crown prince merely smiled at his ttering words but for some reason the Grand Tutor got the impression that his smile did not reach his eyes.

 Chapter 743 A Simple Request

    (Procyon Star System- Angro Gxy)

    Lumclite- Private Mansion)

    "Oh¡­ where are my manner?!" the Grand Tutor joked as he attempted to lighten the mood.

    He snapped his fingers and two maidservants appeared carrying tes of food and refreshment in their hands.

    The elderly man picked up one of the sses that was filled to the brim with a sparkling red substance and handed it over to the prince with careful movements.

    Prince Theseus smiled gently as he raised up the ss to his lips and took a small sip of the contents inside.

    The taste was incredible.

    The drink had a fizzy tang with an underlyingyer of sweetness that added to the depth andplexity of the vour.

    "Count Andrei¡­ I must say that your hospitality is truly impressive," Prince Theseus remarked lightly as he ced the now empty ss on the table nearby.

    "Please¡­ I rarely go by my noble position¡­ you can just refer to me by the title of my job," the Grand Tutor replied with a grin on his face.

    There was an awkward moment of silence as the crown prince stared at the elderly man with an expression that was hard to describe.

    He seemed to be looking into the old man''s soul. Seeing all the dirty things that he had done in order to keep his position.

    The Grand Tutor shivered slightly as he felt goosebumps appear on his arms.

    The crown prince had a reputation for being kind and courteous so why was he feeling this way?

    Prince Theseus raised up his palm to cover his mouth and coughed twice. He lowered his hand and slowly walked towards the elderly man.

    "But you see¡­ you are not longer the Grand Tutor now¡­" Prince Theseus softly whispered as he stepped forward until his face was mere inches away from the Grand Tutor.

    "My father was the one who bestowed on you that position in the royal court but¡­ he is no longer here now is he?"

    "Now¡­ you are just a lowly count, and it scares you¡­ after getting used to all that power in the Imperial Pce¡­ do you really want to go back to being an ordinary nobleman?"

    "Maybe you should have begged my father to upgrade your title instead of encouraging him to spend his time partaking in wine, women and other insidious pleasures."

    "My prince¡­ I¡­" the Grand Tutor¡­ no Count Andrei stuttered nervously as he felt an overwhelming pressure fill the room.

    The floor beneath his feet cracked and he felt as though he was a mouse staring down at the cat who was approaching him with an open maw.

    The maidservants dropped the tes in their hands and fled. The crown prince watched them go without bothering to stop them.

    He turned his attention back to the elderly man whose body was now trembling violently like a leaf in the wind.

    "You see it happening already¡­ nobles who used to tter you are nowhere to be found¡­ your influence is waning¡­" Prince Theseus continued to whisper in a sickly-sweet tone.

    "All you have left is your Human Purity Faction and even that is nothing more than a den of poisonous vipers too busy fighting amongst themselves to pose a real threat."

    "Sophie Peterlor¡­ she has already reached the void stage¡­ isn''t that funny?"

    "The one you so desperately tried to stop has now be one of the greatest inspirations for hybrids in the entire Federation."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "My lord¡­ I¡­ I can still be of use to you!" Count Andrei quickly replied as he reached into his storage bag and pulled out a tablet.

    "On this device¡­ I have reports from the spies tracking the movements of your royal siblings¡­ there is information on here that can aid you in¡­"

    The crown prince raised up his hand and the room fell silent. The former Grand Tutor did not even dare to make a sound.

    Prince Theseus scoffed, and his eyes shed with mocking derision.

    He was the only hope that Count Andrei had to return to the political epicentre of the Federation.

    And that meant that all the cards were in his hands.

    "You do have your¡­ uses¡­ but I am not interested in information about my dear brothers and sisters at this time," Prince Theseus slowly spoke.

    "I believe that your years of service to my family should not go without some form of a reward. In fact, there are none who can match your level of experience in the role of Royal Tutor."

    Of course, that was a lie.

    There were numerous schrs who could slip into the role of chief advisor to the leader of the Federation and tutor to the royal offsprings.

    But sometimes a little bit of ttery goes a long way.

    Prince Theseus observed the elderly man''s face carefully and sure enough he could see a small trace of arrogance appear in his eyes.

    Count Andrei truly believed that he was irreceable. The crown prince smiled internally at such a ridiculous notion.

    "Anything you want I can do it for you, my lord! I will serve the future emperor of the Federation with loyalty!" Count Andrei dered loudly as he ced a hand to his chest and bowed.

    He was still afraid of the crown prince, but his ambition was stronger than the terror that he felt when the gentle prince revealed his fangs.

    The former Grand Tutor knelt down on the ground and rested his forehead gently on the floor at the prince''s feet in a show of submission.

    Prince Theseus watched the disy with an impassive expression on his face. His master had predicted that this would happen.

    Men who got a small taste of power would do anything to experience it again. There was no greater drug in this world.

    The feeling of being able to influence others¡­ tomand the life or death of thousands if not millions of people¡­

    Prince Theseus shook his head and pushed those rebellious thoughts to the back of his mind. He was nothing more than an imposter.

    A man wearing the skin and face of his brother the real crown prince. He was a fake and his master made sure that he knew that fact.

    He may one day sit on the throne, but he would not be the leader of the Federation. No¡­ he would be a mere puppet dancing on the strings of his master.

    "Get up from the ground¡­ Grand Tutor," Prince Theseus solemnly spoke as he ced one hand on the elderly man''s shoulder.

    "What I want from you is simple¡­ use your connections to find as much information as you can about a species of Insectoids known as¡­"

    "The Arachnais."

 Chapter 744 Money Is No Issue

    (Hydra Star System- Eryndor Prime)

    (Private Garden)

    "I must say that your garden is quite lovely Najet," Sophie spoke politely as she was guided through a long and narrow pathway that was surrounded by tall and leafy trees.

    The grass beneath her feet was a lovely bluish-gold colour and small ck insects buzzed from flower to flower.

    Herpanion was short five-foot-tall creature with two extra metalloid arms jutting out of his lower spine.

    Najet was a Vorgon.

    A race of alien traders from the Unovan Syndicate known for their ability to smuggle in spices through the border region.

    His skin was dark brown colour with small lumps along his flesh that appeared quite repulsive.

    Still despite his odd appearance, Sophie''s face did not betray even a hint of her difort because that would not be polite.

    "Thank you, Duchess Peterlor," Najet replied inmon tongue. He gestured towards a deeper part of his garden and led the way.

    The air had a lovely sugary sweet scent.

    Sophie''s footsteps paused for a moment as she took in a deep breath and enjoyed the peacefulness and tranquility of the moment.

    "I hired the bestndscape gardeners to design this space for myself and special guests and you my dear¡­ are very special," Najet ttered charmingly.

    "Am I special enough to get a discount?" Sophie asked teasingly with a raised eyebrow.

    "No! No! No discount!" Najet''s tone immediately changed as he abandoned his attempts to flirt with the beautiful hybrid girl.

    There was nothing more important to him than money. Beauty would fade with time but the shine of Federation Enas¡­ those wouldst for a lifetime.

    Sophieughed softly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small envelope that was sealed with a heavy red wax seal.

    Najet led her over to a clearing where two benches had been ced facing on another. He sat down on the bench closest to the walkway and Sophie took the other one.

    "Now¡­ how can I help the esteemed Duchess Peterlor," Najet slipped back into a respectful tone as if his outburst had never urred.

    "I understand that you have been supplying Zoreyn Sage to House Thssar, Avrilian herbs to House Volern and¡­" Sophie''s voice trailed off into a whisper as she leaned in closer.

    "Xyrian Turmeric."

    "You are well informed¡­" Najet''s voice cracked slightly as a serious expression shed across his face.

    He was forced to revaluate the young woman in front of him. He did not expect her to have a list of his clients as well as knowledge about his rarest spices.

    "It is only amon courtesy when dealing with Vorgons. Your people respect those who are knowledgeable," Sophie replied with a polite smile.

    "The purpose of my visit is quite simple. I would like you to sign an exclusive contract with House Peterlor to join as the head of our spice tradingpany."

    Najet bared his teeth and Sophie could see blunt fangs gleaming under the sunlight that streamed through the top of the trees.

    "And what would be the benefit for me? I make enough money selling to various noble houses¡­ why would I limit myself to just one?" Najet asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

    Sophie ran her thumb along the envelope in her right hand. She carefully used her fingernails to pry open the wax seal and slowly opened the envelope.

    She handed the envelope over to Najet who took it from her palm.

    The Vorgon merchant frowned slightly as he pulled out a letter and read the contents on the piece of paper.

    His multiple eyes widened in shock as he continued to read.

    The metalloid arms attached to his spine trembled ever so slightly as he ced the paper face down on the side of the bench.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You¡­ are you mad?" Najet stuttered in shock.

    "Perhaps¡­ but I am also the head of the most promising upper ss noble family in the Federation. Do you dare to take a chance?" Sophie replied with confidence.

    Her aura projected arrogance and strength in equal measure. For a brief moment Najet felt as though he was sitting across from a queen.

    He did not know what to say.

    What Sophie was offering¡­ it was unheard of.

    She was offering citizenship to him and his people on one of thes administrated by House Peterlor.

    In addition to other benefits as well that were just as attractive.

    "Give me some time to think about this matter and I will have a reply by the end of this month," Najet finally spoke as he picked up the letter and ced it in his pocket.

    "I look forward to hearing your answer," Sophie smiled with confidence as she stood up from the bench and used her full height to tower over the smaller sized alien.

    She talked for a few more minutes with the alien merchant before finally bidding him farewell and heading off to her next location.

    She hummed softly under her breath as she tapped a metalloid device attached to her uniform.

    Her outward looks immediately changed as a cloaking device projected a hard light construct to mask her appearance.

    Now if someone looked in her direction, they would see a tall bulky Mendolesa female wearing a white casual outfit.

    This device was necessary when moving around because she would attract too much unwanted attention otherwise.

    Sophie walked through the garden and eventually arrived at a busy main road that led to the heart of the capitol city.

    She checked her wristmunicator, and two more locations were highlighted on the map. She typed in the coordinates of the first location and a red line appeared on the screen.

    The hybrid girl rubbed her fingers together absentmindedly as she mentally went over the meeting with Najet in her mind.

    It would be good news if she got him to agree to her offer but at the end of the day it was his choice.

    Some nobles would have tried to force him to join their organisation, but Sophie was not one of those people.

    Plus forcing someone to work for you in a role that was very important was just a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Sophie checked the screen of her wristmunicator and saw a few messages from Cleo appear in her inbox.

    Cleo: [Hey babe! When are youing back? Did the meetings go well?]

    Sophie: [Well I just finished the first one and he wants some more time to think about it. I''m going to speak to the second merchant now and hopefully it goes okay.]

    Sophie: [The members of my dad''s leadership team want me to only focus on university but¡­ I want to do more. I want to expand the business and try to maintain my father''s legacy.]

    Cleo: [Well no pressure¡­ I''m sure none of them will be able to resist your charms :)¡­ and of course the money is good as well lol]

    Sophie: [Trust me¡­ I''m a generous person¡­ money was never going to be an issue.]

    The hybrid girl smiled as she continued to chat with her girlfriend. She walked through the crowded streets and entered a side alleyway that was very easy to miss.

    At the end of the alleyway was an old run-down shop made from simple wooden materials mixed with dark brown mud.

    The smell surrounding the shop could only be described as a mix between garbage and raw sewage.

    Sophie''s nose immediately wrinkled as she forced herself not to gag violently. This was one of the many times where having enhanced senses was a curse and not a blessing.

 Chapter 745 A Mysterious Shop

    (Hydra Star System- Eryndor Prime)

    (Capitol City- Unnamed Alleyway)

    Sophie rxed her shoulders and mentally counted to ten in her mind as she approached the shop''s entrance.

    She noticed more details about the building as she got closer, and it really did not look like a ce fit for habitation.

    The red tiles on the roof were cracked and several had slid off the wooden frame and fallen to the ground below.

    The mud that formed the main body of the shop looked slightly wet as if the material had not dried out properly.

    Still¡­ there was something about this ce that didn''t feel right.

    Sophie frowned slightly as she felt what appeared to be a light tingle of electricity run over her body as she neared the entrance.

    This ce¡­ it was messing with her senses.

    The hybrid girl approached the wooden door and stretched out her hand to pull the simple iron doorknob that was covered in rust.

    The door slid open reluctantly and one could hear the loud creaking of the hinges. Sophie reached into her pocket for a handkerchief and wiped her hand.

    She entered the building and saw multiple shelves each filled to the brim with various knick-knacks, trinkets, and other useless junk.

    There was a single desk in the corner of the space and behind the table sat a teenage human girl with long red hair that was neatly tied into a single braid.

    The girl wore a casual outfit and in front of her were several magazines depicting thetest male stars.

    "Sorry we''re closed," the girl quietly spoke as she continued to flip through the magazine pages without raising up her head to look at Sophie.

    Sophie touched the metalloid device attached to her uniform and deactivated it.

    Her disguise as arge Mendolesa warrior disappeared and her normal appearance was restored.

    When meeting the woman who resided here¡­ she needed to disy her true identity.

    Sophie slowly walked over to the counter and the teenage girl behind the desk finally put down the magazines.

    "Look¡­ Are you deaf? I said that we''re¡­" the shopkeeper''s voice trailed off as Sophie leaned in closer.

    "I wanted to buy a night pot¡­ let me see the vours¡­" Sophie softly whispered as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange coin.

    The coin glowed with an eerie light and carved onto its metal surface was the depiction of a genderless warrior covered head to toe in medieval armour.

    The warrior carried a spear in their right hand and arge shield in their left. The depiction bore a startling resemnce to the ancient Greek warriors in the pre-Interster era¡­

    They were known as Spartans.

    The bored and mildly irritated expression on the shopkeeper''s face immediately changed and how she looked at Sophie was now with obvious respect in her eyes.

    "Of course¡­ we have those in stock," the teenage girl whispered in a voice no louder than the faintest murmur.

    She ced her hands together and then pped her palms to make a loud noise.

    p! p!

    The air behind her chair shimmered slightly and then an open hole appeared in the side of the wall.

    The hole was dark, unpleasant looking and seemed to be bottomless.

    A set of dull grey steps made from solid granite led into the darkness and the only sources of light came from the torches that hung along the sides of the passageway.

    The shopkeeper gestured for Sophie to enter the hole.

    The hybrid girl nodded and then proceeded to walk into the newly formed passageway without any fear.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    p! p!

    The air shimmered again, and the passageway disappeared once the shopkeeper ced her hands together and made a pping noise.

    She resumed reading her magazines as if what had just happened was a perfectly normal urrence in her day.

    Meanwhile Sophie was walking down an endless flight of stairs and carefully observing the markings in the walls.

    She could see paintings that disyed scenes from wars.

    Battles that showed various states of civilisation from men wielding sticks and stones to interster wars that spanned gxies.

    The paintings seemed almost¡­ alive.

    Sophie supposed that should be the credit of whoever created them, but she could swear that the eyes of some of the warriors on the wall appeared to follow her as she walked deeper underground.

    The air inside the underground passageway was humid and stale.

    The stone steps beneath her feet were sturdy but asionally pieces of dirt and some light rocks would rain down from the ceiling and directly onto her body.

    Fortunately, Sophie was able to project her qi into an aura surrounding her body so that the pieces of dirt merely slid off the invisible barrier.

    Time lost all meaning in this strange ce.

    She could have been walking for several minutes or perhaps it was a few hours.

    Sophie checked her wristmunicator and discovered that it had already been one hour and ten minutes since she entered the hole.

    The end was nowhere in sight.

    Instead, the stairs continued to lead her downwards as if they would eventually arrive at the molten core of the.

    Sophie''s footsteps paused for a moment as she finally thought of something.

    There was no need to use her ability on a mere hunch but there was just something about this situation that seemed¡­ off.

    The hybrid girl closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were nowpletely white with not a hint of her pupils.

    She found herself standing in a ck and white world where her senses were dulled as if she was walking underwater.

    Sophie navigated the strange world and saw the numerous timelines and future versions of herself in this ce.

    She saw shadowy humanoid figures walking down the stairs for several hours, some gave up and attempted to walk back up the shop¡­ and failed.

    Most of her futures involved her getting trapped in this underground ce until a mysterious force kicked her out.

    Sophie wasn''t sure what happened after the force removed her from this ce, but she assumed that it meant that she would be unable to meet the person who she was looking for.

    "Come on¡­ someone solve this¡­" Sophie muttered quietly under her breath as she continued to walk through the mysterious world.

    She saw versions of herself losing their temper and unleashing the full might of a void stage cultivator to smash the walls.

    And yet the full force of their fists was not enough to crack the seemingly fragile walls made from dirt and y.

    Sophie continued to look around and winced as she felt a massive headache begin to throb painfully.

    She still had side effects whenever she glimpsed into the future despite increasing her cultivation level.

    The hybrid girl gritted her teeth and ignored the pain as she continued to observe the alternate timelines.

    Finally, she spotted a future that was different from the rest.

 Chapter 746 An Eccentric Merchant

    Sophie walked over to the shadowy version of herself and quietly observed what was happening.

    In this possible future, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the coin that she had showed to the shopkeeper in order to gain entrance to this ce.

    She then lifted up the coin in the palm of her hand and looked at the engraving that had been etched onto the coin''s surface.

    This version of herself then proceeded to walk along the underground passageway while searching for something.

    The ck and white world shifted slightly, and the figure walked faster and faster as if time was being fast forwarded.

    Sophie felt a bit confused by this turn of events but kept watching.

    The pain in her head was only getting worse with every passing second and it took all of her concentration to maintain her future sight ability.

    Sophie gritted her teeth and tried her best to focus on what she was seeing in order to distract herself from the agony of having her mind ripped apart.

    Wait¡­ the coin¡­ maybe it was a hint!

    The puzzle pieces slowly clicked together in her head just as the shadowy figure reached a painting that was identical to the engraving of the Spartan warrior on the coin.

    The figure then proceeded to touch the painting using the tip of the coin and a passageway opened up.

    Sophie blinked twice and when she reopened her eyes, she was back in reality with the world returned to normal.

    Her head was still throbbing slightly, but the pain was gradually fading. Sophie took a few moments topose herself and then reached into her pocket for the coin.

    The coin shone eerily in the underground cavern as Sophie lifted it up in the air and followed the steps that the future version of herself had taken.

    She used the light of the torches and her excellent eyesight to scan each of the paintings on the wall to look for the right one.

    The security of this ce was quite impressive.

    Sophie had heard rumors that the woman behind this organization was a tad¡­ entric.

    But she didn''t expect that one would have needed to known a passcode, posses a secret item and solve a riddle in order to see her.

    A few hours passed by as Sophie continued on her slow but steady trek deep underground. The air was stale and humid and soon her body became covered in sweat.

    Sophie would asionally wipe the beads of sweat from her forehead and winced slightly as the salty liquid slid into her eyes.

    The she saw it.

    A painting in the same style as the numerous ones before it but this time it depicted a warrior carrying a spear in their right hand and arge shield in their left.

    There were words written down at the bottom of the painting, so Sophie leaned in closer to get a better look.

    ¦Ì¦Ï¦Ë?¦Í ¦Ë¦Á¦Â?

    Those were the words written down in writing that was so small that without her enhanced eyesight, Sophie was sure that she would have missed them.

    She furrowed her brows since she was pretty sure that those letters belonged to thenguage of the ancient Earth civilisation that the Spartans belonged to.

    She took a picture of the writings using her wristmunicator and then used a trantor app to try and decipher their meaning.

    Molon Labe.

    The trantion stated that the phrase roughly meant a show of defiance against enemies.

    Sophie was puzzled since she was fairly certain that very few people had knowledge of thisnguage and fewer still would ever use it.

    The hybrid girl investigated the painting for a couple more minutes but found nothing else that was suspicious.

    She raised up the coin and pressed it against the helmet of the warrior. For a brief second the eyes of the painting glowed and then the wall behind it trembled violently.

    Pieces of rock and rubble fell to the ground and a section of the wall copsed to reveal a hidden pathway.

    Sophie entered with a bit of hesitation since this passageway looked as though it had not been used in years.

    Cobwebs, small insects, and tiny ant-like creatures crawled along the floor, and she heard the dripping sound of watering from somewhere in the distance.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Sophie turned a corner and came face to face with what looked like¡­ an elevator?

    A silvery grey mechanical box with numbers printed on the top of the machine and what appeared to be a single button on the side of one of the doors.

    Sophie cautiously approached the machine and lightly pressed the button using her index finger.

    The doors slid open, and she saw a very clean if not slightly cramped interior.

    The floors were made from solid gold, mirrors lined the walls and a bench had been ced in the corner of the space withfortable cushions on top of its surface.

    Sophie stepped inside and doors immediately closed behind her. The machine shuddered slightly and then the box began to descend downwards.

    There was nothing she could do except wait so Sophie sat down on the bench and leaned against the back of its metalloid frame.

    Ding! Ding!

    After a few minutes a loud ringing noise could be heard, and the doors swung open to reveal a room with a single table in the centre and no other pieces of furniture.

    Just one table and that was it.

    The floors, walls and ceiling were barren.

    Sophie stepped out of the elevator and the doors closed again. She approached the table and a metalloid chair slowly rose upwards from the ground.

    This was clearly an invitation to sit so Sophie sat down and waited to see what would happen next.

    This was all so¡­ mysterious.

    Fortunately, the hybrid girl did not have to wait for long as the doors on the other side of the room slowly slid open and a female alien slithered inside.

    She was a mesmerizing sight.

    Her physique was slender with ck scales covering most of her exposed skin almost like a protective coat of armour.

    Her head wasrge and narrow shaped with vertical pupils that seemed to gleam with a sense of yfulness and intelligence.

    Her mouth possessed a row of sharp teeth and asionally a long fork-like tongue would flick in and out of her mouth as if she was tasting the air.

    She wore a simple red dress that hung along the curves of her body. The dress was ill-fitting and yet it did not detract from her unique beauty.

    "Duchess Peterlor¡­ this is a bit of a surprise," the female alien hissed softly as she approached the table and sat down on the new chair that rose up from the ground.

    "I recall that coin of yours was given to Viscount Nemesia¡­ hmm¡­ and how did you manage to acquire it? Is the old man dead?"

    "No¡­ he offered to sell it to me along with the information on how to gain an audience with the esteemed Lady Arcturus," Sophie replied honestly.

    There was no point in hiding this information because clearly, she would not have been allowed inside this ce if the alien in front of her did not allow her entrance.

    "Lady? Ha! You can just call me Zra," the female alien grinned and her vertical pupils stared directly at Sophie.

    "I''m no noble¡­ just a humble weapons merchant¡­ all those titles just bore me."

    "Please do not sell yourself short," Sophie matched her friendly energy with a polite smile as she reached into her storage bag for a heavy envelope.

    "You are the best arms dealer in the Hydra Star System¡­ rumors have it that you supply weapons to most of the top mercenary groups in the gxy."

    "Officially I only sell to mercenaries¡­ but under the table well¡­ let''s just say my clientse from a diverse set of backgrounds," Zra replied with a smirk.

    "But how can I help the famous young genius of the Federation? Last time I recalled House Peterlor has deals with arms traders in the Alpha Star System."

    "Should you really be here behind their backs?"

    Zra leaned forward the friendly look in her eyes turned predatory as she stretched out her ws and lightly knocked them against the top of the table.

    Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­

 Chapter 747 A Meaningful Partnership

    "The existing contracts between House Peterlor and the arms dealers of the Alpha Star System will be maintained," Sophie calmly replied.

    "Our discussion has nothing to do with unrted third parties."

    "Unrted third parties? Phew¡­ that''s a heavy phrase¡­" Zra muttered yfully as her forked tongue slowly flicked in and out of her mouth.

    Her serpent-like tail swayed gently from side to side as her vertical pupils remained locked on Sophie''s body.

    The mesmerising alien hummed softly under her breath and then pressed a button on the underside of the table.

    A gap opened up in the middle of its metalloid surface and something slowly rose upwards. Sophie frowned slightly as she recognised the item.

    A chessboard.

    But not just any chessboard.

    It was one that had been built to mimic the style of the boards used during the ancient Earth era of human civilisation.

    Each side had eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. Clearly Zra was a fan of the old school rules of chess.

    The game had evolved quite substantially over the millennia and most people yed a version known as fourth dimensional chess which included time travel mechanics and shifting boards.

    Still¡­ there was a certain charm to the simplicity of the ssical game.

    "Do you y?" Zra asked casually as her scaled fingers reached for a white pawn and slowly moved it one space forward.

    "Of course¡­ I am not particrly good at the game, but I do have the fundamental knowledge," Sophie replied as she reached for the ck knight.

    "So, tell me¡­" Zra spoke softly as she moved another pawn.

    "What do you want from me? Keep it in and simple. I detest how you nobles make everythingplicated by saying far too many words."

    "I would like you to join House Peterlor as one of our exclusive merchants," Sophie replied in a confident manner as she picked up another piece and moved in on the board.

    Zra froze for a moment and thenughed.

    The sounds that came from her mouth were guttural and hoarse as if someone had put a grater inside of her throat.

    "Oh¡­ Duchess Peterlor¡­ how do I say this politely? Hmm¡­ I will have to kindly decline your offer because I don''t do business with just one person," Zra replied with a small smile.

    "It gets too boring¡­"

    Sophie furrowed her brows slightly as she lost a bishop due to a careless mistake on her part.

    The smile on the female alien''s face got even wider as she pressed her advantage on the board.

    There was a brief moment of silence, and one could only hear the sounds of breathing and the ttering of chess pieces as they began to line both sides of the board.

    "Do not dismiss my offer so easily," Sophie finally broke the silence as she handed over the heavy envelope that she had been carrying in her storage bag.

    Zra reached out with her ws and grabbed the envelope. She used her sharpened nails to easily rip apart the top of the paper.

    Inside the envelope was a purplish-ck rock that glowed ever so slightly. Zra''s vertical pupils trembled violently as she saw the priceless item inside the envelope.

    "Hyperionite. Where did you get this?" Zra hissed with all traces of humor gone from her mouth.

    Sophie smirked as she realised that for the first time the arms dealer in front of her had been thrown off of her game.

    She picked up her surviving knight and moved it to check Zra''s seemingly defenseless king.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Check," Sophie softly whispered before answering the female alien''s question.

    "One of my resource extraction organisations discovered a mine on a certain lunar colony under my family''s control."

    "A rough estimation predicts that there are at least four hundred pounds worth of raw material hidden inside."

    "Four hundred pounds? You¡­" Zra''s jaw hung open as she quickly ced the mineral in her storage bag.

    Hyperionite was an incredibly rare mineral that was used to enhance the power of interster mounted sma cannons.

    Its value was priceless.

    Thest mine that had been discovered in Federation controlled territory had made its owner into a trillionaire.

    "Now let''s have a different conversation," Sophie smiled gently as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a thin stack of papers.

    "This is contract that will bind your services to House Peterlor for the next five hundred years. Of course¡­ you will also be rewarded for your work."

    Zra reached for the contract and quickly scanned its contents. The binding agreement was quite harsh, but the benefits were nothing to scoff at.

    And there was one line that stood out to her in particr.

    ''Party A agrees to supply Party B with ten lbs of high grade Hyperionite at the beginning of the partnership and thirty lbs of high grade Hyperionite once the contract has expired''.

    That was a generous offer.

    A very¡­ very generous offer.

    Honestly Zra had expected maybe ten lbs in the total but here written down inly in ck and white was an offer that included forty lbs.

    The kinds of weapons that she could make with those raw materials¡­

    The very thought alone was enough to cause her mouth to salivate in anticipation.

    Zra enjoyed creating weapons as much as she experienced euphoria every time her bank ount increased by a couple hundred million Enas.

    The female alien read over the contract one more time to make sure that there were no uses that she had missed and then rested the papers face down on the table.

    It all looked good.

    She reached for the chessboard and moved her king one square to the right. Sophie responded by moving her bishop to block off his retreat.

    One more move and she would be able to checkmate the female alien.

    Zra smiled as she moved her knight four squares upwards and checkmated the young noble who looked at the board in shock.

    She had been so preupied with chasing down the opponent''s king that she had left her own unguarded.

    "It was a good game," Zra replied softly as she used her ws to scratch the underside of her palm.

    A dark purple liquid slowly leaked out from the wound which she then used to sign her signature at the bottom of the contract.

    "I look forward to working with you in the future¡­ boss," Zra spoke seriously. The snake-like alien bowed her head in a show of deference.

    "There is no need for such formalities," Sophie replied lightly as she epted the signed contract and ced it in her storage bag.

    "I am sure that this will be a meaningful partnership."

 Chapter 748 A Romantic Date

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (St. Loies National Park)

    "Can I open my eyes now?" Cleo asked sleepily as she was led towards an unknown location with a heavy blindfold wrapped tightly around her face.

    Now she could use her mental power to scan the nearby surroundings, but she didn''t want to ruin her girlfriend''s surprise.

    "Just a few more minutes babe," Sophie cheerfully replied.

    The hybrid girl looked up at the sky and a small smile shed across her face.

    The sky was blue andpletely clear with only a few white fluffy clouds floatingzily across the horizon.

    A gentle breeze brushed against her face and the green grass beneath her feet swayed lightly from side to side.

    "This isn''t a kidnapping attempt, right? Because I have you know¡­ my girlfriend is the famous duchess of House Peterlor!" Cleo teased jokingly as she stretched out her arms and yawned.

    "Oh really? Well, I don''t care," Sophie yed along and lowered her voice menacingly.

    "You see¡­ I am a woman who specialises in kidnapping innocent little princesses like yourself¡­ I love the taste of royalty¡­"

    "No please! Not my innocence! How will I ever get married?" Cleo ced her hand on her forehead and let out a dramatic sigh.

    "I suppose you will just have to marry me," Sophie casually spoke before blushing bright red after realising what she had just said.

    "In¡­ in the future of course! I mean¡­ err¡­ if you want to¡­ okay¡­ I''ll stop talking now¡­"

    Cleo giggled softly and her bell-likeughter echoed across the clearing. Sophie held her right hand and gently yed with her girlfriend''s fingers.

    She loved quiet moments like these.

    Spending time with Cleo made all of her worries slowly melt away.

    She no longer felt the pressure of being the head of an upper-ss noble family nor did she have to be concerned about her image.

    Sophie continued to walk hand in hand with her girlfriend deeper into the park until they finally arrived at the location that she had chosen.

    "I''m going to take your blindfold off now," Sophie gently whispered.

    She kneeled down slightly and ced her fingers around the heavy fabric that was covering Cleo''s face.

    It only took a few quick tugs to remove the wrap and once again Cleo could see the outside world.

    "Surprise!" Sophie happily yelled as she pointed towards a massive oak-like tree that towered over the surrounding forest.

    The tree had a thick trunk with grey knobby bark covering its surface and several branches along its exterior that were covered in slender green vines.

    But it was the base of the tree that grabbed Cleo''s attention.

    Arge purple nket had been spread out on the ground beneath the shade of the tall tree and the edges of the fabric had been embroidered using golden threads.

    Now what was on the nket was a massive feast.

    There were dozens of tes, dishes, and bowls each filled with hearty meals, light snacks, and tasty looking deserts.

    Cleo saw grilled vegetables with traces of char still on their exterior, a creamy soup with a thickyer of milk floating gently on top, eggs from an unknown animal done in the ssical scrambled way¡­

    And that was just the tip of the iceberg!

    Beans that had been baked in a red sauce, a mixture of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers all drizzled with a special vinaigrette, chunks of meat that had been well roasted and many more!

    "Babe¡­ what is?" Cleo''s voice trailed off as Sophie wrapped her arms around her lower body and lifted her up in the air.

    The hybrid girl smiled sweetly at the girlfriend and then proceeded to lean forward and gently kiss her lips.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Her tongue slowly entered the young princess'' mouth and began to explore in a slow and sensual manner that took Cleo''s breath away.

    The moment seemed tost forever as Sophie did not want to let go of the girl in her arms. But eventually¡­ she broke off the kiss.

    Cleo appeared to be slightly dazed, and her cheeks were now a bright red colour.

    "I figured that we needed a special pic date," Sophie spoke warmly as she lowered her girlfriend back on the ground.

    "You¡­ you are amazing," Cleo whispered softly as she approached the feast and sat down at the edge of the fabric.

    "I''m¡­ I''m honestly lost for words¡­ thank you¡­"

    Sophieughed and followed her girlfriend''s lead. She sat down next to the princess and leaned over slightly so that their shoulders touched.

    "Come try this!" the hybrid girl enthusiastically spoke as she reached for a nearby bowl that was filled to the brim with warm chocte cookies that were still hot.

    Winged creatures hopped from treetop to treetop as the two young women enjoyed a delightful afternoon in each other''spany.

    "So how did things go with the merchants on Eryndor Prime?" Cleo asked curiously as she reached for a baked pastry with a golden fluffy exterior.

    "Not bad!" Sophie replied happily since she was in quite the good mood.

    "Najet the spice trader has agreed to join House Peterlor as an exclusive merchant on a permanent basis."

