Chapter 1657: with translation of chapter title

After Hei Di gave his simple-to-the-point analysis, everyone instantly realized their mistake.

Exactly, a suspected Star-Destroying Level powerhouse is not something they can provoke.

Star-Destroyers are not the prey; we are!

All their probing was merely to confirm key information, to maximize profit!

Yet they subconsciously believed they had to kill that Star-Destroyer!

Watching his people lower their heads in shame, Hei Di silently sighed and did not scold them further.

He knew these Fifth Stage individuals hadn't missed this point; their minds were clouded by huge profit.

Who wouldn't want to kill a problematic Star-Destroyer?

Kill him and you ascend in one step; kill him and there's no threat—this is the simplest method!

Having risen from the bottom, endured countless life-and-death trials and extreme Apocalypse, Hei Di deeply knows that survival outweighs everything.

He has seen too many talents, too many people superior to him die in the Apocalypse.

Power can solve many problems; violence is also the fastest and most convenient.

Yet in this Apocalypse, the power they wield amounts to nothing.

He could rise from an ordinary person, struggle for a hundred years in the Apocalypse, step by step approach near-divine Star-Destroying Level, relying not on mighty force nor absolute power to suppress all!

But rather caution, maintaining rationality each time in the face of temptation!

"Perhaps... after this mission, the Black Star Empire's system needs to be changed..."

"Purely relying on the competition system to select Fifth Stage individuals yields excellent combat talent, but their experience is still too lacking to handle complex situations..."

Subconsciously, a thought flashed through Hei Di's mind for no reason.

To resist the Apocalypse, after becoming Fifth Stage he unified the world, establishing tens of thousands of war academies, driving the entire civilization onto the path of universal militarism.

Everyone grows up in combat from birth; all exams and learning are replaced by competition.

Ignoring origin and background, there are no classes or systems!

As long as you win, you receive poured resources and can obtain whatever you desire!

Under this system, the Black Star Empire indeed produced vast numbers of Fourth Stage and even Fifth Stage Awakened Ones, enabling them to emerge from a poor, dark star system and become a regional hegemon.

But likewise, Hei Di suddenly realized that Awakened Ones cultivated under this system were suited only for combat...

A sigh.

Suppressing useless emotions in his heart, Hei Di silently gazed toward the fortress.

Fortunately, he is still alive.

At least now he can personally lead his people, teaching them hand-in-hand how to survive this Apocalypse.

"Cantis! Why are you stopping me from killing him!"

"You clearly saw that guy is definitely problematic!"

"Are you afraid of that Hei Di guy!? His projected power can't even match mine!"

"Stay calm, Tred!"

"You're thinking too simply!"

Above the fortress four thousand li out, within the Natural Alliance, hundreds of Fifth Stage Awakened Ones watched in silent awe as the Chimera Emperor argued.

More precisely, they were watching the Emperor "himself" argue with himself.

Only see on the Chimera Sovereign's massive body, the two heads seemed about to burst into battle, facing off against each other.

"What I think is simple!?"

"A problematic Star-Destroyer, killing him yields at least 10 points; with level-up bonuses, that's at least a hundred points!"

"And that's a Star-Destroyer level! Kill him and we get a B‑class permit!"

Like a roar, the left red dragon head glared at Cantiss's emerald‑green head.

In his fury, he even wanted to bite himself to death!

Apocalypse points: one point lets an ordinary person become Fourth Stage; ten points can delay a year's cataclysm; a hundred points suffice for their civilization to develop stably for over ten years!

And compared to points, permits are more precious; starting from the lowest D‑class, one must kill peers of the same rank to obtain them.

A C‑class permit requires ten D‑class permits to exchange; upon reaching B‑class, it cannot be exchanged at all—one can only acquire it by killing a Star‑Destroyer or an equivalent task!

A B‑class permit can at worst be exchanged for a "life"; on the exchange list it can even let him trade for the long‑craved rule origin, allowing him to break through to Star‑Destroyer!

Thus, seeing the duck about to fly away— the reward that could change the whole race's fate gone—how could Tred not be angry?

