Chapter 213: B-Class Mental Power

Stepping forward to pick up the luxurious helmet, Li Yu found it cold to the touch. He had no idea what material it was forged from, but it had not suffered a single scratch from the electromagnetic cannon.

As he gently traced the intricate runes, they reacted sensitively, glowing with a soft light.

The dazzling golden gemstone shimmered with a radiant halo—"Blessing of His Holiness the Sun." This was the source of Dark Star's overwhelming arrogance, though it ultimately proved useless.

Li Yu did not know much about this item, so he decided to put it away and hand it over to his human appraisal machine later.

Rummaging through the crater for a moment, Li Yu muttered, "Where did my massive Amethyst Core go?"

He had thought he could pull off a highly profitable heist, but it seemed Dark Star had somehow lost the core. At the very least, it was not on his person. However, upon further thought...

If the other party had actually carried it, his previous attack might have destroyed the core, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Returning to where Rhode's spaceship was parked, things were exactly as he expected. Rhode and his group had vanished, leaving only the vessel behind. Li Yu knew they had likely been obliterated by Dark Star.

"So careless, they deserved to be killed," Li Yu grumbled, muttering curses. If they had not led Dark Star right to him, he would not have been forced to burn his trump card.

Ten minutes prior, Claptrap's Minion aboard the Blazing Light Starship had learned of Dark Star's arrival through Li Yu's Smart Terminal.

This had utterly terrified Hunter, who was as anxious as ants on a hot griddle. He paced back and forth in the cabin, staring at the alarming energy readings on the screen.

"How did that bastard Dark Star suddenly find his way here? The Amethyst Civilization must have leaked the information."

"I knew Amethyst was up to no good! None of these massive civilizations are any good!"

"Beep, beep, beep! Master's vital signs are rapidly disappearing. Signal lost. Warning! Signal lost!"

Alarms blared continuously throughout the Blazing Light Starship. This was the exact moment Li Yu's limbs had exploded, causing Hunter's expression to change drastically.

"Peyton!" he suddenly yelled. Forced out of his work, Peyton looked at the easily startled Hunter with eyes as still as stagnant water.

"Do you have any way to deal with Dark Star? I remember you studied him for a long time." Hunter met Peyton's gaze, his aura suddenly becoming inexplicably dangerous.

Peyton furrowed his brows slightly. "Dark Star is an A-Tier Lifeform. Even if I know his weaknesses, without an A-Tier Lifeform on our side, it is impossible to fight him."

"Master's vital signs have stabilized. Alarms cleared." Claptrap's sudden voice drew both of their attention.

Hunter breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his heart immediately leaped back into his throat. Dark Star had not left yet, which likely meant he was torturing Li Yu.

"What does Dark Star want? He has no reason to kill Li Yu," Peyton noted, feeling a bit confused. Why was Hunter so tense the moment Dark Star arrived, as if the man had come specifically for Li Yu?

Having joined the crew late, he was completely unaware of the deep-seated grudge between Li Yu and Dark Star.

"They have a blood feud. Dark Star definitely won't let him go." Under the circumstances, Hunter had no time to explain, so he immediately ordered:

"Claptrap, have Li Ping bring Tu Ying and Keller back. Dark Star shouldn't know we are here."

Hunter possessed Secondary Authority over Claptrap, allowing him to issue such commands.

"If Li Yu dies, only Tu Ying and Keller might have the potential to avenge him." As a seasoned veteran, Hunter had no intention of committing serial self-sacrifice. Going after Dark Star now would be nothing short of a death wish.

Fleeing the area temporarily was their best option. Tu Ying and Keller had limitless futures; they were the only ones capable of eventually avenging Li Yu.

"Dark Star has been eliminated by the Master. The danger has been neutralized."

Just as Hunter was pondering what to write on Li Yu's tombstone, Claptrap's voice made his head snap up, his pupils trembling in sheer disbelief.

"Dark Star is dead?"

Peyton paused, a burning passion gradually igniting in his eyes. Perhaps choosing to head to the Inuit Hub back then was the most correct decision he had ever made.

How could Li Yu possibly kill Dark Star? This was simply too fascinating!

"...This matter is a bit complicated to explain. Just come over," Li Yu told the curious Hunter and Peyton on the screen.

The Blazing Light Starship quickly locked onto the coordinates and arrived at breakneck speed. At that moment, Li Yu was tinkering with Rhode's spaceship, checking if he could extract any valuable information.

"How exactly did you do it?" Peyton could not wait as he stepped off the spaceship, asking the question once more.

"See for yourself." Li Yu handed him the combat recording. Peyton scanned through it quickly, his confusion and bafflement only deepening.

"Vaporized by an electromagnetic cannon? How is that possible?" Peyton stared at the recording. That was an A-Tier Lifeform! A small electromagnetic cannon like that would at most give him a warm shower.

