Starforce Warriors

Song Jinglun stood still, guarded by two elite guards. He activated a certain eye technique, and golden gears faintly turned within his pupils. Golden light shot from his eyes as he scanned the surroundings, searching for any trace of Li Xiaofei.

Having stood at the peak of power in Chongque City for several centuries, Song Jinglun possessed countless trump cards and means at his disposal. Beyond his many bodyguards, his cultivation techniques, secret arts, and various arcane treasures were so profound that others could hardly begin to imagine them.

It didn't take long for the golden eye-light to lock onto Li Xiaofei, who was hiding in a crevice between meteorites. Two nearby three-man squads clad in black armor and ghostly masks immediately rushed toward him.

Boom!

The meteorite was blasted apart, but Li Xiaofei's figure was concealed within the rubble. He reacted with astonishing speed, instantly shattering the stones into powder, which scattered into a thick cloud of dust that enveloped the area within a hundred meters.

However, such a trick was meaningless to beings at the cosmic lifeform level. Six black shadows charged into the stone fog without hesitation. The clash of metal echoed and sparks flew.

A moment later, the air was thick with the scent of blood. Severed limbs and broken arms were flung out from the haze. A second later, the stone fog dispersed, revealing floating blood and mangled corpses in the distance.

"He's injured," one of the black-armored, ghost-masked warriors said.

Amid the blood drifting in the vacuum, there were traces of an aura that did not belong to any of their comrades.

It was clear that Li Qingchen had paid a price in the brief clash just moments ago, even though he swiftly killed the six black-armored, ghost-masked warriors. This outcome had been within their expectations. Each black-armored warrior was a Pulsar Star Level lifeform.

Beyond being equipped with top-tier armor and weapons, the three-man formation they employed was the Threefold Spiritual Resonance Array, cultivated through a special secret method. It allowed the trio to merge their consciousness into one, making their combined combat strength far more than the sum of its parts. They could even battle a Black Hole level powerhouse.

Li Xiaofei had previously revealed Black Hole level energy. But to slay six black-armored warriors in less than a second without paying a price was simply impossible.

Song Jinglun continued to activate his eye technique and scan the area. His expression remained cold, showing not the slightest sorrow or anger over the deaths of his subordinates.

Although guards of this caliber were rare in Chongque City, he could always purchase more from the galactic battlefield zone or mobilize them through his connections at any time.

Soon, Li Xiaofei's whereabouts were discovered once again. Battle erupted and death descended again. Blood churned and spilled in the chaotic planetary belt.

The blood of cosmic-level lifeforms would not freeze in the vacuum of extreme cold. The black-armored warriors could distinguish between their own and the enemy's blood by its aura, allowing them to gauge that Li Xiaofei's injuries were worsening steadily.

Song Jinglun's eye technique allowed the black-armored warriors to repeatedly uncover Li Xiaofei's hiding spots and eventually force him out of the planetary belt into a vast, open space.

Song Jinglun then took action, clearing out all meteorites within several hundred kilometers, leaving Li Xiaofei with no place to hide.

Li Xiaofei was surrounded on all sides in the cold, dark expanse of space. The number of black-armored warriors far exceeded the initial wave. A full hundred of them encircled Li Xiaofei from above and below, front and back, left and right.

"Capture him alive," Song Jinglun ordered coldly, his face full of cruelty and malice.

At that moment, he was entirely different from the gentle, refined, and approachable image he normally presented in public. The vicious and ruthless aura radiating from his entire being was enough to inspire fear in anyone who saw him.

The black-armored warriors swarmed forward without any grand declarations. Deprived of any remaining twilight or cover, and unable to create isolated skirmishes, Li Xiaofei had no choice but to face them all at once, bearing the combined might of a hundred elite warriors.

Their attacks were not chaotic. They fought in structured formations, three in a group, three groups as one team, three teams forming one unit. They focused their efforts on unleashing precise, combined strikes.

The strength of their coordination was so formidable that even true Black Hole level beings would choose to retreat when faced with it. But Li Xiaofei, now trapped, had nowhere to retreat.

He was forced to take the full brunt of their attacks. After just a few exchanges, he began to falter, and his aura grew weak. Song Jinglun revealed a faint smile. The outcome had been decided.