    "Lady Arcturus¡­ I got her services but between you and me¡­ looking back on the deal¡­ I may have been a bit too generous."

    "Still, I don''t know what else would have gotten her to agree to have House Peterlor as her sole customer for the foreseeable future."

    "Sometimes you have to lose to win," Cleo shrugged her shoulders as she bit into the pastry and a burst of vour erupted in her mouth.

    The golden ky exterior gave way to a sweet filling made from berries, sugar and a thick purple jam that had a delightful aftertaste.

    "What about the third one? What was his name again? Felnar? The archaeologist guy who specialises in ancient ruins."

    "Yeah, I nned to meet him but when I arrived at the restaurant where we supposed to discuss the arrangement¡­ he was nowhere in sight," Sophie replied nonchntly.

    "Maybe he reconsidered and didn''t even want to have a discussion on the possibility of working for House Peterlor."

    "Still¡­ his loss¡­"

    Screech!

    A loud noise immediately grabbed the attention of both women as they turned in the direction of the sound.

    A small mole-like creature with bright pink skin crawled up from a hole that was hidden behind some thick underbrush.

    The creature sniffed the air a few times when suddenly a dark shadow fell over its body.

    Arge, winged beast dove down from the treetops and snatched up the creature using its razor-sharp talons.

    Screech!

    The mole-like animal cried out once more, but its cries got softer as the winged beast carried it off towards an unknown location.

    "The circle of life," Sophie remarked quietly.

    "The circle of life?" Cleo asked curiously as she heard another saying from her girlfriend that she had never heard before.

    "Oh, it''s just a saying from the ancient Earth era¡­ it refers to the natural cycle where animals live and die in a shared environment," Sophie exined calmly.

    "Predators, prey, scavengers¡­ no matter how big or mighty the animal¡­ eventually all will return to the soil."

 Chapter 749 The Lost Recording

    [Imperial Log- Star date 4134]

    [Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

    The crew are slowly bing restless.

    With every day that passes without sight of a Federation outpost, more are sumbing to despair and anger.

    Dangerous emotions that make it all the more likely that a mutiny will ur.

    Already there have been small arguments between my second inmand Lt. Carter and the leader of the Mendolesa security officers.

    I fear that it is only a matter of time before these tensions finallye to a head.

    Will we ever return home safely?

    I put on a brave face in front of my crew but truthfully, I know that it is unlikely that we will survive this deep space exploration.

    If we had seeded in mapping out this unknown region of space, then we could have all be rich beyond our wildest dreams but¡­

    Life is not made of ifs.

    The reality is that we were in over our heads and too ambitious to realise our limitations.

    I do not believe in any deities.

    There is far too much cruelty and needless suffering in the universe to believe that wise and kind gods exist.

    If they do, then they must be indifferent to the sufferings of mortals.

    Still¡­ if any higher power is somehow watching me and my crew¡­ I will be a devout believer if you manage to get us out of this situation.

    Ha¡­ that''s how bad the situation has be.

    I am now negotiating in my empty cabin room with invisible specters. Well¡­ I suppose I should end the recording here¡­

    .

    .

    .

    [Imperial Log- Star date 4137]

    [Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

    It has been three years since myst recording, and I am still alive. Much has changed since thest time that I recorded my thoughts.

    My crew and I managed to find a seemingly uninhabited that was suitable for life in the nearby gxy.

    A decision was made tond the starship on the and spend a few years here to refuel and take a proper rest.

    We have named this Eden after the famous garden where life begun in the ancient Earth religion of Christianity.

    The itself is a decent ce to life.

    The only forms of life are microorganisms and nts. It does not appear as though animals or intelligent life have evolved yet.

    The atmosphere is within the range of tolerance and the gravity is about the same as the Earth standard so pressurized suits are not required.

    Over the past few months there have been a couple of births. Bringing babies into such a dangerous situation is not a smart idea but I cannot say anything.

    People do not expect to survive so if they have children then perhaps, they will not give up on the thin thread of hope.

    There are still some tensions between the different species onboard my starship but so farnding on this has alleviated some of the conflict.

    In fact, there is a part of me that believes that my crew will eventually not want to leave. Already the engineers are constructing cities that resemble the ones on Gaia.

    There are over three hundred thousand individuals on my starship which is technically more than enough for a gically viable effort to popte this.

    Could we stay here?

    Should we stay here?

    We would give up our efforts to return home and just¡­ settle¡­

    Live out the rest of our lives in peace and perhaps one day our descendants will travel the stars and encounter humanity once more.

    These are questions that I fear that we will eventually have to answer. For the day when we are scheduled to depart draws near.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [Imperial Log- Star date 4138]

    [Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

    We have decided to stay.

    Rather than risk all our lives on a long and perilous journey back to the Federation controlled territories¡­ it is better that we simply remain on this.

    A vote was taken and over eighty percent of my crew voted to remain.

    Engineers will regrly work on the starship''s core to ensure that it remains operational but that will simply be for ast resort.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    For all intents and purposes¡­ this is our new home.

    It is the ce where we will spend the rest of our lives and our children will be one day born into this world never knowing about the civilisation that they belonged to outside of hologram videos.

    Lt. Carter was one of minority who voted to leave this and I had to have a frank discussion with him about the reality of the situation.

    He has a family and a newborn son back home so I understand his concerns, but I cannot prioritise the desires of the few over the needs of the many.

    We have already suffered too many casualties. I refuse to make a decision that would cost the lives of even more of my men.

    Lt. Carter called me a coward.

    Perhaps he is right.

    But I will take on that shameful name if it means that the survivors of my crew will live long and safely.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [Imperial Log- Star date 4138]

    [Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

    The fool.

    Lt. Carter has killed us all.

    This will more than likely be myst and final recording.

    I am cowering in an underground bunker like a cornered rat while I can hear the sounds of my crew being sliced apart and devoured by the monsters thatnded on this.

    They are terrifying enemies.

    They looked human-like but with golden eyes, sharp pointed ears, tall muscr frames and six de-like appendages jutting out of their backs.

    I don''t know what these hideous creatures are but there it is clear that they are nothing more than bloodthirsty monsters.

    Lt. Carter without my permission stole a signal booster from the starship''s warp core room using his authority as the second inmand.

    Then the reckless idiot broadcasted a message for help and amplified it so that the sound waves would travel dozens of light years away from our position.

    Why? Why? Why would he do that?

    There was a reason why starships travelling in unknown regions of space did not broadcast their location.

    And that was for one simple reason. If you revealed your location¡­ someone or something would find you.

    I¡­ fuck¡­ I can hear theme closer¡­

    Bang! Bang!

    Shit¡­ shit¡­ SHIT!

    These creatures are slowly walking towards me. I can hear them giggling and sound of something heavy dragging along the floor.

    These inhuman monsters devour corpses. They see us as sources of protein. A meal for their insatiable appetites.

    I¡­ no¡­

    "GET AWAY!''

    .

    .

    .

    .

    [Imperial Log- Star date 4138]

    [Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

    ...

    ...¡­

    ......¡­

    .

    .

    .

    [No Audio Has Been Detected]

    [Entering Power Save Mode]

 Chapter 750 A Good Friend

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Zrudread University- Main Campus)

    "Bio-engineered viruses is a field of study which is quite¡­ controversial to say the least," Professor Macabre calmly exined.

    "However, the Imperial Army has approved of mass usage during times of war. It must be noted that viruses are especially effective when tailored made to affect a certain alien species."

    "A deadly gue to the Mendolesa race for instance may have little to no effect on humans or Servies."

    "Quafes are organisms made from liquid biomass, so they are immune to most viruses."

    The poison cultivation professor pointed at the board and waved her hand. The screen changed to disy a scene straight out of a horror movie.

    A group of furry bipedal creatures with long thick fur could be seen scratching furiously at their necks that were covered in ugly reddish bumps.

    Some of the bumps burst under their fearsome scratching and ck blood mixed with foul looking pus leaked out of the open wounds.

    Quite a few students looked away since they were unable to stomach the awful sight. Sophie narrowed her eyes and felt a trace of disgust but continued to pay attention.

    She had seen worse horrors¡­

    Professor Macabre waited for a moment to let the weight of the situation sink in and then opened her mouth to exin the image,

    "The Wornern were the natives of Xal''thern. They were a fearsome race of warriors that gave the Federation quite some trouble during the initial years of Interster expansion."

    "An imperial officer Commander Ryker decided to unleash a gically modified virus and the war that hadsted for two hundred years ended in just five."

    "Over ny seven percent of the Wornern poption died due to illness and the survivors wereter hunted down and executed by Imperial forces."

    "Now you can see why viruses¡­"

    The lecture went on for a few more hours and Sophie wrote down notes the entire time.

    She appreciated that Professor Macabre did not try to sugar coat the situation and portray the Federation as the ''good guys''.

    Truthfully all empires and united civilisations that spanned multiple gxies did so by conquering.

    Diplomacy was hard to aplish between different species of varying levels of intellect and civilisation.

    And more importantly¡­ diplomacy was only an option if both sides were interested in finding a peaceful resolution.

    Sophie jotted down some study tips in the corner of her notepad. These were just quick bullet points that she would review before an exam.

    Despite being a void stage cultivator, Sophie was not arrogant.

    She still worked hard and maintained her position at the top of the second years in both practical and theoretical areas.

    Ring! Ring!

    There was a buzzing noise and Professor Macabre stopped talking. She pressed a button on her wristmunicator and the screen behind her powered off.

    "Already ss that''s all for today¡­ if you have any questions then I will be in my private room on the third floor," Professor Macabre spoke calmly.

    She adjusted her whiteb coat and then left the room with quiet steps. Sophie tidied up her desk and ced her books inside of her storage bag.

    "So, what did you think about that lecture?" a high-pitched voice asked curiously.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw a Servie girl hovering right behind her.

    "It was pretty informative," Sophie replied quietly.

    "Didn''t expect to get such a graphic history lesson but it makes sense that Professor Macabre wants to show us the effects of man-made viruses before we do the practicalbs."

    "Yeah¡­ but girl¡­ did you see those wounds¡­ urghhh¡­ I almost threw up," Celestia ced a hand on her forehead and dramatically sighed.

    Despite her words there was no trace of difort on her face.

    Honestly there were some asions when Sophie admired her friend''s ability to not care about anything around her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Celestia pped her translucent wings andnded on top of Sophie''s head.

    She sat down in a cross-legged position and grabbed a few loose strands of hair to prevent herself from falling off.

    "You free right now?" Celestia askedzily.

    "Yeah, I got two hours before my next lecture, so I was nning on taking a walk to the promenade and rxing," Sophie responded in an even tone as she walked out of the ssroom.

    "So¡­ on a happier note¡­ guess who got a new boyfriend this weekend!" Celestia squealed in excitement as she grabbed Sophie''s hair even tighter.

    "Oh congrattions. What number is it now? Four? Five?" Sophie teased lightly as she stifled herughter.

    "You bitch!" Celestia joked as she stomped her feet on her friend''s scalp.

    "I think this one is a keeper¡­ he is dreamy, handsome, smart, dreamy, really funny, the perfect man, dreamy¡­"

    "You said dreamy three times¡­ I get it he''s good looking," Sophie rolled her eyes as she listened to her friend''s chattering.

    She had gotten surprisingly close to Celestia during this semester.

    They had not hung out much outside of lectures but on the few asions that they did, Sophie thoroughly enjoyed herpany.

    "And best of all¡­" Celestia''s voice lowered to a mere whisper as she looked around to see if anyone was paying attention.

    "He''s hung like a¡­"

    "Okay! Did not need to know that!" Sophie interrupted her immediately as she raised up her hands in mock surrender.

    She wasn''t even going to address how the hell that would work in the bedroom considering that Celestia was at most only ten inches in height.

    The Servie girl wriggled her eyebrows and suggestively winked. Sophie shook her head as she stepped outside the science building.

    It was a chilly day today.

    The leaves on the trees nearby were turning brown to announce the start of the autumn season. Sophie exhaled slowly and a faint white mist escaped her mouth.

    "What are you staring at? You never seen two beauties before?" Celestia snapped at a student who stopped in his tracks and was looking at Sophie.

    The boy turned bright red and stammered out an excuse before turning and quickly walking away as if he was being chased.

    "I don''t know how you get used to those stares," Celestia remarked angrily.

    "I hate that people will just stop whatever they are doing and either look at you or try and take photos."

    "Well¡­ I am basically a celebrity on campus¡­ it''s not something that I enjoy but at this point I''m used to it," Sophie exined as she walked along a stone path.

    "I''ve been getting strange looks since I was a kid¡­ being a hybrid and all so this is all nothing new to me."

    "That still doesn''t make it right¡­" Celestia grumbled as she made a funny face at a pair of girls with their wristmunicators pointed in their direction.

    "Snap a picture of this!"

    The Servie girl raised up her tiny right hand and held up her middle finger. Sophie couldn''t see what her friend was doing but knew that it couldn''t be anything good.

    She picked up the pace and soon made a sharp turn.

    A few hundred metres away she could see a raised deck with several tables made from marble and wooden benches around the tables.

    There was arge structure behind the promenade, it was an enormous chimney-shaped statue covered in moss, vines and beautiful purple flowers that gave off a sugary sweet scent.

    Fortunately, there were only a handful of students hanging out on the deck, so Sophie found an empty seat and sat down.

    "So did you hear?" Celestia spoke up as she jumped off Sophie''s head andnded on the table with a flourish.

    "The ceremony to choose the next emperor will officially begin next week!"

 Chapter 751 Preparations For The Opening Ceremony

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex)

    "Move! Move! Move!"

    "Come on we need the decorations in the hall yesterday!"

    "Amelia and Keira! I want you two to handle the meal preparation. Contact all the finest chefs on Gaia and reserve their services!"

    There was an air of desperation and busyness as thousands of servants rushed to and from the numerous pces that made up the Imperial Housing Complex.

    The ceremony to select the future leader of the Human side of the Federation was going to take ce in a week''s time.

    Of course, the actual event was to be held on the Cerulean Prime, but the opening ceremony was going to be hosted here.

    This was an event that would ur once in every tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years.

    Thete Emperor Sisrelis for instance had ruled over five hundred thousand years before his untimely and unexpected death.

    Not that the servants would ever speak of it.

    What thete Emperor had done had badly damaged the reputation of the Imperial Family.

    All who worked in the pce knew about the incident as did much of the Federation due to the magnitude of the event and those who were affected.

    It was impossible to shut the mouths of a group of the most powerful nobles in the upper echelons of society especially when they had lost their heirs.

    But for the ordinary workers of the pce¡­ they could not say a word if they wanted to keep their jobs or more importantly¡­ their necks.

    A dapper looking elderly gentleman wearing a ck tuxedo strode into the dining hall and looked around to see how the setting up of the decorations was going.

    This elderly man had been employed by the Imperial Family for over three hundred years. His name was Chen Wei.

    Chen Wei had gone from a humble butler to one of the core operations managers responsible for the day-to-day affairs of certain sections of the pce.

    It was a position that demanded a great deal of hard work, long hours and time spent away from his family.

    But it was all worth it.

    Luxurious crystalline chandeliers hung from the ceiling, statues carved in the likeliness of past emperors and empresses were scattered across the hall and there were other pieces of art as well.

    "Have the guest invitations been sent out?" Chen Wei asked a woman dressed in a low-cut grey business suit.

    "Yes sir!" the woman quickly replied.

    "Only the high noble families have been invited to the opening ceremony and most have expressed interest in attending."

    "So far only a handful of duchies have declined, and I believe that it is because they wish to remain neutral."

    "But sir¡­"

    The woman''s voice trailed off as she looked around the hall to see if anyone was listening before taking a few steps closer.

    "Who do you think will be the next¡­" she began to speak but the Chen Wei quickly cut her off by raising up his right hand.

    "Do not speak of such matters. We will simply serve the new master of the Imperial Family if he or she chooses to continue to employ our services," he replied calmly.

    He reached into his pocket for a smooth metalloid tablet and pulled up the document regarding the list of locations that he needed to inspect.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Keep up the good work," Chen Wei said to the woman before walking away towards the western section of the pce.

    Despite his words, he was also curious about who would be the next leader of the Imperial Family since his keeping his job would depend on the goodwill of the new monarch.

    Rumors had already begun to travel and most agreed that the crown prince would be the safest bet to ascend the throne.

    But Chen Wei wasn''t so sure.

    The past session ceremonies to choose the next leader of the Imperial Family rarely ended with the favourite contender as the winner.

    There were just too many factors to consider.

    In a life and death struggle the person with the higher cultivation level was not always guaranteed to win against those below them.

    Well¡­ there was nothing he could do except make sure that everything went smoothly at the opening ceremony and then take things one day at a time.

    Chen Wei wandered through the numerous halls, corridors, and side passageways until he arrived at the western wing of the castle.

    The opening ceremony was a two-day affair so the nobles taking part would have to rest in one of the many avable guest rooms.

    The amodations would all be luxurious but of course the best rooms would go to the high nobles and their associates.

    Chen Wei knocked on one of the doors and it was opened by a beautiful maid wearing an elegant ck dress.

    "Sir! I have finished cleaning!" the maid saluted as she gestured for the elderly man to step inside. Chen Wei nodded his head and then entered the room.

    This wing was reserved for viscounts and counts, so the space wasrge but not too spacious. It was around the size of a two-bedroom apartment.

    There were three beds, a small hot tub in the corner of the room, a kitchen, two bathrooms and a private study area.

    The floors were covered in an expensive fur carpet made from the wool of an endangered species of gically modified hounds from the Andromeda Gxy.

    Chen Wei walked around the room and carefully examined every nook and cranny to make sure that nothing was out of ce.

    "Good job," he finally turned to the maid and spoke.

    "But¡­ why are you wearing that?"

    "The high nobles are assigned personal maids and butlers to look after their needs, so I volunteered to be one of the servants," the maid replied cheerfully.

    "Are you sure? Some nobles do not treat servants¡­ well¡­" Chen Wei''s voice trailed off and he left certain words unspoken.

    A young and beautiful maid was the prime target for one of those lustful nobles or aristocrats who were jealous of her beauty.

    "I''m sure!" the maid replied firmly as she curled up her fingers into a tight fist. If she could attract the attention of an upper-ss noble, then she would be set for life.

    Even if she was only a mistress¡­ that would be more than enough. Better yet¡­ if she could get pregnant with a child¡­

    Her friend Angelica was given a nk cheque of one million Enas to raise the daughter of a count who had an affair with her when he was staying in the Imperial Pce.

    She was now living in a luxury home on the coast of Virvedean Beach and no longer had to work for the rest of her life.

    Chen Wei sighed heavily as he saw the greedy emotions surfacing in the young maid''s eyes.

    Getting involved with nobles¡­ rarely ended well.

 Chapter 752 Sophie The Pirate Queen?

    ?

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

    "We have maintained our neutrality until now¡­ I see no reason to change," Sophie spoke quietly as she sipped on a ss of wine.

    "I agree with Count Xeron that the crown prince appears to be the favourite but there is no guarantee that he will be the eventual winner."

    "Anything can happen during the selection ceremony."

    "Supporting a candidate does have some advantages but it is a gamble," Duke Braveheart chimed in from the other side of the screen.

    "Prince Theseus¡­ he has already won the support of several noble factions as well as numerous financial organisations¡­ I fear that his ascension is all but confirmed," Marchioness Drena dryly spoke.

    A white cat strode into view and jumped on the shoulder of the elderly woman. The marchioness raised up her wrinkled hand and lightly touched her pet''s fur.

    "I still believe that we should at least send him a gift or offering of goodwill," a portly middle-aged man confidently spoke.

    Sophie leaned back in her chair and quietly listened as other nobles decided to speak up about their opinions.

    The selection ceremony would take ce in a week''s time. The entire noble society was in a frenzy and rightfully so.

    Choosing a new leader of the Imperial Family would have enormous social, political, and economic effects.

    And these effects would be longsting.

    Many a noble family had disappeared into the annals of history by making the mistake of choosing the wrong side.

    The hybrid girl ced the ss of wine on the table next to her and focused her attention back on the floating holographic screen.

    "Prince Theseus does not appear to be on the side of our cause," Sophie spoke seriously, and the other voices fell silent.

    "Of course, should he win then we will need to discuss countermeasures but for now it is important that we wait and see."

    "The momentum of the hybrid rights movement is getting stronger, so we do have the popce feeling slightly supportive."

    "I agree with Duchess Peterlor. We should present a united front of neutrality to avoid being drawn into any unnecessary conflicts," Viscount Adrien quietly spoke.

    The meeting continued for several more hours.

    Sophie maintained a calm and collected expression but the minute it ended¡­ she let out a heavy sigh.

    The hybrid girl raised up her fingers to her temples and rubbed them gently. It was now three or four in the morning.

    Fuck¡­ she was tired.

    It was exhausting dealing with the many responsibilities that came with inheriting an upper-ss noble family.

    Especially having to deal with the selection ceremony, an event that was to put it lightly¡­ a massive headache.

    Sophie reached for the ss of wine and took another sip. The bitter crimson liquid slid down her throat and left a sweetish aftertaste.

    "Why are you still up babe?" Sophie called out as she heard some shuffling around in the hallway just outside the room.

    "I keep forgetting your senses are so incredible," Cleoughed yfully as she walked into the room and sat on her girlfriend''sp.

    She leaned forward and captured Sophie''s lips in a soft and lingering kiss that seemed tost for an eternity.

    "How did it go?" Cleo asked curiously as she broke away from the kiss.

    "Well¡­ better than I expected. There were a few people who wanted to throw our lot in with the crown prince, but I managed to convince them not to," Sophie repliedzily.

    "I sincerely hope that he does not be the next leader. You saw what happened thest time we met¡­ he knows that I am part Insectoid."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "He doesn''t have any proof, but I am not na?ve enough to believe that willst forever. Maybe it is only a matter of time before my identity is exposed."

    Sophie sighed heavily as she felt an enormous weight pressing down on her body. She felt worried about the future.

    Her Insectoid Heritage was a secret that had to remain buried at least for the foreseeable future.

    The Earth Federation and the Insectoid Empire were still at war and her political enemies would jump at the chance to im that she was a traitor.

    Hell¡­ she might even lose the support of her father''s allies if her secret became exposed.

    "Don''t think like that," Cleo gentlyforted her girlfriend as she raised up her hand and lovingly touched the side of her face.

    "If the Federation turns on you then we can run away together¡­ I heard the outer rim quadrant is quite lovely."

    "Well¡­ we will have to deal withwlessness and pirates but that''s never stopped us before. We can be Interster Pirate Queens!"

    "Oh?" Sophie raised an eyebrow and smirked wickedly as she stood up from the chair and lifted up Cleo in her arms.

    "And what if I was the pirate queen and you were my helpless captive¡­"

    Cleo blushed as she saw the edges of Sophie''s golden eyes slowly turn into a light pinkish hue. The hybrid girl tilted her face downwards and lightly kissed the side of her girlfriend''s neck.

    "Why don''t we take this upstairs?" Sophie seductively purred as her hands roamed around Cleo''s body and gave her ass a gentle squeeze.

    "Please! Let me go you brute!" Cleo acted along but her struggling appeared unnatural as if she did not want to really escape.

    Sophieughed and then rushed towards the bedroom.

    She used her long legs to cross multiple stairs in one step and soon arrived at the main bedroom doors.

    She stepped inside and then roughly tossed Cleo on the bed. Her girlfriend shrieked in surprise as Sophie slowly began to remove her dress to reveal her voluptuous body.

    Her nipples were already hard and the hungry look on her face was enough to cause Cleo''s thighs to rub together.

    "I see I have captured an innocent littledy," Sophie growled darkly as she slowly approached the bed and used her palms to tear off Cleo''s clothes.

    "Stop it! Do you know who I am?! I am a princess!" Cleo protested angrily but used her free hand to slowly unbutton her blouse.

    "A princess? My¡­ I haven''t tasted one in years¡­" Sophie giggled softly as she pulled off Cleo''s pants and shifted her underwear to the side.

    "What are you¡­ Fuck!" Cleo''s voice ended with a scream as her girlfriend extended her tongue and hungrily began top at her pussy.

    Cleo reached for Sophie''s head and pulled her hungry mouth closer to the object of her obsession.

    Sophie allowed herself to be handled and secretly enjoyed the feeling of her lover''s fingers running through her hair.

    The princess moaned in ecstasy as Sophie began to softly lick and circle the outer edges of herbia.

    Soon her tongue was exploring every single inch of Cleo''s pink flesh which caused her girlfriend to scream in pleasure.

    Sophie stretched out her hand and lightly yed and twisted Cleo''s nipples causing the sensitive girl to see stars.

    She continued her unrelenting assault until Cleo cried out loudly and a wave of fluids shot out and covered her face.

    Sophie raised up her face and looked her girlfriend directly in her eyes.

    Cleo''s chest was rising slowly, and she desperately tried to breathe as she recovered from her orgasms.

    "Now my sweet little princess," Sophie purred as she crawled up the bed and lightly brushed her nipples against Cleo''s breasts.

    "Why don''t you return the favour?"

 Chapter 753 Countermeasures And Plans

    ?

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Xeron City- Little Mouse Caf¨¦)

    "A private room for two please," Sophie gently spoke.

    The waiter nodded and then gestured towards the back of the restaurant where the private rooms were located.

    Little Mouse Caf¨¦ was a high-end restaurant very popr with the upper-ss students and those who had the means to afford one of the many pricey dishes on the menu.

    Sophie followed the waiter while Qiana walked slowly behind her with quiet steps. The waiter opened the door to a private room and then stepped away.

    Qiana went inside first and saw a very cozy environment.

    Arge wooden table had been ced in the centre of the room with benches covered in soft cushions on either side.

    A small flickering candle hung from the chandelier on the ceiling and the roaring firece in the corner of the room provided enough light for a pleasant atmosphere.

    Qiana sat down on the left side bench while Sophie entered the room. The hybrid girl closed the door behind her with a soft click and then sat on the bench opposite to Qiana.

    "It''s been quite some time since west hung out together¡­ just you and me," Sophie remarked as she stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.

    "Yeah¡­ I mean we do have our Friday meetups but that is more of a group setting than a one on one," Qiana replied with a smile.

    "But I''m sure you didn''t invite me here today just for some small talk."

    "Ha! Nothing can get past you," Sophie teased lightly as she picked up the electronic menu on the table.

    She browsed the different options on the menu before settling for a lightly pickled and then fried fish covered in butter and herbs.

    It came with a side of either roasted potatoes or a root-like vegetable sd made from nts native to Eleron.

    Hmm¡­ adventure orfort?

    Sophie rubbed her chin softly and then decided on just going for the roasted potatoes. It was always better to order what you liked.

    Especially when you had to pay such high prices¡­

    Two thousand Enas just for a piece of fish and a potato?

    Geez¡­ that fish bettere battered with gold¡­

    Meanwhile Qiana reached into her pocket and pulled out a small metalloid device that was orb shaped.

    She pressed a button on the side of the orb and a glowing green light was emitted from a small opening.

    This light swept the room multiple times before making a soft beeping noise.

    Qiana then pulled out another device and Sophie could feel her skin slightly tingling under the electric field.

    "Good¡­ there were no bugs or listening devices and I set up a local maic disruption field," Qiana calmly spoke as she ced the second device next to the first.

    "I was just about to do the same¡­ but err¡­ how are we going to order now? Using the tablets won''t send any information to the kitchen," Sophie replied while stifling augh.

    Qiana blushed as she realised her mistake. Sophie chuckled lightly and then turned to a more serious conversation topic.

    "Well, we might as well discuss the important matters first and then we can eat," Sophie''s voice lowered to a mere whisper.

    "Are you going to the Session Ceremony?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I believe so¡­ but my father is just waiting for the other noble families in our alliance toe to a decision," Qiana replied with furrowed eyebrows.

    "I do understand why it is important to show up but¡­ I do not look forward to entering that den of poisonous vipers."

    A den of poisonous vipers.

    Sophie found herself agreeing with Qiana''s choice of words.

    The upper-ss aristocrat society was nothing more than a yground for those with too much power and wealth.

    Smiling faces while a dagger plunged into your back, alliances forged one day and then broken in the next, high self-esteem and even higher egos¡­

    And that was before even mentioning ckmail, crimes, warring factions, hostile families and forced political marriages.

    If Sophie was given a choice, then she would never step foot in that world of debauchery and chaos.

    But as the leader of House Peterlor¡­ she had no choice.

    She needed to at least be familiar with the political game in order to ensure her family''s survival among the serpents.

    Sophie opened her mouth and said the thoughts that were on her mind, "I do agree with you, but we have no other choice."

    "It is one matter to not pick a side and be neutral and another topletely ignore the ceremony to choose the next leader of the Imperial Family."

    "Regardless of who wins¡­ there will be gossip about our fearfulness if we choose not to show up and disy our presence."

    "The Human Supremacy faction may be weakening but there are many nobles who share simr sentiments."

    "We must continue to project strength to make sure that they do not act upon their beliefs."

    Qiana nodded thoughtfully at her friend''s words. It would be a mistake to assume victory before the war had been won.

    "But speaking of the winner¡­ I know we are neutral, but do you have someone who you want to be the next leader?" Qiana asked curiously.

    "Ideally I would want someone who is fair and just or at the very least able to make policy changes that are popr with both nobles and the general public," Sophie replied slowly.

    "But in terms of a name¡­ I don''t have anyone. I have been reading up on the profiles of the top contenders and they each have ws that make them unsuitable for leadership."

    "At the very least¡­ I just want the crown prince not to win."

    "Prince Theseus? Most informationworks and betting sites have him as the eventual winner with pretty decent odds," Qiana remarked as she leaned back against her chair.

    "I''m not surprised. He possesses a high cultivation level and has been forming key alliances with powerful noble factions and various financial corporations," Sophie responded with a frown.

    "The issue is that I do not believe that he will be an ally for hybrid rights. Besides¡­ I suspect that he may see me as his enemy in the near future."

    The mood in the room lowered as Sophie finished her sentence. The truth of the matter was that she was worried.

    She was very worried.

    Prince Theseus bing the next leader of the Imperial Family would be bad news for her on a personal level.

    Unlike the previous monarch, he was quite popr and had already ingrained himself in several key noble families.

    If he started to target House Peterlor, there may not be a bacsh. In fact, some nobles may quietly support him hoping to get a piece of the spoils.

    Sophie let out a small sigh as she rubbed her temples and thought about what countermeasures to put in ce.

 Chapter 754 Theories About Time Travel

    ?

    (Hydra Star System- Eleron)

    (Archmage Hollystorm''s Tower- Unknown Location)

    "This is so boring¡­" Astrid muttered under her breath as she opened up yet another heavy tome and coughed violently as a cloud of dust wafted upwards from the ancient pages.

    You would think that an archmage would cast a cleaning spell to make sure that his books were free from dust but¡­ nope.

    Astrid suspected that he did it on purpose to make sure that she stayed awake during her study time.

    Her hypothesis was evidenced by the fact that the books were dusty but somehow all perfectly undamaged.

    And somehow even if she casted a cleaning spell¡­ the dust would still remain as if it was locked in ce until she opened the books.

    The Mendolesa girl sighed again as she read the pages in front of her. This tome was about the theory of quantum locking and the implications of time-spatial disruption.

    It was all dreadfully dull.

    Complex equations, theories and the opinions of long dead mages and theoretical physicists filled the page.

    Apparently, it was possible to travel in time using a certain spatial spell but not in the way that one would think.

    Travelling through time would create a parallel timeline where your actions in your new reality would not affect the original one.

    Therefore, after interfering with the timestream there were some mages who chose not to go back and preferred to live in a reality where they had changed major events to their liking.

    It sounded pretty awful when you thought about it.

    Entire new realities subject to the whims of mages who came bearing knowledge of the future.

    Astrid absentmindedly wondered if she would ever try this spell. Maybe if one of her loved ones died?

    But even then¡­ the people she would visit would not be the originals. They would be copies created by the time maniption aspect of the spell.

    All of these theories made her head hurt.

    Astrid''s tail drooped downwards as she ced the heavy tome down on the table and slowly got up from her chair.

    She needed to stretch her legs.

    The Mendolesa girl wandered around the library past the massive shelves that were filled with an endless sea of books as far as the eye could see.

    Artificial sunlight streamed in through holes in the ceiling and the entire ce smelled quite pleasant.

    Astrid headed for the ''rxing area'' as she dubbed it and crashed down on one of the foamy intable chairs.

    This area had not originally been in the library. In fact, she had to beg her master several times before he reluctantly agreed to add it.

    Astrid''s body sank slightly into the foamy chair, and she felt a great deal of tension wash off her shoulders.

    It was hard not be feel stressed thesest couple of days.

    Especially considering that her girlfriend and her two good friends were heading off to the selection ceremony to pick the next leader of the Imperial Family.

    Astrid furrowed her brows as she remembered the conversation that she had with Qianast night.

    Well¡­ conversation was putting it mildly.

    It was sort of an argument¡­ one of the few major ones between the pair.