"Actually, I feel like Dark Star isn't dead," Li Yu said with uncertainty. He did not know why he felt this way; perhaps it was due to Dark Star's final vicious words and his utter composure.

"He certainly wouldn't die that easily." Peyton nodded, confirming Li Yu's suspicion. "His Gene Chain structure is very unique. He lacks frontal combat power, but his survival abilities are overwhelmingly strong."

"His B-grade Gene Chain is the Fission Earthworm. It doesn't control any elemental power, but it has one single trait: the ability to regenerate from a severed body."

Dark Star was truly an anomaly. That pink jelly-like substance was his actual core. Instead of mastering special energies, he chose to construct his genetic structure in this bizarre manner.

Peyton continued to explain, "Originally, the separated flesh and blood of a Fission Earthworm couldn't be too far apart. But he integrated the Gene Chain of a Xingmu Beast, granting his body certain quantum properties."

"There is a high probability that he is currently respawning on some distant planet."

'Why am I not surprised in the slightest?' Li Yu pondered. Perhaps because he was already mentally prepared, he felt absolutely no shock hearing Peyton's explanation.

However, he was not worried. The effect of the Even Match had no time limit.

He just hoped Dark Star would stop obsessing over finding trouble with him. Wouldn't it be better to just find a nice place and enjoy the privileges of being an A-Tier Lifeform?

"How exactly did you manage to do it? You weakened his strength, and he seemed completely unable to lay a hand on you?" Peyton continued to study the recording, spotting the anomalies and pressing for answers.

"I cursed him," Li Yu offered a perfunctory reply. He then pulled out the dazzling helmet and said, "Take a look at this. What is this thing?"

"A curse... what kind of curse? A curse from which divine spirit?" Peyton kept asking relentlessly. It was not until Li Yu spouted some nonsense about a "God of Fine Asses" that he reluctantly took the helmet.

"This is a Sun Gem. It is a special item produced by a Solar Councilor and is incredibly rare." Peyton lived up to his reputation as a human appraisal scroll, instantly providing the answer.

"It contains an extremely pure Power of Faith."

"The Power of Faith? What does it do?" The helmet's function was to resist the influence of A-grade Mental Power, which conflicted with Li Yu's Power of the Scepter, rendering it somewhat useless to him.

"Hmm..." Peyton pondered for a moment. "It has immense benefits for Mental Power."

"Oh?" Li Yu perked up immediately. His Mental Power was still temporarily at the C-class. Even though the Sand Worm had devoured massive amounts of Star Sand, it had not yet produced any Spice.

Moreover, according to his estimation, a single portion of Spice would be far from enough to elevate his Mental Power. This was a localized Spice produced by the Sand Worm, not a system-generated Spice that possessed the ability to solidify upgrades.

"Are there any side effects?" Li Yu asked cautiously. After all, anything involving faith did not sound like a good thing.

"Not with the pure Power of Faith." Peyton shook his head, only to watch as Li Yu immediately pried the Sun Gem right off the helmet.

This caused his eye to twitch slightly. He could not help but say, "The Sun Gem can only exert its maximum effect when paired with the runes on the helmet. Directly absorbing the Power of Faith inside it is the most wasteful way to use it."

"Oh..." Li Yu did not need this helmet anyway, as he already had the Power of the Scepter. Pinching the gemstone in his hand, he slowly probed his Mental Power into it.

He seemed to sense a milky-white ocean. It was warm, comfortable, and made one instinctively want to relax.

Wisps of milky-white radiance traveled along his Mental Power and merged into his mind, blending together seamlessly. The moment it entered, the gentle and refreshing sensation made Li Yu unable to resist savoring it carefully.

His Mental Power began to increase rapidly. As the Power of Faith continuously poured in, gusts of wind formed around him.

Pop!

It was as if he had broken through some boundary. Li Yu felt a final, intense shudder as an overwhelming sense of euphoria echoed through his spirit.

Fierce winds howled around him, and electric arcs surged wildly. Rhode's spaceship trembled uncontrollably as streams of purple light leaked from its energy engine, forcibly coalescing around Li Yu.

With his Mental Power stepping into the B-class threshold, his superpowers strengthened accordingly. He could now forcibly drag massive amounts of energy straight out of an energy engine.

He slightly raised his hand, and the energy engine inside Rhode's spaceship hummed violently. Copious amounts of purple light were drawn out, forming vibrant purple Energy Streamers.

Boom!

He then forcefully sent the massive amount of energy crashing back in. The energy engine exploded instantly, leaving the entire spaceship billowing with black smoke.

The power contained within a standard energy engine could no longer resist his pulling force. This presented a fatal lethality to many armored suits and mechanical cyborgs.

After absorbing for a while longer, he completely squeezed dry the Power of Faith within the Sun Gem. The golden gemstone dulled, losing its radiant halo.

"That felt amazing..." Li Yu sighed in satisfaction. "The Power of Faith is really something. I'll have to get my hands on more if the opportunity arises."