***

Earth No. 1818.

The snows of Kilimanjaro shimmered like glistening gold under the morning sun. Golden rays illuminated the nameless valley at dawn. Shin Koharu collected the morning dew in a ceramic vessel, and returned to the mountain cave.

This secret valley cave had been carved out by her grandmaster, hollowed directly into the sheer cliff face. Its entrance was concealed and invisible to ordinary eyes. They had all manner of living amenities, since it was designed to be remarkably comfortable. It was no less luxurious than the opulent mansions of any grand city.

Shin Koharu had already adapted to this new life. She quietly cultivated by her master's side, her days passing in serene comfort.

Suddenly, she sensed something unusual. A trace of disbelief flickered across her face. She moved like the wind, racing at full speed to the deepest chamber within the cave.

"Master..." Shin Koharu stared in shock. The master, who had been encased in ice, was now emitting a faint glow, as though about to awaken from a deathlike slumber.

What is happening? Could it be, just as Grandmaster had said, my master is about to return to life?

Shin Koharu held her breath in nervous anticipation.

Come back to life, Master. Please... return.

***

"Hmm?" Gradually, an expression of surprise surfaced on Song Jinglun's face.

Though Li Xiaofei seemed battered and on the verge of collapse, he never truly faltered. He gritted his teeth and endured, even managing to launch the occasional counterattack. Surprisingly, he held on.

When he used his eye technique to examine Li Xiaofei, Song Jinglun discovered that his life energy was burning at a rapid rate.

"Burning his life force?" Song Jinglun immediately let out a cold laugh.

The power of cosmic level lifeforms was rooted in their life force. The stronger one's life force, the more terrifying one's strength would become. To burn that life force in battle was akin to drinking poison to quench thirst.

Only those who were truly cornered, having exhausted all other options, would resort to such a desperate act. It seemed Li Qingchen truly had reached the end of the road and had no tricks left up his sleeve.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, half an hour had gone by. The cold sneer on Song Jinglun's face began to stiffen. Something was wrong.

Even if Li Xiaofei was burning his life force, even a Black Hole level lifeform should have reached the point of complete exhaustion after such a prolonged battle under a siege of this magnitude.

In that case, why was Li Xiaofei becoming more and more energized the longer he fought? It was the black-armored warriors who were steadily decreasing in number.

Why is this happening?

Song Jinglun once again activated his golden gear eye technique in an attempt to uncover the truth.

At that moment, having endured patiently for so long, Li Xiaofei sensed that the coordinated strength of the black-armored warriors was weakening. The time to strike back had come.

He no longer concealed his strength and fully unleashed the Immortal Seal Technique he had been secretly operating. When it was activated at full force, a shadow split and multiplied, transforming into thousands in an instant.

The Immortal Seal Technique, when cultivated to its pinnacle, could convert the energy of life and death. It could transform enemy attacks into his own strength.

This technique, extracted from the Secret Time Pavilion, originated in the high-martial world of Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty and was the exclusive ultimate skill of the evil king Shi Zhixuan. The unparalleled genius Shi Zhixuan had elevated the technique to a near-philosophical height. But Li Xiaofei had long since mastered it.

After ascending to the realm of a Black Hole level lifeform, he revisited his old martial arts and discovered that the Immortal Seal Technique harmonized perfectly with the principles of the Black Hole level. He then recultivated it, gaining remarkable results.

Thus, he had utilized the technique to withstand the black-armored warriors' combined attacks with ease while accumulating an enormous reserve of energy.

One saber technique, Naihe Bridge. One sword technique, Fate Breaker. His alternate identity had already been exposed, so he no longer held anything back. When he unleashed both saber and sword simultaneously, the chaos that followed was overwhelming.

Li Xiaofei was a Dual Sacred Body of Blade and Sword, and the might of both weapons became unfathomable and ghostly in nature in his hands. It took him just a few dozen breaths to slaughter all the black-armored warriors.

Saber and sword in hand, Li Xiaofei began walking toward Song Jinglun. Song Jinglun immediately sensed the overwhelming life force surging through Li Xiaofei's entire being. It was several times stronger than it had been at the start of the battle.

His heart trembled.