    Astrid wanted toe along to the selection ceremony, but Qiana had refused. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Apparently only human nobles were invited to attend along with their engaged or married partners.

    So, Astrid suggested that she could propose but Qiana said that she did not want to be proposed to in such a rushed manner.

    Long story short¡­ they had spent the morning ignoring each other.

    The Mendolesa girl ced her paw on her forehead and let out another sigh. She was worried about her girlfriend''s safety.

    The Mendolesa race for better or for worse were a fairly straightforward species and their politics did not have verbal sparring, treachery, and deceit.

    Now that was not say that there were no assholes, and everyone lived in peace but rather that feuds were left out in the open and settled with fists not diplomacy.

    Humans on the other hand¡­ well¡­ they possessed cunning that was part of the reason why the Federation was so sessful.

    And that trait was a double-edged sword.

    Humanity''s cunning was a terrible weapon that could be wielded against their enemies¡­ or their allies.

    Astrid clicked her tongue and then stood up. She tilted her wristmunicator upwards and began to write out a message to her girlfriend.

    There was no point in continuing this cold war and she was prepared to be the bigger person and apologise first.

    It was the mature and responsible thing to do.

    Buzz! Buzz!

    Qiana: [Hey¡­ I''m sorry that I lost my temper earlier¡­ I know you just want to protect me, and I love you¡­]

    Qiana: [Have a good day]

    "Damn! She beat me to it!" Astrid eximed in shock as she quickly typed out a reply and pressed send.

    The good thing about their arguments is that they rarelysted for longer than a day and both parties would usually apologise once they cooled down.

    Rtionships were all about healthymunication.

    Well at least that''s the Virtual Net said when Astrid looked up tips on how to keep her girlfriend happy.

    The Mendolesa girl smiled as she chatted with Qiana for a few minutes before powering off her wristmunicator.

    She headed back to the table where she had stacked an enormous pile of books with a spring in her steps.

    She was still worried, but she knew that her girlfriend was not some damsel in distress and could take care of herself.

    And she would be with Sophie and Cleo so hopefully the three of them would look out for each other during the selection ceremony.

    Astrid hummed softly as she pulled out the chair next to the table and sat down. She reached for the book that she had been reading before and turned the page.

    ''The problem with these new unstable realities is that they copse eventually¡­ it may take a few weeks¡­ it may take years or even decades, but it will happen.''

    ''The mages who remain in these unstable timelines will also perish along with the rest of the universe that they inhabit.''

    ''For those who escape however¡­ most go mad. It is difficult to go from a perfect idealised reality back to the original timeline.''

    ''Some activate the spell again and¡­''

    ''They try to go back in time, trapping themselves in a never-ending loop where they create their perfect world only for the timeline to copse and the process to begin all over again...''

 Chapter 755 Being Prepared For Tomorrow

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex- Unnamed Side Pce)

    Sophie strode forward confidently as she stepped inside one of the many pces that made up the Imperial Complex where the royal family and their direct descendants lived.

    The multiple servants escorting her tried their best not to stare. They did not want to offend one of the most powerful young nobles in the Federation.

    Today was Saturday¡­ tomorrow would be the opening ceremony and then the selection trial would begin the following week.

    Sophie did not reveal a hint of weakness in her demeanor but internally she was anything but calm.

    She hated being in this ce.

    It reminded her of the day when she had been sent to the Unovan Syndicate due to the teleportation rune.

    That was not a pleasant memory.

    Being here¡­ she could remember it all. The feeling of confusion and terror as the mad emperor cackled with glee.

    The glowing light¡­ grabbing Lily tightly¡­ not knowing what was going to happen¡­

    Sometime her thoughts would wander to just how lucky she had been to somehow manage to survive the ordeal.

    The random nature of the teleportation meant that there was a very high chance that she could have ended up like the other heirs who were sent straight into the vacuum of space.

    And during her many battles in the Unovan Syndicate¡­ there was plenty of times when she could have easily died.

    No¡­ don''t think like that¡­ calm yourself down¡­

    "Are you all to be my personal servants for the duration of my stay?" Sophie asked calmly as she turned around and shot a nce at the group following closely behind her.

    "Yes Duchess Peterlor," a middle-aged maid wearing a long and elegant ck dress bowed her head politely.

    There were five servants in total. Three maids of varying ages and two elderly butlers wearing long ck overcoats.

    These servants were professionals, but Sophie could still smell the faint scent of fear wafting off their bodies.

    She terrified them¡­ or perhaps they were scared of nobles in general.

    As servants in the Imperial Complex, they probably dealt with their fair share of unpleasant nobles and arrogant aristocrats who saw themselves as better than everyone else.

    "You can rx," Sophie spoke quietly as she walked through a long and winding corridor towards the master bedroom.

    "As long as you follow my orders¡­ I do not intend to cause you all any unnecessary stress or trouble."

    "Yes master," one of the butlers bowed his head but the tense expression on his face did not change despite her words.

    Sophie let out a light sigh under her breath as she realised that merely talking would be useless in calming down her new servants.

    Well, all she could do was make her actions speak louder than her words.

    The hybrid girl walked forward confidently while stopping to nce at the paintings on the walls or the statues along the corridors.

    Nobles with the ranks of duchess or dukes were treated the best.

    They were assigned entire pces to themselves while other nobles would need to share rooms in the same wing of a castle.

    It was unfair but that was the nature of a strict hierarchical society. Sophie''s footsteps slowed down as one painting in particr caught her attention.

    On the canvas, an artist had painted the scene of a woman in a scarlet dress holding her face in her hands and weeping tears of blood.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The tears slowly dripped down her arms and turned into silk which then flowed into the dress causing her to look even more beautiful.

    "Who painted this?" Sophie asked curiously as she approached the painting to get a better look.

    "Mydy¡­ that painting was a famous work done by the artist Jean-Luc, he gifted it as a present to the former upier of this pce," the oldest maid replied immediately.

    "The painting¡­ it has a bit of a history¡­"

    "Oh¡­ do tell?" Sophie as she examined the painting and admired the delicate brushwork. Clearly this was abour of both hard work, dedication, and love.

    "Yes¡­ um¡­ Jean- Luc and the concubine of this pce had an affair¡­ the emperor was not happy and expelled her from the Imperial Family," the oldest maid hesitantly spoke.

    "She lives now with the painter in some backwater colony in the Hydra Star System."

    Ahh¡­ a forbidden love.

    There was one main problem with having arge harem of a thousand plus women and that was the fact that it was physically impossible to spend enough time with each of them.

    And obviously if you weren''t spending time with your partner¡­ it was very easier for your partner(s) to find someone else willing to give them attention.

    Sophie would not be surprised to find out if thete Emperor Sisrelis had gotten cucked many times by all the women whom he had bedded once and then forgotten.

    The hybrid girl stifled theugh that was threatening to burst out of her mouth. She tightened her lips into a thin smile and then proceeded to walk away from the painting.

    The pce that she had been assigned to was quite nice.

    The floors were covered in expensive fabric carpets, the walls shone with a golden luster and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

    Honestly¡­ it was a little bit too much. The sheer disy of opulence and wealth was almost¡­ gaudy in a way.

    At least the interior of the pce was very clean, and Sophie spotted androids walking around the pce and clearing away all the dust and filth.

    Finally, after ten minutes of more walking Sophie arrived at arge set of heavy doors with golden engravings carved onto its wooden surface.

    "You may leave now," Sophie gently ordered the servants who nodded their heads in acknowledgement and then retreated.

    The young duchess ced her fingers around the doorknob and slowly turned. The heavy doors swung open with not even a single creak or noise.

    Inside was the master bedroom.

    An enormous space the size of a concert hall with multiple beds, an indoor pool, two bathrooms, a private spa, and other luxurious amenities.

    Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out a small ball-shaped metalloid device. Now perhaps this was unnecessary but old habits died hard.

    She pressed a button on the side of the device and a green light was emitted from several holes along the device''s exterior.

    The hybrid girl wandered around the room while carefully scanning for any listening devices or bugs.

    Nothing.

    Well, that made sense considering that an upper-ss noble finding a listening device in their assigned room would be extremely insulted.

    Sophie turned off the device and then sent over a quick message to Cleo. Her girlfriend was on ater spaceflight and would be arriving in the afternoon.

    Sophie wanted them to go together but Cleo had to do an assignment for her mech controller ss, so she had to leave a little bitte.

    The hybrid girl chatted with her girlfriend for a bit and then made her way over to the bathroom to take a shower.

    Tomorrow was an important day and she needed to look her best.

 Chapter 756 An Unnerving Display

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex- Main Throne Room)

    The atmosphere waspletely silent save for the soft melody that apanied the men and women walking into the throne room.

    The grand hall had been thoroughly cleaned and polished until one could see their own reflection on the golden floor.

    Large statues of dragons were scattered across the room and the colours of the imperial family a brilliant purple mixed with traces of gold could been seen on the banners that hung on the walls.

    At the end of the hall was a raised tform. On the tform with a simple throne made from iron and steel.

    The throne was in and uninteresting.

    No extra materials. No ornaments or decorations.

    Nothing.

    This throne had been carved in the likeness of the first throne used by the Imperial Family. Back during the era when humanity was still finding its footing in the universe.

    During those early years of the Federation, humanity was surrounded by enemies both from outside and within.

    Racial tensions were high between the various species that made up the Federation once the Draxi Empire had crumbled.

    The Servie Rebellion¡­ the Mendolesa Uprising¡­ the Quafes Independence movement... Humanity''s expansionist ideals¡­

    The Earth Federation may have seemed like an inevitability now but at the beginning there was a very real threat that the races that made up the alliance would go their separate ways.

    At that time the first leader of the Imperial Family a woman by the name of Empress Qlpatra Sisrelis stood tall and restored order.

    She united humanity behind a single cause and sought out peace treaties with the other species of the Federation.

    She yed an important role in maintaining diplomatic ties and is often credited as one of the key founders of the Earth Federation.

    Her nickname was the ''Unbroken'' and her throne reflected her stubborn personality.

    Sophie nced at the throne and then turned to her girlfriend who watched the proceedings with a neutral look on her face.

    The nobles in the throne room were separated into two halves with one group on the right and another on the left.

    There was a wide pathway in the middle of the groups that led directly to the throne.

    Several masked figures wearing in white clothes entered the hall and approached the throne with slow but methodical steps.

    The entire process of choosing the next leader of the Imperial Family was steeped in tradition and cultural practices.

    From the opening ceremony to the final selection¡­ order must be maintained and there was a specific chain of events which had to be carefully adhered to.

    No one dared to make a fuss.

    Especially considering that the guardian of the Imperial Family was quietly standing behind the throne and watching the entire proceedings.

    An Ascension stage cultivator.

    A person with the power to wipe out entires and was treated as a national weapon.

    No interster empire would dare to use them in war because unleashing one would guarantee mutually assured destruction if the other side also possessed a cultivator of that level.

    The masked figures stepped up to the iron throne and then proceeded to take out knives from their robes.

    The melody filling up the hall suddenly shifted to a more violent tune.

    There was not hesitation in the masked figures movements as they lifted up their hands and then proceeded to slit their wrists.

    Crimson red blood sttered on the throne and the liquid was somehow absorbed into the material.

    The masked figures'' once white robes were now stained with blood. Their hands glowed slightly and then the wounds closed.

    A healing technique?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Sophie narrowed her eyes and tried to get a better look.

    She saw the flesh on their wrists stitch back together as if the wounds had not existed in the first ce.

    Not even a single scar remained.

    The masked figures then formed a single line and walked out of the room with slow and unhurried steps.

    "That was pretty creepy," Cleo whispered softly.

    Sophie lightly touched her girlfriend on her arm and shot her a small smile.

    They were not the only ones unnerved by the strange sight and several other nobles muttered quietly amongst themselves.

    The doors leading to the grand hall swung open again and this time a steady stream of women wearing expensive clothes stepped into the room.

    The former emperor''s concubines and wives. This was just a small fraction of the total number but there were at least three hundred women.

    Each held a single white rose in their palms.

    Sophie had to admit that the emperor had good taste because of each of these women was an outstanding beauty.

    The first woman approached the iron throne and muttered a few words before cing the white rose on the seat.

    She stepped back and then walked out of the room with her head held high. There was no trace of sadness in her eyes.

    The woman next in line was gorgeous middle-aged woman with eastern features and long silky ck hair that fell down to her waist.

    She cried tearfully as she approached the throne and gently kissed the white rose in her palm before resting it down next to the first.

    This process continued for the next several hours as each woman got their turn to ce a rose on the iron throne.

    Sophie had to fight off the urge to yawn.

    It had been somewhat interesting at first to see the various reactions of the former emperor''s concubines but now¡­ she just wanted to get some sleep.

    She was sure that the other nobles were bored as well but no one wanted to be the first tomit such an enormous faux pas.

    Finally, thest rose had been ced and the iron throne could no longer been seen under the enormous pile of flowers that buried it.

    A man wearing an iron mask emerged from behind the throne and Sophie wondered if he had been hiding there the entire time.

    The man stretched out his palm and a dark purplish-ck me danced along his fingertips. He gently pressed his hand against the pile of flowers, and they began to burn.

    This was supposed to symbolise the destruction of the connection between the former leader of the Imperial Family and the throne.

    Sophie watched as the flowers wilted and then burned under the intense heat.

    A fragrant scent filled the hall as the flowers released a sugary sweet odour as they ignited under the me.

    The mysterious man knelt down on the ground beneath the throne and then proceeded to rest the tip of his mask against the floor.

    All the nobles in the hall got down on their knees and faced the direction of the throne. Sophie lowered her head along with the rest of aristocrats next to her.

    There was a brief moment of silence that was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

    Eventually the man wearing the iron mask rose up from the ground and returned to his position in the shadows behind the throne.

    The nobles continued to kneel until the melody echoing through the hall switched to a lighter and more upbeat tune.

    Sophie held out her hand and helped Cleo to her feet. It was a good thing that the floor had been cleaned because her girlfriend was wearing a peach dress.

    "Thank you all for being here today," a soft but masculine voice echoed through the room. Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw the Ascension stage cultivator step forward.

    He wore a thick and heavy brown robe that concealed much of his features, but one could make out wrinkled skin beneath the fabric.

    "The ceremony to choose the next leader of the Federation will begin shortly. I know that you all will pledge your loyalty to the chosen one who will guide us," he slowly spoke.

 Chapter 757 The Opening Ceremony Ends

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Imperial Pce Complex- Main Throne Room)

    When the guardian of the Imperial Family spoke¡­ everyone listened.

    Sophie rxed her posture and carefully observed the figure who was covered in a heavy brown robe.

    "It is my honour to oversee the process to choose the next leader of the royal family¡­ I know that whoever is chosen will be the strongest," the Ascension stage cultivator slowly spoke.

    "They will have the force of Will necessary to make the decisions to protect the interests of not just themselves but humanity as a whole."

    "The next few decades will be a time of great change for the Federation, and I know that the new ruler will have all of your support and loyalty."

    The guardian stressed the word ''loyalty'' as he spoke, and the message was clear.

    Whoever dared to go against the new leader of the royal family at least in the first few decades would suffer terrible consequences.

    Of course, this protection period would notst forever but by the end hopefully the new leader would have already established themselves politically.

    The guardian stepped back behind the iron throne and the doors leading to the hall opened once more.

    Hundreds of servants dressed in pure ck robes entered the room holding silver tters covered with cups filled with an orangish-blue liquid.

    The servants went around the hall and gave out a cup to each of the nobles. The process was smooth, quick, and efficient.

    Sophie nodded her head subtly at the servant who handed her a cup and took one for Cleo as well.

    She passed the cup to her girlfriend who quietly mouthed to her a word of thanks.

    The gentle melody that had been filling the hall now ceased and the room fellpletely silent.

    The guardian raised up his right hand and the nobles all followed his lead by raised up the cups to their lips.

    Sophie held on to the cold metal exterior of the cup and nced at the liquid inside. It was bubbling slightly, and an unpleasant scent wafted upwards.

    She was not the only noble grossed out by the strange liquid and Sophie could see aristocrats with furrowed brows and wrinkled noses.

    The guardian''s raised palm became a clenched fist and that was the signal for the nobles in the hall to consume the liquid.

    Sophie mentally prepared herself and then quickly swallowed the entire contents of the cup in one smooth gulp.

    It was just as horrible as it smelled.

    The mixture tasted like burnt food in a liquid form. The unpleasant concoction was also spicy, and it burnt her throat as it slid down her esophagus.

    The sound of gagging and violent coughs echoed through the hall as the nobles tried their best to swallow the liquid.

    Cleo''s eyebrows were furrowed she kept raising up her left hand to her mouth to cover up the coughs that were escaping her lips.

    The servants went around the hall collecting the cups after inspecting each one to ensure that they were empty.

    Sophie ced the cup on the tray and then waited patiently as her girlfriend tried her best to finish off the drink that she had been given.

    "Gods¡­ that was awful," Cleo whispered as she handed her now empty cup over to the servant who took it from her hand.

    "Don''t worry¡­ I packed your favourite milkshakes in my storage bag," Sophie quietly replied as she stretched out her hand and gave Cleo''s palm a brief squeeze.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Did I ever tell you how much I love you babe?" Cleo whispered gently as she smiled at her girlfriend.

    Sophie winked and then turned her attention back to the ceremony. It took around fifteen minutes but eventually the servants collected all of the cups.

    They formed a neat single line and then marched out of the hall with synchronised steps. The melody started back once again and this time it resembled a light jazzy tune.

    The opening ceremony was now entering its closing stage. At least ording to the program that the nobles had been told to memorise.

    The doors leading to the hall swung open and three figures walked into the room.

    The first was an attractive middle-aged woman wearing a dark navy-blue robe whose fabric fell down to her ankles.

    The second was an elderly man who only wore a simple pair of short white pants with no shirt, and one could see heavy wrinkles on his exposed dark brown skin.

    Finally, thest person waspletely covered in arge ck cloth. It was impossible to tell the age, race, or gender of the final figure.

    The woman approached the throne and kneeled down. She reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a small globe.

    On the globe was a painting of Earth in its state during the abduction of humanity by the Draxi Empire.

    Back during the time when there were still seven separate continents.

    Now Earth''s tectonic tes had shifted quite substantially, and the continents were all joined together in a supersizedndmass.

    "The past¡­" the woman whispered as she ced the globe on the ground and then stood silently behind the small object.

    The elderly man slowly walked up to the throne and knelt down.

    The flesh on his exposed back started to wriggle and squirm as if something inside was itching to break out.

    He reached into a pocket of his white shorts and pulled out a simple-looking crown that was cracked, disfigured, and stained with dried blood.

    The elderly man ced the crown near his feet and then stepped back to be in line with the first person.

    "The present¡­" the man spoke in a hoarse, gravely voice.

    Finally, thest person took quiet steps and approached the throne.

    They werepletely covered by the heavy ck fabric, so it was impossible to get any details about their appearance.

    They stopped in the same spot as the woman and the elderly man. They then proceeded to kneel down on the ground and stayedpletely motionless.

    "The future¡­" the mysterious figure softly spoke. Their voice was both feminine and masculine, young and old, happy and sad.

    Sophie watched quietly as all three figures slowly departed from the hall while making minimum noise.

    This opening ceremony truly was something special. It was bizarre, solemn, and steeped in traditions.

    Thest part in particr stood out in her mind. She understood why thest figure had been so tightly wrapped up in cloth.

    It was to symbolise the unknown of the future.

    No one could tell what would happen once the new leader of the Imperial Family had been chosen.

    Sophie could only hope that they would be able to rule both justly and wisely no matter the challengers thaty ahead.

 Chapter 758 Thoughts And Reflections

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Gaia)

    (Underground Complex- Peterlor Estate)

    Sophie quietly walked through the garden with numerous thoughts guing her mind.

    Even the sweet scent of the flowers and the freshly cut grass was not enough to snap her out of her stupor.

    The opening ceremony had ended two days ago. The official rite of session would begin at the end of the week.

    All eligible members of the Imperial Family would be allowed topete in the arena with no outside help.

    Only the strongest would survive.

    Some may say that this was a barbaric ritual more suited for the dark ages rather than modern times, but Sophie disagreed.

    This ritual was an equaliser.

    All that mattered with one''s cultivation level and fighting ability.

    It did not matter who your parents were, the alliances that you had struck or the nobles that you had persuaded to join your side.

    There was no one who could help you once you entered the arena.

    The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she approached a wooden bench in the corner of the garden and sat down gracefully.

    She stretched out her arms and yawned sleepily.

    The dim lightinging from the artificial light source inside the underground city made the environment appear as though it was nighttime.

    She could hear the faint sounds of metalloid androids moving around the city performing maintenance tasks and general upkeep.

    Ever since she had entered the void stage, her senses had basically gone into overdrive. She could even hear the footsteps of tiny insects dozens of miles away.

    In fact, Sophie had to intentionally dampen her sensory abilities otherwise all that information would get too overwhelming for her mind to handle.

    The hybrid girl powered on her wristmunicator and absentmindedly scrolled through the news feed on the virtual Net.

    Apparently, a rebellion had urred on a colony in the Delta System.

    The native species on the had attempted to overthrow the noble family assigned to their home.

    The rebellion had failed and in retaliation the viscount in charge of the wiped out eighty percent of the native poption.

    A cruel and heavy-handed tactic.

    And a stupid one.

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh as she looked up at the dome of dirt that was the ''sky'' in this ce.

    She would one day have to make choices like that.

    Some of the lunar colonies and territories that House Peterlor owned did have native intelligent species left.

    Her father had put a policy in ce to create ''reserves'' and ''habitats'' for these species but rebellions and fighting did still ur on asions.

    How should she solve those disputes?

    Sophie leaned back against the hard wooden bench and tried to drive those thoughts from her mind.

    It would do her no good to stress about a situation that had yet to ur, but it was definitely an issue that she would need to consider in the future.

    The kind of ruler that she wanted to be¡­

    The hybrid girl focused her attention back on the screen of her wristmunicator in an effort to distract herself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She scrolled some more and finally saw a post on a popr social media site that got her attention.

    The post was about a list of the five candidates most likely to be the next leader of the Imperial Family.

    1) Theseus Sisrelis ¨C the crown prince and the one who had the highest chance of being the next ruler.

    2) Alexandra Sisrelis- the daughter of the infamous ''blood mage''. She had inherited her mother''s talent and her terrifying cultivation techniques.

    3) Isabe Sisrelis- a military veteran with several sessful campaigns under her belt as the headmander of the ninth order division.

    4) James Sisrelis- leader of the mercenary group ''The White Wolves''. Extremely dangerous with an unpleasant personality.

    5) Frederick Sisrelis- a member of a private research group responsible for creating several vines and cutting-edge medicinal treatments.

    There was a picture of each person next to their description. Sophie nced at each picture and saw very attractive men and women staring back at her.

    Members of the Imperial Family had good gics and they had been modified in the womb to increase their natural attractiveness and beauty.

    The only simrity between the five half siblings were their eyes. Each of them possessed piercing green irises that were identical to Cleo''s.

    Sophie powered off her wristmunicator and quietly rxed in the empty garden. She did not know who was going to be the eventual ruler of the Imperial Family.

    Each of the names mentioned were strong individuals and hell¡­ there could even be some wild cards and unknown faces hiding great strength who were not on the list.

    The Imperial Family was massive so those with a im to the throne numbered in the tens of thousands.

    Man¡­ those emperors and empresses really needed to keep it in their pants!

    Sophie giggled softly to herself and then turned in the direction of the footsteps that she hearding from the front of the garden.

    The gate slowly opened and a beautiful girl with raven coloured hair and sharp green eyes stepped forward.

    Cleo was wearing a simple white nightdress that hung down to her ankles and covered most of her body.

    Still¡­ Sophie felt her heart skip a beat as her girlfriend smiled gently at her and then walked over to the bench.

    Cleo sat down next to her lover and rested her head against Sophie''s shoulder. There was a brief moment of silence as both girls enjoyed each other''spany.

    "Why were you here by yourself?" Cleo asked curiously as she stretched out her palm and lightly touched Sophie''s hair.

    "Just needed some time to think," Sophie replied warmly as she tilted her head to the side and gently pressed her lips against her girlfriend''s cheek.

    "Worried about who will be the next leader?" Cleo asked in a serious tone.

    "Don''t be¡­ no matter what happens¡­ I will always be on your side. Plus, I''m pretty sure that my brother isn''t going to be emperor anytime soon."

    "Why do you say that?" Sophie asked with a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.

    "Because he is the favourite. The fights during the ritual can end in death or one can allow their defeated opponent to surrender."

    "They will not let him live¡­"

    Cleo''s words had the barest hint of a warning and for a moment a shadow passed across the young woman''s face.

    Sophie held her girlfriend''s palm and the warmth of her fingers jolted Cleo out of her dark thoughts.

    "You think your siblings are that power hungry?" Sophie asked quietly as she leaned against the princess'' soft body.

    "I know they are," Cleo firmly replied with just a tinge of bitterness to her voice.

    "They only care about personal wealth and power. Believe me when I say that the emperor''s death was a godsend to them."

    "Finally, they have the chance to gain the ultimate status for themselves. They will stop at nothing to reach at that throne."

 Chapter 759 Cleos Troubles

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Cthelen)

    Instead, it was an awe-inspiring artificial space station that mimicked both the size and shape of a normal.

    A true marvel of human engineering and a clear sign of humanity'' progress during the interster era when it came to technological advancements.

    In fact, it was two times the size of earth and had a vaguely simr appearance to humanity''s birthce.

    The wasposed of heavy metalloid discs, high tech mechanical wonders and covered in a thinyer of soil.

    The soil had been specially treated to have a high nutrient level in order to sustain a healthy ecosystem of nts and a limited number of animal species.

    The atmosphere of this artificial was maintained by importing gases from other worlds and creating the necessary chemicals in matter generator factories.

    Not many could im that they visited this.

    Its maintenance was handled exclusive by androids and gically modified humans carefully nurtured from birthing chambers to have absolute loyalty to the Imperial Family.

    There was only one asion when this was open to outsiders and that asion was finally here¡­

    The Session Ceremony.

    Sophie slowly walked down the stairs of her private spacecraft and took in a deep breath. The air tasted a bit¡­ strange.

    She could not put her finger on it but there was the barest hint of chemicals with every breath that she took.

    The hybrid girl stretched out her hand and gently grabbed Cleo''s palm. She escorted her girlfriend down the flight of stairs with slow and careful movements.

    "Thank you darling," Cleo giggled yfully as she gently pressed her elbow against Sophie''s side.

    "Anytime my love," Sophie teased her back with a short smile.

    They were not the only ones arriving in one of the numerous temporary spaceports that had opened up around the.

    Thousands of spacecrafts werending like clockwork every hour and then departing to pick up more passengers.

    Sophie looked off into the distance and her eyes narrowed.

    She could see what looked like some kind of city or central hub, but it was nothing like she had ever seen before.

    Layers of towering hive-like structures rose up from the ground with eachyer teeming with ant-like humanoid figures.

    These buildings had hexagonal pieces all welded together to form an overall appearance not dissimr to the interior of a bee''s hive.

    Each building was also connected by a maze of walkways, transport systems, bridges and corridors made from thin metalloid alloys.

    "I never thought I would see this in my lifetime," a faint voice came from a few hundred metres behind Sophie.

    The hybrid girl nced behind her and saw an elderly noble couple leaning against one another and staring in the direction of the city.

    "My dear¡­ it is truly an honour," the noblewoman''spanion nodded his head and tilted his wristmunicator upwards to snap a picture.

    Sophie turned away from the couple and continued to guide her girlfriend towards the city in the distance.

    This was going to be where they would be staying for the next three to four weeks depending on how long the tournament took to finish.

    Fortunately, all of her university professors were going to be posting their sses online and Sophie was fairly ahead of the practical aspects of each of her majors.

    The hybrid girl walked with herpanion for several more minutes before they arrived at the edge of the spaceport where a road led directly to the city.

    Dozens of hovercars lined up along both sides of the road and there was an android driver sitting down in the front seat of each vehicle.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Numerous soldiers wearing heavy battle armour and holding sma rifles patrolled the surrounding areas looking for any signs of trouble.

    Sophie could feel numerous stares directed at her from both the soldiers and the other nobles present but refused to be cowered.

    She went up to one of the empty hovercars and reached into her storage bag for her identification card.

    The android sitting in the front seat turned towards her and a green light shot out of its mechanical eyes.

    The light scanned the card held in Sophie''s hand as well as the rest of her body several times over.

    [DNA Sample Required]

    A robotic voice came from the android''s mouth, and it held out one of its metalloid arms to reveal a sharp syringe-like object attached to one of its fingers.

    Sophie furrowed her brows and looked around. Other nobles were also going through the same process and although none looked happy¡­ they did notin.

    She reluctantly stretched out her palm and the android quickly struck the underside of her flesh with the needle.

    Crack!

    The syringe''s tip immediately broke and the android looked at its broken finger and then at Sophie with a neutral expression on its face.

    [Void Stage Cultivator Detected- essing Database¡­]

    [Please Use Alternative Method Of Data Collection- Saliva Or Other Bodily Fluids¡­]

    Sophie let out a heavy sigh and leaned forward. The android''s left index finger morphed into the shape of a small cup.

    The hybrid girl opened her mouth and then spit into the cup. She saw her saliva being sucked into a small tube in the bottom of the cup and then disappear.

    There was a brief moment of silence as the android''s mechanical eyes shed a bright yellow colour as it proceeded to scan the sample.

    [Identity Confirmed- Sophie Peterlor]

    The android pressed a button on the steering wheel and the hovercar''s door slid open. Sophie got inside and waited for Cleo to go through the process.

    The android''s broken finger began to repair itself thanks to the emergency nanites inside its repair kit.

    Soon its finger syringe was good as new, and the mechanical creature beckoned for Cleo to step forward.

    Fortunately, her girlfriend had a much easier time since the syringe went through her skin without any problem and took a blood sample.

    [Identity Confirmed- Cleo Sisrelis]

    Cleo slid in the hovercar and leaned against Sophie''s shoulder. She seemed slightly ufortable as if being on this was causing her to be on edge.

    "You okay?" Sophie asked with concern evident in her voice.

    "Yeah¡­ it''s just¡­ it''s finally happening¡­" Cleo whispered quietly as she stared at the city with conflicting emotions in her heart.

    "One of my siblings is going to be the next leader of the Imperial Family. My mom wanted me to be the empress and honestly¡­"

    "There is a small part of me that wants topete as well. Not the logical part because obviously I would die but¡­ forget it¡­"

    Sophie opened her mouth tofort her girlfriend but the doors to the hovercar mmed shut and the android activated the elerators.

    The hovercar shot forward with a startling high speed until it became a blur of motion.

    The g-force sent Cleo sprawling against the back of the seat while Sophie''s high cultivation level meant that she was rtively unaffected.

    She used her qi to shield Cleo''s body and soon her girlfriend looked a lot more rxed.

 Chapter 760 A City Of Slaves

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Cthelen)

    (Hive City- Subsection Delta Quadrant)

    This city was a monstrosity of mechanical parts and inhuman organic matter.

    That was the only description that Sophie found suited this city perfectly.

    Massive urban structures towered far above the numerous ant-like citizens running around the metropolis.

    The city contained industrial zones, agricultural sectors and transportation systems all designed to be self-sufficient.

    Each building was connected to others by numerous walkways, bridges and corridors that had been welded together using old fashioned techniques.

    The citizens living in the lower levels of the city were the gically modified humans and the androids in charge of maintenance and upkeep.

    At the peak of the spires there were mansions and impressive buildings that disyed both opulence and a gaudy show of wealth.

    These peaks were adorned with rare pieces of artwork such as massive statues, paintings of famous members of the Imperial Family and contemporary pieces of great renown.

    A stark contrast to the crowded hexagonal buildings where the majority of the citizens on this would eat, live, sleep and eventually die.

    Their corpses would then be converted into agricultural fertilizers so their lives and deaths would both be in service to the city.

    Sophie found the entire affairpletely disgusting.

    There was no point in using what were essentially ves stripped of their free will via gic modification when androids could easily do the work that they were assigned to do.

    But perhaps the reasoning behind these ves was not logical but rather as a show of force.

    These people were nothing more than props to emphasis the authority of the Imperial Family.

    Sophie frowned slightly and waved her hand to dismiss the servants who were standing patiently near the front of her assigned room.

    They were more like robots than humans.

    Their heart rates were noticeably slower, and their pupils were dted as if they were permanently in a dazed state.

    Living dolls.

    That is what they were¡­ nothing more than puppets to the gic programming embedded in their chromosomes.

    The servants simultaneously bowed their heads and then departed from the room with synchronised steps echoing through the corridor outside.

    The hybrid girl waited for a few minutes and then walked towards the window. She peered outside the ss and saw a clear blue sky that was tainted with tinges of purple.

    The air around the spires was clear and refreshing thanks to the filtration systems installed in the middleyer of the city.

    On the ground floor however, there was a different story.

    Sophie looked down and could barely see certain sections of the city due to the thick chemical fog that hung over the alleyways and narrow road paths.