A B‑class permit, he hardly has any chance to obtain!

Put bluntly, in his lifetime he'd need to amass enough B‑class permits, which would likely require completing a hundred stellar battlefields and still not be enough!

Yet facing Tred's fury, Cantiss seemed indifferent.

Only see the green dragon head with a rather feminine voice, at this moment merely coldly gazing at the "self" on the left.

"Tred, can you guarantee that he is definitely not a Star‑Destroyer?"

"What if he is luring us?"

"And if we kill him, do you think others will let us off!? Points are inheritable! Once we take the reward, the other sixteen Star‑Destroyers will surely hunt us down with all their might!"

"That's not a reward, it's poison! It's a trap deadly enough to kill us!"

Hearing Cantiss's rebuke, the left red dragon head startled, then retorted back still somewhat angry:

"Does that mean we just give up?"

"And you not only gave up, you even made me bow to him!?"

"We are opposing factions; his mission is to exterminate us! Doing this makes us enemies of all Star‑Destroyers!"

Unable to comprehend Cantiss's thinking, for the exceedingly proud Tred, he could submit to a true Star‑Destroyer, but never allow himself to bow like a deceiver!

In his eyes, Lin An was nothing more than a juicy piece of meat!

No matter what, let's eat it first and talk later!

"Are we enemies with the others?"

Seeing her other self not using her brain at all, Kandice snorted coldly and pointed directly at another Fifth Stage controlled by Hei Di in the light curtain.

"No, our enemies have always been Star-Destroying Levels from the same faction."

"Did you see? That guy Hei Di has already thought of this; he has already chosen to join under that 'Star Shatterer,' preparing to hunt down others."

"Use your brain."

"If that person is a Star-Shattering Level, then our ultimate fate will inevitably be mutual slaughter, competing with other Star-Destroying Levels for the quota to survive."

"If that person isn't, it will also turn into a free-for-all! Whoever kills that person first will die first!"

"So no matter what, these seventeen of us Star-Destroying Levels are bound to be hostile!"

She pinpointed the problem with a single glance, Kandice looked at her other self, her eyes full of impatience.

As a double-headed dragon, usually the more combat-skilled Trede controls the body, while she remains silent, ensuring consistent action.

But this time, she really couldn't stand Krede's recklessness.

This idiot, whenever he sees an advantage, he becomes so violent he loses all reason!

"I don't agree!"

"If you put it that way, if we team up with that person, the other Star-Destroying Levels will have even more reason to join forces against us! Once our strength is prematurely drained, what will we do later!!?"

Violent remains violent.

Krede snorted roughly in irritation.

He is indeed not as calm as Kandice, but he is not without a brain.

In his view, before that person demonstrates any Star-Shattering Level power, how could the other Star-Destroying Levels possibly give up probing?

Yes, after they kill that guy, the others will indeed target them.

But what's the difference between killing early or killing late!!?

If they act now, they'll be the first batch! Later on, who knows how many will rush in!

Not only that, but what if that guy really is a Star-Shatterer? Would they not die even if they acted like dogs!!?

Cooperating with the enemy while facing everyone's encirclement is really too stupid!

Seeing Krede seemingly wanting to argue with her, Kandice's eyes turned cold, and she had no choice but to start explaining.

"No."

"If we now join that person's faction, others will surely wonder whether that person could truly be a Star-Shatterer!"

"If they attack us, they'll not only have to deal with us, but also be wary of that person!"

"Who dares to guarantee what strength that person actually has!!?"

"By leveraging the intimidation of a Star-Shattering Level, we can instead hunt down others without restraint!"

She thought deeper than the irascible Krede.

In her deep dragon eyes, Kandice seemed to already see the reaction of the other Star-Destroying Levels at this moment.

No Star-Destroying Level would feel at ease joining forces with others.

Thus, under this mutual weakening, those who feigned allegiance to Lin An would instead become the strongest side!

Especially, the more they act as if they 'believe' Lin An is a Star-Shattering Level, the less others dare to confront them!