"The Perseverance has arrived at the Gamma System Space Station. Please take your personal belongings and disembark in an orderly manner," came the announcement.
Standing by the window, Lu Yin gazed downwards. The Gamma System Space Station was far from the Solar System, marking the first wormhole jump for the Perseverance.
For most people, the Gamma System Space Station was ordinary, but for earthlings like Zhang Dingtian and Xu San, who were stepping into space for the first time, everything was incredibly overwhelming.
The Gamma System Space Station was colossal, thousands of times larger than the Perseverance, composed of unknown metal structures, and suspended in space. It was filled with flying vehicles, resembling a giant metallic monster bristling with protrusions.
Behind the Gamma System Space Station was a protective net formed by countless flying vehicles. Even from a distance, Zhang Dingtian could feel the overwhelming star energy emanating from there, indicating the presence of star-walking powerhouses within the station.
The Perseverance docked within a massive framework, beams of light descending and revealing groups of students. Most students didn't need to go to the Imperial Capital Star and would be transferring at the station.
More than twenty students disembarked at the Gamma System Space Station, noticeably more relaxed after leaving the Perseverance.
Among them was Granie, finally parting ways with Lu Yin. Before leaving, she glanced back at the Perseverance, saw Lu Yin waving at her, and scowled, muttering something under her breath, clearly not anything pleasant.
Lu Yin raised an eyebrow, thinking she deserved a good spanking.
Aside from Granie, Willow and Baile also left, as their academies were nearby.
To Lu Yin's surprise, even Silver departed.
Watching Silver's back, Lu Yin pondered deeply. This person was inscrutable. Cooperation? Let's see who outsmarts whom, he thought. But first, he needed to understand the forces behind Silver.
A figure streaked across the sky, it was West Kent Maldo.
Lu Yin took a look at the universe, indifferent, and continued to study the star map. Being in the universe, he truly felt its vastness. He was confident that he could activate the fifth star within a month. By then, how strong would he be? Typically, each additional star doubled one's power. With four stars, he had suppressed the explorer Qing Yu, unbeatable. With five stars, perhaps he could challenge the fusion students of the Yu Tang Academy, people like Mono might not even be his match.
The Gamma System Space Station Chief, Baruda, was an explorer with a power level exceeding ten thousand, capable of traversing space, guarding the station for over two hundred years, diligently.
Station chiefs like him didn't need to personally guard wormholes, but Baruda was different. For over two hundred years, he had personally guarded the wormhole, famous throughout the Dayu Empire.
West Kent Maldo crossed the vast distance, appearing behind the space station, gazing at the enormous wormhole. He then looked towards the dense protective net formed by flying vehicles, with Baruda's craft at its center.
With a creak, the hatch of the craft opened, and a middle-aged man in armor stepped out, crossing several kilometers in one stride to stand before West Kent Maldo. "Gamma System Space Station Chief Baruda, at your service, General Maldo."
West Kent Maldo showed great respect to the man before him, smiling, "Chief Baruda, it's been thirteen years since we last met, how have you been?"
Baruda sternly replied, "No enemy incursions for thirteen years."
"That's good. His Majesty often mentions you, thanking you for guarding the frontier of the Dayu Empire," West Kent Maldo said.
Baruda immediately saluted, "As an imperial soldier, guarding the frontier is my duty."
"You should have been notified. A distant planet called Earth has just undergone evolution. Please monitor it closely and eliminate any failures promptly to prevent enemy infiltration," West Kent Maldo said seriously.
Baruda's eyes sharpened, "The New Human Alliance?"
West Kent Maldo nodded, looking towards Earth, "Failed zombies from the evolution must not be discovered by the New Human Alliance. Even one zombie king taken away would be a trouble for our Dayu Empire. You understand the seriousness of this matter."
Baruda nodded solemnly, "I understand, I'll send troops to Earth immediately to eliminate the zombie horde."
"Also, while eliminating the horde, do not harm the planet. That planet temporarily belongs to the Purple Mountain King," West Kent Maldo added.
Baruda acknowledged and left immediately.
Soon, the Perseverance restarted, taking off towards the wormhole behind the space station.
As they entered the wormhole, everyone felt weightless for a moment. In the next instant, everything returned to normal, but the surrounding stars had changed. They had jumped from the Gamma System Space Station to another star system's station, without stopping, heading directly away.
Xu San exhaled in relief, the moment of entering the wormhole had terrified him. That darkness was not something everyone dared to look into.
The wormhole jump covered a vast distance, moving them from the domain of the Solar System to another domain.
The universe was divided into domains by star systems as the smallest unit, then galaxy clusters, each containing many star systems. Beyond that were superclusters, each containing many galaxy clusters. Finally, there were domains, the standard unit for vast universal forces.
Each domain contained many superclusters, vast and boundless. The Dayu Empire encompassed thirteen domains, almost splitting the Canglan Territory in half.
Beyond domains were territories. The outer universe had seventy-two territories, with the Canglan Territory being one of them. Each territory averaged a hundred domains, meaning the Dayu Empire covered about a tenth of the Canglan Territory, which had one hundred twenty-five domains.
The Solar System was in the Fourth Domain. The Perseverance had just jumped from the Fourth Domain to the Third Domain. They were heading to the First Domain, home of the Imperial Capital Star, the heart of the Dayu Empire.
With a group of students having disembarked, the training area felt much emptier.
Lu Yin went to the training area and saw many familiar faces. These people, upon seeing Lu Yin, fled like avoiding the plague. Lu Yin didn't care; he never intended to get along with anyone.
With his identity as the Purple Mountain King confirmed, trouble was inevitable. He foresaw being disliked in the Dayu Empire. But so what? His identity was fake. He only needed the future ability to influence a domain in the Dayu Empire. Of course, he wasn't there yet.
The training area simulated various environments and was quite spacious.
Lu Yin strolled into the gravity zone, a good place for physical training.
The gravity zone had over a hundred gravity rooms, each large enough to accommodate multiple people training simultaneously, all open.
Lu Yin found an empty room and set the gravity to six times, warming up before gradually increasing it. His body grew heavier, internal organs under pressure. At thirty times gravity, he was drenched in sweat. This was the limit for explorers, as their bodies could typically handle thirty times gravity.
"This is good, let's train," Lu Yin muttered, starting with basic exercises. These simple moves were effective, allowing him to use Wave Palm without star energy. Though Wave Palm and Split Air Palm were less effective now, he didn't want to abandon these physical techniques, so he aimed to enhance them quickly without star energy crystals.
Outside the gravity room, students were amazed at the readings. "Thirty times gravity? Which senior is training? Mono? Yan Gang? Or Huo Xiaoling?" someone speculated.
"Maybe an old soldier. Soldiers can be fusion realm experts too."
"Soldiers are more likely. Those free soldiers can't get star energy crystals and can only train their bodies. I heard some soldiers reach fusion realm strength through physical training alone."
"But they're still trash. Physical strength alone is useless. Combat slaves," a student scoffed.
Nearby soldiers looked grim but didn't retort. They were from trial planets, selected to board the Perseverance with difficulty, but unable to have their bodies remade by the Dayu Empire. They were indeed combat slaves.
"Enough. Just open the door to see who's inside," one student suggested impatiently.
Another quickly advised, "Disturbing someone's training could be trouble. Thirty times gravity likely means a fusion realm expert. Can you handle that?"
The impatient student hesitated, ultimately stepping back.