    She turned away from the window and nced at the sleeping figure on the bed.

    Cleo was fast asleep with most of her body covered by a soft velvety nket that looked veryfortable.

    Sophie had to admit that she felt tempted to lie down and take a rest as well but something about this city was putting her on edge.

    Maybe it was just her imagination since her danger sense had yet to go off but there was something just not right about this ce.

    She just could not put her finger on why she was feeling this way.

    A walk would probably help.

    Sophie sneaked out of the room with quiet steps and slowly closed the door behind her. She pressed her palm against the security keypad and locked the door.

    She was currently sharing this spire with two hundred other nobles, but it was far from crowded since there was more than enough space for everyone.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The upper-ss nobles in particr were given private wings the size of small football stadiums so Sophie did not have to worry about nosy neighbours.

    She nodded at the servants that she passed but each one just stared nkly at her as if waiting for orders.

    Sophie darkly wondered if someonemanded them to stop breathing if they would kill themselves¡­

    It wasn''t right.

    The hybrid girl continued her walk through the private wing and passed dozens of portraits of previous leaders of the Imperial Family.

    Each one seemed to be in directpetition with thest to have a portrait that was grand, ambitious, and portrayed their glory.

    These paintings were a monument to arrogance and self importance.

    Sophie''s lips pressed together into a thin smile as she moved past the painting and paid them no extra attention.

    The corridor widened and soon Sophie found herself in a wide-open space with arge pool of water in the centre.

    The floors were made from solid marble and golden pirs rose up from the ground. There were lounge chairs, mattresses, and hammocks along the edges of the pool.

    Sophie sat down on one of the lounge chairs and slowly leaned back. She spread out her de-like appendages so that she could rxfortably.

    This was clearly a recreational space.

    There was a warm flow of airing from hidden vents around the room and small wavespped against the edge of the pool.

    The hybrid girl let out a sigh of contentment as she reached inside her storage bag and pulled out a small bottle of wine.

    She unscrewed the top of the bottle with ease and popped the cork. A sweet sugary scent wafted upwards.

    Sophie took in a deep breath and then raised the edge of the bottle to her lips.

    She took a small sip and enjoyed the smooth and delicate vour of the wine as it slid down her throat.

    This was a peaceful ce and served as the perfect distraction for just how uneasy Sophie felt on this.

    Hopefully she would not have to return anytime soon. This was definitely a once in a lifetime trip that she could have done without.

    The hybrid girl took off her shoes and ced them carefully next to her chair.

    She reached out with her hand and her fingers identally pressed against a small button hidden on the underside of the chair.

    Sophie immediately recoiled but nothing happened.

    She waited for a few seconds and then sensed some movementing from somewhere close nearby.

    Sophie tilted her head to the side as she heard some noisesing from the left.

    She watched in disbelief as a hidden door opened up and dozens of naked men and women strode into the room.

    Well notpletely naked.

    There were wearing skimpy and provocative clothing that barely covered their rippling muscles and perfectly sculptured bodies.

    There was a nk look on each of their faces even as they posed seductively and strode towards Sophie while swaying their hips.

    "Wait! Wait!" Sophie yelled quickly as she raised up her hand.

    The men and women stopped moving and froze in ce like statues. Sophie nced at them and quickly realised what was going on.

    These were gically modified humans bred for pleasure and it looks like they were assigned to upper ss nobles to provide them with sexual relief.

    "Yeah¡­ I''m sorry but¡­ I''m going to have to decline¡­" Sophie firmly spoke as she raised up her hand and made a gesture of ''no thanks''.

    She didn''t even want to think of what Cleo would say if she stumbled across this scene. She would definitely be sleeping on the couch for the next few weeks!

 Chapter 761 Scheduled For Termination

    ?

    (Alpha Star System- Cthelen)

    (Hive City- Subsection Kappa Quadrant)

    The Kappa Quadrant was known as the industrial heart of the Hive City with multiple factories, chemical nts, and other manufacturing buildings.

    The air in the lower levels of the city was already quite dangerous but in the Kappa Quadrant it was far beyond what a normal human could endure.

    Masks were mandatory when visiting this region of the city because the entire area was covered in a heavy fog of pollutants and toxic chemicals.

    The gically modified humans who worked in this section had been programmed with adaptions to handle spending prolonged periods of time in this toxic environment.

    Still, one could see obvious traces of damage on their bodies.

    Wounds, rashes, and chemical burns covered their skin and even the masks on their faces did little to stop the slow umtion of micropollutants in their lungs.

    The mostmon sounds other than the noisesing from the machinery were coughs, violent heaving, and vomiting.

    The average life expectancy of the individuals living in this zone was around twenty-two years.

    Due to the high mortality rate a birthing factory had been built along the edge of the district to ensure that there was a constant supply of fresh bodies.

    Needless cruelty.

    This would be a perfect environment for robotic androids, beings without organic matter that would not be affected by the toxic air and dangerous substances.

    But the Imperial Family continued to employ these human workers ¡­ well ''employ'' was a bit of a stretch considering that they were bred for servitude.

    Inside one of these factories, a group of humanoid figures dressed in hazmat suits and protective clothing stood motionless on a balcony observing the scenery below.

    They could see the gically modified human performing simple packaging tasks with synchronised movements and a high efficiency.

    "Are the preparationsplete?" one of the figures quietly spoke. Their voice was clear with a hint of a sing-song ent.

    "Of course¡­ the session ceremony is being handled by Thynn Forrows and a handpicked team of organisers," the man in the centre of the group replied slowly.

    "I have not gotten a chance to see the full list, but I know that the organisers were carefully picked from a list of powerful noblemen, rich merchants and trained Imperial servants."

    "And they are all being supervised by¡­ him¡­"

    The figure''s voice trailed off and a tense moment of silence soon followed his words. Every single person in the group knew who he was referring to.

    The Guardian of the Imperial Family.

    The one with the power of a living God with a cultivation level so high that it would take the empire''s full effort to destroy him.

    That was the might of an Ascension Stage cultivator.

    "I don''t suppose we can grab a couple of these servants for ourselves," a lighthearted voice broke the tense atmosphere.

    A figure at the back of the group with a significantly shorter stature than the rest attempted to make a joke.

    "Unfortunately, Charles¡­ only the Imperial Family is allowed to gically program obedience into humans. Something about undermining their authority¡­" someone replied seriously.

    "Yeah¡­ I know¡­ I was just¡­ never mind¡­" Charles'' voice got smaller as he took a few steps back and turned away from the group.

    He looked over the railing of the balcony and saw two workers carrying a dead body across the factory floor.

    The corpse belonged to a young woman no older than twenty and the sight of her made Charles sick to his stomach.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The entire left side of her face had been melted away until one could see bones, sinewy tissue, and veins.

    Her remaining eye stared nkly upwards, and the rest of her body was covered in burn marks and heavy scars.

    The two workers carrying her marched emotionlessly as if holding the corpse of their colleague was no more than a distraction until they returned to their scheduled work.

    They carried her to the corner of the factory where a giant machine awaited with a maw that was opened wide.

    The workers flung the corpse into the machine which then proceeded to grind up the body and mix in soil, nutrients, and other substances to turn it into fertiliser for the agricultural sector.

    "Waste not¡­ want not," one of the figures remarked as she walked up to Charles and ced a warm hand on his shoulder.

    "Imogen¡­ don''t you think this¡­this¡­ is cruel," Charles stuttered slightly as he held his stomach and tried his best to hold down his vomit.

    "I do¡­ but it is not up to us to decide the fate of these¡­ ''people''¡­ you must keep in mind that they were bred to have no free will," Imogen tried to give the young boy somefort.

    "You can consider them as puppets or tools. They may look like us but at the end of the day they are nothing more than dolls."

    "They don''t feel emotions like you or me. All they have is a purpose¡­ in a way they are truly blessed."

    Charles looked at hispanion in disbelief. Blessed? He would hardly call what was done to these people as a blessing.

    "If you can''t handle being inside here then you are free to go outside and wait until we have finished the inspection," a hoarse gravely voice came from the side.

    Charles looked in the direction of the sound and saw Inspector Graner looking at him with an expression of disappointment behind the filtration helmet that covered his face.

    He did not need to be told twice.

    Charles quickly walked towards the back of the balcony towards the stairs that led to the street outside the factory.

    "That boy is too soft-hearted," Inspector Graner shook his head as he spoke. He held out his arm and Imogen slowly inteced her arm with his.

    The pair walked away from the rest of the group and towards the ground floor of the factory. Inspector Garner''s eyes narrowed as he saw one worker moving slower than the rest.

    A fifteen-year-old boy with a body that was still in the process of growing. He repeated the same motions as the rest but there was a small spark in his eyes.

    If the other children around his age lifted up twenty kilograms, then he would intentionally lift up half that amount.

    "Looks like a defect," Inspector Graner softly whispered as he pointed a pen-shaped object at the boy and pressed the red button along its side.

    A tracking dart no bigger than the tip of a needle shot out from an opening on the device and entered the boy''s skin without him being any wiser.

    "I haven''t seen one of those in a long time," Imogen remarked casually as she nced at the young teenager with an expression of interest on her face.

    Inspector Graner let out a sigh as he walked away from the section.

    It was very rare but asionally you would find cases where the gic programming was only partially effective.

    These defective humans rarely possessed a level of self-determination necessary to actually rebel or attempt to escape, and most would simply perform their tasks with reduced effectiveness.

    Because of these issues, inspectors were regrly dispatched to the various regions of the with the simple mission of tracking down any faulty workers and tagging them.

    As for what happened to the tagged workers¡­ well¡­

    They would be scheduled for termination.

 Chapter 762 The Day Of The Draft

    ?

    There was a heavy sense of tension in the air.

    Today was thest day before the tournament would begin and all the members of the Imperial Family were currently in their assigned rooms.

    There was arge holographic projection in the centre of the space where thousands of numbers shed in a seemingly random order.

    This projection disyed the draft that would determine their opponents for the first round.

    The session ceremony was extremely dangerous for those with low cultivation levels because their opponents were chosenpletely at random.

    A qi body cultivator might find themselves facing of against someone in the void stage. This process would repeat over and over again until only twopetitors remained.

    Now some might say that this process was unfair and theoretically someone with a high cultivation level could get easy opponents until the finals and that was indeed a valid point.

    But somehow¡­ high level opponents would always have at least one round that was guaranteed to have an enemy around their cultivation level.

    It was for that reason why some spected that the draft was not really random but of course no one would dare to speak those thoughts out loud.

    To be the crowned as the next leader of the Imperial Family meant that one needed to survive this brutal tournament.

    The fights did not necessarily have to end in death but from the perspective of the members of the royal family, they would always prefer to have one less rival.

    Brother killed brother, sister killed sister, cousins killed cousins in a terrible disy of culling one''s own family.

    By the end of each tournament typically the number of princes and princesses in the Imperial Family would be reduced by at least sixty percent.

    In fact, that thest tournament was so vicious that the percentage was eighty seven percent.

    Thete Emperor Sisrelis had been the favourite to win the tournament, so his opponents tried their best to take his life.

    He responded in kind¡­

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Sector Omega- Private Room #451)

    A lesser-known prince impatiently walked up and down his room while ncing at the projection right in front of him.

    Prince Devon was not a particrly special person.

    Sure, he was a prince but when his siblings numbered in the tens of thousands¡­ that was not really a position of note.

    He had lived a life that he would consider fairly normal.

    He was reasonably talented and went to As University where he studied for four years and regrly made the top one hundred list of students.

    Not at a particrly high rank but at a decent ce, nheless. He usuallynded somewhere within the range of thirtieth to fiftieth.

    His mother''s family were lesser nobles, so he did not have strong political backing to allow him to gain an important position in the army.

    So, he spent his mandatory years on some backwater in the Hydra Star System assigned to a watchtower station.

    It was incredibly boring.

    He saw no action or alien invasions.

    Hell, even the space pirates in the star system knew better than to mess with the Imperial Army so there were no criminals to fight.

    After his years at the military, Prince Devon''s mother arranged for him to marry some daughter of a viscount which he did withoutint.

    She was an okay looking woman and Prince Devon thought that her personality was good enough for them to form a union.

    Now he had two sons and one daughter.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    A good life but not one that was particrly remarkable or stood out.

    Still even though he seemed content, there was a fire burning inside his heart that he had buried for many years.

    He had to read from the virtual the news of his siblings bing governors ofs, important ministers, or members ofrge mercenary organizations.

    While he was nothing.

    Prince Devon''s fingers curled up into a tight fist as he nced at the screen with knuckles so tense that the flesh on his hands had turned white.

    He was not strong.

    He knew that.

    Someone in the qi tide stage had an almost zero chance of being crowned as the sessor but he did not care.

    No matter how small the chance¡­ this was the opportunity of a lifetime. No one knew when the next tournament would happen.

    It could be decades or even centuries before the future ruler of the Federation died of either natural or not-so natural causes.

    Prince Devon continued to watch the screen and ignored the subtle vibrationing from the wristmunicator wrapped around his right hand.

    He knew who was messaging him. His wife had been furious that he signed up for the ceremony and begged him not to attend.

    Theirst encounter involved her screaming at him that he would get himself killed and leave his children without a father.

    Prince Devon let out a heavy sigh and pressed the power off button on the side of hismunicator.

    She didn''t understand.

    Growing up in the Royal Family meant that your entire life was controlled or influenced by the one who sat on the throne.

    After being a puppet for so long, many were eager to finally be the one''s pulling the strings.

    To be the one with all the power, authority, and influence to affect billions of lives across the Earth Federation.

    Ding!

    A loud noise echoed through the room and Devon''s eyes narrowed as he looked at the holographic projection.

    The numbers had stopped moving and the screen faded to ck for a brief moment before two lines of text appeared on the screen.

    [First Round]

    [Your Assigned Opponent Is Number 254- Princess Alyssa Sisrelis]

    Prince Devon walked up to the screen and tapped the number using the tip of his index finger.

    The contents on the screen shifted and the profile of a gorgeous woman in her early twenties with a mole under her right eye appeared.

    There was only a picture with no other information but that was enough for Prince Devon to look up details of her identity on the Virtual Net.

    He had not heard of this princess before which meant that she was not one of the well-known contenders for the throne.

    Hopefully that meant that either her cultivation level was low or there was some w in her personality that made her unlikely to reach theter stages of the tournament.

    Prince Devon reached inside his storage ring and pulled out a metalloid tablet which he then powered on.

    He searched the virtual for information on the princess and soon arrived at a reliable site used for betting on the session ceremony.

    Prince Devon''s heart flooded with a sense of relief as he discovered more about his first-round opponent.

    Apparently, Princess Alyssa was a fourth-year student at some lesser-known university. She was in the qi tide stage like himself but immediately Prince Devon dismissed her as a threat.

    Although they may be the same cultivation level, he had attended an elite university and had many more years of experience.

    This was going to be an easy fight.

 Chapter 763 The Deaths Of Many

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Fighting Pit No. 45)

    The entrance to the fighting pit was an imposing structure that was covered with carvings of beasts and creatures of legends.

    Dragons fought with phoenixes, eldritch horrors rose up from the murky depths of the ocean and beasts of burden with horns upon their foreheads screeched silently.

    Stepping through the entranceway would lead one to a vast arena that was surrounded by massive stands filled with hundreds if not thousands of nobles.

    The pit itself was partially sunken and filled with different pieces of terrain and environments that could be adjusted based on the desires of the ceremony organisers.

    The walls of the arena were made from reinforced metal alloys along with severalyers of intricate runic spell work.

    Because of these runes, the walls themselves would glow with an eerie blue light that illuminated the arena in a soft otherworldly glow.

    The structure and design of this fighting pit had been replicated hundreds of times across Cthelen and inside these arenas were where the princelings and princesses fought to the death.

    Sophie leaned back against her chair with her attention fully upied by what was happening in the arena below.

    "No¡­ no please! I give up! I give¡­" a piercing scream echoed through the arena followed by the sound of a loud thunderous boom.

    A handsome young man copsed on the ground with an enormous hole in the middle of his chest that was still smoking.

    The scent of burnt meat filled the air as the high temperature produced from the st had cooked the flesh around the wound on the corpse.

    Standing a few hundred metres away was a slender middle-aged woman with a metalloid gauntlet wrapped around her left hand.

    She lowered her hand and the metalloid gauntlet slowly shut off.

    The woman approached the corpse of her half brother and looked down at his body for a brief moment.

    Then she stepped over him.

    The holographic screen floating in the air above the fighting pit suddenly shed two lines of text which stated the results of the match.

    [Candidate No. 456 Defeated!]

    [Candidate No. 547 Will Move On To The Next Stage]

    No names were given.

    During the session ceremony, the princes and princesses belonging to the Imperial Family were simply assigned numbers.

    It was a cold tradition.

    Their names would not be shown on the screen until they advanced to thetter stages of the tournament.

    This served as a stark reminder for all who werepeting¡­ they were expendable.

    The number of potential contenders to the throne would be systematically reduced until only one remained.

    "Good match," a whisper came from the side.

    Sophie heard the sounds of coins being exchanged among the nobles next to her.

    Gambling was loosely permitted during the ceremony, and many took the opportunity to make a fortune or¡­

    To lose everything.

    The surviving fighter walked out of the arena and was quickly treated by the standby medical team for any injuries sustained during the battle.

    Meanwhile the corpse was unceremoniously dragged through the sand and brought to an open metalloid box where it was ced.

    Sophie wasn''t sure what was going to happen to the body. Was it going to be returned to his family members?

    Was it going to be buried here on Cthelen?

    She did not know the answer. All she did know was that this entire affair seemed barbaric and the product of a different era.

    The session ceremony made no sense.

    The strongest person was not necessarily the best individual to lead the Imperial Family.

    Besides the members of the royal family were all quite talented in cultivation so what was the point of culling so many individuals who could contribute to the Earth Federation.

    "I know him," Cleo whispered softly as she looked at the closed box with an unknown emotion in her eyes.

    "Prince Augustus¡­ he once helped guide me through the main pce during my first visit because I got lost¡­"

    "Did you know him well?" Sophie asked with concern evident in her voice.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "No¡­ I only met him once but¡­ he will not be thest person among my half siblings that I know¡­ it''s strange really¡­" Cleoughed as she spoke, but her smile did not reach her eyes.

    "My whole life I''vepeted, fought, and hated them but¡­ now seeing them die one by one in front of my eyes¡­ I don''t feel happy."

    Sophie stretched out her palm and gave Cleo''s hand a gentle squeeze. She didn''t know what to say in this moment so all she could do was silently support her girlfriend.

    Their brief moment of peace was soon interrupted as yet another fight started.

    There were so many individuals with a im to the throne that the first couple of rounds of the tournament were nonstop.

    The pace and waiting period between each fight would only get longer once a sufficient number of royal offsprings had been eliminated.

    The text on the floating holographic projection changed as two armored figures strode into the arena.

    [Commencing Fight: Candidate No. 78 VS Candidate No. 10056]

    The spectators fell silent as the two fighters took their positions across from each other.

    The arena''s environment shifted, and the desert-like environment transformed into a lush tropical forestplete with small animals and birds that soared through the air.

    Sophie powered on her wristmunicator and took a picture of each fighter.

    She ran their pictures through one of the information databases and soon discovered their identities.

    The fighter wearing white armour with the golden engraving of a horse along his forearm was Prince David.

    He stood at an impressive six feet five inches in height but possessed a slender physique that appeared as though one could snap him in half like a twig.

    A helmet covered most of his facial features, but Sophie found a picture online of him without the mask.

    He was a rtively good-looking guy with a sharp jawline and a slightly hooked nose that he had not gotten surgery to correct.

    His opponent wore a light red bodysuit around her body with minimal armour tes that only covered her important organs.

    Princess Amara.

    A powerful mage from a long lineage of spellcasters who had the nickname of the ''Siren Of Temptation''.

    It was obvious why.

    Her features were wless. Perfectly symmetrical and sculpted with such precision that it seemed as though the gods themselves had designed her face.

    Her eyes were the same piercing green colour as the rest of the members of the royal family and yet they contained hints of gold.

    She possessed a hypnotic gaze that drew the attention of everyone who met her stare.

    Light, darkshes framed those seductive eyes which fluttered with every movement that she made.

    Her skin was a dark brown colour that contrasted with her vibrant ck hair that flowed effortlessly down her shoulders.

    And her figure¡­

    Sophie looked down at her chest and for the first time¡­ she felt defeated. Princess Amara possessed two impressive peaks that were evenrger than hers.

    The princess blew a kiss at her opponent and Prince David''s face flushed involuntarily. Even he could not resist the feminine bombshell standing in front of him.

    And that one moment of weakness¡­

    Was all it took.

    [BEGIN!]

    Princess Amara snapped her fingers and ten runic circles appeared around Prince David''s body before he even had any time to react.

    She did not even need to chant.

    She merely waved her hands and the flow of mana inside her mana core adjusted itself simultaneously to her will.

    Prince David activated the shielding function on his armour, but arge thick green vine shot out of the first magic circle and prated his armour like a hot knife passing through butter.

    The second magic circle turned the ground beneath his feet into a frozen wastnd and heavy ice spikes rose up from the ground and stabbed his lower limbs.

    He remained frozen in ce with a helpless expression on his face as the final circles activated one by one.

    Princess Amara turned to the crowd and winked as she snapped her fingers one more time.

    Lightning, hellfire, and a blizzard all engulfed her half sibling who did not even have time to scream before he died in agony.

 Chapter 764 The Control Room

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Alpha Quadrant- Control Room)

    The control room was a massive chamber that was illuminated by a dim, bluish lighting from the numerous screens that were hung on the walls.

    The walls themselves were reinforced steel panels that were entuated with ayer of circuitry that was embedded into the metallic surface.

    Each screen showed a projection that was constantly being updated with data streams, footage from surveince drones and analysis done by both humans and AI units.

    It may seem disorganized to the untrained eye but to the men and women working in this room, there was a method to the madness.

    Each individual was stationed near a console that was covered in a wide array of buttons, switches and touchscreens that allowed them to manipte the footage and request more information.

    In addition to the screens, it was amon sight to see holographic projections float in the air above each station with an AIpanion gesturing at a certain object on the screen.

    The beating heart of the control room was the raised central tform where one man oversaw the chaos with a steadfast expression.

    All the modified data was streamed directly to the screen in front of him and despite the overwhelming amount of information, the man did not even seem remotely flustered.

    His name was Professor Percival ckthorn and he had been assigned to this position by themittee in charge of overseeing the session ceremony.

    He stood tall at six feet with dark ck hair that was pulled back into a single ponytail. He wore a simple white shirt and a pair of navy-blue pants.

    His eyes had been augmented with cybeic imnts that allowed him to ess the internal Virtual Network remotely and a chip had been imnted into his brain.

    This chip served two purposes.

    The first was that it allowed him to act more efficiently and connect more easily to the systems.

    And the second was to ensure his obedience by modifying and causing certain docile chemicals to secrete in his brain.

    "Two thousand are dead already," Professor ckthorn muttered quietly to himself as his fingers danced along the edge of the console in front of him.

    The first day of the session ceremony had been aplete bloodbath. The fatality rate was hovering near ny percent.

    A number that was far higher than in the years of the previous tournaments.

    Professor ckthorn attributed that fact to the sheer number of imperial offsprings that had been sired by thete Emperor Sisrelis.

    Thete emperor had done little to stop thepetition and backstabbing among his children as he was too preupied by indulging in pleasures of the flesh.

    As a result¡­ his children grew to hate each other.

    Now this was the inevitable oue of his negligence.

    Professor ckthorn tapped one of the screens in front of him and footage of arena number fifty-seven appeared.

    Two young men rolled ungracefully on the floor while holding sharp jagged knives and plunging the des into their bodies.

    They appeared to be evenly matched, and each prince viciously stabbed and carved apart the flesh of his opponent.

    There were no fighting or cultivation techniques employed by either party. It was just a savage disy of primal violence and hatred.

    Professor ckthorn hummed quietly under his breath and moved on to the next screen.

    This screen showed the list of candidates that had won their fight and advanced to the second day of the tournament.

    There were several noteworthy figures on that list.

    Princess Amara the ''Witch of Temptation'', Prince Henry the ''Golden Child'', Princess Eleanor the ''Dragon''s Heart'' and many others who earned their nicknames after decades of battle.

    And of course, there was one name on the list that stood out.

    Prince Theseus.

    The crown prince.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He had faced off against an opponent in the qi tide stage during the first round of the tournament and it had hardly been a fight.

    The prince knocked out his half-sibling with a clean blow to the temple using the back of his sword and then left the arena without killing his fallen opponent.

    It was a disy of both arrogance and kindness in equal measure. It sent out a message that the prince did not need to kill his siblings because they were not a threat.

    A cold and calcting move.

    Still¡­ that was none of the professor''s business. He was only in charge of recording and archiving footage from the fights for storage purposes.

    Suddenly a loud noise interrupted the quiet atmosphere. Professor ckthorn turned in the direction of the sound and his body froze up in fear.

    The doors swung open, and a figure slowly stepped into the room with slowly purposeful steps as if intentionally announcing his presence.

    His body was covered in a heavy ck robe that concealed most of his features save for his hands that were covered in bio-mechanical parts.

    His presence along was enough to send a cold chill down the spines of everyone in the room and no dared to even make a single sound.

    All eyes turned in the direction of the figure, but no one could look at him directly for too long before the rm bells in their minds started to ring.

    It was like standing in the presence of an apex predator and you were nothing more than a soft and fragile prey.

    Agent 417.

    One of the many supervisors assigned to this control room who was in charge of monitoring the workers responsible for recording the events that urred in the hive city.

    He was a gically modified human with an above- average intelligence and a certain amount of free will which allowed him to make decisions to the benefit of the collective.

    "Fighting pit three hundred and ten should be a tundra-like environment," Agent 417 coldly spoke as he strode up to one of the workers and lightly tapped the side of her desk.

    "Exin to me why it is currently a desert¡­"

    The female worker trembled under the enormous wave of pressure that washed over her body.

    She tried to speak but the cold inhuman eyes of the supervisor staring directly at her with an expression of displeasure made her face turn white with fear.

    "Sir¡­ that is not¡­ I¡­ that is another department¡­ I¡­" the female worker stuttered nervously as the supervisor continued to look at her with no emotion in his gaze.

    "If there is an issue¡­ Why did you not send a message to the environment team in charge of that fighting pit?" Agent 417 coldly asked with his voice no louder than a whisper.

    "All anomalies are to be recorded and a report must be sent to the appropriate departments to get the problem resolved as soon as possible."

    "Do you understand?"

    Agent 417''s voice held the barest hint of a warning as he leaned closer and rested his right hand on the female worker''s shoulder.

    She trembled violently as goosebumps appeared on her arms and she had to fight the urge to get out of her chair and run.

    The agent remained in ce for a few more seconds before removing his hand and walking around the room.

    He did not say a word as he inspected the desk and workstation of every worker in the control room and nced at the information on the holographic projections.

    Professor ckthorn scowled but continued to work while trying his best not to pay attention to the agent.

    He tapped one of the screens and a new piece of footage arrived. It showed the scene of what appeared to be a six-year-old girl standing silently in the middle of a murky swamp.

    The child sat down in the swamp and cried loudly as the dirty water stained the edges of the pretty white dress that she wore.

    Wait¡­ what?

    Professor ckthorn''s eyes widened since children were not allowed to join the session ceremony for obvious reasons.

    Who was that?

 Chapter 765 Children Are Scary!

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Fighting Pit No.47)

    The air was heavy with moisture, and one could smell the earthy scent of decaying vegetation which was not a pleasant experience.

    The whining buzz of mosquitoes could be heard even over the chattering of the aristocrat spectators in the stands.

    Where there had once been a desert-like environment had been transformed into a murky swamp with knee-high brown water.

    The swamp was home to hundreds of mangroves trees whose tangled roots and twisted branches formed a naturalbyrinth.

    These trees were covered in a mixture of moss and heavy thick vines that were wrapped around the edges of their branches.

    Mushrooms peeked out from between the roots of the trees andyers of algae floatedzily on top of the brackish water.

    The ripples asionally visible in the water made it clear that there were living creatures inside this terrifying environment.

    Dark shadows with slender bodies darted through the water and concealed themselves amongst the reeds which swayed gently in the breeze.

    In the middle of the swamp was a very strange sight.

    A six-year-old girl stood silently with tears welling up in her eyes as the brown water stained the edges of her pretty white dress.

    She opened her mouth and cried out for her mother. Her piercing screams echoed through the swamp, but she received no response.

    The nobles in the stands were very confused and many essed the databases avable on the Virtual Net to see who this child was.

    Nothing.

    There was no information on the child but her piercing green eyes and angelic facial features made it clear that she was a member of the royal family.

    "Should someone stop this?" a noblewoman asked with a worried expression on her face.

    "No¡­ this must be a trick¡­" an elderly man next to her suggested as he leaned back against his chair.

    "There is no way a mistake could have been made of this magnitude. Remember the ''Guardian'' is monitoring the entire at all times."

    "His spiritual senses would immediately detect if something was wrong."

    His words were reasonable.

    The senses of an Ascension stage cultivator were far beyond the realm of supernatural.

    They could detect the heartbeat of an insect on the other side of arge with ease.

    Which meant that any rebellion or plots against the Imperial Family could not be spoken on the same where the ''Guardian'' was currently inhabiting.

    The noblewoman nodded her head in understanding and focused on what was happening in the arena below with an enormous weight off her shoulders.

    A woman stepped through the mangrove forest and began to walk towards the child with hesitant footsteps.

    She wore a simple piece of white armour that covered her chest, back and other key areas of her body.

    On the top of her head was a helm that was embellished with intricate carvings and runes that mimicked the shape of a crown.

    Her piercing green eyes shone through the helmet, and they shone with determination and caution in equal measure.

    Princess Sria ¡­ the daughter of a mercenary who attracted thete emperor''s attention with her feminine wiles and battle prowess.

    She had no political backing but was known as a decent sharpshooter after years of training with the ck Viper Corps.

    In her arms was a sleek sma rifle that crackled with energy and its barrel pulsated menacingly with a dull bluish glow.

    The princess raised up her rifle and pointed its end directly at the child who continued to sob loudly and cry out for her mother.

    Her fingers trembled on the trigger, but she steeled her heart and pulled.

    Bang!

    Arge beam of sma energy burst out of the tip of her rifle and shot directly at the child who did not even have time to react.

    The energy st knocked the child into the water and the brownish water soon turnedpletely red.

    Several of the aquatic creatures inside the swamp swam towards the corpse and began to devour it greedily.

    Princess Sria frowned as she looked up at the sky and noticed that the lines of text on the holographic screen had not changed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    [Commencing Fight: Candidate No. 56 VS Candidate No. 9008]

    [BEGIN!]

    She still had not defeated her opponent.

    But where was her enemy? Where was she hiding?

    Princess Sria warily scanned her immediately surroundings for any hints of movements or sounds.

    She could not hear anything except the sshes of watering from the creatures who feasted on the body of the young girl.

    "Excuse me?" a young voice came out of nowhere and startled the princess.

    She quietly pointed her rifle in the direction of the noise and to her shock she saw a little girl who looked identical to the one who had just died.

    "Can you help me find my mommy?" the little girl innocently asked as she held out her hands for a hug.

    There was a gentle smile on her face and the mischievous glint in her eyes made her seem like a naughty but innocent child.

    Bang!

    Once again princess Sria pulled the trigger, and a beam of sma energy cleanly vaporised the child''s head.

    The headless corpse fell into the water with a loud ssh.

    Princess Sria frowned as she heard yet another voice came and this time it was from behind her.

    "You are a very rude bad guy!" the little girl scolded her fiercely with her hands firmly on the sides of her hips.

    "You need to stop being such a meanie and then¡­"

    BANG!

    The little girl copsed with a smoking hole in the middle of her chest. Princess Sria waited patiently for another child to appear but nothing else happened.

    She waited¡­ and waited¡­

    Minutes passed by uneventfully and the nobles sitting down in the stands started to get bored by theck of action.

    They shouted words of encouragement and abuse at the princess, but she could not hear them because there was a sound dampening barrier covering the arena.

    Eventually the princess realised that the scourge of children mysteriously popping up from thin air appeared to have halted.

    Princess Sria knew that she was in an exposed position and decided to head deeper into the swamp to try and seek out her hidden opponent.

    She waded through the murky waters while constantly looking around for any signs or hints of dangerous lifeforms.

    Something brushed against her leg and when she looked down, she noticed a long sinewy animal travelling through the water holding a piece of the young girl''s arm in its mouth.

    Princess Sria grimaced as she continued on her trek through the mangroves.

    As she got deeper into the swamp, the air became even hotter and soon beads of sweat started to run down her brows.

    Another creature brushed against her leg, but the princess ignored it. Then a third creature¡­ then a fourth¡­ then a fifth¡­

    The princess angrily stomped her foot down and crushed one of the animals lingering around her ankles.

    "You shouldn''t have hurt my babies¡­" a sweet melodic voice called out.

    Princess Sria''s eyes widened as she saw hundreds if not thousands of little girls start to crawl out from between the roots of the mangrove trees.

