A giant blood-colored peng was soaring through the space that was illuminated by the eight-starred ladybugs and the remaining light from the miniature nova source, knocking aside all obstructions in its path. Wudi and Tianming were on the solar infernalblood kunpeng.
âI see them.â The other side hadnât split up and fled, but had instead gathered together. âAs expected, itâs the faceless specters.â They were even from the familiar Crimsonjade line. Crimsonjade Long of Team Celestial Beings that Tianming had defeated was an outstanding genius of that line.
âWhat the hell? They donât have a face, just jade there. Are they still specters?â Wudi was naturally surprised during his first time seeing them.
âYes! These are the faceless specters of a deific-class world. Their Skyway Monostar is two hundred times the size of the original sun, and Bistar and Tristar are both over a hundred times larger. More than ten thousand nova source worlds of the entire Mysterium Cluster are under their control. To us, they're the center of the universe," Tianming said.
âCenter my ass. If all the stars in the sky are nova sources, thereâs more than ten thousand out there.â
âTrue.â
âThis group only has one sovereign. Weâll kill a few of the little ones as a show of force. We just need to leave three or four to interrogate.â Wudiâs eyes hardened as he made his choice.
âAlright.â Tianming had the same thoughts. It would be chaotic to have too many people, so they only needed to keep a few.
Wudi was more useful than Tianming, this far from the sun. He was a second- or third-level sovereign, and was even stronger when the Flameyellow Coffin was taken into account. Nine blood-colored flaming beast totems manifested around him. One man, one beast, and nine totems quickly surrounded the group without even giving them a chance to speak.
There was no suspense when a sovereign attacked a few solarians. Under the totemsâ totemic calamity, the faceless specters in front of Crimsonjade Qiang were vaporized and died a horrible death. Only three people were left. The rest, other than the sovereign, would also have perished if Wudi hadnât controlled his attack. The show of force was indeed vicious.
Even though the three survivors were faceless, their shock was obvious. The worst part was the ladybugs staring at them, leaving them no way to escape.
Crimsonjade Qiangâs heart was pounding. âLi Tianming! I recognize you! I wish to negotiate with you regarding your nova source worldâs survival!â Qiang knew the gap between him and Wudi. He was a genius of Skyway Tristar and was only in his eighties, but Wudi, with his middle-aged appearance, was probably over a millenia old. However, he wasnât aware that Wudi was actually in his fifties and even younger than him. In the end, Wudi had barely accomplished anything in the first forty-odd years of his life. Hence, his body was indeed older than Qiangâs, strictly speaking.
Tianming and his lifebound beasts joined the encirclement, cutting off all hope of escape.
âNegotiate?â Tianming smiled and narrowed his eyes. Qiang looked familiar, but honestly, since none of them had facial features, they sort of blended together in his mind. âState your identity first,â he said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âSkyway Tristar, Qiang of the Crimsonjade line! You fought with my son, Crimsonjade Long, in the Astraldome before.â Qiang had calmed down and his voice was less shaky now.
âI get it. Youâre that legendary precentennial paragon, the sovereign of the faceless specters thatâs less than a hundred years old. Youâre a big shot.â Tianming knew that Qiang was basically the peak of what a mysterian could accomplish at younger than a hundred years of age. He was an unfathomable genius, to those from the sun.
"Yes. To tell the truth, I was sent by the mysterians to pick you up from Violetglory,â Qiang said.
âThen whyâre you here?â Tianming asked.
âComma girl coincidentally changed the drop-off point for the sword, so I dropped it off since I was in the area,â Qiang said.
âAnd you saw everything. The mysterians then instructed you to keep track of the sun and keep them updated on its location. Simultaneously, theyâre sending more astralships thatâre headed this way.'' The more Tianming spoke, the frostier his smile became.
Qiang went silent; all of that was easy to guess. âLi Tianming, I think youâre mistaken. Youâre a genius our mysterians want to attract. Weâve made all the preparations for nurturing you. As for your nova source world, it may have exterminated our Skywolf, but that just proves its worth. Weâll treat you and this sun with special treatment and let you become one of us. You have that level of worth!â Qiang seriously said.
âAlright, I believe you. Iâm also very touched, in case you canât tell,â Tianming laughed.
âDonât think like that. We mysterians can see the big picture. Youâre a genius with talent bestowed by the heavens themselves, so you need to be protected. Trust me, come with us and itâll be a true win for everyone. You can rely on us to soar into the skies, and we can only rely on you to become stronger,â Qiang said.
âYou overestimate yourselves. I donât need you to soar,â Tianming replied.
âArenât you too overconfident? Standing against us will bring you no benefits. The mysterians are this regionâs absolute overlords,â Qiang said.
âI noticed you never denied that your astralship fleetâs coming. Qiang, donât bother. If you were really here to welcome me, you wouldnât have hidden, but instead come up to me. Your wolfish greed is no different from Skywolfâsâor, in fact, youâre its source. Letâs cut the bullshit. Iâll send you on your way now,â Tianming coldly said.
âLi Tianming, Iâm serious! Youâll regret it if you donât listen to me! Iâm providing you a chance to live now. Itâll be too late for regrets in the future.â Qiang was slightly angry.
âWhether I regret it or not has nothing to do with a dead man like you.â Tianming drew the Grand-Orient Sword and pointed it at Qiang.
Qiang knew that after having been caught lurking, there was no way Tianming would believe he had good intentions. Thus, he changed tracks and his tone turned sinister. âFine, but even if you kill me and bring the sun away, what about Violetglory?â
âVioletglory? Are you an idiot? What do they have to do with me?â Tianming was speechless.