Peyton, who was studying the combat recording, cast a glance at him. "Do you know how many living beings' faith it took to extract the pure Power of Faith inside that Sun Gem?"

"Ten trillion?" Li Yu answered deliberately, tossing out an impossibly exaggerated number.

Peyton immediately fell silent. Without another word, he turned his head and quietly resumed analyzing the combat recording.

Standing off to the side, Hunter felt an inexplicable sense of deja vu, seemingly recalling past events. Li Yu despised it when people kept him in suspense, and Hunter had suffered his fair share of hardships because of it.

But since when did Peyton learn to keep people in suspense? Was he doing it to get back at Li Yu for keeping the truth from him?

Although Hunter was also incredibly curious about how Li Yu managed to kill Dark Star, he was smart enough not to ask.

Li Yu had no way to explain it either, as it involved far too many secrets, so he simply brushed it off.

"Have Li Ping bring Tu Ying and Keller back. We can't stay here any longer," Li Yu ordered. Their coordinates had been exposed, and it would be highly troublesome if Saster came hunting for them.

Even though the probability was slim—since his Pathos Fleet was far too conspicuous and the Barot Civilization would not simply turn a blind eye—it was always better to be safe than sorry.

"Master, Hunter already gave the order earlier. I have informed Li Ping. They are currently on their way back, or we can go pick them up," Claptrap responded.

"Oh?" Li Yu cast a somewhat surprised glance at Hunter.

"Haha..." Hunter let out two awkward laughs. Struck by a guilty conscience, he did not dare to meet Li Yu's eyes.

He couldn't exactly say that he had assumed Li Yu was dead, so he wanted to take Keller and Tu Ying away to preserve their lives so they could avenge him in the future.

...

Meanwhile, aboard the Pathos Flagship, Saster stared at the dazzling Amethyst Core on his desk, his eyes burning with intense desire.

"I didn't expect Dark Star to actually follow the rules," his assistant Rui Jin commented from the side, fully aware of what this core meant to Saster.

Hearing this, Saster sneered. "Follow the rules? He only wants to use the Pathos Fleet to help him hunt a star beast. He wouldn't dare not hand the core over to me."

Rui Jin immediately fell silent. Saster then put the Amethyst Core away and ordered in a deep voice, "Go investigate the whereabouts of those Moer LS People from back then. This core bears traces of having been cut."

"If Li Yu didn't sell off a portion of it, then it must be in the hands of those Morcasa People."

If Rhode could notice that the core had been cut, Rui Jin naturally noticed it as well. He possessed far more information than Rhode and instantly locked onto the suspects.

"Yes!" Rui Jin accepted the order and quickly left the room.

...

Somewhere in the universe, on a life planet whose exact location was known to no one.

By a tranquil lake, a black spot-horned antelope was drinking water, its cherry-pink tongue lapping up the liquid.

Splash! The surface of the lake erupted, and the antelope retreated at breakneck speed.

'Hmph, a measly crocodile wants to ambush me? Impossible!'

It hid from a distance, cautiously staring at the disrupted lake. However, its old crocodile friend did not emerge. Instead, a massive expanse of pink substance began to spread across the water's surface.

A large number of aquatic creatures attempted to flee, thrashing and leaping above the water, but their efforts were futile. They could only be slowly devoured by the pink substance.

In the center of the lake, massive amounts of flesh and blood were entirely consumed. A pink sphere gradually began to expand, faintly taking on a humanoid shape that writhed incessantly from head to toe.

"Li Yu!" A voice spoke through gnashing teeth from this humanoid creature, traveling far and wide. Not far away, a massive flock of birds was startled, scattering into the sky.

It was none other than Dark Star. Just as Peyton had predicted, he had relied on his unique ability to plant seeds of himself across numerous ordinary life planets throughout the universe.

As long as he did not suffer multiple fatal blows in a short period, he could utilize the special properties of his Gene Chain to continuously resurrect.

However, this kind of resurrection came with severe side effects. Not only did it cause critical damage to his body, but recovering his strength as an A-Tier Lifeform would also require devouring enormous amounts of nutritious substances.

This time, it could be said that he had suffered a double loss, gaining absolutely nothing.

After the Blazing Light Starship picked up Li Ping, Tu Ying, and Keller, they did not linger on the planet any longer than necessary.

"Uncle Zeth, what happened? Why are we leaving so suddenly?" Keller asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing, it's just time to leave." Hunter did not plan on explaining too much. Keller was still too young; telling her wouldn't accomplish anything anyway.

"Bleh, bleh, bleh..." Unable to get an answer, Keller stuck her tongue out, made a face at Hunter, and ran off to find her mother.

Sinai rarely appeared in the main cabin. She knew her place and understood that as an ordinary person, she simply could not fit in with the rest of them.

Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, she would not leave her room.

Tu Ying had killed quite a few people over the past few days. Having properly vented, the pent-up frustration in his heart had dissipated considerably, and a rare smile even graced his face.