    "My pets¡­ get her¡­" one of the girls called out excitedly.

    Princess Sria raised up her rifle and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The sounds of sma rifle fire echoed through the swamp.

    Bang! Bang!

    But it was no use.

    No matter how many she killed¡­ more would crawl out from the murky depth of the water to take their ce.

    "Get¡­ away¡­ get away from me!" Princess Sria screamed as the first wave of children grabbed her legs and began to pull her downwards.

 Chapter 766 The Imposter

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Alpha Quadrant- Private Upper Gardens)

    At the top of certain buildings in the hive city there were floating oases of life.

    They were suspended above the ground in defiance of gravity using maic fluctuations to hold them in ce.

    The size of these gardens varied but most were around the size of a football field with additional sections that could be joined together to create more space.

    A handsome young man sat down quietly on a bench and looked up at the clear blue sky.

    A soft and gentle breeze brushed against his face which made his curly hair ripple ever so slightly.

    He possessed perfectly sculptured facial features such as his sharp eyebrows, a chiseled jawline and piercing green eyes.

    His body was lean but muscr and one could see the outline of his incredible physique against the simple white shirt and ck pants that he wore.

    A pair of sunsses hung on the centre of his shirt, and he exuded an aura of rxation and confidence.

    There was no one else in the gardens except for the young man.

    He was alone in his thoughts amidst a sea of brightly coloured flowers and palm trees whose leafy branches shaded him from the ring sunlight.

    The only sounds came from the bubbling of the artificial river that flowed straight through the middle of the garden and into smallkes.

    Prince Theseus let out a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his curly hair. He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a nearby pool.

    For a moment he stared at his mirror image with the expression that one would have when looking at a stranger.

    Maybe it was because his appearance did belong to a stranger¡­

    (No¡­ don''t think like that.)

    (You have his memories¡­ you studied his personality¡­ his mannerisms¡­ you watched all of his speeches, and no one has suspected anything.)

    (Even his own mother can''t tell that her son has been reced.)

    Prince Theseus leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes. Sometimes he had difficulty separating himself from histe brother.

    The real crown prince who was dead.

    He was nothing but a fake. An imposer who had stolen the identity of his brother and was now living the life of a lie.

    All for the glorious cause of his master¡­

    Prince Theseus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metalloid device. He opened his eyes and tapped a button on the side of the device.

    A holographic window projected outwards into the air directly in front of him. The crown prince flicked his fingers across the projection and tapped on a certain contact.

    The screen shifted slightly and then a middle-aged woman with greying hair appeared on the other side.

    She wore a tailored zer with sleek lines that entuated her curvy silhouette. The zer was a dark grey colour and meshed quite well with her sharp trouser pants.

    "Mrs. Rutherford¡­ I take it that the shipments of lorvern dust have been delivered on time," Prince Theseus asked with a yful glint in his eyes.

    "Of course, sir!" the woman quickly replied as the screen split into two sections.

    On one side the video disyed the woman and on the other side was the logo of thepany that she worked for.

    VMT.

    Vanguard Mineral Transport Ltd.

    A perfectly legitimatepany that served as the cover for his contact with his master.

    It was far too risky to speak frankly within earshot of the Imperial Family''s guardian, so this method was the best way to convey information using codewords and doublespeak.

    "You can inform the CEO that the first round of the tournament has gone well and there should be no unexpected surprises," Prince Theseus continued to speak in a calm tone.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Please let him know that I have yet to seed in giving out the free samples of our goods to certain noble families."

    "Kry''en crystals are very expensive, so I only have enough to maintain the current supply line to our existing customers and few new ones."

    The middle-aged woman nodded and then the call was ended. Prince Theseus ced the device back in his pocket and furrowed his brows.

    The first round had been easy.

    A qi tide opponent was nothingpared to a void stage cultivator, but he had been watching the results of the other fights.

    There were some dangerous individuals in the royal family and even with the power of his master¡­ he needed to be careful.

    Especially if he ended up facing against that demon.

    Prince Theseus shuddered as he recalled the results of a fight where the defeatedbatant''s body had been torn apart into dozens of pieces.

    The worst part about the sight were the horrific bite marks on the corpse.

    He hoped that someone would put that mad dog down. There was no way that the next leader of the Imperial Family could be such a mad person.

    "Come out," Prince Theseus suddenly spoke as he turned towards the edge of the garden where some grasses were rustling softly in the breeze.

    "My¡­ my brother¡­ your senses are really sharp!" a clear voice giggled, and her bell-likeughter echoed through the garden.

    A pretty woman wearing a vibrant coloured dress with a long and flowery tail stepped out from behind the tall grass.

    Layers uponyers of ruffles fluttered magically in the breeze and her piercing green eyes shone with innocence and happiness.

    A golden tiara rested lightly on her forehead, and it was covered in precious stone and rare jewels that were worth a fortune.

    Her appearance resembled that of a magical fairy straight from a folklore tale.

    The tension in the crown prince''s chest immediately melted away as he felt a surge of relief.

    (Thank goodness¡­ it was not¡­)

    "Princess Victoria¡­ my dear sister," Prince Theseus smiled as he stretched out his hands and the princess ran over and gave him a big bear hug.

    "What a wee surprise¡­ to what do I owe the pleasure?"

    Princess Victoria fidgeted with her hands as she leaned in closer until her lips were mere inches away from her half brother''s.

    "I¡­ I need¡­ them¡­" Princess Victoria''s breath hitched as her eyes appeared ssy and unfocused as if she was in a daze.

    "Please¡­ I need¡­ I need more¡­ I''m begging you¡­ they look so pretty¡­"

    Prince Theseus smiled and reached into his storage ring. He pulled out several ruby-like gems that shone with an eerie glow.

    Princess Victoria grabbed the gems quickly and let out a moan of pleasure was one of the gems began to warm up in her palm.

    The crystal instantly melted, and the reddish liquid was quickly absorbed into her skin without a single trace.

    Her eyes briefly turnedpletely white before returning back to their normal green hue.

    "Did you enjoy the souvenirs that I got for you?" Prince Theseus spoke nonchntly just in case the guardian was listening.

    "Yes! Thank you big brother!" Princess Victoria squealed in delight as she pulled her older sibling in for an even tighter hug.

    "I''m d you liked them," Prince Theseus gently spoke as he stroked his younger half sister''s back with soothing motions.

    "But you know¡­ I think someone would like them just as much as you do¡­"

    "Who?" Princess Victoria asked with a confused look on her face.

    "One of our dear siblings¡­" Prince Theseus continued to speak in a soft and warm tone that made the princess feel safe and rxed.

    "Cleo Sisrelis."

 Chapter 767 A Final Warning

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Private Residences)

    The first day of the session ceremony had ended. It was a day filled with blood, despair, broken dreams, and shattered bodies.

    Cleo sat down quietly in the corner of the main bedroom and looked out of the window. The clear night sky contrasted with her low mood.

    Sophie was currently training in one of the holosuite decks nearby and had offered for her to join but Cleo wanted to be alone.

    The princess reached into her storage bag and pulled out several bottles of wine that she had been saving up for a special asion.

    Except she was not going to drink to celebrate.

    Cleo rarely drank alcohol since unlike her girlfriend, her body did not automatically break down toxins so she could still get drunk on the stronger stuff.

    Her usually vibrant green eyes were filled with a haze of sadness. Cleo unscrewed the top of the first bottle and poured its contents down her throat.

    The liquid burned as it slid down her throat which for just the slightest moment numbed the pain that she felt in her heart.

    The princess took another sip and then another until rows of empty bottles were messily ced on the table in front of her.

    Her mind constantly drifted to what she saw today, and unwanted memories surfaced without her consent.

    She remembered seeing her half sisters and brothers¡­ the people who she hadpeted with her entire life being butchered in various ways.

    Beheaded by swords, shot with sma rounds, torn apart bybat beasts¡­

    There was no mercy in the arena.

    Thepetitive spirit between the offsprings of the Imperial Family had finally boiled over into hatred.

    Each person was prepared to kill their opponents in order to be crowned as the next ruler of the human side of the Federation.

    The bottle in Cleo''s palm trembled slightly as she took in a few deep breaths and tried to steady her breathing.

    Why did she feel this way?

    Growing up in the Imperial Pce Complex meant that she had seen and experienced her fair share of the intrigue, bullying and vicious attacks between members of the royal family.

    She had never gotten along with any of her siblings and the positive interactions that she had with some of them could be counted on one hand.

    And yet¡­

    She felt bitter as she watched them die.

    No matter how much she drank, she could not escape the sickly cloying feeling in her heart that made her want to throw up.

    In the back of her mind there was a voice that whispered softly. There was a question on her mind that haunted her.

    If she had been stronger and had joined the session ceremony¡­ would she have behaved in the same way?

    Would she have killed her siblings in her quest for power?

    Cleo didn''t know the answer to that question. No¡­ she was afraid to find out the answer to that question.

    What if she was no better?

    For most of her life she had been told by her mother that she would one day be the next ruler of the Imperial Family.

    Even though she had escaped her mother''s grasp, it was difficult to get rid of her influence and the ambition that secretly burned in her heart.

    The princess scowled heavily as she picked up another bottle and took arge sip of the burning liquid.

    There was a warm tingling feeling spreading around her body and it made her feel good. She could feel her thoughts begin to slow down with every passing minute.

    She needed to get out of here and take a walk.

    The walls were closing in and therge bedroom suddenly appeared stuffy and too small. Cleo shakily put on her slippers and nced in the mirror at her reflection.

    She was wearing a simple ck jacket and a pair of running shorts. A good enough covering for her body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Cleo staggered over to the door and pressed the release button with trembling fingertips. She walked outside with a slight sway in her steps.

    The princess wandered through the long and winding corridor and would asionally stop to look at the portraits on the wall.

    The paintings disyed the faces of the previous rulers of the Imperial Family, and they looked down at the drunk princess with expressions of disapproval.

    "Bastards¡­ the whole lot of you¡­" Cleo''s words slurred as she walked over to one of the paintings.

    Each portrait looked identical.

    A self- righteous prick dressed up in fancy clothes trying to show the universe why they were so important.

    Cleo scoffed and walked away from the paintings but not before giving them the middle finger.

    She continued on her journey and took a few turns until she arrived at the entrance to the floating sky gardens just outside the building.

    These gardens were shared by all the nobles staying in the various wings of the skyscraper but right now they were empty.

    Well, that wasn''t surprising considering that it was the middle of the night and there were plenty sources of entertainment inside the apartments to keep the nobles upied.

    Pleasure ves being perhaps the most popr.

    A disgusting practice.

    No¡­ this whole ce was disgusting.

    Gically modified humans bred for obedience and servitude that would live their lives ving away in this mechanical.

    Generations that had been bred just to serve their masters. No free will¡­ just mere puppets dancing to the tunes of the instructions imnted in their gic code.

    Cleo stumbled over to a nearby bench and sat down. A cold breeze brushed against her cheek, and she pulled her jacket tighter around her body.

    There was a brief moment of peacefulness as Cleo looked up at the stars in the night sky and for the first time her bad mood felt a little bit better.

    Being outside helped her to slightly sober up and she could feel her body slowly begin to recover.

    She may not have Sophie''s regenerative and detoxification abilities, but she was a qi tide cultivator so being drunk would notst for long.

    Suddenly Cleo heard the sounds of footstepsing from the distance.

    She turned in the direction of the sound and saw a group of finely dressed men and women walking towards her while giggling andughing amongst themselves.

    "Did you see how Princess Juliana screamed like a bitch? Oh, my goodness that was funny as fuck! Haha! I nearly choked on my drink."

    "I''m telling you¡­ you missed out on the fight in the pit I was assigned to. One of the princes begged for his life before a sword chopped up his body piece by piece."

    "Those spoilt royal brats¡­ they never stood a chance. It''s a shame really¡­"

    "Oh please! They got what they deserved!"

    The mockingughtering from the group echoed in Cleo''s ears and for a moment she lost her sense of sanity.

    All she could hear was theughter.

    "How dare you¡­ HOW DARE YOU!" Cleo muttered angrily as she curled up her fingers into a tight fist with so much force that her fingernails pierced the underside of her palms.

    Cleo furrowed her brows and waited until the group came closer. She prepared a sharp burst of mental energy to shock theughing nobles unconscious.

    Mental Spike- Field of Terror!

    Cleo unleashed her attack but to her surprise nothing happened.

    The mental energy that was stored up in her mind simply vanished as if it had never been there.

    Then a deep masculine voice spoke in her mind with a presence that was so overwhelming that Cleo nearly copsed on the bench.

    [No outside fighting is allowed during the session ceremony]

    [This is your first and only warning.]

 Chapter 768 Living Dolls And Puppets

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Private Residences- Floating Gardens)

    Cleo''s entire body froze as the voice entered her mind. She could not move¡­ she could not think¡­ she could do nothing but listen.

    As the warning faded, Cleo stood up and then sat back down on the bench before taking in a few deep breaths.

    All the psychic energy that she had built up to attack the group of nobles was now gone.

    But more importantly¡­ she knew who that voice belonged to.

    There was only one person who could predict her intention and then just seamlessly enter her mind with a mere whisper and that was the Guardian of the royal family.

    Cleo sobered up immediately as she noticed that the tips of her fingers were trembling ever so slightly.

    That raw power and strength¡­

    It was only for a brief moment that the guardian had entered her mind, but Cleo had no doubt that if he wanted to then he would be able to kill her in a mere fraction of a second.

    Ascension stage cultivators were not bound bymon sense or even thews of physics. They were the closest entities to living gods.

    Cleo gently exhaled as she focused on her breathing and tried to ground herself in the moment.

    It was a technique that she had picked up after watching Sophie deal with her murderous urges when she saw blood or felt threatened.

    The group of nobles walking by continued to joke andugh not knowing that they had been seconds away from being hit with a heavy-handed mental attack.

    As the sounds of the group faded away into the distance, Cleo ced the empty wine bottle in her storage ring and leaned against the back of the bench.

    She had been incredibly stupid.

    If the Ascension cultivator had not stopped her from attacking that group of arrogant nobles, then she would have caused a great deal of trouble for Sophie.

    Everyone knew that they were engaged, and she now unofficially represented the prestige of House Peterlor.

    She could not act recklessly due to her emotions anymore.

    That was the price one had to pay for bing a member of high noble society.

    Cleo stayed outside for a few more minutes and enjoyed the cool nighttime breeze as the wind passed through her hair.

    The air was heavy with the scents of the flowers that were all around her, but it was not an unpleasant odour. Cleo got up from the bench and returned to the main building.

    There was a lot on her mind to think about.

    Honestly there was a part of her that no longer wanted to be on this.

    She did not know if she would be able to handle watching more of her siblings die every single day for the next few weeks.

    Would she eventually get used to it? Get used to the sight of her half-siblings killing each other over their ambitions and desires¡­

    Was this really something to get used to?

    The Imperial Family was being culled. Make no mistake about it¡­ the royal family was being systematically eliminated.

    Princes and princesses with impressive gic lineages and talented cultivation bloodlines would die for no reason.

    If Cleo was in charge of the ceremony, then she would hire mages to create time reversal formations.

    The fights could still be to the death but at least then the Federation would not lose talented individuals permanently.

    But she wasn''t in charge.

    Cleo walked through the long and winding corridors before eventually arriving back at the main bedroom which she shared with Sophie.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The princess ced her palm on the scanner next to the door and a green light shed twice before the door swung open.

    The room was bustling with activity as gically modified humans were cleaning up the messy bed and tidying up the other parts of the room.

    Cleo sat down on a chair in the corner of the bedroom and watched them absentmindedly. They all wore identical, form-fitting uniforms of dark tones.

    Their eyescked all traces of individuality and now held vacant stares that were devoid of any emotions or feelings.

    Their movements were eerily synchronised as if they were all puppets dancing on the strings held by an unknown master.

    Each broom stroke, swipe of the duster or swish of the mop was highly efficient and soon the bedroom waspletely tidy.

    But their movementscked something.

    Theycked the subtle motions that spoke of humanity''s touch. The imperfections and the ws were nowhere to be found.

    Cleo watched them with a mixture of pity and anger in her heart. She felt sorry for the workers and angry at the system which had created them.

    These humans had known no other life than one of servitude and obedience.

    All of their free will had been stripped away from their consciousness thanks to gic modification and programming.

    Wait¡­ maybe if she¡­

    Cleo was suddenly struck by a feeling of curiosity as she got up from her seat and stepped a bit closer to the servants.

    They were now putting the finishing touches on the room by wiping down the paintings that hung on the wall using pieces of dry cloth.

    Cleo stretched out her palm and sent out a small probe of mental energy into the mind of the female servant in front of her.

    Psychic Technique- Mind Scan!

    The mental tendril burrowed itself into the mind of the female servant who stopped moving and remained frozen in ce.

    Cleo closed her eyes and established a link with the frozen girl''s mind. She looked into the female servant''s thoughts and psyche but was left disappointed.

    The princess withdrew the connection and the female servant continued to clean as though nothing had happened.

    Cleo returned to her chair slightly shaken by what she had seen. The female servantcked an ego or sense of self.

    Even if she was rescued and taken away from this, she was nothing more than a living doll with no thoughts or desires of her own.

    It had been a long shot to see if she could somehow break the mental conditioning that these gically modified humans underwent but Cleo still felt unhappy.

    If she was stronger¡­ would she have been able to create a personalities and egos for these nk tes?

    But then would they be individuals or just puppets acting ording to the personality that she had chosen for them?

    These were questions with no good answers.

    Eventually the servants exited the bedroom and Cleo was left alone in the chair with numerous thoughts running through her mind.

    Sophie was still not back yet but that really wasn''t a cause for concern.

    Cleo knew how her girlfriend could get once she started a training session, so she was not too worried about her safety.

    Plus, void stage cultivators were considered as true powerhouses and only those in the god and ascension stage could threaten them.

    The princess yawned sleepily and headed for the bed. She crawled into the sheets and felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

    She needed to take some rest.

 Chapter 769 Gambling Den

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Fighting Pit No. 45)

    Just outside the fighting pit was arge building that contained a hall around the size of a football field.

    This hall used to be the location where the gically modified humans of the Delta Quadrant would usually go to rest and there were basic beds and some washrooms located in the building.

    But now the hall served a different purpose.

    It had now been transformed into a gambling den with the unspoken permission of the tournament organisers.

    This was because unless the noble guests on Cthelen interfered with the tournament itself or broke the neutralityw, the organisers and the Guardian would turn a blind eye.

    Stepping inside the hall would lead one inside a world of decadence and intrigue.

    The heavy scent of smoke filled the air and bright shing lights illuminated the interior of the hall.

    A loud cacophony of voices echoed through the hall as dozens of gamblers huddled around the numerous booths scattered throughout the space.

    Shocked gasps, angry curses and cries of excitement mixed with happiness could regrly be hearding from the crowd.

    At the back of the hall, towering holographic screens disyed the real-time odds and predictions of the uing fights.

    Other screens showed the battles unfolding in the pits themselves which intertwined the deadly spectacles with the allure of wealth.

    The elegantly dressed dealers politely spoke to the noble guests and offered them free drinks and refreshments to keep them happy.

    A band had been hired and they were ying on a raised tform.

    The soft and gentle melody of a jazzy beat helped to keep the atmosphere surprisingly calm and rxed.

    "Give me two hundred thousand Enas on princess Elsa¡­ I got a good feeling about her winning," a grizzled old man spoke excitedly as he lifted up his card and swiped it against the reader.

    "Of course, sir," the dealer behind the machine calmly spoke.

    "Here is your betting slip. The odds are currently ten to one so if your chosen champion seeds then you will more than quadruple your initial bet."

    The grizzled old man grinned widely and grabbed the slip out of the dealer''s hand. He ran off to the corner of the room and stared at one of the screens.

    On the other side of the projection a young woman stood silently in the middle of a frozen tundra while her opponent tried desperately to stop himself from freezing to death.

    Princess Elsa stood tall andposed as she thrust her arms formed and a surge of freezing air followed her movements.

    Enormous spikes of ice jutted out of the ground beneath her feet as the temperature around her body plunged to unfathomable levels.

    Her opponent scowled and then swung his de at the iing shards of ice that threatened to skewer him.

    The young prince''s de easily cut through the hailstorm, but he did not notice the spikeing up from the ground beneath his feet.

    Stab!

    Princess Elsa''s opponent froze as the ice spike destroyed his heart and erupted from the other side of his chest in a brutal disy of cruelty.

    He slumped lifelessly but his body could not move from same ce because the ice spike anchored him just above the ground.

    The blood leaking out of his corpse instantly froze and frost began to creep up his skin.

    "YES! YES! I won! I WON!" the grizzled old man shouted for joy as he ran towards the dealer with his betting slip held firmly in his palm.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He was not the only one crying out in ecstasy but there were quite a few nobles who ripped up their betting slips or tossed them on the ground.

    Such was the result after the end of every fight.

    There were always winners and losers after the results had been made clear.

    Still if you kept gambling for long enough, you would soone to notice to somehow the house always seemed to make a profit.

    Even on fights where people won despite the odds.

    It was rumored that the nobles behind the gambling den spared no expense to hire the best information guilds and organizations to investigate each candidate.

    And clearly it was paying off!

    In addition to betting on the oue of the fights, there were a few machines in the back of the hall that could be yed.

    Slot chances, dice games and other random games of chance that drew the attention of the gamblers who did not have much luck guessing the oues of the fight.

    The bright neon lights which indicated that a jackpot had been won continued to ring out continuously all throughout the day.

    Meanwhile away from the den of gambling, Sophie was currently sitting down in one of the stands and watching the fight below with a bored expression on her face.

    Maybe she was just desensitised to death after being in so many life and death situations, but the fights below just seemed¡­ wasteful.

    Top young talent of the Federation with impressive gic lineages were being ughtered before they could reach their prime.

    The most powerful cultivator among the young generations of the Imperial Family was only in the void stage.

    But there was a potential for them to eventually reach the god stage or even further beyond and that potential alone should have been enough to protect them.

    The number of god stage cultivators in the entire Federation was incredibly few. They were a precious resource and every single one of them was a valuable powerhouse.

    Unfortunately, the young princes and princesses would never be given the opportunity to reach that stage.

    Sophie watched as a young woman screamed as she was slowly torn apart in a fiery storm of sharp needles.

    Her opponent showed her no mercy and the needles cut up her body piece by piece while she was still alive.

    It was a horrific way to die.

    Loud cheers and whistles erupted from the crowds of noble onlookers in the stands, and they pped their hands together in appreciation.

    None pped louder than the nobles who belonged to the victorious prince''s faction and broad smiles stretched across their faces.

    The session ceremony had enormous political implications for noble society without exaggeration it could lead to the end of certain aristocrat families and the rise of others.

    Those who had chosen a certain candidate to support had ced their bets on the tablepared to others like Sophie who had remained neutral.

    Staying neutral was the safe option but it would not bring any benefits while supporting a candidate was risky, but the rewards would be great.

    A grateful emperor or empress could easily award their backers wealth, status or additional authority or influence.

    Sophie could only hope that the next leader of the Imperial Family was someone with a good head on their shoulders.

    Thest thing that they needed was a seconding of thete emperor or gods forbid¡­ someone even worse.

 Chapter 770 Light Conversations And Alliances

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Fighting Pit No.45)

    "I must say duchess Peterlor¡­ you are absolutely delightful," a high-pitched voice tittered with a hint ofughter in her tone.

    Sophie politely smiled and tried not to show the difort on her face as she got a whiff of expensive perfume that smelled like sandpaper mixed with jasmine.

    The woman next to her wore an elegant evening gown adorned with intricate embellishments and glowing jewels that shone with every graceful movement that she made.

    The fabric of her dress was a rich blend of satin which cascaded around her and pooled on the floor of the stands.

    However, there was one aspect of her appearance that stood out the most.

    Her face waspletely covered in heavy makeup to the point where it was hard to distinguish any of her facial features amidst the sea of powder.

    And the odour surrounding her body¡­ was not pleasant.

    "Countess Maria Von Decruz ¡­ the pleasure is all mine," Sophie smoothly replied as she stretched out her hand and the woman grabbed it for a firm handshake.

    "It is always a delight to meet a member of the Centurion Star System¡­ tell me what it is like to live in a developing region?"

    The countess'' eyes lit up and Sophie knew that she had made the right choice.

    Countess Maria opened her mouth and excitedly began to speak,

    "Well, we''ve recently been terraforming some moons orbiting a local gas, my darling husband Walter is in charge of the project, but you know how men can get¡­"

    "The gods only know how that man has survived for so long without being able to look after himself."

    "Sigh¡­ the only downsides are the workers¡­ there is only so much you can push them before the mercenaries have to be hired to maintain order."

    "And of course, those expenses add up¡­"

    She continued to talk nonstop while Sophie asionally nodded her head and pretended to be interested.

    This was an incredibly boring situation, but she had no other choice.

    During the intermissions between the fights was the perfect time to expand her family''s connections.

    This was honestly the perfect opportunity.

    Nobles were gathered in one central location from all across the Federation.

    If she could make a few trade deals, informal alliances and get the contacts of some of these foreign nobles then this entire affair would be worth it.

    Sophie entertained the countess for a ten more minutes that felt like an eternity and then moved on to another part of the stands.

    "Duchess Peterlor," a hoarse masculine voice called out.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw a slender young man with soft feminine features that enhanced his androgynous beauty.

    He wore a simple ck suit with a white tie loosely hanging from around his neck.

    Next to the man was a massive hulking Mendolesa female who stood out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of nobility.

    "Ahh¡­ pleasant afternoon to you, my good sir. I don''t believe that we have had the pleasure of an introduction," Sophie put on a friendly smile as she stretched out her hand.

    The young man looked at her outstretched palm for a moment and then gave her a quick shake before retreating his hand back into the pocket of his jacket.

    "Yes¡­ I am Arthur Sris of House Sris¡­ this is my fianc¨¦e, Ingrid Ashford. She is a future member of my house," the young man quietly spoke.

    "It is pleasure to meet you both," Sophie replied calmly as she looked at the pair with a bit more goodwill.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It was rare to see a union between humans and Mendolesas at least in noble high society.

    In regions like the Hydra Star System there was a decent poption of hybrids but ny nine percent of them weremoners.

    House Sris¡­ where had she heard that name before?

    Within just a few seconds Sophie mentally essed all of her memories and quickly recalled all information that she possessed about that house.

    This was just one of the many benefits of being a void stage cultivator.

    Oh¡­ wait¡­

    Huh?

    Sophie furrowed her brows slightly as she finally ced the name with the noble family in her memory.

    House Sris were an aristocratic n who had risen to the position of upper nobility within the span of three centuries.

    That may seem like a long time but in the era of interster exploration it was nothing more than the blink of an eye.

    "So, miss Ingrid, how are you enjoying the session ceremony so far? I know that it must seem eerily simr to the Bl''aek rituals on Eleron," Sophie lightheartedly joked.

    "Thank goodness those traditions were stopped a few hundred thousand years ago otherwise¡­"

    "The halting of the Bl''aek rituals was a mistake," Ingrid interrupted Sophie with a low growl as her tail lowered towards the ground.

    "Warriors are forged from blood and battle. There is not greater hardening of the heart than the experience of killing one''s kin."

    "I disagree. The Bl''aek rituals just like this session ceremony are a waste of talent and precious resources," Sophie coldly responded as she saw irritation in Ingrid''s eyes.

    "You are right that warriors are forged in battles but with the technology and runic magic avable in modern times practice spars should not end in death."

    "Then you are soft as well," Ingrid scoffed mockingly.

    She turned to Arthur to whisper something in his ears when her entire body froze. Sophie took one single step forward and all the hairs on Ingrid''s body stood up on end.

    The edges of Sophie''s golden eyes were stained by a faint crimson mist which spread rapidly until they werepletely covered.

    An apex predator.

    A monster.

    A killing demon.

    Ingrid''s legs trembled violently as she copsed on the ground with her butt mming against the cold tiles that made up the floor of the stands.

    Themotion caused all the nearby nobles to look in their direction. Ingrid shivered as she heard a sweet voice call out to her.

    "Are you okay? I think someone spilled a drink there," Sophie gently spoke. She grabbed Ingrid by the arm and pulled her up.

    Ingrid looked at her in shock and horror since Sophie''s eyes were now back to their golden hue and no trace of the monstrous killing intent that surrounded her just moments ago could be felt.

    "I¡­ I¡­ sorry¡­ I¡­" Ingrid stammered as she fearfully withdrew her hand and took several steps backwards before fleeing.

    "Darling?" Arthur eximed in shock. He had no idea what had gotten into his fianc¨¦e for her to act so strangely.

    She had embarrassed him in front of Duchess Peterlor!

    "Don''t worry¡­ sometimes being in crowded spaces can get overwhelming," Sophie spoke in a sympathetic tone masking the sadistic glee that she felt in her heart.

    "Your fianc¨¦e appears to need a short break to rest."

 Chapter 771 Another Agreement Is Made

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Fighting Pit No.45)

    "You are so bad," a voice yfully teased.

    Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw Cleo staring at her with a mischievous glint in her piercing green eyes.

    "A short break to rest? Hmm¡­ but I thought she looked fine a few moments ago¡­" Cleo''s voice lowered to a whisper as she leaned in closer.

    A small smile danced across her lips as she looked at her girlfriend who now had a sheepish expression on her face.

    "Sorry¡­ I may have lost my temper," Sophie admitted truthfully while enjoying the sensation of Cleo''s warmth as she moved her body closer.

    "Don''t be¡­. I know my girlfriend is a big scary badass¡­" Cleo purred seductively as she winked at Sophie before stepping back.

    She waved cheerfully and then vanished into the crowd. Sophie ced a hand on her heart and discovered that it was beating abnormally fast.

    Sigh¡­ even after all this time.

    Cleo always knew the exact words to make her an emotional mess and she wouldn''t have it any other way.

    A loud cheer erupted as the fighting resumed in the arena below.

    Sophie nced down and saw a handsome young man with seven floating swords circling his body at a breakneck pace.

    His opponent was an elderly woman whose body flickered so quickly that afterimages appeared whenever she took a step forward.

    Sophie let out a light sigh and turned away from the spectacle.

    Maybe she was desensitised to violence, but she found no pleasure in watching two people fight to the death.

    As she mentioned to Ingrid, it was a wasteful disy of resources. Powerful cultivators culling each other for no reason.

    Well¡­ she supposed there was an important reason in their minds.

    The throne and the power that came along with it.

    There was a possibility of losing your life but that hardly stopped men and women throughout history and even the present day from participating in the ceremony.

    The position of ruler of the human side of the Federation.

    It was a position that granted one great influence and near limitless authority throughout the alliance.

    Humanity was after all one of the most powerful species and certainly the most numerouspared to the other races who were part of the Federation.

    Still there was no use lingering on these emotions.

    No one had forced these princess and princes to join thepetition and anyone with enough sense to know that they would die had not participated.

    It was pure madness for anyone below the qi tide stage to take part.

    Hell, even the qi tide stage was not enough in theter half of the ceremony when void stage cultivators survived to thest rounds.

    Sophie shook her head and then wandered off to another group of nobles. These nobles wore long pieces of golden-brown fabrics thatpletely hid their appearances.

    shes of dark brown skin could be seen as they lifted up their arms and gestured towards the fight happening inside the pit.

    Sophie approached them and stopped a few meters away. She could sense several pairs of eyes falling on her as she froze in ce.

    She extended her right hand with her palm facing upwards while the fingers of her left hand curled up into a tight fist.

    Her movements were precise and elegant like a dancer moving to the tune of a rhythm that she had practised many times before.

    In response one of the nobles stepped forward and mirrored her movements. As she raised up her right hand their gazes locked, and Sophie tilted her head downwards.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It is quite rare for a noble of Gaia to know the B''aek greeting," the strange noblewoman slowly spoke.

    One could hear a strong ent in her voice, it was prominent since she would stress the ''r''s and ''e''s whenever she talked.

    "The credit goes to one of my tutors," Sophie humbly responded as she lowered her palm and rxed her posture.

    "A woman by the name of Aziza Naji¡­ she taught me about the cultures of the outer rim people in the Delta System."

    "Naji that name sounds familiar¡­ was she one of us?" the noblewoman tilted her head and asked curiously.

    "I am not sure¡­ she left after three months and I never got to know much about her personal life," Sophie exined honestly.

    "I see¡­ well it is pleasure to meet you, Duchess Peterlor. I am Sana Farouk of the Hakim tribe¡­ and these are my concubines," the noblewoman calmly spoke.

    She gestured towards the small crowd of four people behind her, and they all bowed their heads respectfully.

    Sophie nodded back politely and secretly looked at the covered woman in a different light.

    She was fairly certain that the people of the Delta System did not have a practice of polygamy but maybe their leaders were exempt from the rules.

    Sophie mentally looked up all the information that she had read about the Hakim tribe and opened her mouth to speak,

    "The Hakim tribe? Your reputation proceeds you, Lady Farouk. I have heard rumors that you have secured quite the substantial spice trade with the alien civilisations of the Federines."

    "Within a few years your n will be one of the richest in the Delta System. An admirable aplishment."

    "My you are well informed!" Lady Farouk smiled beneath the cloth covering her face as her expression softened.

    "It was not easy, but my people have managed to secure a well protected transport and supply line system to smuggle goods and spices into the Federines."

    "Now it seems as though everyone wants a piece of the profits¡­"

    The smile on Lady Farouk''s face grew sharper as she stared at Sophie like a shark that sensed blood in the water.

    "Lady Farouk¡­ you certainly enjoy cutting straight to the chase," Sophie''s smile remained unfazed as she met the noblewoman''s gaze.

    "House Peterlor is prepared to invest capital into your business for a minority stake¡­ I believe that with ess to our resources your profits will increase exponentially."

    Lady Farouk hummed thoughtfully, and she beckoned with her finger. One of the fully covered nobles behind her stepped forward and whispered something in her ears.

    Sophie heard what they were saying thanks to her enhanced hearing, but it was in anguage that she did not understand.

    There was a brief moment of silence as Lady Farouk appeared to give the matter some thought.

    She finally waved away the harem member standing behind her and focused her attention back on Sophie.

    "Let us discuss this matter at ater time¡­" Lady Farouk slowly spoke as she reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a small metalloid device.

    "You may contact me once the ceremony ends, and we can work out the details of our potential agreement¡­ I am very interested to see what House Peterlor can offer."

    "It will be a pleasure discussing such matters with you," Sophie smoothly replied as she took the device and ced it in her storage bag.

    She talked for a bit longer with the noblewoman before excusing herself and moving on to another section of the stands.

    The hybrid girl saw a familiar figure in the distance and quickly moved to get by her side.

    Cleo was leaning against the railings of a balcony and staring off into the distance with a mncholy look on her face.

    The fighting had stopped, and the older woman was lying down on the ground with horrific wounds across her chest and lower body regions.

    She was dead and her cloudy pupils were stained with traces of burst blood vessels.

 Chapter 772 An Invitation

    ?

    Cthelen- Hive City)

    (Subsection Delta Quadrant- Fighting Pit No.45)

    Cleo looked over the edge of the balcony and tried to ignore the bloody scene on the ground below.

    All around her she could hear the whispers and voicesing from the nobles who watched the spectacle with glee.

    "Ahh shame¡­ was expecting princess Kallista to put up more of a fight¡­"

    "Tell me about it¡­ she was in the qi tide stage, right? Could have sworn that she was tougher than that¡­"

    "Oh well. Who''s in the next fight? I think I want to ce some more bets¡­"

    Cleo let out a heavy sigh as she continued to lean up against the sides of the railing. She nced at her left hand and stared at the thin white envelope held between her fingers.

    An invitation.

    It had been an unexpected and sudden encounter.

    When she had left Sophie to explore the rest of the venue, a beautiful woman with piercing green eyes approached her.

    She wore a vibrant coloured dress with a long and flowery tail that trailed on the ground as she walked.

    Layers uponyers of ruffles fluttered magically with every step that she took and the golden tiara resting lightly on her foreheadpleted her otherworldly aura.

    She bore a striking resemnce to a fae princess from a fairy tale.

    Cleo knew who she was.

    Princess Victoria.

    A cultivator in the void stage who had decided not to participate in the session ceremony despite her high cultivation level.

    Cleo did not know her personally but as far as her siblings went, princess Victoria had a fairly clean reputation.

    Her sister walked over and exchanged some basic pleasantries with her and handed over an invitation to a private gathering that she was hosting tonight.

    Then just as quickly as the conversation started, princess Victoria excused herself and disappeared back into the crowd with just a simple goodbye.

    Honestly the entire affair was quite strange.

    Cleo suspected that it might be some kind of trap but that didn''t really make sense. For one the invitation seemed like a whim or a sudden spur of the moment decision.

    And there was the fact that on this it would be impossible to injury or maim someone outside of the fighting arenas.

    This was a fact that Cleo knew all too well.

    Nothing could escape the watchful eye of the Guardian even void stage cultivators were nothing but ants whenpared to his immense strength.

    "Penny for your thoughts?" a soft voice interrupted Cleo''s musing.

    Sophie walked up to her girlfriend and ced a gentle arm around her shoulder.

    She drew the princess in closer for a tight hug and leaned over to nt a kiss on the top of her head.

    "Penny for my thoughts? Is that a real saying from the ancient Earth era or are you just messing with me?" Cleo asked curiously as she snuggled closer to her lover.

    "Real. It sounds kind of silly, but it means err¡­ a coin for your opinion? Actually, I''m not sure¡­ it wasn''t an expression used often," Sophie replied after a long pause.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But seriously why do you look so down?"

    Cleo hummed softly under her breath but did not reply. She lifted up her left palm and handed the envelope over to Sophie.

    The hybrid girl raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend''sck of an exnation but still took the envelope and opened it.

    [You have been invited to a gathering hosted at the Sky Gardens Nightclub]

    [Bring only onepanion and enjoy a night of free drinks, refreshments, dancing and so much more¡­]

    [Only those with an invitation will be allowed entry!]

    "We''re going partying? Wait¡­ who gave you this?" Sophie asked with concern evident in her voice.

    "One of my sisters¡­ princess Victoria. She approached me and exchanged a few words before inviting me to a private suite in the nightclub," Cleo replied softly.

    Sophie took a moment to gather her thoughts and then opened her mouth to express the confusion that she felt,

    "You aren''t seriously thinking about going right? Remember that weirdness with the red crystals and the danger that I senseding from your siblings on Gaia?"

    "Not to mention the kidnapping attempt! And the crown prince who had a grudge on me for some reason!"

    "This is definitely a trap!"

    "I don''t think so¡­ for one it would be incredibly foolish for someone to try something within the range of the Guardian''s spiritual senses," Cleo rebutted calmly.

    "But¡­ you''re right. I don''t know princess Victoria and it is always better to be safe than sorry. Especially when dealing with my siblings."

    Cleo took the envelope back from Sophie and ced it in her storage bag.

    She stared off into the distance and the wind brushed against her curly hair causing it to cascade down her shoulders like a waterfall.

    Sophie could tell that her girlfriend was in a low mood. This was abination of multiple factors over thesest couple of days.

    Being on this¡­ was not a pleasant experience for Sophie but it was an even worse time for Cleo.

    Having to see gically modified humans stripped of their free will, watching her siblings kill each other for power and having to be on guard against the ones who didn''t.

    Maybe it was best if they left this ce early.

    Sophie knew that it probably wasn''t the best move politically, but she wasn''t in the mood to keep staying in this den of vipers of smiling psychopaths.

    Still was there something that she could do?

    Wait¡­

    "Hey¡­ why don''t we try something different tonight?" Sophie suggested with a yful glint in her eyes.

    "What do you mean?" Cleo asked inquisitively.

    "Well, there is new VR game out¡­ where you can¡­" Sophie lowered her voice to a mere whisper and quietly talked in Cleo''s ears.

    Her girlfriend began to blush furiously as Sophie continued to describe the new R-18 game that she had downloaded that could be yed as a multi-yer.

    Sophie teased Cleo some more and then took her by the arm and escorted her away from the balcony and towards the exit of the stands.

    It was best just to return to their private suites and enjoy and rxing day by the pool instead of staying here and watching bloodshed.

 Chapter 773 Going Above And Beyond

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    Aquanox- Central Trading Port)

    The was heated up thanks to the numerous underground volcanoes and hydraulic vents that provided a warm enough temperature to sustain life.

    Many fascinating lifeforms swam in the murky depths of the water but there was only one species that ruled the seas.

    The Nephtunians.

    An alien race with slender, streamlined bodies that were well adapted for life underwater at remarkable depths of over five thousand feet.

    Their skin glowed with a bright range of hues and colours from the sparkling steel-like tes that covered their sleek bodies.

    Fin-like appendages extended outwards from the side of their limbs which aided them in swimming through the depths.

    They possessedrge expressive eyes the size of dinner tes which shone with wisdom and curiosity.

    Rokan would ssify them as a Type 2 civilisation. Highly intelligent but unable to crack the conundrum of interster travel.

    Fortunately, as a member of the Federines alliance, technology was shared with the Nephtunians to create trading ports.

    Legally the practice was banned but ifws were not enforced then were they reallyws? Rokan scoffed as he moved through the trading port.

    Corruption was the only universal constant throughout alien civilisations.

    The only exception would probably be hive-mind races, but they had their own issues.

    As Rokan wandered through the marketce, he could hear the shouts of the traders and they called out to the merchants walking around.

    "Rare drifter meat! Get your drifter meat here!"

    "A great offer! I managed to acquire the egg of a lumineels! Get it now before it hatches¡­ trust me¡­ you really don''t want this egg to hatch¡­"

    "Free samples! Free samples of mystery meat! Mystery meat! Just like my ma used to make! It tastes great!"

    "Legally though¡­ err¡­ you cannot sue us for any side effects and we ept no responsibility for sickness of injuries."

    Rokan chuckled as he pulled his hood closer over his face. He was a wanted man in this sector of space.

    Bounty hunters, the Federines policing force, eager mercenaries looking for a quick buck¡­ he had lost track of how many people had tried to kill him over thest few months.

    It didn''t help that he was the only human in most of the ces that he visited, so he stood out like a sore thumb if he did not try to disguise his appearance.

    The problem was that someonepletely covered by arge robe and wearing a mask was inherently suspicious.

    Rokan kept walking through thebyrinth-like maze of stalls and shops until he arrived at a luxurious building made from a rare gemstone material.

    The building vaguely resembled a temple with a statue of a horse-like creature in mid gallop prominently disyed at the front of the building.

    Very few people entered the temple which was guarded by two heavily armored warriors holding what looked to be primitive sma rifles.

    Rokan strode up to the guards with a confident attitude and reached into the pocket of his robe.

    He pulled out several shiny tinum coins and handed them over to the guards.

    The warriors scowled darkly at him, but each still took the coins from his outstretched palm and shifted slightly to the side to allow him entrance.

    Rokan tilted his head politely and walled inside. The interior of the temple was just as grand and magnificent as the outside.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Paintings hung on the wall depicting scenes of siren-like beauties rising up the depths of the ocean and luring sailors to their deaths.

    There was arge moat running through the hall that led to an open pool that was directly connected to the ocean.

    Inside the pool dozens of Nephtunians swam around happily while making cooing noises to each other.

    Rokan watched with interest as several of therge Nephtunians lifted up the smaller ones and yfully tossed them in the air.

    "Enjoying the sight?" a cool melodic voice whispered sweetly.

    Rokan nced in the direction of the sound and saw a short alien with thick white fur covering most of her body staring upwards at him.

    "This is my first time on this," Rokan admitted freely as he continued to watch the Nephtunians y.

    "I see¡­ well¡­ it is always our pleasure to host someone of your¡­ reputation¡­" the alien slowly whispered.

    "Have you brought the payment?"

    Rokan smiled beneath his mask and slid over a storage ring to the alien priestess who grabbed it and tucked it into his robe.

    "Paid in full with a little bit extra as well just as a token of my appreciation¡­ for the service that you have offered to me," Rokan calmly spoke as he stretched out his arms and yawned.

    He could hear the alien''s multiple hearts begin to beat faster and knew that the priestess had taken the bait.

    "Please wait for a moment," the alien priestess stuttered as she quickly walked into one of the side passageways that led to the inner areas of the temple.

    Rokan watched her get further and further away as he casually leaned against a nearby pir with his hands resting in his pockets.

    When dealing with criminal elements the best option was always to go above and beyond what was necessary.

    One did not only need to pay for services but also silence as well and silence was usually the more expensive of the two.

    Not that Rokan trusted the alien priestess to never speak of this encounter but hopefully she would not say a word until he was safely out of this region of space.

    He needed to return to his daughter.

    Rokan furrowed her brows as he felt a throbbing sensation in the center of his chest.

    The pink mark that his wife Thai''lle had branded on his body had been acting strange over thest few weeks.

    It would pulsate every so often and sometimes a warm current would flow into his meridians from the mark.

    Rokan wasn''t sure what was happening since all he could sense was a vague connection and nothing more.

    Still there was no use dwelling on what he didn''t understand. When he returned home, he could always ask his daughter what was happening to him.

    Duke Peterlor waited patiently for a few minutes while distracting himself by watching the Nephtunians y more games like spitting out jets of water to form colour rainbows.

    Finally, he heard the faint pitter patter of footsteps as the alien priestess returned while clutching a thin sheet of papers.

    She looked around the room to see if anyone was paying attention and quickly scurried over to Rokan''s side.

    She handed the stack of papers to the human fugitive who tucked them neatly into one of the pockets of his robe without bothering to look.

    "One week from now¡­ south side docks¡­ ''the stars shine brightest''¡­" the alien priestess spoke softly in a voice no louder than a whisper.

    "Trust no one human¡­"

    "Thank you for the warning," Rokan politely replied as he departed from the temple. He could feel the stare of the alien priestess on his back as he stepped out of the building''s entrance.

 Chapter 774 A Violent Encounter

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    Aquanox- Lurein City)

    Being so close to the sea meant that the overwhelming scent of salt filled the air.

    It was mixed with a faint undertone of blood as numerous stalls propped up near the edges of the water.

    Dozens of merchants watched carefully as the butchers behind the stalls neatly cut up the pieces of meat that came from the fresh aquatic creatures caught in the nearby waters.

    Rokan leaned against the side of a wooden wall and watched the chaos unfold.

    The currency that the people on Aquanox used was linked to the central Federines dor.

    Its value was quite high all things considered so the price of the meat sold in this marketce was very steep.

    But¡­ the potential for profits is what drove these merchants to search for a good deal.

    The animals that lived in the oceans of Aquanox were protected species and banned from being bred outside of the.

    Hence their rarity.

    "Oi¡­ you''re in our spot¡­" a low hoarse growl interrupted Rokan''s musings.

    He looked in the direction of the sound and saw fiverge aliens staring at him with unpleasant smirks on their faces.

    These aliens were around six feet tall and possessed robust and muscr builds. Their bodies were covered in rough, textured skin that was varying shades of blue.

    Dark swirling patterns were printed along the edges of their flesh which resembled intricate tattoos or markings.

    They were vaguely humanoid but the rows of bony ridges along their jaws and underneath their eyes dispelled the notion that they could be simr to humans.

    "Sorry gentlemen," Rokan smoothly replied as he stepped forward and tried to move away from the wall.

    His path was blocked by one of the aliens who stuck out his oversized palm and prevented him from leaving.

    "No¡­ you see¡­ there is a toll¡­" the alien smirked, and hispanions giggled softly.

    "Right¡­ well how much is the¡­" Rokan''s voice was cut off as a fist was driven into his stomach with so much force that he copsed on the ground.

    He began to breathe heavily and desperately scrambled to get away from the intimidating aliens who leered mockingly at him.

    "Please¡­ don''t hurt¡­ me¡­" Rokan stammered fearfully as he curled his body into a ball with his hands over his head.

    Two of the aliens began to kick him violently and Rokan let out screams of pain that echoed through the docks.

    His blood curling cries could clearly be heard by the venders and merchants in the area, but no one moved to help him or stop the senseless violence.

    Finally, the beating stopped and Rokan slumped on the ground with his eyelids struggling to stay open.

    He felt a greasy palm search around the inside of one of the pockets of his robe and take out a small bag filled with coins.

    Someone spat on his body and then the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard slowly moving further and further away.

    Rokan remained in the same position for thirty minutes before slowly stirring and waking up from his apparent unconscious state.

    He staggered to his feet and made his way to the south side of the docks with stumbling footsteps.

    He was clearly in a great deal of pain.

    At least¡­ in the minds of the passerby who had witnessed the affair from start to finish.

    Rokan was grateful for the mask covering his face because he had to fight to keep a small smile from spreading across his lips.

    Truthfully¡­ he waspletely uninjured.

    Honestly if he wanted to the thugs'' hands and legs would have broken as soon as they touched him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But then everyone would know that he was a strong person.

    The Federines government were looking for a human who was at least in the god stage and who would suspect that he had just been beaten up by a group of street thugs.

    Cultivators usually hadrge egos so the thought of a high-level cultivator allowing some nobodies to violently assault them was unthinkable.

    Rokan continued to walk with faltering footsteps until he arrived at the edge of the docks where a small ferret-like creature stood silently with its back turned to the sea.

    The creature was tiny only the size of around three feet in height and possessed rat-like features which included a pair of long whiskers attached to the sides of its face.

    It wore a sharp navy-blue vest but no pants. A gold chain was wrapped tightly around its left paw that shone under the sunlight.

    "I don''t have any healing medicine¡­ go away¡­" the creature growled in a voice that was deep and hoarse.

    Rokan leaned downwards and slowly whispered in the alien''s ear the phrase that he had heard from the priestess at the temple.

    "The stars shine brightest," Rokan quietly spoke.

    The creature''s facial expression did not change but he curled up his left paw around the gold chain wrapped around his arm.

    "There is no return trip," the creature replied after a brief moment of silence.

    "I have made arrangements," Rokan muttered softly but refused to borate when the creature shot him a look of curiosity.

    "So be it¡­ we do not dig into the affairs of our customers," the creature calmly replied before slowly walking away.

    "You may call me Captain Mordred."

    He raised up his right paw and gestured for Rokan to follow suit.

    Rokan followed behind the alien but made sure to keep limping. He did not want to break character for even a moment.

    There was no telling who was still watching.

    This sense of vignce and paranoia had kept him alive for many years.

    Captain Mordred led the duke through a winding maze of docks, piers, and side passageways until they eventually arrived at a starship yard.

    Numerous vessels were parked inside the space and Rokan saw aliens of varying shapes and sizes exiting the vehicles.

    Captain Mordred walked up to one of the vessels and lightly raised up his paw to tap on the side of the spacefaring vehicle.

    The starship was medium sized with a long and sleek exterior.

    It did not have any visible sma cannons or offensive systems, but Rokan could see several cloaking devices around its hull.

    Lightweight, fast and with impressive stealth capabilities.

    In other words, a starship that had been designed for smuggling illegal good across the border of the Federines empire and into the Earth Federation.

    A doorway opened up and a series of metalloid stairs fell down to the ground with a heavy thump.

    Captain Mordred began to walk up the stairs all the while whistling a cheerful tune under his breath.

    The song was faint, but Rokan''s enhanced sense of hearing could make out the words of the tune that the captain softly hummed.

    "In the depths of starry night, where the boundless void flows¡­"

    "We sail the sky, where the cowards do not dare to go."

    "With bravery and courage in our hearts."

    "Off we go to depart..."

    "Our journey never ends it is just beginning¡­"

 Chapter 775 A Race Of Savages

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Illegally Modified Spacecraft- Mess Hall)

    There was a tense atmosphere inside the hall.

    Five aliens surrounded a table and stared intensely at a humanoid figure whose body was concealed by a thick cloak.

    A mask covered his face, so it was impossible to tell what he looked like. He held a strange pair of objects in his right hand.

    Metalloid spheres whose surfaces were so smooth and polished that one could see their reflection.

    "Alright boys¡­ who wants to bet first?" Rokan calmly spoke as he gestured at the scene on top of the table.

    A shoddily constructed arena made from wooden sticks glued together to form a maze-like structure that rested gently on top of the table.

    In the center of the arena were two insect-like animals with sharp pincers, ws, and rows upon rows of razer sharp teeth.

    The pair of creatures were separated by a long stic barrier which trembled violently as the animals kept mming into it.

    "Alright John¡­ let me put twenty coins on Old Blue," Zix spoke confidently as he mmed some coins on the edge of the table.

    Zix was a Quirkalian, arge alien with neon- coloured skin and a pair of elongated antennae that jutted out of the middle of his forehead.

    "Old blue? Buddy you must be drunk still¡­" the alien next to himughed madly.

    "Let me get forty coins on the one on the right. Double or nothing."

    "Alright you got it Gizmo," Rokan smoothly replied.

    He took the coins from the little green alien who was perchedfortably inside of a metalloid exoskeleton that extended the reach of his limbs.

    The other crew members quickly got into the action and soon a sizable number of coins lined up the edges of the table.

    Rokan used a piece of paper to record all the bets.

    Of course, he could remember everything since he possessed enhanced mental capabilities but for the sake of his disguise, he needed to pretend that he needed help to recall.

    On this starship he was not the feared Duke Peterlor the leader of a high noble house and the formermander of the Imperial Army.

    No¡­ he was John Goodman.

    A well-mannered weakling who was friendly, kind, and courteous to everyone.

    "Mr. Goodman as the crew sometimes called him. Or John to the ones who he was on friendly terms with.

    "Alright¡­ is everyone ready?" Rokan slowly lowered his voice for dramatic effect and then stretched out his hand to touch the stic barrier.

    He received loud shouts in response as the crew eagerly waited to see who had bet correctly on the oue of the fight.

    Rokan wrapped his fingers around the top of the stic barrier and then pulled it away with a flourish.

    The two insects inside the arena froze for a moment and then rushed towards each other at a breakneck pace.

    They were mirror images of each other and their chitinous bodies gleamed under the artificial lightinging from the illumination systems.

    With quick movements, the insects circled each other with their multiple eyes locked in a stare that would not break.

    Their pincers snapped together angrily while their ws swung forward hoping to rip apart their opponent''s hard exterior.

    Loud cheers and shouts came from the audience watching the spectacle and words of encouragement were spoken as well.

    "Get em Old Blue!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Oh please¡­ that creature won''tst!"

    "I bet twenty coins on the younger one! That''s my sry for the next six months!"

    "No one told you to bet you fucking idiot¡­"

    Suddenly there was a change in the battle situation. Old Blue turned around so that its back was facing its opponent.

    A soft hissing noise could be heard as Old Blue unleashed a cloud of noxious gas from a nd hidden above its posterior.

    This vile cloud of smoke was a greenish- ck colour and it made the mess hall smell like a mixture of rotten eggs and sewage.

    People immediately began to put on masks to deal with the smell while Rokan coughed violently and pretended to be ufortable.

    The younger insect was briefly disoriented by the gas attack and that moment of hesitation was enough for the fight to be decided.

    Seizing the advantage, Old Blue struck with renewed ferocity and tore the younger insect apart piece by piece using its sharp teeth and deadly ws.

    The fight was over.

    Loud cheers mixed with groans of excitement echoed through the mess hall as Rokan began to pay out the winnings.

    Like all gambling events there were winners and losers.

    Those who had doubled their earnings were grinning from ear to ear while those who had lost their bets were much less excited.

    "Don''t look so glum boys!" Zix shrieked happily as he began to tuck his new coins inside his many pockets.

    "Drinks are on me!"

    The mood instantly brightened since there were few problems that alcohol could not solve.

    One of the servants walking nearby immediately headed for the drinks section of the mess hall to bring some bottles.

    Rokan smiled beneath the mask covering his face and nced outside the window. He could see nothing but the vast expanse of space.

    A lonely void with fews and numerous stars that twinkled brightly in the distance. It had been three days since the journey had begun the starship was making good time.

    With any luck they would be out of the Nyrean Super Gxy by the end of the week and one step closer to the border between the Federines and the Earth Federation.

    One step closer to home.

    One step closer to his darling daughter.

    Rokan picked up a bottle and lifted up the bottom of his mask to take a sip. The alcohol inside the bottle was a fiery liquid that slid down his throat with a burning sensation.

    The unpleasant taste was oddly refreshing.

    At first, he had hated the liquid, but humans were adaptable creatures and now he could drink as well as the rest of the crew.

    "Is this going to be your first time entering the Earth Federation?" a soft voice interrupted Rokan''s quiet drinking session.

    He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Gizmo staring at him with an expression of curiosity on its little green face.

    "Yes¡­ is there anything that I should know about it?" Rokan asked worriedly as he added a slight tremor to his voice.

    "Well¡­ stay away from those humans," Gizmo warned sternly as he used the robot exoskeleton wrapped around his body to reach for a drink.

    "They are vicious barbarians. I saw them kill members of their own race¡­ a savage brutal people¡­"

    "Their cruelty knows no bounds¡­ I remember I was on a missionst year and I saw¡­"

 Chapter 776 The Standards Of Beauty

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Unnamed Trading Post- Landing Port)

    "This wasn''t part of the deal," Rokan quietly spoke as he sat across from the captain who calmly looked at him without saying a word.

    The diminutive rat-like creature slowly picked up a cup of tea on the table and blew on the hot liquid.

    A thin wisp of whitish smoke rose upwards as the liquid cooled.

    "Rx John¡­ one of my long-time business partners has received a rare shipment of goods," Captain Mordred exined with an easygoing expression on his face.

    "He simply wishes to drop it off and then we can proceed to the Federation border¡­ we will be here for two days at most."

    "I understand but you must know that the security situation at the border has been getting stricter thanks to the new government policies," Rokan gently rebutted.

    "We need to leave as soon as possible before additional border guards are deployed to stop any starships from crossing."

    Captain Mordred''s eyebrows furrowed as he stood up from the chair. He ced one of his paws on the table and began to tap its surface using his long fingernails.

    He opened his mouth and his tone had now shifted,

    "That is no problem¡­ I have men on the inside. Listen¡­ I am exining myself to you out of respect for Priestess Me''ryn¡­ but understand one thing¡­"

    "I. Am. The. Captain."

    "My decisions are not to be questioned. Is that clear?"

    Rokan was grateful that he was wearing a mask because he could not stop his lips from pursing together in irritation.

    He had to resist the urge to reveal his true strength and knock some sense into this arrogant little smuggler who thought that he knew best.

    No¡­ calm down¡­

    Rokan took in a few deep breaths and then nodded his head. Captain Mordred''s face once again returned to a friendly smile, and he walked out of the room.

    The duke exhaled sharply and then slowly tilted his wrist upwards. He powered on hismunicator and scanned the room for any bugs or listening devices.

    His enhanced cultivation senses could detect any living lifeforms nearby, but it did not work particrly well with electronics.

    After a few seconds of scanning, themunicator blinked twice, and the results of the scan appeared on the screen.

    [No Bugs Detected]

    Rokan closed the window and pulled up his photo gallery. He browsed through the pictures and stopped once he reached a certain one.

    It was a picture of Sophie when she was a little girl cheerfully climbing up on his back and gnawing at the cor of his shirt.

    She was so cute back then.

    His little girl¡­

    And she had grown up to be a fine young woman.

    Rokan turned to the next picture and saw Sophie when she had just returned from her second semester at university posing with Cleo by her side.

    Rokan looked at the photo for a few more seconds and a small smile shed across his lips. He needed to return home to his family.

    The duke stood up and walked out of the room.

    He waved hello to the crew members that he passed and many of them stopped to exchange a few brief words of conversation.

    ''John'' as he was known on the starship was quite popr and Rokan had made many new friends and acquaintances.

    It helped that he funded the betting arenas that urred weekly in the mess hall. Spending this money was an investment in his safety.

    "Hey John!" a cheerful voice called out.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Rokan turned to the side and saw Gizmo smiling at him with a toothy grin. The small green alien used his metal exoskeleton to beckon his friend toe over.

    "My and some of theds are going out for a few drinks. Want toe?" Gizmo offered as he looked around shiftily.

    "Well¡­ not just drinks¡­"

    Gizmo pressed a button on his metallic suit and a holographic projection floated directly in front of his body.

    "This ce has the hottest females in the gxy!" Gizmo''s grin got even wider, and he pointed at the screen.

    Rokan nced at the projection and had to resist the urge to vomit. What he saw could only be described as horrific.

    The images on the screen kept cycling through different pictures of what he assumed were alien prostitutes.

    One of the aliens was a jellyfish-like entity with a translucent body and thousands of pink wriggling tendrils jutting out of its posterior region.

    Another was a multi-limbed avian creature whose wings were covered in soft downy feathers. This alien wore a tight jumpsuit that bulged in ces that really should not be sticking out.

    He saw another one of an¡­ wait¡­ was that a giant cockroach?

    And those were the ones that looked the most normal!

    This was the standard of beauty in the Federines?

    By the gods¡­ Rokan promised that he would never againin about the ridiculous fashion trends of the upper-ss female nobles.

    But he wasn''t really interested in going to a strip club even if its entertainers were attractive.

    "Like what you see?" Gizmo suggestively whispered as he used his robot arm to elbow Rokan in the stomach cheekily.

    "Yes¡­ they¡­ all look¡­err¡­ ''uniquely'' beautiful," Rokan responded while trying his best to be polite.

    "I cane with you all for drinks, but I will return to the starship for some early rest."

    "Ahh¡­ that''s a shame¡­ some of thesedies are offering a two for one special! Do you know how good a deal that is?" Gizmo eximed in disappointment.

    Rokan bit his tongue and swallowed back the words that he was going to say.

    He didn''t want to hurt Gizmo''s feeling by letting this goblin-like creature know that he would be thest person in the universe that he would ever want to have a ''two for one special'' with.

    The conversationsted for a few more awkward minutes as Rokan politely declined Gizmo''s attempts to persuade him to go.

    Finally, they managed to organise a time to go outside for drinks and Rokan left the hallway with an icky feeling.

    Maybe getting overly friendly with the crew onboard this vessel had been a mistake¡­

    Still, it would be nice to go outside and stretch his legs for a few hours. Space travel was always quite boring when the tripssted for longer than a couple of weeks.

    There was only so much entertainment that one could find by staring out of a window and watchings and chunks of rock fly by.

    Rokan walked through a long and winding corridor until he finally arrived at his private quarters.

    As a guest on the spacecraft, he was entitled to his own cabin, but the space was quite small and only around the size of arge walk-in closet.

    There was a bed cramped in the corner of the room, a sink attached to one of the walls and a toilet.

    There was no private bathroom to shower or clean his clothes.

    Having to hide his true appearance meant that Rokan was unable to use themunal shower area in fears of someone seeing his body.

    As a result.¡­ he was pretty certain that he smelled bad.

    He could use his spiritual energy to clean the dust and dirty particles from his skin, but this did not affect the robes that he wore.

    Well at least he wouldn''t be meeting anyone that he knew.

 Chapter 777 An Unpleasant Experience

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Unnamed Trading Post)

    Located on the fringes of the gxy, in a remote and hard to reach sector was a small rocky that floated just along the edge of an enormous asteroid belt.

    The itself was characterised by a brutal and unforgivingndscape with jagged rock formations pointing upwards from the ground.

    These rocks bore a striking resemnce to the fangs of a predator in mid bite.

    There were also vast open seas of hot magma whose surface temperature could reach well beyond one hundred thousand degrees

    The sky on the was often covered in a thick orangish-red fog, a side effect from the toxic gases and pollutants in the atmosphere.

    The only part of the that was fit for habitation was arge t in that had been artificially smoothened using terraforming machines.

    In the middle of the in was a long and sprawling city that had grown organically over the years.

    Buildings were cobbled together from cheap materials like rock, mud, copper, and other inexpensive metals.

    Along the edges of the city were a couple of spaceports and one could see spacecrafts of all shapes and sizes regrlynding and taking off from this unnamed.

    This ce was the home of smugglers, criminals and people wanted by the Federines government.

    The location of this trading post was an open secret but with a well-ced bribe or two, the criminal gangs that controlled this settlement never saw any trouble from the local policing force.

    In fact many politicians had connections to the traders who used this to smuggle goods into the Rtern region.

    Rokan wandered through the edges of the city and took in a deep breath. The air in this ce was harsh and unpleasant.

    It tasted like sulphur and other chemicals.

    Honestly if it wasn''t for his high cultivation level, Rokan was pretty sure that he would have needed medical treatment after breathing in this toxic air for so long.

    At least he was not alone in this ce.

    Apanying him by his side were three members of the crew that he was travelling with.

    Zix, Gizmo and a security officer known simply as Voxen.

    "Ahh¡­ I missed the smell of this shithole," Zix giggled hoarsely to himself as he waved his pincers around and nearly stabbed the eye of a passerby who red at him.

    "When was thest time we came here? Three years? Or was it five¡­ I can hardly remember," Voxen coughed violently as he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose.

    Voxen was a massive ten feet tall alien creature with rippling muscles and scars all over his body that told the story of surviving many fights.

    "This is why I alwayse prepared!" Gizmo chimed in.

    The small green alien''s face waspletely covered by a thick breathing mask that filtered the air that flowed into his mouth.

    "I''m surprised you are holding up so well John!"

    "Well¡­ this is nothing. I worked for a couple of years as a sanitation worker in a chemical mining nt..." Rokan smoothly lied as he stretched out his arms.

    "Oh, my goodness¡­ you are lucky to be alive," Zix gasped in shock and the antennas on his face wildly swung around.

    "Two hundred thousand of my children worked in those mines¡­ I''m pretty sure that only ten are still alive."

    "You have so many children? God damn¡­ how can you afford child support?!" Gizmo gasped in shock as he stared at his friend with wide eyes.

    "What is that? In my culture the mate who gives birth is free of all responsibilities," Zix exined with a puzzled look on his face.

    "I gave birth, so my breeding partner is the one looks after them."

    Rokan was once again reminded of the great physiological differences between species across the universe.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It was fascinating the sheer number of cultures, lifeforms and civilisations that carried the flickering torch of life in a cold and empty universe.

    The group continued to make lighthearted jokes until they arrived at a run-down old building that was teeming with excitement.

    A hastily constructed stage had been set up in the front of the building and standing on the raised tform were three scantily d alien women.

    Thesedies had bluish- grey skin, bony spines jutting out from different points of their bodies, and they crawled on the ground on six legs like animals.

    Their jaws were so wide that their open mouths took up more than half of the avable space on their faces.

    Honestly¡­ it looked very unsettling.

    Loud cheers and cries of excitement came from the crowd as the aliendy in the front of the group walked forward.

    Her wide-open jaw trembled for just a moment and then a blood curling scream escaped her lips.

    The cry was so loud that the nearby ss windows immediately shattered into dozens of shards which rained down on the ground.

    She was joined by the other two alien women who started to scream in harmony with the first piercing cry.

    The sound of their screams was so loud that several aliens in the audience started to thrash around on the ground as they started to bleed from their ears.

    Rokan furrowed her brows as the peculiar sight. Hispanions did not seem affected by the noise.

    Zix''s antennas were swaying along to the ''music'' well if you could call it music.

    Gizmo''s mask covered his entire face so Rokan could only assume that it had a noise dampening effect while Voxen just stood silently with his arms crossed.

    The screaming went on for several long minutes that felt like an eternity before the women stopped crying out and stood up from the ground.

    They bowed their heads respectfully and a loud apuse rang out from members of the crowd who vigorously pped their hands together.

    "Enjoy the entertainment?" Gizmo nudged Rokan with his robotic arm as he gestured at the women with a sly smile on his face.

    "I told you this ce is the best."

    "Right¡­" Rokan hesitantly replied with mixed feelings in his heart.

    At this point he just hoped that the drinks would make up for what had essentially been a two-hour trek through a slum which ended with three aliens screaming in face.

    Yeah¡­ not really a good time.

    The doors to the run-down building swung open and a short alien with rough, bumpy skin strode out holding arge cart.

    The alien holding the cart resembled a toad with a stubby body and ooze leaking out of his pores that covered his skin in a glossy hue.

    "Ahh there he is!" Gizmo shouted out in excitement.

    The cart contained numerous ss jars that were filled with a yellow liquid that bubbled and hissed ominously.

    Rokan peered closer and discovered that most of the jars were quite dirty, there were smudges and suspicious stains along the edges of the ss.

    No¡­ surely¡­ this was not¡­

    "Ma''s famous homebrew! Get it now before it sells out!" the alien cupped his webbed hands over his mouth and yelled loudly.

    "Quick we have to grab some before they are all gone!" Zix yelled as he ran towards the vendor and pushed his way through the crowd.

    "Wait for me!" Gizmo hurriedly spoke up as he followed behind the insect-like alien with quick footsteps.

    Rokan looked at the liquid inside the jars and then nced at the state of the jars.

    Yeah¡­ there was no way in hell that he was putting that liquid inside of his body.

 Chapter 778 A Deal For Cows?

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Unnamed Trading Post- The Golden Drake)

    "Two hundred pounds of pure void root¡­ freshly obtained from Bliss. One sniff of this baby and you''ll be on a trip for decades¡­" a voice gleefully whispered.

    "Okay maybe not decades¡­BUT! It will take you to a higher ne of existence. One sniff darling¡­ that''s all it takes¡­"

    Two alien creatures sat apart from each other and were separated only by a small round table that trembled under the weight of dozens of paper bags.

    One of the aliens was a tiny three feet tall creature with rat-like features.

    He wore a sharp navy-blue vest with no pants, and he possessed a gold chain which was wrapped tightly around his left paw.

    The entity sitting down across from him was a massive lump of wriggling flesh whose monstrous tendrils waved creepily about in the air.

    asionally body parts would appear on the surface of hispanion''s body such as ears, eyes, noses, and other appendages.

    "Quix¡­ you know I never mix business with pleasure," Captain Mordred calmly spoke as he politely pushed one of the bags away from him.

    "Your loss buddy," Quix whisperedzily as he used his tendril to rip open one of the bags. Bluish-white powder scattered across the table.

    He leaned in closer, and a nose protruded out of the same tendril that he used to open the bag.

    Quix then proceeded to sniff the powder and his entire body started to shudder as his tendrils twisted together in ecstasy.

    "FUCK THAT IS SOME GOOD SHIT!" Quixughed madly as he continued to snort the powder with reckless abandon.

    Captain Mordred watched the scene with tired eyes.

    If this trader did not have a habit of finding him rare cargo to sell, he would have never agreed to show up.

    Nebuleans were a race of drug obsessed lunatics.

    Most of them that he had met including Quix seemed to be more captivated with chasing their next high than doing anything productive for society.

    Well¡­ it was not like he was one to talk.

    Captain Mordred raised up his paw and lightly tapped it on the table.

    The noise broke through the daze of Quix''s addled mind, and soon multiple eyes focused on the small alien.

    "What were the goods that you wanted to sell me?" Captain Mordred asked with a solemn undertone to his voice.

    He could not stay in this ce forever. He hated to agree with the strange guest onboard his starship, but John was right.

    Security was increasing by the day at the border between the Federines and the Earth Federation, so it was important to leave as soon as possible.

    "Fine¡­ fine¡­ you are always no fun¡­" Quix muttered under his breath as he raised up one of his tendrils and snapped his ''fingers''.

    The doors at the back of the room slid open and dozens of robotic androids stepped inside with each holdingrge canvas bags.

    The androids moved with synchronized movements and brought the bags to the front of the room where they stood silently.

    "Have you ever heard of¡­ cows?" Quix''s voice lowered as he looked around conspiratorially.

    "Cows? What are those?" Captain Mordred asked curiously.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "They are an animal only found in the Earth Federation, but I have a friend who smuggled a breeding pair across the border.

    Apparently ording to him, the humans are obsessed with this meat. He said that certain humans consumed it daily.

    Quix gestured using his tendril and one of the robot androids opened the bag to reveal a chunk of raw meat that was still covered in blood.

    Captain Mordred gagged and tried his best not to throw up. The unpleasant odour filled the entire room and made it hard to breathe.

    "Are you sure that humans eat that?" Captain Mordred hesitantly asked as he covered his nose and stared at the trader.

    "I swear!" Quix held up his tendrils and made the universal sign for ''promise''.

    "My friend does not know how they consume the meat but providing it to the humans raw should turn enough of a profit."

    Captain Mordred fell silent and made a few mental calctions inside his head.

    He was already going to turn a profit if he managed to sell the goods onboard his starship, but extra cash was never a bad thing.

    If the humans werepletely obsessed with this unpleasant smelling meat, then this could actually be the perfect opportunity.

    "I see¡­ well¡­ in that case¡­ I''ll take half," Captain Mordred finally spoke after the giving the matter some thought.

    "Only half?" Quix pouted as his multiple eyes welled up with fake tears.

    "Only half," Captain Mordred was not persuaded by the disgusting sight and just as quickly the tears in Quix''s eyes vanished.

    "Alright then¡­" Quix grumbled angrily as he waved his tendril and half of the androids stepped forward with the bags still tightly grasped in their palms.

    Captain Mordred reached for hismunicator and sent out a message to his crew that were waiting outside the building.

    [Bring two thousand dors. A deal has been made.]

    "So¡­" Quix leaned back in his chair and absentmindedly yed with the nearest bag of drugs on the table.

    "Did you hear thetest news? Apparently, the missing human whose been running from the Federines government was nearly caught a few weeks ago."

    "Yeah¡­ I heard about that¡­ what was the bounty again?" Captain Mordred asked curiously as he ced hismunicator back in the pocket of his vest.

    "Five billion," Quix whispered softly as a giggle escaped one of his multiple mouths.

    "You are lying¡­ what? What did that human do?" Captain Mordred''s eyes widened in disbelief as he heard the trader''s words.

    Five billion dors?

    That was enough currency to ensure that you and your children and your grandchildren and your great-great-great grandchildren would never have to work another day in their lives.

    No wonder every bounty hunter, mercenary and private investigator was scouring the system looking for any trace of the missing human.

    Greed was powerful incentive.

    "Yeah, even had one of my regrs ask me if I had seen a two-legged, fleshy creature with longish arms," Quix yawned sleepily as he spoked.

    "Stupid idiot¡­ if you ask me anyone trying to find the human based on his appearance will never see him."

    "The human is probably wearing a disguise¡­"

 Chapter 779 The Net Slowly Closes In

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Unnamed Trading Post)

    "Come back here! You didn''t pay us!" an angry howl echoed through the pleasure district as four figures ran through the narrow streets of the city.

    "Gizmo I thought you were the one bringing the cash," Zix grumbled with irritation clear in his voice.

    The small green alien was too focused on piloting the exoskeleton around his body to reply to his friend''s words.

    "Why did you both book an appointment with the local mistresses if neither one of you had any cash!" Rokan yelled in shock as he adjusted his speed so that he did not outpace hispanions.

    Voxen''s characteristically calm expression was broken as a sma round barely missed his squarish head.

    "Less talking more running!" Gizmo piped up as he swung the metal arm of his exoskeleton in the direction of a side passageway,

    "There! There!"

    The four men quickly darted into the small alleyway and soon the sounds of pursuing footsteps slowly got fainter and fainter away.

    Rokan sank to his knees and began to heavily breathe in and out. He gasped for breath and his legs trembled violently.

    He was worried that hispanions would find it suspicious that the usually weak ''John'' had managed to keep up with them while sprinting, so he needed to put on a bit of a performance.

    Fortunately, it appeared as though he was just being overly cautious since hispanions were far more interested in throwing the me around.

    "Zix what are you talking about?! I clearly saidst night that the loser of our bet would have to pay for everything!" Gizmo argued as he waves his metal arms around angrily.

    "What? Are you still drunk off that mead from a few hours ago? I. Won. That. Bet," Zix retorted as his antennas twitched in rage.

    "Both of you shut the fuck up," Voxen growled darkly as he ced his face in his palms and took in a few deep breaths.

    "We nearly died, and it was because you two morons couldn''t pay for¡­ wait¡­ you weren''t even in there for that long¡­"

    "Exactly! I don''t even know why they charged us! I onlysted for two minutes!" Gizmo proudly stated as he puffed out his chest.

    Rokan stifled the giggles that almost left his mouth. That was honestly nothing to be bragging about.

    "Alright let''s not argue," Rokan coughed and then spoke in a calm tone. He returned to the role of the well spoken ''John'' with ease.

    "Why don''t we get out of this district and go exploring for a little bit before we head back to the ship?"

    "Sounds good to me¡­ the further we get away from this ce the better," Voxen agreed as he let out a weary sigh.

    The four quietly continued their way through thebyrinth of houses, shacks and tents that made up the city.

    There was no nning department, so the various residents of the city had simply built their homes out of whatever materials were avable.

    This led to a mismatch of styles and zones which made the city take on an appearance that resembled a jumbled mess.

    Next to arge factory would be a rowdy tavern, an open market was situated next to a slum area, a fancy mansion was behind a simple looking shop.

    Still there was peculiar charm to the madness as if the city''s bizarre appearance reflected its residents of different races and social sses.

    Rokan looked around as he passed a row of stalls.

    His hand lowered ever so slowly before he smoothly nicked a small trinket and left a few coins at the same time.

    The entire process took less than a few seconds and no one noticed his quick hands. Rokan felt a wave of nostalgia as he pocketed the trinket.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Before he was brought to the Peterlor Estate, he was nothing more than a street urchin begging in the streets of the capital for survival.

    Learning how to steal was an essential skill for ensuring that you had enough to eat. Those that didn''t steal were forced to earn their money in more¡­ ''unpleasant'' ways.

    Rokan rubbed the trinket in his pocket absentmindedly as the sun in the sky sank towards the horizon.

    The day was nearly over.

    "I could use something to eat," Zix whined as he stared at a roasted pile of meat on top of a table that smelled of burnt rubber.

    "That? That will send you to the hospital," Voxen warned sternly as the vendor behind the stall angrily shook his fist at him.

    "No, it''s okay¡­ I have five stomachs!" Zix boasted as he walked up the vendor and asked for arge cut.

    "Can someone lend me a few coins? I promise I''ll pay you back¡­"

    Zix ced his pincers together and stared at Voxen and Rokan with his multiple eyes blinking pitifully as if he was trying to mimic a lost puppy.

    "Fine¡­" Rokan groaned as he handed over three golden coins to Zix who quickly snatched them without saying a word of thanks.

    He paid the vendor and began to devour the meat on the spot.

    Gross brown juices flew out of the meat and Rokan had to take a step back to avoid them from getting on his clothes.

    The stench was awful and Rokan was grateful for his high cultivation level because he was fairly certain that his eyes would be watering if he was a normal person.

    He was the lucky one.

    "Gross! By the gods¡­ that smells like shit!" Gizmo gagged as he ran away and tried desperately not to throw up in his suit.

    Voxen followed Rokan''s movements and also widened the distance between himself and the insect-like alien who was still munching down on the chunk of meat.

    Zix devoured the entire chunk and let out a contented burp. The vendor looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

    "Sir¡­ sir¡­ that was for¡­ feeding¡­ livestock¡­" the vendor stuttered in shock.

    "Well, you should consider selling it for consumption," Zix suggested kindly as he stretched out his pincers and let out another belch.

    Suddenly a loudmotion filled the marketce. The sound of heavy footsteps immediately made the bustling vendors and customers fall silent.

    Dozens of heavily armoured soldiers appeared in the distance, and they marched with synchronised movements.

    The soldiers were four-legged creatures covered in thick white armour tes that reflected the ring light of the sun.

    The leader of the group was a massive behemoth over nine feet tall with rippling muscles and a long furry tail that swept the ground as he walked.

    The soldiers made their way to the front of the marketce and the leader reached into his pocket using his paw to pull out a metalloid sphere.

    "Attention all citizens," the captain howled loudly as he pressed a button on the side of the device.

    A holographic screen projected upwards into the air and the figure of a naked human male appeared on the screen.

    "Please notice the local Federines authorities if you see a creature of this race. Be careful¡­ he is considered a rank S criminal and is not to be engaged with."

    "Any information that leads to his sessful capture or elimination will be rewarded with two billion dors."

 Chapter 780 Return To The Starship

    ?

    Two billion dors.

    That number entered the minds of every single person in the market and blew them away.

    No one dared to openly talk while the captain was still present but excited looks and unspoken words were exchanged.

    Two billion dors.

    What made that number even crazier was the fact that it was offered for just information. You didn''t even have to be the one to capture the rogue human.

    "Of course, should you bring us the body of the human¡­ dead or alive. The reward money will be increased to twenty-five billion dors," the captain snarled as his fangs gleamed under the sunlight.

    Ridiculous.

    Rokan cowered behind hispanions with his mind racing with every passing second.

    This was an out of the way trading post and yet the Federines policing force had still arrived to spread information about him.

    What this meant was pretty clear.

    They were intentionally spreading their far and wide across the Federines controlled space.

    In addition to the organisations under the government''s direct control, they were going to rely on ordinary citizens, criminal groups, and mercenary corps to hunt him down.

    It was just fortunate that it appeared as though there were no pictures of his exact appearance.

    Maybe they never expected him to break out of the prison cell, so they had not bothered to record his information in a database.

    Still¡­ he had to be cautious.

    Rokan took in a deep breath and purposefully withdrew his spiritual senses until his cultivation level resembled that of someone in the qi body phase.

    He could no longer sense the world around him, but it would be more difficult for those with higher cultivation levels to sense him in return.

    The alien captain standing in the front of the marketce continued his speech and mentioned that whoever captured the rogue human would have all of their crimes forgiven.

    Their records would be expunged, and they would be free to live normal lives with the money that they received.

    It was a very attractive offer.

    "What do you think? Can we grab the bounty for ourselves?" Gizmo whispered excitedly as he rubbed his green palms together.

    "Are you crazy?" Rokan hissed under his breath.

    "For them to offer that kind of reward¡­ do you think that we will be able to take that rogue human down?

    "I agree with John," Voxen muttered quietly as he stared at the greedy vendors who were all clearly thinking about iming the reward money for themselves.

    "Any person with such a high bounty must be especially dangerous."

    "Shame¡­ do you know what I could do with all that cash?" Zix whined softly as his antennas waved slowly around his face.

    "I could start my own hive¡­ dere myself as king and then hire a bunch of worker drones to tend to my every need¡­"

    "Ahh¡­ that would be the life."

    "Alright dreamer¡­ let''s just leave," Voxen spoke with an unusual undertone of seriousness in his voice.

    He gestured towards the back of the crowd and the four of them slowly slipped away to the alleyways connected to the marketce.

    The group walked down a long and narrow road that was packed on either side with poorly constructed shacks made from a mixture of dried wood and mud.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Rokan was grateful for the mask on his face as the scent of raw sewage filled the air.

    The residents in this ce wore tattered clothing and they stared at the four of them with looks of fear and hunger in their eyes.

    Zix made a chattering noise using his sharp pincers and several figures that were lurking on the outskirts of the group slowly began to withdraw.

    The scent of sewage got even stronger the deeper that they went inside.

    The ground was covered in dark stains, and it did not take a genius to figure out what those stains were.

    With no running water or proper toilet facilities, the people who lived in the slums were forced to use the avable space to defecate.

    Rokan felt a touch of sympathy for them. It was highly unlikely that any of the aliens here would be able to escape the cycle of poverty.

    They would have to turn to a life of crime in order to get scraps needed to survive.

    The journey through the narrow road took around twenty minutes and eventually they arrived at an open space.

    A small park had been built in the center of the city. Turfs of synthetic grass had beenid down and a single tree stood proudly in the middle of the park.

    There were a few benches scattered around which were all covered in graffiti written down in multiple aliennguages.

    Rokan could trante a few of the words but they were nothing meaningful.

    ''Goren x Cloy Forever'', ''Fuck thew'', ''Looking for a good time¡­ call¡­'' and other vulgarities that did not need to be mentioned.

    Some things were universal across cultures.

    Rokan walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. He let out several long exhales and pretended to be tired.

    "You really need to work on your fitness," Gizmo remarked as he popped out of his metal exoskeleton and sat down next to Rokan.

    "I try¡­ but my body is too broken down¡­" Rokan wheezed as he continued to breathe heavily.

    "Why don''t we change the topic¡­ so¡­ what did you all think about the human?" Zix interrupted as Gizmo shot Rokan a guilty look.

    "Disgusting creatures¡­ I''ve never seen something so hideous in all of my years," Voxen remarked as he crossed his arms.

    "Soft pink fleshy bits¡­ urghhh¡­ just gives me goosebumps thinking about it."

    "Did you see their face? Only two eyes!" Zix eximed in shock as he covered his face using his antennas.

    "And their mouths¡­ without fangs. How do you think they consume their food?" Gizmo asked curiously.

    "Maybe they don''t¡­ I heard humans get their energy from the sun," Rokan chimed in with some misinformation.

    "Really? I never heard of that," Voxen replied with a skeptical look on his face.

    Rokan continued to speak in a serious tone as if what he was saying was notplete nonsense,

    "No, I heard a rumor that they use their arms like panels to absorb sunlight¡­ it is really a bizarre process."

    The group continued their light conversation until the device around Voxen''s wrist started to bleep loudly.

    He checked the message on hismunicator and then raised up his fingers to type out a quick reply.

    "Okay looks like the boss is done¡­ let''s go," Voxen said as he checked he time and then looked up at the sky.

    It was now approaching the evening and the sun was slowly disappearing. The warm afternoon light was starting to fade as the shadows on the ground lengthened.

 Chapter 781 Take Me To Your Leader!

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    Violen- Royal Pce)

    There was a quiet stillness in the air as no one dared to talk. The grand hall of the royal pce was usually a bustling hive of activity and noise was now eerily silent.

    And it was all because of the alien sitting down casually on the bronze throne as though she was the empress of their.

    She was a humanoid creature roughly six feet tall with long slender legs and beautiful golden eyes that shone brightly.

    Her physique was voluptuous and seductive and was only enhanced by the fangs that poked out slightly from the bottom of her jaw.

    Six spider-like appendages jutted out of her back and each appendage possessed a sharp needle-like tip.

    Standing next to the strange alien was a well-dressed glob of slime whose liquid body kept trembling violently as though he was getting a seizure.

    "Now¡­" Thai''lle quietly spoke as she rxed against the back of the throne and plopped her feetzily on top of the alien next to her.

    "Where is your leader?"

    No one replied to her words.

    The hundreds of slime creatures in the room exchanged nces but no one dared to say anything.

    The moment stretched on for a long time before finally someone in the back of the room could no longer stand the tension.

    "There¡­. You¡­. You¡­ killed him¡­" the creature stuttered nervously.

    Thai''lle looked in the direction where the slime''s tendril was pointing and saw a ttened puddle of ooze smashed against a wall.

    Shit.

    He was the leader?

    Damn¡­ if she had known that then she would have gotten information first and then killed him for disrespecting her.

    "Alright¡­" Thai''lle was never one to let sudden changes affect her ns, so she immediately switched to the next best option.

    "Where is the person in charge after the leader?"

    "That would be me¡­ I am¡­prince Rown," the well-dressed slime crushed by her foot barely managed to squeak out.

    "Please¡­ I can''t¡­ breathe¡­"

    Thai''lle lifted up her foot and the slime immediately sucked in arge mouthful of air that inted his entire body into a round balloon.

    "Excellent!" Thai''lle pped her hands together and pretended as though she had not used the crown prince as a footrest.

    "Now I require at least ten mega gallons of warp crystal fluid, some sheets of metalloid alloys and extra food rations."

    "Chop! Chop!"

    Thai''lle ced her palms together and pped them. Prince Rown immediately turned to the crowd and started to bark out orders.

    The former Arachnais princess let out a small sigh and stretched out her armszily. She had been looking for her mate for months now with no luck.

    The Federines controlled area was a massive region of space with hundreds of gxies and thousands ofs inside.

    Well at least she had a guide.

    Thai''lle absentmindedly touched the top of her shirt where beneathy the pink marking that pulsated ever so slightly.

    She could feel that she was getting closer.

    Soon she would be reunited with her mate and if all went well¡­ she would be seeing her daughter in person as well!

    Oh! They had so much lost time to make up for!

    What should she teach her first?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    How to ensnare prey? Hunting down fleeing enemies? Striking fear into the hearts of captured prisoners?

    Maybe all three!

    Thai''lle hummed cheerfully under her breath before stopping suddenly. Her golden eyes narrowed, and a heavy pressure descended on the hall.

    "Come out little birdie," Thai''lle spoke in a sing-song voice as she beckoned with her fingers at a seemingly empty spot.

    Prince Rown followed the direction where the strange alien woman was pointing but saw nothing.

    Was she going insane?

    He did not dare to say such disrespectful words out loud considering that this alien had managed to destroy the entire pce''s guard force in less than five minutes.

    Then something shifted.

    The air around the empty spot shimmered and a four-legged beast wearing a white uniform stepped into existence.

    The creature had a robust frame covered in sleek, white colored scaled that reflected the sunlight streaming into the room.

    A long slender tail swayed gently from side to side behind her back and the edges of the tail were covered in sharp bony spikes.

    "Ahh¡­ aren''t you a cute one," Thai''lle purred as her eyes widened like a cat that had just spotted an interesting prey.

    "Now¡­ tell me why you''re here before I rip your throat out."

    The beast walked forward and reached into the pocket of her uniform to pull out a small metalloid device.

    Thai''lle watched curiously but made no move to stop her since her danger sense did not activate and she could not sense any threats.

    "I am Captain Lyra of the Federines secret police corps," the creature growled as she pressed a button on the side of the device.

    The device trembled violently before arge holographic screen projected upwards into the air and spread across the room.

    "I am not here to stop your ''activities'' on this. I am merely here to inform the residents of a criminal who is wanted for multiple crimes," Captain Lyra continued to speak.

    The holographic projection shifted, and the image of a naked human male filled the entire screen.

    It was an extremely basic illustration which only showed the important distinctive traits of the homo sapiens species.

    "Oh? Tell me more¡­" Thai''lle curiously asked with an intrigued glint in her eyes. She had some vague suspicions about the identity of this wanted person.

    "His name is Rokan Peterlor. He is the formermander of the Earth Federation''s army and a spy who sessfully stole military secrets," Captain Lyra angrily yelled.

    "The reward bounty on his sessful arrest has been raised to thirty billion dors. Any person who provides information that leads to his capture will be given fifteen billion dors."

    "He has been designated as a level one person of interest and anyone who has provided him with shelter or support will be killed¡­"

    "Along with their families."

    Captain Lyra''s dark warning echoed through the hall as Thai''lle thoughtfully put her fingers on her lips and smiled.

    Mhmm¡­ looks like her mate was in some trouble.

    Military secrets? A level one fugitive?

    On the run from the entire Federines government?

    He was still as impressive as ever.

    Thai''lle''s smile widened and for a brief moment a genuineugh escaped her lips although it was too soft for anyone else to hear.

    She tapped her fingers against the side of the throne and a few ns fluttered through her mind about what to do next.

    Time was running out and she needed to find her beloved mate before someone was stupid enough to try and hurt him.

 Chapter 782 The Feds Have Arrived!

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Illegally Modified Spacecraft ¨C Left Wing Cargo Bay)

    "Boss¡­ are you sure that you didn''t get scammed?" Gizmo asked hesitantly as he peered inside one of the crates being hauled across the floor.

    "What are you talking about?" Captain Mordred growled as he rubbed his whiskers using his tiny furry paws.

    "Well¡­ I ¡­ mean¡­ are you sure that humans eat that?" Gizmo continued to question with a clear undertone of uncertainty in his voice.

    "It¡­ looks¡­ I¡­ look boss¡­ I''m just being honest here¡­ it looks awful¡­"

    "Are you the captain?" Captain Mordred sarcastically asked.

    "No? Then fuck off and don''t tell me how to do my job."

    Rokan leaned against the back of a nearby wall and watched the scene unfold. Personally, he thought that Gizmo had asked a perfectly reasonable question.

    What was inside those crates were chunks of raw meat that smelled awful and clearly were beginning to decay.

    Bluish-green mold covered some of the pinkish- red chunks and it looked so unappetizing that Rokan had to close his mouth several times to prevent himself from throwing up.

    Apparently, Captain Mordred had been informed by a trader that he trusted that humans were obsessed with the meat inside the cages.

    Rokan didn''t have the heart to tell him that he had clearly been lied to.

    Oh well¡­ it wasn''t his concern.

    He moved away from the wall and headed towards therge hall''s exit.

    The rest of the crew were busy putting away the merchandise, so no one noticed his disappearance.

    It took around twenty minutes for Rokan to navigate his way through thebyrinth of multiple corridors and passageways that made up the interior of the spacecraft.

    This was an illegally modified spacefaring vessel that had clearly not been built to code.

    There was a feeling of unprofessionalism in the way it had been constructed as if each individual part had been sloppily melted and welded together.

    Still there was an odd sense of charm to the madness.

    A rough sense of wear and tear that came with life of a smuggler.

    Rokan opened the door to his private cabin and stepped inside. The first thing that he did was take off his shoes and make his way over to the bed.

    Hey down on the mattress and stared upwards at the nk white ceiling.

    As a god stage cultivator, he no longer required any sleep¡­ well it was more urate to say that he could no longer fall asleep¡­ at least naturally.

    Even with most of his cultivation and spiritual senses sealed away¡­ the cells in his body were simply too active.

    An inconvenient side effect but it was a price that he along with everyone else would be willing to pay for the strength to rival an entire fleet of starships.

    Rokan absentmindedly touched the top of his shirt right above the area of his chest where the pink mark had been branded into his skin.

    He could remember the scene as though it was just yesterday.

    During one of his many lovemaking sessions with his fierce and beautiful wife, she suddenly bit down hard on his shoulder and shoved her qi into his meridians.

    It was a rough and violent process but that was how she normally behaved when she got too passionate during sex so Rokan assumed that it was nothing special.

    Little did he know that he would wake up the next morning with a massive headache and huge marking branded across his chest.

    When he asked Thai''lle about what she had done, the gorgeous Arachnais princess simply smiled at him and said,

    "Just making sure you know¡­ you''re mine."

    Hopefully his daughter had not picked up any of her mother''s bad habits otherwise Rokan felt a tinge of sympathy for Cleo.

    A sudden burst of warmth erupted from the marking and Rokan frowned slightly. These re ups were happening more frequently, and he had no idea what they meant.

    He had tried many times to research the brand on his skin but there was little to no information in the Earth Federation archives.

    Even the top-secret military databases had nothing useful.

    Rokan let out a small sigh and adjusted the hard pillow beneath his head. Not exactly a first-ss experience but at this point he just wanted to go home.

    Maybe as a young man he would be thrilled to be on an adventure in the middle of enemy territory, but he was too old for this shit now.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    And he had a daughter to return home to.

    Rokan closed his eyes and took in a few gentle breaths.

    He would not be able to sleep but at least he would get the chance to rx and unwind after an eventful day.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Two Weeks Later)

    (Command Deck- Central Room)

    "Fuck," Captain Mordred muttered under his breath as he stared at the numerous disy screens that were shing red exmation marks.

    A cold metallic voice began to scream out from the loudspeakers as the starship''s onboard AI system activated in response to the threat.

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    [Tractor Beam Detected!]

    rms began to re out and the rest of the room was thrown into chaos as his crew began to panic.

    [Warning! Warning! Warning!]

    "Shut up! I can see the threat! Computer override rm prompt¡­ authority code Delta Gamma Seven!" Captain Mordred yelled loudly.

    The rms and the warnings immediately ceased, and the room fell eerily silent save for the hushed whispers and looks of panic that the crew members exchanged at each other.

    "Syra¡­ establish amand link with the Feds¡­ the rest of you¡­ if you are not a member of the core team¡­ get out now," Captain Mordred ordered sternly.

    There was a shuffling of chairs as at least seven crew members hurriedly left the room while a feminine alien wearing a green jumpsuit quickly typed out a series ofmands.

    A massive holographic screen was then projected into the middle of the space and the screen flickered twice.

    Suddenly the image shifted, and one could see a creature rxingfortably on a throne made from animal bones.

    The creature was tall with a robust and muscr build that was covered in soft downy feathers along the edges of his skin.

    His eyes contained vertical pupils and werepletely white. Horrific scars covered his orange beak and a pair of damaged wings hung useless from his back.

    He wore a golden uniform with a single star embroidered on the top left shoulder that was prominently disyed.

    Captain Mordred bowed his head respectfully and waited for the man to speak first. He may have appeared calm and in control but internally his mind was a mess.

    An inquisitor? Here?

    Was he here to capture him and his crew?

    No¡­ inquisitors were only sent for rank A criminals and above¡­ he was just a smuggler. He should be ssified at rank D or hell¡­ even E!

    "What is your name citizen?" the inquisitorzily asked while reaching for a ss filled with a purplish liquid that was next to his chair.

    "Mordred du Corant," Captain Mordred smoothly replied while making sure that his tone conveyed only respect.

    The inquisitor smirked and gestured at someone offscreen. Soon a tablet was handed over to him and he used his ws to flick through the screen.

    "Hmm¡­ you were arrested two years ago for crimes of smuggling, extortion and theft¡­ is that correct?" the inquisitor asked calmly.

    "Yes¡­ but¡­ I was only found guilty of smuggling," Captain Mordred hurriedly defended himself.

    "Mywyer¡­ I mean the jury and the judge said that I waspletely innocent of the other charges!"

    "Is that so?" the inquisitor smirked as he tossed the tablet to the side.

    "No need to panic¡­ I am not here to deal with lowlifes like you¡­ tell me¡­ have you see any strange lifeforms recently?"

    "Two legs¡­ two arms¡­ human-shaped?"

 Chapter 783 The Feared Inquistors

    ?

    Inquisitors.

    One word that would send shivers down the spines of both criminals andw aiding citizens alike. So feared were the hounds of the Federines government.

    These super soldiers were not chosen but rather¡­ they were bred. Monsters created in ab.

    Artificial beings with no parents. Just the cold calcting gazes of scientists who worked tirelessly to make them into loyal servants of the government.

    Created from a gic splice between a race of predatory- like organisms known as the Tharyens and several other DNAs in order to provide the mindless beasts with a high level of intelligence.

    The selective breeding process ensured that each subsequent generation of Inquisitors steadily grew to be more powerful than the previous ones. Greater physical attributes, heightened senses, and a tenacious healing factor.

    But just their base stats alone were not the reason why they were the bane of the Federines governments'' enemies.

    From the moment they emerged from the birthing chambers, training would begin.

    The young Inquisitors would be instilled with strict code of disciple, loyalty and above all else¡­ a respect for authority.

    This could be seen as a form of brainwashing, but it was a necessary evil. The training period of harsh, arduous and wouldst for over fifty years before they were considered as ready.

    During that process over ny five percent of the newborn Inquisitors would perish. The ones who remained were the strongest, most brutal and possessed the qualities that would make them the perfect hunters.

    Inquisitors were not citizens. They were not people.

    They did not have rights.

    They were living weapons.

    Meant only to serve the government above all else.

    Inquisitors were rarely deployed. With such a limited number of super soldiers, it was important that the government used them wisely and only for missions of the utmost importance.

    Now for the first time in centuries, all of the avable Inquisitors had been deployed.

    Their mission was simple.

    Capture or kill Rokan Peterlor.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Rtern Region)

    (Illegally Modified Spacecraft- Central Room)

    "No," Captain Mordred immediately replied as his mind quickly shed to his mysterious guest onboard the vessel. Was ''John'' a human? No¡­ that didn''t make any sense.

    He was clearly a weakling.

    There were many species that fit the description of two legs and two arms. Plus, John''s body had always been covered by arge cloak and he wore a mask on his face¡­ to¡­ hide¡­

    Wait¡­ why would he need to hide? Wait¡­ his body shape¡­ it was¡­

    Fuck.

    Captain Mordred''s eyes widened for a microsecond as the furry paw behind his back trembled violently.

    Oh no¡­ no¡­ no¡­

    He was going to die.

    He was absolutely going to die.

    "No?'' the Inquisitor on the other side of the screen raised an eyebrow as his vertical pupils locked in on the trembling furry alien and took in flustered appearance.

    The Inquisitor smirked and his mouth slightly opened. One could see rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth that gleamed under the dim lighting in the room.

    "Now¡­ Mr. Du Corant¡­ allow me to speak¡­ openly with you," the Inquisitor casually spoke with a lighthearted tone as if discussing a small topic between friends.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "There are currently ten sma cannons locked on to your starship. Three of those cannons are aimed at your warp core, two at your main engines, four at key areas around your hull and thest one¡­"

    "Well let''s just keep thest one as a surprise for now."

    The Inquisitor cleared his throat and gestured for his subordinate to hand him another ss of wine. He paused for a moment and took another sip of the purplish liquid inside the ss.

    He let out a sigh of contentment and then proceeded to slick back the sparse hair on top of his head using his ws. All the while his unspoken threat hung in the air.

    Captain Mordred was not a fool.

    His starship was designed for camouge, escape, and smuggling. There was a defense system, but it would notst against the force of tenrge sma shots impacting the barrier.

    And if he tried to escape¡­ that would just be a death sentence.

    Inquisitors were hounds.

    No criminal who had ever fled from them had survived.

    To make matters worse, if someone tried to flee¡­ they were not given an easy death. The process was usually transmitted and broadcast across the Federines controlled space just to send out a message to the popce.

    Do. Not. Resist. The. Authorities.

    "I do not need to spell out what I am trying to say¡­ right?" the Inquisitor chuckled lightly as he set the now empty ss on the side of his chair where his subordinate quickly put it away.

    "Now¡­ I am going to ask you this question¡­ one more time."

    "Have you seen any human- shaped lifeforms? Yes or no."

    Captain Mordred closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths.

    He could feel his heart pounding fiercely in his chest as the world feel silent. All he could sense was the harsh stare of the Inquisitor and the fact that time was running out.

    He needed to say something.

    He just needed to lie¡­ make up some nonsense about spotting an odd fellow at the trading post. He just needed to¡­ to¡­

    "I''m sorry," Captain Mordred whispered under his breath as he opened his eyes.

    He couldn''t risk it.

    He couldn''t risk the lives of himself and his crew over some unknown alien. John may not be the missing human, but he was a close match, and it was better to tell the Inquisitor the truth.

    "Yes¡­ there is a passenger onboard my vessel who matches the description of a human," Captain Mordred confessed as he lowered his head and could not meet the stare of the Inquisitor.

    "Really?" the Inquisitor purred gently as a look of excitement mixed with curiosity briefly surfaced in his eyes. This was probably just another lead that would go nowhere but he did have a few hours in his patrol left to kill.

    Might as well have some fun with these smugglers before blowing up their starship.

    "And can you bring that passenger to me?" the Inquisitor asked politely but Captain Mordred had the sinking feeling that this was a request that he could not afford to refuse.

    "Yes¡­ I will bring him to themand deck¡­" Captain Mordred replied with a trace of remorse and guilt in his voice. If the Inquisitor noticed his conflicted emotions, then he did not say anything.

    Captain Mordred walked out of the room with heavy steps. The rm res had stopped ringing but there was still panic and confusion going on as the crew did not know what would happen.

    The furry alien would asionally stop walking to calm down the panicked crewmembers that he encountered on his way to the passenger cabin located at the back of the vessel.

    He looked at the heavy metalloid door and then pressed his furry paw against the scanner. A green light shed over his paw and the door slid open quietly.

    John was sitting down quietly on the mattress. His appearance was just as it had always been.

    A heavy mask on his face and a long thick cloak that covered the rest of his body.

    He did not seem surprised by Captain Mordred''s sudden visit as if he had been expecting him.

    "Sorry¡­" Captain Mordred quietly whispered.

    "You have nothing to apologise for," John replied solemnly as he stood up from the mattress and walked towards the entrance. He turned to face the window and stared outside at the passing stars.

    A nostalgic look shed across his face before he turned around and stepped into the corridor.

 Chapter 784 Always Have A Back- Up Plan

    ?

    "I mean I was getting ready to take a brief nap but¡­ what seems to be the problem?" Rokan asked in a puzzled tone as if he did not know what was going on.

    Captain Mordred''s heart sank as he heard ''John'' ''s words. He was now beginning to doubt that the person in front of him was the wanted human.

    The human that the Federines government wanted to capture so badly possessed an extremely high cultivation level. If ''John'' did not know what was going on then¡­ was he making a mistake?

    Why else would ''John'' be so calm and collected? The Inquisitors were feared for a reason.

    No¡­ he couldn''t think like that.

    It was better to be safe than sorry. If he brought ''John'' to the inquisitor and he turned out to be innocent, then hopefully the inquisitor would let their starship go.

    Rokan could see the conflicted emotions ying out on the furry alien''s face in front of him. He smiled lightly beneath the mask and used one of his hands to slip a device into the fabric of his robe.

    He was not an amateur.

    Just using a cloak and a mask as a disguise was not enough to ensure his safety so Rokan had another trick up his sleeve.

    "So¡­ John¡­ I need you toe to themand deck with me immediately. There are going to be some adjustments to our original n to fly directly to the Eaorn system," Captain Mordred spoke with a slight tremor in his voice.

    He was lying.

    But he could not tell ''John'' the truth.

    No one in the entire Federines would dare to visit an Inquisitor of their own free will.

    Those merciless government dogs barely showed any emotions and possessed an almost fanatical desire to fulfil the mission requests of the politicians who deployed them to seek out and destroy their enemies.

    "Well, that does not sound good at all," Rokan grumbled angrily as he strode forward and matched the pace of the small alien captain who was now walking towards themand deck.

    "I was hoping to enter Earth Federation controlled space sometime within the next three months, but your dy will really mess up my ns."

    "Again¡­ I do apologise, my dear guest. We¡­ we just had an unexpected issue ur so¡­" Captain Mordred''s began to speak a bunch of word vomit as he was clearly feeling ufortable with what was happening.

    He did not need to be so worried.

    Rokan was not going to punish him for the betrayal.

    In fact, if he was in the captain''s position then he probably would have made the same damn choice. The lives of his trusted crew vs a stranger?

    It was an easy decision to make.

    The pair wandered through abyrinth of side passageways and corridors until they finally arrived at arge sealed metalloid door that was heavily fortified.

    Three sma guns were attached to the ceiling above the door and weapons automatically locked on to the figures of the captain and Rokan as they walked forward.

    Captain Mordred raised up his right paw and pressed it against the scanner next to the door. A green light shed around his palm and a cold metallic voice echoed through the corridor.

    [Recognised- ID 246 ¨C Cleared for entry]

    Captain Mordred used his ws to typed in a series ofmands into the scanner and a green light shot out from the center of the machine and swept Rokan''s body several times.

    [Recognised- Temporary ID 34 ¨C Cleared for entry]

    The heavy metalloid doors swung open, and the interior of themand deck was revealed. A skeleton crew was currently operating the machines scattered across the room and there was a sense of tension in the air.

    No one dared to make any extra noise or movement.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    All eyes turned to the two figures who had just entered the room before nervously switching their attention back to the consoles and machines in front of them.

    Rokan raised up his left arm and pretended to scratch his chest. His fingers brushed against the device that he had slipped into his robe and the small disc shaped structuretched on to his skin.

    There was a faint crackle as an electric tingle swept across his body.

    Fortunately, the disturbance was too small for anyone to notice, even Captain Mordred who was standing right next to him failed to recognise what had just happened.

    Rokan adjusted his posture and then focused on the floating holographic projection that was filling up the space in the middle of themand deck.

    On the other side of the screen was a unique looking alien.

    Tall with a robust and muscr build that was covered in soft downy feathers along the edges of his skin. Completely white eyes with vertical slits as pupils.

    An orange beak that was covered in horrific scars and a pair of damaged wings that hung useless behind him which meant that clearly this creature was no longer able to fly naturally.

    "Is this the mysterious guest?" the Inquisitor broke the silence in the room with a casual question.

    "Err¡­ Mordred¡­ what is going on?" Rokan asked with clear confusion in his tone.

    "Yes¡­ this is him," Captain Mordred replied to the Inquisitor while refusing to look at ''John'' who was standing right next to him.

    "His build does look simr¡­" the Inquisitor''s voice trailed off as his pupils dted slightly. He got a better look at the mysterious figure next to the smuggler captain and ran a checklist through his mind.

    Simr physique¡­ check.

    Two legs¡­ check.

    Four arms¡­ check.

    Hmm¡­ this did look promising, but he was not going to have any high expectations.

    There were countless species and alien races across the Federines who were bipedal and had simr builds to humans when covered in robes.

    "Do you know what I am?" the Inquisitor smirked slightly as he leaned back in his chair and reached for another ss of wine from his subordinate''s hand.

    "Yes¡­ I''m just a little bit confused¡­ I am¡­ just a humble passenger. I¡­ I haven''t done anything to offend a great being such as yourself," Rokan groveled as he fell to his knees.

    He had to resistughing as he saw an expression of pure arrogance sh across the Inquisitor''s face.

    Hook.

    Line.

    And sinker.

    "Allow me to clear up your confusion," the Inquisitor darkly whispered as he yed with the wine ss in his hand.

    "I am searching for an extremely dangerous fugitive who has escaped the ws of the Federines government. Your dear captain over there has informed us that you may be the man that we have been looking for."

    "Mordred? Is that true? I¡­ I AM NOT THE MISSING HUMAN!" Rokan desperately shouted as he fearfully shuffled back until his head bumped against the wall.

    " ''John'' just¡­ remove your disguise and show the Inquisitor then," Captain Mordred spoke in a low tone as he yed his paws and pretended not to notice how terrified his guest appeared to be.

 Chapter 785 Goodbye.

    ?

    How does one be a great actor?

    Memorise lines? Make fake expressions? Pretend to be something you are not?

    No. The answer is none of the above.

    Good actors pretend to be characters¡­ great actors be them. Rokan stood trembling in the middle of themand deck with his bodynguage clearly disying fear and terror.

    In this moment he was not a god stage cultivator nor was he the leader of one of the most powerful noble houses in the entire Earth Federation.

    He was ''John''.

    A mysterious fugitive who had disguised himself and was now being brought before an inquisitor. The Federines version of government attack dogs, brutal aliens who would hesitate to kill men, women, or children if their higher upmanded them to.

    It would take little effort for the alien on the other side of the screen to simply speak a few words and order their starship to be destroyed in a barrage of sma fire.

    Killing everyone onboard.

    Well except for himself of course.

    "I¡­ I am not the human¡­ but¡­ there¡­ there are circumstances behind my disguise¡­ please¡­ I beg¡­" Rokan stuttered nervously as he took a few steps backwards.

    His back was already closed to a nearby wall, so his head mmed hard against its metalloid surface.

    The device that he had attached to the center of his chest began to throb ominously. He could feel a faint tingling sensation running across his body with the source being the small disc shaped structure.

    "John¡­ I''m sorry but¡­" Captain Mordred''s voice trailed off as he gestured using his right paw.

    Three of the crew members in the room stood up and pointed sma rifles directly at John. Their fingers were mere inches away from the trigger.

    "You have to. It is the only way that any of us are going to survive," Captain Mordred exined sorrowfully as it pained him to make such a decision.

    But the needs of the many would always outweigh the needs of the few.

    "Tick¡­ tick¡­ I''m getting very impatient," the Inquisitor jeered mockingly as he leaned forward in his chair and waited to see what would happen next.

    This was all an amusing game to him.

    Rokan could see the twisted glint sparkling in his eyes and had to fight down the urge to teleport over to that starship and wipe that damn smirk right off the Inquisitor''s face.

    ''John'' stood silently for a moment, and no one knew what he was thinking.

    Finally with clear reluctance in his movements, he slowly removed the heavy cloak that he wore.

    The body thaty beneath his thick robes was¡­ strange.

    He had a humanoid physique, but his skin was a bright cerulean blue colour adorned with markings and intricate patterns that resembled tattoos.

    Small wriggling tendrils of silvery grey veins spread across the top half of his body and his lower half waspletely naked revealing a smooth patch of hairless skin with no visible genitalia.

    ''John'' removed the mask covering his face to reveal an oval shaped structure with perfect contours, sharp angles, and a pair of button noses.

    He had three eyes each with pinkish- red pupils and white irises. His mouth which was unnaturally small could be seen on the left side of his cheek.

    "I told you¡­ I''m not the missing¡­ human," ''John'' whispered fearfully as he hurriedly grabbed his clothes and tried to put them back on immediately.

    "Hold on just a moment," the Inquisitor raised up his right hand and ''John'' stopped with one of his legs already inside the heavy cloak.

    "What is a Voltrak doing so far from his home world?"

    ''John'' nervously looked down at the floor and took several deep breaths as if he was collecting his emotions before speaking. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Truthfully now Rokan was in a bit of a pickle.

    Voltrak? What in god''s name was a Voltrak?

    Fuck¡­ he knew he should not have used a hard light projector device that he had stolen from a shady crime boss during his first week in the Federines.

    He could have just used a standard issue device from the Imperial Army to mimic a normal species like a Mendolesa or something else with a simr build to humans but no¡­

    He had to get cocky.

    "I¡­ I was banished¡­" Rokan lowered his head and muttered with his voice no higher than a whisper.

    Judging from the Inquisitor''s tone of voice he was curious about why a Voltrak was away from their home which indicated that the alien race that he had disguised himself as did not do a whole lot of travelling.

    If he was associating himself with smugglers and was hiding his identity, then there was only one possible exnation.

    Criminal or exile.

    "Banishment? Yes, I have heard of the rather¡­ barbaric practices of your people," the Inquisitor leaned back in his chair and pulled up a holographic projection.

    On the screen all the information about the Voltrak race stored in the central database appeared in the form of a long essay. The Inquisitor used the tip of his finger to quickly scroll through the screen and scan the information.

    His enhanced memory and processing capabilities allowed him to perfectly absorb all the knowledge that was avable on the files.

    "Hmm¡­ yes¡­ that makes¡­ sense¡­" the Inquisitor sighed in frustration as he closed the window and raised up his fingers to his temples to massage them.

    Another dead end.

    After weeks of searching, he would once again be sending a message back to the central hive about his failure to locate the wanted criminal.

    The entire Federines government was turned upside down by one human.

    The Inquisitor scowled angrily as he vented his frustrations by mming a closed fist against the side of his chair. The metal immediately dented, and a harsh noise echoed through the room.

    "A pity¡­ but so be it¡­" the Inquisitor growled darkly as he waved his hand in a dismissive motion.

    ''John'' quickly put on his discarded clothes and soon his appearance returned to the same as before with a heavy cloak and a mask concealing all of his features.

    "Thank goodness you weren''t the human¡­" Captain Mordred let out a sigh of relief and whispered under his breath. His voice was so soft that only Rokan could hear him thanks to his enhanced senses.

    The small furry alien nodded his head and the three crew members who had their sma rifles pointed directly at ''John'' stood down and returned to their chairs.

    "Mr. Inquisitor¡­ there is no one else onboard our starship who matches the description of the missing human, but I promise that we will be on the look out for any signs!" Captain Mordred spoke up with a sense of forced patriotism in his voice.

    "We are always ready to do our duty for the good of our glorious government!"

    "I''m afraid that won''t be necessary," the Inquisitor tiredly groaned but there was the faint hint of a smile dancing along the edges of his lips as he yfully revealed what he had in store for the smuggler and the rest of his crew.

    "Per Federines protocol¡­ individuals engaging in criminal activities may be directly eradicated without trial if they are deemed to be a national security risk."

    "What? But we¡­" Captain Mordred''s voice trailed off as he finally realised that the Inquisitor had never nned to let them go.

    "Ahh¡­ that''s the look I was waiting for," the Inquisitor''s smile grew wider as he turned to his subordinate on the far-left side of themand room.

    "By the authority invested in me by the Hive¡­ I dere your vessel to be a threat to the continued safety of Federines citizens and the national interests of the government."

    "Goodbye."

 Chapter 786 The Override Command And The New Captain

    ?

    The Inquisitor smiled revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth inside of his beak. He motioned towards a subordinate off to the side of the screen and a loud humming noise could be heard.

    The several sma cannons mounted on top of his medium sized spacefaring vessel all began to simultaneously glow and throb with energy.

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    BOOM!

    Large beams of light burst out of the sma cannons and rushed towards the smuggler''s starship. Its shielding systems onlysted for a few seconds under the concentrated rounds of sma energy.

    The barriers were easily pierced, and the energy beams rushed into the starship''s hulls. Every upant inside the vessel died instantly as the resulting explosion caused the entire starship to copse in the vacuum of space.

    "Scan for survivors," the Inquisitor chuckled lightly as he motioned again for one of his subordinates to do the job.

    But this time¡­

    No one followed his order.

    "Did you not hear what I said? Scan for¡­" the Inquisitor''s voice trailed off as he tore his eyes away from the screen and slowly looked around the room.

    They were all dead.

    The Inquisitor blinked his eyes several times and an expression ofplete disbelief surfaced on his face. He slowly got out of his chair and wandered around the room.

    Every single one of his subordinates was now motionless with a thin red line drawn across their throats.

    Blood dribbled out of the wounds on their necks and slowly dripped to the ground.

    The scent of the coppery metallic liquid filled the air and made it hard to breathe. The truly terrifying detail that the Inquisitor noticed was that none of his subordinates had expressions of fear or anger on their faces.

    They had died too quickly to react.

    What the hell?

    It was like a scene out of a horror tale.

    "All¡­ all hands-on deck! We need to investigate!" the Inquisitor yelled into the wristmunicator attached to his right arm, but no one answered his call.

    "You can save your breath," a cold voice slowly spoke.

    The Inquisitor turned to face the direction of the sound and he saw a sight that waspletely iprehensible. Arge familiar looking individual was gently leaning against a nearby wall and staring right back at him.

    He possessed three eyes, an unnaturally small mouth, and a pair of button noses. His physique was vaguely humanoid with wriggling veins squirming amidst a sea of bright cerulean blue that was his skin.

    The Inquisitor knew who this mysterious person was.

    He was the Voltrak who was travelling with the smugglers, but this didn''t make any sense!

    How¡­ how could he be alive? How could he have¡­

    "I understand that most of your starship can function automatically using the central AI unit," Rokan slowly spoke while casually reaching into the pocket of his robe.

    He pulled out a well-worn brown handkerchief and slowly wiped off the blood that coated the edge of his sword. Each of his movements was slow, deliberate, and calctive.

    If Sophie was here, she would have been shocked at the sight of her father disying a side that she had never seen before. But she really should not have been surprised.

    The man that the former Princess Thai''lle chose to be her mate could not be without ''fangs'' of his own.

    "Now¡­" Rokan''s voice lowered to a mere whisper as he pushed off from the wall leaving arge foot sized dent in its reinforced metalloid surface.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He approached the terrified Inquisitor and unleashed the full might of his god stage cultivation for less than a microsecond and with careful restrictions.

    The Inquisitor was immediately ttened to the ground as an overwhelming amount of spiritual energy prevented him from moving even a single muscle of his body.

    His hearts began to race and for the first time in his life, the Inquisitor no longer felt in control of a situation. He was no longer the mastermind pulling the strings to make others dance to his whims.

    And that thought¡­

    It terrified him.

    Inquisitors were bred and trained from birth to be effective killing tools of the Federines governments. Specially designed to hunt down and eliminate the enemies of the state.

    As a result, their minds were supposed to be impervious to intimidation and yet¡­

    Beads of sweat ran down the Inquisitor''s brows as he kept his eyes down and could not muster up the courage to directly look at the man who now stood directly in front of him.

    "Tell me what the master override code is," Rokan spoke in a cold voice that sent shivers down the Inquisitor''s spine. The Voltrak''s stare was like facing the essence of death.

    Everything else in the background seemed to fade away except for the sound of his voice.

    The Inquisitor''s palms began to tremble violently as he felt cold chills run down his spine. He did not know why his body was reacting this way.

    He had received extensive training on how to resist torture and the Voltrak in front of him had not even used any techniques yet and was merely asking him a question.

    But¡­ he could not stop himself from shaking.

    "Tell me. I will not ask so politely again," Rokan continued to speak in the same tone. His fingers slowly curled around the hilt of his sword and a thread of qi entered into its metallic surface.

    He plunged the de into the Inquisitor''s shoulder and his prisoner immediately began to cry out in pain as the strand of qi entered his body.

    Sword Art- Blood Control!

    Rokan split his consciousness and used the strand of qi to travel along his prisoner''s meridians and activate all the pain receptors inside of his body.

    Breaking someone who had undergone torture resistant training before was difficult¡­

    But not impossible.

    Finally, after a few hours of torture, Rokan got the information that he was looking for.

    "Command Override¡­ Delta¡­ Gamma¡­Seven¡­" the Inquisitor stuttered violently as he tried his best to resist the pain coursing through his entire body.

    "Situation five¡­ override required¡­ ID¡­ one¡­one¡­ eleven¡­ twelve. "

    [Override epted!]

    [Awaiting New Command Inputs]

    All the consoles in the room immediately lit up and a holographic projection appeared in the center of the space with several lines of writing across its surface.

    "Transfer the authority to me," Rokan ordered coldly as he lightly kicked the Inquisitor''s body.

    "Override¡­ authority structure¡­" the Inquisitor painfully groaned.

    "Transfer to him¡­"

    He weakly pointed in Rokan''s direction before copsing unconscious on the ground unable to speak any further and blissfully falling into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

 Chapter 787 Perfect Genetic Material

    ?

    (Nyrean Super Gxy- Voren Region)

    Sm- Private Residence)

    That was not an exaggeration. It was simply a mere indisputable fact.

    This entire world had been terraformed into the image of perfection and beauty. Not a single de of grass was out of ce.

    The surface of the was covered in vast crystal-clearkes that shimmered under the light of multiple moons that reflected the colours of the vibrant lush forest that dotted thatndscape.

    The trees that made up the forest emitted a soft bioluminescent glow in a mesmerizing disy that would captivate one''s immediate attention.

    There was just something hypnotic about the way that the lights shone as if beckoning an observer to continue watching the patterns that emerged until the end of time.

    The atmospheric concentration of gases had been carefully maintained to produce dazzling auroras which shifted and changed as the spun gently around a yellow star.

    A natural paradise untouched by civilisation except for one single structure.

    Tucked away inside of a deep ravine as if the architects responsible for its creation wanted to hide its appearance from the jealous eyes of the outside world.

    The structure was a simple two story building with a long white balcony that jutted out of the top floor. The only view that one would get from the balcony would be the sight of the massive stone walls which encircled the house.

    Who would live in such a deste ce?

    The answer to that question was one of the most powerful women in the entire Federines government.

    Lady Cerean also known as ''The Justice Of The Blind'' by her enemies.

    She stood on the balcony of her home and watched as long dark shadows crept along the edges of the ravine. The sun was beginning to set, and first stars could be seen in the night sky.

    Lady Cerean possessed a unique appearance. Her body was entirelyposed of sma energy, and she bore a striking resemnce to a human physique.

    Thick energy rich tendrils extended outwards from her lower back and each tendril could be moved just as easily as how one would be able to move their fingers.

    She did not have any eyes but on her face were vague hole-shaped structures that were located where the eyes, ear and noses should be on a normal human.

    Lady Cerean used one her tendrils to y with arge bag that was lying down on the ground. The bag squirmed and it was possible to hear faint whimpersing from inside.

    She let out a heavy sigh and stared upwards at the night sky. It had been several months now, and no traces of the missing human could be found.

    Rokan Peterlor.

    The formermander of the Imperial Army and the man whose disappearance had turned the entire government into a state of turmoil.

    The tentative alliance between the Federines government and certain factions belonging to the Earth Federation was close to bing undone because of their blunder.

    Rokan Peterlor should have died instead it was decided to imprison and experiment on the human who had been the fastest to reach the god stage in the history of the Earth Federation.

    A costly error.

    If they had just killed him when he arrived¡­

    Lady Cerean frowned and the tendril that was wrapped around the bag squeezed even tighter until the sounds of ribs cracking echoed through the empty ravine.

    The soundsing from inside the sack immediately ceased.

    Lady Cerean tossed the bag off to the side and a faint purplish- red ooze leaked out from the bottom of the bag when the sacknded on the ground.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    What a missed opportunity.

    They didn''t even manage to get samples of his gic material. Just imagining the offspring that they could form together sent shivers down Lady Cerean''s spine.

    In many ways humans were an oddity, there were many reasons why they were unique but one in particr stuck out the most to Lady Cerean as she read about their species.

    Perfect gicpatibility.

    Human were capable of breeding with and producing gically viable hybrids with a wide variety of alien lifeforms and species even those without simrly shaped DNA or chromosomes.

    It was almost considered miraculous.

    Even now several top scientists of the Federines failed toe up with a reasonable exnation as to why this was possible.

    Lady Cerean rubbed her thighs together and a flushed expression shed across her face. She essed hermunicator and pressed a button.

    A holographic projection shot upwards and disyed a screen with a face. The face of Rokan Peterlor¡­ a beautiful man with perfectly sculptured features.

    But Lady Cerean was not concerned about his appearance, no her interest was far darker.

    She wanted¡­ no she needed his gic material urgently.

    Just the thought of an army of Human- Bolltern hybrids with the unique physiology of energy-based lifeforms and the cultivation talent of humans made her audibly gasp out loud in pleasure.

    Where was he?

    Where was he hiding?

    The trouble with space was that it was basically impossible to guard borders to the extent where people would be unable to slip in or out.

    The most popr crossing points were of course heavily guarded but what if Rokan used a starship that was capable of travelling through asteroid fields or stars?

    That would immediately increase the number of ces where¡­.

    DING! DING!

    A message red out from the speaker attached to themunicator device in her palm. It was a series of numbers in a seemingly random order.

    "One¡­ one¡­ eleven¡­ twelve¡­"

    Lady Cerean tilted her head in confusion and waited to see if the message said anything else. Unfortunately, the voice no longer spoke, and the recording just began to loop.

    "One¡­ one¡­ elven¡­ twelve¡­"

    An override request?

    But which starship that this requeste from?

    Lady Cerean sent out a few messages and waited patiently to see what her people to reply to her query. It did not take long to receive a reply from one of her trust subordinates.

    [Missing Starship- Believed to have been hijacked]

    [Last known coordinates were 14¡­ 14¡­12]

    [Last message received from the starshipmander revealed that he had establishedmunication with a smuggler''s starship under the suspicion that the vessel was harboring¡­]

    [Rokan Peterlor- the wanted human]

 Chapter 788 A Story About Gods

    ?

    "Ka did I ever tell you about the religion of the Naobo race?" Rokan casually asked as he leaned back against the captain''s chair and put his feet up on the desk.

    [Nomander you have not]

    A cold metallic voice replied to his words.

    The voice came from the starship''s onboard artificial intelligence unit which Rokan had affectionately nicknamed ''Ka''.

    She was his onlypanion over thest few days.

    "Well, its quite a strange belief¡­ so members of the Naobo race believe that the universe, life and everything was created by a group of god-like beings," Rokan continued to chat while raising up his hand to his mouth to cover a yawn.

    "These beings formed a sort of ''Council'' so basically, they created the universe, set the motions in ce, and then did nothing. The Naobo believe that their gods arepletely and utterly indifferent."

    "Their religion does not require believers to worship, they give out no offerings and as far as I am aware they do not pray to their deities."

    [That religion sounds most illogical. The entire purpose of faith in certain primitive cultures is to provide a spiritual and emotional center point.]

    [Why would they create deities that do not care about their creations?]

    "I had the chance to ask one of their priests that same question," Rokan replied as he fiddled with themand console in front of him.

    "The answer was quite surprising¡­ he said humility."

    "Their gods are iprehensible cosmic beings with powers far beyond what they could ever hope to understand. They recognise their limitations and view the gods'' indifference as a natural consequence."

    [That answer only reinforces my assumption that the species that you mentioned are primitive lifeforms. There are no higher powers or so-called ''cosmic beings''.]

    "I don''t know Ka¡­ after what I''ve seen over my many years of travelling across the universe¡­ I would not be surprised," Rokan said with a small smile.

    He shook his head and ended the small talk. Rokan got up from the chair and walked over to a nearby window to stare outside at the scenery.

    His entire field of view was blocked by massive chunks of metals and other pieces of debris. Yet another group of pursuers had attempted to shoot down his starship and failed.

    But¡­ there had been some heavy damages.

    The defense barrier systems were only at forty percent effectiveness and several areas of the hull had experienced some light damage during the fight. Fortunately for now there did not appear to be any damage to the critical areas of the starship.

    However¡­

    How many more fights could the starship endure before it gave out?

    Rokan furrowed his brows as he tapped a button on the screen in front of him. Arge holographic map was projected upwards in the air with all the major star systems within one hundred light years.

    He had the sneaking suspicion that he was slowly being corned. There was no proof for his assumption, but years of experience meant that his instincts were usually correct.

    But how could he avoid the trap?

    "Ka search for any nearby ck holes, asteroid field and disruptive electromaic zones," Rokan ordered calmly as he browsed the map looking for possible routes to take.

    He had a vague idea of how to get back to the Earth Federation but without the help of Captain Mordred and his crew it would be a far more difficult process.

    [Commander there is one nearby ckhole however the entire system where it is located is in the middle of a civil war between two rising factions.]

    [The government has tried to maintain order but has only managed to put down rebellions in the outer regions]

    "Perfect. Set a course for the system and in the meanwhile I want you to send me a list of all possible routes into the Earth Federation and their probability of sess," Rokan replied softly.

    He received a hum of acknowledgement from the AI unit.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The starship''s warp core began to hum violently, and crackles of electricity danced along the edges of the spacefaring vessel. It took a few seconds but eventually the starship shot forward and entered into hyperdrive.

    The universe outside the windows of the starship rapidly shifted until thes that came into view became nothing more than fast moving blurs.

    Rokan sat back down and the chair and casually rested his hand on his knee. It was not a mystery how the government forces kept tracking him down.

    Although he had used Ka''s help to get rid of all the onboard tracking devices, Rokan was pretty certain that the government still had something in ce to make sure that they knew the location of their vessels.

    This starship used to belong to an Inquisitor after all¡­

    It madeplete sense that it was connected to an internalwork or some form of link between itself and amand center or station.

    He would need to ditch this starship eventually.

    Rokan wandered towards the back of themand center and then walked through the open door that was barely attached to the metal hinges.

    The entire starship was eerily silent.

    Rokan was not a fan of killing but he would do what needed to be done. The entire crew onboard this vessel was now nothing more than floating corpses drifting through the vast empty vacuum of space.

    Just another bunch of lives that he had taken.

    All that talk of religion brought back some unpleasant memories.

    Rokan walked through the long and winding corridors stopping only to peer inside the rooms that were now devoid of life. Filled with electronics, wires, and machines.

    If there was an afterlife¡­ well, he would not be going to the good ce.

    Duke Peterlor entered one of the rooms and sat down on a bench that was in the corner. At moments like this when he was alone, it was hard not to think about his family.

    How was his little girl doing?

    Was she okay?

    There was a robust system and a chain ofmand in ce with contingency ns if something were to happen to him but even the bestid ns could go awry.

    The hardest factor to predict was the human heart.

    Would his subordinates still remain loyal to hisst wishes? Would they serve his daughter faithfully? It was impossible to get the answers to those questions and it was eating him up inside.

    There were any number of horrible oues that could happen and Rokan did not even dare to dwell on the more unpleasant possibilities.

    Life was really unfair.

    He had lost his daughter for close to an entire year and then he had been the one who was teleported off to some far-flung region of space in the middle of enemy territory.

    If there were meddling gods out there, then he really must have pissed some of them off.

    Rokan let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against the back of the bench and stared at a wall with a mncholic expression on his face.

    BOOM!

    A loud explosion rocked the entire starship and Rokan nearly fell out of the bench as rm bells began to re out incessantly.

    The starship was under attack!

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